Talk about imagination

Jonathan has grown to love football these past couple of months. You can frequently catch him running around the house "tackling" himself and practicing his drop-kick. The other day he walked into the kitchen with a diaper box on his head... as his helmet!! Gotta love this kids' imagination.

Happy Belated Halloween!

For Halloween my parents decided to make the trip up to Denver to see their grandkids dressed up! We all met up at my brother's new house for lunch and hangout Saturday afternoon.

I tried to get some pictures of Padriac dressed up as a skelton... but they just didn't turn out. But, he was ADORABLE!Grammy holding Catherine the Tiger. She loved the costume and could have worn it all day!Jonathan was an elephant. He went back and forth as to whether he liked wearing the head part of the costume. Catherine and daddy

Me with the kids after their trick or treating experience. They both had a wonderful time! Catherine caught on quickly... and would run up to the doors to exclaim "Trick or Treat." Once she got her treat she said "thank you." It was adorable!

Cute winter hat

For the past several weeks, I have been searching for a winter hat for Catherine. The ones that I found were either, in my opinion, quite ugly or way over priced. I wasn't about to pay $10 for a hat that she is going to wear for a couple months. I, then, decided that I would take my 50% off coupon to Michael's and buy some yarn. So, for $2.50 in yarn and my Knifty Knitter (if you don't have one you should!) I made her a hat in about two hours- and I am slow! It was so easy and really fun. Now, I just have to convince her that hats are fun to wear!!

Snow Days!

As I mentioned in a previous post, we were snowed in for two days this past week. So, I am sure that you are asking yourself 'what does one do when snowed in?' Fear no more, I am hear to rest your weary, wondering mind.

We raced match box cars and trains down ramps:

I won that race, of course!

Jonathan and Chris found out which car could go the farthest once off the ramp... the red little fire truck.

We built a fort and read lots and lots and lots of books in it.

And Jonathan practiced his kicking skills!At the end of the two days, surprisingly, everyone was in good spirits! And, don't worry, Catherine was around having merriment admist the fun... she just didn't make any of the pictures for some odd reason.

Parks in the fall.. or is it winter here?

I love Colorado weather! You never know what you are going to get here. And, if you don't like the weather we have just wait a day and it could drastically change. Take for instance the past four days. Monday and Tuesday were a perfect temperature. The leaves were a nice red and orange color. You just needed a light jacket to go outside. And the sun was shining both days. On Wednesday morning we were hit with a fairly large snow storm. We were snowed in for two days! (more pics on that to come) Today, Friday, the sun is shining again and you don't need a jacket to go outside. The two feet of snow that piled up in just a few short hours is practically gone now. I love it!!

Luckily, just a couple of days before the storm hit I took the kids to a nearby park. We had a ball!

Fall Leaf Piles

We have lots of trees that shed their leaves around this time of year... so the other day I decided to do some raking. Jonathan, Catherine and Trace- the three year old who lives next door- had a GRAND time playing in them.Jonathan and Trace LOVED raking up the leaves. They did a good job of sharing the rake!Jonathan and Trace running around in the pile of leaves.

Can you find Jonathan is this pile of leaves?

Corn Maze and Pumpkin Patch

The other day the kids and I went to a corn maze and pumpkin patch with the MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) group that I am involved in. It was a small venue, but we had a great time!Here are some (we couldn't get all of the kids to sit) of the kids that we went with... it is very hard to get 12-15 toddlers to sit still for a picture at the same time. he he So, out of about 10 pictures that I took, this was the best one.There were two corn mazes, one for adults and the other for little kids. I thought, though, that the "easier" and smaller corn maze was still tough. Jonathan had to stop and contemplate which way we should be going.Since we were in the maze for quite some time the kids needed a little breather! he he Actually, I thought I would try to take a cute picture of the two of them in the maze.

Instead of a sandbox, they had a cornbox! It was a really cool idea. The kids had a great time playing with the corn and little gords.

Catherine is 15 months

YEAH! Catherine is 15 months old. She weighs in at 18lbs 8oz (3rd percentile) and measures 31.5 inches (80th percentile). She is talking up a storm and is a really happy little girl! Her personality is coming out more and more each day.

The other day I was raking leaves in our front yard so the kids could play in them... and Catherine had a blast!

Yogurt

The other day I decided to let Catherine eat her yogurt all by herself... she did a really good job!

Anna's Wedding... really!

Okay, the pictures you have been really waiting for... Anna's Wedding! Thank you for bearing with me in all of the events leading up to this. :-)

Anna and Justin were married on October 3rd at Saint Patrick Catholic Church (the same church I was married in). The ceremony was beautiful and the reception afterwards, at Peterson Air Force Base's Officer's Club, was a blast! The day went so smoothly. I have not been apart of a wedding in which something did not go wrong, including mine. But, Anna's went perfectly! It was such a joy to witness two wonderful people come together in matrimony. They are, and will be, such a beautiful witness of love to everyone around them.

