Spring Break

Apparently I have taken a "break" from blogging - not intentionally of course...

It just seems like life has been absolutely CRAZY and when I do have a free moment I just want to put my feet up, grab a cup of coffee and watch Duck Dynasty!

But I do LOVE my blog and need to play some MAJOR catch up, so all those great moments we have recently lived do not go unforgotten!

 So we survived our first spring break this past March - and I do think "survive" is the correct word to use.  I have recently discovered that "Spring Break" for a parent - unless you are fortunate enough to take the week off and travel with your beautiful children somewhere wonderful - SUCKS!  That's right for a parent Spring Break and all the other days off from school - SUCK!

I love my kids, I really, really do - but I also love my schedule and knowing what my days look like every week - I like it, so when Spring Break came along it really threw a wrench in my whole system! 

Typically, I take Ashtyn to school and while she gets her fill of crafts, reading, learning, and running around I get to take care of all the chores I need to do and get my work out done in PEACE!  And then I have the patience and energy to entertain her the rest of the day.

But not that week - nope!  By 9am Ashtyn and I were already at each other throats arguing over the stupidest things or her and Eli were fighting over some toy - it was not great at all!

It seems we need that three hours apart in order to appreciate the time we do have together!

We did schedule a play date with the rest of her classmates at Waneka Lake - it seems I wasn't the only parent disliking "Spring Break" - so it was nice for the kids to run around with each other, while us parents got a little bit of a break.

I am a little scared for summer time - I think I need to start putting a schedule together NOW, so when school ends I am prepared for keeping both of my children occupied and happy, while still maintaining everything else I have and want to do!

We spent all morning at Waneka Lake playing, running around and then walking down by the lake and exploring!

 Ashtyn and her BFF Chloe - they were so cute holding hands walking down to the lake...

 Eli LOVES to go to the lake and throw rocks, sticks, mud and whatever else he can find into the lake...

 and by the time we leave, he has fallen in the lake at least once and is covered in mud...

the joys of a raising kids!

Gotta love them...

First Dentist Visit

Ashtyn had her first visit to the Dentist this past week.  I personally hate the Dentist and hate going, so I wasn't sure how excited Ashtyn would be or how well she would do.  Matt of course talked it up the whole week beforehand and he said she did great during the visit.  She wasn't scared, no crying, no whining - nothing!  I think she actually enjoyed it - especially since she got handfuls of goodies at the end - always a way to win over my daughter!

 ...she was so cute, when I asked her how it was she told me...

"You know mom, there is a sun in there and I had to wear sun glasses!  Isn't that funny?"

 Apparently, she also thought the bubblegum fluoride tasted funny - well she actually said "gross", so next time she said she would try something different.  I don't think any flavor of flouride tastes good if you ask me!

Dr. Cope said her teeth looked great and to keep up the good work.

I have really been impressed with how well Ashtyn brushes her teeth and has made it a part of her daily routine without us constantly having to nag her.

She came home with a bag full of goodies and an electric toothbrush she got to decorate with stickers!

Good Job Ashtyn!  You are growing up so fast...

Spring Fever

OMG...is that a park?  With no snow and no WIND!

Finally, a nice, warm, sunny afternoon, which we have been waiting FOREVER for! We could barely contain ourselves and headed straight to the park for some fun in the sun!

Eli literally jumped out of the stroller and ran over to the play ground as if he has never seen one before...I think we have a BAD case of cabin fever!

 Spring...please, please show your pretty little face, we are desperate for more days like this...

Forcast for tomorrow - 67, but will there be WIND?  That is the question...

Maybe Next Time...

I am starting to see a common theme when we decide to have a "Weekend Getaway" with friends who also have children.  I always have this "fantasy" of what I think the weekend is going to be like and then "BAM" reality hits and it is far from what I had dreamed of...Oh, where do I begin?

We had originally wanted to plan an adult only weekend away with our friends, the Ohlheisers, up in Breckenridge at my Grandma's condo.  Well, with not being able to find people to watch our precious kids, we decided to just bring them along - now a Family weekend away...well then on Thursday we found out that Breckenridge was a no go, so still trying to salvage our weekend, we then landed on the idea of going up to the cabin in Red Feather...

Our kid free weekend up in Beautiful Breckenridge in a nice condo with hot tubs had now turned into a weekend in Red Feather with four kids in a cabin with NO running water - not quite a "fantasy" come true, but Hey a weekend away - I am always game for that.

So we spent all day Friday packing and decided to pull out of the Ohlheiser's driveway at 9am so we would have a full day of playing in the snow and riding the 4-wheelers on Saturday...

Well by 10 am we were headed North on I-25 to Red Feather and that set the tone for the entire weekend...

