Megan’s 3*th Birthday :)

Last Saturday we celebrated Megan’s Birthday (Brandon’s Sister) by having a family lunch at a Posh Little Restaurant in Southglenn called Ivy at the Glenn. Unfortunately the kids and I had to go solo since Brandon had to work, but nonetheless it was a fun afternoon spent with the fam. Here are a few pictures from her 3*th Birthday (I am respecting her wishes in censoring what Birthday this actually is for her), love ya Meg! 

Aunt Bev, Mimi, Megan & Bailey

GG & Papa Nick

Owen & Aunt Rose

Cousins & their Ice Cream Cones. If your wondering where Owen’s is, well….he ate it in 2.2 bites :)

The Whole Gang!

 

Happiest of Birthdays Megan!

Autumn the Snack Helper

Yesterday Autumn was Snack Helper at Pre-School. Each kid gets to be snack helper once each month(ish). It’s a very exciting day for them because not only do they get to bring a snack of their choice to share with their class, they also get to help serve the snack to their classmates AND they get to be line leader for the day. It is such an exciting day for them. Autumn has watched Owen for 2 years take snack to school so she was SO happy that it was finally her turn.

For snack she requested to bring Chocolate Chip Banana Carrot Mini Muffins (she even helped me make them), Grapes (green grapes to be exact, she was very specific that we got green and not purple), and V8 VFusion Juice. Mrs. Stacy said all the kids loved the snack and Autumn had the cutest cheek to cheek grin when I picked her up. I forgot to take a picture of her with her very 1st Preschool Snack before heading off to school, so we did it with the leftovers when she got home :)

My little Snack Helper!

Week in Review…

Here is a bit of our week in review.

Owen gets a lot of fliers sent home in his Friday Folder at school. While looking through them, I found a flier for 5 Roller Skate lessons for 5-8 year olds for $30. The lessons are 1 hour a week on Saturdays. We thought it sounded like a fun activity for Owen and for the price you can’t really beat it. Weeeellllllll, it didn’t really go over very well. Owen was so excited, but after about 15 minutes of falling down over and over he was ready to throw in the towel. He is such a perfectionist and if he doesn’t pick something up quickly he pretty much shuts down. It kind of drives us crazy, but we are doing our best to be sensitive to his feelings/personality even if we don’t understand it. It was so frustrating because he skates so well and with such confidence on the carpet (which I realize is easier) but wont even try when he’s out on the rink. BUT, since we prepaid for the class (even though it wasn’t very much) we are making him finish out the 5 weeks, even if he stands holding onto the wall the entire hour. It’s the principal that weather you like it or not, you much try your best and finish instead of giving up just because something is challenging. He did better last week compared to the first week, but he is still very nervous to let go of the wall.

Hopefully the next 3 weeks help him improve his confidence.

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That same weekend we attended 2 Birthday Parties on the same day, back to back in between going to church and then going back to church to volunteer. Our day went like this: Church @ 9am, Raylynn’s Party @ 11am, Emma’s Party @ 2pm, and then Church again @ 5pm. One Party was for Owen’s really good friend Emma & the other was for Autumn’s sweet little friend Raylynn. Raylynn’s party was first at a park close by. She had a Hello Kitty Themed party with great food that was catered by Qdoba & she had a super fun Pinata. Right after her party we headed over to The Ridge Community Center for Emma’s swim party. She had a jungle themed party and all the kids had a BLAST swimming. It was such a fun day celebrating two really sweet friends.

Raylynn is a very calm and relaxed kid and Autumn is…..well, just crazy. They are the cutest together and get along great :)

Autumn had zero interest in hitting the Pinata. Owen on the other hand beat it until it busted open with candy. Way to go buddy!

Collecting the goods in their party bags!

Then it was off to celebrate Emma!

The B-day Party Crew :)

And I think it’s safe to say that after being gone from the house from 8:30am until 6:30pm we were pooped!

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I switched Autumn’s gymnastic day from Thursday mornings to Wednesday mornings because of her Preschool schedule. This is the first time they have offered a Wednesday morning class so the class is REALLY small, usually 2 or 3 kids. It’s great because she is basically getting one on one lessons for the same price. Sometimes Coach Barb will let Owen come and join the class (free of charge) which is so fun for them both.

 

The absolute favorite. Pulling each other on the scooter by dragging them with a hula hoop!

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And here are just some random pictures of me and the kids enjoying the rare downtime we get,

This kid is the KING of Scrabble Jr.

My little geeks!

The kids are in a phase where they LOVE to take silly pictures on my phone. The kicker is I have to participate too, whatever makes them happy I suppose.

Here is Owen reading us the mad lib on his menu at Jason’s Deli. Fun family dinner outing!

Me & my boy!

Waiting at the dentist office is terrible these days. Both check ups went perfecto and no cavities or dental problems to report. Yay!

