Never a Dull Moment

Winter Wonderland

2011-12-22T14:28:00.000-07:00

Well, in typical Colorado form... It's 3 days before Christmas and Mother Nature hits us with a Winter storm bringing 14 inches of snow!!! The boys decided to make a snow fort in the front yard. Colin lasted approximately 5 minutes... Which was longer than myself. We are just not a cold weather family! I just don't get the whole cold thing... I would much rather be sitting by a pool baking in the sun. Now that I posted these pics, I think I'll go run the hair dryer over my feet for the next 10 minutes to try and warm up :)

Colin's Christmas Program 2011

2011-12-21T13:37:00.012-07:00

Here is Colin with his teacher Mrs. Kim :) He just loves Mrs. Kim's class!!!

Of course Colin had to practice before the real deal! :) And what better place to practice?
We practice at the dinner table in our underwear!!!

And here he is performing for all the parents!

Haha... I was going through some old videos and I found this video of Austin signing the same song, same age at the same school!!!

Gingerbread Cookie Tree

2011-12-21T13:30:00.000-07:00

The boys and I got into our Christmas Spirit by decorating a Gingerbread Cookie Tree. Not sure exactly how much of the frosting actually made it to the tree though!

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Thanksgiving 2011

2011-12-21T13:12:00.002-07:00

The boys love hanging with Kyle!

We spent Thanks Giving at Uncle Jon and Aunt Carol's!

Good Food and Company makes for a wonderful holiday!!! However, this is our first Thanksgiving without GG... We miss her tremendously but she will always be with us in our hearts!

Austin and his Turkey legs... This is serious business!

The house is coming together nicely!

2011-12-21T12:38:00.001-07:00

New Home Project 2011

2011-12-20T21:00:00.002-07:00

I feel as though Joel and I have been gypsies over the past 5 years. After doing the math, we have moved 9 times since we started dating in 2000! And 5 of those moves have been since Austin was born. We were more than ready to find a place called home! Well we finally found it! It was a diamond in the rough, but from the moment I walked in... I knew this was our families home! We closed on November 10th, completely renovated the home in one week and our move date was November 20th! We are not quite done yet, but we have all the time in the world now because this is our home :)

Here is the color of the boys room

before and after!

This is the color the ENTIRE house was!!!

Thanks to my Nana Fran, Papa Steve and Papa Craig, we were able to tone down the lovely shade of mustard to a more soothing taupe tone... We were able to accomplish a whole lot in a little time!!! And thanks to Grandma Linda for watching the rugrats while we did some renovation! I am not sure which job is harder ;)

Here are some pics from the home project... New wood, carpet and slate flooring. All new paint to the walls, trim and doors. New window coverings, doggie door/ramp, light fixtures, toilet installation... Too many things to go into detail! Sorry some of the pics are sideways... blogger uploads them the wrong way and I have NO idea how to fix it!!!

All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth!

2011-12-20T16:04:00.001-07:00

Austin bit into an apple last week and surprised us all by losing not one but two of his front teeth!!! The tooth fairy surprised him with a silver dollar and a half dollar!!!

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Spooktacular 2011

2011-10-31T10:20:00.001-06:00

The boys are REALLY into Halloween this year!

So far we have a pirate, Iron Man, Dragon, Super Man, and Dark Vadar costume.

2011-10-20T13:03:00.001-06:00

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New Family Pics! More to come!

2011-09-25T21:26:00.006-06:00

Show'n Tell... Colin Style

2011-09-16T13:28:00.001-06:00

This is truly a classic Colin moment. We were at school this week and I asked Colin what we were going to bring for Show'n Tell that started with the letter "B". Right in front of his teacher he responds... "My Butt"! Aggghh!! He is such a boy :)

Castlewood Canyon

2011-09-11T17:17:00.003-06:00

We took the boys on a hike this morning and they were quite the troopers!

Colin cracks me up... He takes off in a sprint the minute he sees a patch of shade to rest in. Our dog Magnum does the same thing!

One of these days I will manage to get a picture of the entire family actually looking at the camera!

A Taste of Colorado

2011-09-11T17:06:00.001-06:00

We took the boys to a festival in Downtown Denver called the Taste of Colorado. Well we can say we've done it once because we will probably never do it again! It was hot, crowded, expensive and absolutely miserable! I couldn't take my eyes off the boys for one second or they would get swallowed by the crowd. The food was ridiculously expensive, we had to wait in lines for no shorter than 30 minutes for any one thing and the boys wanted to do everything but wait for nothing! It was exhausting!

Austin did get to ride his first roller coaster though! Poor Colin was 1 inch too short :(

Dolly face got to ride the space ship!

A rainbow from GG

2011-09-11T16:55:00.001-06:00

So I have been meaning to post this for a couple of weeks. A couple of days before GG passed away, me and the boys made a card for GG asking her to please send us rainbows from heaven to let us know that she is thinking about us :) Well, on Austin's 5th birthday just as we sat down for his celebratory dinner, we looked up into the sky and this is what we saw! What is even more interesting is that Austin had asked only 2 hours prior to this if GG was going to wish him a Happy Birthday. Well buddy... I think this rainbow says it all! A big Happy Birthday from our beloved GG! It was truly spectacular!

2011-09-04T13:32:00.002-06:00

We are on the light-rail headed downtown to the Taste of Colorado.

It Colin's first train ride (that he can remember)!

