Picture from NLDS game

This is my whole family at the final NLDS game. Denise really came out just for Baseball (and maybe some of Mom's cooking for her birthday! : )) My uncle Rob was there too, but he wouldn't stand close enough to be in the picture. Do I look bloated to anyone else?? Please tell me it's just because I'm standing next to super-skinny Jaime. Any reassurance on that would be greatly appreciated : )

Going to the World Series!!!

This past month has been crazy in just about every way possible for us. We thought we were going to have to move, and now that's on the backburner. Christopher is more active, curious, independant yet clingy, and is growing faster than ever. Joel and I have hashed out a tentative five-year plan that includes Joel going back to school and possibly moving out of state. And then, of course, there's been the Rockies. Work has been CRAZY. And while I'm really excited about Rocktober, it hasn't exactly been fun at work. So anyway, breaking it all down.........

We thought we were pretty much at the end of our rope with trying to buy our home. We tried working with several mortgage brokers and it just didn't seem like we could do it by our May deadline, so we had pretty much decided to get it ready to sell and move, but our property owners think they may be able to carry it longer, so were going to hang in and try to see what happens as we get closer. I do love this place and with our new plan for the future, building any kind of equity is good, and we already have a vested interest here, so here's hoping it works out : )

Christopher has gone from being my baby (which I can't seem to stop calling him), to a toddler, and is rapidly moving towards full-fledged boy. It's crazy. Part of me wants him to stay little and mourns not having a baby around, but mostly I am fascinated at how fast he learns and grows. They just catch on to things you'd never think would appeal to them and he surprises me every day! Our schedule is kind of crazy right now, but most days we hang out together playing baseball, watching Disney movies, and frequenting the childrens section of Barnes and Noble. He recently got into trains there and we bought him his first set. Joel was playing with it more than C, but it's evening out now : )

So, whilst we were trying so hard to buy the house, figure out our credit and everything, Joel and I realized we didn't exactly know what we really wanted to have happen for the next few years, so we finally came to the realization that we should at least have some goals to work towards. Joel is not sure he wants to be in banking long-term, which I knew, but I never really heard anything come out that he really wanted to do. I just know he's good with numbers and people and loves interaction. So, for now, we decided we may as well take advantage of the program his company offers to pay for school. We're hoping to get him enrolled in a Business program as soon as possible (ie after the Rox are done : )) and get a degree under his belt. Right now we're thinking we'll end up back at Disney in some form, but nothing is certain, of course.

And then of course, there's the Rockies. The ride they are on is incredible and I don't really know if any of us understand the magnitude of it yet. It's almost like they can't lose. I think they could sleepwalk through the games and somehow we would win them (sorry for the "we", it's just how I am). The actual work part has been pretty stressful though. The Wild Card Tiebreaker was the worst. Everyone was just scrambling. I just don't think anyone thought we would really win all of those games to get there at the end of the season! I got chastised a bit for leaving the command center to go to the bathroom that night! It also took 5+ hours and 13 innings to win that game (which, for the record, never should have gone into extra innings. The home run call was bad, we totally had it), and it was very tense. But the feeling at the end was amazing and I just love to watch the players every time they realize they've taken another big step. I am, however, a bit annoyed with some of the fans. Stupid drunk people get really old after a few of these kinds of games. Last night there were near-riots, people throwing things on the TBS set (Cal Ripken, by the way, is awesome. He signed autographs just about every free minute and wasn't fazed by getting rally towels thrown on him. Frank Thomas too), jumping on the field, climbing into the dugout.......I am not sure why these things are exciting to people. I'm thrilled for the organization to be going to the World Series, but am honestly dreading the sure-to-be-increased craziness that will come with it. I guess now I know why we have twice the normal cops, plus lots of extra precautions and personnel for these games.

So, until next time......

August is CRAZY!!

So, we did go to Florida (C and I with Denise and Jaime), and I now remember why I don't go there in the summer. It's fine if you live there (or so I remember), because you'd never actually go out and do the tourist stuff during the hottest part of the year, but we had to, and it was.....well.....let's just say I can't remember the last time I dripped sweat. If you look on Facebook at the pictures Jaime posted, you will see it does NOT agree with me! : ) But we had fun and got to see some old friends and family we don't see very often (tho not everyone I really wanted to see : ( ). We did Disney twice thanks to my AWESOME friend Trish, who even got to come hang out with us the second day which was great! I still love that place. We spent a lot of time with my in-laws and got to see the cousins quite a bit too. I'll post a picture or two (in which I don't look like a drowned rat!) soon.

The plane rides weren't so fun, and I'm glad that from now on, tho it will be more expensive; C will have his own seat. On the way out he threw up on me, which was not ideal but could have been MUCH worse. And on the way back he kept kicking the chair in front of us. It's a good thing he's cute, because that lady was TICKED until she looked back at him, and then she played with him. But all in all he's a great kid and for having extremely irregular naps and running around so much, he was great.

Once we got back from Florida, we had a week before Joel's parents came out, in part, for C's 2nd birthday. More on that later. I went back to work, Joel started his latest promotion (Joel, by the way, did a great job cleaning the house while I was gone. I think I fell in love with him all over again!), and we tried to be normal for a week. Then his parents got here, and we tried to spend as much time with them as possible. They came to a couple of games, we went to the Denver Art Museum, and Garden of the Gods and Pikes Peak (well, the side of it). Saturday the 28th was Christopher's 2nd birthday. We all went to the game and they (Coors Field GR staff), sang to him and my family joined us and I think the Rox even won : ). Sunday we had an actual party at my parents with my family, Joel's parents, and Lorae and the kids. Christopher has a bunch of new toys and clothes and books and he is loving it! I'm terrified for this week when we celebrate Jo-Jo's birthday and have to tell C he doesn't get to blow out the candles or unwrap the presents!

