Christmas Wrap-up and I'm 50!

We had a really nice Christmas and I meant to write about it a bunch of times last week but then I got busy hanging out with kiddos, cleaning up from Christmas and knitting (I'm knitting again!), watching Andor with Glenn (so good!) and I didn't blog about any of it.   But we had a nice break.  Glenn and I worked some of the days.  Will had wrestling practice.  Reina tried out experimental recipes in the kitchen.  The cats terrorized the Christmas ornaments.  Fun was had by all. 

We received so many lovely presents - it's hard to pick just one that's our favorite but I asked everybody tonight for a quick review:  

Reina's favorite present was her iPad from Mom and Dad.  She downloaded a drawing app already and has quite the portfolio already.  

Will's favorite present was an interesting Broncos sculpture from Aunt V and Uncle M which had some money taped to the back.  He hasn't put the sculpture in his room yet because he's scared to wake up and see it staring at him. 

Glenn's favorite present was a mug that I had made with pictures from Will's football season. I'd like to say I made the mug but that was all Shutterfly.  

My favorite present is hard to choose from but it's probably a drawing that Reina did for me that I need to frame and hang up - and take a picture for the blog!  

Today is my 50th birthday.  50!  I've been dreading this one a little bit.  Fifty just feels so .... fifty? Didn't I just graduate from college?  Or get married?  I think underneath it all, this feels like a decade of big changes.  I'll probably get a new job this decade when I can retire from the State.  Kiddos will graduate and go to college this decade.  Who knows how many animals Glenn and I will bring home in the next 10 years.  But the day turned out pretty great.  My co-workers decorated my office in black crepe paper and pictures of me photoshopped as Sally O'Malley (SNL, google it).  Glenn gifted me a car detailing from an actual detail place and not just me with the shop vac trying to get out the detritus of almost two years of driving teens around.  Reina picked out some really pretty earrings and Will got me a really nice wallet (he dislikes my current wallet and he has opinions about a lot of things).  I also got gift cards and cash and a book. I'm a lucky middle-aged lady.  

Christmas Eve Eve

 I took December 23 off and we spent the day working on last minute Christmas errands.  The niblings hung out with us for a little while so that Aunt Vicky could volunteer at the mall for present wrapping.  We had lunch and then came back to roll out some sugar cookies.  

Reina is happier than she looks.  

Cousins helped me roll out the dough and bake and then Glenn and Reina decorated later that night.  Some serious artistry happening here. 

We wait until the last minute to put any presents under the tree because several of the four-legged members don't abide by the societal rules of "don't open presents before Christmas morning and definitely don't own presents that don't have your name on them."  When we opened up the box from my Aunt Mary (she always sends cat presents) and put the packages under the tree, it instantly became the hot spot for cat hangouts. 

The face of innocence

Will brought home a gingerbread kit last week so he and tried to put it together.  No pictures because it wasn't exactly structurally sound.  But we had fun.  It reminded me of the days of Lego building and teamwork and all of that good stuff.  It was a sweet way to start off the holiday weekend. 

Halloween with big kids

Halloween was on a Monday this year which felt weird but we made the most of it. Reina trick-or-treated with a group of friends in our neighborhood.  Will was tempted to go out there but he was home from school because he was feeling under the weather so that made the decision for him.  We had a lot more trick-or-treaters than usual because the weather was mild (it wasn't 10 degrees and snowing) and I enjoyed seeing all of the costumes. Tootsie and Trigger loved greeting the kids and their candy buckets.  Charlie did not.  Charlie's least favorite evening is Halloween. 

Facebook reminded me of the many costumes the kiddos have had over the years.... cowgirls, pirates, slice of pizza, Union soldier, football players and so much more.  This year, Reina went to a school dance a few weeks ago as a 1920's flapper but she needed a warmer outfit so she opted for scary clown face.  

All makeup by the artist.  Nailed it!  

Without any cute toddlers available to dress up in costume, my attention turned to the cats.  Coco as a scary fish.  Eeeek!  She definitely has murder on the mind.  

Thankfully, we still have people in the house interested in pumpkin carving.  Glenn and I grabbed this giant pumpkin at a farm a few weeks ago and it was big enough for multiple faces.    

