Picture of the Day -- Week 23

June 5th – Bryan & Lauren’s wedding was magical. The morning of the wedding, it was absolutely dreary and pouring down rain. By the time, we were leaving the hotel to go to the church, the sun was shining and it had turned into a beautiful day. Bryan was a handsome groom and Lauren a beautiful bride. It is very obvious that they were made for each other.


June 6th – We spent the day at the outdoor water park at Fun City in Burlington, Iowa. It was a part of the hotel we stayed at for the wedding. The kids enjoyed the slides and the lazy river. For lunch, we had one of their famous 28 inch pizzas. It was humongous! We hung out with our cousins and had a great time!


June 7th – We made it to Mom & Dad’s house today. We’ll be staying here for a week and then heading to Pete & Carol’s for a week. We had to say goodbye to Daddy today, but we all know he is looking forward to a quiet house for a couple weeks! Josh and I played catch today and then I pitched him a few balls before the humidity was just too much. Well, that and he can hit the crap out of the ball and I got tired of chasing after the balls!!!


June 8th – The kids had an awesome time hanging out at Grandma Judie & Grandpa Bob’s house this week. They watched movies, did puzzles, colored pictures and played outside. I took this picture on one of the sunnier days during our visit.


June 9th – Kelly and her kids came to Dubuque for a visit. We had a nice chat while the kids played and then we headed to The Shot Tower for some pizza. The kids always have a great time playing with each other.


June 10th – Our visit to Iowa so far has been dreary, rainy and muggy. Today, the sun came out for a bit, so we busted out the Slip N Slide. The kids had a blast!


June 11th – Alex taught Grandpa Bob how to play Bakugan. Grandpa was very patient while Alex explained the rules. It was so cute to see them playing together.

Picture of the Day -- Week 22

May 29th – My friend, Shelley, and I organized a roller skating party followed by an outdoor movie for our neighborhood. The roller skating party was a blast! Shelley had her garage and driveway all set up like a roller rink and she served hot dogs, chips, lemonade and ice cream sandwiches. At the end of the party, the kids took turns trying to break open the disco ball piñata.


May 30th – We made a trip to visit Uncle Terry at Keystone. After a great lunch, we headed up the gondola to the top of the ski resort. Jeff got an inside look at the electrical components of the lift while the kids and I goofed around in the snow and took in the amazing views.


May 31st – After breakfast and some play time at a nearby park, Terry & Duke took us on a hike in Dillon, CO. We had a great time exploring.


June 1st – Jeff taught the boys to help out with the yard work. Alex mows the lawn and Josh weed whacks. I am thrilled that the boys are old enough to do it. I’m sure they’re less than thrilled.


June 2nd – Sometimes, I just have to take a picture of Mattea. She’s just so cute... I can’t help myself. Those eyes, that smile, her fun personality. I’m captivated.


June 3rd – This is the wedding gift I made for Bryan and Lauren. Actually, I took this picture before I changed the top right section, but that’s okay. You get the gist. When we received their “Save the Date” Christmas card, I knew I had to do something crafty for their wedding gift because the pictures on that card were just fabulous. I hope they like it!


June 4th – Technically, this picture is from June 5th, but since we don’t get to see family as often as we want to, I am including this family picture from the wedding. This is us all gussied up for Bryan & Lauren’s wedding.

Picture of the Day -- Week 21

May 22nd – Mattea is fearless. She was playing in the backyard for a bit and I went to check on her. I found her climbing the tree… in her pajamas!!! She’s quite the little monkey.


May 23rd – Breakfast today was homemade blueberry pancakes and fruit. This was my first time using blueberries for the pancakes (I usually use chocolate chips!) and they turned out so yummy!


May 24th – One of the favorite end-of-school year events is Field Day. The boys have such a fun time doing relay races with their friends and generally just goofing around. Josh showed pure concentration when he was the anchor on the tug-o-war team.


May 25th – Alex & Josh brought home their awards that they received today during the A-Track Awards Ceremony. They received awards for physical fitness, Chess Club, Handbell Choir, Spelling Bee, Field Day and the Reading Together program. We are so proud of them!


May 26th – I made a cake and decided to go all “Martha Stewart” and decorate it with fruit. I was pretty happy with how it turned out. The kids thought it looked way cool!


May 27th – Alex & Josh totally got into the spirit (pun intended) for Spirit Day at Rolling Hills. We made a trip to Party City for the hats and flags. The hats were a little big (nearly engulfing Josh’s entire head), but they sure looked cute!!! (Notice their forced grins as I made them stand on the front porch for a picture!)


