Oh no she didn't!!!

OH YES SHE DID!!!

We are always telling Mattea what beautiful hair she has. It's getting very long, so we talked to her about getting it cut and donating it to Locks of Love. Well, she decided it was time (last night at bedtime!!!) to cut her hair for the sick little girl that needs it. One problem... SHE decided to be the stylist!!!

I was in awe as I assessed the damage. She cut bangs, but I was so thankful that she hadn't cut them to the scalp. She had taken a few chunks out of the sides, but again, it was salvageable. Josh told her "Mattea, you should be a hair cutter when you grow up, but you should get better at it first." I had to laugh!!!

This morning when Mattea came downstairs, I was sure she would have forgotten about the incident. Her first words to me were "Mommy, my hair didn't grow back last night while I was sleeping." Oh boy...

So, today, we took a trip to Lollilocks where I pleaded with the hair stylist to fix up my pretty girl. She did a great job. Mattea (and the rest of us) are getting used to her new look. I guess that sick little girl will have to wait awhile for Mattea's donation. Thank goodness her hair grows fast!!!

Christmas 2008 - We are so blessed!

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Lovin' the sunshine in Colorado...

Grandpa Pete & Grandma Carol arrived safely from Iowa on Sunday afternoon. Leaving the Midwest was very challenging for them as the roads were icy and the car was slip-slidin' away on the interstate. The kids were ecstatic when they arrived and talked animatedly to them from the second they stepped out of the car.

The weather was cool today, but thanks to the sunshine, it felt much warmer than it actually was. Grandma spent the morning playing beauty shop and tea party with Mattea while Grandpa, the boys and I went out to run a few errands. After lunch, we took the kids and the dogs to the park to burn off some energy. It worked especially well for Cody... he was fast asleep within seconds after returning home! The kids weren't quite worn out yet, so Josh & I played hockey in the street while Mattea played in the snow. Grandpa & Grandma "sunbathed" on the patio. Later, Grandpa came out to check on the action in the front and ended up in a snowball fight with Mattea. It was quite hysterical to watch... Mattea threw snow down Grandpa's pants and he retaliated with a handful right in her face. She whimpered a bit, but stayed tough and dished it right back to Grandpa! It was pretty sweet to be able to enjoy a walk to the park and a snowball fight on the same day!!! Ya gotta love the sunshine in Colorado!!!

Jeff's Christmas Party

We hosted Jeff's staff, their spouses and children at our house for a Christmas party on Friday night. We had a great turnout and I think everyone had a nice time. The food was catered by Annette and Sandy and I can't say enough wonderful things about them. There was a wide variety of food and drinks and it was all fantastic!!! They took care of everything, so it was very stress-free for Jeff & I. We received many nice host/hostess gifts as well. My father-in-law will be so impressed with all of the nice plants I have in the house now!!!

Our newest family member

You know me... I gotta tell the LONG version. So, here's the story.

Alex is a total animal lover. I wanted to surprise him on Christmas Day with a couple of gerbils. I had done the research and I knew that they would make good pets. They would give Alex something to play with, something to be responsible for... and apparently, they would be something for Indy to EAT if they were ever out of their cage when Indy was in the house. That was Jeff's response to my fabulous idea. His alternative was a puppy. I thought he was kind of kidding, but I wasn't opposed to the idea.

We talked more and more about it and Jeff decided to let Alex in on the idea so he could pick out his own puppy. Alex was beyond thrilled! He did the research and decided on a golden retriever. By this time, I was just as excited as Alex about it, so I began searching for breeders online. We found some 6-week old purebred golden retriever puppies just 3 miles away from us! It must be fate. The boys and I went to look at them and they were SOOOO cute!!! Nine little puppies running all over the place... playing, licking, tumbling, investigating, chasing. We knew we wanted a male, so we did our best to pick out the best male of the litter. We still had to talk to Jeff about it, so we sadly left the puppies. That night, we were still wild with excitement about the puppies. We convinced Jeff that he MUST come take a look. When he saw the way Alex's face lit up around those puppies, he was done. We talked to the breeder for quite some time about the puppies and his dogs. We didn't intend on coming home with a puppy that same night, but that's what ended up happening!

During the ride home, Alex named his new best friend... Cody. When we got home, we took great care to introduce Cody to Indy. Indy has been very good about having this new little critter in the house. Cody knows now that Indy doesn't like him taking his bone away (even though the bone was actually Cody's to start with!). Cody knows that Indy will tolerate him following him around (while Cody wags his tail like crazy), but if he invades Indy's personal space, he'll get nipped. Cody also knows that Indy is very likely to get up and move if Cody decides to lay down next to him. It's quite funny to watch them interact. I think they'll be buddies in no time and Indy will appreciate having the feisty little puppy around to keep him active.