So, now we have a 2 year old. His favorites words are "No" and "mine," but he's also eager to do things by himself, and I swear his speech and knowledge grow by leaps and bounds every day.

August really is crazy. Just this week we had Joel's parents in town (they're currently visiting family in Utah and then will be back for 2 days before they leave), I went to the Tim McGraw and Faith Hill concert with Shauna and Denise Tuesday, Thursday (last night), 7 of us went to see the Broadway-Bound spanking new Little Mermaid musical (C saw a movie with my Dad, "PaPa"), I'm planning a baby shower, and during all of this we're trying to buy our home! Not to mention Local Affairs is about to swing into full gear, I have almost 2 months of games left, and in our family I think August has the most birthdays and anniversaries of any month!! It should be fun, but I'm going to have to stay on my toes and just thinking about all of it makes me very tired!

I hope everyone is enjoying themselves as summer winds down. Take care and keep in touch!!

Movin into July......

Ok, here we go, trying to do this more often......

The past couple of weeks have stayed very busy for us. We got some good news. Joel got a promotion that, to us, was pretty sudden. We knew it might be coming up sometime this year, but not quite so soon. They almost announced it in a meeting before they told Joel! So anyway, he is going to be supervisor of his branch. It's exciting, but at the same time a little limiting because this is actually as far as he can go in the company without a degree. But we'll see what happens.

I had a crazy first week of July at work. We had the Mets in town, and fireworks the 3rd and 4th. Both were sellouts and the 3rd was fairly uneventful, but the 4th was crazy. The Rox swept the Mets, so that was fun, but when the command center is so busy, the game gets a little lost to us : (.

So, I have one more series and then Christopher and I are off to Orlando! I am very excited, although a little worried about the heat and humidity. I don't think I've been down there this time of year since I moved back!

Well, someone just woke up from his nap, so we must go cut Grammy's hair : )

More pictures.....

From top to bottom (and left to right): Christopher with the Rice kids in my parents yard, they were playing in the sprinkler; C at that same father/daughter campout, at Lake Wellington, near the campfire with a stick; Joel trying to show him to aim a little higher with the bat; Shauna showing him the glowing thing; another pic of me, Shauna, C and Jaime rafting at Lake Wellington.

Pictures, early summer 2007

Told you he follows through and lifts his back leg, didn't I? : )

He Loves T-ball!



Haircut, it took me forever to do it and I cut myself very badly, but he was mostly good : ) My mom wouldn't let me just use the clippers again.

Both pictures below are from Lake Wellington when we went on the Father-daughter campout with my Dad and Shauna and Jaime. He loved rafting : )

Summer 2007

Well, I have been quite the slacker. And not just where this blog is concerned! I wanted to post some new pictures and realized I seriously haven't taken any in quite a while! I got a little down about it when we lost just about all of the pictures we've taken since Christopher was born due to a computer (actually 2, since we had a backup on Shauna's external drive that also crashed) crashing. But I definitely need to suck it up and start again! So, I just begged my family for their recent pics of Christopher and hopefully I'll have some soon.

We have been REALLY busy, especially since summer started. Baseball season is in full swing, and the Rockies have had an extremely up and down season so far (currently, sadly, in the down stage!). They had a horrible April, then had their longest winning streak in 8 years or so, took 2 out of 3 from the Red Sox and came home to sweep thr Yankees, and are currently on a road-trip with a 7 game losing streak with a couple of heart-breaking late losses! My job with them is also a little more stressful this year, but I still love the people I work with and think it's nice to get paid to watch baseball : )

We also have some summer events going on. We just did a friend's wedding and have had a couple of summer picnics. Tammy is starting to schedule a lot more, so that should keep us busy and help the income a little : ) Otherwise, for me, there are just a lot of summer plans, Christopher and I will leave in just over a week for Orlando with my sisters Denise and Jaime. We'll spend a week there (July 10-17th), and see lots of friends and family. And when we come back we'll have a short break before Joel's parents come to town and we have tickets to events and plays.

Joel is still working away at 1stBank and steadily moving up. We've adapted to his different schedule and keep Christopher up a little later. It actually works pretty well because when I get home from games so late, I like to sleep in, and for the most part, Christopher does too, since he stays up. We do get some weird looks when we have him out late though : ) Joel also finally got released from Primary and now holds callings in the Elders Quorum and as assistant ward clerk over membership. I'm the Beehive advisor and am having a great time working with the youth of the church again.

Christopher talks a blue streak and LOVES baseball, tho he has a great appreciation for most types of balls : ) He apparently has been observing the game more than we thought, as he follows through on both his throwing and swinging. He even lifts his back leg at the end of his throw and steps into his swing! He has a favorite bedtime story; "Miss Moo Goes to the Zoo", he loves it because of all of the animals. He recognizes most animals and can make all of their noises. He loves his aunts and uncles and Papa and Grammy. I'm sure he'll have a great time with Joel's parents this trip and start to remember them more too. He's learning so fast right now! It's a lot of fun.

When I get pictures I will make another post including some of them.