Never Too Old

Vacations always go by WAY too fast!!  Fall break was no different, but we made the most of every minute.  It will be a while before the whole family is back in AZ again, so we tried to fit in as much as possible.

Our last day was spent at the local pumpkin patch and although we skipped the actual pumpkins, we did manage to see and do everything else.  And not just the kids got in on the fun...mommy and Aunt Kiki joined in too.

It's a toss up who had more fun, but if you were going to guess from the pictures I am betting you'd put money on me.

Mid-Way iPhone Photo Dump

Just a quick photo dump from some of our trip so far.  I can't believe we will be heading back home on Friday.  Vacations always go way to quickly.

Still on the agenda though...Postino, a movie, meeting some of the kids' friends for an after school snack, Seahawks game for everyone but Tatum and I and visiting a few more friends.  No time to be wasted.

From top left:
1.  Taylor had a little school function before we headed out of town.  I got to see some of her work so far this year!
2.  About to drive through the Eisenhower tunnel.
3.  Too bad it was 9am in the morning when we saw a Taco Time...I was very tempted.
4.  We saw quite a few deer, even had to stop so a family could cross the street.
5.  You can't read it, but that sign says "Moore's Gulch"...almost to Phoenix.
6.  So good to see the friends we have missed so much!
7.  It wouldn't be a night without a little meltdown from Tatum.
8.  It took Tatum a little while, but she finally warmed back up to Lin-z.
9.  Went over to Aunt Kiki's house for a little while!
10.  Nana and Tatum
11.  Lucy playing hide and seek under her bed.  Never a dull moment with these dogs.
12.  How hilarious are they?  Just staring at us under the fence.
13.  Bought a little ribbon!  Because I totally need ribbon!
14.  No nap during the day...so she naps in the car.
15.  Tatum and Alexa!!
16.  These four have been friends for 5 years!!  Never a dull moment!

Will share more after our trip is over!!

A-Z Just Because

A...Another month come and gone, I can't believe it is October already.

B...Boredom brings on posts like this in case you were wondering!!

C...Christmas is 83 days away!!  Have you started shopping???

D...Did you know that although I can't stand the rain...I LOVE the smell of it?  Is that weird?

E...Eventually I am going to have to break down and buy WINTER clothes because I am pretty sure nothing I own is SNOW worthy.

F...Fantasy Football is consuming me! 

G...Going to Arizona next week!

H...Halloween is 28 days away!!  Do you have your costume???

I...I am really craving Chinese food right now, which would be fine if it wasn't 9 o'clock and I hadn't already eaten.  UGH!!

J...Just spent an hour looking at old blog posts.  I seriously couldn't care less if anyone ever opened this blog again, I love have a hard copy just for myself.

K...Kenny Chesney...Anything But Mine...currently playing on Pandora.

L...Loving that Fall brings back all of my favorite shows, but I am currently watching DVRing TOO many shows.  I really need to edit my choices or I will never be productive.

M...My favorite day of the week is Sunday!

N..."NO!" Tatum's favorite word these days!

O...On the agenda tomorrow...NOTHING!!  Woohoo!!

P...Party...as in I need to get my butt in gear and plan one...specifically a Halloween Party!

Q...Quiet house comes only after bedtime!

R...Reunited...The song that will be playing when I get to see my friends a week from Saturday!

S...Seriously hoping the Broncos lose this weekend!! 

T...Tom comes home on Sunday...YAY!!!!!

U...Umbrellas in the kids' backpacks Friday...for rain??  Or maybe Snow!!!

V...Vacuuming is so much fun when you have a DYSON!!  OK, not that much fun, but not the worst thing I could be doing.

W...What makes you happy?  My list is long, but at the top...my kids' laughs!

X...I got nothing!

Y...Yesterday my mother-in-law got a new heart and every time I think about it I am taken back by how truly amazing that is!

AND

Z...Zach Brown Band...the Pandora station I listen to every single morning!

iPhone Photo Dump

I realized something the other day...I have become a very lazy picture taker.  I used to be the mom that had her "good" camera with her AT ALL TIMES!!  As many of you know...I have been known to whip it out whenever the mood strikes including places like the grocery store.  More and more though...I have become lazy, relying solely on my iPhone.   Well...that's going to change.  I am going to pull out the big purse and start carrying my good camera with me again. 

For now though, here is another iPhone Photo Dump!!

 
From top left:
1.  Sisters...they are growing up TOO FAST!
2.  Taylor went on a field trip and this was all the stuff she picked and brought home!
3.  You can't tell, but she is screaming because I put her on time-out while we were on a walk.  
4.  Did my Halloween decorating and all of the decorations make me so happy!
5.  Bought ourselves a little present this weekend!!  I now LOVE to vacuum.
6.  Tatum isn't a huge fan of the stroller anymore.
7.  Both of the kids received MVP medals on Sunday...Thomas didn't stick around long enough to take a pic.
8.  Cleaned out Tatum's clothes....lots of stuff that no longer fits.
9.  Thankfully...I saved clothes from Taylor and her closet is full again!

