Fall 2012

Danelle, Ryan and Reed came to visit.  The kids LOVE Reed and think it is their job to direct his little life while he is here.  Sometimes he goes with it, sometimes he doesn't.  But the kids love having him around either way.

Reed had to have a big boy cup like the kids had.

Wrestling with Reedo.

We went to Bass Pro and the kids had to check out the 4-wheelers and such.

Little Miss went to a Princess Birthday Party, and when I picked her up her Princess dress wouldn't fit in her carseat (yes, she was still in a toddler carseat at that time) so Little Man had to squeeze into it so she could sit in his.  He was a good sport, but very happy we were only 5 minutes from home!  Little Miss got her face painted at the party-she had so much fun!

Cori and I spent an entire afternoon/evening preparing Crockpot meals-really he did most of the work-and then froze them to hopefully cut down on some of the chaos around dinnertime.  It was more expensive than we thought it would be per meal, but it is a huge time saver, and most of the meals were pretty tasty.  It was a huge mess, as you can see in the pictures, but I think we are going to do it again because it was pretty nice to have them ready.

The kids playing Just Dance 4.  I really thought Little Miss would get into this, but it was Little Man.  I should have known it would be him because that kid is obsessed with video games (which is why we never let him play them).

Little Miss, Little Man, and my niece Hannah all got to play together one afternoon.  It was so cold out, but it didn't bother them at all.  They have so much fun playing together.

We painted pumpkins instead of carving them.  It was fun-and way less mess and work especially since Cori was at work.

Halloween.  Little Man was a pirate and Little Miss was a  "pretty witch."  This was the first time I had ever gone trick-or-treating and it was fun, which I wasn't expecting!

What a cute little turkey!

Cori got free tickets to an Eagles game through one of his food suppliers.  He was going hunting, so the kids invited their friend William and I took them.  I was a little apprehensive about taking three kids by myself to the game, but they were super well-behaved and they had a blast.  It was free cowbell night, and my ears didn't stop ringing for two days!  I wouldn't take little ones to another game though-too much fighting and such-it was way more violent than I remember the last hockey game I went to.  We didn't get a cowbell (I was ecstatic) but then a very nice man gave his to Little Man once the game was over.  It sits in a position of honor downstairs out of the kids' reach!

Little Man helping me make muffins-they love to help cook.

Little Miss' behavior has been challenging the last couple of months (to say the least) and she gets so escalated she just cannot calm herself down.  Cori reached back to hold her hand in the car and she fell right asleep, but wouldn't let go of his hand!

Austin and I making a run to King Soopers for Thanksgiving meal (for rolls maybe?  I don't remember) with my hair half done and no makeup.  He exchanged his truck for his friend's Lexus while he recuperated from knee surgery and he LOVED that car.  It was really fast I have to say, and super comfy.  He turned on the seat cooler on our way home from the store, and I could not figure out why my bum was so cold!!  I thought I had sat in water or something, until he started laughing, and then I figured it out.

Duke has gotten GIANT!!  He is on the right next to Jade, and even though Jade is a  big dog, Duke makes her look small!  Jazzy even looks small compared to Duke.  He's a funny dog that is really still a puppy-he doesn't realize how big he is and he is super playful and clumsy still.  Did I mention he is gigantic? 

This is my niece Brynn, snoozing while we helped pack and clean the apartment when their family moved to Utah.  I have a picture of Hannah doing the same thing when she was an infant too!

Hannah in 2007

Little Man being silly.  Love this kid.

Little Man and Daddy trying to fix Little Man's heater.

The kids with Cori on his 31st birthday.  Love them!

I put the kids to work shredding chicken for me.  They did a good job.

Little Man ran into a tree branch, because he wasn't looking where he was going as he raced around the backyard, and it pushed his glasses into his face, cutting him.  He had a nice little shiner for a couple of days.  He didn't even cry though, which we remind him of when he makes a big deal out of minor injuries.