Joy to the Holidays!

Boy oh boy…where did the year go! So thankful for so much this year. This year we are going to learn the true meaning of Christmas. We will spend Christmas eve giving to those who are stuck in a hospital bed and Christmas day with those who have much to tell us of their long lives. We love Jesus and we celebrate his birthday by serving others. What a gift! Merry Christmas!!

2011 Updates!

Here we are, already August. Spring and Summer breezed by and I didn’t even have a chance to blink. So let me catch you up…let’s see I left off in January. Kayne turned 6 and he completed his kindergarten year by the skin of his teeth. Katelyn completed her 4th grade year and Kenyon his 3rd grade year. Darryl and Amber had their wedding in February so the girls were all together again for the first time since July. Adriana came out for a week and so the girls all got together for lunch. It was sad giving her a hug goodbye. We miss them so much. We did make it out to San Diego for Spring Break. We turned it into a Road trip. We got off to a late start but we made it to Salt Lake City, Utah Saturday evening and went to the Temple and checked out the Visitor Center. Sunday we left and headed to Vegas for a couple days. We stayed at Circus Circus and the kids had a blast. Tuesday morning we headed to San Diego and arrived at Kimmee’s in the evening. She took us to Mission beach and we saw our first California sunset. It was breath taking. Kim's friend Cindy was also in town job hunting so we all hung out at the beach for her last night in town. We hit Disneyland on Wednesday. We hit all the major rides but did not get to see the big fireworks show :( Apparently they only do it on the weekends. We went to Coronado Beach for the day and played in the water. Kimmee joined us after she got off work and we had a nice time. A tsunami hit Japan on Friday and we were not allowed near the beaches for the rest of our visit so we just hung around Kim’s house. Leaving was bitter sweet. We were so excited to be headed to see my brother in his family in Arizona but we did not want to leave Kim’s.We got on the road late but finally got into Arizona Saturday evening. We had dinner with my brothers family and met my nieces that I had not seen. We had a wonderful visit and I wish that we had planned more time in Arizona. We will have to make another trip out there just to spend time with them. We headed home and stopped in Castle rock to rest. We actually did not get home until Monday morning so we spent the day at home unpacking and getting some much deserved rest. Glenwood Springs was our second vacation of the year. It has been a tradition for the last several years so we have been continuing it. My in-laws joined us and we hit up the Hot Springs Pool, Hanging Lake, and Rifle Falls. We did not get to see the Falls sadly this year but we got to check out the Fish Hatchery which is right above the falls and that was really neat. We got to feed the fish and you could see them jump out of the water for the food. There were small fish and larger ones. It was a great experience for the kids. June was not all that eventful. Just a lot of parties and the start of Movies on the Main in Centerra. A couple friends joined us a couple times and I even had the opportunity to become friends with one of Kenyon’s friends mom. We just knew each other in passing but she is a really neat lady. And a single mom like me. So we understand each others whoa’s.

July proved to be the busiest month of the year so far. We got to the Renaissance Festival this year. It was an extremely hot day but once we got to Larkspur the shade from the trees was perfect. The kids each purchased something special. The boys both got swords and daggers. Katelyn got a really pretty fan. And I of course got my roasted pecans and almonds…YUMMM! We then met up with my old friend Nancy down in Cherry Creek. Her son, who I use to babysit sometimes, is all grown up. He is much taller than me and so well spoken. I hadn’t seen them since I was pregnant with Kenyon so almost 9 years ago. So it was good catching up with her and spending time with them. And we enjoyed fireworks in the park which were spectacular. I think that will be a new tradition to go down and watch the fireworks in the park. The boys went to an adventure camp and Katelyn is gone this week to the same camp. We will end the summer with the kids spending time in Denver with their dad while I jet over to Minnesota for a week long Creative Memories Convention. So very excited for that.

We celebrated the 4th with friends in Loveland at the Loveland LDS church. The fireworks went off over Lake Loveland so we were close enough to enjoy them without all the traffic of people. Plus we had the facilities of the Church so we had water and bathrooms.

Coming Up This Year
1. My trip to Minnesota.
2. The kids start back to school at the end of August.
3. Kellie and Dani visit to Colorado
4. Camping
5. Taste of Colorado in Denver.
6. Alzheimer Association Memory Walk event
7. Race for the Cure and Crop for the Cure
8. Halloween
9. Thanksgiving
10. Christmas

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Gosh! Where has the time gone? It is now officially 2011. We kicked the New Year off with wonderful friends and even managed to meet some new ones. I started the New Year with my 33rd birthday, yes I know. And now Kayne's birthday is fast approaching. I am truely grateful for all the Lord has blessed us with. We got through the holidays in one piece and so now here we are. What's up next?? We have so much planned this year. I hope that we can get to half of it. We will be going to San Diego this year for Spring break (fingers crossed), get some camping in, get down to the Renaissance Festival, take another trip to Glenwood Springs and possibly purchase that new home I have been dreaming about for so long. We will continue to spend time with friends and family and possibly get some scrapbooking in.

2011 Resolutions

1. Finish my scrapbooking room.

2. Lose a couple pounds.

3. Catch up on scrapbooking projects.

4. Start selling crafts in itsy website.

5. Earn a profit with my Creative Memories business.

Here's to another great year!! Cheers!!!

Thankful

Oh Thanksgiving. What a wonderful time of year!! We are nearing Christmas and it just brings happiness to my home. The holidays start with Halloween and then continue with fun, food, friends and family. So this season we have to take a minute a truly be grateful....(even for those things I would hate to say outloud).

