Estes Park Getaway

This last week, Nate and I took a little getaway to Estes Park, Colorado. We bought a little Groupon Getaway and decided to see somewhere that we hadn't been before. I had driven through once with my family years ago just sightseeing, but I had never stayed, and Nate had never been there at all. It was so worth it!

We stayed at a little lodge just outside of town, right on the river. And even though it was an average of 20 degrees the whole time we were there, we were nice and cozy! The first night, we enjoyed our freedom by staying in our room, ordering pizza, and watching Monday Night Football. How exciting are we?! Tuesday morning, they actually had to move us to a new room because a pipe burst in the building and flooded a few rooms, so they moved us to spare us from the noise. So, after we moved rooms, we decided to drive through the Rocky Mountain National Forest. It was gorgeous! Even though theres a big fire burning in the park right now, they still let us in to the other parts. And some of the park was closed because of the snow, so we were pretty limited in what we could see. But, because of that, they didn't charge us entry into the park, which is normally $20 a car! So we lucked out in a way. After we went through there, we just decided to drive. We ended up in some small mountain towns and seeing some beautiful views. We saw lots of frozen lakes, and even some people skating on them. And we saw plenty of elk and a few deer too. We got an afternoon nap in that day, and then went out for a nice dinner together. And after dinner, we lit a fire in our room and watched a movie. It was seriously the most relaxing vacation we've had ever, and we did nothing! By Wednesday, we were ready to come home to see our boy though. He said he missed us, until we got there to see him, then he didn't want us to take him home. Typical, after he got to spend all that time with his Tay Tay! I'm glad he had so much fun though, it's always nice to leave him in good hands. 

Our first elk encounter, right on the side of the road!

This was our Tuesday adventure. Deer in the national park, a beautiful church we found in the middle of nowhere, and a completely frozen lake!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I didn't take any pictures on Thanksgiving this year, but I sure do have a lot to be thankful for.

We spent the holiday with my parents and sister at my mom's house this year. Nate's family went out of town to visit with his sister, so we missed them this year. We hung around and had a lazy day watching football and looking through sales papers until dinner was ready. And, even though its the same every year, dinner was absolutely delicious. My parents always do a little something for everyone with our holiday dinners, so we are sure to get loaded up on plenty of starches and deliciousness. We had fried turkey, like we do every year, as well as a roast and gravy, with mashed potatoes (my favorite) and rice (my sister's request), sweet potatoes with marshmallows, corn, and rolls. Basically, we all fill our plates and then pour gravy on top of it all! And every year it gets better than the year before.

This year, I want to write a little bit about all of the things in my life that I have to be thankful for.

First and foremost, my husband and my son. Without the two of them, I don't know what I would be doing with my life these days. Even though we have our differences at times, and they can both be exceptionally difficult, I love them both more than ever. My beautiful baby boy, who isn't such a baby anymore, is such a sweet little boy and so smart! I am just so lucky that he is a happy, healthy little boy and the light of my life. And my husband, who works so hard for us, to make sure we have all the things we need, and want. And puts up with me when I'm crazy at times. I would not be who I am today without him. He really is my best friend, and I am so thankful to have him.

I am also thankful for my family. My parents, who are always there to help whenever we may need, even when its last minute. My sister, who has grown into a wonderful young woman, and is one of my best friends, always there for me at the drop of a hat. My brother, who has volunteered to serve our country, and has grown so much in doing so, and who is always there with advice and a good laugh when I need it. Nate's parents, who support us and are so helpful and always there for us. Nate's brother, who is my son's favorite person in the whole world, is such a nice guy and always has my back when his brother is being sassy, and is so great with my son. And all three of Nate's sisters, who I feel I have grown closer to this last year, and who are all such strong and inspiring women, and always have great advice to share.

I also want to say thanks to all of our friends who have been there for us from the start. Our journey has not been an easy one so far, and we truly have some of the greatest friends in the world who have stood by us through it all and loved us from the beginning. I am thankful for our extended families, especially those who made the journey to be here for our wedding this year, and those who couldn't make it as well. We have such a great support system all over, and that is something to be thankful for every day.

And now I'm done with my mushy thanks. I felt that this year has been such a big year for so many people in our lives, and they all deserve to be thanked and appreciated, not only at this time of year, but all year long. I truly have some of the strongest people in my life, who are such great examples to me and my family.

Thank You All!

Brag Brag Brag

Ok so, I now believe everyone who says that the "terrible twos" happen closer to three, or that three is worse than two. I'm just about two months away from having a three-year-old and believe me, he has been testing my patience these days!

