Annie is Five Months Pregnant!

We were so excited to hear that Annie and Alan wanted to come visit us!  Kris was even more excited to hear they wanted to borrow some of our baby stuff so we could free up room in our basement.  Annie is due this October and we are so thrilled to hear that our boys will have another little man to wreak havoc with :-)

We started our weekend out with a boat day with good friends.  Frankie and Amy (and Addie and Bella) and Annie and Alan have not been on our boat before.  We decided to get a fun crew together and play on the water.  We had a great day for them to come find out what it was all about.  Well; it would've been a great day, but ... a few things went awry.  First, Amy used the boat the weekend before and forgot to fill it back up with gas.  Therefore, no skiing, no cruising, nothing.  Whoops.  Thankfully, Jim was able to go pick everyone up for us.  The second part was that evidently, when Annie and Alan came in from Sterling ~ they brought the bad weather with them.  As a result, we didn't get to spend too much time on the water.  The time we did spend out there was fun though!  Alisa, Sarah and Amy are training for an Aug triathlon so they started the morning with a lake swim prior to everyone arriving.  After the swim, we had a great time chatting it up and enjoying some water time.

Always fun to mess with someone sleeping

Lee, Jim and Alisa

Kasey Just LOVES the water

Amy and Addy Newman and Kasey and Sarah

Amy, Bella, Frankie, Addie, Annie and Alan

We headed home for a yummy enchillada bake and ended our evening with a walk around the neighborhood.  Who knew a pregnant lady was so Quick!  Amy could barely keep up with her!

The next day was our planned Rockies day.  We started off stopping at Kris' office for a pregame beverage.  Love that Kris has a lounge in his office!  Amy did learn one thing that day that she had forgotten.  How the heat affects a pregnant lady.  Amy was very pregnant during the summer with Karsten too, but almost two years ago.  Therefore, she had forgotten how HOT the sun makes you.  We didn't make it long in the very sunny seats before we went to find shade.  No pics of the game as we were more focused on staying cool, but we had a great time.  Here are some pics of Kris' work Lounge.

She Barely looks pregnant! All in the belly!
What a cutie!

Some Snacks and Libations before the Rockies Game

Overall, the weather didn't really cooperate with us.  It was rainy the day we were boating and overly sunny the day we went to the Rockies game, But we made the best of it and LOVED getting to catch up with Annie and getting to know Alan a bit better.  We teased them all weekend about 'what they were in for' with a little boy, but all jokes aside - We couldn't be happier for them and Know they will be Amazing parents!  Can't wait to meet him!

"Girls Rule" Camping Weekend

Kris gets his 'camping' weekends at least once or twice a year as he goes to join family and friends to hike with a gun... ehrrr.. I mean "hunt for elk or deer."  Amy realized she didn't have a similar weekend and definitely needed it.  Rosemary had a great idea to get three of us (Rosemary, Angie and Amy) together to go camping to see if we could survive.  We had plenty of planning, discussions on meals, who will bring what, etc and were Ready for our weekend!

We all arrived at the site and Amy joked about 'forgetting the tent' (haha)... little did she know when she made the joke that 'Kris' (yes, I am blaming him - ha) forgot to pack it for her!  What do three women without a tent do for shelter? Improvise!  Two of us were snapped into the boat for the night and Rosemary slept in the shade tent she brought; both of which worked wonderfully.  In fact, when Kris showed up the next day with a tent ... we didn't even put it up!

I know this 'looks' like a tent, but it is actually a shad tent only

Rosemary is set, but she said she wouldn't share her shade

Also looks like a tent, but is only a screen tent...
wouldn't provide much cover for changing into our jammies

The first night was filled with laughter and crazy quotes (not all that I can share with you).  One of the most crazy moments was when over a dozen Hearses showed up to camp for the evening.  Yep - you read correctly ~ not horses, but 'Hearses'.  Evidently, there was a Hearsacon Convention going on that weekend.  What a trip to see all the decked out hearses.

Just 'one' of our amazing camping meals prepared by Rosemary

"Fancy Wine" provided by Amy

Improvising was the word for our weekend.  We all voted Rosemary to be our Camp Chef for the weekend, but there was a miscommunication of who would bring the pot for cooking on the grill.  Since we had no pot, Rosemary was brilliant to find three uncrushed Coors Light cans; cut off the tops and used them as three individual pots to poach our eggs the next morning!   Angie and Amy were Thrilled with the idea of Rosemary cooking for them.  Amy's idea of a camping breakfast includes some scrambled eggs and a Red Beer.  Rosemary's idea was Eggs Benedict, Mimosas and Starbucks coffee (drinks provided by Angie).  We were SPOILED to say the least!

The Chef Improvising! What a way to cook eggs!

Eggs Benedict with Hollendaise sauce...
WOW! ... JUST WOW!

After our wonderful breakfast, our group showed up for the boating day.  Yes, we decided to share our 'girls only' weekend with smelly boys since it was going to be such an incredibly nice day on the water.  And what a day on the water it was...Just Perfect!  None of us wanted to go into camp at the end of the day, but the kiddos were tuckered out and we were all hungry.

A Wondeful Summer Day!

Josie, Tyson, Amy and Karsten

That evening was hysterical for one reason... we realized we are old.  The first evening, we stayed up chatting and laughing until almost 1:30am.  Saturday night was filled with us struggling to find the energy to chat and even chewing our dessert seemed to be too much effort.  The sun had definitely taken the energy out of us and we were in bed by 10:30 ~ 3 whole hours earlier than the evening before.

Sunday was especially exciting for Amy as it was her first time being on the boat without Kris.  She was responsible for backing up the trailer and taught Angie how to meticulously back the boat up to not damage the prop.  We were incredibly successful and had another beautiful day on the water.  At around lunch time, we decided instead of eating left overs..we needed to finish our camping trip the only way three spoiled girls know how to do....   SUSHI!

It was an Amazing weekend for all three of us and hopefully if Kris will allow Amy to sneak away from the kiddos again next summer ... this 'might' become an Annual thing!  Amy might even bring a tent next year!

Water Wars 2012!

Recently, we had a good friend of ours give us some new fun summer toys that her kids had outgrown.  As you can see, my boys just HATED them!  The fun started with some splashing, but it didn't take them long before they decided on their own to start a water fight between them!  Not sure who 'won', but man ~ they had a Blast!

The duel begins...

You can run, but you can't hide.

Where did he go?

Isn't that refreshing?

How about this one?

Come back here Kasey.

If only they enjoyed playing in the water.

They even decided to wash their new wagon.

So your saying we can put water on the wagon, Mom?



That should clean right up.

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!