Hey everyone. Hope you are all doing well.

Things are going good here in Colorado. We haven't gotten anymore snow. Just warm weather. Sunday and Monday it was in the 70's. But unfortunately it will cool down just in time for Halloween! No surprise there. At least it will be in the 30's and not the single digits.

Last Thursday Jacob and Rebecca spent the night with us. Tracy had a conference in Denver on Thursday and then headed out Friday morning for a girl's weekend in Mexico. So we took the kids for her. We had so much fun with them. I know I have them during the week anyway, but it is always fun to have a sleepover. On Friday we just hung out around the house. The kids just wanted to play anyway, especially since Kristian was home.

Friday night we carved pumpkins. Mike could never find a pattern that he liked, so it ended up being me, Kristian and Dylan. I did one with Scooby Doo and one with Sponge bob. Dylan did a Jack O Lantern face and Kristian did a spider holding a jack O lantern. We stayed up till about midnight that night. Unfortunately for Mike he got called into work around 10 and didn't get back home till 1.

Saturday I roasted the pumpkin seeds for the first time ever. I always say I am going to and then just throw them away. They turned out really good! I met up with Cat for lunch at P.F. Changs and then we went shopping. There were a lot of good sales going on. Pottery Barn had their Halloween stuff already marked down 75% so I picked up some of that. They had the cutest little plates and cups for the kids.

Sunday me and the boys headed into town. Kristian wanted to be a Zombie for Halloween. So instead of ripping up any clothes that he has we went to Goodwill instead. He wants to wear just a shirt and bluejeans. I tried to convince him to wear a black suit and white shirt, but he wouldn't go for it. It was so much easier when he was little and I could dress him up in whatever. He has gotten so picky. He doesn't like long sleeves and hates wearing a coat. Of course I have to make him on cold days. After that I took the kids to P.F. Changs. Whenever I go there without them I always hear about it. So I took them. They loved it. We headed home after that and that is when I started feeling sick. I was so glad that I at least made it home. I was in the bathroom most of the evening. I kept thinking 'this will be the last time and I will feel so much better soon', but it never happened. I still felt bad on Monday. Not sure what it was, because the kids felt fine. I hated to, but I had to ask Tracy for the day off. I knew it was going to be a struggle just watching Dylan. And it was, but I made it through.

We got Kristian's report card last week and he had A's and B's. His lowest grade was an 87. We are so proud of him. Yesterday they had the Awards Breakfast at school. I took the 3 little kids. They love going to the school. Plus they get to hang out with the bigger kids for a bit. Mike was able to go with us too. It is so neat that they put so much work into these awards assemblys. The kids work so hard, so it nice to let them have some fun.

Last night we went Trick or Treating with, Tracy and her family, Cat and her family and another family from school. The kids got so much candy and had a blast. Dylan has it all figured out now and was running from house to house. It was a little warmer than last year. So that was nice. Of course the pre-teen kids didn't want to wear their jackets, so... for the first time I let Kristian make up his own mind and he didn't wear one. He wouldn't admit that he was cold, but when we got in the car he did say he couldn't wait to take a hot shower!

The pictures are of the pumpkin carving, me and the kids, Kristian and Dylan at the Awards assembly and the trick or treaters. Until next time...

Last week, was a full 5 day week for me. Kristian had a friend, Connor, come over and spend the night on Thursday. They had a great time just hanging out and being boys. They played Guitar Hero and Sonic the Hedgehog. Dylan just hung out with them and of course let us know when he wasn't being included. Friday I had Tracy's kids, so at least then Dylan had someone his age. Although, Rebecca and Dylan hung out with Kristian and Connor. I know the older two were relieved when the two little ones had a take a nap!

On Saturday, I went and got my hair done. It took 4 hours!! I had her darken it up and cut it. It is shorter than I wanted put it is growing on me.

Saturday night, Mike and I actually had another date night! I can't even remember the last time that we went out two weekends in a row. It had to be before kids, that I do know. We went out with some friends we hadn't seen in a while. Chris and Maite (Mytay) She is due with their second child in 3 weeks. They have a little boy already, Grant, who will be 2 in January. It is always nice to go out with them because they know all the neat places down town to eat. We started off at a French Bistro. We had dinner, drank some wine and just visited. After that we went to another restaurant, just down the street from there, that was actually down in the basement of a downtown building. The atmosphere and decor was awesome. We did a little more drinking and split some desserts. We had such a great time. Heidi, a friend of ours, watched the boys for us. Dylan was a little unsure at first, since he had only met her a couple of times, but he did fine. By the end of the night he wasn't ready to leave and was asking when he could go back.

