Thanksgiving weekend

Although the official Thanksgiving weekend is not over I figured I'd better post our pics before I run out of time prepping for our trip to Disneyworld.

Rick took wednesday off so we putzed around the house in the morning (mainly getting it clean before the big food feast day) and then headed just south of us to an open space hiking trail we discovered when I was preggers with Curren. Although it was muddy and ICY we had a great time hiking the part of the trail we could safely cruise on. We were bummed we didn't reach the top, but there was too much ice.

Turkey day was great and low-key. Rick took the older boys to the park, took Aidan on a muddy bike ride on the hill behind our house and we feasted and feasted and feasted with my mom, step-dad and sis. We were really missing Rick's family who've made it for TG that last two years we've been here, but we're keeping our fingers crossed they'll be here next year.

Later in the evening our neighbors called to tell us they were going to have a "lighting ceremony" in their cul-de-sac. Both neighbors really decorated their houses and it looks phenomenal. (My camera's battery died so I was unable to get pictures that evening.) They even topped off the event with hot chocolate, and roasted s'mores by their makeshift fire. What could be better? Well, for me it was the pie waiting at home.

On friday we DID NOT partake in the crazy black friday shopping deals. I think we were one of the only families who did not venture near a shopping center. When we did travel outside our housing community I couldn't believe all the traffic and how full the outlet mall was. Hope all of you who went shopping found some awesome deals.

Saturday my mom and step-dad took out us to breakfast, yummo! Rick finished putting up our lights (on the section of our house he can reach with a ladder), the kids played outside, had their neighborhood friends over and we played at the park and froze our booty's off. Hey, the kids had fun and they wore off some of their extensive energy so that's what mattered.

A pretty low-key weekend, but that's just the way I like it. Especially when we have a big trip to get ready for. Stay tuned for an update on our trip to Walt Disneyworld. Can't wait! I hope I don't forget anything.

HalloOoOoOweEeEen and the big snowstorm

As many of you already know or may have heard on the news (if you don't live here in CO) we had a massive snowstorm 3 days before Halloween. Yippee! Sort've, that is. The kids were excited because that meant no school for 3 whole days! And while Curren napped, I took Aidan and Kellen to our sledding hill. What could be more fun than sledding on a snow day? I remember as a kid loving it! They would close one of our outlet streets which was perfect for sledding. And what could be better than sledding once you come inside? Hot chocolate, which once again the kids had plenty.

Now for the big meltdown. We're expected to see some 60+ degree temps this week, woo-hoo! I wonder what November will be like?

Now on to Halloween. And what a jammed filled weekend of activities. Friday I was planning on taking the kiddos to Trick-or-Treat on the Street in downtown Castle Rock. I really love taking the kids to downtown, it's just fun seeing all the other kiddos dressed up and it just reminds me what a family-friendly town we live in. However, with all the snow I wasn't sure how easy it would be to manuever the stroller so I opted not to take them this year, bummer:(. But that same evening was our ward's Trunk-or-Treat night/Chili cook-off. Chili was yummo! (Thanks Annie if you're reading this) and the trunk-or-treating was a blast for the kids. Just what we needed though, more candy. All in all it was a great night! (Thanks Jones family for all the planning you put into our ward activity.)

Saturday, we spent the day hanging out, throwing snowballs, decorating our driveway in sidewalk chalk with Halloween designs (pumpkins, ghosts, spiders, etc) and carving our thawed out pumpkins. That's right, they were frozen from sitting on our porch during the snowstorm. Then around dinner time we headed over to our neighbor's house for some pizza before heading out to trick-or-treat. Rick took the two older boys out while I manned the door. Unfortunately, Kellen is going through a little phase and became too scared of the decorations to continue trick-or-treating so he came home early. (At least he was perfectly happy about it.) And then once Rick and Aidan came home we headed over to some other neighbor's house for an after trick-or-treating party. Great times had by all!

Kellen next to his pumpkin

Aidan next to his pumpkin

Curren next to his pumpkin

The kids in the 'hood enjoying their pizza before trick-or-treating

Luigi and Mario, I mean Kellen and Aidan

Our little monkey - Curren

Getting ready to go trick-or-treating!

Now what to do with all the candy we have! I have two bags full of candy I plan to donate to the troops. (I heard a dentist is collecting it, a $1/lb. to send overseas.) And then I'll try to be a nice mommy and let the kids have their fill for the week before I get rid of the rest.

I hope everyone had a great Halloween! Now on to Turkey Day...can't wait! Our countdown to Walt Disney World has begun. 32 days to go!

Rick's marathon day

Rick completed his first marathon in about 4 hours and he felt pretty good afterwards too. He said it took about 10 minutes just to cross the starting line. Yes, the starting line...no typos here. I don't think he'll complete another one. Too crowded, but he said it was cool to run through various parts of Denver and saw some great neighborhoods and parks. I'm sure he'll complete several more trail half-marathons. That's more his style. He loves being outdoors and he definitely prefers smaller venues.

