Kayla's first published story

For those of you that do not already know we received a letter in the mail over the summer notifying us that Kayla's 5th grade teacher had submitted a story that she wrote to potentially be published with our permission. Of course we were very excited about that as we are a family of readers (with the exception of JR) and are obviously proud parents! So naturally we said yes and ordered a copy of the book and grandparent's and uncles ordered copies for themselves. Yesterday Kayla had a great surprise as we were walking out the door....the mailman had set the books right in front of our door (mailbox is too little)! Oh yeah and the funny part about all of this was that she didn't even know what story it was that was being put in this book so it was a mystery as to what we were going to see. She wrote several great stories last year so there were many options in my opinion! The story that ended up being published is called Purple Skies and is a very descriptive, imaginative story for sure. I took a picture of the story but when I have access to a scanner I will scan it in and share it with all of you.

Merry Christmas!

Whew did we have an exciting couple of days celebrating Christmas! And we are all tired from it and need some R&R big time! It started on Saturday when we went to JR's dad and step-mom's to exchange gifts there. We had to do it so early because that was when JR's little sister Katy was going to be there.

Then on Monday afternoon we went over to JR's mom and step-dad's house for gifts and a late lunch/early dinner with them. Emma wasn't really interested in opening gifts, she was having alot more fun running around the house and running down the hallway. Kayla and Eli made out with some pretty cool gifts! I made the mistake of telling my mother-in-law to get Eli moon shoes.....little did I know exactly what those things are......they are basically platforms suspended by gigantic rubber bands. Strange and a little dangerous looking but I am sure Eli will have a ball with them! Kayla has found Aeropostale to be her new favorite store and she got a couple of gift cards for that store so we will be shopping soon!

Christmas morning is always done at home with just us so we get some family time to ourselves for a while and it also gives the kids a chance to enjoy some of their gifts here at home. There were lots of ohhs and ahhs and Emma losing interest again but the kids did have a great time. Then later in the afternoon it was off to my mom's house for some more presents and dinner. One of Kayla's presents was a cell phone and we decided to hold off all day long on giving it to her. After dinner and everyone settling down a little bit we called everyone back in to my mom's living room and had Kayla stand in front of JR as he presented her with her phone. (sorry I was so focused on getting it on tape that I forgot to take a snapshot to share) Her reaction was awesome! She was pretty convinced that she was never going to get one in her life but as she looked back on certain conversations and comments we have made it all kind of came together for her. And her reaction was well worth the wait too! After all that JR and Eli went home because they were tired and had things to play with at home and my brother Carl, Kayla, Emma and I all went to my dad's house for a short time. Oh and as I was walking JR to the car I notice there is a huge wrapped gift sitting on my mom's driveway. It took my brain a few minutes to process that it wasn't there when I got there and that it was wrapped so it wasn't their trash can or something weird like that. Turns out it was a gift for me from JR - it was my washing machine to go with my dryer! That was supposed to be a tax return purchase but my loving husband decided to do it early! And I think it was just in time because I had washed a load of towels that morning and there were still soap suds at the bottom of the machine after the load finished!

It was a long couple of days but lots of fun and great to spend time with family. It was nice seeing my brother since he moved to Oregon just over a year ago we don't get to see him very often. The only people missing were my step-brother and his family from Alaska.

Before the madness......

Emma opening her first gift

Eli's toolbox loaded with tools....which were used several times today

Kayla and her Aeropostale sweatshirt

Even the animals get presents in our house.....just look at that concentration on his new Kong toy!

Emma's comment when opening this......"oh cool!" - you think she pays any attention to her siblings?!

Kayla and her beloved Chris Brown CD

Eli and his new bike from Nana and Grandpa

So as I was looking for pictures to put on the blog I realized that I got the reactions on video for all the really good presents. One day I will share with you once I figure out how to do it!

Out with the old, in with the new

This year as we unpacked our Christmas tree we discovered that the base was broken when it was repacked (not by us) sometime after Christmas when it was in storage. Only 1 point of the 4 was broke so we were able to rig it. Well yesterday Emma decided she wanted to tug on the tree (she normally doesn't touch it at all) causing it to start to fall towards her. JR was sitting right there so he was able to stop it and it went the other direction. It teetered and broke 2 more of the points of the base and left it laying (not just leaning) against the wall. I wanted to get a picture but JR already had it taken down by the time I got around to it. Anyways, when we found that the tree was broken we decided we would get a new one after Christmas (to hopefully catch a good sale) but this just rushed it along. JR has wanted a white tree with blue lights for several years now and I decided to cave on the white tree bit. I really do like it. Of course this is also our first tree that cost more than $20! The white tree we found was on sale for $50 cheaper than we expected it to be so that made for a nice surprise. And when JR took it out of the box this afternoon we found that it was pre-lit (not something we really wanted but it will work) with white lights and he put strands of blue lights so we have a versatile tree! Mood lighting!

