Happy Dad's Day!

Father's Day is one that means more than ever now that we are able to celebrate not only having two Amazing Dads, but also being an Amazing Dad and celebrating with our own kids!  The day started out like most others... which means our alarms (aka: Kasey and Karsten) decided to go off at an unplanned 6am.  "No sleeping in, Dad!"  While Dad and Kids cuddled in for some Mickey Mouse Playhouse, Amy snuck downstairs to whip up a yummy breakfast burrito and OJ for Dad to enjoy in bed.  He opened some cute presents from the boys that they made at School, grabbed a couple more hugs and kisses and decided to get in gear for the day.

Kris enjoying Karsten's gift.

Look at my gift next, Dad.

We were not able to just loaf around today... nope - we had plans on the Water!  Kris decided his perfect Dad's day was to be spent at Chatfield Reservoir with his wife and two Stellar boys.  We definitely enjoyed our day. 

Our big kid standing on his boat potty
(which he used later, but he can thank me for leaving that pic out)

Your not trying to nap, are you Dad.

Amy enjoying time with the boys on the water.

 Amy even gave Kris a break from the boys as she took them out for a swim on the tube.

Look at me splashing in the water, Mommy.

 She even came up with a great way to keep both boys under control and is now working on her 'Carabineer Kid' patent.

How do you control 2 kids at once,
the new Carabineer Kid (patent pending).

After all that fun... some of us needed a tiny nap

Dad's chest is really comfortable to sleep on.

A true Cannode,
sleeping with a drink in one hand and food in the other.

Of course, a day on the water is not complete without a Paliga in the picture!  Jim's family also decided to spend their Dad's day on the water too!  We had a great time playing with them on the water and are thankful they wanted to share their family time with us!



Joe, Tom, Sandy and Jim Paliga
(Sister Sarah is in Japan)

Sarah assisting with the kiddos

All in all, we think it was a pretty successful Dad's day.  No one got too burned from the Hot, Hot sun and we were all tuckered out pretty early... which was a good thing since the next day was Kris' FIRST OFFICIAL DAY AS A MOLSON COORS EMPLOYEE!

First Camping Trip of 2012

A good friend of ours recently thought it would be a great idea to have a few families go camping together. And it was! We ended up with 8 adults and 8 kids (always good not to be outnumbered!). We were excited to go up to Lake Carter (near Loveland, Co) with Linsay (Colton and Lillian), Jim and Sarah, Erika (Luke and Julie) and Lindsay's friends Christy and Jason (Avery and Autumn). Kris decided he was really good at puzzles as he expertly loaded up the truck before meeting the caravan in downtown Denver. We started off the weekend with an amazing enchilada meal, prepared by Jim, before we had to 'rough it' the rest of the weekend.  I use the term loosely as we enjoyed wonderful meals while camping (which included egg salad sandwiches, Ziplock Omlettes (our new fav camping trick) and of course hamburgers and hot dogs).

We were excited to get up there to enjoy some great friends and of course peace and quiet of the great outdoors. Well; Karsten had other ideas. He started to run a fever on Friday through Sat morning. We thought it was just due to teeth, but nope... the fever broke and red bumps showed up Everywhere on his body. It was official, he had Roseola (ug!). The entire weekend, he was incredibly fussy and cried loudly for 80% of the time. This included the nighttime where he woke up every 20 min and cried for about 10 minutes before falling asleep; only to repeat about 20 min later. We really tested our friendships this weekend to put everyone through all of that and are glad to report... we think everyone will go camping again with us later this summer!

The crew, checking out the water on our first night

Kids found games to play immediately

Including... Throwing Rocks in the Water! Fun!

The Girls

Once we got past the fever, he started to turn into a more normal Karsten and we started enjoying ourselves a bit more. We got to hang out on the beach on Saturday, which was a blast. The boys haven't really had 'beach time' as we normally boat with them. We tried beach play in ND last summer, but they weren't thrilled with the waves or the sand in their toes. This time, they Loved it! Was really fun to watch them play by themselves, with our friends and with their kids! We are so lucky to have so many great friends who love our children!

Bathing Beauties

We also got to have two nights of campfires; which Of Course meant "SMORES!" Kasey loved cooking them, but was not a fan of eating them... not sure what is wrong with him (ha). Poor Karsten had to go to bed both nights so he enjoyed part of the fire time, but none of the smores. Maybe next time; when he is feeling better. We even had some visitors who live nearby for one of our fires! Rosemary, Naya and Angie joined us for a beer and some smores on Sat night. Was fun to catch up with them and have them enjoy our experience with us! My favorite shot of the weekend was of the kids all lined up next to the campfire. Karsten would Not let go of Mommy, so she got in the pic too.