So, that's the story of our adorable new family member. He is worth the middle of the night potty breaks and accidents on the carpet. Those will go away in time. The memories we are making with this little puppy and the impact he has already made on Alex will last a lifetime!!!

Our Trip Back to the Midwest

We headed back to the Midwest for a nice trip to visit family and friends, celebrate Thanksgiving, Mattea's birthday and attend a baby shower.

We spent several days with Kevin, Julie and Trae. They were such gracious hosts... we felt completely at home. We reconnected, played the Wii (so much that I got a really sore shoulder from bowling & tennis), swam at the hotel (thanks Grandma Carol & Grandpa Pete!), ate Happy Joe's pizza and generally just had a great time. We snuck in a photo shoot at the botanical center at VanderVeer Park in Davenport. The boys (young and old) weren't too happy about it, but they got over it! We hadn't had a Dolan family picture in several years, so we were long overdue. (Thanks for coordinating it, Jules!)

We spent time with the Bachmans' swimming at the hotel and then during a visit to Jungle Bungle. It was great to see them and the cousins had a fun time playing together as always. I snuck away for a couple hours to visit my BFF, Denise, while she was at a scrapbooking event. I worked on my Christmas cards and had a nice time catching up. I was sad to leave.

Jeff, Josh and I met some of the Augie volleyball players for a visit. It was really great to see them and we had a fun time hearing the stories about the 2008 volleyball season. Unbelievable! Jeff & I were both able to meet up with some old co-workers for lunch as well. It was great to catch up. We spent some time visiting with Grant & Lonnie. It's always nice to see old friends. While we were visiting at Grant & Lonnie's house, I snuck the kids out to their old friends' houses for surprise visits. Alex got to see Zack Freiburger, Josh visited Mason Morris and Mattea spent time with Mia Morris. Mattea scored 2 purses and a bunch of candy from sweet, little Mia. : )

We made time for a visit with the Ruff's, of course! We met them for breakfast on Sunday morning. It was just like old times. Mattea & Kora picked right up where they left off, I played some tic-tac-toe with Kelsey, we took an adorable picture of Kelsey & Josh (& Jeff brought up the arranged marriage idea AGAIN!), we listened as Kayla defended her reasons for wanting a cell phone, we heard about Stacey's incredible first season as the PV volleyball coach and we told them all about Colorado. We got some pictures of the kids on the tractors outside and before we knew it, it was time to say goodbye.

On Tuesday afternoon, we made a brief stop at my friend Gretchen's house. It was so nice to visit with her. She watched Mattea dance & play with her dog, she offered the kids fresh-baked chocolate chip cookies and her son, Josh & Alex were able to get in some play time. After that, we headed for Dubuque. We spent a couple days at Mom & Dad's. It was relaxing and wonderful to spend time in my childhood home again. It felt great to be home again! The boys looked through Grandma Judie's Christmas photo book which contained pictures of the grandkids from each Christmas since they were born. Grandma Judie & Grandpa Bob put their Christmas tree up extra early so it would be up while they gave Christmas presents to the kids. They surprised Jeff & I with presents as well. It's always nice to be spoiled!!!

On Thanksgiving, we headed up to Madison, Wisconsin to celebrate with my family... my WHOLE family! It was the first time in several years that we had all been together for a holiday. It was just wonderful to spend that time together. The food was amazing and my brothers & I were able to sneak in some catch with the football and a game of horse. Dad was able to get a great family picture with only one minor issue. ; ) The kids had a fantastic time playing with their new toys after we did a Christmas exchange. It was so nice of everyone to alter their holiday shopping plans to accommodate the Christmas exchange while we were back in town.

Later that day, we headed back to Dubuque for a Turkey Day celebration with Jeff's family. We had a fabulous meal and shared great conversation with the Dolan's, Mishler's and Skahill's. It was fun talking to Ryan & Michelle about their impending parenthood. Michelle was a glowing mother-to-be and Ryan seemed very excited about becoming a father. As if all the celebrating we had done wasn't enough, on Friday, we celebrated Mattea's birthday with a party at Grandma Carol & Grandpa Pete's. She was delighted with all of her gifts and reveled in the attention.

On Saturday morning, Mattea, Aunt Julie, Grandma Carol and I headed to Hy-Vee to host a baby shower in honor of Michelle. It was a Hawkeye-themed shower and we had a great turnout. Michelle got some really great gifts and she just beamed with excitement. I felt very lucky to be able to have a part in this special day. I can't wait to hear the news about Baby Skahill (well, Tyler Zachary if the ultrasound technician was right!!!).

As you can see, it was quite the jam-packed vacation... not necessarily as relaxing as what Jeff was looking for, but it was nice to see as many people as we did. The kids did so great traveling 14 hours there and back. (Doesn't mean we want to do that again any time soon!!!)

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!!!

Here's a video clip of Josh out shoveling today... for the 2nd time. The snow has been coming down like gangbusters. I'd say it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!