Truth be told, I don't have a ton of pictures. Being that I was Matron of Honor (if the maid of honor is married she is a matron) it was hard for me to remember to take pictures. :-) Luckily, I have friends that took pictures, though!

My dad is a Deacon in the Catholic Church. So, not only was he Father of the Bride but also assisted, or took part at the Mass.My dad giving Anna away to Justin.Anna and Justin were blesssed to have Bishop Sheridan, the bishop of Colorado Springs, preside at the wedding Mass and witness their vows. The exchange of vows.

Our family after the wedding. Chris had the honor of being an usher.

The happy bride, waiting for her turn at pictures! ha! Actually, I think that she was taking a break from pictures at this point.

If you are interested in looking at more pictures from their photographer:
http://awphotography.net/blog/?p=1424

Congratulations, Justin and Anna, on your wedding! What a glorious day in your lives. Thank you for honoring me with a special part in your day. I love you both. Please be assured of my prayers for you as you begin your lives together.

Just hours before...

... the wedding we got our hair done! How fun!

My mom, Anna and myself. Can you tell that we are all related???Anna's finished hairstyle... minus the veil, of course.Rosie, who has been our family friend for over 20 years, is also an amazing hairstylist. So, she worked on Anna's hair.At this point I was wishing that Rosie was doing my hair! he he

The Rehearsal Dinner

Of course, there was a rehearsal and rehearsal dinner... the dinner was at this great brewery in downtown Colorado Springs, Phantom Canyon. We had a wonderful time! As you can see, my brother had a great time too!! he he ( I totally forgot about these pictures loading in the "wrong" order)
Chris and I enjoying our meal. We were honored to sit at the table with Anna, Justin, Bishop Sheridan (the celebrant of the wedding Mass), a couple of servers for the Mass and the musician and his wife.

Quinn, Brent and Chris chatting with a friend, Tim. Tim and his family have been dear friends of the family for 15 years! Tim's wife, Sue, read in the wedding. Anna and Timmy, Tim's son, have been in the same grade and attended the same schools since 2nd grade! His daughter, Coleen, who is just a year younger than Anna, is also a good friend of Anna's.

There's the happy couple!! (this picture was really supposed to be first)

Anna with friends, Coleen, Jayme (a bridesmaid) and Sue (one of the readers at the wedding)

The day before the wedding

Of course, we gals felt like we needed a bit more prepping before the big Wedding Day! So, the day before my mom, my sister, Casey and myself all went to get manicures and pedicures. It was glorious!! They worked on our feet first... the massage chairs were nice.
Then, after the pedicure they didn't make us get up from the massage chairs... they just did our nails right there! It was great!

Mom is drying her nails under a "special" light

Though, you can't tell from the picture, I too have my nails under the "special" light. :-)

Bachlorette Party

I am not sure if I should be posting pictures from Anna's bachlorette party... because it got pretty crazy!! he he If you call chocolate fondue at the Melting Pot with four bridesmaids and a good friend, wild and crazy. he he (fondue is one my sister's favorite things to do.) We had a grand time enjoying all of the many goodies to dip into the various chocolates we got.

Casey, Anna and myself right before we left for the restaurant. Casey is an Air Force Lieutenant and is stationed over in Italy. She flew back to Colorado to be apart of Anna's wedding! Now, that is a dedicated friend!!

Anna took the first bite. She is obviously having fun. :-)

All the bridesmaids, minus me, with Anna as we were leaving the restaurant several hours later.

Slippers

It has gotten rather cold here in the last several days. And when the cooler weather arrives Chris and I enjoy wearing slippers. So, when we pulled them out the other day Jonathan got interested in wearing some himself. We made a trip to the store so he could pick some out. He was more than extactic when he saw the Lightening McQueen (his favorite character these days) slippers. He wears them all the time... even to bed!

Anna's Bridal Shower

Two weeks before the wedding, I co-hosted a wedding shower for my sister. The assistance that the other bridesmaids, Quinn and Jayme, put into it was a tremendous help!

The PAR-TAY was at my mom's house with about 25 people... I think that there were only 2 people that RSVP'd no; which says a lot about Anna. Pictured below is the ice cream cake- probably the nicest decorated ice cream cake that I have seen- my mom ordered. She also made a scrumptious cheese cake. Those came after the salad bar, though. :-)

Anna got some great gifts all for the kitchen, which Justin is thankful for. Homecooked meals are really going to be expected now. he he

Thank you to all who attended and helped!Someone got a little creative with their wrapping! (hint: it's a Victoria's Secret box with a Potterybarn sticker... don't worry she got some of her plates in this box.)Gotta love pyrex!One of Anna's bridesmaids got creative and made an entire basket of cooking goodies: flour, sugar, baking powder, muffin mixes, etc...Mom enjoying some of the scrumptious dessert... as you can see in the backround, I am too. :-)

Isn't this a nice ice cream cake??