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Location:W Bowles Dr,Littleton,United States

Girls Nights Galore

2011-08-28T13:34:00.001-06:00

Who says kiddos are the only ones that get to have fun... Mommas want to have a good time too!! Here I am with my awesome group of girlfriends!

2011-08-28T11:02:00.002-06:00

The boys had a bday party at a martial arts facility and they loved it! Colin needed a little help as you can see ;) Austin is going to be just like his daddy. I see black belt in his near future!

Wedding time

2011-08-28T10:58:00.002-06:00

The boys were the ring-bearers in a coworkers wedding...

They were absolutely darling and so well behaved!

Allergy testing :(

2011-08-28T10:56:00.001-06:00

This was absolutely no fun for Austin! Poor guy... Thank goodness he is free of allergies though!

Back to school!

2011-08-28T10:52:00.003-06:00

The boys have both gone back to school. Austin started kindergarten and Colin is back in pre-school! We had a rough first day of kindergarten though. Colin decided to hide in the window well on the side of our house because he did not want Austin to start school. He was missing for nearly 25 minutes! In a huge panic I called the police... Needless to say we were very late for Austin's first day of school!

Austin is 5 today!!!!

2011-08-28T10:44:00.002-06:00

Austin is half a decade old today! His big birthday wish.... A new skateboard. I will have to post a video soon of his mad skills ;)

31!

2011-07-10T17:11:00.000-06:00

So I am officially 31! Joel surprised me with a lovely trip up to Frisco. We got in a beautiful hike and some much needed rest and relaxation :)

Botanical Gardens

2011-07-02T20:50:00.001-06:00

My neighbor has a membership to the Denver Botanical Gardens so we took all the kiddos for the afternoon.

I am going to have to brush up on my plant and flower recognition... because the boys were just full of questions!

The poppies were breath taking!

Supah
Ninja's!

Colin sure does like to show off his belly :)

Renaissance Festival 2011

2011-07-02T20:35:00.001-06:00

Where else in the world can you ride an elephant, go bungee jumping, watch a sword swallower, go jousting, walk through a mid-eval torture chamber, climb a rock wall, enjoy a turkey leg while sipping on a cider ale, and of course yell at wenches while being heckled by knights???? The Renaissance Festival!!!

The boys and I took a quick lap on an elephant :)

Austin was a natural with a bow and arrow! Do they still teach archery in school?

Austin and Colin had no fear when it came to bungee/ trampoline jumping!

That is Colin about 30-40 feet up in the air!

Of course Joel and I couldn't do this without the help of the family!!! Everyone was there to watch the boys in awe of the festival :)

Namaste!

2011-06-09T21:12:00.004-06:00

Over the past 6 months I have discovered a passion for practicing Yoga. This Fall I plan on completing a 200 hour instructor training course! I will need to get some pics of the boys doing Yoga. They absolutely love it :)

Sorry Joel....

2011-06-09T21:06:00.002-06:00

.... but you're out'a there! So funny, I woke up the other morning to these two little sleepy heads next to me and their daddy asleep in their bunk bed!

Chillin' at the lake!

2011-06-09T20:42:00.006-06:00

Our neighbors invited us to Chatfield Reservoir for the day.

The weather was amazing!

The kiddos LOVE building sand castles!

However, the Jet Skis are more up their alley!!! I could barely get them off :)

So Sweet!

Mothers Day 2011

2011-06-09T20:28:00.003-06:00

It was a beautiful Mothers Day. The boys made us a fantastic breakfast! Papa Steve made a smoked Ham, Papa Craig made Belgium Waffles topped with whipped cream and fresh fruit and Joel prepared an omelette scramble! It was a wonderful day.... but we were missing our lovely GG... She is never far from our thoughts and is always in our hearts. We miss you angel GG!

We are truly so blessed with these two little sugars!

School Days

2011-05-07T09:34:00.003-06:00

These are some of the pics from Austin's class room. Of course he's sitting with the ladies :)

And look!!! He's raising his hand!

Soccer Stud!

2011-05-06T20:12:00.002-06:00

Happy Easter 2011

2011-04-25T14:36:00.002-06:00

The day before Easter, the boy's school had an Easter Egg hunt. They hid 10,000 eggs for the kiddos.

We had a great time but the weather was pretty chilly.

I just love when I get get Austin to hold still long enough to take a picture... And every now and then I will even get a smile!!!

Austin is a very effective Easter Egg hunter/gatherer.

Colin... not so much. Each time he'd get an egg, he would take the time to open the egg and then the candy and eat it on the spot. If it weren't for a little help from myself, he would've ended up with about 4 eggs :)

Colin just wasn't having the Easter Bunny. Austin and Amelia on the other hand, hammed it up for the camera!

Here is Colin making use of the baskets in his own unconventional ways.

And this picture is just classic. The kids get some serious speed going down this slide!

Good Morning!

2011-04-15T07:42:00.003-06:00

Despite the fact that we got Colin a brand new bunk bed for his birthday.. the little stinker still sneaks into our bed in the middle of the night. I might be a little more annoyed if it weren't for the fact that I get to wake up to Colin's adorable "Sunshine Face" every morning! Seriously, if they could package this cuteness into a 'cup a joe' this world would be such a happy place!

Remembering GG...

2011-04-11T14:00:00.009-06:00

Sweet GG passed away on Saturday evening at 8:08 pm (04/09/2011). My mom, Aunt Monte and Jan were in the room with her when she passed. She was in no pain and it was a very peaceful passing, everything we were praying for.