Happy Halloween!  

 

Spring Break

We've been back from Spring Break for a few weeks but it feels a lot longer than that.  The kiddos and I zipped down to Cabo for a few days with my sister and family and my parents.  Glenn stayed home to hold down the fort and save up his vacation days with his new job.  We missed him and we'll make sure he goes with us next time!  We arrived in Mexico on a Monday and flew home Saturday but we packed in a lot during our time there.  

Reina left her mark on the wall of a restaurant where we celebrated (early) my parents' 50th wedding anniversary!  An amazing accomplishment!  And this is a weird way to acknowledge it but I'll make sure to dedicate a whole post around their actual anniversary.  

This cat showed up at our resort every night around dinnertime and sauntered through the outside dining area to see what was happening.  We may have shared a tiny bite of cheeseburger.  

Down at the marina, tourists pay these guys for the opportunity to feed a sea lion.  It's a pretty sweet deal for salesperson and sea lion if you ask me.  The pelicans don't seem to mind either.  I just observed even though I was tempted to fork over a few bucks.  That sea lion is definitely not starving.  

These four cousins.  Time feels like it's flying by when all of these kiddos just keep growing year after year.  They had a fun time swimming with each other 

Merry Christmas 2022

 It's Christmas Day 2022 and we had a lovely time.  I was just reading my post from last Christmas and it's nice to have most of us back together although Covid still casts a shadow over our plans.  But let's talk about Christmas. 

Reina's favorite Christmas present is without a doubt her VR thing.  VR headset?  I don't know how exactly to refer to it but she loves it, it was #1 on her list and we might have lost her to the void.  We've all tried it out and it's actually really cool.  She can't wait to save up some money to get more games because her only game right now involves her working different jobs in the VR world and that sounds too much like real life for me.  

Glenn's favorite present his bipod which is a fancy way to describe this two-legged thing that he attaches to his hunting rifle blah blah blah.  Lucy also got him an ancestry DNA kit so that we can see if we are related and some sardines from World Market.  

Lucy's favorite present is a lens cap for her camera that is super sturdy.  (For the record, this was one of those years where I didn't really need anything and I bought myself some stuff on sale before the holidays so I said let's just call it good.)  Glenn did an excellent job filling up my stocking with candy so that was awesome.  

Will's favorite present is his airpods - which are noise cancelling so I think that's his answer from his room with the door closed.  He also got a massage gun to help with his training and some Wyo clothes.  And a stocking filled with authentic ramen from World Market (guess where Lucy did some last minute shopping?)   

We spent Christmas morning with the Fry family and Grandma and Pop-pop and it was sweet.  It's still fun to see Christmas through the eyes of the younger family members and especially sweet to have us all back together.  We got a surprising white Christmas too - we woke up to a few inches of snow on the ground and had fluffy white snowflakes coming down during the morning.  After everyone left, we napped, walked dogs, ate a bunch of delicious leftovers, watched football and played with our new toys.  What a nice Christmas.  

Traditions!

 A few nights ago, we all braved some chilly weather and took a trolley ride around town to look at Christmas lights.  It's a tradition we've had for the last few years, 2020 excepted.  The younger cousins picked a spot between the two older cousins naturally.  We saw some crazy light displays which is always just a little more fun watching it through the eyes of the 5 and 8 year olds.  The Christmas spirit is in full force!  

Oops I missed Thanksgiving

I was so full of turkey and pie last night that I couldn't summon the strength to blog.  So much for my one post a day streak.  We had a really nice day.  Vicky hosted a bunch of us at her house.  I brought pies, green bean casserole, rolls (store-bought, naturally) and salad. I also tried out a new mushroom casserole that was yummy but probably too rich.  Other folks brought turkey, pork roast, mac and cheese, mashed potatoes, more pie, and Matt made brisket and ribs.  It was all delicious.  My sister is a great hostess and I'm not just saying that because she'll probably read this later.  The little(r) kids had a great time playing and even got Will and Reina to play along.  Through the floor vent, I could hear Will yelling "don't shoot me, help me Reina!" 

The only picture I took - boy cousins watching football. 

