National Western Stock Show 2015

The boys got some really cute cowboy hats, jeans, boots... oh yeah... and Star Wars swords for Christmas.  Those all go together, right?  At any rate; they were ready for the next few months of rodeos. Yee Haw!!

What a great crew of kiddos.  I am loving watching them grow together as little people and great friends!

Evidently, Amy was so busy taking pics of the kiddos... there were few of the adults and all of those were quick selfies, but I promise we were all there too!  Even Uncle Jimmy and Uncle Kyle!

Getting Ready to Watch Mutton Bustin... They can Not Wait to try it out themselves!!!

Karsten's First Hunting Trip

While Amy and Kasey were in ND picking up her new vehicle.  Daddy and Karsten found some great quality time together!  What better way to to spend time together than in the field on a warm and beautiful day! Even Jimmy and Kyle got in on the action.  No pics of Kyle as he was evidently the designated photographer that day.

Karsten loved walking the fields, however, his little legs sure did get tired quickly.  Karsten may or may not grow up with the love of hunting in his heart, but we will for sure introduce it to him to see if that is where his passion lies.  If nothing else; it was a great day of chatter between one hunter and his little guide.

Oh My Goodness... Just "Stop!" (see what I did there with the stop sign in the pic?) Too darn cute!  Thanks, Kyle for being an excellent photographer!

Miscellaneous Monday

Sometimes we have random pics... this is one of those bonus posts!  This next pic is the day Kasey proudly came home on Jan 5th to let us know that he asked his friend at school to cut his hair.  We were just glad it turned out looking like the Bat Signal.  Who knows.. His friend may have just found their career!

In early Dec 2014, we took the kids out for a spin on their new bike.  We were hoping to take some fast rides this coming summer.  Karsten loved the speed and was ready to go... Kasey was more apprehensive. Especially since he fell to the ground 0.2 seconds after this pic was taken.  Oh well; maybe he will forget about falling down when we pull it out again this spring. (Or Maybe Not)

We also picked swim lessons back up.  I know all these swim pics look the same, but geeze... Look how big they are getting! (and in hindsight since I am posting these 10 months later... how small they look from how they look today!)

I also love this next set of pics.  One minute, I had Gordon Ramsey and Emeril in my kitchen and the very next, I had LeBron and Michael Jordan in my living room! So fun trying to keep up with their passions.  Also fun to see how low that net is.  Currently, that net is on the highest notch possible!

Now a Toyota Family?

Ok, granted... we will always be first and foremost a Ford family, but Amy has been recently eyeing a Toyota Highlander.  They are pretty hard to come by in Denver for some reason, so on a wild hunch... Amy checked to see if her perfect car was located in Fargo!  What do you know!... It Was!

So - with the help of a personal shopper viewing the car in person for me .. these 3 pics sent from the dealer ... and a lot of phone calls ~ We purchased our new Highlander Hybrid! Now - how to get it back home?  Kasey had a plan! Jan 22nd, Kasey and I headed out to ND for a quick four day trip!  Amy was expected, but Kasey was a surprise.  Knowing he is a great travel partner... Amy and Kasey packed their things and headed out on a jet plane - only to drive back with Dad in tow four days later!

Yep! Happy to be Home!  They were surprised about Kasey and everyone was super excited for the quick family time.

Kasey was excited to watch Brooklyn and Brody taking their skating lessons... he even thought maybe he might get a pair of skates in Colorado and start learning too!

 Lunch with GG is a Must on this very quick trip!

 Think Real Hard before wishing in the wishing well!  ... I can just hear Kasey:  "I wish for a pair of hockey skates ... I wish for a pair of hockey skates... pretty please"

 Hmm... Guess the kids are enjoying the new video system in the Highlander!

Well, it was a quick trip, but Dad decided he wanted some more daughter time and decided to help us drive back!  He helped drive to Colorado, spent a couple of days out there and flew back to ND.

 Yep! She Fits!  I am taking her back with us! No question about it!

And Off We Go!  .... Good thing Kasey has some entertainment to watch for the next 15 hours!

After arriving home, we had to sell Amy's silver bullet.  We put it on craiglist and two days later... Got Full Price! what a pretty picture!

Sad part is ... all this money disappeared quickly to pay for the new baby of the family! Thank Goodness it is a Hybrid!

New Year... New posts

Wow - ok - with my best intent... my blog has died.  I am trying to revive it with a fresh New Years Resolution!  Yep .. that is how far behind I am.  Thanksgiving is in five days and I am posting our New Years Eve party!  The blogs will be short, but I am hoping to catch up on all of 2015 by the end of the calendar year... here is to a whole year in the next 41 days.  Happy Reading!

Kyle was a super host who invited us to his pad - kids and all!  Not many toys to play with at the bachelor pad so Uncle Jimmy stepped up to be the Jungle Jim (get what I did there?).

Ms Erika is the mom I strive to be... this girl has it down.  She put together a scavenger hunt of activities for the kids!  glow stick bowling, art projects...  You name it!  Tuckered them out till they were ready for a movie.

 As tired as they were - they were Not bound to miss the countdown.  All kids were present and accounted for at midnight... Ten... Nine... Eight...

 Seven... Six... Five... Four... Three... Two...ONE!  Happy New Year to All!!! BOOM!

Christmas in July

Ever hear of Christmas in July?  Well; close enough... Here's our Christmas post in June!  Every year, it is way to cold out for Parade of Lights... this year - we bundled up and headed into the crowds.  No worries, George... we avoided all sneezing children.

Other Christmas prep included singing in the Church Cherub Choir, writing letters to Santa and of course sitting in his lap, putting up our Christmas tree and having Christmas party concerts at school! Lots going on this time of year!

I was so proud that the kids wanted to write Santa for the first time.  They both worked so hard on their letters and I think they even found a secret code that only Santa knows for their requests.  I sure couldn't figure out the code. ... could you?

Orchard Valley does an Amazing job at Christmas programs for the kids and Ms Watson and Ms Darla's programs were no exception.  They are always so fun to watch.  This year, they were held at the same time which made it challenging, but we split up and made it work.

We were very excited to have Gma and Gpa Cannode join us for service on Christmas eve.  The kids were enthralled with the service and maybe even the fact they got to sit on our laps!  They normally attend Sunday School so sitting still was a somewhat new concept and they did great.

Who wants to spend a holiday with your boring in-laws... I sure don't.  Thankfully, I don't have boring in-laws!  I have Fabulous, Entertaining, Crazy and Loving in-laws.  I think this next picture captures every one's essence perfectly.

Family traditions are what Christmas is all about.  One of my favorites is the kids opening their Christmas jammies from Gma and Papa Mattson on Christmas Eve.

Christmas morning is pure excitement from what Santa brought.  I guess Santa was able to figure out the secret code on those letters.  By the look on their faces - he Nailed it!  My favorite part is how excited they Always get about Fruit Snacks! Santa better NEVER Forget them!

We were blessed to share in Cousin Holly's First Christmas celebration.  She looked so pretty in her Christmas dress. She sure was our little Angel this year!

As you can see... we were all very lucky this year with lots of presents.  Some of us got tuckered out from the event (Holly), some got excited about their new workout attire (Amy) and some couldn't decide if they wanted to play star wars or cowboys... or both (the infamous Double Ks)!

What really captures our Christmas this year though are the last three pictures.  Pure Love and Family.  Thank you for taking the day to enjoy and spend time in our home. We Loved Every Minute!