Here it is again...Monday

It's a sure thing...Mondays! As we sit here and have breakfasts together with our boys so they can get ready for school I know we all long for one more "weekend" day. Just as fast as the past week had gone by the weekend went by even faster.

I decided to make the boys some french toasts for breakfast. They're old enough to make their own cereal nowadays but I thought it would be nice to have something different! It's a great time to connect with them before they leave for the "institution"!

I on the other hand enjoy just a hot cup of tea. I've never been a huge breakfast person but with this new year we're going to try and eat more healthy and perhaps a little less too!

It seems like it will never happen but I'm also trying to get more exercise in and realized how out of shape I really was!! It's hard to believe that I use to spring around like it was nothing. Kurt got us the Wii Fit for Christmas and it's been a lot of fun to do and play with; which keeps your interest a bit. I just hope I can keep up the routine!

Welcome Monday!!

It's 2010...Can you believe it?

As we approach the middle of January it is still hard to believe that it's the year 2010 and I've made it another year! The kids are getting older and we're definitely getting older that's a given. 2009 has been filled with many wonderful times and events that we're so grateful for and not soon forget.

I can't help but realize that we are also here for such a short time; really just a glimpse. I love my family and still can't believe how blessed I have been. What are your resolutions as we approach a new decade? It is still in question how we would address this decade...strange, never thought we'd get here!

In a couple of months we will join Steve and Kristal in Puerto Vallarta for a few days in the sun. Kurt and Steve will actually be there a week before Kristal and I for the boys portion of the trip. The Bays own a timeshare and traded them for two units in PV and decided it would be fun if the girls joined them for the last portion of it. It was a great surprise and I'm excited to go.

Steve's mom Judy has offered to watch our boys while we're away - couldn't ask for more generosity than that! She is such a sweet lady and the boys will be in good hands I know!

Jared is getting ready to turn 12 next month! I still can't believe it. He's made a good friend this year in his class. His name is Colton with a little brother Garrett who is 9. Colton and Jared have a shared interest in airsoft guns and his family also enjoys camping and hunting. They seem like a really nice couple. It's hard enough finding kids that comes from a good family with manners and are courteous let alone a family of boys! So it's been a win and win situation.

Jared is still active in his school band program playing the trumpet and looks forward to practice every Tuesday and Friday. Starting next Wednesday he will be taking a Jazz appreciation class; which will be exciting to introduce him to the world of jazz through instruments.

Mrs. O'Connor, his band teacher has been very motivational for him and seem to appreciate his presence in class; which is more than I can say for his room teacher. I think certain people just shouldn't teach if you like playing favorites...

Evan has enjoyed being in Mrs. Pierces kindergarten class even though we worried he would be bored academically. However he has really embraced being around his friends in class and out of class and the activities given. We invited a few of his friends to his birthday party back in October and really enjoyed having them there. We found he could also use a little brushing up on some handwriting, math skills and reading comprehension; so kindergarten is not a total waste of
time as I thought it might have been.

We will however be taking a welcome break from Northeast for a while and hope by the time Evan goes there it will be better and we'll have a new outlook on it.

As I close this entry I ask what will you do differently this year? There are the obvious personal physical and health goals but as a person of humanity I will be a more pleasant person, not talk about people so much especially in mixed company and try harder to go with the flow...!


Lastly, my main goal is to talk to and find people that are REAL. No hidden agendas, no lying but to speak with tact, how one really sees things and/or feels. I'm at a point right now where it somehow seems important to live this way.

Happy New Year !

It's as good as new!

After many years of torment and procrastination we finally repainted the house and better yet, had the front door refinished!

If I could I would have put a sledgehammer through that door or set it on fire or something to get rid of it. It was in such bad shape that we even looked at replacing it but of course it would have been a chunk o' change to do it!! Doesn't everything cost a chunk o' change anymore?

The guys we hired, Don and Chris had done some work for us at our stores and we used them one other time back at the Fairplay house. I hated them! They never showed up on time and worked very little! I warned Kurt that if he wanted to hire them he will be the recipient of my complaints every day. He assured me that they have changed and they will show up and be professional throughout the whole job.


Once it was stripped of its old paint and sanded down, the original beauty came back...amazing!!

Initially we were just having the door and entry way refinished and repainted. They gave us a good deal and took care of us. To my surprise, the door turned out beautifully and I couldn't believe that it was the same door. As you can see, the previous owners had put this nasty red paint all over it but didn't protect the finish or anything so with the morning sun beating on it; it just about ruined it - worst of all, he did it AFTER we closed on the house!! I don't know what possessed him to do it, the house is sold Mr. - move on!! Right?!!

We were going to be done with that but asked them for a bid anyways to see if we can strike up another deal if they were to paint the whole house. Luckily, we were able to so off we went!! Here is the BEFORE...


I definitely do not have an eye for colors so we went through several different paint samples and as usual Kurt ended up choosing the colors because I was just all confused by then! According to the guys, it took a little over a week to complete and near the end of the project we were all ready to wrap it up. There was an enormous amount of trim work to be hand painted along with all the gutters and downspouts!! Oy vay!! But they did it and in the end after all my scrutinizing and knit picking every day; our house is beautiful!!

Heavenly Camp Trip

We just came back from a camping trip to Grand County, up Hwy 40 near Granby. It was such a beautiful place, we couldn't believe it!

It didn't start out that way, we had never been there and decided to take a look because others have said it's a great place to camp and ATV. We drove into our first spot down a road marked 106 and found nothing but trees all cut down and logging trucks everywhere. They were there taking down all the trees destroyed by the pine beetles. It was ugly and sad. Luckily Kurt looked a bit further on the map before we left home and saw another location called Homestead. After much discussion, we decided to try that out; it's gotta be better than seeing all these dead trees!

We drove in and it looked promising but we were not sure which way to go from there. We stopped a couple that happen to be out "moose watching" and asked if they knew of any other camp spots but they were unable to help us. We ended up in a great big meadow with no trees around and wind whipping through us.

It was looking like that that was going to home for a few days so we unloaded and went for a short exploration ride and it was a good thing we did!

Through our ride we came upon this site that was next to a creek about 8 ft. across but shallow enough to wade through and just man made waterfalls everywhere and surrounded by lodgepole pines and lush green vegetations. It was questionable whether or not we could level there but I knew we had to try so we ended up dropping the trailer at the beginning of the trail and just taking the RV and ATVs with us.

We were able to get some shooting in and Evan especially wanted to shoot; so Daddy let him have a go at it. The trails were rough but not tough; although there were a few spots that I had to have Kurt take over. More so because I let my fears get the better of me but I just didn't want to chance it!!

We stopped at some old cabins here and there; hard to believe that a family of 5 or 6 or even more lived in these tiny cabins, talk about claustrophobia!!

On our last day we were able to finally spot a moose; no bullwinkle but maybe next time!

The weather was perfect; couldn't of asked for any better!


The best part was that it had a built in ramp for the boys to jump their ATVs! Needless to say, this is now our favorite camp spot!!

Lost tooth, New tooth

Evan finally lost his first tooth! It hung in there for quite some time but it eventually came out as he was brushing his teeth.

He couldn't wait to tell everyone at school the next day and by george that's exactly what he did when he stepped out of the car and into the hands of the ladies that receive the kids in the drop off at school!

Another milestone and many more to come as we re-ride this roller coaster again but this time with Evan!