   

The Last Day of 2020

I don't have it in me for a long, emotional post about this year.  It is what it is.  We are all still here, along with all of our grandparents and aunts and uncles and cousins.  We still like each other a lot - we've survived all of the togetherness, home-schooling, working-from-home, weird schedules, canceled vacations and loads of stress.  I know that the turning of the calendar won't result in drastic changes for 2021 but some days it feels like maybe just maybe there's light at the end of the tunnel. 

In 20 years, when I look back on this year, I hope I remember all of the sweetness, too.  The daily walks with dogs and Glenn and a kid or two.  Will and his games on Madden that became our sports when there were no other sports to watch.  Reina and I reading The Ickabog and Glenn and I watching videos of hunting on Instagram.  Yes, I really did that last part.  Zooming with friends and walking outside in the cold with Vicky and cousins.  Hikes - so many hikes when Alena and then Ben came out West.  Reina asking me during a work presentation if she could have hot dogs for breakfast - the consensus of the group was a resounding "YES."  Glenn ironing fabric for me while I made masks and the little assembly line we had with Vicky and friends to get the masks made and delivered to the Foundation.   Our twice a week takeout dinners to help local restaurants and fine, some chain ones too.  Sometimes you just really need soup and salad from Olive Garden.  Socially distanced baseball games and watching the men in the family pace when Will came up to bat. Group texts with friends that helped me see it was normal to want to cry over Jr High math.  Will's elaborate back stories for all of our pets that change daily (Charlie used to be a quarterback for the Denver Broncos, our cat worked at the ball drop in NYC, Tootsie was in Isis....) 

I have many other things to be thankful for but I'm done writing because I plan on ending this year with Netflix and the Ipad and some brownies that are just out of the oven.  Here's to a boring 2021.  

The Day After the Day After Christmas

 We had a nice Christmas, so nice in fact that I haven't had time to write about it.  This year definitely looked different from previous years.  No Pop-pop and Grandma visit, no Christmas Eve church service, no friends at Aunt Vicky's house.  But we had some new traditions too.  Delicious brisket for Christmas Eve, kids that slept until 7 on Christmas morning (!!!), a buffet of leftovers for Christmas Dinner, Zooming with both sides of the family and getting to see their smiling faces.  It wasn't an ideal holiday but we are happy that we are all safe and sound and next year's holiday is going to be especially joyful.  

I took a quick survey and here are each family's members highlights. 

Glenn's favorite gift was an electric hand warmer that Lucy and Will picked out and that Lucy plans on borrowing for cold football games - maybe even baseball games in Wyoming?   His favorite food was Uncle Matt's brisket on Christmas Eve.  He also enjoyed surprising me with a really pretty sapphire ring that he disguised in a box that looked like he bought me wildlife license plates.  

Reina loves her hoverboard but also wants me to write about the new keyboard that she received.  She has mastered riding the hoverboard around the living room and she makes it look so easy.  Its not that easy for the older members of the family.  Glenn can ride it if he has two people to hang on to and Lucy's one shot ended with her lying on her back in the hall closet after getting bucked off the hoverboard.  

Will loves his new tv that he got for gaming.  He figured out how to get NFL games broadcast and if he only had an attached kitchenette and bathroom, he might never have to leave his room.  

There are so many other wonderful presents that were gifted to us and I'll try to write more about those later.  For my part, I can't pick a favorite but filed under "gifts I didn't know I needed" Will picked out a pillow that you can set the Ipad on and it's perfect for lazy viewing in fact I'm using it right now while I also type on the laptop.  Multi-tasking for the win!  

So that's all I have for now.  We had a nice holiday.  The kids and Glenn have the week off. I'm going to work from home this week and we'll have a fun week and lots and lots of family time.  

