J & K LINTON

Christmas Day 2011

2011-12-29T19:53:00.003-07:00

Our Christmas morning began when the boys woke up around 7:20. I was glad they actually slept in. Yes, 7:20 is sleeping in at our house. We headed down stairs and were happy to see that Santa came (despite some bad behaviors from a certain 4 year old on Christmas eve). We emptied our stockings and loved the little gifts Santa had left in them. After our stockings were empty we got ready and then ate our breakfast of oatmeal and caramel rolls. It was pretty yummy. After that we finished getting ready and headed out to church for Sacrament Mtg. The meeting was nice and we got to sing some of my favorite Christmas songs. After church we headed home to open presents.

Its nice to have Christmas pictures with everyone actually dressed.

Cayden got to open the first gift. He was happy to get something he'd been wanting for a LONG time.

Jacob opened the next present. He was excited to unwrap something that he had discovered in my room a few days earlier. Little Stinker!

Jared got a lot of camping gear in preparation for his winter camp out.

We had quite the Christmas mess. ;)

After we finished opening all the new toys we let the boys play for a bit. They had fun with their new toys but Jared and I just kept wondering where everything was going to fit.

After the boys played for a bit we headed over to my mom and dad's house. Since its all big kids in their house they waited for us to get there before they opened presents. Cayden and Jacob loved being able to open more gifts and loved helping to pass out gifts to everyone. Once presents were all opened we played some more and then had dinner. The dinner was delicious and it was nice to sit and spend time with everyone.

After dinner we busted out the BINGO game. It isn't Christmas without BINGO. We always have fun. This year Cayden decided he was going to help Jared call. It got confusing at times when he wasn't really sure what the ball said. But everyone was patient and soon he got bored and wanted to go watch Phineas and Ferb. So while we finished up BINGO the boys could be found watching Phineas and Ferb (which is quite popular in our home.)

All in all we had a WONDERFUL Christmas. The day was perfect. It didn't go by too fast and everyone had a positive attitude. The boys got along and shared their new toys happily. Love was all around. And most of all we were able to reflect on the true meaning of Christmas.

Hope your Christmas was as wonderful as ours. ;)

~Love TO All~

P.S. Thanks to my big brother Mikey for letting me use his computer to blog since ours is still under the weather.

Christmas Love

2011-12-27T08:40:00.005-07:00

I just love our Christmas traditions. I love playing BINGO for fun. I love shopping for other people and wondering if they are going to love their gift as much as I hope they do. I love the feeling of giving and love that is all over the place. I love spending time with Family. I love reading of the birth of Christ on Christmas Eve and then singing carols with my family. There is just such a feeling that is so indescribable.

As we were driving to my parents house on Christmas Eve Jared reached over and held my hand. I thought my heart was going to beat out my chest when I said the simple words "I love you" to him. Its really amazing how much feelings can be amplified at this time of year.

Not only is my love for my family amplified but so is my love for my Savior. I teased my little brother for getting teary eyed while he sung Christmas songs. However, as I sat in church singing the words of Away in a Manger "Bless all the dear children in thy tender care" I couldn't help but cry. At the time I thought of Him protecting and blessing my sweet little boys but the more I thought about it I realized that that phrase encompasses ALL of Heavenly Father's children.

I am so thankful that our family is continually blessed and watched over. I know the Lord knows us and has a plan for us. I am so thankful for my knowledge and testimony of the gospel and the joy that it brings into my life. I am thankful that I chose to be sealed in the temple to someone as amazing as Jared.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and felt as much love as I did.

~Love To ALL~

P.S. as soon as we get out computer up and running I'll post Christmas pictures ;)

Halloween Happenings!

2011-11-01T09:58:00.004-06:00

We just love Halloween. Jared and I enjoy choosing a theme each year and dressing up with the boys. This year we chose "Jake and the Never Land Pirates" If you haven't seen it you are kind of missing out. Its a show that started this year on the Disney Chanel. It takes place in Never Land. The main characters are 3 good little pirates, Jake, Izzy, and Cubby. Then there is Captain Hook and Mr. Smee. Captain Hook isn't as evil as he is in other stories. Anyway, the boys LOVE this show. Cayden was "Jake, Jacob was "Cubby". and I was "Izzy". Jared wanted to be Captain Hook but we settled on ......

SMEE!

So with that being out theme. We put our costumes together. With the help of my mom we even made pirate vests for the boys. Our first Halloween stop was "Boo at the Zoo". We headed to the Denver Zoo on Saturday (I was still sick but desperately needed to get out of the house). The zoo had 25 trick or treat stations set up and the boys had a blast. It was pretty busy but so much fun.

If you have been to the Denver Zoo you have seen this.

Jared loved the Hyenas.

After Boo at the Zoo we raced home so that Jared and I could put on our costumes. We left the zoo at 4 and had our trunk or treat at 5:30. Needless to say we were a little late to the trunk or treat. After the zoo and trunk or treat the boys had so much candy that trick or treating on Halloween was not necessary.

Jared's "Smeeness"

Sunday night we finally carved our other 2 pumpkins. (I have a white one too that never got carved. oh, well.) Here are the results! Jared and Cayden did the 2 on the sides and mine is in the middle.

Halloween finally arrived and we were excited! I ran to the store and bought fun plates and napkins, "pumpkin soda" (orange soda), pizza, bread sticks, and cupcakes. We had a fun Halloween dinner.

Then we got dressed and headed out to Trick-or-Treat! This was Jacob's first year Trick-or-Treating. Last year we left him with my parents. The boys had so much fun. Jacob liked the fact that he was getting candy just for holding out his bag. He has such a sweet tooth! Cayden was a trooper and walked most of the time. Towards the end he got tired of walking. ;) We had a fun evening together as a family. The candy has been put away and will be distributed in small increments. ;)

This was Jacob's first Trick-or-Treat house!

Family Picture!

Yep, we sprayed his hair black. It takes 2 1/2 washings to get it all out!

So that's it. We had fun this year. I'm glad its over though because Jared has FINALLY shaved. He wanted to have real chops for his costume.

Hope everyone had a fun and safe Halloween too!

~Love To All~

~88 Years Old~

2011-11-01T09:50:00.002-06:00

My Sweet Granddaddy turned 88 this week. He is such an amazing man and I couldn't be more thankful for him. I LOVED growing up living so close to him. He never missed a soccer game, choir concert, or play. He is always there when you need him and always has a joke in his head that comes out at just the right moment. He is AWESOME!

We went to Chili's for his birthday and then we went back to my parent's house for presents. Cayden was so cute and sat on Granddaddy's lap the whole time he opened presents. He sure loves his Granddaddy Elmer. We all do!

Happy Birthday Granddaddy!!!

Primary Program

2011-10-27T10:14:00.003-06:00

Cayden was in his first Primary Program on the 16th. He did such a great job. I was so proud of him. He knew all of the songs and said his line BEAUTIFULLY. (I think his favorite is Praise to the Man. He sings it all the time and is very proud that he can do it by himself.) I will admit I did cry a little because I was so proud of him. It was such a special moment to watch him and feel the spirit and know that his testimony is growing. He had so much fun and was happy that so much of our family came to see him. My good friend Ginger even came and loved the program. Way to go Cayden!

I told him he had to take a nice picture and then we would take a silly one. ;)

~Love To All~

Our Little Rockstar!

2011-10-27T07:35:00.003-06:00

This past week my sister, Kim, was in town with her two boys. It was so much fun having them here. Cayden and Jacob loved playing with their cousins. One night when we were all at my mom and dad's house having fun and making a mess Jacob decided to show us his new hobby.
He was so stinkin' cute! He would jump up and down saying "na na na na na". Then he would clap his hands over his head to get everyone clapping. A few times he would hold the guitar up and in a scary voice say, "Yeah!" It was fun to watch. What a silly kid!

I tired to post a video but it wasn't working. So a picture will have to do. ;)

~Love To All~

So Here's What You Missed

2011-10-01T08:21:00.008-06:00

It has been hard to blog with Jared being so busy with animation. He wasn't home so I hijacked the computer. Here is what you have missed............