But, then there are the moments, when the whole world seems to stop and I feel so much love from my little boy, and I am just so proud of him.

Last night, when I was putting him to bed, he asked me to "close the door and snuggle me." So I did. And as I was laying in his bed all snuggled up next to him, he wrapped his arms around my neck and kissed my forehead. And told me he loves me. And I cried like a little baby! How did I get such a sweet little boy?! He never ceases to amaze me, and I feel like sometimes I lose sight of the little things. I am so lucky to have this little boy. Never did I think that I would be so blessed. 

Seriously, I love him so much. Couldn't ask for more.

P.S. He did it again at nap time today. Jackpot!!

Halloween!

A week or two late, but here it is nonetheless!

This was the kid's practice run in their costumes. Who thought it would be so hard to get three kids to pose for a picture! :)

The weekend before Halloween, we went to a Trick-or-Treat street event at Aspen Grove Mall. It was super cute and all the kids had a blast. It was a little cold, but not freezing, so it worked out! Landon was a little scared to go up to the people to say "Trick-or-Treat!" even though we practiced about a million times. But he ended up with lots of candy at the end of the night.

That's my "black spiderman" with a mouth full of candy. He wouldn't wear his mask for trick-or-treating. He's got a thing about the mask. He will only wear it for about 30-second intervals. 

The week of Halloween, we carved pumpkins on Sunday with my sister and my best friend, Shelby. Shelby had never carved a pumpkin before (GASP!) so we took her under our wings and introduced her to the fun-filled activity. I bought a set to carve Marvel character for Landon, and they turned out really cute! I carved Wolverine, Jenn did Spider-Man, and Shelby did The Hulk. They were actually really difficult to do! So I'm surprised they turned out so well.

Then, on Halloween, we went Trick-or-Treating in my parent's neighborhood. We totally lucked out on the weather, it was a perfect night! I didn't even have to wear a jacket. For some reason, Landon was scared of every spider decoration, and was almost too creeped out to go to any of the doors. So we did a few cul-de-sacs and then headed home, but he definitely got plenty of candy!

And I totally sucked at taking pictures this year. But I'm trying to get better. The photographer in me is screaming at me, so I'm going to try to get better with my mom's new DSLR camera and hopefully you'll be getting some masterpieces on here soon! :)

Hunkin Patch Round Two

So we hit another pumpkin patch today with my parents and sister. It was a cold and somewhat rainy day, but we loved in none-the-less. There were mini-horses to pet, and we saw cows and pigs, and got to feed the ducks. And, of course, we got to pick another hunkin to take home with us.

The Crew for the day, minus Gran, who was our photographer today.

Feeding the ducks, which was probably his favorite part, other than the pumpkins.

Landon and Jenn racing to get out of the rain

Me and Jenn, having a nice, loving moment.

This is my favorite from the day. After us constantly stopping Landon and telling him to take a picture, he decided to stop us for a picture. We were all about 3 steps ahead, and he called us all to stop and take a picture with him. Oh and that face, I am in love with it.

After the pumpkins, we decided to go to a little restaurant in Castle Rock for some lunch. The place we went to served Italian AND Mexican foods, and, oddly enough, we all got Italian dishes and they were all excellent. Landon was winding down and starting to get tired, but that doesn't stop him from being a little ham...

Jenn would complain to Landon that she was just soooo cold and ask him to warm her up, so this was how he would warm her up.

Then he decided to warm us both up.

Haha love that faceeee!

And then, he asked to take a picture with "the girls"

What a little crack up!

So now, I think we have taken care of our pumpkin duties for the year, and we are sufficiently ready for Halloween!

Hunkin Patch!

Our (not so) little Landon is SOOO excited for Halloween this year. He has decided he is going to be "the black one" which means Spider-man in the black suit, and not Venom. There is a difference. If you're at all familiar with Spider-man comics and such, or have seen the movie Spider-man 3, you'll know what I'm talking about. And we have now convinced Daddy to be Venom, and Mommy gets to be Spider-man in the red and blue suit. We are so excited! 

We decided to go to the pumpkin festival at the Botanic Gardens at Chatfield this year, and it was so worth it! Even though we got rained on and it was windy and cold, we had a blast! There were soooo many pumpkins, or as Landon says, hunkins. The patch was huge, and they were gorgeous pumpkins. We went with Bubbe and Tay Tay, and Auntie Syd and her kiddos. Landon and Lola have gotten so close and have become such good friends, I love it!

These two are growing up so fast, it makes me sad!

 My Boys!

