Christmas 2008 - Came and Went...!!

Merry Christmas Everybody!! We hope you all had a wonderful day!! As usual the kids made out pretty well but it sure is getting harder and harder top the year before! I think Jared is getting a new car next year; just kidding!!! It was nice seeing friends and family this holiday and now looking forward to the New Year.

Thank you Grandma & Grandpa Wong, Grandma Sue and Grandma Chris for all the wonderful gifts and cards! These kids are very lucky and blessed to have such caring Grandparents. We opted for some simpler gifts this year such as board games which the kids received a few of; but of course it still is dominated by what's the latest out there. We've been really enjoying the Wii we got for the kids and it's great fun for the whole family. Luckily, Jared and Evan are still into Legos as well and those are always great gifts to receive! Although unless you're Mom and Dad and had to put them together. These were all around 500-700 pieces!!! Oy vay!! I've lost all dexterity in my hands and fingers!

Evan is growing up everyday and wanting to be just like older brother so he got his own PSP from Santa and is getting almost as good as Jared already!

We had the Rodriguez family out for Christmas dinner and then the Bay Clan - Steve, Kristal, Trisha and Doug for drinks and fun afterwards. Naturally a poker game broke out, then pool and finally a "mock" poker game where it's been a while since we've laughed so hard. All in all great fun and company!

Hope you all had a great Christmas and have a Happy New Year!!

Christmas Parties Galore

Yesterday was the last day for Jared before he goes on Winter Break for the next two weeks. They had a Christmas party to celebrate the holiday and it was a lot of fun! The best part I think was the fact his teacher mentioned to me through email and in person that he was doing a lot better concentrating and working hard in school! Music to our ears!! He's still struggling a bit in Math but it'll all work out with continuing efforts on both our ends.

Evan also had a party and did a little musical skit to some traditional favorites. He got to be Frosty the Snowman this year and got to dance around as you will see in the video! It was just precious and Kurt was able to see it in person. I try really hard to make sure he doesn't miss these few and short glimpses of the kids; they are growing fast and will soon be gone...

I took Evan with me to Jared's party and they were all just so gracious in letting him participate in the crafts, foods and games. Even he was overwhelmed by the generosity! I prepped him in telling him that this was Jared's class party so don't expect to be getting "presents" or "treats", etc... just in case they didn't have enough. The kids and parents were so giving, it melted my heart!

Merry Christmas to All!

Hope this entry finds all of you in the spirit of Christmas and holding on through these tough times! I think everyone is feeling the stretch across the board!

We're all hanging in there with Jared in the 5th grade now and Evan in private Kindergarten it's hard to believe how fast they're growing up!

Hopefully you all have received our Christmas wishes and New Year hopes! Read on for more information about what's happening and please drop us a line, email, snail mail or however you'd like to communicate; we'd love to hear from everyone!!

Love Kurt, Becky, Jared, Evan and Gunner!

Christmas is Up!!

We finally were able to get the Christmas lights hung outside after some unfavorably cold weather! The weather has been crazy here; just the other day it was almost 70 and then the following weekends were cold and snowy! Anyhow, we're getting ready and now comes the shopping for presents!!

It sure is nice having the artificial tree; it's heavy but not too bad to set up and decorate! Although you miss the smell of a real pine tree, but that can be bought at the stores! Is anything or anyone real anymore?! Just kidding!

I don't know about everywhere else but apparently there are a lot of leftover trees this year because a lot of families simply can't afford one. We saw on the news that a whole bunch were being thrown away for recycling because they just can't sell them; so a local news station in conjunction with the Swingle Lawn Maintenance company gathered a whole bunch and told people on the air that if you need a tree this year, come and get one! What a generous and great idea - why didn't the tree owners do that in the first place?

Happy Thanksgiving

Spent Thanksgiving over at Jerry & Angel's along with her folks; we had a lot of fun and of course the kids loved playing with their friends! We made a deep fried turkey and Cindy's awesome recipe for Sweet Potato Souffle'. It's always a hit! As usual, we all ate too much but had a great time catching up with everyone.

Kurt had a wonderful idea of making a Thanksgiving feast for all our employees. So he slaved all day Sunday and made two turkeys, oodles of green bean casserole, souffle, real mashed potatoes and rolls. We both took it to all the stores that following Monday and Kurt's phone just kept ringing with "Thanks" and "how good it tasted!" It was definitely worth it because sometimes we all need to know our efforts are appreciated and honestly we wouldn't be where we are without these guys...

Evan's school held a Thanksgiving feast as well and fortunately Kurt was able to attend!

Let it Snow... Let it Snow... Let it Snow!

We've been able to enjoy some of the snow fall we've had; but obviously it's still not enough! The kids had a great time sledding and Evan is getting daring going down the hill backwards, forwards, face down, up and all around!!

Jared went on a school sponsored ski trip last year and tried a little snowboarding. He had so much fun that he went back up with Kurt to Keystone the following week! Kurt said his butt hurt so bad after falling so many times; apparently it takes a little getting use to on snowboards!

BMX Park

We had an unusually warm day and headed out to the BMX dirt track in Aurora! The kids love it here and Evan is starting to ride it but he's still grasping the concept of "keep peddling so you don't fall over!" He had a few spills but nothing major and Jared ended up doing a race with some of the kids that were there! All in all, lots of fun!