Aint Goin' Down...Till the Sun Comes Up

Amy Loves Garth Brooks... ever since she was front and center at the Fargo Dome when she was a preteen girl.  And, really... how can you not Love him!?!  So, when we heard he was touring Denver, we called up our Friends in Low Places, lined up the babysitters and headed out to Guitar Town to play.  There was nothing we wanted to do more than listen to great music and enjoy The Dance together.

Since we got sucked into the late concert (yes - Amy was pushing Diet Coke over a Beer Run around 9pm just to stay awake)... We figured We are Much too Young to think 10:30 is late and this just means a nice leisurely dinner with a Long Neck Bottle at a local watering hole prior to the concert.

Saturday couldn't come fast enough for us - we were ready to kick off the night with Two Pina Coladas and just knew this would mean we would be Walking After Midnight to get back to our car after the concert.  It's cool - Only the Good Die Young so we made sure to make Saturday night More Than a Memory!  Thanks to our crew for making the night so special!

Here are a few of my favorite pics from the show.  It was More than I imagined.  This guy is a performer through and through!

  

Yep - that night was fun... but ... not enough for Amy - she HAD to go on Sunday too! Date Night with the Paligas!  FUN!

Little Leprechauns Everywhere

We are ever so proud of our Irish Heritage in this household!  I think the kids just love trying to catch that darn leprechaun.  They think it is so funny every time they find out that sneaky little Leprechaun peed green in our toilet.  We will get you one day!

No better way to celebrate St Patties Day then at an Irishman's house! Kyle always throws the best green parties!

The boys were even lucky enough to drive Kyle's pride and joy around town! What a pretty site!  oh - the car is awesome too, but just look at those smiles!

Jr Kindergarten Here I come!

Karsten has been attending preschool at Orchard Valley Learning Center in Ms Darla's class since the he turned 4.  He Loves her class, her science projects and music lessons, but .. we had the opportunity to get this kid ready for Kindergarten.  Orchard Valley created a new class mid Feb with Ms Cynthia that would get those pre kindergarten kids extra ready to start in the fall.  Karsten was on board... only if he got a backpack like his big brother.  I can't tell you how many backpacks we had to try on, but I can tell you how hard it is to find a cute one outside of the fall.  At any rate... this kid was prepped and ready to learn!

Kasey also wanted to wish him good luck on his first day in Jr Kindergarten.  I love Kasey's cute stance, but you really can't see the height difference in this pic since he is leaning.  It is crazy how tall he is getting!

 Um, Yeah... do they look ready to learn or what? Ha

Karsten's class has about 10 kids total in it (vs 20 in his former room), which is kinda nice since he is really getting some good personal attention.  Here are a few of his friends below.  They are all new friends for him since they have all migrated from different 4 year old rooms and most will move up to Ms Watson's class with Karsten in the fall! STOP GROWING!! You are making mama so proud and so sad at the same time!

ZTA Girls weekend ~ ZLAM

Lisa and Annie are two of Amy's sorority sisters that are a very big part of her life... even though both girls live too far away.  Ok, Annie is only 3 hours away in Sterling, but Lisa lives in Chicago! We decided it had been too long since we had seen each other.  Lisa flew out for a weekend of Zeta craziness.  What says crazy more than a rousing game of Duck, Duck, Goose on your first night in town!

We enjoyed the kids a bunch all weekend.  Lisa can't get enough of her Godson, Karsten... but... We also had plenty of adult fun too!  Including a snowy ski day at Winterpark for Amy and Lisa!

Annie joined us the next day for another snowy day (can't you ever come out for good weather, Lisa?). We thought a hike would warm us up!  It was actually a fantastic idea! Between the fast pace hike and lots of giggling and telling stories ~ we were warm in no time.

Ok - enough of the healthy stuff.  Time for a night out on the town.  Lets check out the new bar in Lone Tree (the View House) to see if we are still as young as we think we are (spoiler alert... we aren't)

The next day was more family time! Bowling!!! Was a great day and the kiddos had a blast.  They even got to meet a new mascot friend!

I swear to God - these girls have the sweetest souls and I would not be who I am without them shaping me throughout our college years.  Love you both ... Now - move back to Denver! Both of You!

Romantic Valentines Day Fondue

Amy has never loved Valentines Day (this is no surprise to anyone who knows her), but it has taken on a whole new meaning and for Two very big reasons.. Kasey and Karsten LOVE It! They get so excited.  This year, we invited Jim and Sarah to join us for a romantic fondue! We even hired out the best chefs in town to prepare the meal.

Dinner was a bunch of chaos of lost meat in the pot - Jim lost his food so much, Sarah refused more kisses so she could actually eat.  Jim resorted to air kisses with Kris and full on lovely dovey kisses with Kasey.

Ms Sarah spent precious time making the yummiest (and CUTEST) minon cookies ever!  The kids were super jazzed as you can see in this pic... what you don't see is the chaos that happened afterwards.  Amy showed this lovely pic to Sarah (who was sitting next to Amy) and somehow the iPhone jumped out of her hand and into the fondue pot filled with hot wine!  AHH!  spoiler alert - thanks to a bag of rice and a gun safe with a dehumidifier she got another 6 months out of that phone before replacing it!

Family Fun Day Times Four

Amy LOVES going to plays, musicals, etc.  Live performances are the best!  My kids went to Peter Pan last year and now we must introduce them to Dorothy and her wonderful friends.

Another fun event out was when our church put on a carnival! Dunk Tank Included! That was the kids Favorite part! They had Great Aim when it came down to game time! Lets sign these boys up for softball!

And yet another day, Amy took the boys to the zoo.  Not sure why most the pics were of statues and not real animals, but I promise we saw the live ones that day too.

Nothing like a good day of Archery on a beautiful Colorado weekend! This was followed by an Amazing smoked salmon that Kris and Karsten pulled together!

That about covers four fast and fabulous family date days!   Can't wait to see what else is in store for the Cannodes in 2015!