 My Lovely Little Family!

 Seriously, Best Friends. :)

Catching the rain on his tongue.

They always remind you to stop n smell the roses, don't they?

We went to another pumpkin patch today with my parents and my sister, but I don't have those pictures yet. But when I do, they'll be here!

Almost One Year Later.

What a busy year we have had!

Landon Turned Two!

And...
We (Finally) Got Married!

June 22, 2012

And...

We Went to Disneyland!

August 2012

And so much in between!

I lost my job in April, so I guess there's really no excuse for not blogging, but I am just so terrible at remembering to do this, obviously. But, in my defense, with all of the wedding stuff this summer, and the busy life of having a two-year-old, things were just hectic. And to top it off, my computer crashed in May! Luckily, we have a good friend who was able to save all of my pictures and put them on my external hard drive. Unfortunately, they are all a big huge jumble of files, and I now have the extremely overwhelming task of organizing them and trying to make some sort of order. I don't think I'll be done with that task for at least a year!

Nate is doing great in school these days, and is doing amazingly at work. Hoping for a promotion here in the next few months, because if anyone deserves it, its him! We are so lucky to have such an awesome dad and husband who works so hard for us. I really don't know what I would do without him!

And Landon. Well, he's Landon. He is SO full of energy these days, and just as funny as ever. He loves anything with super heroes, especially Spider-man. I find myself becoming an expert on everything Marvel. He is also almost potty-trained! Yay! Finally. We started trying before we went to Disneyland, and he was so close to getting it! Then we went on vacation for a week, and I wasn't really trying to teach him to potty at Disneyland with all of that excitement. So we had a setback there. But today was his first day accident free and in big boy undies! We are so proud of our little boy, he is growing so quickly and he never ceases to amaze us!

And that's the quick and simple update on us! Hopefully I will be able to continue to update somewhat regularly. But I know I've said that a few times now and it just doesn't seem to be happening. But, it won't hurt to try!

Christmas Time Again

So, I failed at posting when I said I would, but here I am. At least its happening, right?

It has been such a busy month for us, and it doesn't look like it will be calming down any time soon. But busy is good. We did Christmas early this year with Nate's parents, since they were going to the cabin in Bear Lake with the rest of the family and we couldn't make it. We were so sad that we didn't get to see everyone, but we made the best of it at home. Landon was excited for presents, but once he opened one that he liked and started to play with, he had no interest in opening any more and it was literally like pulling teeth to get him to open another. On our early Christmas, it was his Lightning McQueen and Tow Mater toys. He loves those things!

 Opening his book with Tay Tay. (He was attached to Uncle Taylor and no one else could help him open his presents!)

 Daddy couldn't open his cars fast enough!

 Big Cheese!

 Haha check out that face! Someone must have asked to play with his toys...

Then, Christmas morning we spent at home, just the three of us. And, although it was quiet, it was really nice. The night before, Landon had developed a cough and a runny nose, and his nebulizer wasn't helping. We were actually up most of the night with him on the 24th. He was waking up with a fever and we were so scared at once point we were preparing to go to the hospital. But, with the help of Ibuprophen and plenty of water, we made it through the night and he was a happy camper the next day. His favorite toys of the morning were probably his Batman and Joker cars (Thanks Auntie Breecia!) or his new Woody doll (Thanks Auntie Syd!)

 Sleepy boy digging in his stocking!

 Batman and Joker cars. He was so excited!

 He had to take a break to play with them.

 Woody!

 Haha so excited to play with Woody!

 Presents with Daddy

 We got him a lil play shaving kit, so Daddy had to take a break from making us breakfast to show his boy how its done! Too bad he ended up shaving his legs instead... :)

Cheeeeeese!

Then, after breakfast and a quick clean up, we made our way over to my parent's house. Unfortunately, Landon was so fixated on Batman that he didn't care to open any of his presents on his own. So, I had the fun for him. He did, however, have the time to play with his present from Auntie Jenn, which was a race track with Lightning McQueen and Francesco. He had a blast with that one, and everything else was out of mind.

 Hot Stuff playing with his track.

 Just Batman, wanting nothing to do with the rest of us, no matter how much fun we were having.

 Gran and Pop got him Elefun, which he did have some excitement for!

We even got to go outside for a bit in his new Spiderman boots, which light up by the way.

We had a great Christmas this year. And even though we missed seeing all of our family, we could not have asked for a better weekend, or a happier little boy. 

Hope everyone is having a great new year so far, and I'll (hopefully) post again next week. My little man turns TWO on Wednesday. Can you believe it?!