fall

Fall has come and gone! We've had fun and kept busy, of course :) Highlights include:

September:
I was so blessed to be able to take a girls trip with my mom and sisters.  This is something we've talked about multiple time and never pulled the trigger on.  It was Kreg's first time flying solo with the boys and he did awesome of course.  The boys loved having Daddy home to play and he had lots of fun things planned for them while I played with the girls.  We spent three days in Las Vegas (my second trip there this year... definitely a record.) at the Wynn -- eating, shopping, and swimming and reading to our hearts content.  There was also a lot of hairspray clouds, makeup sessions, and girl talk.  Perfect.  We saw the same show Kreg & I saw in May-- Le Reve by Cirque du Soleil and it may have been even better the second time-- there's too much going on to take it all in the first time! I can't say enough how thankful I am to have a hubby who I can trust with my babies! That's what made it the most enjoyable. 

Westin played his second season of soccer this fall.  Kreg was able to help coach his team again and he had many of the same boys from the spring season on the fall team.  It was so fun to watch them all and see how far they've come since spring! He decided his favorite "position" to play is the "tail" -- aka, defense.  He very much enjoys and is also quite good at taking the ball away from potential scorers and keeping that ball out of the "no zone."  I love 4 & 5 year old soccer terminology :) Tucker is itching to play so bad.  It's tough being the little brother!

 
October:
We snuck away for a quick trip to Estes to see the fall colors, hear the elk bugle, and see my Grandparents. It's been much harder to get up there since the floods in September that washed out all the canyons that led to Estes.  We had to "go around" which added an extra hour to the trip.  The devastation was just surreal.  It's hard to imagine that water can create that much damage! 

 

I have to brag on Kreg again because he ran his first full marathon in October! We were all SO proud of him.  He had been training and pushing himself all summer so this was a very exciting accomplishment.  His Dad was able to fly out to support him and I know that meant the world to him.  

This meant the world to me! When we were running together to train for our half marathon in May, we had a "halfway kiss" tradition.  We stopped at the halfway point to cheer him on and he ran over and gave me a quick halfway kiss :) It made me feel like I was a little part of his accomplishment!

Halloween also came and went and we had the pleasure of taking The Lone Ranger & Tonto to Trunk or Treat at our church :) it was a very fun time and I think my boys looked super cute in their costumes. 

 
November: 
November has been fairly low-key so far.  Kreg spent a week hunting in Grand Lake with my Dad and the boys and I have been spending our days running between playdates, photoshoots, baby showers & birthday parties-- and that's how we like it :) We also manage to fit in time to have fun at home with our "preschool."  These are precious times to me and my boys and I'm so thankful that I get to stay home and be with them :)  

We are all VERY much looking forward to all the upcoming Holidays and all the special people we are going to be able to spend time with.  Hopefully I will be able to take a little more time to sit down and write down all of our adventures before I forget the fun little details!

about my babies

It's that time again... my phone is blowing up with all the things I've been saving to remind myself of what I need to write down about my babies.  Who really aren't babies anymore :( But I will probably keep calling them that well into their sixties.  

Westin:

Wes amused us this summer as he played t-ball for the first time!  Although we were not overly impressed with the program, we were impressed with his natural ability and adored watching him run the bases :) For those of you who don't know... baseball is in his blood.  On Kreg's side that is! Several of the men on both sides of Kreg's family played baseball into college and they are related to George Kell(somewhat distantly...someone can probably correct me here, but I believe he was Kreg's grandfather's cousin?), National Baseball Hall of Famer from the fifties... We're certainly not planning our retirement around a pro career in our future, but we sure had fun watching him play!

I can't get enough of watching him think and learn and grow.  The insights I get into his precious little mind are just priceless to me!  Some of my favorites as of late:  * "Mommy... I haven't been following God's directions." Me: "What?" Westin: "Because I haven't been staying in my big boy bed." Me:" Ohh.  So what do you think you need to do about that?"  Westin: "I need to stay all night in my big boy bed and God will take care of me.  Otherwise I might have to be three years old for FORTY YEARS." {side note... yes, we typically have four people in our bed by the time 3 or 4 am rolls around... we're working on it... CIO is NOT for us, not even at 2 or 4 years old. That's just one of those parental instincts we chose to listen to... but that's a whole different topic} {side side note: He's picking up on biblical numerology! Maybe he will be a theologian one day :)}

 * "Daddy... can you take a walkie talkie to work with you?"

 *Westin is the most social creature I know... he did not get that from me. It's good for me, though... he pushes me out of my shell on a regular basis!  You can frequently hear him say: "Ooh, I haven't met HER yet!"

 *He needs absolute answers.  Maybe/I don't know/probably... these answers do not suffice.  He will keep pressing you until he gets an answer that satisfies him.  It's tough being the mom :) I wish I always had all the answers!

Tucker:

Sweet Tucker.  I am constantly amazed at how well he "gets me."  I'm not sure yet if this means we have similar personalities or if they're just very complimentary. Somehow he anticipates my feelings EXTREMELY well...like better than anyone else I know... and he just turned two.  Not only does he have a good idea of what I'm feeling but what I need at the moment.  A hug, an "I love you mommy," an "it's okay," someone to sit nicely with me... I can only hope I am as good at perceiving needs as he is {at a mere two years old}.  It's very humbling. He is a peacemaker.  Thankfully! But don't get me wrong... his competitive spirit is alive and well.  There isn't anything his brother can do that he can't... and if there is, it's very frustrating to him. 

He's brilliant.  I know I say that about both my kids and I think it's true.  I'm extremely biased, I know :) But indulge me as I talk about some of the new things he's doing! For instance, he has displayed a firm grasp of cause/effect relationships.  "because" is a frequent part of his vocabulary... "because I LOVE him" is my favorite answer to just about any question. "because I'm hungry" and "because I no no how" are also good ones :) Last week I overheard him telling a little boy a few months younger than him "the sun makes the ground hot." A few days later I was washing his hands and he told me, "I like hot water.  Hot kills the germs, but too hot makes burns." 

He tells knock-knock jokes.  It's hilarious! They don't always make sense, but he laughs and we laugh and it's great :) 

Summertime:
We've had a really great summer :) It went very fast, of course, but we managed to fit in several fun things for our little family of four.  Here's a quick list of highlights!

Monument Lake sunset

4-wheeling in Estes

Tucker's dream come true... petting the horsies

Date Night at the Rockies Game

Big Helper :)

Movie Night at the Park

Pizza Picnic at the Park

Camping at Tarryall

Family Date to the Aquarium

Thanking the Firefighters...after another scary summer!

4th of July fun

I am just blessed beyond measure and so thankful for every day!