Birthday Fun!

For my family and friends that keep up with us here, enjoy pics of our big boy Elliott!

Considering our circumstances, we kept it low-key ... well as much as you can with 5 kids and sugary cupcakes. :)

a gift & card from his big brother

"Dear Elliott.  I am glad that you are turning 3."

so sweet.

He got "Let's Go Fish" game.  He's been pretending to fish everywhere (in the car, off the bed, outside) so this really was the perfect gift for him.

I love the tongue ... it helps him concentrate you know. :)

You can see how proud he was to do it all by himself!

*awwwww*

He got to choose who played with first, and he didn't want anyone but his brother.

*awwwww*

Then his Aunt Elizabeth (almost 6 years old) could play next with him.

sugar!

Elliott & Aunt Elizabeth

Samuel and Aunt Victoria (almost 9 years old)

Happy Birthday to Elliott!!

ps. I'm getting really good at fishing too ... we've been everyday.

cake time!

today my dad is 66.  his dad died at 66, so this is a big year for him.

dad, in case you're reading ...

I love you.

happy birthday.

and the stockings were hung by the chimney with care ...

its great how hobbies, recipes, customs, traditions and the like, get passed on through the generations.  I think I was passed a sweet tooth, and that's about it.  my big sister, Amanda, was taught how to crochet ... that sounds like she was forced into it, but no, she actually wanted to learn, and, she's actually pretty good at it.


I remember watching my grandmother do it while watching tv.  all I remember her making were blankets, so we aaaaaaallllll had blankets.  sadly, very sadly, my childhood blanket she made was destroyed by my first baby, Jackson the coonhound.  but to my surprise, I received a beautiful afghan that was made for me and set aside until I got married.  I've had it for 10 years now.  I don't really use it here in Hawaii, but I won't give it up for anything.  thanks grandma.


my sister made these for me last year at Christmas -

everyone that has seen these hanging in my house, has asked me about them.

aren't they cute?!

here's a close up of one.  the top is, for lack of a better word, furry, and has bells attached.  great for breaking out in song ... Jingle Bells is the only Christmas song my son has memorized, so it works.

here's a real close up.  I don't know the correct terminology for crocheting, but I do know that this stitch is tight and strong.  these stockings hold a lot of goodies!

I trying to talk Amanda into making these throughout the year, then selling them for the next Christmas season.  here's what I need to know from you savvy, handmade/crafting, business women -

• do you use etsy?  how do you like it?  what does a beginner need to know?  as in, give me the secret insider tricks & tips.
• how much would you pay for 1 stocking?
• what other colors would you like to see?
• any/all tips, advice, references are welcome

since I just got out our stockings for this Christmas, the idea just came to light, so there are none to purchase as of now.  sorry.  I am hoping I can do a give away - Christmas in July maybe?  for you early holiday shoppers that make the rest of us look bad. :)

if you like what you see, pleeeeeeeeease leave me a comment so I can show my sister that her crafting can be fun AND can make her some money.  help me give her some motivation to take the next step.  thank you blogland!!

my today

during Elliott's naptime, I took big brother Sam out. just the two of us. it was fun.

I want to make sure that he isn't always grouped with the things his brother needs to do, because simply, he's isn't a baby anymore.

we walked to the dollar store and bought a few things, but Sam picked out a parachute diver ... know what that is? it's a boy toy. :)

he also picked out a balloon for his kindergarten teacher for her birthday tomorrow. instead of getting one that says Happy Birthday, he chose a star with America's stars and stripes on it. he insisted.

then we also went to one of my favorite places for lunch, Chipotle.

he's turning into a pretty cool kid. he's got quite the imagination. we played I-Spy the whole time.

what a GREAT way to spend my 2 hours of free time. I love that kid!

Wii Fit

I got the Wii Fit for Christmas this last year and I must say, I love it. I asked for it before I even tried it; I somehow knew it would be awesome. Nintendo did an great job on the Wii! All the games are really fun, and I'm not even much of a gamer ... not compared to the boys in my house anyway.

