Pikes Peak BMX Track

On Saturday, we took the kids to the BMX track to ride their bikes.  It isn't really Lexi's thing, but Chris loves it!

The track...

Chris wiped out.  I didn't get a picture of it, but here is the after-math.  He doesn't look happy, but I think he was proud of it :)

 Feet time!

I love this serious, chubby face!

Things Kids Say

Here is how a conversation between the kids and I went the other day.
Lexi: "Mommy, what is this called?"
Me:  "A Blow Pop."
Lexi:  "Did you have one of these when you were a kid?"
Me:  "Yes Lexi, I have had a lot of Blow Pops.  Some even when I wasn't a kid."
Lexi:  "You mean when you were a teenager?"  Starting to get sassy.
Me:  "Yes, some when I was a teenager.  Teenagers are still kids, though."
Lexi:  "No, they aren't."  Her sassy voice is in full force now.  And we go back a forth a few times.  Chris decides to join in.
Chris:  "There was a boy one at Chipotles the other day and it was a boy teenager."  He swings his hips back and forth and does his smirk.
I have to laugh, calling the teenager "it"!  They can be "its" sometimes, I am sure!

Power Outage!

Last night, our power went out.  It is the 2nd time in about 4 weeks!  The first time was because a car hit a transformer.  We are not sure what happened last night, but I am guessing it wasn't fixed correctly the first time!  It went out last night just as the kids and I were sitting down to eat dinner.  It is Joe's late week, so he was still working.  I carefully walked around trying to find the lighter to light some candles.  The kids were getting scared.  We couldn't see anything!  After the candles were lit, I went to the basement to get the lantern for better lighting.  We finished dinner and the kids decided to do a puzzle.  I got a few pictures I will post below.  Poor Joe, got home from work and nothing was warm :(  The kids and I went with him to Burger King to get something to eat and then the kids played for a bit.  The power was still out and we didn't want to go home.  I was gone most of the day yesterday, so I didn't turn the heat up very far.  It got cold in the house fast!  It was out for a total of four hours and the temperature in the house was 54 when it came back on.  Lexi didn't get to do her homework, so I guess we will have extra to do tonight!

I was using night mode on the camera to get some different effects.

I thought this one looked pretty cool.

I turned on the flash.  Look at that smirk!

Fun, fun!

I just remembered something.  When the power was out a few weeks ago, it was only out for about 30 minutes.  Lexi was so excited it was turned on so fast.  She wrote the utility company a nice letter, thanking them for turning it on so quickly.  She also drew some pictures.  Well, she was not happy last night!  I wonder if she will write them and tell him how unhappy she was this time!

Lexi's Track Day

Lexi had her track day on Tuesday. It was not a very nice morning! It was cold and overcast. Here are some funny pictures. Lexi is definitely athletically challenged! Joe said "Yeah, you should sign her up for art classes."

This picture just makes me laugh!

Lexi and her BFF Sam.

Lexi got 5th place in the Basketball Dribble! Yay!

Chris was kinda bored and cold, so he was playing with the swings. He ws so happy he had all of them swinging!

Why is the ball behind Lexi when she threw it forward? See Joe and Chris in the background on the left? So cute!

Lexi can do the hula hoop pretty good.

Look at that face!

We are hoping for better weather next year!

Artichokes!

I have not been a fan of making artichokes myself, but my good friend Julie told me how easy it is.  And it was!  Chris now loves them and Lexi will try a few leaves.  Joe and I love them too! 

Lexi is not so sure...

Now that I know how easy they are to make, I have made them several times.  All you have to do is boil the artichokes for 1 hr.  Drain them.  Pull the leaves off - they will come off very easy.  Put them on a platter.  Make a sauce out of butter, garlic, parmesan cheese and italian seasoning.  Pour over artichoke leaves and enjoy!  You don't eat the whole leaf.  You just scrape your teeth over the leaf and the flesh comes off.  Your hands will get messy, but it is fun!

Jingle Bells!

Lexi and Chris singing Jingle Bells.  So cute!

About Us

Where to begin? Well, Joe and I met in 2000 on the Internet. Pretty cool, huh? At the time, it wasn't a common thing, so everyone was surprised. We hit it off from the very start and have been together ever since. We moved to CO in 2001 and were married in 2002. We were busy having fun and enjoying the mountains and decided to start a family. Lexi arrived in Sept. 2004 and changed our lives forever. She was a very demanding baby. You have no idea how hard it is to take care of a baby until you actually have one! She was the love of our lives. Then, we decided to have another baby and Chris arrived in Aug. 2006. He was the easiest and happiest baby ever! Now we had (have) 2 loves of our lives! The years have flown by and they are growing up so fast!

Joe works as a MRI tech for a group of radiologists at a hospital and finally loves his job! That makes life happier for all of us! Joe loves mountain biking, hiking, just about anything outdoors. He is the home improvement guru and if he doesn't know how to do something, he will learn. He always has a project going on and we appreciate everything he does. Joe is one of the nicest people you will ever meet. He is always lending a helping hand to someone in need, whether it is someone he knows or not. I am thankful for him everyday. He is a great husband and father!

I am currently a stay-at-home mom and have been for just over a year now. I am so grateful to have the opportunity to spend my time with the kids. Time flies by so fast and we will never get this time back. I try to enjoy every minute of it, even the not so fun minutes! I received my CNA (Certified Nursing Assistant) license in Feb. 2008. I am planning to pursue a career in nursing and am so excited about it! I feel like I finally figured out what I want to do. I plan to go back to work as a CNA when both of the kids are in school, and then go back to school for nursing. It will be a few years, but the kids are more important. I love photography, hiking, gardening, crocheting, cooking, card making, scrap booking, reading, learning new things.

Lexi is 4 and is such a little lady. She is strong-willed and passionate. She is is Pre-K at school and she is so smart! She will be starting Kindergarten next Aug. I will miss her so much! She is such a girly girl - playing dress-up, wearing dresses, getting her nails painted, sometimes wearing pink sparkly eyeshadow and lipstick. She can be naughty of course, but she will always feel sorry and apologize. She loves her little brother and takes care of him. Sometimes we are amazed at the things she says and does. She acts so grown up. She is her Daddy's girl. :)

Chris is a little monster! He is such a boy! He loves cars, dinosaurs, bikes, running and jumping, making animal sounds. He is still happy, but not as much as when he was a baby. He has his little tantrums and we are trying to teach him he can't always get what he wants. It is nice to be able to communicate with him. He was a slow talker and it was frustrating! Now he talks up a storm and has such good manners (so does Lexi). They love to hug and kiss each other and it is adorable! The do fight a lot, but I am hoping they will have a close relationship in the later years.

We are a happy family and love living in CO. We miss all of our family, but are fortunate to be able to visit. Life is never dull around here!