I am thankful for my heavenly father and lord in savior. He brings all the blessings to my life that I could not live without.

I am thankful for parents who at one time loved each other enough to bring me into this world.

I am thankful for my children and the joy they bring to my heart. They have been sent especially for me.

I am thankful for a King size bed. On lonely nights I have enough to spread out and roll over without falling off the bed. On nights where the kids have nightmares or feel especially loving I am glad that I have the room to share with them.

I am thankful to have a home with a roof, running water and electricity. So many people this time of year do without so many things. And just having the comforts of home to go to makes this time of year less stressful.

I am thankful for my job. I complain on a daily but without my job I don't know where we would be. I have a wonderful boss and for the most part I work with truly good hearted people.

I am thankful for my many freedoms. We have soliders overseas fighting for our freedoms everyday and because of that they give up the time that they could be spending with their families and friends.

I am thankful for my immediate family. Although far from us they are still near and dear to our hearts. WE MISS YOU ALL!!

I am thankful for my friends who inspire me everyday. I have been so blessed to meet so many wonderful people in my short time on this earth. Some I don't see all that often but they are in my heart this holiday season.

I am thankful for my pets. Boo, Goblin, Pumpkin and Salt. You make life comical. It helps not take anything to seriously. Nothing like a bite on the toe when you are trying to have a serious discussion on the telephone.

I am thankful for my craft talents. This time of year can be stressful but this time of year I enjoy spending time making cards and completing our family album. That time is reserved just for me and is truly an escape.

I am thankful for my extended family and the kids' dad who love us unconditionnally and find time to spend with us.

So many more things that I am truly thankful for. My education, our librarians who keep us stocked with good reading materials and dvd entertainment, my health and my children's health. Our lives have been truly blessed. Although I wish I could add a couple more dollars to my bank account I wouldn't change anything about it so far.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

My little Super Heroes!

I am sure every mother in this world no matter if they are able to raise their own children or if they are with them every single day say that they are proud. I don’t think there is a word strong enough to describe how I truly feel about my kids. Everyday I am surprised how lucky I got. I see so many children who disrespect their parents or who act up and give their parents such heartache. I don’t have to worry about that. Of course there are times when they test my patience or they have a bad day of listening but all in all on any given day I go to bed proud of the people they have become. Each of them is giving, kind, funny, spiritual and well mannered. If something were to happen to me today I know that I would not have to worry about if they became good people. I am sure that’s what my mom thought of me and my brother and sister. She left this earth all to early but her work was done one this earth. She raised some pretty darn good kids and they in turn have raised awesome children as well. How lucky can one person get! Blessed, truly blessed!

I Love Fall!!!

So we are definitely into fall and I am completely excited. Carmel apples, pumpkins and falling leaves. What more could you ask for. This weekend, the kids and I took a trip down to Denver and hung out with our family and my friend Heather and her son Gabriel. It really worked out because I ended up keeping my niece Lilly and her and Katie had a blast hanging together for 2 straight days. They have really missed each other. Our first trip Saturday was to the Four Mile Historic Museum for their Great Pumpkin Harvest. Oh there was plenty to do for sure.

First we stopped at the school houses and we saw 3 women in there making lace and brading rugs. Which was really neat and I think I want to learn how to do the rug braiding. It was so neat.

Outside the school house there was a tent set up where we learned about Honeybees and how bees makes the honey. It was so incredibly interesting.

Then we went over to the chicken coupes where this man had burned these cookies and he threw them to the chickens. And he said the chickens had been waiting all day for him to burn these cookies. Now we stood there and watched these chickens and none of them were interested in these cookies...especially burnt cookies. Me and my friend Heather got a kick out of that. Our next stop was the old fashion cellar. This is where the pioneers would put their food storage. They would hang meat and put all their canned goods in there.

To the side of the cellar was a "panning station" where the kids could pan for gold. This probably took the most time. All of the kids were interested in playing in the water and coming with the pieces of gold and rocks.

The out skirts of the museum was TeePee's set up for the kids to look in. One TeePee had a couple inside and they told stories of the Native Americans and showed us tools that they would use made out of things from the land. That was my favorite part. We sat in there for a long time asking questions. And everyone was interested so it was really neat.

Next we played with the sticks and round wooden wheels and Stilts.

Then we headed over to the pumpkin patch to pick out a pumpkin. We will definitely come back next year. What a fun day!

Minute to Win IT

September 25th we celebrated Kenyon’s 8th birthday party in the park at Lake Loveland. He had several friends attend. His guests included kids he knows from school, the boys and girls club, daycare ands family. I planned 17 games inspired from the NBC game show Minute to win it but we were only able to fit in a total of 6. The kids really had a good time. The games included:
(Bottoms Up!) Where the kids had to knock over empty cans using a yo-yo.
(Breakfast Scramble) The kids had to assemble the front of a cereal box that has been cut into 16 even pieces.
(Bucket Head) The kids had to catch 3 balls in a bucket on top of their head.
(Defying Gravity) Where they had a partner and each kid had a balloon. They had to throw the balloon to each other and keep the balloon off the ground for a minute.
(Extreme Hanky Panky) I split the kids into groups and they had to remove all the tissues from a tissue box one at a time. This was by far the funniest. The kids seemed so panic’d and were out of control ripping the tissues out of the box. It was hilarious.
(Rapid Fire) The kids had to shoot rubber bands to knock down a stack of cans. This by far was the hardest game. We did not even have one winner. Many of the kids did not know how to shoot the rubber bands so it was tough.

These were a good filler for the time. I think we will plan a party next summer with many of the other games. What a good time!