Thomas and Friends!

This week has flown by so fast. Not sure where time has gone but we always remain busy. Today we took the kids to Thomas and Friends again at the Colorado Rail Museum. It was amazing, Brayden remembered last year that we had to take a bus to get to Thomas. That was a year ago and he was barely 2! So needless to say he was really looking forward to this year. Tonight when I was putting him to bed he said this, "Thank you so much Mom for taking me to Thomas today. I really loved it. It was so exciting!". Talk about melting your heart!!!

Here are some pictures from this week:

Avery was jamming to music on Joel's phone, it was so cute!

I love my Daddy!
Riding on Thomas!!
Brayden and the Conductor
Look Sis, isn't this awesome!
I love my Mommy!
Avery was really in love with Fifi the Flower
Thomas!!
Hey there little llama, whatcha doing?
This is the cutest little pony I ever have seen! He's just my size.
Ok, listen goat, last year you knocked me over into your poop. Let's not replay that one.

B loves the firefighters

G&G Coppin come for a visit

On Sunday Joel's parents called to see if it would be OK to come over the weekend to visit. They were on their way to Wisconsin to a brewery/golfing vacation and wondered if they could see us...... I know what you are thinking, Wisconsin via Colorado?? Anyway, they came on Friday afternoon just in time for Joel and I to take off to Colorado Springs for Hilary Schutt's wedding. It was perfect, they could spend time withe kids and we got a free night out!

Hilary and Angus had a beautiful outdoor wedding. The weather turned out for them as it had been raining and cold all day. Congratulations!!!! It was a great surprise also to see an old college girlfriend, Heidi, that I hadn't seen in 6 yrs! Another great note from the night is that I saw a gal from high school that I hadn't seen in 10 years. To make short, we had been friends then things happened and were not. It was so nice to be able to put the past in the past and we both said our apologies and life moves on. Looking back, it all was too bad that it happened because we could have been friends this whole time. I guess you live and learn and somethings are just not worth a grudge! Life is too short!!

Saturday morning Momma wasn't feeling so good! Let's just say I had fun Friday night. But I did buck up and we went to Boulder to the Avery Brewery. Yes, our daughter is named after the brewery. Long story is that I had picked out the name Avery right when we knew she was a girl. We were in Boulder with Joel's brother Jamie and his girlfriend Angie when we went to the brewery last October. Joel fell in love with the beer and the name. So we joke that she was name after the brewery. We had so much fun and they were so great to us. We got a big Avery metal sign and everything. That evening we went out for dinner and crashed! Sunday came and Joel's parents left. Thanks so much for everything and have a great trip!

Here are some pictures from the last week:

Go Vikings!

Scary Monster!!
Little Scary Monster! She didn't even flinch at the sight!
Getting the Fall things out and Brayden loved all the Pumpkins!
He even brought one to school for show-n-tell!
Avery Brewery
Miss Avery loving the slide
She is really starting to get around now and loving the playground!
Papa, I love it!
Brayden was so cute, he was working on his computer, just like Daddy.
He wanted me to take lots of pictures of him "working".My two Sweethearts!!

10 Months Old!

Little Miss Avery is 10 months old! I can't believe how fast it has gone. She's so darling, if we don't say so ourselves, and smiles from sun up till sundown. Avery is trying so hard to walk right now. She can stand on her own for a few minutes before she realizes what she's doing and gets so excited that she tumbles. She is waving bye-bye, blowing kisses, saying MaMa, DaDa, puppy, bahbah (bottle), and UhOh. Everyday is something new and exciting.

Prayers for my Aunt Mary & her family

This blog posting comes with much sorrow. Yesterday morning my Uncle Dan Sinner passed away. If you read my previous blog from our ND/MN vacation you read that he had massive strokes the days following my cousin's wedding. He really never came out of that and earlier this week his family decided to take him off life support. Dan was only 70yrs old.

I will always remember my last time seeing my uncle. It was like it was meant to be. We sat for a hours at my cousin's wedding and visited. We had the drink we had so many years ago, finally, we were elated that the waitress knew what we were talking about! As we sat with our coveted drinks we talked about life. His grandchildren; Lyle, Jeff, Shaun, Paige and Alexa and how proud he was of all of them. Health; Dan has gone through a few rough years as far as health issues, mostly from working on his feet all his life (knees, feet, back). He didn't want to go through the same back surgery that one of his buddy's recently had and didn't come out of very well. But what I remember most is almost is this: He said that he's done a lot in his life, and given, would he go back and change some of the choices or things he'd done? No he said, I don't think I would. Life's been pretty good to me. Never second guess things you'd done in your past. Just be thankful for the future. Never be afraid to try something, even if you don't know if it's the right time or choice.

Here's to you Uncle Dan: May life's journey lead you down your road and only you can be the driver of your own destiny. Never look back, for it was all worth it in the end.

I will miss seeing you at holidays and family gatherings. Love ya!

Please keep my aunt Mary, her son's Dan Jr (Barb), Scott (Mary), and daughter Mary, and all the grandkids mentioned above in your thoughts an prayers.
http://www.in-forum.com/articles/index.cfm?id=214189

A long list of Congratulations go out.............

