Happy St. Lucia Day!

We celebrated St. Lucia Day today. It is a holiday in Sweden for those of you who were wondering and my dad's paternal grandparents were from Sweden.

We had the whole family over for a brunch. We have had the Saffron buns and they were gross. So we had cinamon rolls and orange rolls. After Mary read a story to the kids about Lucia Day. Ashlee even wore her crown with the electric candles. It was fun.

To catch you up on the first half of December:

I had my piano recital on the 4th. It went really well. I am glad to be done with piano for the month though. I get to spend time with the family and work on Christmas stuff now.

Then on Saturday the 5th we went to see Santa. Mom and Dad's insurance agent had a party with Santa and live reindeer and a fire truck ride. Kyle painted a picture of an ambulance (which is what he wants from Santa) and gave it to Santa. Then he rode the fire truck. I t was about 15 degrees that day so Henry and Kyle frose on the ride but Kyle's smile was worth it!

That night we had promised Kyle we would go the the parade downtown (The Parade of Lights). It was too cold though. So instead we lied to him and told him the parade was canceled due to weather and we drove around and looked at Christmas lights. There is a house near downtown Littleton that has an awesome display. You can get out of your car and walk around and look at the lights. There are trains and shadow boxes with dolls. Kyle had been asking to go see it so we went there.

That is pretty much what we have been up to so far. I will try to updaye on amore regular basis (like weekly).

Last Half of November

Happy Thanksgiving late! I am home with a sick kiddo today so I decided to get caught up with my posts and tell you what we have done the last half of November.

Last Friday went to Utah for an archery hunt. Since he was driving, I made a baby cake for someone Henry works with and sent it with him. Pictures are on my cake blog.

Wednesday we had visitor in our backyard. A fox decided to layout and get some sun. He laid out there for over an hour and Kyle just wanted to watch him the whole time. We are worried becasue he lives under our deck and shows no fear of people.

We had Thanksgiving at Dad's and Mom's house. Michael and Mary and the girls, Briand and Kim, and Mary's sister Baecky were all there. It was a full house but we had fun. We smoked two turkeys again this year. SO GOOD!

Friday we put away the Thanksgiving decorations and pulled out the Christmas decorations. Kyle has been asking to get the tree out since Halloween so he was eager to help clean so we could get the tree up and decorated. Kyle even got to put up a little tree in his room that we decorated. He is so excited for Christmas and seeing Santa. We are going to a party thrown by Mom's and Dad's insurance agent next week and Santa will be there. All kyle can talk about is how he will see Santa and ask him for an ambulance.

Snow Day!

We got an email last night at 11:35pm, church has been cancelled due to the snow. Yeah! I thought I would take a minute and update our blog. It has been a few weeks. Nothing has been going on though. We are getting ready for the holidays. I have all my Thanksgiving shopping done, all I need is turkey or two. I am waiting for a good sale for those. I am almost done with the Christmas shopping too. Just have a few odds and ends to get. I have my piano recital in a few weeks, for I am trying to get everything ready for that. Henry is leaving for Utah later this week for a hunt. He will get back the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. Kyle is out of pre-school until January. His teacher had a baby late October so she is on maternity leave right now. He still has play group on Wednesdays though. So I get a few hours a week to get stuff done :) That is pretty much our lives right now.

New Blog Look

I know it's early for Christmas, but I wanted to get first dibs on the background :) And there is no good Thanksgiving music through playlist.com. So, this should help get you into the Christmas spirit early!

Blizzard 10-28 to 10-29

We have 2 feet of snow and the storm is finally winding down. We have had fun while being snowed in. Last night Kim and Brian came over and we watched a couple of movies. Today we shoveled our walks along with a few of our neighbors. We have a snowblower and we feel bad for our neighbors who don't. A must for every home owner! With Kyle, we are usually shoveling snow back off of the walks.

Then this afternoon, before Kim had to go to work, we all went sledding. Kyle went down once and said "That's enough." So we all went down a few more times. It was fun. Kyle was more interested in mking and throwing snowballs. After we had hot chocolate and took Kim home so she could go to work. We are just chillin' getting ready to watch movies.