Smore's Night

Zoomily (Family Night at the zoo) They had fun stuff set up for the kids to do and free food and dessert. We had such a fun night!

Cayden and Jacob's first Rapids' game. It was such a fun night. Cayden didn't like the cannon that was shot every time the Rapids scored.

Cayden's first day of Preschool. HE IS LOVING IT!!!

Twister FHE. The boys eventually tuned it into a dance floor. My boys can break dance!

Taste of Colorado. Great food and fun stuff for the kids.

Spencer's Donut birthday party before he moved to Montana.

Labor Day in Breckenridge CO. Cayden loved everything. They have an Alpine slide, alpine coaster, mini golf, rock climbing, trampolines (cayden did back flips), pony rides, panning for gold, and a maze. It was an AWESOME day!

the gondola ride back to the parking lot. Cayden loved the "boxes" it was his favorite.

Mini Golf for my birthday!

Our Woody and Buzz

Cayden can write his name!

So that's it. I think you are all caught up. The only other news in our lives is that we are house hunting. We are so EXCITED!!!! Hope everyone has a FABULOUS Conference Weekend!

~Love To All~

Birthday Gift Weekend

2011-08-08T16:16:00.011-06:00

So I wanted to do something special for Jared's 30th birthday this year. I know how much he LOVES hiking and camping and really wanted to do a camping weekend in the mountains. But if you know me you know that I don't do "real" camping. So Jared had to settle for "Katie Camping". I found a cabin in Estes Park for a reasonable price and booked it. We had our own bathroom, kitchen, fireplace, A/C, and cable tv. I couldn't wait to give Jared his gift because I knew he would be excited. I had to wait over a month to tell him about it. And then we had to wait until the end of July to go. (The end of July worked out better with our timing)

SO Friday Jared picked me up from work and we were on our way. We stopped at the grocery store to get food for the weekend and then went to Benihana for dinner. So we actually didn't get up there until 11:00pm. Poor Jared was so tired too from all of his animation.

LOTS OF PICTURES AHEAD!

Saturday we woke up and went hiking in Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP). Round trip our hike was just over 6 miles. We started our hike at the Sprague Lake Trail Head.

I Loved this Stream that we stumbled upon.

I also really like the giant random rocks.

We came across this BEAUTIFUL waterfall about 3/4 of the way up the mountain. There weren't any other hikers on our trail so we felt special that we got to see it.

Then we finally reached our destination: Alberta Falls. It was gorgeous!
On the way back down we stopped at this Lake we found on the hike up. Jared loved all the lily pads (I think it made him think about Cayden's love of frogs) I loved the Mountain view!

Once we got back down we rested at Sprague Lake before heading back to our cabin.

After some dinner we ventured out for some mini golf. It was a really fun course. There was even some wile life! We saw a yellow bellied marmot hiding under a fake rock.
Jared was mad because I had just gotten a hole in one. ;)

On Sunday we woke up, had breakfast, checked out of our cabin, and headed back in to RMNP.
This time we took the northern road and went to the Alluvial Fan. Its a pretty sweet place!

Can you see Jared on the big round rock at the top?
After our hike around the Alluvial fan we headed back into town to window shop for a bit and have lunch before we headed home. We both fell in love with Estes Park.
The address of this lounge is 110 1/2. It reminded me of Platform 9 3/4. ;)

It was a FABULOUS weekend. We had such a great time and enjoyed being together. I don't think Jared minded that it wasn't "real" camping. I think I'm converting him. ;) In fact we had such a wonderful time that I think it is going to become a yearly tradition. We can't wait to go back.

(HUGE HUGE HUGE Thanks to my Mom, Dad and siblings for keeping the boys for us. It was a nice child free weekend. We couldn't survive without all of you!)

~Love To All~

30 Reasons...

2011-07-11T11:06:00.003-06:00

Why I LOVE this Man...

1. He knows how to make me smile

2. He thanks me after every meal I make for him.

3. He plays with our kids.

4. He drives all the time so I don't have to.

5. He supports me in everything I do.

6. He reads to the boys.

7. He spoils us.

8. He dips me to kiss me.

9. He goes on walks with us.

10. He helps with chores around the house.

11. He makes funny faces.

12. He is smart.

13. He remembers ridiculous things.

14. He honors his priesthood.

15. He thinks I'm a good teacher.

16. He shares his dreams with me and won't give up on them.

17. He makes good cookies.

18. He makes the bed.

19. He is trustworthy.

20. He is honest.

21. He likes to spend time with family.

22. He kisses the boys and me every time he leaves the house.

23. He adores his mom.

24. He shares his memories of his Dad.

25. He has a strong testimony.

26. He is a great artist.

27. He keeps his word.

28. He lets me hold the remote.

29. He cuddles with me.

30. He is without a doubt the most amazing man I have ever met.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SWEETHEART! I hope your Birthday is a wonderful day and that your 30th year is one full of great adventures and love.

4th of July Weekend

2011-07-11T09:21:00.004-06:00

We were able to go to Utah for the 4th of July. We almost couldn't go because of Jared's work but everything worked out and we could go. WE HAD A BLAST!!! We left Saturday morning and hit up the Cherry Creek Arts Festival before we headed out of town. It has become our tradition to go to the festival. Maybe one of these years we will actually be able to afford to buy something we like. ;)

The boys were troopers! I love that they are such good travelers. We stopped in Rawlins at McDonald's to let them stretch their legs and so we could get a bite to eat. It was the WORST McDonald's experience ever. I never knew that the United Nations worked at the McDonald's in Rawlins. Mustafa didn't know what a juice box was and the Chinese girls thought Jared wanted a fork when he asked for caramel dipping sauce for the apples. They had a now hiring sign out front and had 12 workers standing in the back doing NOTHING! I know the boys need to get out to play but I don't know if we can stop there again.

We got to Jared's mom's house around 10:45 and the boys were wide awake! We got Cayden to settle down but Jake was terrified of the crib and slept with us that night. We got up Sunday morning and had some play time before church. Jared's mom taught Sunday School that day and did a phenomenal job. The spirit was so strong and it was such a special lesson. After Church we went out to Sean and Jess' house where Sean had AWESOME homemade pizza for us. He really makes excellent pizza. It was so fun to hang out and not have an agenda. Cayden was SO excited to see all of his cousins. All but 2 of his cousins were in Utah for the 4th of July.

On Monday we headed to an AWESOME pool. Cayden LOVED it. WE spent most of the day there. It was fun but the weather wasn't all that great. Just as we were leaving the sun decided to come out. After the pool we went back to Jess' house where Sean made another amazing meal. Everything tasted awesome. It was a great 4th of July BBQ. When it began to get dark we headed out to watch fireworks.

Cayden and Emmy matched. Cayden is quite fond of Emmy and calls her his "big" cousin

The kids had glow necklaces, bracelets, and bubbles to keep the occupied until the show started.
All but 2 cousins on the Linton side
They look scared but they really did enjoy the show.

It was a GREAT 4th of July filled with fun and good company. We had to say goodbye to Jen, Steve, and their kids after the fireworks because they were heading out the next morning for Idaho. It sure was great to see, play, and visit with them. Its hard living so far away. But we were grateful for the time we got to spend with them.

The next day Jess and her kids came out to spend our last day together. We didn't get a chance to make S'mores on the 4th so Jess brought out the fixin's and Tay and Grandma started the fire. The S'mores were SO GOOD! I had 3 of them and felt a little guilty afterward. But it was so worth it!

Cayden and Grandma

Cayden roasting his marshmallow
Me and my boys

Jared had to go to the eye doctor because he needed new contacts but he made it back in time to enjoy a giant S'more.

Cayden and Jayson bonded and were quite the little duo

They had to leave at 5:00 to get Tay to her Soccer game in time. We were sad to say goodbye but were glad we got to spend more time with them. (Thanks for making the trek out. We love you!) After they left we made a trip to Home Depot and visited for a bit and then Jared decided we needed to play croquet. Jared won but we all had a god time. Cayden really got the hang of it.

Jake just ran around and played while we all played.

It was a GREAT weekend and we were sad we had to leave. But we have great memories and Cayden knows his cousins a little better now. Thanks to everyone for the wonderful weekend.