Christmas Eve Eve Eve Eve Eve

 Reina saw a meme tonight with the above title and liked it.  A lot.  She is counting down the minutes until the big day.  I, on the other hand, am sitting in the the darkened dining room waiting for a cat to come back inside so that I can go to bed.  It's pretty cold and windy so I don't think her little sojourn will take very long but she might also be able to sense that I'm tired and I'm still working tomorrow and shall instead take her own sweet time.  Last month, I made the mistake of checking on all of the pets one night before I went to bed (did I write about this already?) and I couldn't find Soxy in any of her usual places.  She's the culprit running around outside right now, for the record.  It was a warmer than usual night for November and so I started to wonder if she'd snuck out when I was letting the dogs out before bed so I went outside a few times and called for her, no luck.  I finally went to sleep but I worried about her all night.  I woke up at 5:00 a.m. and decided to go check on her.  I came downstairs and found her in the catbed next to the printer. Long story short, she made herself a lovely little bed in the lining closet and I only know that because a few nights later, I accidentally locked her in there and found her in the morning because of all of the meowing.  Yes, this turning into a cat blog. 

She's back inside so I can stop writing now but I'm on a bit of a roll.  The kids holiday break has started.  They have two weeks off and we are going to do our best to enjoy as much of it as we can.  I'd say "enjoy every minute" but I'm the mother to a teen and a tween and let's not get ahead of ourselves here.  I'm working a few days this week and most of next week but I will be at home so at least I'll have company.  Glenn is working tomorrow and then taking the rest of the year off and is planning a few outdoor adventures for the three of them.  I'm more ready for Christmas than I've been in years.  Having to get packages ready to send all over the country instead of just putting them under the tree certainly helped my organizational skills.  Pop-pop and Grandma are staying put in Arizona instead of driving back here.  It was a tough decision but the right one.  We can see the light at the end of this COVID tunnel and we just have to hang in there until we are all vaccinated and then we can all hang out as much as we want to.  We can have dinner parties, we can go to the movie theater, we can go to Target on a busy Saturday - the possibilities are endless!  

Wyoming's case numbers are coming down and actually starting to stay down.  The Governor instituted a statewide mask mandate a few weeks ago and numbers have dropped.  We've had somewhere around 36,000 cases but the number of currently infected people is lower than it's been since earlier in the Fall.  The vaccinations have started in each county and that's great news.  In this household, we are still taking it pretty seriously and masking up, etc., but we are planning to spend Christmas with Aunt V and family and nobody better even cough between now and then.  

One more animal story.  I took last Friday afternoon off and I planned to finish up some last minute shopping and present-wrapping while the kids were in school.  Before I headed out, I took the dogs to the field for a quick 20 minute run.  We still have snow on the ground from last weekend's storm but that doesn't deter them but it does make them more tired which is a win-win for me.  I got all three dogs back in my car and headed home to drop them off before I went shopping. I looked down and noticed bloody paw prints on the seats and discovered that Trigger had just about torn one of his toenails off.  I called Glenn, he met me at home with one of his co-workers who used to work in a vet office. She confirmed that we'd have to take Trigger in because the tear was too far up his toenail to fix at home. I called the vet office and got an "emergency" appt which is super helpful but also more money. I left the other two at home, drove Trigger across town, waited with him in the vet office, left him in the vet office because he had to be sedated, raced through Target for last minute items, went back and picked up Trigger and came home.  No presents were wrapped.  No quiet afternoon to reflect on the holiday season.  Instead of last minute gifts, people will get a picture of Trigger's wrapped up foot because that's where all of their stocking stuffer money went. 

So that's where we are on Christmas Eve Eve Eve Eve Eve.  

Merry Christmas 2019

Another Christmas is winding down and we had a really nice day.  The kids mostly respected our 6 a.m. wake-up time, Reina came in at 5:56 a.m., close enough.  We opened our family presents and then the rest of the Hansen/Fry clan came over for breakfast and more presents.  After everyone left, the kids played with their new electronics and Glenn and I jogged and then napped.  It was a delightful day.  

Here's my annual interview with everyone to memorialize the highlights of their day.  

Will:  His favorite present was Madden 20 and he and his friends have big plans to form a franchise. I know what each of those things means in the real world but the details are a little fuzzy in regards to the Xbox.  But he's having a great time.  

Glenn's favorite part of the day was the church service last night.  He says he also really loved brunch and the tripod that he picked out himself.  He's also really excited about his new GPS and a shirt that I bought him.  I think he added that last part because of the increasingly negative look on my face as I type this.  

