Thursday, November 12, 2015

Caught up...

Another cute Austin pix
So, now that we're all caught up - why the magnitude of blog posts in two days? Well, I'm moving on to a new job outside of HP, and wanted to be sure to start with nothing hanging over my head. I'll do my best to keep up with our events so that everyone both near and far feels like we're a part of their lives.

A new adventure awaits, and I can't wait to share it.

Just a photo from my walk the other day - gorgeous fall


Texas


At the airport waiting to board the flight
Last weekend Steve and I flew to Austin, TX to celebrate Sarah and Matt's wedding. Sarah is Colin's little sister and we feel so lucky to be invited to such a wonderful celebration. My parents flew to Colorado to watch the boys for a few days while Steve and I partied, kid-free!

He is still recovering from surgery but doing great. Not to mention, we were able to board our flights with all the elderly folks in wheelchairs.
The boys are in good hands

Greatest place - EVER!

Golf pro

At the wedding - yay photo booth!

Partying with old friends. Even Shawn and his wife were there!

As if the weekend couldn't get any better - Chicken and Bisquit at the end of the reception! WOW. Just WOW! 

Magnolia Cafe with Colin, Kerri, Sarah, Matt and the gang (just before getting kicked out)


Halloween


Happy Halloween! I've always loved this holiday. Something about the crisp fall air, and the dressing up makes this time of year seem extra special. We started the season meeting with our neighbors/ School friends at the local Cottonwood Pumpkin patch. Paige, Boden and Milo are the best of buds and had a great time exploring the corn maze.



Steve and I later took the boys to Munson Farms to pick out the pumpkins we were going to carve. It was just a few days after his surgery, but Steve was a trooper and hobbled around helping us pick out just the right gourds for carving.


What a great guy

Looking at all the scarecrows and pumpkins
I try so hard for the perfect picture... 
Taller than an elephants eye

Carving up our pumpkins
Storm Trooper, Darth Vader (didn't really work so well) and Olaf

Friday before Halloween, everyone dressed up for the parade at school

Jack and Ryan stopped by on Halloween day to bring the boys some treats. What great Neighbors! 
Incredibles!

Dash

So excited for trick or treating. Cooper (Paige's brother went home earlier) but the boys and Paige hit up LOTS of houses!

Soccer

2015 FC Boulder - Tigers (ages 4-5)
Sadly, the "Summer of Sarah" coincided with the "Sadness of Steve" aka: a torn ACL. Steve had been battling a hurt knee for months before an MRI finally confirmed the bad news, he had torn his ACL.
Boden about to score a sweet goal
Steve still got to enjoy a bit of soccer as he was Boden's official soccer coach to the "Tigers". And as timing worked out, a few weeks ago he was able to get his ACL surgery so that he can play again someday soon, he is hoping to be back in about 6 months.


Heading off to surgery

"Franken-knee" A few days after surgery

Other fun goings on

This summer I christened the "Summer of Sarah". The boys are getting older, and I needed to jump start my health, so I made more time to do things I enjoy. I joined a crossfit gym, and absolutely love the workouts and team aspect.

I continued managing our outdoor co-ed soccer team, and ran the fall 15k hot chocolate race with my family cheering me on.

My parents also visited and watched the boys in August while Steve and I did a "staycation" in Denver. We went and saw Book of Mormon with our friends, while the boys caught their very first fish fishing at Coot lake with Grammie and Poppi. And because no one could bear putting the fish back, they brought it home in a cooler - only to discover it was still ALIVE! The fish lived until we came back the next day to meet it, before we re-released it back into the wild.

It was a great way to end summer and head into the fall.

We didn't win the division, but we had fun!


Out in Denver 

The FISH!!!!!

More visitors...

Aquarium
After Brenda and Marc headed back to California, my Aunt Becky came to visit and stayed with us a few days while she went to the wedding of an old friend's son in Lafayette, CO. It was great to have her here, and Milo fell absolutely in love! He even added her to the Rainbow about Family! The questions were:

  • How old are you?: 4 (he's 2),
  • What is your favorite color?: Orange (it is)
  • What is your favorite food?: Pizza and Pears (probably)
  • Who is in your family?: Becky... and Mommy and Boden and Daddy (clearly in order of importance :) ) 
  • What is your favorite thing to do?: Draw (really its probably play with a soccer ball)
  • When I grow up I want to be?: A big Big Darth Vader (gee, I hope not)



The Day Becky left, Alexa came to stay for a week. We took her on a special outing to the Aquarium. Steve plays soccer with one of the biologists who works there and she took us on a special backstage tour. It was so much fun, and we got to play with a Binturong (also known as a bearcat, native to South Asia). Such a loving creature, although the boys were a little nervous at first.

Its on my head!

Giving Steve some love

The boys were a little nervous

learning about and petting a snake

The sharks!

Alexa babysat while we went.... guess? Guess!!! We road our bikes to...

Thats right - AVERY! 

Steve's Grandparents


The next week, Steve's Grandparents were in town. Marge and Fez. It was great to see them and have the boys spend time with them. Steve's Dad forwarded some photos of the two of them in their younger years - its amazing to see Steve in both of them. We cherish the time we have with the Great-Grandparents and are so blessed to have this generation in our lives and the lives of our sons.


Sweet Goodbyes
Marjorie 

Oliver "Fez" Fezler

Bergreen Photography

My favorite
How awesome is it that Steve's sister and brother-in-law are professional photographers? When they were out for a visit we managed to get some time on the schedule for a family photo shoot. The photos they captured were beautiful, comedic, and totally "got" the essence of us.

Thank you for the beautiful images!


I'm going to cheat and just paste from the Bergreen blog their take on our photoshoot:

Fezler Family Portraits | Boulder Family Photography

There's nothing quite like family. Spending time with the Fezler's in Boulder, Colorado earlier this month was just what the doctor ordered. We even found the time for a little family portrait session. Our nephews are quite photogenic, perhaps because they've been in front of our cameras since month 1 and their mom is an amazing photographer. I think it's time for me to move past the point where I'm both amazed that my big brother is a dad and surprised that he's such a good one. It's time for me to give him the credit he is due. So, Steve, you're doing a great job... listening to your wife! (Haha zing!) And you thought I was going to be the sweet little sister? I have years of payback still owed. In all seriousness, it was so awesome watching how much fun their little family unit has together. We built forts and giant lego towers, raced cars, rode bikes, went swimming, played on the slip-n-slide, went camping, and played a variety of other imaginative games that only the boys really understood. Their energy and creativity fueled our vacation.


We're incredibly lucky to have such amazing family living in a place we want to visit ALL THE TIME. Seriously, they have hiking/biking trails out their back door and the view of the Rockies could never get old. We got to walk down to watch the Boulder Ironman. It was inspiring to be surrounded by so many athletes and people enjoying the beauty that Boulder has to offer. Who thinks we should move?!






 
























Thanks for stopping by! Go hug your family!