I'm baaaaaaackk.......part 5

So, we spent a few days after Christmas in Colorado playing with our gifts and the newly fallen snow. There are lots of pics- and not too much writing- I can only do SO much.

Indianna is so laughy!Every waking moment Callia would ask for "Anna" (short for Indianna) if she wasn't around. They were like two peas in a pod this vacation- it was so cute!Indi loved playing dress up- there is a lot to find in the closet!The littlest farmers!Those gloves were just her size! The snow in its beauty.We drove to Fort Collins and went sledding at Edora Park near Epic Ice Skating Rink. I haven't been there in YEARS! I went down the hill with Indi.
Nate is the KING of awkward faces in pictures. Amy looks cute.
Callia loved the snow as long as someone was holding her. Dan to the rescue.

Camille was such a big girl and went down many times by herself!
After a few runs down the hill, Indianna didn't want to be pulled up the hill on the sled so she decided to pull the sled herself. Even while wearing a plastic bag for pants.
Nate showing off his snowboarding on a sled skills. Impressive.
Grandma, Mom & Dad watching the kids freeze their buns off!
Indianna loved sledding with her daddy Eli!

Dad was all gutsy going down the hill on the old school runner sled we had when I was a kid. It's pretty much a gonner.
Callia didn't like a cold bum. I don't blame her one bit. She reminded me of the kid in "A Christmas Story". She had a hard time getting up once she fell down.
Camille and Mom (my sister Katy) had a blast going on the saucer sled!
I love the wind blown cheek look. She is like a little icicle.Indi loved eating the snow...I guess you need some refreshment when you walk up and down the hill a hundred times!


Katy with Callie and Indi!
Another beautiful Colorado sunset!
Nate loved horsing around with our neice Camille- she has such an infectious laugh!
We were tuckered out by the end of this day (to say the least)

I'm baaaaaaackk.......part 4

Christmas morning....looking out to see a WHITE CHRISTMAS starting!!! Camille and Callia patiently awaiting the gift opening extravaganza!
Blake and I got these really cool glasses in our stocking...thank Santa. When you look at Christmas lights each pair of glasses has a different shape (like a Santa face, snowflake, star, Christmas tree, angel, etc.) These were our wow factor for the day.
Camille found a little catepillar on the Christmas tree since it got cut down in the mountains nearby and wanted to keep it as a pet. Don't know exactly where that little guy ended up. Hmm. Camille is such a bug lover. Santa brought Callie a rocking horse and Camille a new bike. They were both exstatic!
Indianna loved the maraccas and clapper I got for her! I can tell she is a big music lover!Camille was the prettiest ballerina!Just a little peek out the front door at the beautiful snow!Nate was phased to get a guitar this year...something to get him going since he can do the rest on his computer and keyboard. Christmas dinner was huge! We had the aunts, uncles and cousins down from Westminster and Boulder and grandma came from Illinois! Nate even had his gf Amy come from LA to visit for a few days during the holidays- she is a real sweetheart. My mom always insists on doing "girls only" and "guys only" activities. It makes me laugh but we really had a great time! Here is the "boys" table. I wonder what their conversation consisted of? Nevermind, I don't want to know.

A Christmas tradition is laying out our gifts (for insurance purposes- in case of a house fire) and here was Blake's stuff.

And my stuff. Notice Santa (or Blake) got me a few "____ for Dummies" books... what is he trying to say here?

Overall Christmas day was tiring but extremely satisfying watching the kids with their gifts and constant smiles (except when their new toy was being played with by another kid). You can only win so much!

I'm baaaaaaackk.......part 3

For Christmas '07 we ended up going to Colorado again to spend the holidays with Mandy's family. Unfortunately I had had an extremely busy December, making gifts for friends and family, and by the time we got there, both Blake and I came down with a lovely cough and the runny/stuffy nose issue. That was super fun. Really the only rough parts of the sickness were difficulty staying asleep and coughing uncontrollably due to dry throat in the middle of the night. Even with all the sickies...we managed to have a great time with the family.

Here are my parents reading stories to the neices- Camille and Callia. They LOVE Papa and Grandma. We also had a great time playing games including dominos, speed scrabble, and Cities & Knights of Catan (my new game for Christmas!)

Indianna loved to sneak into the rocker when her cousin Callia wasn't looking. Perfect place for a sweet little girl.
The girls loved playing with the little kitchen- it made noises for many of the appliances and they just loved that. Callia was always baking up something!
Here was the gorgeous sunset on Christmas Eve- truly a sight to behold.

Blake holding Indianna before a trek out into the snow. She loved the snow and cried when she had to come back into the house!

Here is my mom and I whipping up a new holiday treat I learned how to make this year! Oreo Balls are super scrumptious!!
Callie and Indi were always climbing into my lap to read books. I love reading to the little ones...can't wait till I can read to my own kiddies! I loved being read to as a kid, reading on my own as a kid, and now listening to books on CD as an adult (just kidding. I read mostly any book I have time for)
Here are the girls at their mini table- boy you'd be really suprised at how bent out of shape kids can get if you switch the colored chair they've sat in more than once. Sheesh. How was I supposed to know she'd been sitting in the red chair the whole time?
One of the highlights was watching Callia zoom down the stairs on her bum. It was cute hearing her basey laugh! She sounds EXACTLY like my sister!

I found this super cute plush nativity set for the girls this year and we had a great time having them set up the nativity as my dad read Luke. It's so fun to get the kids involved with the story!

I'm baaaaaackkk....part 2

So- in the midst of December we decided to host a white elephant party with Blake's high school crew and a few others (basically enough until our house popped) and it proved to be quite a night...

First- the Turley's got phased off of the Cardinals frog who sang and waved his arms and bounced his head to "In Da Club". Yeah...that one was a gem. The Cooper's got excited to try out a new workout video with accompanying hot pink and green leotard. Priceless.
And the Hamilton's made the very best chocolate milk with their new motorized pocket blender with snazzy white carrying case including wrist strap. (Do not try blending in soda...you can imagine the repercussions).
Here's the gang showing off their gifts...
Overall- we had a fantastic night hanging out with the crew- doesn't happen nearly often enough, but at least once a year we have a grand old time all together!!

I'm baaaaaaackk.......part 1

Did you think I was lost?? Well...I've missed the blogosphere...It's been over a month since I've blogged and believe me...I've missed it. I guess for myself I need to recap the happenings...since really all who read this have been (for the most part) involved in all of it.

So Dec. 14, 2007 my work (University of Phoenix- University Services division) hosted a Casino Night for our Christmas Party (and if you want to talk PC- it would be the "Holiday Party"). Sheesh...It's Christmas ok...no and, ifs, or buts about it. Here is Blake and I with the Rat Pack. They sounded pretty good for being dead guys. Here is a picture of the 5 total minutes that Blake sat next to me at the dinner table the whole night- (unbeknowst to me- they served lobster with chicken for dinner- and Blake is deathly allergic to shellfish) so he ducked out most of the dinnertime and went to fill up the car with gas, hit up the nearest In 'N Out for dinner and hung around in the hotel lobby drinking hot chocolate. I felt so bad!!
Here are the girls I work with- they are so fun!


The whole night I kept thinking about the episode of "The Office" when they did casino night cause we all got fake money to gamble with and I kept thinking about Kreed stealing the chips so he could win the prizes...well- I didn't steal any chips but I did win $1000 of fake money in craps...I love that game. However I didn't win any of the awesome raffles they had...which was a bummer since I made Blake stay until late into the night...but I had fun. Blake was such a trooper.