April 7.  2012

Jarom and I decided to try this again…only…we decided if we were to get a dog, it would not be a puppy(Our first family puppy we got for Christmas 2010, and re-homed it four months later.  Way too much work, especially when Jarom was traveling Mon-Fri., and I am homeschooling and have chronic health issues, not easy to deal with a new pup).

Plus, since moving to Colorado, everywhere we go, the girls are like, “everyone has a dog here!”  I would say, “Yep, but not us thank goodness!”  Now we feel like we fit in in Colorado, being an “outdoorsy family with a dog.”

So after hours of searching for the “perfect” family dog, we found her!  Our three year old labradoodle, Shelby.  She was used for breeding, but was so sad when her pups were taken away, she lost all her hair.  They tried breeding her one more time, and the same thing happened, so they wanted to just find her a good home.  We were so fortunate to find her, it’s hard to find an adult labradoodle.

She is just a sweetheart!  Labradoodle’s don’t shed, love to please, and are very intelligent!  She has definitely shown us that.  I also love the look of a lab, with the curly hair of a poodle.  They are also as hypoallergenic as you can get-and Jarom hasn’t shown any sign of allergies with her.    She is potty trained, and has only barked twice in a week-she didn’t care for the huge snow falling from the sky the other day!

She was kept in her crate all day by the previous owner since she worked away from the home,  but now, she’s out a ton-we hug on her and rub her sides and face, and if we stop, she puts her face down to our hand.  She has learned sit, up, and down in just two days.  When we first got her, we would put our hand out to pet her, and she would jump.  She’s adjusting now to all the noises of our house, and a family of six.  She loves the attention, and we are so glad to have her!  She is going to love hiking and biking and fishing with us I’m sure.  She already loves running with Jarom, and stays right by his side.  We hope she loves her new life, we love her sweetness already!

Her color is really cool.  She has the white poodle hair mixed in with the brown lab hair, so she’s silvery, with patches of brown.  I love her brown eyes, with the brown patches around them and around her nose and mouth.  So cute!!! 

P.S.  Since I’m a neat freak, and I don’t want our floors and things all dirty from a dog going outside and inside, we started from the very beginning wiping her paws with a wipey before bringing her in the house.  She now will lift her paw when we ask.  It’s awesome!  And the house stays clean, which is what I love!

She has brown eyes…obviously not a green and yellow eye!

Still checking out the rooms and getting used to them…

You know this was bound to happen with four kids, and one of them being a teenager!…

She is getting much more comfortable in just a week, as you can see…her feet propped up on the side of the crate and wall!…

I love all the mixes of brown on her…

What a sweet doggy!…

march.  2012

Living in Colorado, has been like having a wild animal refuge in our yard!  It’s absolutely amazing.  Within the first two weeks, we have had quite a few herds of elk walking through our yard, deer, we’ve seen a couple of foxes, and wildly enough, even had three wild turkey roaming around for a few minutes!  Unbelievable!!!  We keep being warned that there are lots of bears up here, so we are on the lookout! 

There is a huge field we pass on the way to our home, and there are herds of elk out there at least a couple times a week.  It’s really magnificent to see.  I’ll be running errands through town, and there are elk in neighborhoods and random places you would never think to see a wild animal hanging out.

Elk in Elk Meadow almost next to our home…

Too bad my pic’s of the wild turkey didn’t turn out…you’ll just have to imagine it!

march.  2012

Red Rocks Amphitheater…open every day of the year, and where concerts are performed.  This place is gorgeous!   It is also a huge outdoor exercise go-to place.  Because of my health, I’m not able to exercise like I would like, but this makes you want to just start doin’ somethin’!!!

A week after getting to Colorado, we decided it was time to start checking things out.  We went for a short drive to Red Rocks, and walked all around, admiring the beauty! 

On May 8th, Jarom and I will be going to a concert here…I have been trying to figure out a romantic date for us to do, and it doesn’t have to entail spending money…but when I saw Styx was playing, which is one of Jarom’s favorite bands, I figured it was a must!  So we will pack some bread, cheese, and hot cocoa, and hope for a wonderful evening!

Oh, and I must mention, that Brandi Carlisle will be singing with Ingrid Michaelson in July here.  Trying to decide if Alex is old enough for Brandi.  Ingrid is one of our favorite singers!

by postscripts on etsy…i love it!  now that we live in Colorado…we may have to try using a chainsaw and see if we can do this on our own.  I love love love it!!!

paula of postscripts has offered a deal…use code APRIL2012 for 10% off your order! Bulk orders receive 15% off!

february. 2012

We were extremely blessed in January to get an offer from a company that Jarom had been doing contract work for, to work for them full time. We were given the choice of three locations…Orange County, CA…Denver, CO…or Arizona. It was an easy choice for us, as two of the options weren’t even options for us. On to COLORADO!