Kyle's Playgroup Halloween Party 10-28

Kyle is in a boy playgroup and it happens that I was hosting this week so we had a Halloween Party. We played Halloween Bingo, Don't Eat Pete, Hot Potatoe (with Halloween Kid Music), we had a pinata, and snacks. Kyle hepled stuff the pinata. He couldn't wait to break it open after he knew what was in it. For snacks we had apples with carmel dip sauce, ear wax swabs, candy corn kabobs (pinapple, mand. oranges, and mini mallows), and witches brew (lime kool-aid with dry ice so it smoked out of the cauldron). It was cool and Kyle had a blast with his friends!

Kyle and his friends playing Don't Eat Pete.

Snacks for the party.

Halloween Party's 10-24

We have been busy getting ready for Halloween. Mom and I made our Halloween costumes. We all went as someone from Phineus and Ferb (best show on TV by the way!). Kyle was Phineaus, Brian was Ferb, I was Candace, Henry was Dr. Doofenshmirtz, and Kim was Vanessa. So far we have been to the trick or treat train at the train museum, and the trunk or treat at the church. We stioll have boo at the zoo and then trick or treating. Kyle picked out the costumes for everyone.

Updates

Sorry I haven't posted anything new in over a month. We have been really busy. Then to top it all off, we have been sick this week. So since I am laying low for a few days I figure that updating the blog would be a good low impact activity. There are a lot of posts so please read on! There are 7 posts not including this one (it goes on to another page).

Rockies Postseason Playoff Game

A friend of ours sold us 4 tickets to game 4 of the NLDS. The game was supposed to be Sunday night but becasue of the extreme cold, Saturdays game was moved to Sunday so ours was moved to Monday.

The weather was great! Kyle was so excited to go. All day he talked about going to the Rockies game and seeing the baseball game. As soon as we got there, Kyle fell asleep and got sick with a low grade fever. Poor kid. The rockies lost, it is still too painful to talk about. Kyle really perked up in the 7th when we sang Take Me Out To The Ball Game and there were fireworks.

We took Brian with us.

Kyle Starts Football

Friday (Oct. 9) Kyle had his first football practice. Kyle had a blast! He was running around and laughing. Dad was so proud. The best was when they were playing shark and minnows. The sharks had to pull the flags off of the minnows. Kyle was one of two minnows left in the first game. Infact there were a swarm of sharks going for him. He stopped, the sharks ran past him, and he ran on. One of the dads said "did you see that kid just juke the sharks? That was great!" Maybe he will be a running back. Quarterback is his other option becasue he can't catch to save his life!

Its A Major Award!

Kyle and I went to pick up Henry last week. When we got home there was a box on our front porch. Henry automatically thought I had bought something. Opened it up and we had won a contest! We NEVER win anything.

A few months ago Kyle was reading his Disney and Me magazine and saw the contest page. He told me he wanted that and pointed to it. So we sent in a postcard. They were only giving away 20 of these prizes. So I was shocked to have won. It was a Mickey Clubhouse bubble machine with bubbles, and a Mickey bubble wand with bubbles.

Pumpkins

While Henry was out of town last week, Brian and I had to go to the garden and pick our pumpkins before the snow came. Kyle helped dig up the plants, he carried the pumpkins, he was a great help. We picked roughly 10 pumpkins.

Estes Park 10-1 to 10-4

Every October Conference week we go up to Estes Park with my family. I love Estes Park and every fall I can't wait to go up there. This year mom decided to get H1N1 so mom and Dad didn't come up. Were all bummed about it but we didn't want to get it.

Henry, Kyle, and I went up Thurs. afternoon. We went to dinner at a neat restaurant called the Dunraven. Really good Itlian food. After we went back to the cabin were Henry worked and Kyle and I watched TV.

This year Kim went with us (Brian's girlfriend). They arrived Fri. afternoon and went on a tour of the Stanley Hotel (Stephen King's inspitation for the Shinning). After, Michael and Mary came up Fri. night and had rented the tv mini series The Shinning. This one was more true to the book and was filmed at the Stanley. So after the kids went to bed we watched the first 2 episodes and watched the last one Sat. night.

We like to play games and just hang out and relax. Saturday we went down the big slide in town. A hit with the kids!

The kids dressed for bed and playing with the magnent dress up dolls Mama and Papa sent up.

Kyle's Girlfriend

Kyle always has hung out with girls. All of my friend have girls his age. Only recently has he started hanging out with boys, We have a playgroup with 5 boys from church and he plays with other boys in preschool, but this was to funny.