And here we are this weekend soaking up the tiny bit of sunny weather at the park in the midst of all the crazy Rain Storms we have been having. Luckily we weren’t a part of the Terrible Flooding disasters that were happening all around us. Our poor state has been hit with such devastation. Thank you to all our wonderful friends and family who reached out to us to make sure we were okay. The news said there were more people hit & evacuated than Hurricane Katrina. So so sad, but thankful we were safe and sound with just lots of rain :(

Thankful for all the moisture we desperately needed, but not thankful for all the people that were affected, lives lost, and the thousands of homes that were damaged/destroyed. One of Brandon’s Aunt’s vacation home up in Boulder was hit very badly with a mudslide that broke some windows on her 1st floor. She had ton’s of irreplaceable items (Family Photo’s, Books, Christmas Decorations, Ect.) that were destroyed. Please keep them in your prayers and they work to restore their beautiful home.

Jorge’s Visit from Panama

For those of you who don’t know, one of Brandon’s Best Friends lives in Panama. He is actually from there, went to Colorado State University Pueblo (where Brandon went) on a Tennis Scholarship, and then after graduating he moved back to Panama. Brandon and Jorge met their Freshman Year of College in the Dorm Hall & have been Best Friends since that very day. He was in our wedding, Brandon was in his, etc. etc. They have remained great friends despite the VERY long distance between them and skype each other as often as possible with time changes, work, wives, and babies.

Well, a week(ish) ago, Jorge decided to come for a super quick visit for 2 reasons. 1 to see his Best Friend, and 2 to see his beloved Denver Broncos play the very 1st game of the 2013-2014 football season. This was a very special trip for them both since these two only get to see each other about once every 2 years! He flew in Wednesday & left Saturday morning. It was so wonderful having him here and Brandon really enjoyed some quality Guy Time & a couple extra days off of work. Here is a small run down of his trip here.

Thursday morning we dropped Autumn off at Preschool and we headed to Snooze for Breakfast. Snooze is our favorite breakfast place here. We love taking company there as they have some of the BEST breakfast I have even eaten, the Pancakes are out of this world!

Waiting for our delicious food. Jorge was VERY impressed with how delicious it was :) Mission accomplished.

While Owen was at school & Autumn was napping, the guys reverted back to their childhood and played some Old School Nintendo.

Nerds! Jorge was talking to his beautiful wife back home & checking in on his sweet baby boy Jorge Jr. aka Jac. It is so fun listening to him speak in Spanish to his family. He speaks such great English you completely forget Spanish is his first/primary language, my kids were fascinated!

After we picked Owen up from Kindergarten (he was thrilled Jorge with us waiting for him after school), I dropped Brandon & Jorge off at the Light Rail Station to head down to the Stadium. They left early to meet up with some other friends that were going to the game for some pregame drinks & dinner.

Here are the boys (Autumn too) all ready to head off to the Broncos vs. Ravens season opener game!

They got some amazing seats and got to watch one of the best games! Lucky boys!

They were even able to meet up with two of their other old College Buddies Dan & Reed.

Meanwhile, back at home the kids and I watched/cheered on the Broncos while making some homemade Brownies with homemade Frosting! Yum!

 

And to all you parents worried about Raw Egg consumption, Life is short let them lick the Beaters, we survived!!!!

GOOOOOOOO BRONCOS!!!!!!!!!!!

Friday morning I made the guys some of my Famous Blueberry Chocolate Chip Baked Oatmeal for Breakfast before they took off to Pueblo, CO for the day. They decided to go spend the day there, walk the CSU Pueblo Campus to see how much has changed, and to meet up with some of their old buddies. They got home around 4pm, mainly to beat rush hour traffic in Colorado Springs. While I was busy cooking up dinner, they guys took the kids outside to play & throw the football.

 

Mimi came over to join us for dinner and to spend sometime with Jorge while he was in town.

The menu was Grilled Steak, Grilled Corn on the Cob, and Mashed Potatoes, YUM-O!

After dinner we overindulged in Dessert(s), put the kids to bed, and watch a movie together. A perfect ending to a wonderful visit with Jorge.

 

For Dessert we had my Homemade Brownies topped with Frosting, and there was also a bowl of my frosting with Strawberries, Graham Crackers & Marshmallows to dip in it, my Gluten Free option for Mimi :)

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We are so very grateful for the time we got with Jorge even though the trip flew by. He has a 5 month old baby & a beautiful wife he was anxious to get home to so his trip was much shorter than any of our liking. Next time he plans to bring the family (wasn’t possible yet since baby Jac doesn't have a Passport). I am dying to meet his wife as we have been Pen Pals for a couple years now. Brandon has promised to take me & the kids to Panama sometime to visit them, but that will probably be a few years out as plane tickets there for a family of 4 our a bit pricy. Thanks again for coming to see us and for the very generous one of a kind gifts you brought us! Until next time!