MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Merry Christmas!! This year has flown by so fast - it’s hard to believe that it has already been a year since we moved to Denver. Much of the year has been spent getting settled into our new home, job and ward. Lamont has stayed busy with work. He really enjoys what he does and the people he works with. He also stays busy with his church calling in the Elder’s Quorum presidency. Melissa got a big surprise this summer when the bishop called her to be the Young Women’s president (fortunately after girl’s camp). That has been a big adjustment for her getting into the youth program and keeping up with all the youth activities. The balance of time management is a skill she is striving to master. Our big news this year is that we are expecting our third child, another boy, due in early March. Carter and McKay are really excited about the idea of having a baby brother. Melissa is doing great with the pregnancy so far.

Carter turned 5 this year and started Kindergarten. He really enjoys it, especially working on the computers, going to the library and eating in the cafeteria. Kindergarten has been much more of an adjustment for us, than for Carter. He goes to a magnet school about 20 minutes away, so all the carpooling, early mornings, and level of parental involvement expected can be a little overwhelming. Carter also played soccer again this year and continues to enjoy it. McKay is 3 years old and very busy and independent. He loves to read stories, play on his “playground” in the backyard, and do puzzles. The highlight of his week is going to a co-op preschool with 7 of his friends. He is learning so quickly and loves to share what he has made in preschool.

We love this holiday season and all the fun traditions that it brings. We are so grateful for the life and example of the Savior and to spend some time with family and friends. We hope you have a Merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year.

Baby, It's Cold Outside...

You know that bone chilling cold, where the minute you step outside and breathe in the air the inside of your nose freezes, yes it is that time of year here. Actually we set records yesterday of a high of -6F and a low of -13F. I would have hardly believed it myself except that I can't remember the last time that I was so cold. Lamont was reminded of his mission days in Winnipeg. I love how Christmasy the snow feels, but here's to hoping for a little warmer temperatures (I guess we made it to a high of 12F today)... last time I checked we didn't live in Canada!

Thanksgiving = Family Time

I think Thanksgiving is the time of the year, maybe even arguably more than Christmas, to be around lots of family. Who wants to have a Thanksgiving feast by themselves? I realize sometimes that friends must step in for family, but we were blessed to be able to make the road trip to Utah this year.

It was such a relaxing trip full of good food and fun activities. My whole family was together and we had a really fun time. Some of the highlights included: playing games, going bowling (a big hit with the boys, McKay takes his game pretty seriously), a movie (Twilight for the girls, and Madagascar 2 for my Mom and boys), a scrumptious dinner at the Brazilian grill Tucano's, a trip to see Christmas lights at Temple Square, and a Jazz game. It was a busy five days and it always makes me realize how much I miss being with family. I'm glad we're on the countdown for more family time at Christmas!

BYU vs. Air Force

I know we are late getting this posting up, but a week ago we went and saw BYU play Air Force in Colorado Springs. It was a beautiful sunny day in the upper 40s. Lamont bought a very large amount of tickets to the game (59 to be exact)and we quickly sold all tickets to ward members to attend the game with us. Unfortunately, we were split into two sections. But, we had a great time cheering on the Cougars with many ward members. This is something that we may try and do each year they play in Colorado Springs. The fans were great, the drive was not too bad, and they had a fly over and parachuting before the game. We all had a lot of fun...and BYU won the game which made it even more fun! We also enjoyed having Lamont's cousin Sharee and family come and stay with us in preparation for the big game.

The Big 30!

This past weekend we celebrated Lamont's birthday. Even though the day started out slow with sealing the concrete in the garage and then a Stake Priesthood Leadership Meeting we hope it still ended up to be a good one. We love you!

Happy Halloween

It was a busy week of Halloween parties and trick-or-treating with a mild case of the stomach flu mixed in. Carter and McKay had fun getting several days of use out of their Halloween costumes. Carter decided to be a clown this year and McKay was Bob the Builder. They had a party at the church one day and two friend's parties other days. For one party even I had to dress up, and won second prize thanks to the use of my friend's Egyptian costume. Both boys did come down with the 24 hour stomach flu this week as well, but amazingly enough they were both healthy for all of the Halloween parties and the big day itself, which was a blessing! On halloween day we started trick-or-treating early at our outdoor mall (weather was in the high 70's and beautiful). They went from store to store collecting candy. We then grabbed a quick bite to eat at Rumbi Grill and headed over to the church for some trunk-or-treating. Of course the boys loved seeing all their friends there. It was then home to get some last candy from the neighbors on our street. Finally we were able to relax while watching Ichabod Crane and eating doughnuts and carmel apples.

Field trip week

Last week Carter had what his school calls immersion week. His immersion was on Pioneers and they took a field trip each day centered around pioneer activities. I went with him to drive and chaperone on Tuesday when his field trip was at Four Mile Historic Park. I guess the oldest home in Denver is located there. It was fun to see him interact with his classmates. They did pioneer chores like washing clothes with a washboard, sweeping, and banging out rugs. They also fed the chickens, made butter from cream, panned for gold, and did some pioneer games. Carter had a really fun time and it was great to spend the day with just him, while McKay played at a friend's house.

Tagged!