We also got a night (an over-nighter that is) without the kiddos. My mom and step-dad came over to babysit and the kids had a blast playing with them. Rick and I stayed at The Sheraton in downtown Denver and it was in a great location, along 16th St. mall. (An outside walking mall. The road is closed to all vehicles except buses.) And it was super close to the start/finish line at Civic Center Park. The park separates the State Capital and the gov't buildings. After getting a night away we realized how desperately we need to take advantage of date nights.

Our room was HUGE!

What a wonderful weekend, beautiful weather and great accomplishments for Aidan and Rick. Way to go!

Yes, Aidan really did complete a marathon....

however, not all at once. His school's PE teacher signed the school up with Kid's Running America to get the kid's interested in running and staying healthy with aerobic activity. So Aidan told me he wanted to participate. It required him to go to the school early 2 days per week and run 1.25 miles each day so they would have completed 25 miles by the time the McDonald's kids mile run occurred. (This is also in conjuction with The Denver Marathon Rick will be running, but more about that tomorrow after he's actually competed.)

We are so proud of Aidan! Not only did he complete his first marathon, but he was a fast little runner. He always came in the top 4 of the kids who participated (that's anyone in the school...so kids who are older than him) and he ran his final mile today in 8:11! Very impressive!

Fall is here

Fall is one of my fav. times of the year. I love the transitional seasons...looking forward to a change of seasons. Anyway, enough of my diatribe, we've been busy with everyday life and I guess I haven't brought my camera with me to take many pictures lately, but here's a few:

Aidan's a Fireball this year

Aidan's playing soccer this fall and seems to like it. He made a goal during his 2nd game so that was pretty exciting. He was supposed to play yesterday, but the high was 33 degrees and the game was at 9am, so can you imagine? We'd all be frozen by the time the game ended. I'm really glad they canceled it, but I hate having make-up games...just more chances for reschedules due to weather. Soccer's a tough game to play here in lovely CO. Weather can be wonderful or awful in the spring or fall...you just never know.

While at Michael's last week I bought a Halloween gingerbread house. Cute idea? Yes! Great family activity? Maybe...depending on the age of your kiddos. Kind've an involved craft for an 8 and almost 5 year old, but hey it was theraputic for me. I had a RAGING headache before starting and now my headache is gone. (And yes, I had taken Excederin to no avail.)

Do you think I have what it takes to be a pastry chef? Not quite!

As for Halloween itself? Kellen will be Luigi from Super Mario Bros., Aidan plans to be Mario (if his costume arrives on time. And I have looked EVERYWHERE! Every place is backordered...keep your fingers crossed). Curren will either be a spider (what Kellen was at age 2, if he's walking by then) or a monkey (what Kellen was at 10 months). Lots of activities planned for Halloween too so I hope to post lots of pics. Stay tuned....

Weekend Excursions

Now that Kellen is all better and Curren is getting older I'm getting that itch to start exploring the great state of Colorado.

Evergreen, CO

This past weekend we stayed local, but still enjoyed our outings immensely. Saturday we headed up to the foothills between the towns of Morrison and Evergreen and hiked some great trails. We didn't do anything extensive, but stayed along the creek trail which made the older boys very happy. What could be more fun than throwing rocks into water, especially rushing water. Afterwards we drove over to Evergreen and walked along the lake. Such beautiful scenery.


Lair 'O The Bear park - near Morrison, CO



Sunday, we completely spaced on stake conference and didn't start getting ready for church until it was too late so we decided to head up to Denver and check out the sights. We headed over to one of Denver's numerous parks and one of its best - Washington Park. Or as it's known by the locals - Wash Park. What an absolutely fabulous and HUGE park. There's a lake, (a couple smaller lakes) plenty of greenspace, paved trails, a playground, old bathhouses, a small botanic garden, etc., etc., etc.

We rode one of those 4 wheeled bikes, which the kids thought were so fun. The guy told us we'd have time to ride around the park twice, but since Rick and I had to do most of the pedaling we opted for one time around. After leaving the park we drove around town and discovered all the hip areas people talk about. Can't wait to go back and do some more exploring. Love Denver! It feels so much less intimidating than SF that's for sure! Although I love SF too.
Wash Park - Denver, CO

Cute story!

This afternoon me and the younger boys met Aidan at the bus stop. As he and his friend Chase approached us, Chase blurted out, "Aidan swallowed his tooth (a loose one) at lunch today and was crying." So Aidan filled in the details. His friend at school gave him a Laffy Taffy (hate that stuff) and it yanked his tooth out and he swallowed it. He was really, really upset because he didn't think the tooth fairy would leave any money for him since he no longer had a tooth to leave for her. I explained to him all he needs to do is write her a note and I'm sure she'll leave him the money.

Poor little guy. When I got home from the doctor's office this afternoon (btw, Kellen is in the clear to resume normal life after his surgery) there was a missed called from the school. (Don't like seeing that because you don't know what that means....serious, not serious.....) Anyway, I guess it was his teacher calling me, probably hoping I'd be able to talk to Aidan and calm him down and let him know the tooth fairy will still leave him money.

Don't you wish life were so simple? The innocence of childhood.