I know we would have liked to have more time with GG, but God was ready for her to come home. In the end she had no fear, the only thing that filled her heart was love. Joel and I went to see her on Saturday morning and I will never forget the way the life came into her eyes as Joel sat down next to her to say goodbye. There was something so special about the light and love that filled her eyes during those last precious moments... I knew with all my heart just how much she loved our family and how much we meant to her. I can rest assured that GG left this life knowing what a tremendous impact she had on our lives.

GG saw straight through to the core of the people in her life. She didn't beat around the bush. She told you exactly how it was, whether or not you wanted to hear it :) But the thing that made GG special was the fact that her words were filled with nothing but love and concern. She never let any of your faults mold her opinion of you. And when it came to her loved one's success stories, she was our most enthusiastic cheerleader!

She never missed a moment to celebrate our wonderful family.

Whether we were celebrating a 2nd birthday party at Chucky Cheese...

... or listening to 15 different preschool classes sing their rendition of "Silent Night". GG was always there with her vibrant blue eyes and beautiful smile.

She always had a story or a memory for any occasion. I can't remember a time when she didn't have something to talk about :) Now I see where I get it form !

GG was such a proud mother. And why shouldn't she be? She didn't do too shabby ;)

But I know the one thing that made GG the proudest... her Grandchildren and Great Grandchildren!

I pray that I too some day will be posing for picture after picture with Austin, Colin and their children. And that I may fill them with a lifetime of memories.

Thank you for your gift of love,
now you're sharing it up above.
You always had many things to say,
all in a caring and thoughtful way.
You saw the good in everyone,
no matter what wrongs they might have done.
As we say a sorrowful goodbye,

a solemn tear drops from my eye.
I know your place in heaven will have a good view...
Because you're telling God,
I need to keep an eye on a few ;)
You will eternally be in our hearts and mind.

So Grandma,
I must go, but I'll never forget you were one of a kind.

GG

2011-04-08T18:27:00.004-06:00

As many of you know, GG was diagnosed with Leukemia about 2 weeks ago. Since the sudden diagnosis, her prognosis has taken a turn for the absolute worse :( This past weekend GG was having trouble doing the simplest of tasks. She was taken by ambulance into the hospital where it was discovered that she is in end-stage Leukemia.

This has been an absolute shock and heart breaking to the family. Aunt Monte has flown in from Alaska and GG's brother, Uncle Paul and his family drove in from Iowa. It was March 1st that she went in for here monthly check up and the doctors told her she was doing great. 5 short weeks later we have admitted GG into hospice care where we are told she only has days to live. Our hearts are breaking and I can only ask God to take her into his loving arms peacefully and painlessly.

It is so difficult to explain to your two little boys that we need to say our final goodbyes to our beloved GG. Austin is taking it rather hard, begging and pleading with us to not let GG go up to Heaven and that he would like GG to stay with us always. I have explained and will continue to explain that GG will always be with us... in our hearts and our memories. In every piece of pumpkin roll and peanut brittle that we make during the holidays. Every time the boys put on their knitted mouse slippers that GG made for them this past Christmas. Every time I read Soap Digest to get a sneak peak on whats going to happen on "The Young and the Restless". When I go to give the boys "feather tickles" on their backs. GG has blessed us with so many wonderful memories. We will cherish every moment that we have left with her in her final days. I have to laugh... when GG was asked whose guardian angel she was going to be, she responded.. "Not Heather's, she is way too much work!" :) Love ya GG!

Cardiomyopathy

2011-04-08T18:17:00.002-06:00

I have been having chest pains and shortness of breath for over a year. My prior doctor kept telling me I was simply having panic attacks. Well I felt there was something more going on for months so I took matters into my own hands and contacted a cardiologist. In the past two weeks I have worn a holter monitor, had an ekg, echo cardiogram, nuclear stress test and finally an angiogram. It was discovered that I have dilated cardiomyopathy which was caused by a viral infection that caused damage to the left ventrical of my heart. Thank God we caught it in the early stages. With the proper care, medication and support of my amazing friends and family I am sure that the cause of my demise will be of VERY old age :)

Colin Turns 3!!!!

2011-04-02T20:54:00.008-06:00

Here Colin is the morning of his birthday opening his Nerf Gun... The only thing he really asked for :)

We went to Red Robin when a group of friends and Colin got a big Birthday Sunday :)

We took lots of time to pose for some very cute and fun pics!

And then there was the motorcycle!!

And along with motorcycles come big muscles!

Group Pic... Say cheese :)

For Colin's big birthday party we celebrated at his favorite venue.. The POOL!

Nana and Grandma joined us for the fun.

And so did a whole bunch of kiddos!

And then there was the birthday cookie. I would also like to elaborate on is the fact that Colin got a chocolate fudge cake on his actual birthday... a sheet cake for his" family birthday party"... and then a cookie cake for his "friend birthday party"

And finally we have the BIG birthday present from us and both sets of grandparents! Not too shabby :)

St Patty's Day 2011

2011-03-18T08:57:00.002-06:00

The weather has been fantastic in Colorado. This ST Patty's Day we took the kiddos to the park for a picnic.

Trying to get them to all sit for a picture is not the easiest task.

I truly have great friends!

My handsome boys :)

Austin's been getting better at giving a pretty smile and not a pirate smile.

Colin has his own method of playing on the slide.

Sunday Fun Day!!!