~Love To All~

Conversations With Cayden

2011-06-10T07:20:00.002-06:00

I ADORE this little man of mine. We have some fun Conversations. On Tuesday he was wearing his soccer shirt and said..."Mom what size soccer shoe do I wear?" "You wear an 8 Cayden" "Oh, ok, thanks mom." A minute later," Umm Mommy" "Yes, Cayden" "I think I only need a 2 because I don't have 8 legs."

Yesterday as he woke up from his nap he said, "Mommy, Jakey and I have stinky feet." Trying not to laugh,"You do? How did you get stinky feet?" His reply, "From playing on the slide outside. But you don't have stinky feet. Only me and Jakey have stinky feet."

So as difficult as he can be sometimes I love to just sit and talk with him. He has a lot to say and I LOVE to hear it.

HAPPY FRIDAY!

~Love to All~

Memorial Day Weekend!

2011-06-07T14:02:00.007-06:00

We had such a wonderful Memorial Day Weekend! Jared's brother, Brent, and his wife, Ashley, came to town for the weekend. They had a heck of a time getting here but we were so glad that everything worked out and that they FINALLY arrived (in one piece). I took Friday off work so we could just hang out with them, unfortunately Jared wasn't allowed the same luxury.

So Friday we went to the zoo. I was nervous when we got there and the parking lot was closed and we had to hike from Timbuktu to get into the zoo but once we got in it actually didn't see all that crowded. It was fun walking around the zoo and seeing all the animals. It was great to spend time with Brent and Ashley too. It was fun for me to watch my boys get to know them. I didn't take very many pictures at the zoo. I guess I was too busy enjoying the animals and just hanging out. ;)

Jakey really loved the fish.

On Saturday we were up BRIGHT and EARLY because my boys don't know the meaning of sleeping in. No matter how late they got to bed they are up by 6:00. Its really hard sometimes. But we deal. Anyway, I was tired of having no grass in the backyard so we headed to HD to buy sod. We also bought flowers and a strawberry plant.

The boys thought the cart was GREAT!

By the time we got home it was time for Jake to nap again so that he would be a happy camper when Brent and Ashley came to hang out. But Cayden was eager and willing to help his daddy with the grass. I just felt bad he didn't have his own gloves. They worked on the grass while I planted flowers and fruit. I'm so glad we finally have grass. Its AWESOME!!!

Once Brent, Ashley, and Julie made their way over we packed up stuff for a picnic and headed to the park. We have a really neat park that's fairly close by. The boys LOVED the sand box.

After playing there for a bit we headed back to the house for naps and then Brent and Ashley treated the crew to dinner. (Thanks again!)

On Sunday we went to my sister's ward because they were blessing their new baby, Caleb Joseph. He was born on May 10th and is such a cutie pie. My nephew Spencer (and Kimmy and Tyson) have been praying that this sweet little baby would finally join their family. It was a rough road and a hard pregnancy but we are glad he is here. Now there are 4 little boys to cause terror ;) Anyway, after church since Kimmy and Tyson live so close to the temple we decided to go and hang out there for a bit. It is such a peaceful place to be.

My brother Matt (fresh from his mission in Honduras) and Cayden
Jared and Jakey (Jake LOVES water)

Is it ok to jump off the fountain in front of the temple? Oh well, it makes for a GREAT picture.

Matt, Jared, Tim

On Monday everyone came over for a BBQ. What would Memorial Day be without a BBQ? It was a BEAUTIFUL day and perfect for being outside. It was a little windy but that was easily overlooked. Jared and Brent were in charge of grilling and they did a great job. The food was delicious and the company was awesome!

Jared did get a little excited about grilling

After we ate we headed out to the open field right across from our house (also where our pool is) so we could play for a bit and just enjoy the day. It was such a wonderful day. Nothing super exciting but a day spent with family is always wonderful.

So that's it. That was our weekend. Sadly Brent and Ashley returned home on Tuesday. I was glad to get to hang out with them until they left. It was so wonderful to have them here. I'm also glad that my boys actually know who they are now. ;)

I hope everyone enjoyed their holiday weekend as much as we did.

~Love To All~

100 Doubloons

2011-05-31T09:57:00.003-06:00

We have recently begun a reward system for Cayden to help him be a better listener and a nicer big brother. He LOVES the show Jake and the Neverland Pirates so Jared thought it would be a fun idea to let Cayden earn doubloons each time he is a good listener and for LOTS of other reasons to promote good behavior. ( He loses them for negative behaviors.) We took him to a party store and bought gold doubloons and a treasure chest. He was VERY excited. Throughout the month he worked diligently to earn his doubloons. When he earned 100 he got to go the ride the roller coasters.

Every time we go to have lunch with Jared we pass Elitch Gardens. When the weather was cold we would tell him that we had to wait until the park opened. He COULDN'T wait. He was excited when he earned his 100 doubloons and could go ride.
He ended up not really enjoying the actual roller coaster. Neither Jared or I could ride with him because you HAVE to be under 54' to ride. SO he bravely went on by himself but only went around once and was screaming to get off. So Jared pulled him off and he pointed to a great big green roller coaster and said, through streams of tears, "I want to ride that one!" We explained that his body wasn't big enough yet for the big green one and stayed in the kiddie area.

Way to go Cayden for earning 100 doubloons!!!!

We had such a fun day!

~Love To All~

EASTER 2011

2011-05-02T17:44:00.004-06:00

I feel as though I have been a bit of a slacker lately when it comes to my blog and catching up on family blogs. I guess I'm just getting caught up in the hustle and bustle of everyday life and forgetting to stop and write down the special moments. So is our Easter Catch up! ;)

My brother Mikey was in town and boy was Cayden excited. He sure LOVES his uncle Mikey. Mikey got into town on Tuesday and stayed for a week. It was so nice to have him here. On Saturday, the day before Easter, we let the boys dye Easter eggs. They were excited to have Uncle Mikey helping out.

Easter Morning rolled around and Cayden couldn't WAIT to get downstairs to see what the Easter Bunny had brought him. He was excited when he started spotting eggs all over the house. We let him and Jake grab their buckets and start hunting. Jacob didn't really get into the hunting thing. He would just find an egg and throw it. He thought they were balls. We had to show him that there was candy inside. However, once he realized that he would find an egg, sit down, eat the contents, and search for the next one. Cayden proceeded to give me all the pink and purple eggs. Apparently the Easter Bunny hides gender specific eggs and Cayden was aware of this, I was not. I though it was super sweet of him though.After the egg hunt we sat down to a yummy strawberry, banana, and whipped cream waffle breakfast. It was awesome! Then I gave all 3 boys haircuts. We had to hurry so we wouldn't be late for church but it didn't work. we ended up being about 15 min late. But we are never late so I didn't feel too bad about it. After church we came home and tried to get a few Easter pictures. I hate camera timers!
After restful Sunday naps we went to my parents house for dinner. They had an egg hunt for the boys. Then they told us there was going to be an adult egg hunt. We were very excited. However, the weather didn't cooperate so we had to wait until Monday night for our egg hunt.

It was a great Sunday spent with great people. It was a nice opportunity to explain again to Cayden why we celebrate Easter. That its not just about eggs and candy and the Easter Bunny. It is a day to remember our Savior and the sacrifice he made for us. I am so thankful to have the atonement in my life. And I'm thankful that I can share my love for the Savior with my boys in the small teaching moments that come along.

~Love To All~

80's Prom

2011-04-25T16:18:00.007-06:00

Jared and I were invited to an 80's prom by some friends of ours in our old ward. We thought it sounded fun so we planned to go. Then as the time drew closer and we had NO CLUE as what to wear (we were both pretty young in the 80's. I was born in 84' and Jared in 81')! I was frustrated and told Jared that I didn't want to go. WE decided to go out shopping and found outfits for the both of us so we asked my parents to babysit and the date was set. Jared and I were going to the prom. Exciting right???

EXACTLY!!! We had SUCH a blast. It was so much fun. It was probably one of our better date nights. (Except for the fact that we didn't go out to a nice dinner before hand.) Jared bought me a corsage and everything. We got to the prom about an hour late, that's normal for prom right? But there was still time to vote for King and Queen. As the night went on there was 80's trivia. There was a "how 80's were you" game as well as a game matching tv characters to the show they were on. It was a super fun night with some great friends.