The Wii Fit can be played like other games, for fun, but also used for daily exercise routines. It will give you a series of body tests, weigh you, measure you're BMI, and chart your progress along the way. When I started, my Wii Fit Age was 42! embarrassing!! Now it's down to 24; much better!

The majority of the "games" are based on your balance and how you shift your weight from left to right. When you become aware of your shifting, your posture should improve.

It's great for being here in the mountains during the winter time. We have some nice days, and instead of tons and tons of snow, it's just down right too cold to go outside. This Wii Fit is keeping us from going in permanent hibernation mode, which is definitely a good thing!

It keeps track of your best times/scores, and since all of us are doing it, it's now a competition who can get 1st place. Since there is just one base, only one person can go at a time. not having the pressure of competing side by side is what makes it fun, in my opinion. Even Elliott tries to do it, too cute!

I wish you could come over and try it ... I want to have a Wii Fit party!

Just wanted to post and say I fully endorse this product, 2 thumbs waaaay up!!

CA

well, we're on the move again. not back to CA; same area of CO, just out of this particular house.
the bad news - hubby had to quit his job
some good news - hubby has begun his own business and so far, it's working!
more bad news - too late on rent to stay where we are. we had another garage sale to de-junk, then off into the in-laws basement. this also means we'll have to move it twice, again when we do move in somewhere else ... which SHOULD be when I get back home at the end of the month.
more good news - I'm thankful they're there!

I was nicely "sent" to CA to visit my family and friends while Matthew works on this business. missing your family when they're at home is hard and creates more pressure, missing your family while they're in another state is a bit easier to deal with. he needs to work 20 hours/day and feel guilt free about it. so here we are.
and I'm ok with hanging at the beach everyday!! I do miss it ... but I also know I do not want to live here again. it never did feel like home to me; I'm a WI girl. :)

SoCal is it's own little world, and you have to have money to survive. lots of it. to me, this place is just unrealistic. it feels fake. everyone has such a facade here, it's difficult to break through that to really get to know anyone. wonderful place to visit, and luckily we can, my parents will be here for the rest of their lives. for whatever reason, they love it here. I'm still kind of surprised I made it in 2008, but that's another story.

in a couple of weeks, we'll head up to NorCal. this place I love and miss, so I'm excited to visit. see you soon!!

if you have any fun and cheap ideas for fun, leave me a comment!

get outside

now that Colorado Springs is having nice weather (FINALLY!!) I'm so anxious to get outside and explore. I'm not so much an outdoorsy girl, as in I still can't pee without a toilet, but I feel such a connection when I'm in nature. there are just too many perfect, non man-made things to be found outdoors, that it's a constant reminder of our Creator, and I love it!

check these links out:
http://www.localhikes.com/Default.asp?MSA=ALL and http://www.americantrails.org/

my family and I went on a hike today. the weather was perfect, I was in great company ... but I did get a blister though. the description didn't match my imgaination and I didn't wear the right shoes. turned out to be a REAL hike, not a stroll through the woods.
for my Chico readers, I'm convinced there is a place here in CoSprings like Bidwell Park. I miss that place! it's so beautiful there! I would think if there is a place similar, it would be in Colorado. no?

my people

we're all from the mid-west, but moved to sunny, southern CA about 12 years ago.  my sister and I both met our hubby's there and eventually moved away.  she went back to WI and I went ... all over the place!!

my parents never ever want to see snow again and haven't owned a real winter jacket in years, but they took a chance and came out for a visit in March.  turns out they came the only beautiful week we've had in the entire 6 months we've been here; they lucked out!

we haven't all been together in years, at least 3.  seems strange to see "your people" everyday, then go years without.

so I set up pictures ... at Target of all places!  1 more reason for me to love Target!

fyi - the downside to their portrait studio is that it took 10 days to get them back.  so if you're in no rush, go for it!  you can get a coupon on their website too.

getting this done with my side of the family means we'll be getting one done of hubby's side of the family.  now if only our parents could get along long enough, we could get one big shot together ... simply not gonna happen.  guess I'll just have to put them right next to each other on the wall.  ha!

zoo

we went to the Denver zoo yesterday. they had a free admission day, so we took advantage. many places (zoo, museums, etc) are offering free days, so check out your local area. it's nice to be able to go out and have some fun, even

in this economy!