2011-02-28T15:13:00.002-07:00

We like to take the kids to the pool as often as possible because they are given homework at their swim class. This week Austin had to practice extending his arms and Colin had to get more comfortable with floating on his back.

We didn't make them work too hard though :) We still managed to fit some fun into the afternoon!

As you can see by the pictures, Colin is a little more inclined to say cheese for the camera. Austin was too busy trying to drag us to lazy river.

My Little Leonardos :)

2011-02-22T09:44:00.002-07:00

Happy Valentines Day!

2011-02-14T15:20:00.008-07:00

The boys woke up this morning with big smiles :) Why wouldn't they??? They woke up to big balloons and big suckers!

The weather is surreal! Our front yard has a foot and a half of snow and it's 65 degrees outside!

Here is some of the neighborhood crew! Thomas, Tanner, Austin and Colin :) We are missing about 7 kiddos in this pic!

Grandma Ellsworth celebrates her Birthday on Valentines Day so I wanted to prepare a special dinner. Grandma was giving me a hard time saying that I couldn't "really cook" because I always prepare Dream Dinners for our meals. I challenged her to pick any meal, and I would prepare it. She chose Chicken Fricassee and Wild Mushroom Risotto (BTW, I have never even heard of fricassee). I made both from scratch!

Here we are about 3 hours into the preparation of the meal... Looking good! (BTW, if you'd ever like to prepare this meal yourself, I would highly recommend having an 8 burner stove :)

And Voila!!! Dinner is served!! I have to hand it to myself, the final product was incredible!!! I did have a little help with chopping and stirring, but the remainder of the meal was prepared by yours truly :) And Grandma had to admit at the beginning of the meal that...

I can cook!!!!!

Yes, you read it correctly... Linda Ellsworth admitted that her daughter, Heather Ellsworth, can cook!!!!!

Swim Lessons!

2011-01-31T15:39:00.002-07:00

I am praying that the boys will have more success with swimming than I did! So to insure that this happens they have been taking swim lessons at our gym. Austin is a natural :) He's ready to move up to the next level!

Colin, on the other hand, has only had a couple of lessons so he is doing just fine when he decides to let go of the swim instructor!

OUCH!!!

2011-01-26T15:22:00.004-07:00

Poor Austin :( Grandpa and I were going to take some pics of the boys tomorrow afternoon. Guess that's going to have to wait about a month or so... This shiner is going to be EPIC!

Dress up time!

2011-01-25T15:41:00.002-07:00

Here are the boys playing dress up at there BFF's house, Amelia and Alan!

Happy New Year! 2011

2011-01-21T13:33:00.003-07:00

Such a handsome kiddo!
xoxo

These pics from the New Years Eve part we attended at Ania's house. We had such a blast!

Christmas 2010!

2010-12-28T19:31:00.006-07:00

Christmas Eve started off at the Svalstad/ Adam's Christmas Eve party and then off to grandmas house for an authentic Mexican fiesta... Yummy!!!

Here the boys waking up on Christmas Morning in VERY good spirits :) Starting the morning off with a candy cane is a surefire way to get the day started off with smiles! Oh yeah, there's that whole Santa thing too ;)
The tree are before the madness begins.....

And here is the aftermath!
There was NO shortage of toys and games for the boys!

Here are my little DaVinci's in the making

The boys had take every gift out of the box before we could move on to the next present.

GG knitted the m these adorable mice slippers.

It was a wonderful day... We are truly so blessed :)

Cheyenne Mountain Zoo

2010-12-15T15:41:00.007-07:00

Grandma, Uncle Chris, Joel and myself took the boys down to Colorado Springs to see the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. One of my favorite features of the zoo is that you get to feed the giraffes!
Posing for some family photo ops :)

Another great feature of the zoo is that the animals are SO close and in such a beautiful environment. You literally climb Cheyenne Mountain in order to see all the animals.

Anybody who knows me, knows that I am obsessed with hippos. Grandma made sure that we would be there when the trainers take the hippos out of their cage... We got to see them eat an entire head of cabbage in one bite :)Here we are going over the tiger area.

It's quite difficult to get Austin to sit still for a group pic... Just so many things to see and do!

The boys got their face painted for the first time ever!! Austin chose a crocodile face while Colin decided that he was a cheetah that day :)

Colin's best ROAR face!

Love Love Love this Crocodile face!!

Austin and Grandma preparing for his very first ride on a ski lift!!

Here's Colin on his first ride!!!

Winter Time Fun

2010-12-10T16:31:00.002-07:00

We spend a lot of time at the indoor pool. The boys cannot get enough of it... Fun for them and relaxing for me... Yes I said relaxing!!! They play together wonderfully!!!
Gotta have the goggles... Yeah Baby!!!

Hahahahahahah

Here is Austin using his swimming skills!

I am such a proud mommy!!!

Christmas Concert 2010

2010-12-10T16:16:00.005-07:00

Austin had a little bit of stage fright. This is maybe the only smile I got out of him throughout the concert :)
The 3 G's ")

Austin and Amelia stole the show at their Preschool Christmas Concert! Austin, however, had a little bit of stage fright... We never really got a smile out of him :) That is a step up from the last concert where he and a friend continuously stuck their fingers into each others ears and never paid attention to the fact that they were performing in front of 300 people!!!
Are they not the cutest??? They even match!

Colin and Alan had to get in a pic or two.. Austin and Amelia better watch out! Those little guys are growing fast!!!

Christmas is coming!!!!