So now we say goodbye to a tree that was good to us for 5 or so years (can't remember exactly when we got it, my mom gave it to us because she got a new tree and this one was bigger than our sad Charlie Brown tree).

And now for the new tree. These show you both lighting effects - blue or white. There isn't a picture of it decorated but I wanted to just give you an idea of what it looks like. We didn't use the same topper which is fine because I didn't like this one anyhow. It will probably take me 2-3 yrs before I find one that I like....I always have a hard time finding one that is decent.

Everyone loves a parade!

I am apparently a neglectful parent and have never taken Eli to a parade. I have taken Kayla but she was probably 2 or 3 so she wouldn't remember it either. Well we were downtown going to the library this weekend and a float passed by us getting ready for the Parade of Lights. After much begging and pleading on the kids part I caved and decided I would take them. JR was up in Boulder so it was all on me! The weather stayed pretty nice all evening long thank goodness! We met my step-sister Ayrah and her son Joey, her mom Rhonda, and a few of her friends. I tried taking pictures of some of the cool floats but they kinda came out a blur! :) But I did get a picture of each of the kids.

Cousin Joey making a silly face

Eli half bundled up

Emma...she would not keep those gloves on

Kayla sitting on the curb waiting for the parade to start

Farewell Suburban

Yesterday JR traded in our Suburban for a full size truck so we must say goodbye to our beloved SUV. We actually only had it for less than a year but it sure came in handy this summer. I would trade it with Jess while she watched my kids 2 days a week so if she wanted to take her 3 plus my 3 kids anywhere they could all just pile up in it and I would drive her little Saturn. We even loaded that thing up with all of our bikes plus Emma's trailer and went up to Boulder to ride with friends.

Anyways, there were a couple of tears shed by a sweet boy truly loves cars and hated to see it go. He has done this with other vehicles too! But he is also very excited about the new truck. It is a 2000 Chevy 2500LS. The only thing we don't have is that 3rd row of seating because the interior of this thing is the same freaking size! The good news is that what made this trade-in necessary is that JR has recently signed a contract for 6 commercial properties in Denver! So this is a vehicle that can pull a load, and can also have a plow put on it (he already has 1 plow truck) to grow his business that much more. Now we just have to continue to pray for snow to come our way and we will be good!

Here is the Suburban....

And here is the new truck..........look at how it drawfs my poor little Blazer and you can see the corner of the current plow we have

Thanksgiving

OK so again I am a little late with this post but this week was a bit crazy....Emma has an ear infection in both ears, Kayla got the stomach flu again, lost internet ability again (touch and go wireless connection), had a date with the girls on Thursday and now here you go.

Thanksgiving came and went quickly this year! We went to my moms house and they cooked up a yummy meal! We made green bean casserole and pumpkin pie and took that over there. We hung out with them for a few hours and that was pretty much the extent of it. We were all too tired to travel all over town....we will save that for Christmas! Kayla actually made the pumpkin pies and she did the majority of the casserole. She loves being in the kitchen and I certainly won't discourage it!



Thursday Sue, Jess C and I went to a church here in town to watch one of the funniest comedian's I have ever seen. Her name is Anita Renfroe and I am sure some of you have seen/heard her song Total Momsense. If not, go check it out on her website. She was on Dr. Phil yesterday (which I missed because I had to work late...bummer). I haven't laughed that hard in quite some time. So much so that by the time I got home I was ready for bed!

Random stuff

So as you can see there hasn't really been a whole lot going on around here. It has actually been kind of nice really. But I figured I would do a quick update since I haven't posted in almost 2 weeks!

My mom got to go to Richfield Springs, NY from 11/3 thru 11/10 to see my sister and her husband and 3 boys. And as most of you know, Nana is our daycare for Emma, so that gave JR and I an excuse to take some time off of work! He took that Mon and Tue off to spend with Emma and I took Wed-Fri off. We had a blast just hanging out around the house. On Fri Emma and I did get out and go have lunch with my friend Lew. And I so did not want to go back to work on Monday! But Emma was very happy to see Nana and Grandpa again.

Kayla decided she did not want to play basketball after all. Being tall does not make you an instant bball star by any means! She is doing great in school and is on the honor roll! It kind of shocked her because she did struggle a little in the beginning with all the freedom and responsibility she had compared to elementary school. But she fixed it pretty quickly and came out on top of course! :)

Eli is also doing good in school. The grading system isn't the letter system yet (that will happen next year in 3rd grade) it is a system of pass/fail basically. All of his are Proficient or Advanced which is great! I took him along with a couple of neighbor kids to the schools Literacy Night a couple of nights ago and they had fun. The school provided pizza and cookies and soda.....I'm sure the neighbor girls mother was cursing me as I sent them home loaded full of junk and bouncing off the walls at 7 PM! :)

Emma is learning new words every day. My mom and I are working diligently at teaching her to say "love you" and she just isn't cooperating! She will repeat, or at least attempt to, just about everything else but that little phrase! A couple of the cute things she says though is Moo or Mow for Mal (the dog's name); she calls for Eli, which sounds like Ei, in the morning to help wake him up; she will say "where's daddy" and put her hands up in an I don't know fashion; she will tell you go when she wants to get out of the house or even just out of her crib! I could go on all night but that gives you a hint at least.

