Halloween 2013

Our little miss dressed up as Cinderella for Halloween this year. She has already planned ahead, and next year she will be Belle, the following year, Arielle, and in 2016 - Snow White. Do you think she's into princesses?!

Her preschool class had a party on the 30th, where they got to sing some very special Halloween songs to all the parents. It was adorable! They also got to trick or treat from all the parents. What fun!

Pure bliss!

She had a second party to attend on the 30th, at her dance class that afternoon. Halloween Heaven! She was one happy little Princess. 

On Halloween, we made the yearly trip to Grandma and Grandpa Judson's, where Taylee trick or treated a large selection of candy, and Kent and I were treated to grandma's cinnamon rolls. Yum!

My best effort at getting these three cute cousins to pose for a photo-op...



Nana and poppi met us at our house with some Costa Vida takeout, then it was off we went for trick or treating! Taylee ordered poppi to stay home and pass out candy, and my mom, Kent, and I took her door to door.  She was on a mission to make her way to Miss DeDe's (her dance teacher), for a treat.  I was surprised, but she was undeterred from her mission when we ran into her neighborhood friends. I thought she would definitely want to break off with them. But nope, she went solo the whole way. And, really, it's easier on us adults that way! She did make it to Miss DeDe's, and she did have a great time!!

Again, difficult to get the Princess to stay still!

 Another Happy Halloween is in the books!

Denver - Adult Style

We made our annual adults only trip to Denver in late October this year to celebrate the return of Shanahan to Denver, and of course, Mark's Birthday! This trip seems to be growing every year, and getting more and more fun each time we go! This year it was Kent, myself, Mark, Amber, Daniel, Denise, and Clare, who was in town for the weekend with a couple of her girlfriends.  As usual, we overindulged on spirits, barhopping all afternoon and evening after our arrival Saturday. I was even foolishly talked into an Irish Car Bomb, and found a new hit drink for myself...the Colorado Bulldog! (a white russian - my fav, with a splash of coke. Yum!)

After our arrival on Saturday afternoone, we had a late lunch and beverages at the Taphouse. We then moved to Lodo's rooftop patio (The site of the ill-fated Irish Car Bombs...), made a stop at the wine bar Cru, and finally a late dinner at Tamayo, which lasted waaaaay too long for our inebriated group. Yet, we still made it to bed by midnight! Well, to be clear, every one else was in bed by midnight, I suffered one of my recent bedtime panic attacks, and finally made it to sleep at 2 am.  I might blog more about this new fun problem of mine, or I might not...I was hoping that it would be such a small blip in my life it wouldn't be worth mentioning, but it's not looking that way... Bummer. 

Anyhow, we met up for Mark's birthday brunch at Marlowe's, and some of our rowdier members started the day with all-you-can-drink mimosas! Not me, of course. ;)  Instead I went shopping, where I acquired my fabulous new Broncos boa. I wore it proudly!

With a 2:00 kickoff, we were at the stadium by noon. After a little shopping and a little drinking, we made our way to our seats just in time for player introductions and finally KICKOFF!

The Broncos made sure it was exciting, letting the Redskins get ahead 21-7 for a little while. We made a quick comeback in the 3rd and 4th quarter and eventually won 45-21. NICE!
Dinner after the game was a subdued affair at Maggiano's, other than when Daniel choked Mark out with an intense headlock to cure his hiccups. It sure cured mine!
After dinner, Daniel and I made a pitiful attempt at feeding the homeless in downtown Denver with our Maggiano's take-home dinners. (They offer a free meal to take home when you order certain menu items.) Every homeless person we encountered seemed to have a bag of food from local restaurants. They sure know how to treat their homeless population! But, we did our best, then rejoined the group at the hotel.  After the early mimosa start and the overwhelming fun at the game, we were in our rooms at nine. Party animals! Can't wait for next year!

Love at Lodo's!

Brotherly Love

Lovely Ladies - Clare and Amber

Happy Birthday Mimosas

Clare's favorite meal in a glass. Bloody Mary's!

Pregame Party

 

Funny Farm!

Last weekend we headed to Black Island Farms Harvest Festival, or as Taylee calls it, the Funny Farm!  We are so blessed to be able to plan and enjoy events with both my side of the family as well as Kent's.  Me, Kent, and Taylee were joined by Nana, Popi, Grandma, Grandpa, Kenzie, Amber, Skyler, and Monica. We had a great time in the corn maze, the hay slides, the corn box, the bouncy house, checking out the farm animals, and munching kettle corn. 