~Before Prom~ (can you see my purple extensions?)

~Prom Pictures at the Prom~

~Jared and his buddy Carl dancing the night away~

When the time came to announce the Prom Queen I didn't hold my breath. I never win ANYTHING.

~Jared and I totally won Prom King and Queen~

~Our spotlight dance~

~Our friends Carl and Dawn are the couple in the center-We were glad they came.~

WHAT A GREAT NIGHT!!!!!!! Jared and I were so glad that we could go to a prom together. It was a small glimpse into what it could have been like if we had really gone to prom together in High School. Thanks for being my date and making this prom a night to remember Sweetheart!

If you ever have the chance to go to an 80's prom totally go. It was so fun!

~Love To All~

An Unskinable Date

2011-03-30T17:00:00.003-06:00

A few weeks ago Jared and I had a super fun date night. We went to the theater. It wasn't the big theater downtown. It was a cute little local theater in downtown Littleton called The Town Hall Arts Center. I discovered it on a field trip with school. We went the night of the performance hoping they still some tickets. They did! They save 10 $10 tickets each night for at the door slackers like us and we were fortunate enough to get 2 of them that night. What did we see you may ask????? When I found the theater I looked at the shows they were doing and I had never seen this one. I so wanted to see it so I asked Jared and he was stoked. He said that this was the first show that he saw that made him interested in theater. So it was a must that we go. We had about an hour to kill before the show started and we were both STARVING. Right across the street was a little place called Abe's Cafe. It was empty and since we were short on time we thought, "What the heck, let's give it a try". It turned out to be a little Greek cafe. It was a lot like Dancing Zorba's on My Big Fat Greek Wedding. The food was good but their baklava was TO DIE FOR! It was the best baklava Jared and I had ever had. I wished we didn't decide to share it. I totally wanted my own. I can't wait to go back.

Inside Abe's Cafe before we headed to the show.

We left Abe's and walked back over to the theater and anxiously awaited the start of the show. I don't know what it is about going to the theater but I totally love it. The show was great and it made me wish I still performed on stage. I really miss it. Jared and I loved spending an evening to ourselves and we owe Bethy a HUGE thank you for babysitting on such short notice. Date Night is always wonderful. YOU ROCK BETHY!

On our way out of Downtown Littleton I noticed a sign....

Yep, right on the edge of historic downtown Littleton is this restaurant "Merle's". When I saw it I pointed it out to Jared and we were both kind of shocked that this place existed. We decided that, in honor of his Dad's birthday, in November we will go and eat at Merle's. I checked out the menu the other day online and it looks pretty good. I'm excited.

~Love To All~

5 Years!

2011-02-18T06:19:00.003-07:00

Today is our 5th Anniversary. I am so thankful that I made the decision to marry such an incredible man. Every day in an adventure that I look forward to and at the close of each adventure I look forward to being in his arms. 1 Year

2 Years

3 Years

4 Years
5 Years

Happy Anniversary Sweetheart! I LOVE YOU!!!!

Catch Up!

2011-01-22T09:23:00.002-07:00

I'm still here!!! I promise! Life has been crazy since the start of the new year so I haven't had a chance to sit down and blog about it. But I finally have so have fun reading about our holidays!
~Love To All~

New Year's

2011-01-17T11:02:00.004-07:00

We had such a fun New Year's! The big boys decided it was a good night to play RISK. Not everyone is a fan of that game so we found other things to occupy our time. Cayden and Spencer played a fun game of Disney Magical Moments Scene it. It quickly became a game of just watching all the movie clips. But it was still cute to watch. I think my dad had fun playing with his grandsons. ;) The rest of us just hung out and talked.There was A LOT of goodies for everyone to snack on to keep us awake. We watched Dick Clark's Rockin' New Year's Eve. It was awesome because my cousin and my aunt were in Time Square and were on TV dancing with Ryan Seacrest. It was fun to see!

We all anxiously awaited for the ball to drop and start out 2011 together. We decided to let Cayden stay up if he could.He made it!!! I wasn't all that surprised. What I was surprised about was that he didn't get cranky and he and Spencer played happily with no fights at all. It was a fantastic evening.

Our first 2011 picture! I don't look so great after midnight. ;)

I promise its just sparkling cider in their cups!

Happy New Year to all! May this year bring many wonderful and exciting blessings!

~Love To All~

Christmas Day!

2011-01-17T10:36:00.004-07:00

I have the BEST husband in the world. Jacob woke up super early and Jared got up with him so I could sleep in. I woke up around 8:15 and Cayden was still sleeping. We decided we should probably wake him up. So we did and we headed down stairs to see what Santa brought us.

After we opened our stockings we had our traditional breakfast of oatmeal and cinnamon rolls. It was so yummy. Next it was time for presents!

Jacob LOVED his gift from Grandma.
Cayden's favorite was his Buzz Lightyear

I think Jared's favorite was the Playstation Move

We had so much fun opening presents. Cayden got so crazy about it that he began opening everyone's gifts. He loved it though. We had a little time to play with our new toys before we headed to my mom and dad's house for Matt's phone call. It was so good to talk to him and hear his stories. I miss him so much and can't wait till May when he comes home.

After Matt's call we opened more presents, hung out, and then had an amazing dinner. It was a wonderful Christmas Day spent with wonderful people. WE were thankful my brother had skype on his computer so that we could still see and talk with family that we couldn't be with.

Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas!

~Love to All~

Christmas Eve

2011-01-17T10:09:00.003-07:00

We had a very fun Christmas eve. It began with the boys making cookies for Santa. They had a blast!!!

They were really good at taking turns using the rolling pin. I was also surprised at how well they shared the cookie cutters. They work so well together. I' m glad they are such good buddies.

They posed for a few pictures after sneaking candy canes off the tree while they waited for the cookies to be done.
Then it was time to frost the cookies. I'm not sure if there was more frosting on the cookies or in their tummies. ;) They didn't eat much of the AMAZING dinner Tyson made.

Our Christmas Eve tradition growing up was to act out a live nativity. We haven't done it in YEARS since everyone is grown. However, with this being the first official Christmas in Colorado for my grandparents Kimmy thought it would be fun to act it out again for them. So we did. I was the angel, Jared was a wise man, and Cayden was the donkey. We decided to have Jake help my dad narrate. Kimmy, Tyson, and Spencer were shepherds, Tim and Mikey were wise men, Chris was Joseph, and Bethy was Mary. We used a Cabbage Patch doll for baby Jesus. After reading through the Christmas story we sung Christmas Carols and then it was on to BINGO!

Its a Crabb family tradition to play BINGO on Christmas Eve. The tradition changed as my dad's family got older and grew. My Grandma began having a Crabb Family Christmas Party where we all got together and ate and played BINGO. I have really enjoyed the last few years being able to go and participate. However with Grandma being 87 my aunt decided she was to old to be having the party every year. So the Crabb Family Christmas parties have come to an end. So we decided to do BINGO on our own this year. It was so fun and everyone ended up with great prizes.

Jared and me after BINGO

Everyone opening their BINGO prizes and making trades

Then we went home and put out our milk and cookies for Santa and went to bed.

Tumble Bus

2011-01-17T09:58:00.005-07:00

Cayden went up and had a new kind of fun at Kimmy's house. She signed up to have the Tumble Bus come for her daycare kids and invited Cayden to participate in it too. He LOVED it! There is a zip line, balance beam, rope ladder, gym mats, a swing, and more fun stuff too. I was glad my mom was willing to take him up so he could participate.

1 Year Old

2011-01-17T09:33:00.004-07:00

We celebrated Jacob's birthday on the 17th of December. It was hard to imagine that a full year had already gone by. Why does it seem that life goes faster the older you get? We had a yummy dinner and then had a small cake for Jakey. He even blew out the candle!

We actually had 3 little parties for Jake's 1st birthday. One with just our little family on his birthday, one up at Kimmy and Tyson's the next day, and one at my mom and dad's house the day after that. Jacob blew out the candle on every cake!

