Grand Kids Fun

It's always a treat when the grand kids come, even if it's only for a morning!!  Brad had to come down to his property last week so Rayna and Kylan came to spend the morning with me!!

We had fun playing games and trying to win!!

 And of course there was hot chocolate in the morning and lunch later on - always fun with an 8 year old boy!!

Thanks for coming Rayna and Kylan !!

The LONG Trip Home................

After our Christmas festivities last weekend and one last cup of coffee and a cinnamon roll, we headed back to the mountains.  First - a stop at American Furniture Warehouse right off of E-470 - this huge building has always intrigued me and I just knew they were going to have so much more furniture than the one in Co Springs.  But I was wrong - I was disappointed, in fact very disappointed.  There was not that much there that I was interested in and I like the setup so much better in CS - guess the grass is NOT always greener on the other side of the fence..................

As we got into CS, our neighbor called Glenn and said the pass was closed due to a home invasion in Cascade.  I quickly checked my phone for an update and sure enough, the pass was closed and they had no idea when it would open.  We decided to take a back way up Rampart Range Road but after finding it, discovered it was closed.  Then it was off to our 2nd choice, Gold Camp Rd but it was closed too..............

Since the Broncos game was going to start soon, we headed to a Sports Bar for a late lunch and watched the game until I got the text that the pass was back open.  We waited a little while until 1/2 time, noticing that it was snowing outside and getting heavier and heavier!!  We headed to the car and looked like snowmen by the times we reached it - the snow was very wet and very heavy!!

The roads were bad but we started up the pass and found it was even worse!!  Cars were off to the side, accidents, it was a mess!!  There was so much traffic backed up on both sides that the snowplows couldn't even get through.  It took us a long, long time to go a few miles!!

We finally got home around 5:30 - 6 hours after we had left Denver!!  And later found out that the home invasion deal was all taken care of with thankfully, no one hurt!! 

Minute To Win It Games

Jessi had the great idea to intersperse with our presents, minute to win it games!!  Excellent idea and SO MUCH FUN!!!

Between the 4 of us gals, we wrapped 6 gifts to the 6 kids (Gwyn is too little to appreciate this yet!!) which included the instructions to a minute to win it game, any supplies needed, a $5 gift for the person who opened and a $5 gift to the winner.   After the child opened the package, he or she drew 3 names out of a hat who would play the game with him or her.

The games were hilarious and I don't have a lot of pictures since I played 2 of the games and video taped a couple of the others!!

In this photo, the guys are up in the loft, using strings with a candy cane on the end, trying to get the candy cane in a bottle.

And here's the bottles!!

In this game, the 2 kids and the 2 girls have Vaseline on their noses and a string in their mouth with a piece of red fluff on the end - object is to get the red on your nose!!!  It was hilarious!!

Here they are using a long spaghetti to pick up macaroni through its' hole and put it on a plate!!

One of the funniest games was an empty Kleenex box held on your behind by a belt and filled with light small balls - object was to dance and jump up and down to get the balls out of the box - we laughed and laughed!!!!

We also celebrated Gary's birthday that evening!!!  Yes, his birthday fell on our celebration day!!  How fun to enjoy jello cake with him!!

Even though Gwyn wasn't feeling well, she was a real trooper and held up well!!

Our final event of the evening was doing our annual "predictions" to see who got the frog for the year - Glenn and I did AWFUL!!!  We were at the bottom of the pack ..................guess the frog won't be living at our new house this next year!!  Believe it or not, Jaime and Brad won!!!  And that is quite the feat for them because they have NEVER won since we started doing this!!  So Congratulations to them for answering the most questions right!!

What a great Christmas we had - and many more to look forward to!!!

Christmas Cont'd..............

Part of the fun on our Christmas was playing "minute to win it" games which I'll dedicate the next blog to.  But in the meantime the kids kept opening gifts - we decided then that the adults just better wait till after lunch to open theirs as the kids were so excited to open!!

This next picture just might be my favorite picture from Christmas - are those looks precious or what?  They were opening up matching "Frozen" necklaces!

 Gwyn loved the doll she got from Jaime - of course it went right into her mouth but that was to be expected!!

 Jaime got the boys Star Wars lasers - a little deadly to play with in the house but they loved them!!

 Joleen buys for my grand kids and I buy for her grand kids and sometimes it's a real challenge to think up ideas - this year I had the perfect solution!!  BOOKS - every year a book!!  And it was the perfect gift!!

 I ordered IPHONE holders with their pictures on them for the 3 oldest - hopefully they will use them and not have to figure out where they left their phones now!!

 The younger ones received magnetic photos of themselves and with Nana and Papa!

