Friday, October 24, 2014

Falling into Fall

I believe we are having what is known as an Indian Summer. I sit here blogging on 10/24 and it is 78 degrees outside! I think this is God's gift to me because cold days make for long days as a stay at home mom. I wish I was crafty or that my boys enjoyed coloring because it sure would make the day more fun but of course we prefer to be wild and crazy. In the winter I have a 43 degree weather rule; colder then that and I refuse to go outside and play but if it is warmer, I'll bundle us up and brave the weather. 

Enough talk about winter ... need to not think about that and just enjoy the moment now! We have officially finished soccer. Technically Taber finished mid season due to his injury but Deegan is DONE. We are now onto swim lessons and basketball. My nights are busy but I hope it pays off in the future when my boys have a love for sports and participating in them. 

 Taber "watching" Deegan play soccer. I bribe him with food to stay. Now when he plays soccer he insists that he has food in his hands at all time when he is on the field. I created a monster. 

 Deegan in his cool dude tiger glasses playing soccer.

 Fall Break ... otherwise known as the longest 2 weeks of my life! Don't get me wrong, I love spending time with my boys but 2 weeks of day and night entertainment was exhausting. The school system is putting the long breaks (spring break is just as long) to vote and I pray they change it to 1 week. We learned that mom is just not that exciting and doing chores is boring. 

I tried so hard to make Deegan's 4 days along with me fun but I flopped every day! First day we decided to go to Monkey Business. Who would have thought not another soul would be there over break. Deegan played by himself for an hour and told me every 2 minutes how bored he was. UGH! Flop #2 was seeing the Box Trolls Movie. It was a cold day and perfect for a movie. We were both excited and that shortly shattered when this PG rated movie turned out to be a horror movie for kids. I kept praying that it would end and kept looking over at Deegan. His comment at the end, "I do not ever want to see that movie again!" I agreed! Flop #3 came when I took him to family sports center to play on the rides and bumper cars. We showed up and it was closed ... only open Thurs-Sunday and we came on a Tuesday of course. So I quickly tried to improvise by renting ice skates for us. Ice Skating is trickier then I remembered and Deegan was not thrilled that he could not get the hang of it. I tried all sorts of encouragement (mainly because it cost me $22) but he decided he was not a fan. With that said, he does want to see a hockey game ... I think we will start there. Finally, flop #4 - I had hoped to go to Dart Warz with him because it is his favorite place on EARTH!!! I bribed him all week and that morning I jumped on their website only to discover they were only opened after 4:00pm. GRRRRRR! I tired to cover by going to the Wildlife Experience and seeing a 3D Movie there. Well, he is terrified of the stuffed animals (they were real once upon a time). He grabbed my hand and ran thru the whole exhibit saying we need to get out of here. We went to see the movie and I had 3 choices: Sharks (no way since we are going on a cruise in 27 days), Polar Bears (I don't need nightmares) and Meerkats. Turns out Meerkats are pretty boring ... even in 3D. 

With all that said, we did go to the cabin the first weekend and the boys had a blast riding 4 wheelers with Eric and Papa John. We walked to the lake several times, went into town and played game after game with Nanny. Come to find out, Deegan and Nanny both share a love for Domino's. That will be going on the cruise with us ... they will entertain each other!

 I took Taber to a Harvest Festival while Eric and Deegan went to Dart Warz. He freaking loved goats and had to bribe him to leave by telling him we could go to Aunt Courtney's farm and see her goats and cat. Sold!

 That child did not forget for a second that I promised him to go to Courtney's farm and the next day we found ourselves there. He was way more interested in the barn cats. He LOVES cats and kept telling us all to go away so he could grab them and pet them. 

 What do you know, Taber is a cat! I purchased their Halloween costumes and of course we had to put them on immediately. Deegan is a Grey Power Ranger (he has never seen the show so I am not sure how he decided he wanted to be this) and Taber of course wanted to be a Kitty. He later told me he wanted to be Elsa so he could wear a dress but luckily we already had his cat costume. 

 Deegan on the 4 Wheeler. 

 Playing their hundredth game of Domino's. 

 I just love this look Caroline is giving Taber. I give that same look to Eric on a daily basis!!!

 We did go to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo over break and it was AWESOME! I got a workout walking up all the hills and the boys loved being so close to all the animals. This is a picture of Deegan feeding the Giraffes. I refused ... look at those tongues!
  

 The boys and the Gorilla were equally fascinated with each other. We stood their for over 10 minutes and they just kept looking at each other. 

 When your plans flop, you can always make them right by giving your child Ice Cream for lunch!

 Love those eyes

 Before we went on the ice ... he was not so happy when we were done!

 3D Movie

 Annual trip to Nick's Garden Center for pumpkins. Did you notice Deegan lost his first tooth?! 


Wednesday, October 1, 2014

Filling in the blanks

I feel the need to post more pictures from the past year and half. I do not want to forget some of my favorite memories. More recent updates to come later this week!

Sledding with our neighbors. Sweet Caroline was so bundled up that Taber had no idea who or what she was and was scared of her the entire time!
Skiing with Evan on my Birthday
Brother-Love - I cherish these moments
Deegan's 5th Birthday - The kid loves all commercials and constantly asks for everything that he sees. I finally broke down and bought him a Snackeez which is a cup and bowl all in one!


Taber is loving Deegan's Birthday Donut!