We are so thankful to have Jacob in our family. He is SO FUNNY! He always makes us laugh. He is such a little cuddle bug. He LOVES to eat. We all just love him so much!

~LOVE TO ALL~

3 Years Old!

2010-12-07T06:19:00.002-07:00

From This...

To This...

I really can't believe that our little "Mado" is 3 years old. What an amazing 3 years it has been. He has brought so much joy into our lives and taught us so many things. He has grown and learn so much! Lately he has really been into Buzz Lightyear. He says things like, "Don't worry, Cayden Buzz Lightyear will clean up" and "Buzz will make dinner". One of my favorite things he does right now is "blast off" whenever he has to be lifted for ANYTHING he says "blast off" or "To infinity and beyond" as you lift him. He has even changed his favorite color to green because of Buzz. He really is so fun to be around. He is very excited to be 3. This morning he requested a candle and ice cream for breakfast. I think we'll make him wait though.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY Big Boy!!! We love you so much!!!

Thanksgiving Week

2010-12-05T09:41:00.007-07:00

We had a great Thanksgiving week. It started on Monday when my brother Mikey came into town. Jared has taught Cayden how to play the PS3 so he wanted Uncle Mikey to come play the "jumping movie" with him. So, Chris, Mikey, and Beth came over and hung out. They kept Cayden busy so I could finish getting my house ready for company. On Tuesday I had to work but I was glad my boys got to spend the day with Mikey. Cayden adores him. I picked up the boys and after chatting for a bit I headed home because Jared's sister Jessica and her family had arrived in Denver. I headed out to the airport to pick up Jared from his return from Park City. His flight was delayed but I was sure glad that he made it home.

Wednesday rolled around and we finished our shopping for Thanksgiving. We were hoping to meet up with Jess, Sean, and the kids earlier but with the way things worked out we didn't get to see them until the evening. They joined us for dinner and then we headed out to Monkey Bizness. We had so much fun! It was great to be able to play too. That's what I love about Monkey Bizness, they don't care that the adults play.

Tayler and Cayden in the jungle gym
Tay, Jared, and Jake coming down the big slide

Jacob LOVED the slide!

They have a toddler area to play in too!

Jared and Cayden even got in a round of Air HockeyCayden got very excited when he scored.

Thanksgiving morning came quicker than expected. I told Jared he needed to go play football and have fun since he had been working so much lately. I pretty much had the food covered and had a game plan of when to get everything cooked. So he and Sean went out and played football with Tim, Chris and Mikey. Jared said they had fun. He sprained his ankle but it healed up quickly. He said he enjoyed spending the morning with Sean. When they finished football they went to the airport to pick up his mom who was also going to be joining us for Thanksgiving. Oh, I guess I should mention that Jared and I hosted Thanksgiving at our house this year. It was a little stressful but it was fun. I cooked my first turkey! Thanks to my mom and dad for the oven roaster and for guiding me through the process of cooking a turkey. The turkey was AWESOME! Everything I cooked was all hot at the same time and just in time to eat.

Everyone arrived around 3:00 and the timing couldn't have been more perfect. Jess made amazing rolls and a tasty salad as well as putting together a veggie tray and Julie made the pies. Sean made awesome gravy from what I understand. I'm sure I would have loved it too if I actually liked gravy. Thanks everyone for helping to make our Thanksgiving dinner great!

Jared helping Cayden load his plate.
This was Jacob's last "first holiday" It was fun watching him eat his first Thanksgiving Dinner.

On Friday we didn't brave the crowds but Jared and I went out Black Friday shopping. We dropped the boys off at my parents house and convinced Mikey to join us. It was a very fun day of shopping. We were able to complete both birthday and Christmas shopping for the boys. Later that evening we had family pictures with my family. There are some REALLY cute pictures. Then we headed over to Jared's aunt and uncle's house.

On Saturday we woke up and headed to Julie's apt. because Jess and Jared's mom had decided to head out early to beat the storm. Jess had to drive since Sean flew home for the BYU game Saturday. We were sad to see them leave but knew it was a good decision to beat the storm. We have done that drive in bad storms and it is NO FUN! We had breakfast together and then they headed out.

Jacob and Jackson "playing" together.
Me with two of my SUPER CUTE nieces (Tayler and Rylee) I just love them to death.

We wish that more of Jared's family could have come but we know they had a wonderful Thanksgiving in their parts of the country. We were so thankful for the family we did get to see and we had a wonderful time with them. It really was a special holiday. Thanks for spending your Thanksgiving with us.

~Love To All~

Milestones

2010-12-05T09:30:00.003-07:00

Jake has had a few "milestones" this past month. The first of them being his first steps. We were at my mom and dad's house because I was picking them up after work. If you know Jacob you know he loves stuffed animals. So it was no surprise that he "technically" took his first steps to a stuffed animal.

The next milestone was really a milestone that I had to allow him to overcome. His first haircut. I loved his hair. I refused to cut it. I said I would not cut it until his first birthday. Well, I came to the realization that his hair was really long. So when Jared got home from Park City we cut his hair. I was so sad but I did it. I cried afterward because I thought he looked silly with such short hair. But everyone else loves it. So I guess majority rules. He is just a cute kid anyway.

BEFORE

AFTER

We are anxiously awaiting more milestones. Its hard to believe that in only 12 days he will be 1. CRAZY! Where does the time go?

~Love To All~

Family Night Out

2010-11-16T17:54:00.005-07:00

For our latest Family Night Out we decided to take advantage of the free night at the Museum of Nature and Science. Cayden was very excited to go the museum. He wanted to see the dinosaurs. They have an exhibit right now that is all about life in the Amazon. They had lots of cool things. It made Jared miss Argentina a little bit when he saw the pirhanas, capybara, and howler monkeys. It was cute to see him tell Cayden all about everything they saw.

On a boat "touring" the Amazon River.

Enormous catfish. Ewww!! (On the other side you could reach inside the belly to see what it ate)

Holding the Anaconda

Cayden loved being "inside" the fish tank.

Jakey really liked the dinosaurs too.

Jared CAN hang like a monkey!

The boys like the toddler area in the body exhibit.

One last, very tired, picture with the dinosaur.

After the museum we grabbed a quick bite to eat at A&W. A nice cold root beer from the tap was a perfect way to end a family night out. I love nights out with my boys!

~Love To All~

Halloween

2010-11-15T07:54:00.005-07:00

I know I'm way behind But I wanted to share our Halloween fun with you. This year we decided to dress us as the gang from Phineas and Ferb. Cayden was Phineas, Jake was Ferb, I was Candace (the older sister), and Jared was Jeremy (Candace's boyfriend). We went to our trunk or treat on Saturday before Halloween and had a blast. Then on Halloween we dressed Cayden up again and took him out to do White Magic. Growing up I only went trick or treating a few times. My mom didn't like the idea of us going out and begging for candy and then threatening to play a trick on someone if they didn't give candy. So we did White Magic. We made all sorts of treats and goodies and took them out to neighbors and home and visiting teaching families. We gave treats and got candy in return. We still dressed up so it was still fun for us. And to tell you the truth, the few years I did go trick or treating I felt really silly. So Cayden did White Magic this year and then we took him trick or treating to a few houses in my parents neighbor hood. We had fun, the weather was GREAT, and Cayden loved being Phineas.

Phineas, Ferb, and Perry the Platypus

Candace and Jeremy
Our gang before the trunk or treat

Our little Ferb (Can you tell his pants are purple?)
Our car eating "Jeremy"
Our happy little Phineas with Perry on Halloween night

~Love to All~

Jared Thinks I Need a Girl.

2010-10-26T07:46:00.002-06:00

Cayden was putting curlers in my Grandmommy's hair so I wanted to see if I could put them in Jakey's hair. Jared wasn't home when we did it. He and Tim were at the priesthood session. I just love to play with Jake's hair. After Jared saw these pictures he told me he was cutting Jake's hair. I wouldn't let him though. I love my boys. I don't need a girl. Do I?
~Love To All~

Camp Cheley

2010-10-10T09:57:00.003-06:00

Yes its true. I went camping, in the mountains. Don't get too excited though. It was at a summer camp with cabins and running water.