Happy Wednesday!!!

Good Plays and Not-So-Good Plays

I was actually ready with my phone on Sunday and got a couple clips of Thomas playing football.  Sometimes you get a good little run in...



And sometimes you throw an interception...



Either way we love watching and he loves playing!!!

iPhone Photo Dump

A little late posting last weeks photo dump...but I have a good excuse...my mom was in town and we were VERY busy!!  More on that later...for now this will have to do.

From top left:
1.  I guess my body was preparing for my moms visit because all week I was up earlier than normal...good excuse for hot chocolate and blogs.
2.  Sisters!!
3.  Yep...I wore my shirt backwards!  Didn't notice til half way through the day!
4.  Did a little refrigerator cleaning!!
5.  And organized the Tupperware cupboard (I forgot to take a pic of the before, but trust me when I say it was a jenga puzzle)
6.  A long drive to the airport is only fun when you are picking someone up!
7.  My mom and I hit up the TOMS warehouse sale!  Yep...it came to Colorado too!
8.  A fraction of the over 4000 yards of ribbon I ordered!  
9.  She was feeding daddy all of her animal crackers!

Happy Wednesday! 

iPhone Photo Dump

As I was creating my collage this morning I noticed there was a theme...FOOD!  We didn't eat any more than usual, but I guess I would say we ate a little differently than usual.  Blame it on the rain...that's what I did!!

From top left:
1.  Unless you DO NOT watch the news, you know we are getting record rain in CO...Rain calls for umbrellas and Taylor wanted her own!!
2.  I was shooting for mom of year this week and made the kids cinnamon rolls for breakfast one morning.  As you can see...they didn't like them!  Haha!
3.  And on that note I was also shooting for wife of the year and made my hubby pot roast for dinner!  He was pretty happy with me.
4.  Thankfully she is pretty good about the car seat because there are times when she is in and out of it all day long!
5.  Did a little COUPON shopping this week and was so proud of my $8 purchase. 
6.  Dad/son vs. dad/son basketball game with the next door neighbors
7.  This is what jumps in my cart when I am craving something sweet, but can't decide what that is.
8.  Yup...this happened!  
9.  Our latest "thing" donuts on Football Sunday!  She was messy and loving it!

Hope everyone had a good weekend and has a wonderful week to come.  I know I will...MY MOM IS COMING!!!

Our Sunday

For the next eight weeks our Sundays will be extra busy!  Because besides watching as much NFL as possible...we will be watching Thomas play flag football and Taylor play soccer. 

They were so excited this last Sunday for their first games!!  Taylor has never even kicked a soccer ball and she absolutely loved it!!  And although Thomas isn't new to flag football, he of course is playing with a whole new team.  He fit right in, but instead of being the tallest kid on the team like usual... this season he is one of the smallest.

Their games overlap a little each week, but thankfully they play at the same school, so we get to see them both play!

This weekend should be a little cooler, so I will be able to take more pics.  I was holding an umbrella to shade us from the sun most of the time, so I didn't take many pics!!!

Spittin' Image

 

She is the spittin' image of her sister!!

Let's just hope it ends there!!  I'm not sure I can handle the same attitude also!

iPhone Photo Dump

Another busy week around here!!  I have decided though...the busier the better!  Less time to argue and complain!

From top left:

1.  All girls fantasy league this year...might start off with a win.  I'll know tonight!
2.  I feel like the mail is sending me a message.  This rather large brochure/magazine came with my name on it.
3.  Have a few bow orders this week...busy...busy!
4.  Had to break out the fall decorations on Thursday.  I even added a few new things...this fall subway art was one of them.
5.  Taylor loves having friends over!!
6.  Tatum doing a little afternoon reading...her favorite books...Dr. Seuss tongue twisters.
7.  I worked on Halloween costumes this weekend...Are you excited to know the theme??  Soon!!
8.  Thomas and Taylor started soccer and football on Sunday.  They play at the same time, so I didn't get a pic of Thomas before he started.  
9.  Guess who lost her other top front tooth??  She now talks with a lisp a little!  Don't tell her though...she'll freak!

Hope everyone has a great week!!

Members

There has always been one place that the whole family can agree on if we want to go do something...

THE ZOO!!

In Phoenix we didn't go that often because frankly I didn't think it was that great and when you add the heat...no thanks.  We went probably once a year, so it was never worth becoming members!

The Denver Zoo however...

Is awesome!!

