Christmas

Christmas time is such a wonderful time of year to spend time with family and friends! This year the kids were out of school the week before Christmas and it was nice for them to spend some time at home and not have anything to worry about but having fun. We enjoyed Christmas eve at my parents house with my brother and his family. For Christmas day everyone came to our house and we enjoyed dinner with my family and Kim and Allen. Now the kids were spoiled this year for Christmas, but they were also very appreciative this year. It is an amazing feeling to have your children get the true meaning of Christmas....family and friends!

SANTA!

There is nothing better than visiting Santa before Christmas and getting the little butterflies in your stomach when it gets close to your turn to tell Santa the one special gift you are hoping to get for Christmas. Tonight was that night for the kiddos and they couldn't of been more excited. The hardest or should we say the saddest moment for any parent is realizing that one of your children knows that oh so special secret about Santa and there is no going back. Yes, we are there but I have to say he did a great job loving Santa just as much as Samantha and remembering truly what Christmas is all about. To see this young boy take his little sister's hand and walk up to Santa with a little skip in her step and guide her through one of the greatest moments a child can have is priceless. No matter what the age Santa is always one of the memories that everyone will remember and enjoy forever.

We are thankful...

Its hard to believe it is the end of November and we are celebrating Thanksgiving and Christmas is right around the corner. We have had a great year, but man has it gone by fast! Here it is Thanksgiving time and we need to stop and say what we are most thankful for. Each of the kiddos made a turkey with what they were thankful for, Samamtha started with her family and ended with her best friend Leah. It was so sweet to hear her celebrate her friendship with Leah because she adores her so much. They are two peas in a pod when they are together and I hope it is a friendship that goes on forever. Jack was also thankful for his family and he made sure to celebrate his love for baseball. Since the day he could walk we think he loved the game of baseball. He is looking forward to spring season and can't wait to start practicing with his teammates. We as well are thankful for our family and friends who make this fast moving life a lot of fun to live! Enjoy one another and show those you love your heart!

Gotta love Halloween!

There is nothing better than a warm fall day of 70 degree weather and the kids getting ready for Halloween. This year Samantha chose to be Goldilocks because it is her favorite story right now. Jack on the other hand wanted something cool and chose to be Maverick from Top Gun. Jack's nickname on his football team, other than Sloan, is Maverick so it was very fitting. Every year Chris and I also attend a neighborhood costume party just for adults and this year we tried to think outside the box and go with something different....okay it was just for fun and it got lots of laughs and everyone knew who we were right away :0) We love this time of year and this year did not disappoint. We loved carving pumpkins and the kids are getting pretty good at it. They did 95% of the carving themselves. They enjoyed trick or treating with their friends in the neighborhood and got lots of candy. The air is definitely getting cooler and before we know it Thanksgiving will be here.

We love this time of year! All the leaves are changing colors and the 70 degree days are just wonderful! This has been an amazing fall seasson this year and no fall would be complete without a trip to the pumpkin patch. We missed the pumpkin festival due to football, but we still made it out to the pumpkin patch. No matter what the age they still love going on a mission to find the perfect pumpkin. Jack was very meticulous in choosing his pumpkin while Samatha wanted one with no worm holes and one she could carry herself. The day was beautiful and the pumpkin patch wasn't crowded, just a perfect day. Chris and I love to see the kids big smiles after a day like the pumpkin patch. Its even better when they say, "This was the best day ever!"

Spirit Week

The kiddos love spirit week at school because they get to dress crazy and do fun things at school. The first day was crazy hair day and probably the one the kids like the best. Jack wanted a colored mohawk and Samantha wanted colored hair. The other days involved pajama day, sports day and of course Redstone day. The kids had some of the best crazy hair at the school and they were both pulled out of their classes to have their pictures taken for the yearbook. It was a fun week and they are already talking about what they are going to do for spirit week in the spring time :0)

Are you ready for some football...