Every year the 5th graders go on an educational camping trip. This year I got to go because we had 3 of our students go and my boss didn't want to be stuck with a certain difficult student the entire trip. So I went along. I was a little nervous after I said yes because I knew nothing of this camp. "Camp Cheley?" I thought. I didn't even know where it was. I found out it was up near Estes Park and its a for real summer camp that houses 400-500 kids ages 9-18 for 2, 4 week sessions.

Day One: We boarded the bus and headed up. We got to camp, hiked up a HUGE hill to get to our cabin, unpacked, and went back down for Orientation. Then we ate our sack lunches and began the activities. Our first class was 2 hrs of Orienteering. After that we hiked up Mt. Cathedral. Yep, I hiked up a mountain pushing one of students the whole way. I literally pushed her up the mountain. But she was so glad she made it to the top.

Day Two: We went to Rocky Mtn. National Park. The weather was great and the park was beautiful! Then we went back to camp, ate lunch and began the rest of our afternoon. We hiked down to a beaver pond. Then the kids got to do a ropes course. Then that night we went out with our students to do a night walk. Each student had to walk back up the trail alone in the dark back to the lodge. We walked with 2 of our 3 students. We were so proud that they each did it. The sky was beautiful and I had never seen so many stars or the Milky Way before.

Day Three: We woke up and packed our bags. We cleaned up the cabins and headed down for breakfast. After breakfast we headed out to our last adventure. McGregor Ranch is a ranch that is now a museum used to teach how people lived during the late 1800's-early 1900's. It was beautiful out there. After the ranch we went back to camp, ate lunch, loaded up the buses again, and headed for home. I couldn't wait to get back home.

It was a wonderful experience. When I reached the top of the mountain I almost cried. It was such an accomplishment for me and all I could think was that I wished Jared was there to do it with me. I was able to see the beauty that Heavenly Father created for us and be a part of it. When I saw hundreds of thousands of stars at night dotting the sky mixed with the Milky Way I thought about returning to live with my Heavenly Father. I thought if being a forever family and being so grateful that I was sealed to my wonderful husband in the temple. My boss will probably never know how wonderful the trip was for but I am so thankful that she asked me to go.

Here are a few pictures from the trip.

Me at the top of Mt. Cathedral.

A view from the top.

Me and Lyla at the top. (my student I pushed)

Rocky Mountain National Park (Alluvial Fan)

Matthew and me at RMNP

The Beaver Pond (Can you see the lodge in the water?)

Pretty trees at the pond

Turkey Rock at McGregor Ranch

I'm still not a big camper but I'm warming up to it.

~Love To All~

A Day in the Mountains

2010-09-26T10:38:00.006-06:00

On Saturday we took a trip to the mountains to get some pictures with all the beautiful Fall leaves. It was such a gorgeous day and we had such a wonderful time. I love spending time with my family. It was hard to get good pictures of Cayden because he is in a weird phase of life to where he refuses to look at the camera. But as soon as Jacob saw the camera he cheesed right up. Hope you enjoy the pictures!

If you haven't taken a trip to the mountains yet. DO IT NOW and enjoy the beauty our Heavenly Father has give us.

~Love To All~

Ginger's Pumpkin Patch

2010-09-26T09:01:00.002-06:00

I have one of the greatest friends ever. Her name is Ginger. A few weeks ago I was over at Ginger's house and she was showing me her garden. (Talk about a green thumb!) She has her very own pumpkin patch and picked out a pumpkin for Cayden to have. She has been taking extra good care of and was so excited for Cayden to come pick it. She even sent me weekly pix messages so Cayden could see its growth. Last weekend we went over to her house to pick the pumpkin. Cayden had fun walking trough the patch with Jared searching for a pumpkin. In the end he wanted the one Ginger had been pampering for him. He is very excited to have his pumpkin. Now I hope it lasts until we carve it.

He was excited to help Jared cut it from the vine.

Cayden and his pumpkin. (Now its totally orange)

We hope everyone else enjoys pumpkin picking as much as we did!

~Love To All~

9 Months Old

2010-09-25T10:15:00.003-06:00

I can't believe it has been 9 months. My baby boy is getting so big. He is 20 lb 9 oz and in the 75th percentile for his height. He has taught himself how to climb stairs and has finally learned how to come back down. He is beginning to balance a little on his own so I'm sure walking is just around the corner. He loves to smile and giggle. He is such a happy chill kid. He loves to play with his brother, even if Cayden gets rough. He is such a joy and adds so much to our little family. WE are so blessed to have him.

These are just a few pictures I took before putting him to bed on his 9 month day.

"He Took Me to a Bar"

2010-09-25T09:08:00.002-06:00

So for my birthday this year Jared had planned out an entire evening. He had a few other plans (massage, spa treatment, hot springs etc.) in mind but due to a monthly visitor he thought I wouldn't enjoy them as much. My birthday was on a Thursday so we just got take out for dinner and then went home and watched the first football game of the season. But then on Friday night Jared and I hit the town. Julie offered to babysit (THANKS JULIE!!) so we could have a child free evening. I had no idea what we were doing. Jared told me to dress so I felt cute and to make sure I had my driver's license. So, I did exactly that. He then told me that we were going downtown to do a few things that I Had been wanting to do.

I asked if we were going to dinner. I was thinking Cheesecake Factory or Maggiano's but I was wrong. Jared said I had never been this to this restaurant before. So then I guessed the Old Spaghetti Factory. Yep! They had just renovated and I had been wanting to go. The atmosphere was awesome but I could have made better spaghetti at home. So while we were sitting at dinner I was racking my mind to figure out what we were doing for the rest of the night. He had mentioned parking close to the 16th street mall so I jokingly said, "We're going to Coyote Ugly!" To which Jared replied, "Do you want to?" "No, its a bar!" I said. Then Jared told me that that really was the plan for the night. I had said months, possibly years ago that I wanted to go and see what it was like. I thought it was really cute of him to remember. I laughed HYSTERICALLY for about 15 minutes while we sat and ate our dessert. We were both crying from laughing so hard. At least, I hope Jared was crying from laughing too. He said. "I can see the blog heading now "He took me to a bar".

So, after dinner we headed over to Coyote Ugly. There was no cover charge so there was no harm in going to check it out. Needless to say when we got in we stuck out like a sore thumb. We noticed a few pool tables so we went over to see how much it cost to play. Then I noticed a photo booth so I made Jared take pictures with me. We then played a game of pool (I WON) and then we were ready to go. Our next stop was yet another bar, but he wanted to take me because it had a dance floor. We have been searching for a place to go dancing without having to worry about psycho people grinding on me. We decided that 1 bar was enough for one night. SO we headed back to the car to try to decide what to do. When it was too late for a movie I said, "KOHL'S is still open." Jared then told me I could have the cash left in his pocket and we could go shopping. After shopping we headed home. It was a fun night and I was thankful that Jared wanted to make it special for me. Even if he did take me to a bar.

Outside Coyote Ugly

The next day we went to my mom and dad's house to have a party with my family. We had sub sandwiches for lunch and then enjoyed some cake and ice cream. The cake was so good and it was so pretty that I felt bad eating it. I refused to let anyone eat the flowers. ;)

I really did have a wonderful birthday. Thank you to all those who called (even though I didn't get to talk to some of you), sent cards, or just thought about me. It really did make my day special.

~Love To All~

Labor Day Weekend

2010-09-19T08:18:00.008-06:00

I LOVE long weekends. We made our Labor Day weekend into an even longer weekend for a trip to Utah. But it wasn't just any old visit to Utah. It was a special trip for our niece Tayler's baptism. We were so excited to go and be there to support her in her decision to be baptized.

We headed out early Thursday morning. The boys were such troopers. Cayden told us every time he needed to stop and use the bathroom (even if it meant stopping on the side of the road) and Jake barely made a peep! We were pretty excited to make it to Grandma's house by the end of our traveling.

Friday was a somewhat lazy day. I think the drive over did us in. We didn't make it out of the house until almost 4:00. But we headed into Salt Lake and made our way here...

