Christmas 2016

Drinking Val's apple jc. from her trees.

Caroliing!

Worn out!

Christmas morning Biscotti!

Loves her new snowflake jammies and jacket from Stan and Bea.

A neck massager will get lots of use!

Popcorn making Lessons

Some tall guys (Gma used to be 5'6" and has shrunken.  Trevor has  passed Josiah in height and is now 6' 8 or 9")

Even taller than their Dad!

Christmas was lots of fun again this year.  Everyone came on Christmas Eve (the Banks family were here from Ga. too).  Ciopinno and Potato Cheese soup was on the menu with lots of great apps and Swedish Creme too.  We tried caroling and it was a big hit!  On Christmas day we usually make prime rib and we used Pioneer Woman's version and it turned out great.  Arn even became a butcher and bought the whole roast, cut off the ribs and we will try that later (post to follow).  Stan, Josiah, and Trevor stopped by another day to visit and learned how to make Gma's popcorn balls.  Gma had another day out with Stacy , Mason, and CB to paint pottery.  All in all it was an wonderful holiday!  Watch for more pics as I gather more from the fam!

Mason Visits..............

Mason is 14 now and was able to make a trip to Colorado this summer.  He had a very busy schedule but we were able to spend a day with him.  We hiked up to the Palmer Lake Reservoirs and Arn took him up into the boulder field.  We also hit the Rock House for some post hike ice cream.  Tyler and Lauren were down for the weekend and Val was able to come visit too.   We played some boci, shot the BB gun, and played Uno.  Tyler smoked some chicken and a brisket too.  I think Mason enjoyed himself and we enjoyed seeing him too.

Cousins

Look alikes

Duck Family

Wild Blue Bells

Enjoying the Teeter Hang Up

A Party for the Graduates

We had a party for Ty and Mere the day after graduation! The weather could have been better but we did have a good time. Lots of food, family, and good friends. Even Luke came down from Breckenridge. Chris and Maren came down from Vail and spent the night too. Val had to return to North Dakota on Sunday (Mother's Day) but it was nice seeing her for the short time she was here.

Dave the Horn Guy

We went to this fundraising concert with the Bank's and Bea the other night. It was very entertaining! The guy had 25 horns strapped to his body and could play all kinds of music. The auditorium was packed and the kids were going wild over this guy. Interesting line of work but it seems to pay the bills for his family.

We'll miss you , Abby....

Yesterday Stacy, Bryan, Mason and Catie Bea had to say goodbye to their special pet Abby. She was 12 years old. Stacy was given this quote by a friend and I think it is really appropriate. "Aquiring a dog may be the only opportunity a human ever has to choose a relative". How true.... Rest in peace, Abby. We'll miss you.

Seven Bridges with some of the Banks family!

I've been wanting to get Mason and Catie Bea up to the Seven Bridges area in Cheyenne Canyon before school starts so we went yesterday (8/12). The weather was beautiful and we had lots of fun. Stacy, Mason, Catie Bea, and I took off hiking around 11 AM, stopped along the way and ate lunch and the kids played in the water at every bridge. Mason spent most of his time in the water. Cate enjoyed hiking and playing with Maggie. Maggie was really tired from all of the fun.

Snow Day!

We finally had a good snow storm a week or so ago (3/28). It dropped about 12 inches (24 in. were predicted). The day after the storm was beautiful, a bluebird day! Stacy, Bryan, Mason, and Catie Bea came up and we headed to Toboggan Hill. We had lots of fun making the snowman, sledding, tubing, and making a fort. Hope we get a couple of more good storms this month.