Nothing cuter than 8 children ready for a campfire!

Here dad, let me throw in some wood,
but I will do it from back here - it is HOT!

Always love a little cuddle time

Is this how you cook the marshmallow?

Definitely a FULL Camp!

As a fun surprise, Lindsay popped open some champagne to toast Kris' new job with Molson Coors.  I love that she checked at the liquor store to ensure Molson Coors doesn't make a type of champagne before buying an incorrect brand.  For the record - they don't make Champagne.

CHEERS AND CONGRATS!!!

Every camping trip has a lot of fun times, but every now and again... you have a time out and a cranky kid... these two pics were too cute not to leave out of our album.

Timeout is so boring...

What are you looking at?

By the end of the weekend, we were tired and beyond dirty... In fact, I think someone mentioned Kasey looked like a kid from Lord of the Flies or a Pauper. We tried rinsing him off, but 20 minutes later... he again looked filthy. Guess that is the life of a toddler boy! At any rate; we refreshed with a shower at home and after talking about how much fun it was - we determined the weekend went rather well and were ready to book another camping trip with friends immediately after getting home!

I'm a Big Kid Now!!

So exciting recently in the Cannode household!  We have been trying for over 8 months to get him interested in potty training and he ademently would say no.  In fact - one whole weekend we put him in only pull ups.  During the weekend; he would go sit on the potty every hour and never go.  He would literally hold it all day until nap time or when he went to bed.  We knew he had the ability, but he didn't quite have the desire yet.  No bribe would even work.  At the end of the weekend; we decided to go back to diapers.  The funniest part of the weekend was watching Kasey's face when we pulled out the diaper.  He enthusiastically shouted out "Helll-oooo Diaper!"  This kid was definitely Not ready.

BUT, two nights ago Kasey decided he wanted to wear big boy pants instead of a diaper.  We were thrilled!  We put underwear on him and he sat on the toilet.  He tried so hard and was rewarded with a dum-dum sucker for going in the potty!  Success #1.  We did have an accident that night and he refused to put big boy pants back on... diapers it was.

Night two, he decided again to wear big boy pants.  We had one accident and then he was ready to sit on the potty.  After his success, we gave him a dum-dum sucker and made a Big production about it.  Thirty minutes later; he told us he needed to go potty again.  Nice! Sucker #2 of the night.  The sucker stick barely hit the trash can and Kasey went potty Again!  Sucker #3! ... um... we are running out of Suckers!  Same thing - after throwing the sucker stick; he went AGAIN! ... ok, Kasey... here is Sucker #4.  We think it is time for you to go to bed so we can quit giving you sugar! ;-)

Yes, we realize Kasey kill us when he is older for posting this pic, but it is TOO CUTE!  Such Proud Parents!

I'm a big kid now!!

Today, we sent him to School (aka: daycare) wearing big boy pants and with lots of extra clothes.  We can't wait to hear how he does!  Hopefully, we will be down to one diapered boy within the next month.  Who knows... Karsten may follow pretty quick as he LOVES doing Everything Kasey does.  I know one thing though ~ Kris is heading to the grociery store to pick up Skittles so we can reward with those instead of a dum-dum Each time he goes! TOO MUCH SUGAR, but WELL WORTH IT!!!

A trip to Golden

This past weekend we decided to make a trip out to Golden to visit the Coors brewery.  The reason?  Hoping for a little good luck.  Since March, Kris has been out of work and looking for a new job.  Last week he had an interview with Molson Coors, hence the trip to the brewery. 

Karsten and Kasey enjoying the wait for the tour bus.

The self guided tour was very informative and the boys helped Mommy and Daddy press the buttons.  Kasey kept asking "what's that" to everything he saw and Karsten enjoyed walking around the brewery.

Karsten is really enjoying the tour.

Amy and Kasey in front of the wall of brands.

A view of the kettle house.

And the best part of the tour, free beer.

And finally meet the newest employee of Molson Coors because what is better then drinking your Favorite beer??... Working for them!