We packed up our house in Georgia, not missing the house or city, but missing our dear friends and ward we had grown to love. We said our good-bye’s on Tuesday, February 28th, for our 24 hour journey to Evergreen, CO. If you know me at all, I don’t do non-stop drive-through’s. We decided to do 8 hour days, and make it there by Thursday evening. We also thought of a couple things we wanted to see along the way, but not too many, we didn’t want to extend the trip by much. It worked out perfectly!

The first day we headed through Tennessee, and stopped at the Parthenon, built after the one on the Acropolis in Greece.  Built for a fair, they intended to tear it down afterwards.  Same story for the Eiffel Tower.  Thank goodness it was decided to keep them.  We stayed at the most beautiful Marriott we’ve ever been to, when we arrived in St. Louis, MO.  It was an old train station converted to a hotel, and the intricate work inside was absolutely beautiful!

Wednesday morning, we got a late start, but had to stop at the Arch, the bridgeway to the West.  Wow, what a beautiful landmark!  As we were leaving St. Louis, Madison asked, “Have we left misery yet?”  Oh our sweet Madison, she is hilarious!  We drove four hours, made it to Independence, MO, just in time to go to the LDS Visitors Center, and to Liberty Jail.  What a wonderful experience to see and share with the girls.  Stayed the night in Kansas City.

Thursday, pretty much Kansas…all day until we reached Colorado.  The most boring state to drive through I’m sure!  We finally made it to Colorado, and Nadia said, “But where’s the snow!”   We had talked it up that we would get to ski when we got to Colorado, and that had stuck in her mind!  We started skiing as a family when Nadia was 18 months old, and she loves it!

We made it to the house, dealt with the movers for two days, in freezing cold 60-80 mile winds, a house at 40 degrees for two days, a hot water heater not working, then the heat on one floor stopped working…not to mention I thought I smelled gas and we all had to get out of the house…but it was all just kinks from a new house sitting for awhile.  Thank goodness!

We wake up in a clearing in the middle of the mountains every day, surrounded by beautiful mountain peaks covered with pine trees.  It’s dreamy and beautiful!  We are very blessed and grateful to enjoy this beautiful area!

The road trip begins…happy the house is packed, uncertain at how three days driving will go.

Cool huge boat we saw on the freeway…

Nashville, Tennessee-the Parthenon 

Tacky idea of what Athena is supposed to look like…nothing like the real thing!

Made it to St. Louis, MO the first night…old train station made into a hotel…absolutely gorgeous!

The beautiful Arch…Gateway to the West…

Independence, MO…LDS Visitor’s Center…Pioneer exhibit…

Liberty Jail…where Joseph Smith and four others were kept for four months in these horrible conditions…the pic of the girls looking through the window is the only opening in which light and fresh air could enter.  They were kept down there all the time…

Gold Plates…replica of course…but still neat to see.

Leaving Kansas City, our last day…we just have to drive through Kansas at this point, and we’ll be to Colorado!  Nadia and sock monkey are super glad about that!

Me, still sane!  Looking forward to our new home!

The view of the Rocky Mountains-where we are headed!  We live West of Denver, in the foothills…where it’s green and beautiful!

Where the Buffalo roam…

This is our back yard and the view from our back windows!  It’s so beautiful here, I can’t believe it!  What a change from where we have been so long out East for the past 12 years!   Can’t wait for hiking, biking, fishing, and supporting Jarom in all his marathon events he wants to run!

Created by: College At Home

december.  2011

We had fun having Jarom home Christmas through New Year’s Eve.  We love when we get to be together as a family!

During that week, we did different activities, including getting in our ice skating!   We had our Book of Mormon reading celebration that we did as a ward.  I made yummy chocolate cupcakes with mint gonache in personal jars for New Year’s, which was phenomenal!(Our best bites recipe).  Then of course, we had to share, the super cool flying shark that Jarom got himself for Christmas.  I have to admit, at first I complained about it, why do we need a huge balloon?  Then he put it together and flew it, and it was the coolest balloon show ever!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

december. 2011

What a lovely Christmas Eve and Christmas we had!  Christmas Eve, which was Saturday this year, we did the traditional, open-a-present-which-are-new-pajamas-to-wear-and-wake-up-wearing-on-Christmas-morning.  I really love that tradition!  Especially because I feel like everyone’s pajamas get so worn throughout the year, it’s nice to wake up with new cute p.j.’s on. 