Mymom is in the primary presidency and one of the teachers came out and of nursery and told her she feels bad for Kyle because McLayne won't leave Kyle alone and always wants to hold his hand. They are in preschool together too and she came to out summer outings group. On our last trip we went to Dino Ridge and walked up the road. Kyle and McLayne held hands the whole time up. It was really cute. Kyle really likes to play with her too. And for all you Ute fans, her Uncle is Tony Bergstrom.

A Day Out With Thomas

First let me say, Henry did not get an animal this year. He is not real happy about it so please do not ask him about it.

On to Thomas. We went and saw Thomas on September 26th. We buy the earliest tickets so we are in before the crowds and leave as they are all coming in. It was a little cool to start out but as the day went on it warmed up nice.

We rode a train pulled by Thomas. All the kids are so excited. A friend of ours compared it to a rock concert for toddlers. All the kids are screaming "It's Thomas!" It is a crack-up!

After the train ride they have activities (story time, meet Sir Topham Hat, lego center, and petting zoo). Kyle always has a blast each year.

Labor Day

We went over to Mom and Dad's for a Labor Day BBQ. Kyle had a blast playing with his cousins. They were in the backyard playing when he picked up a few twigs a held them up to his head and started bugling like and elk. It was hilarious! That kid is too much.

A Hunting We Will Go!

Archery deer and elk season opened up on Saturday, so we have been busy getting Henry ready for hunting season. A good friend of ours came up from Texas to hunt with Henry opening week. For the record, they lived here for a few years and that is how we know them. They are having fun, nothing has been harmed during the hunt so far, but I will keep you posted.


On Monday Kyle and I went to a way cool park with a group from church. They boys played for over 3 hours. He loves the park, but the water feature was great that day becasue of the temperature.

Kyle joined an all boy play group that meets on Wednesdays. He plays with girls so much we thought it would be a good idea to play with boys too. It is 5 boys from church, a two are a year older and 1 is a year younger, and one other is Kyle's age. He is friends with all of them so he will have a great time. But boy is my schedule crazy with playdates, pre-school, and Relief Society stuff, then throw in piano and helping Henry with his business.

We are getting together at Mom's and Dad's tonight to watch the Utah Utha State game. GO UTES!

Hangin' Out

Not much has happened this week. We have just been hangin' out and relaxing. On Saturday Henry went antelope hunting with a friend of his. Of course, no animals were hurt durning the hunt. He can't seem to get an antelope.

Sunday we had a fire pit at Mom and Dad's. Kyle has been bugging us to roast marshmallows for a few weeks so we pulled out the pit and made a fire. We had fun and Kyle burned (I mean CHARRED) 2 marshmallows and called it good. We all had fun though. It was great weather too.

Yesterday, Henry left for Utah for a sales meeting on Friday. He has to help set up and get proposals done before Friday. Kyle and I went to Chatfield Swim Beach with a Relief Society outing group. We had fun, and there was a couple boys there that were his age. Yeah! He always hangs out with the girls in his age group, he is a ladies man! He build sand castles and played in the water. He went in further than he ever has before. He is getting brave!

Then last night we had dinner at Mom and Dad's. Brian started school this week again so he was hiding in the basement studying. After dinner Kyle and Grandma made chocolate chip cookies while I went for a run. Kyle loves to eat the cookie dough so we had to watch him closely and hide the cookie dough between batches.

Kyle Started Preschool!

Kyle's first day of school was Tuesday. The picture to the left is Kyle on our porch with his assigned tote bag before we left for school. He was so excited to go to school and be able to play with his friends. We walked over to Ms. Holly's house (it is about a mile away and Kyle walked the whole way). When we got there he said his energy was all gone. When it was time for him to go in, he looked back a few times but went in willingly. I am so glad he didn't have a fit and cry. That would of been hard on me!

Kyle getting ready to go onto Ms. Holly's house

I walked back to pick him up, this time I brought the jogging stroller and some snacks for him. When he came out he said he played with his friends, played on the computer, colored, and have fun. He said he wanted to go back. That has to be a good sign!

For dinner Kyle got to choose where he wanted to go for dinner. We wanted it to be a special day for Kyle. He chose Chick-Fil-A a favorite of his.

Cornerstone Splash Park 8-10

I am incharge of an interest group for church were we go somewhere with the kids each week. This week we went to a park by us that has a fountain area and a playground. We also discovered thay have a mud pit with running water and tractors! Kyle was in heaven and spent most of his time there of course. He is all boy.

Hunting Season is Coming!