After we were all farmed out, we met up for dinner at the Pizza Factory. Yum!

The whole gang in the corn maze. Don't mind little miss sourpuss face in the front. She was annoyed that I told her to smile. Go figure!

Leading the way!

 

One of Taylee's many followers!

Hay Slides!

Tire Swings

Tractor Train ride! One of the more uncomfortable things I have endured!

Sassy Pants got ahold of Skyler's hat.

 

Hammin it up!





Denver with the kids!

Late in September we got up EARLY on a Saturday morning and grabbed a quick flight to Denver.  A hop, skip, and a jump later, we were at Elitch's! Garrett, Aden, and Xavier met the 8 of us (me, Kent, Skyler, Taylee, Nana, Mark, Amber, and Kenzie), for a rollickin' good time. Taylee experienced Elitch's as a two year old, but this trip was a whole new ball game. She and Xavier were inseperable (when they weren't wrestling over front of the line!) and they rode every single kids ride TWICE!  Kenzie and Aden also teamed up for a great time, and us adults snuck in a few big kid rides of our own. Thanks Nana for the freedom you allowed us! It was a good time for everyone involved (even Mark!).

That evening we made a quick call ahead to Hacienda Colorado, and were treated to a private dinner in the "Tequila Room." It was, as always, delicious. And we only drank a little tequila!

After a restful evening, we were up for breakfast (where we happened to spot Broncos consultant Alex Gibbs!), then an early lunch at the Yardhouse.  We met Garrett for a quick kid exchange, then the "adults" (including Skyler and Kenzie), were off to the stadium! Kenzie was soooo excited for this, her very first Bronco game.  They put on a good show for her, stomping the Philadelphia Eagles 52-20. I wish we could have sat with her to see her smile, but alas, we only have four season tickets, and Mark & Amber were forced to pay $125 a ticket! Bummer! But well worth the cost, in Kenzie's opinion!

After picking up Taylee from Garrett's house, we all met up for dinner at the Red Rock Brewery. Good food, good company, good times. 

We headed back home on Monday, much to Taylee's chagrin. We had a great time, but she sure missed her cousin Kaydence..... Maybe next time. I have a feeling Kenzie wants to make this a yearly trip. And we would LOVE to have them join us for our yearly kid trip!

The picture selection is scarce, as we forgot the camera, then forgot to charge the battery. We snapped a couple iphone photos and called it good...

Taylee on the swings at Elitch's

Xavier on the swings at Elitch's

Kent and Skyler in full Broncos glory



Me and Nana, digging the Broncos scene



Dinosaur Park!

One of the best parts about Taylee's preschool this year are the monthly field trips (ask me in the spring if I still feel this way :). September's field trip was to the Ogden Eccles Dinosaur Park. I never went along when Kent took Skyler, so this was a first for me as well.  We had a great time exploring the park with Taylee's friends and classmates. We had a picnic lunch, and the kids spent lots of time at the dinosaur playground.  Taylee and her cute friend Abby loved chasing each other up and down the slide!

Ohhhh, scary!

Taylee's class

Taylee, Abby, and Treyzen

Dino Playground

Look mom, I'm about to hatch!

Slip and Slide!

Taylee and the boys

Youngster University

Yes indeed, Miss Taylee has begun her second year of preschool. She is in love with her new teacher Mrs. Stacy, and seems to be learning lots! She complains that school is soooo long, but its only 30 minutes longer than last year. Just 2 1/2 hours. Wait til' first grade little lady!

Anyhow, here is the cute little Miss on her first day at Youngster University...

All things Taylee

I just love my little Taylee! Some of the fun, silly, and annoying things she is up to and into lately...

- Cherry drinks (slurpee, icee, chiller) Depends on where you get it, but it's always a "cherry drink" to her. Even if she gets blue raspberry...

-Princess dress-ups. Taylee and Kate like to Dress-up EVERY day. Bad princess, good princess, fairy, you name it!

-Bringing me to my next point... Kate. Taylee has found her very first best friend, and she is head over heels for her!  Kate is a more outgoing version of sassy Taylee. They are like two peas in a pod. Kate keeps us laughing all the time with her silly personality. They fight like cats and dogs, but play like nobody's business.