Reina's favorite present was an Echo Spot that Glenn picked out for her.  Reina has been talking to Alexa all day and frankly the rest of us are a little thrilled that she has another "person" to ask questions - "Alexa how old is the oldest person in the world...." 

Lucy is considering this the Christmas of Footwear.  I unwrapped slippers, cowboy boots and some super comfy flats today.  Now I have to decide which ones to wear to work tomorrow. I guess the slippers are out.  

We had a great time watching the little cousins unwrap presents and jump off the stairs.  We ate delicious mostly prepared by Uncle Matt and everyone was stuffed by the time the morning was over.  The pets were also spoiled this year.  Coco got a head start on the festivities by opening some cat presents in the middle of the night.  Soxy was equally delighted with all of the wrapping paper and cardboard boxes and we realized that this might be her first Christmas in a house.  She made the most of it. 

Cat toy Christmas

Yep, it's still dark out.  This was taken right before the unwrapping frenzy began.  

Reina and her new Sven-from-Frozen2 jammies

Will surrounded by Christmas excess 

Will and Glenn picked out some new running tights for me.  And a big bag of chocolate.  

Reina surrounded by Christmas excess 

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

Pictures from last month's holiday

I was looking for some pictures for the Christmas card tonight and found pictures from Thanksgiving that I never posted. (I actually just typed 'Halloween' and now I need to see if I ever posted those pics.  Sigh.)  Anyway, we had a lovely Thanksgiving this year.  We drove to Aunt Vicky and Uncle Matt's house with a pie, rolls and some cranberry sauce and feasted on all of the trimmings.  It was delicious as always and we had a fun time hanging out.  The weather was unseasonably cold so when we came home, we curled up next to the pellet stove and watched movies and football and started Christmas lists.  It was a nice start to the holiday season. 

Each Thanksgiving with all four cousins, I've tried to snap some good pics for the grandparents.  This year, I gave up without much of a fight.  It was not the day for picture taking.  Maybe we can recreate these in a decade or so.   

Reina, the cat, Everett in an almost chokehold, Will trying hard and Ainsley.  

Okay everybody - just look at the camera for one second!  The cat cooperated this time.  

I love watching baby/preschool cousin eat with a giant spoon.  Don't bother asking if he wants a smaller one.  He's a big kid!  

I can't wait to do it all again in 10 days.  Ten! 

Pictures of Reina singing exuberantly

Last month, Reina's class put together a pageant to honor Veteran's Day.  They sang a collection of patriotic songs and recognized the various branches of the Armed Forces.  It was a lot of fun to watch and we always like to see Reina singing. 

Look at that grown-up girl! 

One of the songs was sung by battery-powered candlelight.  

Belting it out.

Time for some choreographed flag waving to "You're a Grand Old Flag."

Reina had a speaking part - I think she spoke about the Army  She nailed it - spoke confidently and didn't trip up.  

When I was a kid, I had a tape player and one of the tapes that I owned featured Mickey Mouse and friends singing a bunch of patriotic songs.  Whenever I hear "from the halls of Montezuma..." I instantly think of Goofy and Pluto and Mickey.  But I still know a lot of the words so I can sing along with the Fifth Graders every year.  We love watching Reina sing! 

Thanksgiving Post

We are all sitting together in the den with a warm fire in the pellet stove.  It's chilly outside and we have a bunch of snow on the ground.  We had a delicious dinner with the Frys earlier this afternoon and we're still stuffed.  Okay fine, we did just have another round of turkey sandwiches and salads and one of us ate the praline topping that was leftover from the pie.  It was also delicious. 

So while we are sitting here watching a movie, I'm asking everyone for their annual list of thankfulness.  Here we go. 

Reina is thankful for her 'loving family' and when I said 'be serious please,' she said "I am."  This mom stands corrected.  Reina's favorite thing that she ate for Thanksgiving was the homemade cranberry sauce. 

Will is thankful for Wyoming football and sports in general.  Will's favorite food today was the green bean casserole. 

Glenn is thankful for his family and wild places to pursue his hobbies.  Glenn's favorite food was the jalapeno dip that Aunt Vicky made for the appetizer. 