Wow, what's in the air this week? We've been hit with great news all week. A few babies and an engagement.

First news; Congratulations to my friend Crystal Gibbon who was engaged over the Labor Day weekend to her long time beau Evan. We wish you the best in your engagement and all the planning ahead of you! Enjoy it, it will go fast!!

Second; or double news, goes out to 2 of my girlfriends from back in Minneapolis. Neither of them know each other but they did share the same due date and odd enough, the same birthdays for their babies!! Amy and Jason Warnock had a little girl, Elise Signey who was born at 6:32am on September 3rd. She was 22 in. and 8lbs, 15oz. Kim and Nate Graff also welcomed into the world that same day a baby boy, Evan Vernon, at 12:02 AM. He was 8 lbs 3 oz and 22 inches long. Congratulations to the new parents!! Enjoy your new little bundles of joy!!

Third news; our other friends from Minneapolis, Kari and Erik, found out they are having a little girl on Friday. Everything looks good and healthy for a January 15th due date! Congrats guys, a boy and girl, how lucky!!

Back to School

Brayden and Ms. Rachael

Last week Brayden started school again. It's been about 2 months since he was in school. He was looking forward to going back and seeing his friends and Ms. Rachael. This year he is the oldest and the only boy on Thursdays so he's the leader. On the way home from school the 1st day he told me he was really sad and when I asked him why, his reply......."Cause I miss my friends and Ms Rachael". I told him we'd be back again on Thursday and he was elated!

Other Pictures from the week:

Labor Day....trying to get both to smile and look at the same time, impossible!

Brayden swimming in the little pool at Tom and Mitch's

Brayden and Tom
Avery loves the trucks too!
A Viking Fan! Just because we are in Denver doesn't mean we succumb to the Bronco bandwagon.

Happy Labor Day Weekend & "Unofficially" Goodbye to Summer!

Happy Labor Day to all you hard working souls out there!! This is usually a sad weekend, it's the "unofficial" end to summer. I think here in CO it feels like summer till the first snowflake! Anyway, this weekend we were not at the lakes getting it all packed up for the winter. Instead we were here in CO enjoying our beautiful state. Saturday morning we checked Priceline.com and William Shatner helped us negotiate a hotel room up in the mountains. Good deal. We headed up to Summit County. We started out in Vail and walked around the village. Vail is a walking town which was quiet beautiful!! Lots of posh shops and not to mention there was a Food and Wine Festival going on (that would have been so much fun had it just been Joel and I). We went up the gondola to the top of the mountain. It was so beautiful! Brayden really wanted to go on this bouncy trampoline thing (look at pictures) so we let him do it. He had to be 30lbs so he barely made! He had the best time in the world. He jumped so high and then he was trying to do back flips but really could get himself around. It was worth the $ to let him do it. Afterwards we went down the mountain we head to Frisco. We went out to eat and then to our hotel. Sunday morning we went and explored the little town and had breakfast before heading up to Breckenridge. We, of course, had to stop at the Breckenridge Brewery to eat lunch and sample the selection. I had the Agave Wheat beer which was quiet fabulous!! We drove around the area before heading back through the scenic Loveland Pass. Everything was so beautiful and green unlike here in the Eastern Slope. It was about 76 yesterday but felt a lot warmer due to being so high up. We plan on going back very soon to do lots of biking and exploring! It will be so much easier next year when the both can ride happily next to each other in the Burley (am I kidding myself??).

I melt my Daddy's heart with my little smile and puppy eyes......yes I can already get out of trouble this way (I was trying to go up the stairs).

Brayden was in awe of this car made completely out of Legos at Vail.
There was a dunk tank to dunk the local firefighters for charity. Brayden actually hit the target!
Enjoying our walk to the GondolaThe top at Vail!
Getting the gear on to jump.
Oh yah, I am ready!
Jumping so high!!
Trying to get his legs to go behind him to flip
On the way down, the kids were so excited!
The cute main street in Frisco
We love each other!!
Me and Daddy at the Breckenridge Brewery.
I want to get Physical, Physical.....yes my headband looks like I am from the 80s, thanks guys.

Just playing with my cars at lunch time.
Loveland Pass

End of August, already??!

Where has August gone? Not really sure either. We've been getting back into a routine and enjoying the last part of summer by going to the park and pool a lot!

Mom said I would like peaches......but I love them!!

So Happy! Look at all my teeth!!

Now Avery, this is how you properly load the dishwasher, the JetDry goes here.

So excited trying to walk. She always makes a funny snorting face when she's excited.

Mom, were you looking for me?

Brother, you are in my kitchen!
Avery, you told me to start supper. Make up your mind woman! (It's already started, I guess it's in us from the beginning)

Um, sand isn't as tasty as I was hoping for!
Hi Mom!
Just call me Slugger!
Happy 32nd Birthday, Daddy!I don't think they noticed that I had a taste of frosting!

Brayden was trying to lick Daddy???
I know it's under here somewhere!!
Oh yes, found it!