Well football season has begun here in beautiful Colorado and Jack is ready for a great season. The Mustangs are returning twelve players from last year and will have ten new ones. The veterans are going to have to step up and help the new guys out to learn the system quickly to have a successful season. Now while Jack is a baseball guy, he loves the game of football. He has gone out this year with a fire we love to see. He has been a hard hitter and someone who can lay down a great block. Jack plays on both defense and offense and is looking for his next tackle that causes a fumble or a quarterback sack! There is also the run down the field for a great catch as well. We love the fall time air and the smell of the grass that means its time to play some football! Let's go Mustangs and get it done this year! Go #4!

Samantha turns 5!

Our baby turned 5 this week! We can't believe how fast the time has gone! Samantha is such an amazing little girl. She is adventurous and sassy all in one little body. She has been waiting to have her birthday at the salon with her friends. She took two of her closest friends to the salon Sweet and Sassy so they could get their fingers and toes painted and have their hair done. All the girls chose a little glittter make-up and some hair tinsel. It was so much fun watching them get all dolled up and see the smiles on their faces. We love Samantha so much and we look forward to all the great things five will bring us :0)

First day of school

Well the time has come already, yes the first day of school. It seems so early this year starting on the first of August. The summer went by so fast this year, but the kiddos are excited to start so we are too. This will be Samantha's year, she is off to kindergarten. She can't wait to be at the school all day like her brother. Jack will start fourth grade and he just seems so grown up! He is a big helper with Samantha and its nice having him there to protect her. Always on the first day of school we walk together with the neighborhood kids. They all looked so cute and were so happy. Its hard to believe this is where we are, but its also exciting to see them grow and change and become great people!

South Dakota-Montana-Wyoming

Well as most of you know I have this crazy idea to take the kids to all the states in the US by the time they are twenty one so you know what that means...we have to do some road trips! So we loaded up the car and we were down the road through the beautiful hills of Wyoming to South Dakota. What an amazing place, we loved Mount Rushmore, Crazy Horse, cave tours, alpine slides and zip lines. We did everything that we could do in Rapid City, Sturgis and Deadwood. Then it was off to Montana and Little Bighorn's battlefield, otherwise known as Custer's battlefield. Some great sites to see there as well but the world's largest shoe, size 32, takes the cake. Our last stop was Devil's Tower, Wyoming. There is nothing better than seeing the spot where aliens arrived and took our people. Okay that may have been in a movie, but it sure was a cool place to see. The Cheyenne Frontier Days was going on so we stopped in and heard Kid Rocks sound check and picked up a pink cowboy hat for Samantha. Needless to say the time went by way to fast, it was way too hot, but most of all it was the best family time we have had in a long time. Everyone was laughing and just happy to be together and we saw some great stuff!

Kenny Chesney

For the last couple years Jack has been bugging us about going to a concert and we have always told him they are too loud and he has to be older. So when Kenny Chesney decided to come to Denver and it was at Red Rocks, an outdoor venue, we knew we had to make it happen for him. Chris went on the hunt to get tickets, which was tough because his first show sold out in seconds so they added two other shows and thankfully he found some! We did not tell Jack about the tickets, we just told him we were having a special night with him. We sent Samantha over to Mimi and Pa's for the night and away we went. As we pulled in to the parking lot of Red Rocks Jack said, "Isn't this the place where all the concerts are?" Once he looked around the secret was no more and the biggest smile came over his face. He could not believe we brought him to Kenny Chesney. It was an amazing night with a lot of rain, but it was well worth it to watch him be in awe and sing along to every song. Kenny closed the night with the song "The Boys of Fall" Jack's favorite song about football. It was such a great night and a moment we will remember forever!

T-BALL

Samantha is finally old enough to be like her brother. For some time now she has asked when she can baseball like the boys. Well the time has come and she has loved it! She is playing on her first t-ball team with her cousin Brody. They both look so cute in their Texas orange jerseys and have really seemed to catch on to the game quickly. Samantha is a lefty but she bats right handed. Once she learned what she was suppose to do she was off hitting the ball and fielding her grounders. It has been a lot of fun watching these two be like their big brothers :0)