I am thankful for this messy house and all of the creatures living in it and I'm especially thankful that our dear Aunt Vicky is winding up her treatment in a few months and growing some hair back and thankfully I'm just happy that she's here with us.   My favorite food today was the turkey, pumpkin cheesecake and the aforementioned praline sauce. 

Happy Thanksgiving from our house to yours!

Pre-Christmas activities

I'm trying to get all of the 2018 blog pictures up here before the end of the year, which is just a few days away.  Eeek!  We are having a nice week full of family time and lots of hanging out.  Glenn and I went back to work today but the kiddos were entertained by Christmas stuff and grandparents.  Here are a few things that have happened in the past few weeks. 

I have baked my butt off the past few weeks, pardon the indelicate expression.  Besides the German cookies that are part of the Pauley family tradition, the kids and I made some sugar cookies to decorate. I also made a few batches of chocolate covered pretzels for Reina's school party and neighbor gifts.  When I made the sugar cookies, the kids were really interested in picking out shapes and decorating.  Will insisted on the Christmas pig seen in this picture.  I guess there were farm animals at the manger?  

Christmas cookies and ye olde fashioned Christmas pig!  

We have had some wintry weather and even had a little bit of snow over the weekend. All three pets chose the couch that's directly across from the stove for a warm nap.  Smart pets. 

A few weeks ago, Will had his science fair at school.  Parents were invited to come by and watch the kids give their presentations.  Will did a good job on his presentation and even made eye contact with me when I took the picture.  No smile, but a (slightly) enthusiastic thumbs up.

Will's groundbreaking scientific experiment involved hammering nails into different types of wood to see which one was the hardest.  

A few Saturdays ago, Will and I zipped down to Denver for the Broncos game.  Will's streak of only attending winning games ended abruptly and you can imagine how thrilled he was about that.  Spoiler alert:  not thrilled at all.  Despite the scoreboard results, he and I had a fun evening together that involved a pedicab ride to the stadium and lots and lots of french fries.  Here's hoping 2019 brings more W's for our favorite teams. 

We still love the Broncos!  

Photos of Reina Singing, part 900

Monday night was Reina's fourth grade Christmas program and it was delightful.  The kids sang four songs :  Rudolph, Deck the Halls, Santa Claus is Coming to Town and We Wish You a Merry Christmas. That last one makes me tear up every single time. (Yes, I know that's a weird one to cry about.)  We enjoy watching Reina sing - she's so expressive and she knows every word.  Happy Holidays from my favorite fourth grader!  

Where did this grown-up kid come from?! 

A quite moment before the singing begins.  She looks so serious!

The whole group (well except for the poor kids I cut off in the photo)

Enthusiastic hand gestures and expressive singing

ditto 

With props! 

Reina and her two besties 

Kicking off the holiday season

On Saturday, we continued a tradition that started a few years ago.  Reina played a few Christmas songs on the piano following the Tree of Remembrance event hosted by Aunt Vicky's office.  Reina ended up going first, which she was pretty nervous about but she did terrific job.  She played "Angels We Have Heard on High," "Up on the House Top" and "Deck the Halls."  I'm really proud of how much she has progressed with her piano playing.  She's not crazy about practicing but she's really come a long way.  

Reina takes her piano playing very seriously.  This is not a time for smiling. 

Still not smiling while her piano teacher plays accompaniment.  

The other holiday tradition we have is to jam as much shopping into as little time as possible at the mall. On Saturday, we all came to watch Reina play but there were also some college football games that Will wanted to watch, Glenn has a general aversion to shopping at places that don't feature outdoor items, Reina and I had some good coupons to use so we all wandered off at times to do some shopping.  Will's basketball season started this week so he needed new shoes.  I encouraged Glenn to take on this important task because I'm still haunted by last year's search for The Perfect Basketball Shoe for Tweens.  In case you were wondering, last year's shoes fit for about 6 months.  In related news, Will and I are very close to wearing the same size which I know will excite him beyond belief because nothing says COOL like being able to wear your mom's shoes.  

Hey Will, we can share shoes now!  