Hatch Family Chocolates

There was a TV show on TLC called Little Chocolatiers. When I found out that their shop was in SL I asked Jared if we could go the next time we were there. So we did. Their chocolate is AMAZING! Its pretty expensive but its worth every penny. It worked out pretty nicely too because we had promised Cayden ice cream if he could make the drive over to Utah without having an accident. So we all sat and enjoyed our ice cream. It was a really nice afternoon.

Saturday was Tay's big day. It was such a special day spent with family. Tay was beaming from ear to ear and you could tell she was so excited. After the baptism Sean and Jessica invited everyone over to their house for lunch. We had fun hanging out and Cayden had a blast playing with his cousins. After everyone had rested a bit we decided to go for a swim. It was such a beautiful day. We went back to Jess' after our trip to the pool and hung out a while longer and then headed back to put the boys to bed after such a fun day.

Cayden was warming himself on the concrete at the pool.

On Sunday we headed down to my Grandma's house in American Fork. We haven't made it to see her since Jacob was born so I really wanted her to be able to meet him. It was a quick visit, so we could get to church, but it was nice. Jared kept Cayden busy (because Grandma's house really isn't all that interesting) and I sat and visited. My mom and dad had driven over for the weekend too and my anut and uncle came over to visit so we got to see them too. Its always nice to get to hang with some of my family when we go to Utah.

Jacob and Grandma Crabb

Four Generations

After church we went back to the house and put everyone down for naps. Sean and Jess brought the kids out so we could all hang out one last time before everyone headed back home on Monday. Sean had made AWESOME pizzas and brought them out to share. Then for dessert we had cake that was apparently made to celebrate my birthday. That was a nice little surprise. It was a VERY tasty cake too. It was a fun evening sitting around talking and watching the cousins all play together. ( We wished that Jenny and her family could have been there too but distance kept them away.)

Jake taught himself to walk with a walker!

Jared gave Ryan a beat down wearing fairy wings
We forced the cousins to take pictures! (Cayden was such a baby about the grass)

And tried to get these 3 to sit still for a picture.

On Monday we woke up and packed up our bags. Mom made an awesome breakfast to get us moving. Cayden and Reyes played together one more time. And we were off for another long drive across boring Wyoming. The boys were AWESOME yet again and we made it home safely.

It really was an awesome weekend.

~Love To All~

End of Summer

2010-09-12T13:15:00.005-06:00

Since I apparently was too busy to blog the last few weeks of summer, I have decided to just post some pictures. We really did have an awesome summer. It was indeed difficult for me to go back to work but at least I know my boys are still in good hands.

What would the final days of summer be without a trip to the pool?

A game of hide and seek at "the new house"

Plenty of naps... while Daddy worked hard.
We went to Old Navy to get Jared some new jeans. After we took this picture Jared and I walked away and we heard Cayden screaming while he walked around with his head stuck in the cut out.

We took a trip to a children's museum with Kimmy's daycare.

Cayden LOVED the "wind room" They even had a little bank...

a play place for Jake... and a pirate ship.

Then it was back to "the new house" to work.
Cayden and Spencer liked the ladder.
Jacob turned 8 months old.

And our last big summer hurrah was our Annual Stake Fair. (We were all not feeling well but we had cabin fever and decided to go anyway.)

Cayden went "fishing"

Bouncing

And Sliding.

We were sad that our summer had to come to an end but we knew there was no stopping it. We are just thankful for the time we had to spend together and look forward to some Fall fun.

~Love To All~

Summer Catch Up

2010-08-05T08:20:00.007-06:00

What a fun summer we have been having. The boys have kept me pretty busy so it has been hard to find a minute to update the blog. But they are both content without me for a minute so I decided to catch up. However it will be done with pictures. ; )

Jacob LOVES to eat. I'm sure you couldn't tell by looking at him.

We love spending time at the Spray Park. (ITS AWESOME!)

Cayden loves when we go to SAM'S because he gets to sit in the cart with Jake.

I was worried when he was quiet and I couldn't find him. If this is his way of getting into that "quiet trouble" that parents worry about I think I can handle it.

We have spent a lot of time at my parents new house. The boys have been remodeling to build a master suite on the main floor for my grandparents.

My cousin came to visit and we took her bowling. Cayden LOVES bowling. I bowled holding Jacob most of the time and bowled a turkey. I had 5 strikes during the game. He was my good luck charm.

After his game of bowling he wanted to drive the race car.

Our little red car died on us and Jared has been trying to diagnose the problem, Cayden has been a big helper and getting quite dirty in the process.
I love taking pictures of the boys when they are sleeping. They always sleep in the strangest positions. In the picture I am standing behind the couch. His feet are on the back of the couch.
Jacob is becoming quite the little crawler and enjoys following me around the house.

If you can't tell, we are having a great summer. I LOVE being home with the boys and look forward to the day when I can finally be a stay at home mom. I love just hanging out with them. I'm getting really good at building marble towers and shooting hoops. Cayden and I are trying to find ways to include Jacob in our play time because he wants to join in all the time now. No more wallflower time for him. I'll be sad to go back to work but I still have time before then to get more play time in. I hope everyone else is enjoying their summer!

~Love to All~

Happy Happy Birthday

2010-07-12T11:14:00.003-06:00

I want to wish a Happy Happy Birthday to my Loving husband. His birthday was yesterday and he allowed me to go on vacation for the weekend so I wasn't able to be with him for his special day.Thank you for being the man that you are. I am so lucky to have you forever. I love you!!!! xoxoxo

Girl's Weekend

2010-07-12T08:54:00.007-06:00

What a weekend!!! I just got back from four days in the San Juan Islands with the Linton girls. It was a part of the country I hadn't seen before and I was very excited. There wasn't a lot of "exciting" things to do on the island but we had a great time spending time with each other. We drove around the island and stopped every chance we could to see what was available explore. We did a lot of walking. We visited the farmers market and went shopping at the shops in town. And we frolicked in the lavender fields. But my favorite part was the girl talk in the evenings before bed. It was a beautiful weekend spent in a beautiful place with beautiful people. I can't wait until the next Linton Girls Weekend. Thanks to everyone for making the weekend possible and such a success! Love you girls.

Me and Ashley on the front of the ferry going to Friday Harbor.

(We had to take a ferry to get to the islands)

Our ferry almost hit this moronic sail boat.

This was our home away from home for the weekend. We were right across the street from the Lavender Farm fields.

Lime Kiln- What a beautiful spot on the water!

One of my many frolicking moments.

The Linton girls (minus mom and Jenny)
I LOVED the rolls of hay. The full field was really a beautiful sight.

This pond/lake was down the street from our vacation home.
Our last night in the San Juan Islands.

A very SPECIAL thanks to my wonderful husband for staying home with the boys for the weekend so I could go and have a fun and relaxing time. You rock Jared!

~Love To All~

Florida in Pictures

2010-07-02T09:45:00.008-06:00

So I got to take the boys to Florida for pretty much the entire month of June. We went down to help pack up my grandparents house so they can move to Denver. We are so excited they are finally coming. Our trip was a vacation but we worked hard too. Instead of writing about our time there I decided to just do A LOT of pictures and a few videos. Enjoy!!!

The Trip began with laughter...

Then a game of hide and seek

A nap here and there.

Then I cut off my hair! (I donated it to Locks of Love in support of my big bro.)

6 month old Jakey Boy. (Who is almost crawling!)

Cayden helped " G Jeannie" set her hair.

Chilled with Uncle Mikey.

Watched Uncle Kerry pretend to eat a 10 yr old rat found in the garage under the table saw.

Super cool Grandmommy sporting Timmy's shades.

LOTS OF SWIMMING!!!

What would Florida be without a trip to the beach?

Nap in the car on the way back from the beach.

Playing with cars and watching the World Cup during our 3 hr layover in NC.

It was such a wonderful trip. I'm so glad that Jared was able to join us for the last few days. It was a great way to say goodbye to my home town. I hope that we will go back and visit someday. I must say though that it is nice to be home.

