Special Cousin Time

Both boys reading books to their cousin. Special times indeed.

Resemblance?

D-man saw this picture of me and Jaima today. He asked, "is that me?" I said, "no." He asked, "Is it Tanner?" I said, "no." Then he asked if it was him again.

Then he was in the bath today and I couldn't help but wonder if there is a resemblance....

Go Buffs!

Basketball game at 9:00. Scored free tickets to the Buffs game at the YMCA. 11:30 game on a beautiful fall day. Go Buffs (now that they are in the PAC 12 and are so pitiful, I feel ok cheering for them). Ralphie, the fly over, and the paratroopers were a hit.

Executive Living IV

Oh to come home to a beautiful fall arrangement at our front door.....only to find out it was not delivered to us, but to someone who used to live here.

On a similar note, I'm enjoying Health magazine from a former resident. But the benefits will soon come to an end..... Yippee!

Happy Birthday Marshall

Tuesday was Marshall's birthday. Because I had team meetings all week (with evening dinners), we celebrated in the morning. The boys did their cards and and we gave Marshall his gifts. The boys also went out to dinner on Wednesday night and Marshall got a free birthday burger.

It was a small celebration, but full of a lot of heart for a wonderful father and husband. Here's a picture in his new CU shirt.

Errand Monday

Whew. What a day. Veteran's Day and all Boulder Valley County school employees off for the day meant a day for me and the boys. It certainly was a full day. We started off the day with a trip down south to see the dentist. We then ventured down to the Montessori school to check out T-man's old classroom. It didn't start out so well as he was crying in the hallway, but then he warmed up and got to see Miss Susie and lots of his friends.

We then picked up D-man's buddy Ian (old neighbor) and headed out for pizza, playground time and frozen yogurt. After trying to get medical forms for the drop in childcare and failing, I took the boys to work with me for a few hours. They enjoyed drawing on the whiteboard and playing ping pong and foosball (and getting treats from the treat drawer).

When we were leaving my office, D-man said it was the best day ever. Guess this really supports the saying, "it doesn't matter what you are doing as long as it is with the ones you love." Although crazy, it was a great day with two of my favorite people.

Reading Buddies Finale

Last Sunday, T-man's Reading Buddies program wrapped up at the Louisville Library. The kids had been working on a "play" as part of their activities. We have loved this program. T-man rarely gets excited to go anywhere (although he always has a good time when he gets somewhere), but he always loved going to Reading Buddies. He would have his backpack packed and ready to go 2 hours in advance. It was a great experience for him and something he got to do that his big brother did not.

The play was fun, and while T-man stumbled on his first line, he recovered and didn't give up. We also loved that he had a male big buddy who was great with T-man. We were very proud of him and  hope we are chosen for the spring program as well.

T-man and his reading buddy getting ready

T-man stumbles on his lines

T-man recovers!

Vail Mountain School Gala

So much fun

Marshall and Dave having a good time

Stephanie, Rachel and me enjoying the evening

The beautiful venue (the gym!)

All dressed up!

On Saturday morning, we headed up to Vail to see our good friends the Smiley's. They invited to be their guests at the Vail Mountain School Gala (an event benefiting the school). The other couples from our British Virgin Island trip were also invited and we all enjoyed "having the boat back together."  The women enjoyed an afternoon of pampering with make up, champagne, cheese and strawberries. Thankfully for me, Rachel also had great jewelry and was able to do my hair as well. The kids spent the afternoon playing, watching football (Drake gave me the play-by-play of the Nebraska football game), and just hanging out. Fortunately, we had a van transporting us to the event as the roads were very snowy and treacherous.

It was a beautiful event and we all had a nice time socializing, eating, drinking, and dancing. It was nice to have a reason to get dressed up and have an adult evening out with friends - old and new. As a bonus, we purchased a weekend in Keystone at a condo right on the gondola and look forward to a little winter ski get-a-way and hope to have the Smiley's join us. 

We wrapped up the weekend with a nice brunch with everyone at the Smiley's. It has been awhile since we had a reason to get all "gussied up" and it was great fun!