So it was a nice weekend.  We put up the tree which is Coco's favorite day of the year and within an hour, I was reminded why I don't hang up shiny, breakable ornaments on the bottom third of the tree.  The weather was appropriately seasonal and I started some Christmas baking.  And to top it off, we got to spend some time with Aunt Vicky and the little monsters. Not a bad way to start off December.

Father's Day Weekend

Today we celebrated Father's Day and my parents' 46th Anniversary!  Big day!  On the way to church this morning, I asked the kids a few questions about their Dad and here are their answers.

What do you like the most about your dad: 

Reina:  How he takes us camping. 

Will:  I like when Dad takes me out to eat. 

What is your favorite thing to do with Dad: 

Reina;  Go camping with him (there's definitely a theme here.)  Reina is sitting next to me right now and she also wants me to add that she likes it when she and dad roughhouse.

Will:  I like to go hunting with him. 

What is your favorite memory of Dad:

Reina;  I can see him at my wedding in the future.  (So she can see the future)

Will:  When I shot my first rabbit.  He also says when he hit his first home run but I questioned how that was a memory of dad and not just a way to mention his home run on the blog. 

Is there anything else you want to say about your dad?

Reina:  He is handsome, he also tries hard.   I also appreciate how when we goes hunting, he usually gets meat or something for us and even when he doesn't get anything, he says he had a good time.

Will:  He's my dad.  I'm glad he's alive.  (Side note, when Will signed his dad's Father's Day card at bedtime last night, he lovingly scrawled "happy birthday Dad."  So we have some to work to do in the holiday recognition department. 

Will, Uncle Glenn and Baby Cousin watching Will play video games.  

It rained buckets while we were at the movies on Saturday and these two bing-bongs ignored the dry deck or their cozy doghouse and instead got soaked in the backyard.  The house still smells un-lovely.  

Spring Break 2018 part 1

Last Saturday, the alarm went off at 3:45 a.m. and we all popped out of bed, kissed the pets, hopped in the car and headed to the Denver airport.  We caught a plane to Cabo, Mexico and our Spring Break adventure began.   We met my parents, sister, brother-in-law, niece, nephew and b-i-l's parents and aunt and uncle down there.  It was a big crew and the first time I've vacationed with my parents and Vicky's family besides the occasional camping trip.  And spoiler alert, it was a great trip.  There were so many adventures that this will be post #1 of ... many.  

Our first morning there was Easter Sunday.  The Easter bunny did not bring baskets to the kiddos but Pop-pop brought out his tradition of hiding jelly beans in plain sight and it was a hit with all ages.  Baby Boy Cousin got super interested when he realized that jelly beans were not only edible but FULL OF SUGAR.  

 Our first day was spent at the pool while some us made a grocery run and checked out the lay of the land.  We stayed at a resort right on the end of the peninsula with the Pacific ocean on one side and the Sea of Cortez just down the hill on the other side.  I broke my record for number of steps on my Fitbit but the daily ice cream and awesome food kept the trip from being a weight loss adventure. 

Here are a bunch of pictures of a handsome American fishing in the Pacific.  Warnings are posted up and down this beach about not swimming because of the dangerous current and ocean drops off to a deep shelf just a few yards from shore.  So no swimming but lots and lots of fishing from the shore. 

Glenn fishing as the sun was starting to set.  The big hill behind him is supposedly a hot spot for famous rich people to build houses.  I'd take one.  

Hubba hubba 

I like this picture.  There were some crazy waves that would come crashing in.  It looks pretty mild there but it's slightly deceiving. 

The hotel had a little garden and Will wanted me to take this picture.  We would check ESPN every night to see how the Rockies were doing.  ESPN Deportes would pop up and the website would automatically translate the Spanish into English.  The abbreviation for the Rockies is COL on the scoreboard which ESPN would translate to CABBAGE.  It always made us giggle.  

Oh look, it's the Bronco Baby Mom!  I'm not sure who took this picture.  Either the small blonde or brunette. 

Love this picture of our girl. I think her brother took it.  

A kid captured photo of greenery.  

A kid captured photo of deck chairs and the Pacific.

Reina and I watched the waves.  

Stay tuned for part #2!