2010-11-27T10:25:00.001-07:00

Turkey Day 2010

2010-11-25T20:44:00.004-07:00

So Deep in thought on this wonderful holiday... Maybe they are discussing their latest version of "Silent Night" for Aunt Monte... Oh what a joyous occasion that will be ;) 'They call him Caramello'.... and Mellow he is, love this dog!!!! Uncle Jon and Aunt Carol gotta cutie on their hands :) He is soooo good with the kiddos :)

Uncle Jon is doing the initial Turkey taste testing in this pic. Sure hope GG isn't ruining his concentration... this is a SERIOUS DEAL PEOPLE!!!!
Amanda must be telling Fran here how a smoked TOFU can taste just as wonderful as Turkey ;) LOLAnd so the licking of the licks begins....

A mere 32 lbs of turkey was cooked this Thanksgiving Holiday .. One smoked by Papa Steve and one baked by grandma. And which bird was best.............. drum roll please........ By the way Papa Steve, please no threatening with knives!!!

Couldn't pick one!!! They were both superb :) I have to say that we has a whole lot of leftovers... but barely any Turkey. I guess that says it all... Applause to our Turkey Cooks :)

Nana Fran, as always, brought the fabulous fillers. Mashed potatoes, candied yams, Pecan and Pumpkin Pies, Cranberries, Fruit... this list could go on!

Kyle is such a champ with his little' cousins... He actually broke a sweat playing with the boys!!! Uncle Chris and GG... Such a wonderful night!
The gelatin that is our holidays :) Love you ladies!!!

COUSINS!!!!!!!

Hahahhahaha!!! Love Kyle's face... and FEET!!!

2010-11-22T22:34:00.003-07:00

Get ready for more pics on the blog!!! I am not working as much, Joel starts a new job after Thanksgiving... and that means change is in the wind!!! Here is Austin performing in his school's "Stone Soup Thanksgiving Celebration". So sweet :) Colin and I joined him for the festivities.

Halloween and more!!!!

2010-10-31T22:35:00.004-06:00

Austin got his first trophy... for SOCCER!!!! He scored 3 goals the week before his last game ;) GO AUSTIN!!!
Here he is celebrating with his team at Chuck-E-Cheese!

The Alaskan Fam cam in to town so Papa decided to cook a pig shoulder in his new smoker... and it was D-Lucius!!!!

Joel got a new job!!!! Congrats to my AMAZING hubby :) Love ya!

Cousin/Uncle/???? Gotta love my Family!!!!

Here is a taste of Halloween... This is Colin in my Little Bo Peep Bonnet :) So Cute!

And now... Colin as a Giraffe!! Couldn't get any cuter!

RRRRRRooooooaaaarrrrrrr!!! Austin doing his finest DRAGON ROAR!!!!

Back to family fun pics :)

Auntee M and Joel!!!!!

Love ya!!!!! ;)

Familly Pics!!!

2010-10-02T13:58:00.007-06:00

Party Time!

2010-09-13T12:46:00.004-06:00

Ania actually managed to get a picture of Austin and I with a "non-pirate", genuine smile :) Please notice the cake on his mouth... that must be the trick to get a big smile!!!
To celebrate Amelia turning 4 (one of Austin's best friends) the kids got to party hard at My Gym. The kiddos had a BLAST! It's been such a busy Summer and this was one of the first times we were able to get together with a big group of our great friends. As our families expand and our schedules get busier, it gets harder to get together as often for play dates. Austin and Colin were thrilled to see all their friends!

Just take a look at these monkeys!

Soccer Time!!!

2010-09-10T15:56:00.001-06:00

Austin started soccer this Fall... he is such a natural!

Austin turns 4!!!

2010-09-10T15:33:00.000-06:00

For Austin's 4th Birthday, we took him to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. What an absolute treat. We were joined by Ania, Amelia, Alan, Melissa, Hayden, Grandma, Grandpa and Uncle Chris :)

The animals were sooooo close!

Look at Hayden... such a fashionista :)
Colin loves his Uncle Chris and Grandma!

So sweet!

Here we are feeding the giraffes.
Birthday morning pancakes made with M&Ms
Birthday lunch time

Our first camping trip....

2010-08-08T18:58:00.000-06:00

Alright.... now I will add captions when I get the chance.... We are getting ready to move back to Highlands Ranch... LONG story. Enjoy the pics. We went camping with the Lynch family and had an absolute blast!!! The boys are obviously lovers of the outdoors... but they were meant to be on the water! Colin and I got up to 50 mph on the wave runner and he could not get enough! My boys love to rough it... I am still learning. However, I will say... I thoroughly enjoyed camping!!! Especially with such a wonderful family like the Lynch Crew :)

Austin... no training wheels

2010-07-27T13:37:00.000-06:00

Just a month shy of his 4th birthday, Austin has mastered the bicycle!!! You go boy!

Scorchin!

2010-07-15T09:48:00.000-06:00

Austin is my handsome little guy :)
And Colin the cutest of the cuties ;)

We literally love at the pool this summer!! This next week temps will be 95-99 degrees!!!

Summer time....

2010-07-08T10:12:00.001-06:00

4th of July... And yes, we were all dressed up in red, white and blue!!!

We really didn't spend too much time inside.... We were not about to let the rain put a damper on our fun :)

The pool... never a dull moment! Austin is in swim lessons and he is doing wonderful!
The boys picked out Joel's Father's Day present... and what was it???? A slip n' slide!!!