This past Saturday Henry, Brian, Kyle and I went and hung a tree stand for hunting season (starts Saturday August 29th). Henry and all his hunting buddies are geeking out and just can't wait. We hiked about a mile in to were the tree stand would be hung. Kyle can hike the whole thing, he has in the past, but Brian took pitty on him and carried him part of the way.

Brian had to "climb" the tree stand up little by little. He hooked his feet in the stand and there is a strap that wraps around the tree. Then e had to lift his knees and the stand would move up then when he put his knees down, the stand would lock down so he could stand on it. Then Henry had to follow him up the tree to screw in the step so Brian could get back down. It was quite the ordeal and they were both pooped afterward.

Brian in the tree stand waiting for Henry to get to him.

Chatdfiels Swim Beach 8-7-09

We are so lucky to live with in 5 miles of 2 great Colorado State Parks. One of them is Chatfield Reservoir. Kyle and I went with some friends from church to the swim beach at Chatfield. It was great! The water was a little cold but Kyle loved playing in the sand and the beach was not crowded at all. Of course, there were some of his girl friends there :)

Museum of Nature and Science 8-6-09

Kyle and I went to the Denver Museum of Nature and Science with a few friends so Kyle could play with some of his future classmates before school started. We went with Hope and McLayne and their moms (Scharee is McLayne's mom and goes to church with us, and Holly is Hope's mom and Kyles preschool teacher). The kids had a great time. As usual, Kyle's favorite part was the dinosuars and it was McLayne's too. The picture to the left is Kyle and McLayne playing in the mars mud. Kyle likes hanging out with Hope, but he really likes McLayne. He loves to play with her in nursery too. Kyle has all girl friends, he is a ladies man! Hopefully we can get a play group started with a few boys. On the way home, we got stuck in a severe thunderstorm. It hailed and there was lightning and thunder and the tornado sirens were going off. It was creepy, I won't lie.

Kyle and Hope on the way to the Museum

Royal Gorge

We just got back from our little mini-vacation. We went down to Canon City to ride the Royal Gorge train. We left Friday late morning. We had enough time before the train ride to see the Dinosuar Depot. Dinosaur Depot is a little museum where they house some dinosaur bones. Just 10 miles north of town is where they have retreved a lot of dinosaur fossils. More have come from here than anywhere else in the world. This is Kyle pictured with an Apatasaurus thigh bone.

Kyle and Daddy playing at the Dinosaur Depot

Then we went to the train depot and got on our train. We rode in the vista dome car so we could see up the canyon walls. It was really neat! We saw lots of rafters but no wildlife :( Kyle loved the train ride. We had lunch on the train too. Kyle was in heaven.

The Royal Gorge Bridge from the train.

After the train we drove the Skyline Road. Ooops, wish we got more info before we drove it. We were told it had really pretty views of the city. So we thought we would drive it. We get up there and it is a one lanr, one way road and you drive the ridge. It is a staight drop off on either side of the road. It was pretty but it was white nuckle driving the whole way. Just as you think you are done, you crest a hill and there is more.

The view from the windshield.

The view from the passenger window, down.

The view from the driver window, down.

Saturday we drove home and too the scenic route. We drove through Salida and Fairplay and just took our time. We got home late Saturday so we slept in this morning and missed church. Actually we didn't miss church, we just didn't go. After we got home we wished we sayed away a little longer. We are talking about another trip in the next few weeks before hunting season begins.

Tiny Town, CO 7-27

Kyle and I went to Tiny Town earlier this week with the summer outings group from Relief Society. Only one other person went this time, but we still had fun. Of course we had to ride the Tiny Town train too. Kyle got to ride in the caboose this time. He loved it and threw a fit when we had to leave.

U of U Alumni at the Rockies 7-24

We went to the University of Utah Alumni night at the Rockies on the 24th of July. It is always a good time. We had all you can eat brats and dogs before the game. And the seats this year were better than last years. Kyle always loves going to games so he had a balst. We went with Dad and Mom and Brian and Kim.

Dinosaur Ridge 7-23

A freind of mine from high school was in town with her two kids so we went to Dinosaur Ridge. Kyle had never been there and he loves dinosuars. He loved it. The kids played in the sandbox for a while then we took the bus tour up the ridge. We got to touch fossils and have out picture taken with real dinosaur tracks. This was the hottest day of the year and of course the bus had no ac, so we were really tired and hot at the end of the trip. Kyle keeps asking to go back with Daddy now.

This is Kyle touching the underside of a dinosaur footprint. Probally a stegasaurus, one of his favorites!