The boys just adore their cousins. We had so much fun with them in town and love that they matched their outfits everyday.

Taber loving on his baby chick - I was certain he was going to crush the poor thing and it already had a bum leg. 
Taber snuggling with Nanny on the boat


Cool dude with Uncle Gary
Clearly Deegan loves Motorsports

We forgot swim suits - Paddle Boarding in his tightie-whities

Trail Ridge Road

The kids loved that GG needed a scooter while in FL for her broken ankle. Nani is probably shaking her head in the background :)
The infamous Cousin Brenden. Nobody is cooler then he in my kids eyes. Its only fair because Eric was his role model. 

90 year old Nanny (she looks amazing ... I will forever color my hair ... I hope I get those genes passed down to me) at Chris and Gina's Wedding.

I just think Eric looks so handsome in this picture ... could not resist showing him off!

Not a memory that I love but feel it should be documented. Do not run on the beach barefoot, it is not worth it!







Sunday, September 21, 2014

Look who is BACK!

Wow, it has been a VERY long time since I last posted a blog entry. I almost gave up on this blog until I realized this is how I document our lives. I wish I was crafty and I would scrapbook everything but it is not in my genetic code. I tried making an electric scrapbook but that took patience and that was another virtue I was not blessed with. So here I am ... back to blogging. I was looking at old posts and so many memories came back that I had forgotten and honestly, I cherish these days and need to find a way to remember the good, bad and hilarious. 

So, a lot has happened over the last year and a half. For all you know, I could have had a baby ... but we didn't and we do not plan to have any more (sorry family). We are so perfectly happy with 2 healthy, crazy, steal-your-heart little boys that there just is not time for a 3rd. Plus, I am pretty sure I would lose a few years off my life if I went back to those sleepless nights. 

First, I am a stay at home mom now. I left my job back in February and could not be happier with the decision. I am not going to lie, I found validation thru my work and loved my co-workers but looking at the big picture, I was not happy with the politics, I was beginning to travel monthly to OR, WA and ID and the long hours + traveling was really hampering Eric's success at work. He has been kicking a#$ at work and by not having to share pick-up/drop-off responsibilities, it has allowed him to really thrive and push his sales. He could not be more perfectly suited for this job and the company. It is such a blessing to see your spouse love their job and find success in it. We also discovered that my old management job was very similar to his boss's job and now I manage the crap out of him; asking what his pipeline looks like, what his schedule is, where the deals are coming from. I am pretty sure he wants to shoot me half the time but his boss and his boss's boss love it and think it is hilarious. I do "work" for him Tuesdays's and Thursday's but lets be honest, he is a control freak and most of the time I am running errands and cooking those days. I call them my sanity days! 

Deegan just started Kindergarten and is thriving. We walk to school everyday (assuming it is not too hot or too cold ... kinda like porridge) and it is my favorite time with him. I count my blessings that I do not have to drop him off at the before/after school program  like I would have had to if I still worked. He tells me all about his day, what he learned and also what his "robot friend" thinks of it all. Just the other day he told me that Sophie is in love with him and he could not understand why. HA! So innocent and totally not into girls (THANK GOD)! Deegan is such a good boy. He loves to be praised, read, help dad around the house and has turned into a little soccer player. He is definitely my sensitive child and I always have to remind myself that he is only 5 and try not to have too high of expectations of him. 

Taber is in Preschool 2 days a week and probably could go more. He had a really rough transition from our in-home daycare (we loved them) to the center but is doing great now. He gets a little report card everyday and talkative is always circled. He is fully potty-trained (did that at 2.5 yrs old and sleeps in a big boy bed). He is a mix between a little boy, a kitty cat and puppy dog. Seriously, he meow's like a cat and pants like a dog most of the day. He would die and go to heaven if we bought him a pet but after some intense allergy testing for both boys, it will not be in his future. Instead, we have a fish, his name is Reddy. I am pretty sure I am the only one in the house that knows he is still alive and needs to be fed. I am sure a dog would be the same and I am not willing to take on that responsibility. Taber is my accident prone kid. He is always falling, scraping his knees and most recently broke his collar bone. Some kid pushed him off the play set and he fell about 12ft. I am so thankful I did not see it because I am certain I would have nightmares. He has been a little trooper. Taber is probably the loudest child I have ever met and most folks agree after they hear him scream. Eric swears his hearing cuts in and out! Taber-Tot is probable the worlds cutest kid and everyone tells him that and now he knows he can get away with murder because of it! 

So, that is a year and half in a nutshell. I leave you with memories over the last year and half (really hard picking just a few pictures).

 Birthday 2013 (2 & 4 years old)


 Movie Night


 Ft. Lauderdale 2013



 Cabin 2013

2013 Family Pictures


 CU vs CSU 2013

 Halloween 2013


 Costa Rica 2013



 Christmas 2013



 Deegan coloring pictures, Taber coloring the wall 2013


 First Hot Wings experience ... LOVE!

 Kindergarten Orientation 

 We need more boys in the neighborhood 

 Boulder Bolder 2014

 Road Rash 2014

 Farm Trip 2014 (300 Baby Chicks, Mutton Busting, Chores)

 Ft. Lauderdale 2014


 Cabin 2014

 First day of Kindergarten 2014

 Taber's first soccer practice 2014

Best Buddies

  Broken Collar Bone