A Resolution

I know it has been a ridiculously long time since I blogged, but one of my New Year's Resolutions is to get my life organized and I figured why not start today!
I am just going to begin blogging from December forward, but believe me when I say that we have been very busy the last few months!
It has been great to take a few weeks off this month and have fun as a family. These pictures were taken by a friend of Kelly's at a Christmas party we attended. The kids had a fun time and it was a great way to kick off the holiday season!

Grandma's Funeral

My grandma passed away at the end of May and we attended her funeral the following week. I feel blessed to have had such an amazing grandma. One of our happiest memories of living in Price was having the opportunity to spend so much time with her. My boys grew to love her as much as I did and we were heartbroken at her passing. At my grandma's funeral I was asked to read a poem that she had written and also to share one of my favorite memories of her. This is the memory that I shared:

The last time we visited Grandma she pulled Ryan aside. She put her hands on his shoulders, looked him right in the eyes, and said, "Do you know how much I love you? Do you know how special you are? Do you know who else thinks you are special? Your Father in Heaven. He loves you so very much." This experience exemplifies all that I love about Grandma. She loved each of us and could see our greatest potential even when we could not. She wanted only the best for us and our confidence in ourselves grew as we spent time with her.

She was so happy for me when Laynie was born. She told me many times that she always knew I would have a little girl:

She truly was an amazing woman and will be missed.



Although it was a very quick trip, we were able to have all of the grand kids together for a few (too short!) hours. So, of course, we had to take a picture:

Horace Tabor

In Fourth Grade Jacob studied Colorado History. His class put on a "wax museum" to celebrate all they had learned throughout the year. Jacob chose Horace Tabor, a famous Coloradoan with a colorful past. As Jacob put it, "His life had all the parts of a Greek tragedy set on a western stage." For the project Jacob had to complete a written report (with a bibliography), as well as a poster and 3-4 minute memorized presentation. For the wax museum he dressed up as Horace Tabor and posed in front of his poster. He wore a button that said "push" and when you did, he began his presentation. I was amazed to see how much time and effort Jacob put into this project. He really did a great job.

Jacob in his silver miner pose:

Trying to remember what comes next:

Leadville is a small mining town in Colorado founded by Horace Tabor. On our way home from my Grandma's funeral we took a detour so that Jacob could see the town. He even stood on the stage of the "famous" Tabor Opera House which was built in 1879.

(I apologize for the picture. It was very dark and musty inside. Not much has changed since it was built which made it that much more exciting for Jacob.)

Ryan's Baptism

Ryan was baptized and became am official member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints on May 8, 2010 (Yes, I know that was more than two months ago. Time sure flies when your having fun . . . right?!). Ryan is such a good, kind boy who always tries to choose the right. He was very excited to be baptized and especially happy that both his grandparents and some of his cousins could be here for the special day.

Here he is with Kelly right before his baptism:


And here he is with his Grandpa Dennis and Grandma Judy wearing his new suit (isn't he handsome?):

Laynie's Graduation

I know I still need to blog about Ryan's baptism, but something happened at our house today and I wanted to make sure you could share in the good news! Laynie graduated from preschool (well, she didn't technically "graduate" since she still has three more years to go, but you know what I mean). Believe me when I say there were days when I didn't think she would make it. Congratulations Laynie, you did it!

Another month has passed . . .

and once again I am playing catch up! This past month has been super busy for us. I was called as the Primary President in our ward, I was in charge of a two week long (two weeks too long!) book fair at the boy's school, co-hosted a baby shower for a great friend, Jacob performed in his school play, Ryan turned 8, Laynie turned 2, we finished a season of baseball (Jacob) and soccer (Ryan), Ryan was baptized, we had company for two weeks, the boys had a piano recital (Ryan's first) and to top it all off I turned another year older. Here are a few pictures from our busy month:

Jacob rollerblading in his school play:

These are the party favors I made for my friend's baby shower. The idea was given to me by my super creative friend (she also made me the most amazing cupcakes for my birthday!):

I am not a very sentimental person, but when I saw this picture it brought tears to my eyes. I really cannot believe how old my boys are!

Jacob played catcher for many of the games this season and loved it!

My mother-in-law helped me make freezer meals for one of my favorite people who will be having a baby at any moment (I made a few for myself as well):

Laynie turned two and is as cute as ever!

Thanks to their amazing teachers, both Jacob and Ryan did an amazing job at their piano recital:

Spring Track Off

Some Track Offs go by much faster than others and this one was one of those long ones. I was telling a friend that I was feeling badly about how boring this Track Off was and was surprised to hear Jacob say, "This has been the best Track Off yet." I guess I shouldn't worry about it so much!

Jacob turned 10 at the beginning of our Track Off.

We celebrated by swimming, geocaching and going out to eat. He also invited a few friends over for cake and ice cream. It is a little sad, but also exciting to see how grown up Jacob is becoming. He is such a good, kind and funny kid:

We welcomed Spring with a snowstorm or two:

We went to the most amazing zoo in Colorado Springs. Our favorite part was when the bear came right up to the window and just about scared Ryan to death. They were fishing right in from of us! The kids were even able to feed the Giraffes. The zoo did not have as many animals as most, but the ones we did see were truly amazing.

And, we spent a lot of time playing outside and going to parks:

Throw in a dozen soccer and baseball practices and that about sums up our Spring Track Off.