 And when Gwyn got up from her nap, she had a whole pile of presents to open!!  Naturally she was more interested in the wrapping paper than the gift!!  Love this little hat she received!!

Lunch consisted of 2 different kinds of soups and rolls - it was so nice outside that Gary set up a table and chairs out there and the guys and the kids ate outside!  I love it when it snows outside on our Christmas but hey, I'll take the sunshine too!!

The adults opened their gifts in the afternoon while the kids played - Jill had my name and got me a movie (MockingJay 1), a cute flannel shirt, cozy socks and a small speaker for my IPOD or IPHONE that I can take when I travel - it sounds fantastic!!  Glenn got me a devotional book, slippers and a salt and pepper grinder!!  My grab bag gift was 3 candles with the flameless flame that you light up with a remote - wow - can't wait to try them!!

We all ended up at Jaime's that evening for an Italian dinner - it was delicious and for dessert we had birthday cake for Gary's birthday - but more on that in the final Christmas blog!!

Christmas 2015

Sleigh bells ring - are you listening - in the lane - snow is glistening - a beautiful sight, we're happy tonight - walking in a winter wonderland!!  Oh how I LOVE Christmas songs!!  I've been playing them on my IPOD for a couple of weeks now and it's fun to sing along and enjoy all the old favorites!!

Our Christmas celebration with the kids was last weekend - yes, it's over and done and what a wonderful weekend it was!!  Hard to believe it's already in the past but I have lots of special memories and lots of great pictures to remember it by!!

Glenn and I headed to Denver early Friday afternoon - after a stop to install a blind - (doesn't it seem like every time we head to Denver there's a blind project involved?)  Traffic was light which made the trip easy and we headed to Jaime's first.  Gary was working that evening and Jessi was working late so she had Evan and Kenzie.

Glenn had to meet a guy downtown to pick up an item so I stayed at Jaime's and played a game with the kids - unfortunately Gwyn was not feeling well so Jessi headed right home after work instead of stopping by.  We all ate dinner together and then Glenn and I took the kids over to Jessi's where we were spending the night.

Jill's got in Friday night to stay at Jaime's and we all congregated at Jessi's on Saturday morning for our day of Christmas!  We have learned that if you want pictures of the kids together - DO IT FIRST!!!

 Check out their matching pj's (except Rayna)  - we looked and looked for these on Black Friday and it was a real challenge to find them in all the sizes!!  Aren't they cute as can be??

And then it was the mandatory family photos!!

 The coffee pot was going full speed all morning - I love this picture of the son-in-laws with their coffee in hand!!

 Apparently Jaime didn't get the memo that we were wearing matching pants!!  One year I found these after Christmas for a couple of dollars a pair so got each of the girls one!!

 And I LOVE this picture of us with the grand kids!!  Next year maybe I can get organized enough to get a picture to put on our Christmas card as it sure didn't happen this year!!  Evan had his eyes closed on this one but still had a cute smile!!

We started the opening of the gifts and opened for almost an hour before we stopped for homemade cinnamon rolls, courtesy of our baker - Jessi!!  They were AWESOME!!  And go so good with a great cup of coffee!!  And then it was back to the opening with lots more pictures - to be cont'd in the next blog.................

What's Not To Love.............

About a "girls" afternoon spent at The Winery!!  My friend Jane and I headed to the winery this afternoon for some girl talk, wine tasting, and a platter full of hot bread, cheeses, fruit, and brownies!!  YUM!!!  What a great time!!

December Get-Togethers

I'm been really lax on my blogging lately but there just hasn't been much to write about!  There's snow and cold and ice - but who wants to hear about that!  I could give you my list of things I've accomplished this past week but that's not all that exciting either..................

But we did have some holiday get togethers this last week!  Tuesday night we had John and Patti over for dinner - Wed night we went to Jan and Jan's for dinner and installed a couple of blinds they had ordered - and Thursday evening I cooked a nice Christmas dinner for a couple of our helpers up at the house! 

Saturday we headed to Co Springs to pick up some cabinets for our laundry room and office - Glenn finished hanging them today and they look great!!  But the most exciting thing on the house is that the granite for the island is DONE!!  And it looks amazing!!

I'm now sanding doors and getting ready to stain them - the garage door was put on today - and Glenn has finished up the kitchen granite so it's ready to install!  We're getting closer.........................

House Update

It's December - the days are flying by - and the house continues to progress!  The kitchen cabinets are all installed and our new refrigerator arrived last week!  The tile guys are working on the master bathroom and will be finished by the end of the week - and the taping and sanding of the drywall in the master bathroom and closet will be finished by the end of the week (hopefully) so Glenn can get it textured and I can get it painted!