Elliott could have stayed and watched the fish all day. it was so cute. he really was fascinated by all those fish and sea turtles he saw. wouldn't it be cool to discover new things the way babies do? I love the wonder that comes across his face. full of hope, inspiration, and joy. isn't that how God wants us; faith like a child? it's so beautiful.

and here is Samuel with a polar bear who is standing 10' tall. we got to watch a couple bears playing and "talking" to each other. it's very neat to watch animals interact.

on the other hand, it saddens me to go to a zoo at all. none of these animals are meant to be here, caged and stared at. have you seen Happy Feet? that's what I think of. not to mention all the terrible stories of animals leaping from their den to snack on a stupid human that sitting there antagonizing them. what are you going to do? there are stupid humans everywhere.

oh and don't forget, you can always bring a picnic to the zoo too!

bugs and butterflies

huge cockroaches. fascinatingly gross.

is that a word - fascinatingly?

Sam got to hold Rosie, the tarantula. I would only get this close to take the picture. Sam of course, has no fear. you can see him smiling; he said the hairy legs tickled his arm.

doesn't that just give you the heebie-geebies?!

a few hiding butterflies.
do you know butterflies only live about 2-4 weeks?!
I had no idea.



a pretty blue.



the Grimm kids ... minus 1.

in the butterfly room, they had lots of rotting fruit around.

they seem to like bananas.

2 of the kids with their gifts from the souvenir shop. Victoria got some cool Elton John type butterfly glasses and Sam picked out a huge sucker ... with a cricket inside. you can kind of see it here. they also had suckers with scorpions inside or for you chocolate lovers, you could get chocolate covered ants. yum yum!

on the way home Sam ate his sucker. he ate the head, I think to gross out his aunties, and then he didn't want anymore. guess it doesn't quite taste like chicken!

if you're ever in Denver, the Butterfly Pavilion is worth checking out.

good times!

quack

it was a beautiful day here in Colorado ... actually today it was snowing, but 2 days ago it felt like springtime. in NorCal the motto was "if you don't like the weather, wait 5 mintues," but here it's more like"if you don't like the weather, wait until tomorrow." funny how that works.

I discovered Memorial Park. it has big playgrounds and a big pond with a sidewalk that goes all the way around. next time we go we'll be bringing our bikes and riding around it; I have yet to use the bike plus the trailer for Elliott. he's finally big enough for that kind of stuff. Sam would of course ride his own bike. wow, my boys are big.

anyway back to my point, I remembered to bring some bread so we could feed the ducks!

I'm sure these birds get fed just about daily by people, but the way they were acting you'd think they we all starving to death!

Sam of course was feeding the geese from his hand ... yep, he got bit a few times.

and let me tell you, those geese are greedy! they hiss at the others as they surrounded us, protecting and claiming whats theirs. so I tend to go out of my way NOT to feed them. sorry goosey, you're mean!

it's nice to be getting out and about in town. it won't feel like home until I know what's around. it's a bit harder to do in the winter, but I'm trying. Colorado has been voted the healthiest place in the country, so come springtime, I know there will be lots and lots of great places to explore outdoors!

dance dance dance

here is another major score I found at the goodwill the other day. Veggie Tales Dance Dance Dance. it's just like Dance Revolution, only it's Veggie Tales.

