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!

Gone Fishin'

Our newest family adventure has taken us to the water.

We are fishin' fools!

We have even managed to get Maddy into it.

And Dylan, he just loves it. He and Todd go quite frequently. They have become fishing buddies.

Maddy had the BIGGEST catch of the day on Friday, but of course she wouldn't touch it. So we had to get her boyfriend, Anthony, to toughin' up and grab a hold of it for this picture.

As you can tell, Maddy is still freaked out by it.

But, she continues to make a catch each time we go.

For my birthday, I got a new fishing pole. Here is my first catch with it. The fish started wiggling all over during the picture and I freaked out. I don't like these slimmy suckers!

Lucky for me and my new lucky pole, I had the biggest catch of the day on Saturday! But I wasn't going to touch it, so I had my big tough guy hold onto it for me so we could take photo.

We have enjoyed this activity as a family. It can be so relaxing.

We are looking forward to moving up to a bigger lake or stream.

Vacation Day 4: Water World

Day 4 of my vacation was definitely the most action packed day! We went to Water World and had a blast. Our favorite ride as a family was the Revolution which was a tube ride that went VERY fast and then went down into a toilet bowl type section and dropped us out. Dylan was not afraid of any of the rides and even went down the steep slides on his own without hesitation. We had such a great time and would recommend everyone heads to Water World!

Vacation Day 3: Dog Park!

Kaydee just loves playing in the water. She won't chase a ball, but she will fetch a stick all day long.

Dylan will play in water anywhere, anytime.

Kaydee taking a break to pose for a picture.

Maddy invited her boyfriend, Anthony, to join us on our fun at the dog park. We had a great time together and Kaydee really enjoyed her time there.

Vacation Day 2: $2.00 Tuesday

Dylan's long awaited $2.00 Tuesday at the pool was finally here. He has been saving every piece of change he could find so he could pay for himself. The weather was great, yet again, and we had an enjoyable time together. The kids loved the water slide most of all! Todd even had a good time hanging in the pool with Dylan.

Of course Maddy enjoyed getting some sun and even played with her little brother in the pool. It was a great day and we all came home exhausted. We can't wait to see what tomorrow brings.

Vacation Day 1: Evergreen Lake

This week I am on a much needed vacation. We plan on spending the time together this week exploring the great outdoors. Today we went to Evergreen Lake and went out on a paddle boat. We had a great time and enjoyed the beautiful weather.

School's out for Summer!

Well another school year has come and gone! Just before school ended, Dylan had his field day. He was quite the competitor this year.

Here he is putting all of his weight into the sling shot.
Dylan ran hard during the relay race.....

And even had a moment to say "Cheese" as he ran past dad!

Dylan finished up second grade doing pretty well. At the beginning of the year he went through many tests to figure out why he wasn't reading up to grade level. He had to do tests including speech therapy, occupational therapy, physical therapy and an I.Q. test. He handled all of this like a champ. The findings were close to what we were expecting. First, we were told that Dylan's I.Q. is extremely high for his age. (If you've ever had a conversation with him, you would know that right away!) They also told us that from the tests, Dylan relates to adults better than kids his own age. We already knew that too. Then they finally got to the diagnosis we had suspected.... Dylan is Dyslexic. This doesn't only cause him to read things backwards, but it also affects the way his brain processes things.




All in all, he will be just fine, he will just need to work a lot harder at things in school than others. I know with his great personality and his friendly demeanor, Dylan will be successful with anything he sets his mind at. Now he is on to third grade!


On to Maddy. She survived her Freshman year in high school. Her grades didn't survive quite as well as we would have liked, but hopefully she will take the next few years a little more seriously. She did get to experience some great events this year. She was a Varsity Cheerleader, attended the Homecoming and Sweethearts Dances and even got asked to Prom by a Junior. That is where I drew the line. She did not get to attend Prom because I'm a big meanie! I would like her to wait, and truly enjoy it as a Junior or Senior. She actually handled it quite well.


As she moves onto her Sophomore year, she has the opportunity of being Captain of the JV Cheer squad. Chatfield has not had a JV squad for many years and the coaches were looking for a strong leader and someone with a sweet personality. She was disappointed at first to not be on Varsity with her other friends, but has really taken a liking to being a leader to the JV girls and getting to call all the shots. Her next big step is turning 15 in about 6 weeks and getting her driver's permit. So stay clear of the roads, Maddy will be behind the wheel!



As for Todd and I, we are just plugging away and happier than ever. We have such a blessed life. We're thankful for our home, our jobs and our health. We have recently joined a gym and love going and working out together. This has become our new hobby. If there is a day we don't go, we really miss it.

As the summer begins, we hope to spend a lot of time out doors. We love to go hiking and enjoying the beautiful state we live in.

One of our favorite places to hike is Lair o' the Bear just west of the town of Morrison. It is so beautiful and peaceful up there.

And of course, Kaydee loves the great outdoors as well. We try and take her to the dog park once a week and she loves getting in the water. We have a great time encouraging her to fetch sticks as we throw them out further and further into the river.

We are looking forward to more adventures in the great outdoors. We may even try a little camping, who knows. Whatever we do, we will do as a family and will enjoy every minute of it together.

Catching up...

Well it has been a while since we have updated our blog. The kids are growing faster than ever. It is scary to think that we are only 3 months away from Maddy getting her driver's permit!

Keep off the roads!!

Dylan just turned 8 on April 6th and we had a big day for him today. First the day began with Dylan getting baptized by his dad at our church. It was a very nice program and we were blessed with having so many family and friends here to share this day with us.

Then we got to have a birthday celebration at our home for Dylan. He had a great time playing with his cousins and friends.

Dylan, Maddy and Todd had the opportunity of spending Spring Break at Grandpa and Grandma Kier's home in Holyoke, Colorado. Both Todd and Dylan were ready to move out to the country when they got home. Maddy however, would never consider that. Since we have 3 more years with Maddy in high school, I guess we can stick it out in the city for a while longer.

Dylan loved going out in the mornings to collect eggs with Grandpa.

They had a great time hanging out with Grandma and Grandpa.

And it was great to see Grandma Wink as well! She just adores the kids so much.

Things are going well for our family and we are looking forward to summer.

Long Weekend...

On this long weekend, we had the joy of having my nieces, Abby and Jordan over for a sleepover. We had a great time. They really enjoyed learning cheers from Maddy.

Abby (7)

Jordan (2)

Today the boys had an adventure in ice fishing. Both Todd & Dylan have really taken to fishing and do it every spare moment they have. Unfortunately the fish weren't too hungry today, so they didn't have any luck. Maybe next time.