Here goes my 8 answers to the 6 questions:

Favorite t.v. shows:
I'll be honest, I don't watch much t.v. except for movies or sports. When I do watch it might be TLC, game shows like Jeopardy, reruns of Friends, or Fox News. However, I don't have any favorites, sorry!

Things I did yesterday:
1. Took Carter to the dentist
2. Went shopping at Target
3. Picked out some pumpkins at Safeway
4. Worked out on my elliptical
5. Made dinner
6. Checked email
7. Carved pumpkins
8. Straigtened up the house

Things I look forward to:
1. Having this baby!
2. The holidays with family
3. Going to the BYU vs. Air Force football game
4. The Twilight Movie
5. Taking the boys trick-or-treating
6. Not having to take Carter to school this week (Fall break)
7. Sleeping in a little more this week
8. Spending time out in the beautiful fall weather

Favorite Restraunts (in no order):
1. The Old Spaghetti Factory
2. Cafe Rio
3. Outback steakhouse
4. P.F. Changs
5. Red Robin
6. Rudy's BBQ
7. Olive Garden
8. Rodizzio Grill

Things on my wish list:
1. Having more time
2. A healthy baby
3. A good holiday season
I can't really think of anything else right now.

I tag anyone who has not done this yet! Thanks Patty!

It's another BOY!!!

It's true! I went for my sonnogram yesterday and it confirmed that we are having another boy! Everyone has been asking if I am disappointed. Truthfully, ever since we found out we were pregnant I really felt like this was another boy. So, when the technician confirmed it, I felt like "yeah, that's what I thought." Of course I still had some hope that it would be a girl. Oh well, I love my boys and the most important thing is that the baby looked healthy. In fact, he kept sucking on his fingers and was kicking his legs everywhere. McKay went with me and got this surprised look when he heard the baby's heartbeat. He turned and looked at me and said,"Mommy, there's a heart in your tummy!" I could hear the technician chuckle. I'm sure the boys will be just as excited to have a baby brother as we are for a new baby boy.

Happy Birthday McKay!

Yesterday McKay turned 3 years old. It is hard for me to believe he is that old. He still seems like my baby right now. He had a fun birthday celebration with family in town. We let him pick a place for dinner and it was either Red Robin or Chuck-E-Cheese. Luckily he was easily persuaded towards Red Robin. About ten staff members from Red Robin came and sang to him with balloons and a chocolate sundae. The look on his face was priceless as they sang. He was so happy that I wished I could freeze the moment. Later came the presents and Little Einsteins birthday cake. Today he got to take cupcakes to all his preschool friends and they sang happy birthday to him again. I think the singing is his favorite part. McKay is such a sweet little boy and important part of our family. Happy Birthday McKay!

Visitors!!!

We had a great time these past two weeks with having some family come into town. First, my sister Melanie came and spent a week with us. It was a busy week, but we still managed to have a lot of fun. On Saturday we spent the day at Carter's soccer game and then at the Denver Botanical Gardens. It was such a beautiful day and was perfect to spend wandering through the flower gardens. Later in the week we hit the outlet mall, had a picnic in the park, and went to a new museum called The Wildlife Experience. The boys had a great time with all the interactive exhibits and they even had some mini golf there.



Less than a week later, my brother Josh and his wife Kyle came for their first visit. It was fun to show them around Denver, it was just too bad that the weather didn't want to cooperate. The cold front came through the night they came. While in downtown Denver we went to the Mint. It was a cool tour where we saw some pennies being made. That evening we took the boys to an arcade called Nickel-a-Play. Even though it was a little ghetto, Carter is still talking about it and wants to go back soon. So, I guess it was a success! Saturday was spent at Carter's soccer game, a trip to the pumpkin patch, and a day of watching college football. We were also able to celebrate McKay's birthday while they were in town which was a lot of fun.

The hardest part is the leaving- the house is so quiet and I miss having the company to talk to. The boys miss all the attention. I guess that means we need some more visitors soon...any takers!?

The Backyard Project!

Our backyard has been our summer long project and we are finally finished! We never knew putting in a small backyard could be so much work. We have gone about it step by step and done much of the labor ourselves to save money. We started back in May with hiring out to get our patio put in. We then decided to get the boys a playscape. When we purchased our playscape we got a big box of wood, pieces to the swings and slides, and a set of instructions. Needless to say, it took many hours to put it together.

My parents were then kind enough to come and visit at the end of July. They helped us put in the sprinkler system in the backyard. We finished in one long day! We all worked very hard and appreciate all of their knowledge and help to get it finished.


Once the sprinklers were in it was time to level the yard. We also needed to bring rocks in for the side of the house because there are restrictions in Colorado about putting grass within five feet of the foundation. Many people in the Elders quorum came and helped us knock out this project quickly. We served some breakfast burritos, doughnuts, and juice and they continued hard at work laying 14 cubic yards of dirt and 6 tons of rock in our backyard. They worked so quickly that we were done by noon! This would have been a project that would have taken Lamont and I several weeks.

The last step was to lay the sod. Our hometeacher and another friend came and helped us finish up the yard a couple weeks ago. Once again the work was finished quickly with many hands. We can now walk on the grass and I keep looking out in the backyard to check and see if our yard is really completed. We are so excited to finally have a yard for the boys to run around in, and appreciate all the help we had in making it happen. The only thing left is just to add some trees and shrubs and eventually a box garden, but I think that will have to wait until next spring.