I think every arcade-type place has that game. I've seen some people that are REALLY good at it. it's fun to watch them go!

this has got easy, medium, hard, and expert. Sam's getting it; definitely needs practice. it's fun. he even made me try. I can do medium and I'm so-so on hard. I'm your typical white girl ... basically, I can't dance for anything!

it had the original price tag on it of $49.99. like I would ever pay that! I got it for $3.99, and it's in brand new condition. I wonder why whoever had it didn't try to put it on ebay or craigslist; it's so easy to do. their trash, my treasure!

I'm telling ya, go check out your local thrift stores. you never know what you will find!

family fun

he's not a fan of flying

the Grimm's
since we're in CO, hubby was going for the mountain man look. ha!


Saturday morning cartoons
where am I going to sit?

brothers

Eli grabbed Sam's hair seconds after this - ouch!

tough Mr. Incredible

and

the cutest bumble bee

I couldn't get a very good picture. maybe I'll dress them up again so I can - I still have the costumes!

and last but not least - Sam's birthday.

he woke up and we stuck a party hat on him with a 'birthday boy' button. he was so excited to be 4!

I bought Sam new pants the other day. if I were to see just the pants, I'd say there is no way he'd fit into them. he is all legs.

since Elliott is 6 months, I had to update his wardrobe too. goodbye to those really really really cute newborn clothes.

*sigh*

my boys are growing ... and it's blowing my mind!

silliness

don'tcha love Mac's?!

colorado

we went to Colorado this last week to visit hubby's family.  his parents and 3 sisters moved to Colorado Springs a few months ago, but we haven't seen them all together since over a year ago.  it was a great family reunion!

here are all the kiddos together.

Rachel (9) is holding Elliott (3 mos), left is Victoria (almost 6), upper right is Elizabeth (3) and lower right is Sam (almost 4)

they had so much fun playing together.  it was like hubby and I went with just Elliott; Sam was so into whatever the girls were doing, it was like he wasn't even there.  I missed him this week.  it made me realize that I already have to let go a bit to let him live.  sad for me, but so exciting for him!

here is one of us.  bored and silly.

here is hubby with his youngest sister, Elizabeth.

aren't they cute?!  it's funny, they're siblings.  I'm still not used to that.  it makes these girls my sisters-in-law and Sam & Elliott's aunts.  funny.

here is grandma reading to Sam.

as you can see he's really into it, as he's digging for gold!

we found an arcade to play and collect tickets for those $1 store prizes.  sort of like a chuck e cheese, but much much better.  here is Sam, just like his daddy, in love with going fast!

here is Rachel, the oldest, with Elliott, youngest.

and last but not least, here is Rachel and Sam waiting for lunch.  we went to the zoo, and of course, my camera died.  so no more pictures.  :(

disneyland pictures

we haven't seen Mickey Mouse in awhile, we were due to go.

I LOVE that we have passes and can do just a 1/2 day.

when you pay $80 for a ticket, you feel obligated to be there from open till close!

can you believe it, $80?!  people pay it though; it could be $100+ and people would pay it!

we noticed that the Disney parks is a huge melting pot of people.

it is internationally famous, so it's a popular vacation spot.

I think there are just 5 Disney parks in the world - Anahiem, Florida, Paris, Toykyo, and Hong Kong.

I've been told they're thinking to put one in Australia next.

if you're into people watching, Disney is definitely an interesting place to go.

we went to CA Adventure this time, then off to Downtown Disney for dinner at the Rain Forest Cafe.

it was a great day together!

hot, but not too hot. and the lines weren't that bad, considering we went on a Saturday.

here are a few photos - enjoy!

here's my big boy Sam, all set to go with his ears on!

this was in line for the newest ride, Toy Story.

if you haven't been, and get he chance, this is a VERY  fun ride.

Mr. Potato Head was talking to Sam, he said "wanna trade ears?"

this is me and the boys.

Elliott does great in the frontpack all day.

he sleeps and sleeps, then eats a bit, then sleeps and sleeps some more.

he's such a great baby, very easy going.

and last but not least, here are Papa and Sam on the carousel.