Snow to Blow

Keith has been waiting for this day all winter.

The day when there would be enough snow to snow blow.

Single, Spare, Strike

After spending SIX DAYS with the Kristi and Patrick, we were having withdrawals   Sometimes we're like teenage girls (yes, even the guys).  I can hear my mom, "you just spent six days together, what possibly could you have to talk about now?".  

So, we went bowling, with the boys.

We took note very early on, bowling with the boys is no where near the same as hanging on the beach in Mexico, kid free.  In case you were wondering.

It took some time for our lane to become available.  Coincidental, there was an arcade.  Those bowling alley peeps are smart people.

Then, they called our lane.

(Que antique photo lighting.  Required in bowling photos, even if there are neon lights)

(Que Saturday Night Fever Music)

(I don't recall if there is bowling in Saturday Night Fever, but looking at this photo I expect Kellan to bust out the John Travolta strut at any moment.)

Owen was like an old pro.  He learned to bowl while we were in Mexico and he sailed the balls down the lane like he had been doing it for seven days.

Oliver wasn't going to let seven days of lead time detour him.  He placed his fingers appropriately and chucked it down the lane.

Then he watched it roll and roll and roll.

It is no surprise that Kellan was a "by-self" bowler.

Whoop Whoop and the pins fall DOWN!

Look at that form.

We waited.... Kellan never dropped the ball on his foot or anyone else's.

He eventually decided that he liked to watch the ball roll down the ramp.

However, he had to put it on the ramp "by-self".

That's right Peeps, #1.

Take note of the Winner Winner Chicken Dinner!

(Fortunately, Oliver and Owen tied.  That could have made for an interesting afternoon if they hadn't)

Honey, we're not in Mexico anymore.

Rockin Another Year of Geoff Greatness

Rock On, Geoff, it's your birthday!!

Geoff has been friends with Keith since WAY back in the day.  The days where Keith was still an engineering student at CSU and before they were both married with children.  The stories they tell are hilarious and seeing them together is magical.  We were so excited to be able to celebrate with Geoff at the Tasty Weasel, the tasting room for Oskar Blues in Longmont.  Geoff works at Oskar Blues and we always love an opportunity to support him and especially to celebrate his birthday.

Geoff and Stephanie.

As a special treat, Geoff's band was playing at the Tasty Weasel that night and they celebrated their anniversary.  The band sounded great and it was so fun to see them play.

BFF's, Keith and Geoff.

Date night at the Tasty Weasel

Keith and Carrie and our killer Meixcan tans.

The Four Friends:

Carrie, Keith, Geoff and Stephanie

Happy Birthday, Geoff!!

Thanks for letting us celebrate another year of Geoff Greatness!!

Kellan's Happy Place

After a hectic week of school, Kellan's happy place is often parked in front of the toy bins where he spends time talking with his animals.

When he realizes there is an audience, he leaves the scene quickly in order to avoid any evidence of his casual animal chats.

Valentines Day 2013

While we were in Mexico, the boys made Mommy necklaces for Valentines Day.  Oliver was SO excited to give them to me.  I picked a special outfit and wore one to work that very day.

The kids had parties at school and when I arrived, the party was in full swing.  I gasped with the sheer volume of goodies on the tables.  It was like Halloween gone pink!

Oliver was wearing his Valentines Shirt under his Primrose shirt.  When I walked in, a little girl came running up and with a big smile she told me "Oliver's a Heart Breaker.  His shirt even says he is.".  This was a different girl that the one who came up to a me a few days earlier and with a big smile said "I have a crush on Oliver".  Apparently, we have a ladies man on our hands.

After some time in Oliver's class, we ventured over to Kellan's class where we found him working on art project.

There is no shortage of love between these two boys.  

At home, Kellan discovered that he had a Valentines sucker in his Valentine Box.

Giddy Up, Kellan's loving his lollipop, the ladies and he's full of LOVE!

Sometimes the camera catches his crazy expressions.  Oh Kellan, we love all of your animation.

My heart swoons for this little Ladies Man.

I feel for the hearts that will break over these two boys.

Happy Valentines Day!

We hope that your home will over flowing with love as our was.

While the Cats are Away

As the saying goes...

