December 2012 Round-Up

December was an awesome month for us. I love how these round-ups have really shown us all the things we do get to do during each month. What a blessed life we have! I truly appreciate each day we get to spend together - there's nothing greater than family. :)

So what did we get up to in December? We started out the month with Grandma Debbie here for visit. I hinted at some fun things we did - it included not one, but two trips to IKEA. We might have done a little bit of shopping...

After our shopping trip to downtown Castle Rock, we brought home a very cool nightstand for Jack. We then knew we'd have to get one for Nathan too, so my mom decided to make one. (My mom is a very talented artist and crafter - I like to think I inherited a lot of my craftiness from her.) We then decorated the boys' room with all the maps and globes we found on our shopping trip. It was a great weekend project.

We were so glad Grandma could come and spend some time with us. We're looking forward to her next visit.

The start of December for us always brings the Lego Advent Calendar. We love to see what each day brings as we count down to Christmas.

The boys started swim lessons last month, and then started diving lessons at the start of December. They weren't too thrilled after the first class, each having experienced their first belly flops. I forgot how hard it is to learn how to dive. Poor guys. By the third lesson, Nathan got some pretty good dives in by the third week, but Jack was not a fan and was super glad when it was all done. At least they tried...

Mid-month, the boys attended a movie night at their new school. Imagine 200 elementary-school kids trying to watch a movie without their parents. It was a crazy time. Jack and Nathan, normally extremely quiet by nature, were not amused. Oh well...

We got a bunch of snow here in Colorado. It never seems to last very long, but it sure is beautiful, especially when I don't have to shovel it.

Before we knew it, Christmas was here. We were so lucky to have Byron's sister, husband, and boys come to our house for the holiday. Jack and Nathan love their cousins and always have so much fun. We spent the first day they were here hiking at Garden of the Gods.

We spent the rest of the time playing at home (with a side trip to Jumpstreet). There was a lot of video-game-playing and some card games too.

We made a lot of great food too - including my favorite meal of the year, Christmas Eve appetizers (with chocolate fondue).

Christmas Day was a wonderful, low-key day with family...

The big hit of Christmas was the boys' new Kindles. They love them - and they'll come in very handy when school starts up again for doing homework.

The boys go back to school on January 7. Until then, their main goal in life is to stay in their pajamas for as long as possible each day - the whole day if they can. I think it's a great goal...LOL.

November 2012 Round-Up

November is done - we had a great month full of exploring and learning about our new town.

At the start of the month, I finished unpacking the house and we resumed our normal family life - including lots of board games that were finally unpacked and available.

We hiked as a family at Castlewood Canyon, which is very close to our house. It's one of the most beautiful places we've ever hiked.

Dad spent a few nights out of town this month, so the boys insist on sleeping with me even though they're honestly way too large to share a bed with anyone anymore.

We've also spent a good deal of time at the park down the street. It's connected to the school playground, so we all love to go down there to play. The boys even love to ride their bikes down there by themselves to play - there are usually lots of kids there to hang out with too.

Another benefit of unpacking - everything old is new again. The boys have rediscovered Rock Band and have been playing nonstop.

Mid-month, I helped organize a PTO event for their school - Turkey Game Night. It was a free bingo game night for the kids and families to win prizes and have fun. The boys had a great time - but they weren't happy that they never got a bingo.

We spent Thanksgiving at our home this year, just the 4 of us. Our dinner was great (if I do say so myself) with turkey, stuffing, 2 types of mashed potatoes, gravy, broccoli, biscuits, and cranberry sauce, plus 3 pies.

The next day, we hiked at Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs. If possible, this place was even more beautiful than Castlewood Canyon...

Then, we decorated for Christmas. So glad to have our holiday stuff up to enjoy for the month.

The last week of the month, the boys started swim lessons at the rec center. They love swimming there - the pool is amazing.

And finally, on the 29th, my mom came to town to visit, making her the first guest in our new home. We had a great time shopping and doing stuff with the boys.

That's it for November - can't wait for all the fun of December...

October 2012 Round-Up

As I said on my MightyCrafty round-up, October has just gotten away from me so fast. It was our first month living in Colorado and we are loving it so far. Everyone has been very welcoming - and we especially love the boys' new school.

So the very first day of October started us out with moving-in day...

We spent the next few weeks unpacking a zillion boxes. It seemed never-ending, but we finally got the house into shape where we could find most of the things we needed. The boys' playroom was the very last room I had to get unpacked - and I admit that it took me until this past weekend to get that one done.

Our new neighborhood is great with the school just down the block from our house - and a wonderful park just next door.

As we unpacked everything, the boys re-discovered Lego Rock Band and have been playing it nearly everyday. They have created a band called The Hydras and are growing their world domination one stage at a time.

October 11 was Harvest Day at their new school. Each class was assigned a fruit or vegetable and brought treats to sell at an all-day farmer's market in gym. The kids worked the tables to sell their items and brought money to school to buy treats. It was a fun way to celebrate the fall season.

Nathan's class item was pears...

Jack's class item was strawberries...

We had been exploring the hiking trails near our house. So many amazing hiking experiences so close by - it's hard to choose where to go. Our first excursion was to the Gateway Mesa Open Space.

We spent another weekend day at Pope Farms for a day at the pumpkin patch. The boys enjoyed the potato cannon and the pumpkin launcher - and we seriously almost got lost in the corn maze. It was the biggest maze we had ever been in.

On October 23, I went with the boys on their 3rd grade field trip to the Plains Conservation Center in Aurora. I was the leader of this fun group of 3rd graders...

We learned all about the Colorado homesteaders and Native Americans during our field trip.

And I fell in love with these guys - they are everywhere out here! I know they are considered a nuisance by most of the residents here but I just love them.

Two days later, we had our first snow in Castle Rock...Not enough for a snow day but still beautiful.

To celebrate Halloween, we went to the school for Spookfest. This year, Jack was Hawkeye from The Avengers and Nathan was a zombie ninja.

The boys had a great time playing with their friends and were brave enough to go through the haunted house too. There were actually quite a few ninjas in 3rd grade - but none were zombie ninjas like Nathan...

We had a lot of fun carving pumpkins...

And trick-or-treating as well...

I'm already afraid that this will be the last year the boys will want us to go with them. :( They are getting so big...

So that was our October. We are really enjoying Colorado and our new house. More adventures to come soon, I'm sure...