Fall Festival

Friday night was the fall festival at school. I was in charge of decorations and D-man and the after school program kids did a lot of great signs. While I was happy to volunteer, D-man was THRILLED to help out with all the decorations.

We enjoyed dinner, Sweet Cow ice cream, games and watching the teachers compete. The boys had a great time. The other great thing about attending was meeting 3 sets of neighbors - they all approached us and knew we were T-man's parents and buying the house on their street. The sense of community we were hoping for is already off to a great start.

Executive Livin' III

Fortunately, we can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Of course, there are still many things that are unique to living in an apartment.

Last weekend before we got up, D-man brought out a puzzle to do. Of course, there is only one table so we spent the weekend eating around the puzzle. With family team work, we were able to finish it by Sunday night. Man, I look forward to more table space.

While we have always enjoyed our George Foreman grill, it had been our actual grill the last four months. Chicken, hamburgers, brats, and more. Can't wait for our real grill again.

When putting out the trash, don't put it out for the entire day. Rodents will eat though the plastic and you'll have trash in front of your door. Can't wait for a real trash can.

One thing is for sure - this experience will make me appreciate the little things.

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"Get on the Peavy bus for Obama! "

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"School Field Trip "
(taken at Denver Art Museum)

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Halloween

School parade. Trick or treating at the retirement home. School parties. Trick or treat street at the high school (nice to see good kids). Headed to a house on the street where we hope to live. Here's hoping for a happy, not haunting, Halloween. Wish us luck!

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"Spirit Week - PJ Day! "

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"Good Morning Snowy Colorado! "

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Executive Livin' Part II

As the fall snowstorm rolls in tonight, I'm reminded of all the lovely things about living in an apartment (not).

• I'm pretty sure, I'm going to miss the attached garage tomorrow morning.
• Gloves, hats, and D-man's winter coat are packed in the storage containers (along with any Halloween decorations). 
• After two months of no upstairs neighbor, our luck has run out. Our new alarm clock is 6:15. Ugh. 
• Recycling in an apartment still sucks.
• What doesn't  kill the boys will make them stronger. Sharing a room isn't ideal, but they are still best buds.

On the positive side....

• We won't have to shovel the walks in the morning. 
• The pool may have closed, but the outdoor hot tub remains open (and we took advantage of it Friday night).
• Now that basketball has started, we hope to take advantage of the open gym time and work on the basketball skills. 
• Evenings with (basically) no responsibility are very enjoyable. 
• When the garbage disposal breaks, you just call someone. 

I'll work to focus on the positive side as we haven't looked at  a house in over 4 weeks. Low inventory in desirable neighborhoods apparently. Sigh. But, we have each other and life is good.

DMA Conference in Las Vegas

While Marshall and I were only in Las Vegas together one night, we enjoyed our mini Vegas vacation. Now we are already trying to figure out a real Vegas vacation!

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"Love!"
(taken at The Beatles LOVE (Cirque du Soleil))

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Minnesota Moments

My husband knows me. After spending the boys' fall break in Minnesota, he knew I would be a bit sad because we have chosen not to move there. Spending the entire weekend with my sister and her wonderful family (one main reason for considering the move) and the bonus of seeing my parents (another main factor) made it an amazing weekend. But, it also meant I was a bit reflective during the trip. While I know we made the right decision for our family, I will always be a little sad that we aren't closer to any family.

Highlights of the trip included:
- Dinner on Thursday night at the Marshall house with the entire family.

- The Nickelodeon amusement park and the boys riding rides with Nana and Pop.

- A night out in downtown Minneapolis with Jacki and Sean and the boys having a night alone with Nana and Pop.

- The apple orchard on a rainy fall day

- Having our first Juicy Lucy's

- Throwing the football around in the park next to the lake.

- Spending time with the Marshall family and seeing our nephew/cousin talk, run, and being super cute.

Thanks to the Marshall family for hosting a wonderful weekend!!

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"Go Big Red! (With a Buckeye Fan) "

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