Grandma visits, Western Stock Show

Grandma and Grandpa came to visit shortly after Christmas and we have enjoyed a long visit with them...

This cool background was someplace - I can't remember. THat's why I need to do this more frequently.

Hugs and giggles at the Museum of Nature and Science. Favorite exhibit? Gems!

Whispers between the girls

Budding cowgirl

Alexis with bed head

Creativity flows through these veins

Stocking up on food for the Western Stock Show rodeo

Enjoying the show 

I am so thankful the Karen and David are willing to come out to us each Christmas. And I am thankful for the time spent with my mother. We live a good distance apart, so these weeks of daily time spent together are precious.

I also really enjoy outings with the kids these days. They are less work for me now, and they tend to really engage with the events happening around them. At the rodeo, Drew found $5. He was excited to buy his own concessions with the money and even shared some of the money with Belle. I thought that showed maturity.

Belle was mostly interested in the activities that involved girls. So the barrel racing was interesting, but we also watched shooting (where riders race around barrels and shoot balloons at the same time).

She is getting great at riding and we have upped her lessons to twice a month.

Christmas 2016

Each year, Christmas gets more and more special...decorating with the kids, their enthusiasm for the season, gifts, candy and fun -- it really perks up the spirit. We watched several of the must-see films of the season, but this year we added "Elf" to the repertoire. It's been in the "quote" bank ever since. The kids loved it. It is pretty funny. So now we own it, and as Annabelle said, It will be a tradition. Other traditions include the Parade of Lights downtown, Santa train (this year from Georgetown), and baking some cookies (we attempted snow men cookies this year made from cake balls.) We picked out a tree at Jared's and decorated together. We listened to lots of Christmas songs and talked quite a bit about the meaning of the season. I am so thankful for the memories and my babes little warm and happy hearts. This is a link to an album of our good times...

https://goo.gl/photos/6hxWrAiDCwJ6vyP3A

Christmas!

Ahh the smell of the fresh tree and the twinkly lights and the delicate ornaments that bring back memories...it's the most wonderful time of the year! Christmas concerts, Santa hats, kitties hiding in boxes full of crumpled paper. So fun.

Parade of Lights 2016

We all had such a great time at our first family Parade of Lights. At least, some of us had a good time once we got the layers figured out. We headed down to Denver, parked in the Denver Art Museum lot, ate at BurgerFi, and then walked over to the Parade just outside the City and County building. We saw them turn the lights on, and then hung out on an elevated marker and watched all the bands and paraders go by. 

Ears pierced

Annabelle decided she wanted her ears pierced, and once she did she never changed her mind. So I took her off to Claire's - the go to piercing place. She was a brave little girl, not flinching at all when they were done. The first picture is her 'before' picture.

Drew's 8th Birthday!

8 years old. He is full of energy, growing like a weed, eating a ton of food, drawing dragons, playing minecraft, riding mountain bikes, enjoying the outdoors, making good friends, being a Cub Scout, wearing a tooth expander for straight teeth, doing well in school,  reading above his grade level, torturing his sister, loving on his kitty, giving random hugs to his parents, and a smart, handsome (I know you hate that when I say that!) young man. We love you very much, Drew! Happy Birthday!