Time for a change...

It sure has been a long time since we've updated our blog. Time gets away from you sometimes. We have been blessed with such a beautiful life for so long that I guess we were about due for some rough patches.

First the good stuff! Maddy is now a senior in high school. She is driving and growing up so fast. It scares me to death to think she will be 18 in less than a year! We love her so much and are so thankful for her beautiful spirit inside and out.Then there is our little bugger, Dylan! He has changed schools this year and is now in a special program for his Dyslexia. He has made tremendous progress and we couldn't be happier for him and his academic growth. He is in 5th grade and is 1 of 6 kids in his class. He loves the smaller class size. He has even come home with 2 spelling tests with 100% on both!
Todd is still with RTD working the graveyard shift. I think after 3 years of it, it is starting to really wear on him. His sleeping times can get really messed up but he hasn't missed any special occasions and always pushes through his tiredness. We are all so grateful for all he does to provide for our family and for his love and support for each of us.

As for myself, I have begun going to school with the hopes to become a nurse. I have 4 long years ahead of me but I'm really enjoying it. I'm so thankful for this opportunity.

Some of the not so fun stuff.....

• Maddy lost both of her great-grandparents this year. RIP Grandma Beth & Grandpa Dutch
• We downsized our house, which has really turned out to be a GOOD thing, just not at the time
• Lost my job (no further comment on this)
• Money, what is there to say about this other than there is never enough
• Job hunting (Anyone looking for a reliable teenager to hire?)
• Too many broken hearts to fix. We keep telling Maddy that boys are idiots and to stay far far away from them.
• Friends come and go, sometimes for the better that they go

All in all we have grown closer as a family. We enjoyed an amazing family vacation to California back in May and are so grateful for the memories. Though we have lots of changes to deal with, we are still so blessed. We will pick ourselves up and dust ourselves off from the things that have knocked us down.

One of our favorite family activities

We love going to the Nuggets games as a family. It is fun to root on our home team and enjoy some overpriced, undercooked arena food. Thank you to those who make this event possible for us to enjoy!

It will be over before you know it...

Yes, that's right, Maddy continues to keep getting older and older and we just can't keep up with her. Here's a picture of her and her BFF getting ready to go to the 2010 Homecoming Dance.

This is Maddy's junior year! She's driving, and working and becoming more and more independant everyday.

Though her choices aren't always the best, we know she is trying hard to live each day keeping in mind who she is and what she believes in. We are proud of her and love her tremendously.

Sometimes I just wish we could slow all of this down a little......

Happenings....

It has been a long time since we have updated our blog! Lots of new things going on.

Let's start with Maddy. She has her drivers permit and will get her license in July, so stay clear of the roads. She has just gone through Cheerleading tryouts and has made the Varsity team for the 2010-2011 school year, which will be her junior year. She has also gotten her braces off!

She is coming to the point in the teenage years now, where she is actually somewhat joyful to be around. She is hoping to get a job soon and will be juggling school, cheer and work all at once if that is the case. We love her and enjoy watching her experience so many new things in life!

Then there is Dylan. WOW! He is so full of energy and talks
NON-STOP!

We have gone through a LOT of testing and appointments with Dylan this school year to find out why he is having such a struggle in school academically. After much investigation, we have come to find out 2 things....

First, Dylan has Dyslexia and second, he is ADD as well. So with a lot of intervention in school and a daily prescription, Dylan is a NEW MAN!

He has made great progress in school since the beginning of 2010 and we are so proud of him! He greatest love at this time is our dog Kaydee! They are best buds.

Dylan recently learned to ride a two-wheeler after many years of showing no interest. He decided one afternoon he wanted to ride his bike, I gave him a push, and the rest is history!

Though he can be exhausting at times with all of his chatter, we love Dylan so much. He make life a joy!

Onto Todd and I. We are both working like crazy. Todd has recently renewed his Real Estate License and is back at it full steam as well as working nights full-time with RTD. So if you know anyone looking to Buy or Sell Real Estate, you know who to call. :0)

We are all looking forward to spring and summer and spending a lot of time outside. We continue to be so blessed and are grateful for all the joy and success we have in our life!

Fall in Colorado

It just amazes me how versatile fall in Colorado can be. One minute you are outside raking up leaves and putting some final touches on that summer tan you got.

And before you know it, you have several feet of snow on the ground and have to put the rake away and get out the snow blower!

Thankfully once Halloween came around, we had the best of both options. There was still snow on the ground when we went trick-or-treating, but it was pretty warm out.

That's Colorado for ya!

Snow Day!

Day 2 of our October snow day!

Thankfully we own a snow blower to help make the job much easier. Kaydee is never very far away.

Dylan will play in the snow until he is frozen like a popsicle.

Dylan taking a jump into the pile of snow in our backyard.

Kaydee and Maddy wrestling in the snow.

If she isn't in the water, she'll take playing in the snow!

The kids have had a great two days off due to the snow, but I think they are beginning to get some cabin fever. Back to the usual grind tomorrow!

Not meant for rock climbing....

We had the great pleasure this Labor Day weekend to go camping with my brother Danny and sister-in-law, Kari and many of their friends. We had a great time. Day 1 was very relaxing and we just hung out around camp enjoying the great outdoors.

Come day 2, however, little did we know, we would learn that going a very short distance could take a very long time. Kari's family had their four wheelers there for everyone's enjoyment. We had learned the day before that there was a river about 2 1/2 miles away, but you would need the four wheelers or a four wheel drive vehicle to get there.

So we ask the other campers opinion on whether or not Todd's truck would be ok to drive to the river in. "Oh yeah, no problem" was the consensus. "There are only two tricky spots and the rest is a piece of cake."

So off we go in our truck up the mountain for what would turn out to be an hour long drive to go only 2 1/2 miles! We had two other vechicles with us to assist in case we needed it. Most of the drive was alright, but we had to go very slow. Keeping in mind this is our daily transportation, we didn't want to completely destroy it.

About a half hour into the adventure, we come upon the "two tricky spots". They were short, but definitely tricky. At one point I thought for sure our truck was going to tip over. Seeing it balance on only two wheels will give you that impression.

We did make it through and finally to the river. The stay at the river was not very long and only Todd caught two little fish. Once we finally made it back to camp, I could finally breathe again.

That was enough adventure for me for quite sometime.

Jordan and Dylan testing out the four wheelers

The calm before the storm

When I started to see dollar signs flash before my eyes.....

Notice the rear tire sitting in the air..... Oy Vey!