Yesterday Glenn and Roy installed the doors on the main level - they are gorgeous!!  Haven't decided if we are going to stain them or just put a clear coat on them but I think I'm leaning towards the latter!

Today the guys picked up the granite - we had the shop cut the pieces and Glenn will finish it all off in the garage!!  Luckily the weather is warmer today and no snow forecasted till the weekend! 

December Festivities

The first weekend of December is always the "fun" weekend around Teller County!  Usually 1 or 2 of the girls comes down and we do the Holiday Home Tour and the melodrama in Cripple Creek!  And sometimes we even do the parade in town - but a lot of times it's just too cold or snowy!

This year Jaime and Kylan came down for the weekend - it's been a few years since Jaime has been able to come down on this particular weekend as she's usually working so it was a treat to have her here this year as the other 2 girls already had plans!

Jaime had to meet a friend Saturday morning so Kylan helped me put dinner in the crock pot!

 Early afternoon we headed to Cripple Creek to see the melodrama - Glenn definitely needs a lesson in photography!!

 The melodrama was "The Christmas Donkey" and it was excellent!  The theater always puts on a great production at Christmas and this year was no exception!

 Kylan had popcorn to enjoy while we watched it!

Sunday Jaime and I did the Home Holiday Tour in Woodland Park - there was a lodge to see first at Divide and also a home in Green Mtn. Falls so we did those 2 and after a bite of lunch, met my friend Jane to finish seeing the final 4 homes!  It's always fun to see new ideas and I took a lot of pictures to show Glenn!

Kylan loves to play games so we played "Sorry" several times and right now the score is tied - 2 wins for him, 2 wins for me!!  Unfortunately he woke up Sunday with a bad sore throat so didn't get to go sledding with Papa...............

It was a great weekend with Jaime and Kylan and hopefully Rayna can come the next time!!

NaBloPoMo

YES - I DID IT!!!  I reached my challenge of blogging every day in November!!  (hence the reason why you haven't seen a blog for a week - totally burned out!!)

I am extremely proud of myself for taking on this challenge AND finishing it!!  Now that I've had a week's reprieve, it's time to get back to blogging for the month of December!!  But do NOT expect a blog a day - 1 or 2 a week is plenty for this girl!!

Mackenzie Turns 7

Friday evening we headed back over to Jaime's to enjoy a few more leftovers and to celebrate Kenzie's birthday!  She loved opening her gifts and sure enjoyed getting a couple of sketch pads and colored pencils from us - she LOVES to draw and write stories!!

 Hopefully when we come up for Christmas, I'll get to take Kenzie to a movie with popcorn, also part of her gift!

 Jaime made an awesome dessert - it was a caramel sweet dip that you dipped apples into and it was delicious!!!

Happy early Birthday Kenzie!!

Pre Black Friday - Black Friday

Our usual activity on Thanksgiving afternoon is to finish up the Christmas lists, look through all the ads and make our lists for that night and the next day!  This year was a little different as we 3 girls sat with our computers on the table, looked through the ads and did ONLINE SHOPPING!!!

There was no way any of us were going out that night as it was a sheet of ice out there and darn cold!!  So some naps were taken and pie was eaten and we poured over the ads!!

And the kids?  Kenzie was lost without Aleah so spent a lot of time on the IPAD.

 The boys also were on their electronics and had a fun day playing together.

 And Gwyn was her usual cute self all day long and made us smile!

 The guys watched football most of the afternoon and we were glued to our computers and lists all afternoon!

It seemed a little strange not to be going out shopping that night but I always did think the stores should NOT be open on Thanksgiving night.

We made plans to head out in the morning but Evan's eye was swollen shut and he wasn't feeling good at all.  So Jessi headed to Urgent Care with him while Jaime and I headed to the mall on some icy roads!!  I didn't really have much left to shop for but Jaime needed to go to the Disney Store and that's always fun!!

Jessi got some medication for Evan and we all knew that it would help him!!  Jaime and I picked up Jessi and we headed back out to do some more shopping!  We just went to a few stores, had a great lunch at 5 Guys and then called it a day!!  Jaime was feeling pretty tough with a bad cold coming on so she headed to bed for a while.

Not our typical Black Friday day - but I sure enjoyed shopping online vs. braving the stores!

Turkey Day!!

Thanksgiving Day 2015  - surely it was a day to remember as the weather was NOT good and we were missing part of our family - Jill, Robby and the kids headed to Austin, TX to be with Robby's brothers' family...............and we missed them all day long!!

The weather - yuck - COLD and ICY and SNOWY and just downright miserable.  We were all thankful to be safe inside Jaime's house, nice and warm!!

Glenn and I were certainly glad we had driven up the night before - the roads were still good then although we did hit freezing rain outside of Denver and it only got worse as the night wore on!