Wind gusts of 100mph, 5 foot deep snow drifts which kept us from being able to not only play in the snow, but park our trucks any where near the cabin, so Jason and Matt were left to haul all of our crap from the road to the cabin in deep, deep snow!  Four kids trapped in a small cabin, Adam's cold turning into the flu and a VERY restless night sleep for all - all 8 of us sleeping in the main room of the cabin spread over 2 air mattresses and Eli waking up at 2am bright eyed ready to go repeating "trash truck, mama, daddy, baby, puppy" for over an hour...

Needless to say Jason and Stacey started packing at 7am to leave and by 9:30 we were all on the road back home - we spent less then 12 hours up at the cabin!

Among all the chaos and let downs we still managed to have fun and as always laughed a ton and created some unforgettable moments...

We all attempted to play in the snow, but the wheelers couldn't even get through the dirt roads without getting stuck...Maybe next time!

At one point during our twelve hour vacation us adults sported some "high fashion"...

Here's my fav - Stacey holding Alex, drinking a beer with hot pink 80's slippers!

Jason on his way out to get the truck and wheeler unstuck...

Matt putting out the VIBE - as usual!

What can I say...the man is sexy!

And even me - who takes great pride in my fashion sense, had to sport my Great Grandma's slippers since I forgot mine...

It truly was not the weekend we were hoping for and when all said and done we are completely EXHAUSTED, but I can still say I enjoyed my time with The Ohlheisers - like always!

Maybe next time we will get to play in the snow, ride 4-wheelers, go sledding and have a good nights rest and maybe, just maybe spend more then 12 hours up at the cabin...

Maybe next time!

Date Night

On Friday night, Matt and I had the best date night EVER!

The one thing we fell in love with when we visited Nashville were the honky tonks and getting to listen to live country music - we so wish there was something like that here...

Well, we found it - well something similar anyways!  Toby Keith's I Love this Bar was where we spent out Friday night, enjoying beer in mason jars, eating dinner, talking, laughing and listening to LIVE country music!

It was fantastic!

 The beers were amazing and served in these huge, chilled mason jars - yummy!

I am so going to go buy some of these...

 Justin Moore played and it was great to see one of our faves LIVE!  We were a little bummed he didn't play his big hits like "Hank It" or "Small Town USA" but LIVE country music on a Friday night - I will take it anytime!

Thanks Babe for the night out!

Let's do it again sometime...

love you.

Friday Morning

Friday mornings are something I look forward to every week.  The rest of the week always feels so jamb packed with stuff to do and running around crazy, that when Friday morning rolls around - I feel a sense of relief.  I also love that this is my alone time with Eli - just him and I.  We drop Ashtyn off at preschool and then we spend the next three hours - just us!  I love this time with him - We typically head home and spend the morning snuggling, drinking coffee (Eli drinks some too), watching Curious George, catching a live viewing of the "Trash Truck" and then spending the rest of our time playing trash trucks...I love those three hours with him!  Some Friday mornings we have play dates with Shannon and Payton.  Shannon found this awesome indoor playground at the Broomfield Rec Center, so we went to go check it out...

 The place is AWESOME!  The kids can climb, slide, jump, roll and run all over and you don't have to worry about them getting hurt - except if your child is the one that tries to climb up the slide while others are sliding down...wonder whose child that may be?

It did take Eli awhile to warm up - you can tell he is used to having his older sister there to boss him around or showing him what to do - but once he got familiar with the joint he had lots of fun!

Payton of course knew exactly what to do, but she did wind up getting stuck in the "hippo's mouth" so Shannon, my 9 month pregnant friend, had to climb up there and get her out - I am not going to lie I chuckled a bit and then of course took a picture...

 Our little monkeys -
Eli looks so tiny compared to Payton in this picture...

Can't believe they will be turning 2 soon!

We loved our play date, but can't wait for summer ones at Waneka Lake!

 This past Friday we went to Kings to do some shopping for our camping trip.  I try not to shop with the kids anymore, because it takes twice as long, they always fight with each other, and I HATE pushing those "Car" carts around (I have no sense of depth perception, not so great with those carts), but I only had Eli, so I decided I could handle it...

The shopping trip went well, but I had to document the way Eli rides in his "Car"...

 He ALWAYS hangs out the side and drags his fingers along the floor, drawing himself tons of attention - mostly smiles and laughs, but I did get the dirty look from the mom who I am sure was thinking...

"OMG!  Why is he not buckled in and who lets their kid hang out the side like that and drag his fingers on the dirty floor...!"

Well I do lady - it works for us!

LOVE my Friday mornings with this sweet boy - they are soon coming to an end , so I am going to soak up every last minute I can!