Sunday, November 21, 2010

Happy Birthday!

Today I celebrated my 28th Birthday!

A good friend of mine told Mike he better spoil me today. Mike's response was "If by spoil you mean beat with a broom and lock in a closet, then yes, I plan on spoiling her good"

So Jamie...this is for you...







Just kidding....




I got to sleep in. Mike made me blueberry waffles for breakfast. He took me to Starbucks. His parents came over with cheesecake. My family called to wish me happy birthday. Christine organized a birthday present which involved coordinating lots of friends on facebook. Lots of friends wished me Happy Birthday. Jillian and Shannon bought me a ticket to Harry Potter which I got to enjoy with friends. Mike made dinner for the kids and got them ready for bed while I got to enjoy a long bath. My kids made me birthday cards.

I'm blessed with extraordinary family and friends. This was a great Birthday. Thank you!!!

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Silly Avie

I walked in the door from work today to find Avie sitting on the counter with Haven. Yes...that would be a t-shirt on her head. As soon as I round the corner she says..

"I'm funny Mommy!"


Gobble Gobble!

Aunt Bree and Grandpa Royce stopped by for the day. Since we had extra hands, we took on a Thanksgiving craft. Haven and Avie each made a turkey! Thanks for helping us Aunt Bree!

http://www.dltk-kids.com/animals/mhandprintturkey.htm





Sunday, October 24, 2010

Fall!

We carved pumpkins! Avie chose a cat on a moon crest and Haven chose Pablo, a character from "The Backyardigans". When I asked Avie to pull out the seeds she said, "No, Mom...that is YUCKY!" Don't worry, she got into it eventually.







A good friend told us about a great area to hike. Boy was she right! It was beautiful! It was a little chilly, but we had a great time!





We pulled the carrots from our first garden. The kids thought it was pretty cool and they were in the middle of everything "helping".




We went to the pumpkin patch! After finding the perfect pumpkins, the kids got to jump in the air castle, pet some animals and run around some stacks of hay.





Avie has been busy being...her. Yes...below is a picture of her wearing her swim suit inside out, over her clothing.


And this is Avie with a dandilion up her nose. I dont know...

Field Trip!

In September, Haven had his first field trip to the Zoo. Grandma Jenny joined us (thank goodness...tracking 10 preschoolers is harder than it sounds) and Avie got to be in Haven's class for the day. All the kids had a great time. They each were given a card with animals pictures on it to hang around their necks along with a pen. As they saw each animal, they had to find it on their card and circle it. They also wore hats they made themselves! We ended the day with some very messy ice cream cones.

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Random Fun


Where you find one, you will usually find the other..


Zzzzz. (Look familar Steve?)


Cooling off in a new dinosaur pool. Thanks Grandma Jenny!


Avie's "big girl" bed.


Dad and Haven's first lego project together.


The finished product.

Monday, September 6, 2010

Journey Cake

Last weekend we went for a hike in Evergreen and while we were driving around afterward we found an art picnic. At the art picnic we found a free museam! I LOVE history, so I was pretty excited. We got a guided tour of a house built in the 1890's. One of the first woman doctors in Colorado lived there. They gave us a recipe for journey cake....

Journey cake was a treat that could be made by a pioneer woman as she traveled across the prarie in a covered wagon. It was made of ingrediants that kept well and baked over the evening campfire on a flat wood shingle called a "journey board". Many simple cornmeal mixtures were used and have become known as "johnny cake". The most popular cake contained no cornmeal at all. It also did not contain milk or eggs because they were hard to transport and were in short supply. Cider and vinegar was used for the liquid.


Recipe

Combine:
1-1/2 c. sugar
3/4 c. lard, butter or margarine
1-3/4 c. apple cider
4-1/2 c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. cloves

If batter is very stiff, add more cider or if it is very thin add more flour.
Pour into greased 9X13 pan and bake at 375 for 45 minutes.

Hard Sauce:

Combine 1/2 c. butter and 1 c. brown sugar. Cream together, beat until light in color. Sprinkle with nutmeg.



Sunday, September 5, 2010

First Day of Preschool!

Haven had his first Day of Preschool last Tuesday. He was so excited! I was a little nervous, but I managed to drop him off without tearing up. Avie, on the other hand, didn't think this new change was a good one. As we kissed him goodbye and left, she started crying and yelling "Haven! Where's Haven?!" Then I wanted to cry too, but instead we assured her it would be just a little while and we would go get Haven. So while Haven was at school we took her out for some donuts. That seemed to help. ;)

As for Haven...he had a blast. Each week we get a detailed schedule of everything he learned that week, as well as all the crafts he worked on. We love his teachers! They took lots of pictures to document his first day and sent them to us in a slideshow. I added a few of our own. When we picked Haven up on Thursday he gave Ms. Kara a hug goodbye and said "I'll miss you!" What a sweet kid. ;)

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Thursday, July 22, 2010

Avie singing for grandparents

Avie has discovered she loves to sing. This morning while she was singing in the shower she decided she wanted to sing for Papa, Nana and Grandpa Royce. The problem is they all live pretty far away, so we decided to get a video of her singing for them to see.

Here's Avie's debut of Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, the ABC's as well as a song she wrote all by herself...as far as I can tell it is called "Bible". ;)


Saturday, July 10, 2010

Letters to my Children

When Haven was about 10 months old and I was pregnant with Avie I decided I wanted a way to remember everything I love about them at their age. They grow so fast and as a Mom I find so many things to appreciate about who they are at this very moment. I want to remember my most urgent prayers for them. I want to remember the things I agonized over (like the first time I let Haven cry it out). I want to remember funny conversations and what things they did that day that made Mike and I lay in bed that night laughing and smiling.

But the main reason I write to them is not so I remember them (how could I forget), but so they get a glimpse into how much Mike and I love them. I want them to know all the prayers I have for them. I want them to gain wisdom from what I am learning in my life. I want them to know how hard we try and how much we pray that we will be good parents even though we are not perfect. I definitely want them to know (when they are older) that I even found joy in them when they were misbehaving (at this exact moment my son is peeking his head around the corner when he should be in bed). Mostly I just want them to know I have always loved them at every stage and for the distinct qualities that makes them...them.

I haven't decided when I will present the letters to them. I don't plan to tell them I write them. Maybe I will wait until they graduate from high school. Or maybe I will give it to them sooner if I think they need it. I bet you can think back to a moment with your parents when you could have really used a stack of letters reassuring you that they had your best interests at heart.

Maybe other parents would consider doing the same for their kids. I write a letter every few months or more frequently as the moment strikes. I'm looking forward to the day when I hand them a notebook full of reasons I adore them and always have.

Friday, July 9, 2010

Vail!

We headed up to Vail a few weeks ago to film a wedding for some friends. We used that time for a little R&R. We had a great condo. Our room was in the loft. Haven got to sleep in his very first bunk bed! We also got go swimming and Haven and Avie got their arms painted for the first time also. Haven initially asked the artist for a Pteranodon. Since she didn't know what that was he settled for a fire breathing dragon. ;) We also found a pirate ship play ground! Since Grandma and Grandpa were there Mike and I got to go out on the town on our own as well. It was a great time. When I told Haven it was time to go home his response was "Mom! We are home!" I wish...


View from the balcony off our room.



Our room


Mike wasted no time teaching Haven how to climb
up and down the ladder on his own.

We learned Avie is a little dangerous in water.
I think swim lessons will be happening soon to save my sanity.












Exhausted after a great mini-vacation!