I'll start the pictures off with the youngest member of our family - the cutest turkey ever!!

 First on the agenda was making the place cards and filling them with M and M's (note - it is almost impossible to find the FALL packages of M and M's - we had to resort to Christmas M and M's once again.....................) Evan actually was there helping but somehow didn't make it in the picture!  Rayna took charge of this project and she kept the kids entertained for a little while at least!

 Our awesome mashed potato person - Gary!!  He did an excellent job!!

 Brad was in charge of the turkey again - we only had to do one this year since we were short 4 people and Brad grilled it on his new grill!!  It cooked a whole lot faster than he thought it would so was actually done by mid-morning but that was OK - gave us incentive to hurry dinner along so we could eat a little earlier!! (note - the turkey looks burnt but it wasn't - coloring was just from the grill - the inside was nice and juicy!)

 Our baker Jessi actually got up that morning and made homemade crescent rolls - as usual, they were awesome!!  (along with the pies the day before)

 Jessi took this opportunity to PHOTO BOMB the kids' picture!!  But at least she looks cute!!  The 3 kids sat in the small dining area while the adults took over the main dining room table!  Evan had woke up with a sore looking eye so put hot compresses on it during the day.

 Seems like the only time I take "couple" pictures is at Thanksgiving - it's not too often I remember to take them otherwise!!

 Little Gwyn sat at the table with us and she had sweet potatoes!

 Our Thanksgiving menu consisted of turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, stuffing, corn pudding, sweet potatoes, relish tray, punch, crescent rolls, oj jello salad (fresh green beans were on the menu but after cooking them, we decided they were BAD and promptly dumped them!!  take no chances on Thanksgiving Day!!) with apple and pumpkin pie - it was all delicious!!!

Clean up didn't even seem too bad this year either!  And I'll have you know, I think this was the FIRST turkey in many many years that I didn't have to PICK CLEAN the turkey!!  I told everyone I was loading the dishwasher this year and that's just what I did!!

I'll leave you with a picture of the OLDEST member of our family - the biggest turkey of all - ha ha!!

Answers To Thanksgiving Trivia

So did you know all those Thanksgiving Trivia answers?  I have to admit, I sure didn't know that many of them.  Here are the answers!!

1)  Christopher Jones
2)  Puritans
3)  True
4)  1924
5)  1621
6)  Harry Truman
7)  Felix the Cat
8)  102
9)  66 days
10)  Wine
11)  Detroit Lions vs Chicago Bears

Hope your Thanksgiving Day was wonderful!

Thanksgiving Trivia

Happy Turkey Day!  A day to spend with family - eat lots of great food - play with the kids or grand kids - make your shopping list for Black Friday - eat some more great food - call the relatives - take a nap - and eat even MORE great food!!  Yes, we all stuff ourselves at Thanksgiving and I sometimes even think the leftovers are better than the actual meal!

I've got some great Thanksgiving Trivia for you - and the answers will be in tomorrows' post!!

1)  What is the name of the Captain of the Mayflower?
2)  What is the original name of pilgrims?
3)  Indian corn only should be used as decorations and not for cooking?  T or F
4)  What year did the first Macy's Thanksgiving Parade start?
5)  What year was the first Thanksgiving?
6)  Who was the first President to pardon a Turkey?
7)  Name the first balloon in the first Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade?
8)  How many pilgrims came over on the Mayflower?
9)  How long did it take the pilgrims to come from England to the United States?
10)  What was the Mayflower originally designed to carry?
11)  What football team was the first Thanksgiving Day game in 1934?

So how smart ARE you?

Grandparents Day In Denver

Tuesday was Grandparents Day in Denver at Rayna and Kylan's school!  Glenn needed to work on the house so I made the journey up! 

I stopped at Jaime's house first for a quick bite of lunch and then headed to the school.  They had a very nice program for the first part of the afternoon and both kids sang.  They sang one of my favorite Thanksgiving songs, Give Thanks!

Then it was off to the photo booth for our picture!  Kylan sat on the piano bench and then promptly fell off as he thought there was a back to the bench! 

 Next we headed to Rayna's room and I visited with a couple of her teachers.

 And then it was off to Kylan's room - this is where they can have quiet time and read books!

It was a nice afternoon and we all headed back to their house for games and dinner!  I spent the night but did get up quite early and headed to Jessi's for an adjustment and coffee before I headed back to Florissant.................. but not for long as Glenn and I ended up driving BACK up to Denver that night - the roads were going to get bad and we didn't want to take the chance of driving on horrible roads Thanksgiving morning!  Good thing too as we hit freezing rain about 1/2 hour outside of Denver!  It was nice to get to Jessi's and know the drive was behind us!