Orange Out Ag Day

Ag Day (Sept 28th) was our First "Official" Home Game of the year.  It was supposed to be Sept 14th, but the Massive Colorado Flood closed down I-25 from Denver up through Wyoming due to washed out roads.  We were Beyond excited to get our tailgating on due to the missed game.

The day was full of chatter and of course some a game or two of Cornhole.  This year, someone was brilliant enough to bring a kid size version!  This allowed two games to be going on at once.  Smart Move!

Amy Thought it was a good idea to bring Redneck Golf as well, but ... didn't realize how much work it was to put together.  Alisa volunteered for the job, but I think it was before knowing how many pieces it came in!  Kids sure enjoyed it though!

Don't forget to have some downtime and chat with your girlfriend.  Communication is the key to a healthy relationship (Karsten and Jillian pictured below).

 RamTown is always a hit for the kids.  Plenty of free stuff and of course a Bouncy Castle!

Kasey and Jilian got to meet some cheerleaders, although... Kasey was a bit shy.

This year, they have a Face Painting Booth!  What Fun!  There were Many pictures to choose from and we all got to choose what we wanted.  Kasey was Thrilled to get a CSU rainbow painted on his face!

Karsten was pretty excited about getting a CSU helmet painted on his, but the wait in line was pretty long.  By the time he sat down... he was Really Tired.  I'm not kidding you - he is ASLEEP in this picture.  He slept the whole time she painted his face and then was confused about what happened when he awoke.

What goes with a CSU rainbow you ask?  Well, a Purple Butterfly of Course!

OH YEAH!  IT'S GAME TIME!  Lets head into the stadium!

CSU won this game and what a fun game to watch, but do you know why we Really come up to Ft Collins each fall?  What drags us out of bed at 6am for a 1:30 game??  You guessed it.  It is the insane crew below.  We are SO blessed with great friends who share a fun passion of tailgating with us.  We are behaved most of the time, but ....

Don't always trust us to be Serious.  ROAR!

Trick or Treat!

Amy has never really been into Halloween.  I mean, to come up with an outfit every year? It is Exhausting!  But... now that we have three men in our house who enjoy dressing up; she has gotten into it a bit more.  Yup, I said "three".  The Molson Coors' office dresses up each year and holds costume contests! How Fun!  This year, Kris went as Willy from Duck Dynasty and who better to help protect him than Superman and Spiderman!

Off to school/work we go!
(Notice our CSU Ram buckets!)

Flo (from Progessive) and Willy
Err.. I mean Kate (co-worker) and Kris

After work, we all got into the spirit.  The boys were done being superheros and decided they wanted to show their inner animals like their mommy!  They were excited to have their faces painted and worked really hard on their "Roaring" and "Mooing".  It took everything for Amy to Not put a sign around Karsten's neck that said "Eat More CHEESE!"  Fun point about Amy's costume. This is a costume that Kris' mom made and wore when Kris was a child. ... Many, Many moons ago.  Amy was sifting through holiday bins downstairs and thought it would be fun to shake off the dust and bring that Kangaroo back to life!

 The kids were so done with pictures - they wanted to Go!  Last year, we taught them how to trick or treat, but this year... they had this trick-or-treating down!  Karsten wouldn't even wait for Dad to head out.  He just grabbed the wagon and started walking.  We think he forgot about the angle of our driveway though... this is Karsten Desparately trying to STOP!

Whew! That was close - Ok, are we ready to go now?

Our first house! (Tanner and Mandy's house)

wow - only five houses down and it is getting so dark!

Last Stop! Lets see if Dad recognizes us!

A little story without pictures - we enjoy emailing back and forth with Mallory throughout the year.  We found out this year, she was Completely in the Halloween spirit and were told she decorated her home massively.  She then dressed up like a Gypsy, but not just any gypsy... one that eats little children!  She planned to hide under a table that held the candy bowl and would jump out and scare the kids as they arrived.  Kasey loves to be scared lately (well, sometimes) and I think it would've been so fun to arrive at her house this year!  Unfortunately, we are a few states away... sure wish she lived closer!

Pumpkin' Carving

Grandma and Papa Mattson took time out of their Very Busy summer to grow pumpkins for the boys.  We even got some good ol' ND dirt on them when they arrived!  The kids were jazzed and enjoyed seeing them every day we came home from school.  We didn't get around to carving them while the Mattson's were visiting, but did just in time for Halloween!

The boys have had pumpkins before, but we have always just colored on them with permanent Magic Markers.  Weren't quite up to the task of carving with them in prior years.  This year was different. They both practiced in their class and enjoyed the texture of the pumpkin guts.  They were Excited!

First step?  Draw their face with a Crayola Marker (erasable in case they want to adjust... which they did ... many times!).  Um... anyone else notice we might have a lefty on our hands?

 There!  Perfect Faces drawn 100% by the boys!

 Now, time to carve.  This was a Dad and Mom job, but we promised to follow their lines Exactly.

Kasey didn't hesitate - he dug Right In!

Karsten was having too much fun with all the guts.  Took him a long time to get his cleaned out cause he just wanted to play with the gooey stuff.

Karsten was so happy with his pumpkin that he wanted to give him a kiss.

The finished product! All we are missing is the light!  The boys did a great job and I love their smiles.  Karsten's smile is a bit exaggerated as he wanted to have the same size smile as on his pumpkin.

Gotta Love our Fall Art Projects!  Now, Time for bed boys.... gotta get up early tomorrow.  I hear we have a few Super Heroes in our midst!

Amy also wanted to share her night of pumpkin carving she had recently with her Pintrest Crew! (Lisa, Lee, Sarah, Erika and Sarah (Lisa's friend)).  The theme was either "Primping your Pumpkin" or "Pimping your Pumkin" ... Honestly, I'm still not sure.  I am sure we had a blast though!



Boo at the Zoo

Karsten:  Um, has Anyone seen the Big Talking Pumpkin?
Luke:  Hmm.. I think it is over there.
Kasey:  No guys, Let me check the map.  I will find it!

Yep, it is that time of year.  Boo at the Denver Zoo! Just a reason to use your costume one more time and oh yeah... get plenty of practice trick or treating! This year, we had several costumes to choose from.  Kasey chose to be Dale Earnhardt Jr (#88 Nascar driver) and Karsten chose to be a "super hero all day" (in his words).

You sure we can get candy from strangers, Karsten?  Oh, he works here?  OK!

Hard to get all the kids together smiling when there is candy in every direction possible.  Here we have Superman, Nascar Driver, Werewolf and a Witch.  Oh, the background is a Ram Fan (Alisa), an 80's Fanatic (Curtis) and a Flying witch hat (Erika).

What fun when you run into Long Lost Friends!  We were hanging out taking a break from all the chaos and were spotted by good friends, Scott and Elizabeth.  Mason and Karsten used to go to school together, but starting in Aug, Mason changed schools.  Thank goodness we like his parents and have plenty of get togethers!  The 'Moment' Karsten and Mason saw each other - it was like watching a movie in slow motion.  They ran to each other and embraced.  I think Karsten has found his Best Friend!

Amy's favorite part? watching the kid's faces when they feed the birds.  Karsten wouldn't try because the guard mentioned they may bite you (seriously, who tells a kid that!)

Oh My! What an Exhausting and fun day at the Zoo!  Time to head home; count our candy and take a Nice, Long Nap!