Ram Runner is Up and Running

Every year, we hold our breath and hope the kids both still enjoy being on the boat. We have seen friends of ours whose children decided one year, they were not happy on the boat. This year we had an added challenge ... Kasey sprouted up over the winter and reached 30.5 lbs; which meant a new life vest. We tried to make it as exciting as possible, but Kasey was not having it. He was unwilling to put the new life vest on. After we threatened to leave him in the truck while Mommy and Karsten went boating, he decided the life vest wasn't so bad after all. Karsten is still under 30 lbs (26 lbs to be exact) so his life vest from last year still fits.

The kids both were on the boat with Mommy while Daddy pulled the trailer back to the parking lot. While we were waiting for Dad, Kasey looked at Mommy and said "Where Jim? I want Jim"... Guess we must boat A LOT with Uncle Jim! He was definitely missed on our first trip out!

Kris and Karsten having a drink together.

Kasey hanging out with Mommy in his new Big Kid life jacket.

Peek-a-boo.

It looks to be deep enough, lets keep going.

The kids also had fun with their new fishing rod. Amy is a little jumpy about losing the fishing rod due to a "Snoopy Rod Incident" when she was little where rumor has it she fell asleep while fishing and let go of the rod. Now, I can neither confirm nor deny the story, but it sounds legit since Amy can sleep ANYWHERE. We had to keep letting them know that if they dropped it over the edge it would be gone and as of yet... we still have their fishing rod. Wish us luck throughout the summer. We did have one hat go overboard, but thankfully those float for a couple of seconds.

Let me show you how to do it, Karsten.

I think I have the hang of it now.

Our second day out was a special treat for us. Amy got out of work early, so Kris met her on the water for a date on the boat while the kids were still in daycare. We enjoyed some peaceful time on the water and even took a quick nap (see... she sleeps Anywhere!). It was fun catching up with each other, but we had to laugh as airplanes or geese went over our heads as it made us think of our kids. Karsten loves pointing at the planes and shouting 'Aye-Pane!' and Kasey loves pointing at the birds and shouting "Pa-Pow". Guess we have a future pilot and a future hunter in our family!

Not the same without the kids driving, but definitely more relaxing.

Time to enjoy some summer sausage, cheese and crackers.

We don't normally go out on the water on Memorial day due to high traffic, but thought it was too nice out not to go. We invited some good friends of ours, Scott and Elizabeth Freas and their son Mason. We told Kasey the night before that Mason was going to join us and the next morning, we asked him who should come out on the boat with us. He excitedly shouted "Mason!". I asked if Daddy could come too and luckily he said 'Yuuup' (yes, we watch too much 'Storage Wars'). Mason and Karsten are in the same class at daycare together. It has been a blast watching them grow to love each other. Each time they see each other, Karsten shouts out "MACEY" with so much excitement! Mason did a good job on his first boat experience. he clutched tightly to his dad while we were in motion, but with a smile on his face. All the kids ended up napping on the boat together, which gave us time to catch up with friends. It was a perfect day on the boat!

Hard to get all of the kids looking,
especially with Elizabeth handing out snacks.

Amy and Elizabeth enjoying some "girl talk".

Karsten and Mason driving the boat.

One child down...

Two down (Kasey is under the towel) and one to go.

It was official - the Ram Runner was up and Running, but Uncle Jim still didn't have his boat on the water.  So; the next weekend we decided to get his on the water.  with a little luck, some good friends and an extra boat battery... we had Jim up and Running too!  It was also a learning day for Amy and Sarah.  Kris taught Sarah how to take the boat off the trailer and Jim taught Amy how to back the trailer down the ramp into the water.  Sarah and Amy both decided it was easier to learn from someone Other than their Significant Other. :-)

A quick nap before the day begins.

Sarah, Amy and Lindsay (hanging out on the tube).

The First Dip in the Water!
As you can see Kasey "hated" the water

Have you looked at the weather behind you, Uncle Jim?

What is missing from this picture besides Lindsay and Jon...The sun.

We tried waiting out the storm, but it didn't look like it wanted to let up.  Instead, we decided there were plenty of more summer days to enjoy and headed in.  Since we got to enjoy the weather for the first part of the day; we decided it was a successful boat day. Jon might disagree with us, but that is most likely because he showed up along with the clouds and rain that rolled in.

Everyone looking warm while they wait out the storm.

As you can see; we have enjoyed the summer Already!  We are so excited Summer is here and so are our Boys!  Kasey asks every other day to go on the boat!  We are glad we are looking forward to another Amazing year on the Ram Runner!