And this year, with Christmas being on Sunday, was a change.   Usually we are in p.j.’s all day relaxing and playing with our new gifts.  So it was nice to get up, get ready, go to church, and come back and open presents and relax.  I will enjoy the next 6 years of just staying in p.j.’s though, which means no pictures of mom except on those that are Sunday Christmas’.

You know, that most things kids want, are played with for a few days and forgotten.   We’ve even in years past, just hurried through a store having them pick a present they think someone would like so we could just get home and be done Christmas shopping.   So we decided to bring this idea back and use it again…all the kids make or give something to each person in the family.  No spending any money.  Wow, did they love to go work on those projects and be creative, and more than that, excited to give what they had made to each of us, and so proud of what they had accomplished or thought of!

And usually Christmas day is spent preparing the food for the afternoon feast.  But not this year.  We had homemade cinnamon rolls for breakfast, along with the traditional “stocking snacks.”  This is a tradition from my childhood.  We would have a small box of cereal, string cheese, some hershey kisses, and a banana or orange.  So we would have snacks to snack on while people were opening presents.  

So Christmas was laid back, easy going, family time, and we enjoyed it so much!  We will continue these simplified ways for hopefully many, many years to come!

P.S.
If you seem to feel a little stressed decorating a tree with your children, because you want to be creative one way but don’t want to squelch your children’s creativity at the same time, I recommend two trees!  We always have a large live tree that the presents go under, and I decorate that one.  Then we have a smaller but still nice sized fake tree, that the kids can decorate any which way they want.  Then you both are happy, have a little extra cheer in the house with two trees, and nobody’s feelings get hurt while happy memories are being created!

The girls putting their new pocket knives to work…they love to whittle!

december 21. 2011

Alex is officially a teenager. I think the moodiness began more around the age of 12, but I’m sure that was a stage to get us ready for the teenage stage. Trying to think back to when I was a teenager is difficult, one, because my memory isn’t as sharp as it used to be before having kids, and B, I don’t really like to think about my childhood. I want my kids’ childhood to be much happier than mine, more family secure, gospel centered, and just want our kids to make sure they fill loved and that home is a safe place.

Our sweet Alex is truly a wonderful person. She works very hard in school, and in helping around the house and with her sisters. She is such a creative person too, I love that. And very thoughtful, and can be sensitive to others feelings as well, at least most of the time. She catches on to techy stuff so quickly, she can almost fix things as quickly as Jarom!

We have only five years left with Alex before she will be leaving for college, and I want to make sure she is armed with all the skills needed to have a productive, happy life in which to give her a sturdy sounding board to build off of as she grows and makes choices throughout her life.

Happy Birthday sweet Alex! We love you and are so very grateful to have you in our lives. We are so blessed to be able to be your parents, and get to go through life with you!

Now for the birthday details…so we ordered a 6’sub from subway, junk food, and played games…you know, the kind that were always fun as youth. You have to put all the winter attire on, and then eat a candy bar with a fork and knife before someone else rolls a 6. We played wink murder a million times, and it’s amazing how much fun that game can be. I think we played that for an hour and a half. No one was as good as mom, everyone kept trying to beat mom’s score. It was a hoot! Dessert and gifts last, and it was such a fun birthday. Dad got in later from traveling, and of course, that was the greatest treat of all!

december.  2011

In the spirit of the month of December, and all the joy of the Christmas Season, we wanted to do some winter-y things with the girls.  We decided we would go ice skating in downtown Atlanta, at the outdoor ice skating rink.  Then we saw the hour and a half line, and the 30 degree weather, which dictated we weren’t going to stay.  So we took some fun pic’s, and headed home for a movie.  But we never give up, ice skating will happen!

December is also a time for getting gifts ready for loved ones.  We decided this year, and we’ve done this in the past, that the girls would make something for each other.  Toys are forgotten and lost, money wasted, and this only requires time and creativity.  Plus, it gets everyone in the “season of giving” more since it is coming from their hearts.

In December, the girls started music lessons.  Alex started the acoustic guitar, and after a year, she wants to start playing the electric guitar.  She taught herself the chords, and is loving every lesson!  Madison started voice lessons, she loves to sing and listen to music.  Camden started violin lessons, and is a natural.