Sunday we spent most of the day laying around. It was a cold and dreary day. But after a while we got up and around so that I could go buy groceries. From our basket it would've seemed like we were out of everything. Which I pretty much was. I have been putting off buying a lot at once. I HATE going grocery shopping, so anytime I can get in and out of there quickly I will.

Monday I stayed up till midnight watching the Rockies win AGAIN! Now they are headed to the World Series. Their first trip to the World Series, so everyone is pretty excited for them. They have never been that great of a team, but this seems to be a good year for them.

Monday Mike left for L.A. He was gone until Thursday. He had a great trip and was able to meet up with someone we had known in Virginia. So that was nice for him. We met him in town on Thursday when he got back in and had dinner.

Friday I spent the day cleaning the house. That's always fun. Friday evening I ran into town to pick up some wine and other last minute things for our get together Saturday night. We invited the guys from Mike's work over along with their families. There was about 20 of us in all. I cooked two turkeys and then had everyone bring a side or a dessert. We had so much good food. And really enjoyed ourselves. It was nice to see everyone. Some I had not seen since the Christmas party last year. The guys really enjoyed themselves playing Guitar Hero. Us ladies just enjoyed visiting with each other.

Sunday we woke up to 2 inches of snow! Our first for this year. It was so pretty! I got up and cleaned up from the party the night before. I worked on Dylan's Halloween costume. He is going to be a spider. I did some laundry, watched a movie and baked some rolls. Mike... played Guitar Hero all morning long! I couldn't believe it. But apparently when someone turned off the game they didn't save Mike's progress and he had to start ALL over. Boo Hoo! And just so you know, it wasn't me! I think it was Kristian, or at least that is who Mike was blaming.

Sunday afternoon we went over to Brett and Cat's for an early dinner. They had BBQ ribs. It was so good. Chris and Maite were there too. So we got to visit with them again. Their little boy Grant is growing up so fast. He will be two in January! Grant and Dylan had a blast with each other. It was nice because Dylan gets left out a lot with the older kids. But him and Grant were like two peas in a pod.

Monday, Jacob was throwing up, so I didn't have him or Rebecca that day. I dropped Kristian off at school and Dylan and I went to town. We picked up the last few things I needed for Halloween and his costume and a few groceries. That was about it for that day. Which was nice!

Well I guess that is about it for us. This is a really long post! The pictures are of the first snow, Mike and I and Dylan before our date night, the Sand Dunes and Dylan blowing out his candles. Have a great week!

Oct. 10th

We have had a good last couple of weeks. We went to Alamosa for Dylan's birthday. The sand dunes were unbelievable. You have to see them to appreciate them. It is amazing that it is just sand. The tallest one, which we didn't climb, is 750 feet tall! The boys had fun climbing up them and rolling back down. They also had a great time swimming at the hotel pool. It had an indoor water park. Saturday night they swam for 3 1/2 hours. And yes, they did sleep in the next morning. We drove back a different way and saw lots of fall colors. The trees looked so pretty.

Kristian found out the day before we left that he had to read a 200 page biography for the following Monday. So he did a lot of reading on the way there and back. He managed to get it read. I was so proud of him. I picked him up a book about Houdini, since he loves doing magic tricks, I thought it would keep him interested.

Last Friday Dylan went in for his 4 year checkup and he is doing great. He is 42 inches tall and weighs 38 lbs.! He had to get 3 shots also. Since he has a late birthday, he doesn't have to get all the shots for school this year. But he will have to get 3 more next year. He didn't cry at all. Just gasped and held his breath the entire time. When she was done he let out a HUGE sigh of relief. But said he wasn't getting any shots next time!

After his appt. we went to William Sonoma to pick up some pancake molds, then I took him to Toys R Us to get something for doing so well with his shots. After that we met Tracy and the kids for lunch. We were celebrating her birthday. I ran by Target and then headed home.

Kristian had spent the day at a friends house. So Mike and I picked him up on our way over to Tracy's that evening. She was watching the boys for us while we actually went out on a date! We went and saw the Bourne Ultimatum and then had dinner at PF Changs. We had a really good time. On Saturday we went and put new tires on the suburban, had lunch and I ran by the store for a few groceries. We picked up the boys on the way home. We had a quiet evening at home on Saturday. Sunday I caught up on laundry and house cleaning and got ready for Monday morning. Mike worked out in the shop. He is coming along on the '56 wagon. I think he spent most of the day measuring things. He is getting ready to make a very important cut and wants to make sure it is exactly right.

Dylan is still loving his four wheeler, or four liller, is the way he says it. I still worry about him, but Mike has it set up to go as slow as possible.

Well I guess that is it for now. Hope everyone is doing well. I wanted to add more pictures, but the site was having trouble. So I hope to add more next time. The pictures are of the boys at the hotel water park and then attempting to take a serious picture!