I might as well just put the boys beds outside... they are nearly impossible to get inside :)

An afternoon at the park! Spring has finally arrived!

2010-05-22T15:40:00.001-06:00

Here Austin is climbing his first tree!

These are the donkeys that live on the farm across the street from our house.

More farm pictures.

Just when we thought he was fine and.....

2010-05-18T21:17:00.001-06:00

BAMM!!! We had to spend the night at the Children's Hospital :( He was so severely dehydrated that we had to take him to the hospital for the night. Here he is attached to an IV. Absolutely no fun at all. But Colin was a sweet champion. Every nurse that came into contact with him had to tell us how "CUTE" he is! Even when he's sick he still manages to pull the "Colin Cuteness"!

2010-05-16T13:26:00.000-06:00

Poor Colin has been suffering from the stomach flu for 4 days now :( He is not back to 100%, but he is making slow and steady strides to a full recovery. Here he is enjoying some calm after a very crazy storm.

Mom's Day 2010

2010-05-09T15:23:00.001-06:00

It was an epically beautiful day today. We are finally moved into the new house so we hosted a Mother's Day brunch (and don't worry... the moms made the delicious food ;) GG, all the grand parents and Uncle Jon joined us for the beautiful day!
This is the new swing set we got for the boys.
And here is the rock climbing tower with a very happy Colin.

Uh oh.... who's trying to sneak a lick???? COLIN (gasp)??? NEVER!!!

"Mommy beats me"

2010-04-19T20:41:00.000-06:00

Okay, now I realize this sounds awful! Tonight as I was getting the boys ready for bed, Austin informed me that... quote unquote... "Mom, you are under arrest because you BEAT me." Flabbergasted I respond... "Excuse me??? Why am I under arrest???!"

Austin- "Well, because you beat me. You got Colin's pajamas on before I got mine on. You won the race! So you are under arrest!"

So yes. I did beat my child. Good night :)

TO BE!!!!

2010-04-14T15:38:00.001-06:00

We will be moving on May 15th! Oh dear, I should sound so excited. It's going to be A LOT of work!

To be or not to be.... that is the question!

2010-04-10T20:05:00.000-06:00

Easter 2010

2010-04-07T15:38:00.000-06:00

Fran made her famous Bunny Cake again this year!!! Yummy :)
I am sure you'll all be surprised to find pictures of Colin eating!!!

The women behind the wonderful food :-) And by the way, all that food for 7 adults and 2 children!
Austin decided to skip the fruit and dive right into the fruit dip!

Notice how the boys are sitting at the grown up table.
This is where we ended up ;)

Colin's Chuck E Cheese Birthday Party

2010-03-31T14:29:00.001-06:00

All the pics are unfortunately out of focus because the flash was not working. We had Colin's Birthday Party at Chuck E Cheese. Life couldn't get anything better for our munchy, food and fun!

Austin, Colin, Mom, Dad....

2010-03-27T20:09:00.001-06:00

All written by himself!!! He is always making big strides when it comes to writing. I was soooo worried that he wasn't learning how to write his letters. Now I realize... Austin sings to his own tune... he will write when he wants to write, sing when he wants to sing and dance when he wants to dance! Earlier in the evening I asked him to write all of our names... this is what he came up with!! Lovin it :)

The artist himself!

Months of the year Macarena

2010-03-24T13:56:00.000-06:00

There is a dance (The Macarena) that goes along with this song but I couldn't get them to do it. I'll update the video if I can get them to do the dance with the words. Too cute!

Austin's Spring Concert

2010-03-24T12:16:00.000-06:00

Austin started a new school in February. He is in a class with his good friends Amelia and Ethan. He is doing wonderful. We've been practicing letters and numbers and Austin can write his name on his very own! The concert was fun to watch. For the first half of the concert, Austin was acting up and not really participating. He and the little boy to his right were taunting each other. It was pretty embarrassing considering they were the only children (out of 100) not paying attention. However, as soon as he saw grandma in the audience, he started singing the songs and doing the dances :)

Please notice Austin not paying attention. FANTASTIC!

Happy Birthday Colin!!

2010-03-24T11:59:00.001-06:00

We woke up this morning to celebrate Colin's birthday and there was a foot and a half of snow. Spring time in Colorado :) Happy 2nd birthday my little munchy man! We love you to infinity and back ;)

Another Angel gets her wings...

2010-03-05T15:56:00.000-07:00

Great Grandma, Marcile Lucius, passed away today 3/5/2010 at 3:30pm. She died peacefully in her sleep. GG has been bravely battling diabetes for nearly 30 years. She was sharp as a tack, witty, endearing and funny to the very end. She will be laid to rest in Ohio next to her husband. She was 87 years old. Her last words of advice to our family was to keep living like we've been living and to always keep smiling. I know that we will have no problem doing that GG :) The last thing she told me was she would see me on the other side. I will be looking for those beautiful wings to greet me because she was truly an angel :) You were very loved and will be missed.

Family Picture time

2010-03-05T13:39:00.001-07:00

It was a valiant attempt but unfortunately the boys just could

not get into it. Oh well, they are still cute!

Colin and his cutness in full effect!

2010-02-12T09:30:00.000-07:00

Need I say more...
:-)

He sure does clean up well!

Valentines Party at school...

2010-02-12T09:26:00.001-07:00

Here's Austin and Amelia with their new teacher, Ms Nancy and Ms Victoria :)
Don't they make a cute couple ;)

Seriously, this kid just takes my heart!

Cuddle islands...

