Stella and Sam!

My cousin Brian brought his two sweet kiddos to come visit all of us in Boise for a day.    Mother Nature provided some great entertainment in the form of snow!  The kids had a blast spending the afternoon going in and out from the cold.  In between the snowman building and making of snow angels, they played babies, games, and even convinced Carter to be the teenager while playing house :)  I wish they lived a little closer but we feel so lucky to have had them with us for the day! (even if they are Duck fans~ Go Broncos ;) )

Macee, Stella, and Jayden

Stella loved to snack on the snow :)

Little Snow Baby

Drew working on the daddy snowman

The finished product :)  Notice how the arm is wrapped around the baby :)

Sam was fascinated by the electric light up candle.  He has the sweetest disposition

What a special day!  Come visit the Bronco Nation again soon!  :)

Thanksgiving~ 2010

I love Thanksgiving~ always have.  Maybe it has to do with the fact that I share my birthday with this holiday every 7 years :)  This year was one of those~ no better way to spend a birthday then being surrounded by good food and my most favorite people on the planet! 
I have so many things to be thankful for~ I am incredibly blessed.  This year, I am especially greatful for my wonderful grandmother.  Even though there was pumpkin pie, apple pie, and pumpkin bars~ she took the time to make my favorite homemade chocolate cake for my birthday~ complete with decorations and candles :)

 My place setting at the table was also a little birthday reminder~ complete with a birthday wine glass and horoscope. She has such a way of making each and every one of us feel special and I admire her attention to detail.  She is truly amazing! 

My mom is terrific at creating and keeping traditions~ I love that my kiddos get to participate in the same traditions I did as a kid with my parents.  It has been wonderful having them so close!   Ever since I can remember, my mom has made the gravy~ she has that "magic touch".  It was great seeing Kate participate in the gravy making this year :)

Apparently, the flour container was a little heavy ;)

The table was set just beautifully, the picture doesn't even begin to give it justice.  Some of the dishes belonged to my great grandmother and my mom found other place settings that made everything harmonize so well.  I was filled with thoughts of my great grandmother setting those very plates on her table~ incredible, isn't it?

Right before our fabulous feast, we did snap a few family photos.  Carter was definitely in need of nap and not happy about the idea of a family photo shoot.....

All in all, it was a great day.  Thanks mom & dad for the beautiful new coat~ it's gorgeous and so warm!  Thank you Ben, Melissa, Beth, and Casey for my Choco Latte Machine~ I'm in love :)  Thank you God for placing me in a family filled with old fashioned values, tradition, and love.

Carter- Fantastic Five!

It seems like this time of year, we are celebrating a birthday every week!  I love it!  It means happy faces, singing, candles, presents, cake, and most of all, Family :)  We had a nice little family gathering to celebrate everything Carter!  Those who have known me for a long time, might know that I've never allowed the kids to have guns~ toys or otherwise.  Well somewhere over the past 19 years of being a mom, I've finally come to the conclusion that toy guns are a necessity for little boys :)  Every little guy on our block has a nerf gun and poor Carter has had to be at the mercy of his friends~ hoping they would share theirs for a moment.  Grandma Hank to the rescue!  She gave Carter his very own nerf gun!  It is perfect and just what he wanted.  Uncle Ben had a blast with it as well~ all the kiddos were laughing hysterically while trying to dodge his practically perfect aim.  He received a darling BSU sweatshirt from Beth & Casey, a set of 4wheel trucks from the Greenwood family, and Criss Cross Crash to add to his Hotwheel collection from Grandma & Grandpa.  Mom, Dad, and siblings added to the BSU fashion as well as additional hotwheels gear. Taylor gave him his very own board game~ Candyland.  We've spent many hours playing since and we're working on some great life lessons in the process~ no cheating, and excepting defeat gracefully :)

I love these moments~ watching him sleep and feel his breath when I give him a goodnight kiss.  Happy 5th Birthday Carter!  I love being your mom!

Honored to be a Matron

I've been meaning to write the follow up on Beth and Casey's recent engagement~ It is difficult for me to put really emotional things into writing.  Beth is incredibly gifted with this talent~ I know that she would communicate my thoughts and emotions so eloquently.  I feel so privileged to have been asked by Beth to be her Matron of Honor.  How lucky and blessed am I to have a sister that I truly consider my best friend.  She has always been there for me through some of my darkest hours and always there to share in my biggest joys.  She is a true, genuine, one of a kind.  Seeing all of her hopes, wishes, and dreams coming true makes my heart dance!  I am so excited to be given this honor of being her matron :)  Let the wedding planning begin!! (yeah yeah yeah!!!)
We took a Saturday morning and went dress shopping~ oh my goodness, sooooo much fun!!  The girls had a blast oooing and ahhhing at all the beautiful dresses.  Carter was impressed for about, ohh two minutes :)  Apparently he thought we were doing rock band poses not our "model of the runway" pose :)

One of the few dresses Beth tried on~ the girl knows what she wants!  After just a few, she knew exactly the style she had to have:)  She looked absolutely gorgeous in all of them!

The girls showing their enthusiasm :)  Despite Kate's silly expression, she really enjoyed our day.  Both girls felt so special to be part of it all.

Carter decided a little nap was in order... trying on dresses is hard work!