-Games on mommy's new iPad (occasionally she freudian slips and calls it "her iPad" - too true!). Most especially Palace Pets, Leo's Pad, and EduRoom.

-Swimming! Having completed her first series of "real" swimming lessons... Little Wave I - Duck, Dive, and Glide, Taylee is super excited about swimming. We go to the pool to practice occasionally, and she loves to run five steps and throw herself into my arms and call it swimming! Her second series of swimming Lessons -- Little Wave II - Floats and Glides, begins in September.

-Toberfest. As in Oktoberfest, held yearly at Snowbird. We introduced her to it last year, and she has been VERY excited about going again this fall. Or summer, I suppose. We took her for opening weekend this past weekend and she was, again, enamored! Bouncy House, garlic french fries, riding the ski lift and hiking the trail, balloon animals, polka dancing ... what more could a girl ask for?

-Gardening. We have been growing tomatoes in pots this summer. She has really enjoyed helping me water and pick the ripe tomatoes. She has already put in her order for next summer - strawberry "trees," grapes, and peppers. Really? I think she might be influenced by Kate's mommy's garden. We'll see what I can do...

-Picking out her own clothes. Drives me crazy, but what can you do???

This was a good day! She broke out of the box and wore something other than her "normal" four shirt selection

-Listening to Christmas music ALL YEAR ROUND. Now, I love me some Christmas music, but NOT in July. I have tried to explain that Christmas music won't be special at Christmas time if we listen all the time, but she's not havin it. After a talk with my friend Adrienne, I have decided that although it drives me crazy, listening to Christmas music in the summer isn't the end of the world. We can be happily spotted singing "I saw Mommy kissing Santa Claus" any day of the week now.

All these silly quirks make her darn right irresistible! We love you Taylee bug!

Hey, Hey, They say it's My Birthday!

This birthday has definitely been one for the record books.  We started off my birthday weekend with a trip to Denver. We got rained out of the Mile High Summer Scrimmage (bummer!), but had fabulous sunny weather on my actual birthday, perfect for a day at Water World!

Taylee, Aden, and Xavier. Just missing cute Kaydence!

A little sunscreen for Garrett

Aunt Ginger playing some kind of tongue trick. :0)

Skyler, pledging allegiance

Kent, relaxin!

Me, chillaxin' ;0)

We also took a day trip out to the Springs to visit great grandpa, complete with dinner at Black Eyed Pea. Yum! Before heading home on Tuesday, we took in a little Broncos training camp action!
After arriving back in Utah the birthday celebration just had to continue, because poor Poppi missed out on all the action. No sweat by me! We dined at the Olive Garden, because I lack creativity, but I sure do love them breadsticks!

 Kent and Taylee surprised me by decorating the house while I was working out after my night shift on Saturday.  How cute are they?! Taylee added her own special touches, using her toys and blankets to make a path from my workout room to the kitchen. Silly girl!

 I am sure one spoiled gal, getting clothes, books, and a new Spin bike from Kent, AND an iPad from my mom and dad. Can you say LUCKY?!! What a fab birthday!

 We closed out the weekend with a little birthday breakfast at Jeremiah's (our fave!). Taylee is rockin' the "ski chair" at Jeremiah's. She thinks she is too cool! Then a couple quick errands and exchanges, which turned into playtime for Taylee at the mall. Imagine that!

Diva!

Future Life Flight?!!

Happy Birthday to me!! Thanks fam, love ya!



Tribute to Whitney!

A few weeks ago my friend Whitney met us at Wheeler Farms and took some amazing photos of both my kids. She took Taylee's 3 yr photos last year, and I was excited to hire her to take Skyler's Senior pix, as well as Taylee's four yr pix. I don't have the pix back yet, but I have had a sneak peek. Whitney does great work! I am sad that she will be soon be moving and taking her camera, her sweet personality, and her fab nursing skills away from me! 

Anyhow, on Monday evening, my parents, Kent, Taylee, and I, went to a cute little concert at the Kenley Ampitheater, called "Recess Monkey." It was a fun concert designed for kids. Taylee enjoyed it, but got bored about halfway through.  Prior to the concert, Taylee wanted to climb around in this flower garden and take pictures. So, I played Whitney. As you can see, it didn't work out so well... Not one good picture in the bunch! But what a ham she is!