The animals DO NOT disappoint.  When my parents were in town we went and saw everything.  The big highlight that trip was the elephants probably.  This time we didn't see much of the elephants, but no big deal.  There were definite other highlights...we had practically the entire gorilla exhibit to ourselves.  One of the gorillas was sleeping and no one really bothered to stop...we did and got lucky because he woke up.  He came pretty close to the glass...he seemed to be looking at Tatum as if she was lunch.  It was pretty cool to see him that close!

The kids had a blast as usual and now that we are MEMBERS...we will probably visit a few more times before the weather turns.

Here are the highlights...

Note...Taylor took most of the pictures that she is NOT in!!

Waitin' All Day

In case you live under a rock...

In case you are one of the weirdos that does not watch...

Tonight is the official start of the NFL 2013/2014 Season!!!

Seriously I am so excited!!   I am running a football pool of my own and Tom and I are both in Fantasy Leagues!!  So many reasons to watch besides the fact that it is the greatest game!!

So, in the spirit of this great day I thought I would share a little video that my sister and Brannigan made.  They created this video last year for a contest and although they did not win, it's definitely worth the share!!



I was given permission to show this video!

iPhone Photo Dump and A WHOLE Lot More

Well...I wish I could report that my sisters visit was jam packed with so many fun things its hard to remember it all.  Let's put some major emphasis on I WISH!

BECAUSE...

Unfortunately this was not the case.  Our sweet Tatum chose this week to get sick and it pretty much lasted the entire time Aunt KiKi was here.  It's no secret when it comes to my kids (and my hubby) getting sick I am NOT the most compassionate.  I feel bad...YES...but I sort of lack the come cuddle with me gene.  I don't rush my kids to the doctor every time they show any sign of sickness.  My hubby thinks I should, but I always know exactly what the doc is going to say..."They have a cold and it will pass".  And usually it does!

Against my normal judgement though...after two full days...I decided to take her to see the doctor.  Of course all I could tell her was that she had a fever (on and off), that she was SUPER grumpy, and that she wasn't eating/drinking that much.  As I suspected the doctor told me she had NO CLUE what it was, but to be on the safe side she asked me to collect a urine sample.  I will spare you the details of that fun job and say only that it is not easy to do with an 18 month old.  I managed only to collect a drop...seriously a drop!!  I again ditched my sister to take in what would barely qualify as a sample and waited....  And waited... And waited...

Results...

NOTHING!!

As much as I didn't want something to be wrong, I just wanted to know something.  I left the doctor with instructions to collect more.  That DID NOT happen and instead we were sent to the ER!!

Definitely an experience I hope NEVER to repeat.  Since I was unable to collect a sample they needed to give her a catheter.  Just like when her tongue was clipped I had to hold my poor baby down while she screamed.  The nurse had asked me prior to starting if she was a strong baby...YES...Yes she is!  Strongest baby ever...according to the nurses!

After that not so awesome experience was over she screamed for a good 15 minutes solid...so loud that when Tom arrived he was told "Just follow the screaming and you will find you daughter!"  NO JOKE!! 

After all that...

Conclusion...SHE IS PERFECTLY FINE!!  Just a virus!  All I could do was shake my head.  I was happy to have been right...I was mad I had to put her through all that.  Saturday morning she woke up completely covered in a rash.  ROSEOLA...Both Thomas and Taylor had it...it's nothing to freak out about.  I was so mad that I hadn't thought of that myself.  UGH!!

Once the rash appeared she was back to normal!!  Just in time to spend one day with Aunt KiKi before she had to leave!

Although is wasn't how we had planned to spend the week...we did get to have fun.  Just intermittently.  Thursday night we went to the Broncos vs Cardinals game!!  Saturday the whole family went to the zoo!  Saturday night we went to a movie!!  Sunday we hit the Denver Flea Market before I took her to the airport. 


My sister's bucket list includes visiting all 32 stadiums!!  This was 3/32!!  I hope I get the chance to help her mark off another one sometime!!  We had a blast at Sports Authority Field at Mile High!!

Wearing a Cardinals jersey in Broncos stadium made it that much more fun!!

More zoo pics to come...but I had to share the pic of these two bears!!  How cute are they?!

And...

My iPhone Photo Dump as promised!

From top left:
1.  I finally made it to the Antique Mall by our house!!
2.  Took this crazy kid with me and her favorite part was this fan!
3.  Seriously can't NOT have these in my pantry!  Averaging a bag every 1-2 days!
4.  The start of our week!
5.  Sisters reunited headed to the game!
6.  This was right before our hospital visit...UGH!
7.  Such a good big brother sharing his ICEE!
8.  This gorilla came pretty close to the glass...I think he thought Tatum was lunch!
9.  A little Sunday afternoon game of memory...She kicked my butt!

Happy Labor Day!!!  Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!!