Random

I haven't blogged in a while... honestly, 2014 has started off pretty uneventful. It's okay with me, because 2013 was plenty eventful for our family, so much so that it's nice to just take a breather and putter through day to day... boring old life. But, since I know my mom is anxious for an update, here are a few random shots from our past few weeks.

Riley finished The Hunger Games, so he finally got to watch the movie....now he's working on Catching Fire. 

We've done a little bit of sledding... Riley showing off his hat head.

Riley...keeping that snow out of his face.

Reece just covering his face to solve the problem.

Reece was pretty proud of his "snow bear." See it?

We got to celebrate Abby's 11th birthday with a yummy feast! She wanted brownies as her dessert...my favorite!!

CrAzY icicles out our window!

Driving amongst the elk...I seriously want to live in this neighborhood.  The herd of 300 or more come down from the mountains in the winter time and just hang out on the golf course, by the pond. Too cool...anyone have a few hundred thousand dollars for us to borrow have?? Haha...

Rare sweet moment from Reece. This was during the KU/Iowa St game... not sure how they stayed so calm during the excitement. (We won)

More sledding...I mean burying Reece in the snow.

Another picture perfect day. The temperature was 28 degrees, but it didn't take long to break a sweat. Winters here are kind of nice.... when the sun is out it is honestly balmy. It helps when the wind doesn't howl like it does in Kansas. We have a random windy day here and there, but it doesn't happen very often... and this wraps up our first few weeks of 2014. Not exciting, but I won't complain about the down time.

{LUCAS}

The next few several pictures are from my first meeting of my nephew, Lucas. He is nearly 5 months old and I could not soak up enough time with this cutie. He is very funny... if the camera is out, he is wide eyed and serious, but I managed to finally get a smile or two. So sad he had to head back to KC so quickly, but thankful for the time he got to come down to meet Aunt Jacque!

Quick Trip Back to KS

Bright....er...dark and early, we are off to Kansas. Friday was a long day of driving. But our excitement kept us going and the weather and traffic were perfect!  

A rare nap for Reece. Blankets and pillow and 11 hours in the car will do it...

Riley focusing on "The Hunger Games." The good news is he finished it this trip...and we will watch the movie today.

Dad wanted a selfie... silly man.

It had been exactly 5 months since we passed this sign last.

Our KC cousins! (Colby, Camryn and baby Lucas)

Aunt Jaime had her cats with her, and Reece loved on them as much as possible.

Monday brought on the movie "Frozen" and bowling with Aidan.

Owen was so tired after the movie...such a sweet heart!

I was able to see my friend Becky, and her 2 year old was a ham. Landon was in the dish gloves pretending to be a doctor.
I also got to see my friends Casey,Sarah, and Cindy...just no pictures to show for it. 

Jake went golfing with his good friend, Joe, and we almost got away with his youngest daughter... Penny thought it was pretty funny sitting in our car like a big girl.

We rang in the new year at Aunt Joanna's ... she hosts a "Kid New Years Party." It was a success... food and fun! Owen showing off his New Year Gear!

Kraus kids, Scott kids, and McMillan kids... cousin fun!

Riley was missing the mountains so much he needed the Mountain High Mudd Pie...actually he just wanted it because of the word "pie." His favorite thing! It was MASSIVE and oh so good!

The boys got to see their good friends in McPherson, Nicholas and Jackson, and then we went to say good bye to Aidan and Owen. Just like that our trip was over! The drive home was long and dreadful! The anticipation to just get home and back in your own bed seems to double the length of your drive... It was so exciting to be back in the canyon and to see that Glenwood exit. It was a crazy, jam packed few days, glad we got the chance to make the trip, but it's nice to be home.

Merry Christmas

Christmas 2013 was a success. It was a strange one...again being our first year 10 hours away from family, but it was peaceful and fun one.

So the boys were very surprised and very thankful for the new Xbox they received. Thankfully, they don't require the latest and greatest of technology... and when new items come out, these items become more affordable. Riley was so happy that he couldn't even speak clearly...a lot of shocked stuttering was taking place, followed by big hugs!

Riley's lego set... Republic Gunship

Reece's Lego set... Mobile Heavy Cannon

My lighting was poor in all of these pictures...nothing I could do about the natural light from behind. Santa brought the boys some awesome snow gear...a couple sleds an snowboards (for small hills.)

Santa also brought some small Lego sets and a couple new movies.

Mom was so lucky to sneak a picture of what Santa left before the boys woke up... ;)

Our Christmas Eve was a fun dinner at the Scrutons. I was surprised with a beautiful framed pictures of my favorite Mt. Sopris. It's an ongoing joke with us that I am always talking about "How Sopris feels today." It's always happy or depressed... depending on the weather. Well the joke gets more dramatic with each telling, so here is my picture I can now document its/our mood on each day. What a funny, but thoughtful gift.

The kiddos at the Scrutons... Riley had been a little under the weather, so he was anxious to get home and get to bed. Thankfully he woke up Christmas morning feeling well enough to stop all medicine. 

Reece posing with his Lego set.

1175 pieces later Riley has a pretty awesome set! It took several hours! 

My special gift this year were these earrings.
Funny story behind this gift...I was at work when Reece texted me.
Reece: Can I have five dollars?
Me: What? Why?
Reece: A resin. (Reason)
Me: I'll be home soon. It can wait.

When I got home he said he wanted to get me a special Christmas gift...after reasoning with him that I didn't want to buy my own gift, he went and got it out of his own spend jar. He handled it well. He did say that he was going to be the one handing the money to his teacher, so it was really  him buying the gift. Nice try spinning that logic around, but it doesn't work that way kid. He was very proud and excited to give the earrings to me and that's what makes me most happy.