Took the kids to their 6 month dental appt and found out that Kayla needs braces! I think that is just one more notch on the Kayla is growing up pole! I wasn't prepared for that so soon since she is only 11! I did however find an orthodontist that has an office right across the street from her school so I am hoping and praying that he is good and that we like him and he doesn't try to rip us off! I guess I will be spending the next couple of weeks trying to get appts and getting quotes and what not. And what surprised me most of all was that Kayla was kind of excited for this! I think she is crazy but who am I to judge?!

Guess that is it for now. I'm sure I will have pictures from Thanksgiving to share!

A day at the park

Sunday was a really nice day with our high reaching 74 degrees! Considering it is November we figured we should take advantage of the day since we probably won't have another one for a while. At least we shouldn't.....

Anyways, we took the kids to our favorite park - America the Beautiful - to fly a glider that JR purchased for he and Eli to play with. The summer kind of got away from us but they finally got it out! He and the 2 big kids flew the glider while I got to chase Emma all over the park. I made the mistake of taking her out in khaki pants......let's hope the Spray and Wash did the trick! :)

And she's off!

Swinging....I really think she just humor's me on this thing....she could probably do without it

JR and kids

Daddy teaching kids how to fly the glider

Eli sending it off on a flight

Kayla....she was supposed to be flying it but of course would rather pose like a super model!

This is what Emma did.....over and over and over and over.....

Trick-or-treat!

For those of you who grew up in Colorado, you know just how cold it can get on Halloween here. If it isn't snowing, chances are it snowed a day or two before and there is still some on the ground, or it will start snowing just as you walk in your door after trick-or-treating. It wouldn't be Halloween for us if one of the above didn't take place. This year was only a little bit of an exception. Here is the funny (not really) part of it.....from Sunday through Tuesday, the temps were in the low 70's. Highly unusual for this time of year but we will certainly accept and enjoy it! Forcast for Wed high only in the low 50's if we were lucky and a cold night! Of course! When we shop for costumes here, we have to find the best ones for layering. They have to allow for at least 1 whole sweat suit to fit underneath. And if the kid is lucky, they might not have to wear their jacket so everyone can actually tell what they are! But, like I said, it would seem weird if it were any other way! This year, Kayla and Eli's costumes worked perfectly for layering and for jackets. Emma's jacket didn't really go with her costume but the baby didn't even get out of her stroller so it didn't really matter. I would like to know what she was thinking about the whole thing though....has to be quite confusing for her. We stick her in her stroller to go for a walk yet we keep stopping at every house. Kayla and Eli go ring the door bell, yell something out, get handed stuff and we do it again at the next house! She was a trooper though and never once complained about being cold or just having to sit! So here are those pictures.
Goth fairy Kayla

Motocross Eli

Ducky Emma

Had to post this one because it just looks freaky!

Getting ready to head out!

This is pretty much what the night looked like for JR, Emma and I......

Halloween Party

OK so I am still a little behind on my posts....but at least I am putting stuff up there! :)

We had a Halloween party at work last Friday for all the families at work. The kids all dressed up....I did not....and I am glad because the only people dressed up were 1 of the sales guys and his wife! They grilled hamburgers and hot dogs and we all brought a side dish. They had a dessert contest too. Kayla made this really yummy carmel apple cake that I forgot to take a picture of. She won 2nd prize for it (the prize was a Starbucks gift card) so the lady that one 1st prize traded Kayla her Starbucks card for a card to the Citadel Mall. And let me tell you, Kayla could not wait to get to the mall on Saturday! She purchased herself a cute pair of shoes and then bought everyone candy from the chocolate store there. She still has some money left on it that I am sure she will be spending soon! They also had tons of games for the kids to play. Kayla and Eli came home with bags full of stuff. And the adults played this game called Bunco. Since Val and I didn't know how to play we decided to sit it out and watch. It is a very fast paced game but looks like tons of fun! We will join in next time for sure!

Anyways, I forgot to take my camera to the event so I had to rely on the pictures that one of the guys took. Here they are.

Kayla the Goth Fairy

Eli the Motocross champ

Emma the duck watching.....

Her BFF Morgan the Red Lobster (who had just finished a bottle as you can see by her lip)!