Player.......

Go Bisons!

My folks were in Tuscon visiting my aunt and uncle and saw that Lipscomb was playing. They changed their plans to stay an extra day to attend the Bisons versus the University of Arizona. What a game it was! Lipscomb lost by 1 in overtime to a shot that shouldn't have counted. Check out the photo and you decide. Was the ball released before the clock ran out?

Holiday cookin......

Nobody is going to believe this one! For Kendall's holiday party, her class is doing a cultural celebration / lunch. Each family can bring in something from their heritage. Being we are Norwegian, I had this great idea to make Krumkake, a Norwegian cookie. I have never made it before but have eaten plenty that my mom and grandmother have made over the years. 3 hours later and a greasy kitchen, Kendall and I are finished. While I made Krumkake, Kendall made Norwegian sugar cookies. We girls had a great time and I am pretty proud...no kitchen grease fires and not even one broken cookie!

Difference between 2 Houses!

Check out the final pictures of the Gingerbread Houses. You can definitely see the difference between an 8 year old, second child and an 11 year old, first child!

GingerBread in the 3rd Grade

Kendall had the opportunity to make graham cracker houses today too. Little less demanding which is perfect for 8 year olds. Kendall and her classmates had a blast too. Enjoy!

GingerBread House Making...a precise process!

Blake's teacher has been making gingerbread houses for the past 19 years. Luckily we have had the pleasure of making them for the past 2 years with her now. It is a detailed process and is the real deal. Enjoy the pictures of Blake and his classmates. Now that I think of it, there is not a picture of Blake's house so I will get them on the blog later.

Putting Up the Christmas Tree!

Each holiday season the kids put the tree up themselves. They take so much pride in doing so and it has become our family tradition. They take it upon themselves to decorate it as well. When the finished product is done, it is what it is!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Not for the Squeamish.......

As many of you know, Mark underwent ankle re-construction surgery about 4 weeks ago. The docs went in and broke his leg just a bit above the ankle and then inserted two 4inch screws to hold the bones back together. He is in the first of two casts and will under-go about a 10 month re-hab process. He is non-weight bearing for a minumum of 8 weeks so I am driving everywhere! As you can see in the photos, he had 5incisions. Two openings were for inserting the screws, one was to break the leg, one was to take a tendon and the fifth an opening to use the tendon to wrap around the new construction. Since it is winter in Colorado, my mom is having a blast knitting him toe covers. He has a black, green and now a Christmas red and white striped one!

We will miss you Mackenzie!

Kendall said good-bye to a good friend, Mackenzie. Mackenzie lived in Superior for 2 years and is moving back to Georgia as her dad completes his term with the military. Thanks for all the fun time we spent together!

Go Jawbreakers!

Kendall is playing 3rd grade winter hoops and is having a blast! She is playing with 9 other girls and is truly enjoying herself. Her team is called the Jawbreakers and they are currently 2-0!

Nice Gooseneck!

an Arizona Wedding

We were fortunate to head to Arizona in October for a long weekend for a family wedding. The weather was beautiful, the kids had the chance to swim and we spent time with family we haven't seen in ahwile. It was a spectacular weekend with lots of excitement outside the wedding. My dad was hit by a car in Costo parking lot, Blake had migraines and threw up in the lawn of the multi-million dollar mansion the wedding was at, my aunt choked on tortilla chips and was rushed to the ER, my second uncle had some crazy rash..........what a bunch!

Our Family Album

Pop those hips Kendall!

Missing a Friend...

October 30th marked the year my dear friend Jen Long passed away. I oddly woke up at 2:30 am that morning; just a 1/2 hour past the time she lost her battle. I think an angel was sending me a message of strength!

September Snow Days

September brought the kids 2 days off from school; a very rare occasion even in Colorado. We got over 25 inches of snow in about 1 1/2 days. Blake and Kendall came in to eat and dry their wet clothes and then were back out!

Ready...Set....Eat!

Blake and Kendall decided to race through the whip cream to find the bubble gum. We were supposed to do this at Blake's party and forgot so the 2 of them decided it would still be fun to do!

Blake celebrates his 11th Birthday

Blake had several friends over on Saturday to celebrate his turning 11. We went down to Rock Creek Pizza (very yummy!) for dinner and then headed home for a firepit. The rain held off so we were able to make the fire, cook smores and play a game of Stalker. The kids had a blast and we truly enjoyed having them over!

5th Grade = Instrumental Music

Well this should be interesting. We just picked up Blake's CELLO! That is correct...Blake is playing the cello. In 5th grade it is highly recommended that students play an instrument. Blake broke it out of the bag, was tightening strings and attempting to play. He wasn't getting much sound and claims the strings need to be adjusted. Think is has anything to do with the fact that he has no idea what he is doing?

Kendall loses her first TOP TOOTH!

Happy 11th Birthday Blake!

Blake turned 11 today...hard to believe. He celebrated in class with "pig" cookies I so cleverly made. (Don't fall out of your chair Scott Sanderson! I may not be able to make spaghetti sauce with meat but I can crank out the pig cookies!) Grandma and Grumpy came over as is it Grandma's birthday today too! We went to Panda Express per Blake'e request. Blake will have some friends over this weekend to celebrate some more.