While the cats are away, the mice will play.

Not that I think of myself as a cat or our children as mice.  If that were the case, I would be chasing them around the house in pursuit of a tasty treat instead of a good game of tag.  Yet, maybe we are more like house cats since they prefer to just play with mice instead of viewing them as a survival technique.  Regardless, while Mom and Dad were soaking up the sun in Mexico, our munchkins were soaking up the spoiling by Grandma.

Their first day alone, Oliver had swim lessons.  Grandma didn't tell me about this adventure until I was taking her to the airport.  It's probably a good thing because it about gave me a heart attack.  For the first time, they took the kids to the big pool.  Many of the kids, Oliver included, don't know how to swim.  There were several scary moments for Grandma and she watched Oliver and the other kids struggle, but he did show improvement.  I remind myself that this is why we hire people to teach our kids to swim instead of doing it our self.

Why?

Because, we would never let them jump in the deep end.

The boys had an amazing time and when we got home, Oliver looked me straight in the eye and said, "We had more fun that you did".   Movie nights, yummy kid favorite dinners, new parks and toy stores; in their opinion, they definitely had more fun.

Grandma got to know the kids at school quite well.  One boy was always quick to ask what was for dinner, then, he would tell them what his Grandma cooks him for dinner.  One of his suggestions was Mac and Cheese with hot dogs in it.  So, Grandma whipped it up for the boys.  They loved it!

They had craft time after dinner.

This is why Grandma is amazing.  She thinks of these things that would never cross my mind.  They worked on their fine motor skills while making bead jewelry.

They were SO proud of their creations.  Oliver is proudly displaying the jewelry that he gave his Mommy for Valentines Day.

Kellan is proudly wearing the necklace that he made for Mommy for Valentines day.

They even engaged Mickey in a horse race.

(I have NO idea why Oliver's pants are unbuttoned.  Maybe the Mac and Cheese and hot dogs were button popping good)

Grandma brought along her punches and introduced the boys to this fun activity.  Again, they loved it.

On Saturday morning, the boys got a special treat with a few minutes of Face Time with Mommy and Daddy on the computer.  We all LOVED it!

When I saw the pictures, I knew Grandma was pulling out all of the stops.  Cereal, pancakes bacon and eggs. Really?  That's like two breakfasts in one.  Can you say SPOILED ROTTEN?!

The boys had a daily treat from Mommy and Daddy.  This was great fun for them, plus, it helped them gauge how many days of spoiling they had left.

One day they got little green army men with parachutes which fell nicely from the second floor.

They also got some little foam animals in capsules.

They had some quality weekend time in the playroom, which is always a great treat.

Kellan's foam animals magically appeared after nap time.

They went in search of a new cool park.

The park even had pine trees, just like at Grandma's house.

They explored a new toy store, where Kellan pushed a shopping cart in circles around the store as he chased the train that rode on the tracks near the ceiling.

McDonald's provided for a super special treat.

Followed by downtime TV.

They ate and ate and ate.  Grandma must know a way to a boys heart, through their stomach (and toy collection).

They found this cool new stomp rocket at the toy store.  It's a big hit for all.

Another day of treats from Mommy and Daddy.

Grandma's birthday was the Tuesday that she was with the boys so Oliver treated her to Starbucks where they had a great birthday party, complete, with a special treat they each got to pick out.

Happy Birthday Grandma!!

With Valentines Day approaching, they put together their Valentines for their Someone Special.

They spent some time outside where Oliver worked on his perfect aim.

He was sharing the love with the neighborhood as he was shooting conversation heart candies.

Kellan snuggled on the couch with his friends after nap.

Bath time was always a fun time.

With all of this fun, there were academics involved too with new activity books.

Tuesday was Grandma's birthday AND a school field trip to the Colorado History Museum!!

Grandma got to go along as a chaperon and she even rode on the bus.

On the way to the museum, Oliver rode with Owen.

Learning about a buffalo and what the settlers used their parts for.  Yes, that's Oliver exploring the bison's back end.  Always a curious boy.

On the way back to the school, Grandma and Oliver got to share a seat.

THANKS Again to Grandma for spending time spoiling the boys while the cats were away at play.