Beth and Casey are Engaged!!

Yeah!! I'll be posting more later but the title says it all :)  Congrats to the both of you!

BSU Football & Pumkin Carving~ A Perfect Combo!

I just love Fall~  I love the colors, the brisk mornings, sweaters, a good bowl of soup on a cold day, hot chocolate, and college football!  It has been such a treat watching our little local team work its way up the polls.  I can still remember when we were discussing them breaking the top 25~ now we are number TWO!!  So exciting :)  This past Saturday, we enjoyed the game and carved pumpkins too.... the kids had a blast!  A big thank you to Auntie Beth for sharing her creative side and helping the kids with their designs and a big thank you to Casey for helping with the "gutting". ;)   My sister in law, Melissa, deserves a huge thank you as well for organizing our yummy meal and cookie decorating! 

Carter was not impressed with the pumpkin carving process~ completely grossed out by all the insides ;)  He didn't stick around long enough for a picture even!

The sun has set and they are still hard at work on their creations!

Beth and Casey proudly display their pumpkin art!

He might not like the process, but he loves the result :)

Oh my goodness~ My Taterbug is 19 today!!

Wow~ I'm not sure why, but man having a nineteen year old makes me feel, well... old :)  We had a great time tonight celebrating Taylor.  We had dinner at Five Guys and Frys (oh my goodness- incredibly yummy greasy burgers & fries) and then cake and presents at his condo.  They have it fixed up so cute and it was I was impressed with how clean it was too ;)

Taylor is unique, funny, spirited, and super duper smart :) I love getting glimpses of the man he is becoming and can't help but to feel proud.  Happy Birthday Taterbug!!

Plant Smiles~ Grow Giggles~ Harvest Love~

I'm on year 2 now of scheduling and coordinating a family photo shoot :) Unfortunately, I was a little too organized and gave Taylor a months notice. His schedule between work, school, and a social life makes keeping it all straight rather difficult. He forgot to ask for the day off and by the time he remembered it was too late :( It felt so strange not having him there. If I was talented with photoshop, I would place him in there somewhere :) Despite missing one of our ducklings (I'm sure he loves being called that, NOT lol), we did get some fabulous pictures~ we smiled until our teeth stuck to our lips, we giggled at the crazy maneuvering we had to do in this rustic place (aka completely abandoned buildings :) )and we loved every second of it!

Thank you Nikki for your patience and creative eye! I can honestly say I loved all of them!

Carter~ sweet, silly, and alll boy :)

Carter has changed so much this past year!

~He absoulutely adores preschool~ wow never thought I would say that! :)

~We can take him out to dinner and he will sit still for longer than 5 minutes!

~His imagination runs wild and his creativity is really blossoming.

~"Reasoning" is now a successful parenting option :)

~He has an incredible memory

~Counting to 100 (over and over and over lol) is one of his most favorite activities

~He loves talking his siblings into various games- cards, army men, or grocery store

One thing that will never change (to my eyes and heart anyways ;) )~ his pure sweetness when he finally slows down....

Grandma Hank

We have been soo soo lucky to have Grandma Hank here! From teaching Kate and Kelsey the secrets to making banana bread to enduring our crazy BSU football parties~ she is simply amazing!



Thank you Grandma for all the giving that you do- filling our tummies with fabulous food, sharing memories, and loving on the rambunctious great grand kiddos :) just to name a few. Life is all that more sweet with you here <3 xoxo Colleen

Dad~ Older and of course, wiser too ;)

My dad turned the big 6 0 on Wednesday~ leaving us with another great reason to celebrate! We've become quite efficient at throwing parties and this was no exception~ much thanks to my mom and grandmother. How blessed we are to have all of our family so close! There are many qualities that make my Dad the amazing person that he is~ here are my top ten :)
10- Story Telling~ I still remember the stories he would read to us complete
with character voices and expressions.
9- Jokester~ He is also wonderful at telling jokes for the same reasons :) and his laughter is contagious!
8- Fixer Upper~ He wears his "Tim the Tool man" belt proudly. He is always willing to help us
out on any project.
7- Patience~ whether it was trying to teach me golf or how to drive a stick shift, he never lost his cool.
6- Cooking~ He is just fabulous and never afraid to experiment :)
5- Thoughtful and Creative~ He puts thought and creativity into most everything. With my mom's help, the two of them come up with the best ideas!
4- Honest and Fair~ My dad has always taught me to listen to both sides of every story and to be truthful. He practices his own advice.
3- Genuine~ My dad is who he is~ he makes no apologies for this.
2- Wise~ He has the best advice- usually given by a story or a quirky little saying.
1- Unconditional Love~ No matter what, my dad always offers a soft place to land. What a comforting feeling it is to be held in his arms.
Love you Dad~ Thanks for everything!



The BEST chocolate cake on the planet courtesy of Grandma Hank! Carter entertained himself all evening with the miniature golf decoration :)



No Birthday would be complete without presents... I love how excited my dad gets :)


Melissa, Ben, & the girls had this sign made for my Dad's new shed.



Mom found this mug- it was hysterical when my dad opened it and realized his photo was on the side. I wish we had a video~ we just couldn't stop giggling :)

To the "Greatest Grandpa"~ Happy Happy Birthday!