SNOW!

We woke up on Wednesday morning to find snow in our backyard. I had told Tevin the night before that he could put on his boots in the morning and go out in the snow. So of course, he woke up and said "Wanna go outside!" He was very excited to see the white stuff all over the patio and lawn; he almost skipped breakfast (his favorite and sometimes ONLY meal of the day) just to get out there. But we quickly ate our whole-wheat waffles and bundled up to play. Brynlee was content to be in my arms for a few minutes while we were out watching Tevin but quickly realized she would rather be down on the ground. Of course, I had not prepared for this... she had no snowsuit, boots, or waterproof gloves and so putting her down in it was out of the question. It would have meant a sure trip to the doctor for pneumonia or something... I had to bring her back inside to watch from the warmth of the dining room but as you can see, she was not happy about that at all. Needless to say, I went out on Saturday and bought her an outfit for the next time it snows. :)

Memorial to Michael

Mike Janelle died in Avon, Colorado last night. He was 40 years old. Michael was a wonderful son, brother, husband, and soon-to-be father. He was my cousin: my mom's brother's eldest son. Mike was an avid bicyclist in the warm months and ski instructor in the cold months. He will be missed by so many. He journaled his cycling at http://www.michaeljanelle.com/. He's got some great racing photos.

Here is Mike with his parents after racing up Mt. Evans (Colorado) in July of 2005.

Mike with his new wife Maribel in October 2006. Maribel is due in March 2008 with the couple's first child.

Please pray for the family as they mourn the loss of such a wonderful man.

Mommy's 30th Birthday at CB

We decided no birthday is complete without a trip to Casa Bonita! For those of you who are not from here, I will give a brief history. Nestled between a magic shop and a dollar store in a pretty run-down neighborhood strip-mall, I will swear that Casa Bonita has not changed since it opened in 1974. It's a Mexican restaurant with flair. Looking at the place from the outside, you would be amazed that so much entertainment awaits you: cliff divers, arcade, Black Bart's Cave, full-stage magic show, puppet show, and the Mariachis. Having grown up in the Denver area, I've been there probably a dozen or more times since I was a small child, but even Darren (who grew up 6 hours away in Dodge City) remembers going there when he was a wee lad. This is the place you take your friends when they come in from out of town. The food is sub-par but the entertainment is something you have to experience just once in your lifetime. My adventurous cousin Patrick had his last experience a couple of years ago when he was banished for life after jumping into the pool. Read his recounting of the events here: http://i-heart.blogspot.com/2006/02/being-in-colorado-reminds-me.html ;)

The kids are ready to enjoy the entertainment!

Brynlee can't get enough of the lights. This place looks like Christmas all year-round!

After Mom and Dad win about 45 game tickets, Tevin gets his pick of the 5-ticket prizes from the arcade prize counter. He picked 4 different colored smiley face erasers. Woo Hoo!

The Denver Zoo

A few weeks ago we went to the zoo on a nice October afternoon. It looks cold, but the wind was mostly the reason for the coats. We saw all kinds of great animals, including hippos, which Tevin is in love with! We didn't get any pictures of the live creatures because they were submerged underwater. We think Tevin was a little disappointed that the real hippos don't look anything like his pink Hippo Girl.. at least he liked posing with the bronze statues!

Here, Tev and Bryn are watching in awe as the huge bengal tiger jaunted back and forth in front of them. We explained that they were like big kitties, to which Tevin replied, "Meow, like Toby!". Of course, Toby is our 10-lb. domestic short hair house cat and couldn't hurt a fly even if he wanted to. We had a great day at the zoo with Grandpa, Uncle Logan, and Gammy K!

Halloween Fun

We went for an early evening trip to Grandpa's house where Gammy and Uncle Logan were part of the audience witnessing Tevin's very first Trick-or-Treating! Tevin was a natural, and even said "Trick or Treat PLEASE!!" to Granpda as he opened the door with a giant bowl of candy for Tevin to pick from. Of course he grabbed suckers, chocolates, and anything else that could fit in his small grasp. Brynlee just watched in awe at the festivities. She didn't have a lot to say but did seem to like her Bee costume. Later, we went back to our house, put Brynlee to bed, and when Darren got home from work, he and Tevin and I went out to a few houses around ours (mostly to people we knew) to give Tevin a real taste of Halloween. He loved it, as you can imagine! What could be better than asking for candy and actually GETTING some (as opposed to the constant NO he gets from mom and dad!)? Tevin got a lot of comments on his costume and people were surprised that it was homemade! By 7:00 we were back at our house and having fun with Tevin as the loads of kids came by. Every time the doorbell rang, Tevin would say, "Uh oh!!" in his most excited voice and would run to the door. Surely all the sugar he had eaten had nothing to do with his unusually high level of energy! ;) We hope everyone had a great Halloween!

Bryn's Party

Brynlee smiled for us on the morning of her big day. She was all ready to party!

We had a great gathering of friends and family for our Very Pink celebration. We started with appetizers and beverages for our guests and then moved into the living room for gift opening. We had lots of help from Tevin and cousin Kyler (5 years).

Brynlee got a very cute hoodie sweatshirt from Uncle Logan. She is showing it off while cousin Tayla (7 months) admires her style. :)

Tevin even got a gift or two from Grandpa and Uncle Logan. The gifts came just in time because he was starting to get very jealous of his little sister's growing pile of loot.

Brynlee was getting very tired at this point but we managed to sing to her and serve her the cake Darren made (along with 47 cupcakes that our guests enjoyed). We had a great day celebrating the birth of our wonderful daughter!

Happy Birthday Brynlee!!

Wishing our baby girl a very happy first birthday! We love you Brynlee!