May 28th – Today was 5th grade “Continuation” at Rolling Hills. Alex got all decked out for the ceremony and he looked extremely handsome. The ceremony included encouraging words from the principal and his teacher, a slideshow of pictures throughout the year and the distribution of diplomas. Alex was very proud!

Picture of the Day -- Week 20

May 15th – This was the scene in Josh’s room this morning. His lovely sister finagled her way into his bed to sleep last night and then ended up sprawled over him while he slept. Sibling love at its best. (Although, I’m sure he gave her a good shove when he woke up to that!)


May 16th - Alex’s creativity never ceases to amaze me. His Lego creations are always very cool! I hope he never stops playing with Legos.


May 17th – Mattea likes her hamburgers with extra pickles. Today, she had me put even more on her burger and the pickles seemed to overwhelm the burger, but she was a happy girl. Hey – whatever sizzles your bacon!


May 18th – Josh’s best buddy turned ten, so Josh made his “famous” cake. Justin and his family (including the dog!) enjoyed the cake very much! Josh is such a sweet friend.


May 19th – Mattea helps around the house when she is asked… most of the time! One of her jobs is putting away the clean silverware from the dishwasher. She does a great job and is very happy to help out the family.


May 20th – I just love this picture of Josh rollerblading. It’s totally him… messy hair, cute smile, peace signs and wearing about 6 lei’s.


May 21st – Tonight, the Thomas family came over for a fire. We had a wonderful grilled steak dinner and then enjoyed a nice night chatting by the fire. Oh, and yes, there were s’mores!!!

Picture of the Day -- Week 19

May 8th – Mattea made this gift in preschool for me for Mother’s Day. She was SO proud and it made me so happy! I have it hanging on the door to my office so I can see it everyday!


May 9th – I signed up for the Mother’s Day 5k race at City Park in Denver. I have been running at least 4 times a week since mid-March, so I decided it was time to put my training to the test. My family (including Uncle Terry) came to cheer me on. It was so motivating to have their support. Josh even ran with me for the last mile and a half. The day was beautiful and spending the day with family was priceless.


May 10th – I got my legs totally fried at one of Josh’s baseball games. I had lathered up the kids with sunscreen and forgot about myself. As you can see, I was wearing capri pants, so I have ridiculous looking tan lines.


May 11th – Mattea was having a tantrum about not being able to play with Hanna, so I decided to find the humor in the moment instead of letting her antics get me all worked up, too. She was NOT happy when she heard the camera click!


May 12th – This morning we woke up to a lovely snowfall. Oh wait… it wasn’t so lovely BECAUSE IT’S MAY!!! I don’t understand snow in May. May is supposed to be flowers and sunshine. Okay, I’m done with my tantrum now. : )


May 13th – Alex is really stretching out. I remember when the top of his head came to the bottom of my chin and all of a sudden, he’s up to my nose! Of course, his “Q-Tip” hair in this picture gives him a couple inches!


May 14th – Mattea loves to be creative! She loves to color, draw, write and paint.

Yeah, it's been awhile...

Sorry about my lack of posting lately. I had some laptop issues which have since been resolved (THANKS, KEVIN!!!) and I got really, really, really behind on my POTD (picture-of-the-day) project. Apparently, it's been since May 7th that I have posted. Luckily, I haven't stopped taking pictures, so I just need to get them organized and posted. We also attended a family wedding recently and I must post about that, too, because it was so much fun! Updates soon, I promise! TTFN...

Alex is SOOOOOO done with elementary school

On Friday, May 28th, we attended the 5th Grade Continuation Ceremony at Rolling Hills Elementary. Alex's class walked into the gymnasium all dressed up and looking like graduates! Alex downplays his emotions quite a bit, but I know he felt very proud and was so happy that we were there to watch him finish up his last day of elementary school. The principal said some words and read a poem that made me cry. Shocking? Not really. Then Alex's teacher, Mrs. Nolte said some very nice things about the school year and made me cry again. [sigh] After that, we watched a slide show containing pictures of the kids throughout the school year. It was highly entertaining and very touching. More tears. Alex received his diploma and I completely missed taking a picture of it because my camera somehow got set on the self-timer option and I couldn't get it off fast enough. I was totally bummed, but Jeff got a kick out of it. After the ceremony, Alex's class went to The Trails Recreation Center for a pool party. It was a totally awesome day!