2010-02-12T09:13:00.000-07:00

So one of Austin's very favorite books sine he was born is called the "Cuddle Book". It is about a little squirrel named Lola, who misses her parent's cuddles, so while they are gone she decides to build a cuddle island to sleep in. So the other afternoon I went to get Austin out of bed... and this is how I found him :)Can you find him???Here's the aerial view. Maybe you can find him a little easier in his cuddle island :)
Oh... and here's Colin on the same afternoon... what little cuties I have!!
Guess they love to cuddle!

First day of new school

2010-02-11T14:48:00.000-07:00

Austin started a new school this February. He is soooo excited because Amelia is in his new class!!! His new teachers are wonderful and he is thrilled to wake up every Tuesday and Thursday morning and jet off to school!

Christmas Night

2009-12-26T16:15:00.001-07:00

The hostess with the mostess... We love you Nana Fran!!!
We enjoyed Christmas night at Fran and Craig's... Prime Rib, twice baked potatoes, all the fixins and good company! This is Colin enjoying rum cake... lol!!! (BTW ppl, the alcohol gets baked out :) Good luck with that Colin ;)

Mom and dot :)

GG and Uncle Chris!

Love this pic!

Austin's Christmas Program

2009-12-26T16:01:00.000-07:00

Austin Playing the French Horn

2009-12-26T15:10:00.000-07:00

Christmas Morning!

2009-12-26T11:13:00.000-07:00

Santa arrived at the Lucius household with no shortage of goodies!
And lots of yummy food to go along with opening the presents!It didn't take to long for Colin to figure out this whole Christmas thing was really cool! Colin got a trampoline and he can not get enough of it!

This was my gift to my mom and dad :)

And this was the ULTIMATE gift of all time. Austin got his FRENCH HORN!!!!!!

It was a busy morning!

The Lucius and Ellsworth clan :) Great times!

Austin's new thing is that he loves to be a Knight in Shining Armour. Grandma got him and Colin some nerf swords to complete the costume!

Colin got a very large measuring tape that he thought was a phone:) He kept saying "Hello, who's there?"

Austin saved the best present for last ;)

The eve of Christmas 2009

2009-12-26T10:20:00.000-07:00

We had such a wonderful Christmas Eve. We were joined by the Lucius, Ellsworth and Galvin Family. Lots of wonderful pics to come!
This is Colin's infamous "cheese" face! He knows there is going to be a flash so he

thoroughly prepares :)

Uncle Jon, Amanda, Kyle and Aunt Carol made it over the festivities. We enjoyed oyster stew, chili, and pumpkin soup.
Father and daughter :) Kyle was all about entertaining the boys
So sweet!
Austin just loves the Galvin family!
Lots of family poses.
Look, we even got Papa Craig to smile in a picture!!!
WHen did Kyle get so tall?!

Lovely!
A picture of GG with her all of her grand children! Oh, and by the way, Amanda and Kyle did not plan on their matching outfits :)

Bro's-in-law
And just plain bro's :) And I did coordinate their outfits!

The boys :)
So sweet
It's so very rare that in-laws get along so well... we are sooooo very blessed!
The generation of the ladies!

Santa visits the boys at Romp n'Roll

2009-12-24T12:18:00.000-07:00

I actually got a picture with both of them... not crying! This is where I work at. Romp n' Roll is a children's gym, art, music facility. Here the kids are having a bubble dance party!

Amelia and Alan joined us for the fun!

Cristmas had arrived at the Lucius house!!!

2009-12-11T15:16:00.000-07:00

Got the tree up...
The MOST beautiful stockings...

And a little flare :)

Gobble Gobble 09

2009-12-11T14:45:00.000-07:00

Alright everyone... get ready for some pics!!!! We had a fabulous Thanks Giving spent at my Uncle Jon and Aunt Carol's house. What a splendid afternoon! We were joined by the usual crew, our family, the grand parents, the Galvin family and the Adams/Svalstad Fam! So much fun! The 4 beautiful kiddos made the day full of fun, laughter and cheer... and the food was scrumptious :)

The grown up table...
vs... the kiddo tablr. Not much difference :) Both beautufully set!
GG, Amanda and Kyle enjoying the delicious meal!
The fantastic host and hostess... Thanks! And the nect picture is the cousins... atlast, Kyle, Amanda, myself and Chris!
The boys dicovered the Harley Davidson.... I think they look like naturals!

And now... get ready for the pose off! Nana and Joel...
Grandma and Joel...

Amand and grandpa...

Amanda and GG....
Grandma and Colin....

Myself and Colin...
Austin and Brooke (Cookie)...
Anne, myself and the chubs...BFF's , Donna and Fran (Nana)Joel and Jimmy....

And I hope you know who we are ;)

Christmas is right around the corner!!!

2009-11-21T11:07:00.000-07:00

And look... Austin is actually smiling with Santa!!! Soooooooo cute :)

Boys will be boys!

2009-11-21T10:57:00.000-07:00

Christmas Present??? I think not! Maybe in a couple of years :)
The boys had some fun playing in the dune buggies at car toys while my car was being fixed.
Grandpa, of course was the reason that the boys found this section of car toys!

I think Grandpa should get one for his house!!!

I love my Hubby!

2009-11-21T10:51:00.001-07:00

Austin, Grandma, Nana and myself went to a huge craft fair downtown and when I returned home, I came home to a clean house and fabulous meal :) Salmon pinwheels and parmesan roasted vegetable pasta. Yummy :)

Happy Halloween!

