Halloween Fun!

What a busy Halloween!

Friday the kids had their fall parties and Fall Festival so between Jason and I we were tag teaming and up at the school about two times each. Jason volunteered at Garrett's party, I at Grace's (because of Jason and my work schedules...promise we weren't playing favorites:) We picked them up and were back at the festival at 5:30 Saturday was a great day to hang out and try to relax (as much as we know how) and then we were back to halloween on Sunday with brunch with the Van Tatenhoves and Johns families and trick or treating that night. All in all it was a great weekend! Glad it's over but I must say I am a bit sick of chocolate...never thought the day would come!

Even though fall break is over we are still enjoying the season!

Hello all! It has been such a fun week and since we have all been feeling better we got to enjoy a bit of relax and recreational time for fall break! The kids are back to school tommorow but we all feel rested and organized. I usually work all day Sundays so I'm not sure how rested Jason feels after playing Mr. mom and doing about 7 loads of laundry but he's very good at making sure the house is running well for the kids and I in the coming week while he is working or traveling. Garrett had his first sleepover with his buddy Brandon from school on Thursday night. Brandon's parents were gone and he got to join Jason, Garrett, James and Ava for an Av's game. Grace and I had a girl night shopping for her halloween costume and as you can tell in the picture she found it...along with a faux pair of eyeglasses. She's quite good at accesorizing!

Today my cousin Jennifer came up from Colorado springs to get her hair done and we were all very excited that she brought her two adorable daughters Tyli (5) and Isley (2ms) with her. Grace and Tyli love playing together and it is good comic relief mixed with a bit of drama. Never boring!

We hope this posting finds you well and I look forward to posting more next week with spoooooky halloween costumes...well, not really spooky but cute at least!

Love,
Nicole

Check out our new family pics!!

Hey Everyone! Our wonderful friend and photographer Pandora has just finished with our new family photo's so make sure to take a look!

http://www.mpix.com/SharedAlbum.aspx?aid=4007934&key=xa3vJcetrOR7KDuervdY

It"s been a rough week but there has also been lots of fun!

So I'm pretty sure the sickness has made it almost completely through the house with the exception of Jason. Both of the kids have spiked a fever and have been couch bound for a couple of days each and mama got hit hard with strep this week. Jason is convinced that his beer consumption has made his immune system stellar and though I used to balk at that I am starting to think he might be on to something!The kids and I went bowling this week, we all went via train to the DU hockey game Friday night and there were some awesome soccer games yesterday with gorgeous fall weather. Grandpa visited and the kids both did great so enjoy some wonderful pictures and we will see ya next week!

UPDATE*********Ok seriously? Less than 12 hours after I posted this Jason runs across this article.....Antioxidants?? Wow!


On the heels of Oktoberfest and with football season in full swing, The Daily Beast crunches the numbers on hundreds of brews to find the 50 worst for the waist.


Americans love their beer—consumers imbibed nearly a two pints more beer per person than they did in 2002—and according to experts, beer may love us back, too.

Beer guts be damned, the classic brew has fewer calories than most fruit juices and fewer empty calories from sugar than hard alcohol. Beer also contains vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. In moderation, it can be good for nerve production, concentration, and circulation.It’s superior to wine,” claims Charles W. Bamforth, the Anheuser-Busch endowed professor of malting and brewing sciences at the University of California-Davis and author of Beer: Health and Nutrition. “There’s more nutritive value in beer and it has the same beneficial impact.

Ok, so not all beers I must say. There is a list of 50 beers that are high in calories so drink wisely. How did my kids blog posting turn into a debate on beer? Ok well...good info to have and maybe Jason has made his point. IF drinking in moderation I suppose maybe those antioxidants can help that immune system!

The first ever posting on our kiddo's blog!

Grace and Garrett are on fall break right now for two weeks from school. They have both been sick and hopefully will get better so they can enjoy the majority of their break. We are always doing fun things whether it be here at home or out and about. Jason makes fun of me because I can't sit still and unfortunately our kids have gotten that bug too!

Grace is doing great in first grade and might possibly be a bonifide teachers pet! Last year she was far from that since she is a chatty little thing but her teacher this year is in complete control of the classroom and realizes Grace just wants to be needed. She is reading at a very high level and is doing great with Math as well. It's so funny how complex she can be and it has taken us 6 years to figure out how methodical and organized she is. Jason and I are very much the same way but it's a good thing we can stroke that nuance a bit. When the girl starts a project she wants to make sure she finishes it or there will be trouble. This is a good life skill I think! We went to Breckenridge with our neighbors the Shymanski's in September and Grace got to take her first lone horse ride and she did awesome! She was a bit intimidated at first and she wanted to ride with me (ok, I wanted HER to ride with me too:)but since she was 6 they would not allow it so she mustered up the courage and did it. By the end she was trying to slow the horse like her dear old mom so she could hold up and make the horse go a bit faster to catch up. A chip off the old block...did I mention all the boys were not interested in the ride? Us gals had a great time! She is playing soccer this fall as well and is quite a little player with lots of energy and enthusiasm. She plays piano as well and we adore her teacher Ms. Leila. I traded services with my neighbor Margaret and Grace had a sewing lesson today. I am excited to see what kinds of treasures she designs! Maybe she will be a designer when she gets older and will take me to NYC for fashion week.....a woman can dream-ha! We recently did a coats for Colorado drive for the Daisy scouts and Grace and I had a goal to collect 20 coats for the drive. We collected 26! We appreciate all of your donations AND your enthusiasm for the coat drive and interest even if we didnt make it to pick coats up from you. Everyone was awesome!

Garrett is doing great in Kindergarten and Jason and I are quite pleased with his enthusiasm for school. I went on his first field trip last week to a great place called Miller Farms about an hour north of Highlands Ranch. We had such a great time!! In all honesty I was going on the field trip for him and not particularly looking forward to it. The last time I went on a field trip was with Grace last year and I got caught on what I thought was a busload of kindergartners for two hours. What I actually got was a busload of kindergartners with an 80/20 split. Girls/Boys. WOW! That was a loud and giggly bus! So needless to say we have the same split but the other way in his class and not only were the bus rides glorious but the farm was sooo cool! G and I picked a HUGE load of veggies and I must say that even though I am a city girl I was all over the excitement of picking all of those fresh veggies. We got pumpkins, corn, decorative corn, green beans, potatoes, carrots and cabbage. Garrett was so happy I was there and it was truly a wonderful bonding experience for the mom that doesn't quite measure up as well as dad in the sports department. That's pretty much all the little guy cares about most of the time and I don't always fit the bill. I try but my pitches are usually off and I throw the football like a girl:) Garrett is playing soccer right now and as with all of his sports he is a ringer (I know, spoken like a true mom) and is chomping at the bit to start hockey back up in November. He just learned to ride his bike without training wheels so he wants to be outside all of the time. He is so focused on all of his interests and it truly amazes me how coordinated and talented he is. Well. I will end this posting but I hope you enjoy the pics and I plan to post once or twice a week so check back frequently!

Nic