2009-11-01T09:20:00.001-07:00

It was so fun to take the boys trick-or-treating this year! I can't believe October has gone by so fast!
Don't worry, he's not a fierce as he looks ;)

Austin to the rescue!

ROARRRRRRRR!!!!!!

Best Pals :)

Party Time!!

2009-10-31T15:04:00.001-06:00

This past weekend was filled with Birthday Parties!! Beckett turned 2 and Jack turned 1!
This is my little munchie man Colin eating a cupcake.This is my very unsuccessful attempt to retrieve the paper that was holding the cupcake. SO Colin just went ahead and ate the paper as well :)

Quite the crew!

Snowed in for 3 days!!! What to do....What to do...

2009-10-31T10:51:00.000-06:00

Here is the view from our back porch.... 2.5 feet of snow with six more inches expected :)And here is the view of our cu-de-sac. Looks like we're not going to be heading out any thime today :)
WHile I was cleaning and doing laundry, the boys decided to build a fort in the play room :)
Later that night we had the neighborhood kiddos over to decorate Halloween Cookies :)eenMy boys just wnred to eat the cookies... not so much into the decor.
Brodie....Natalie...And Grey had great decorating skills!They're getting ready to conquer the cold....
Joel got home so we took the kiddos sledding. Austin LOVES ther snow!

The next day one of the neighbors had a little spare time and created a friend for the kiddos!
This thing is HUGE!!!!

Buuuuuurrrrrrr....

2009-10-22T15:20:00.000-06:00

The boys built a snow polar bear together. So sweet!!!
Just look at these two. They just love the snow. Last winter we couldn't get them to stay out for more than 5 minutes in the snow!!! What was supposed to be a day of a few scattered snow flurries ended by us waking up this morning to 8 inches of snow. But don't fret, the temps were back in the mid 50's this afternoon.... only in Colorado :)
Bye, bye snow! See you again soon I'm sure.

Austin and his pal!

2009-10-20T15:04:00.003-06:00

Liam came over for some fun. Such a cute pic ;)

Austin's Cookie Decoration PArty!

2009-10-20T14:57:00.001-06:00

Austin switched to a new preschool and his old school pals missed him bunches. We had them over this week to decorate Halloween cookies. There was approximately 6 moms and 12 kiddos. It was an absolute BLAST!

A Day for Fire Fighting

2009-10-03T14:17:00.000-06:00

We went to our friends Luka and Kiya's 4th Birthday Party and it had a fire fighting theme. Austin totally dug it!
The whole crew was there. We started the party at the fire station, where one of the fire fighters gave the kiddos a tour of the truck and the station.
Yes, we managed to get all 12 kids to sit still and pose for some pics on the ambulance.
The party ended in Luka and Kiya's backyard where the kids played fire rescue games, made fire fighter picture frames and ate a fire engine cake :)
It was a wonderful afternoon!

Here's to 5 more my love!

2009-09-15T21:52:00.001-06:00

Joel and I celebrated our 5 year Anniversary on September 3rd. So many wonderful memories and so many more to come. We are truly blessed my love. Thank you so much for this wonderful life. The hard times and the good have made us stronger. Our love grows more with each breath that we take together in our journey as a family. Here's a look back at some of our good times over the past 5 years.Here we are in Rome. And at the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris,

And in the gardens of Versailles.Here we are in Cabo San Lucas with a 3 month old little Austin!Precious Austin...
Adorable Colin...

And us... the Lucius Family :) Thank you for 5 wonderful years and these beautiful little boys!

Back to School!

2009-09-15T21:36:00.001-06:00

Here's the boy's excited for their first day back to school. Austin had to have Spider Man everything,,, backpack and lunch box. Colin wasn't as concerned.Check out Colin's personalized backpack. His Great Aunt Wilma got it for him :) Here's Colin with his new pals, Parker and Ryan.
He didn't even notice me leaving nor did he care... But when it came to nap time, Colin is not cooperative at all. I have now gotten 2 phone calls to pick him up b/c he is so upset. Colin was supposed to be my easy child !?!

Austin's big Birthday Bash!

2009-09-15T20:44:00.000-06:00

Austin celebrated his 3rd Birthday Hula style, with about 30 of his school, play date and neighborhood friends... 45 of their parents... for a grand total of 75ppl. So much for trying to keep things intimate :-)We had a casual sandwich table and a pasta bar served with lemonade for the little kiddos and Sangria for the big kiddos.Austin chose a 'Football' cake for the occasion. Costco really wooed our guests with a delightful white cake filled with chocolate moose and topped with a cream cheese frosting. It was a big hit!
We filled the backyard with tons of fun gym equipment from my work and set out several art crafts for the kids.Austin was quite the cutie pie... he loved having all his friends over, and of course being the center of attention!

Colin wasn't quite sure what to think of all the ruckus.

However, Colin did enjoy the cake :)
I painted a little hula portrait for the kids and adults to take their pictures in,

Thanks to my wonderful mom's who made this party possible! Don't know what we'd do without them. Love you two!

Some of the gang from Austin's school.

And of course Austin's long time friends (practically family :)
Hey, I gotta try to get a pic with him... so much for a big smile. He just wanted to get back to playing.

We love the Lynch family... Look at those lovely little ladies! Penny and Brian sure do have their hands full... litter ally!

Here's the boys the morning after... we were off to our 3rd BDay Party of the weekend (out of 4)