~Love To All~

68 Years (and still going)

2010-06-15T15:01:00.004-06:00

My sweet grandparents celebrated their 68th wedding anniversary yesterday. What a momentous occasion. They met in High School and for all but 2 1/1 years, when my Granddaddy was in the war they, have been inseparable. They are such a wonderful example of love and sacrifice and what a marriage truly should be. Yesterday Granddaddy said, "68 years and still waiting for our first fight." To which Grandmommy replied, "Still waiting? I don't want to fight with you!" They are just so super cute and still have a twinkle in their eye when they look at each other. One of my favorite things about them is the way they kiss. They ALWAYS give two little kisses. Once, many years ago, when Granddaddy was leaving he kissed Grandmommy and she called him back and said it wasn't enough and that she wanted another one. So ever since then they have always given two kisses before parting. I pray that my marriage to my sweet husband can mirror that of my wonderful grandparents.

Right around the time they got maried.

Yesterday as we were cleaning out a closet for packing, we unwrapped a trinket that turned out to be their wedding cake topper from 68 years ago. Can you believe they still had it!?!? We brought it to dinner and had them take a picture with it. What a perfect day to find it, exactly 68 yrs later. I was so glad I could be here to celebrate with them.

CONGRATULATIONS GRANDMOMMY AND GRANDDADDY!!!! WE LOVE YOU!!!!

~Love To All~

Fair AND a Festival!

2010-06-06T08:12:00.004-06:00

Yesterday was a LOADED day. We had so much fun!! We started out our day at the Capital Hill People's Fair. It's a big event downtown. They close off a ton of streets so food, art, animal adoption, and political vendors can line them. We LOVE walking through all of the art vendors to see what creative things people come up with. One of our favorites is a man who does blown glass jewelry. A few years ago Jared bought me a pair of earring from him. There was also a woman who takes old plastic bag and fuses them to make a stronger fabric and makes really cool purses. Anyway, Cayden really had a blast being able to pet all sorts of different dogs. There was an RV with animals from the Dumb Friends League (that's where we got Houdini), There was a Great Dane Rescue where you could adopt a Great Dane (I'm surprised Cayden wanted to pet those monster dogs. Then there was a Greyhound adoption. The Great Danes and Greyhounds REALLY loved Cayden. It was super cute.

There were all sorts of carnival rides too. Cayden liked playing with the bubbles the most. After playing with the bubbles he got to plant a flower that he got to bring home. We really did have a ton of fun. Then we finished up the Fair with a snowcone. It was Cayden's first ever and he LOVED it!

Taking a snack break as soon as we walked in the gates. ; )

When we finished at the People's Fair we headed on over to The.....

Denver Chalk Art Festival

It was really cool to see all of the amazing artists. I have always seen pictures on line from chalk art festivals but I was excited that Denver actually had one so that I could see it in person. I think Jared was in heaven. His Alma Mater RMCAD was a sponsor. They had a booth set up and you could spin a wheel and win a prize. Cayden won a mini notebook with a pen. As we walked along looking at all the chalk drawings he would stop and open his notebook, scribble, and say, "I draw like them." Then he would close up his notebook and try to draw with his pen on the ground. It was very cute.

This was only one of 4 streets being drawn on.

This is one of the RMCAD drawings.

This was one of Jared's favorites because it is a drawing of a painting done by his favorite artist, William-Adolph Bouguereau.

We had such a wonderful day. I ended up a little sunburned but its worth it after such a wonderful day with my family and my big sister. Thanks for hanging with us Bethy!

~Love To All~

The Bench

2010-06-06T08:00:00.002-06:00

About a week ago I was at work and my friend Ginger told me she had something for the boys. She said she was at the store and saw it and thought, "Oh, Katie's boys would love that." So she bought it and brought it to me at work. It is an adorable little park bench. When Cayden saw it he was very excited. I told him he had to wait because Daddy needed to put it together for him. That wasn't good enough for him. No no. He then told me, "I put it together all by my big boy self." I made him wait for Jared's help but if you ask him he will tell you he did it all by his big boy self.

Last Sunday after we got home from church he sat down on his bench and said, "C'mon Daddy! Let's take a picture!" So we did. ; )

~Love To All~

The Final Crabb Graduation

2010-06-06T07:43:00.004-06:00

Our family has FINALLY had our last High School Graduation! WOO HOO!!! On May 28, 2010 my youngest brother Timmy graduated from Eaglecrest High School. We are all so proud of him and look forward to the many great and wonderful things he has planned for his future. Timmy is such an awesome young man with so much love to give. He loves to make people laugh and always has big open teddy bear arms if you need a hug. I love Timmy so much and I'm so lucky to have such a wonderful little brother.

This is the fruit bouquet that I made him for his graduation party. It didn't turn out like I wanted it too but its not too bad.
Timmy with my mom and dad. Mom missed the actual graduation so she could take Chris to radiation therapy. She and Tim were both ok with it. ;)

When Timmy picked up Cayden he said " Oh Timmy, you look beautiful!"
Timmy sure adores his nephews!
We are so proud of you Tim. Way to go!!!

What would a graduation be without a good ole head shaving afterwards?

Timmy wanted to support Chris too. But he decided to wait until after graduation. So once we finished up pictures he took off his cap and gown and said, "OK Katie, lets shave my head!" He actually looked a lot better than we thought he would. He has now decided to keep it shaved. :)

~Love To All~

FHE at the Denver Temple

2010-05-27T16:57:00.004-06:00

Last Monday night we decided to take Cayden and do our Family Home Evening at the temple. Every time he watches a Disney movie he sees the castle and says. "Oh look, the temple!' We figured it was time to take him and let him see the real temple. It was a fun evening. At one point Cayden said, "Come on, let's go inside!" I love how a 2 year old can create teaching moments. WE enjoyed walking around the temple and seeing all the pretty flowers and the fountain. I think the fountain was Cayden's favorite. He also thought the Angel Moroni was pretty awesome. It was a fun evening that ended with root beer floats. I LOVE my family!
~Love To All~

Skinheads

2010-05-11T16:32:00.004-06:00

So my brother Chris began his radiation therapy today. A few weeks ago he had an MRI that showed his brain tumor had grown. The doctors decided that the chemo he was on wasn't working and now Chris needs radiation. SO for the 6 weeks , 5 days a week, Chris will go in for radiation and 2 different types of chemo. Hopefully this will finally do it. Chris has never been negative or down about it. He just wants it to be over with so he can get back to normal life.

Anyway, last night we went to my parents house because Chris wanted me to shave his head. The radiation will cause hair loss so he wanted to get ahead of it. Well, Timmy and Jared decided they wanted to support Chris by shaving their heads too. Except, Tim can't do his until after his choir concert, prom, and graduation. So, last night I only shaved Chris and Jared's heads. I shaved Chris' head without batting an eye. I have shaved his head a million times since his first brain surgery in 2001. But when it came time to shave Jared's head I hesitated MAJORLY. But I knew Jared wanted to do it for Chris. I finally took the clippers to his head and took off the first stripe of hair. I couldn't help but cry. So with tear filled eyes I continued to shave his head. But there was no stopping there. Then it was time to get our the razor.

It was a very difficult thing for me to do but Jared loves it. I'm not a fan but it makes me happy that Jared loves Chris enough to support him like he did.

It really doesn't phase me to do Chris' head anymore

Before

During

After (Chris has trouble with camera flashes and his eyes)

So after the head shaving we had brownie sundaes and called it FHE. ; ) Cayden told Jared "I like it daddy. I like your hair." When Jared got home from work and took off his hat Cayden said, "Oh, your head shiny Daddy!" Yes it is!!!

~Love To All~

Mother's Day

2010-05-09T21:59:00.003-06:00

What a wonderful day I had. It really was quite wonderful. I'm so thankful that I can be a mom and share my love for the two precious boys that I have. They mean the world to me and even though times get a little challenging I still love them to death and can't imagine my life without them. I'm so thankful to my Heavenly Father for trusting me with such sweet little spirits.

This was what I woke up to Sunday morning. Jared put the 3 "bouquets" together all on his own. I got to have Cheesecake Factory cheesecake for breakfast!

After church on Sunday. We went to church with my parents so that we could be at their house when Matt called.

Me with my sweet little boys.

I love my mom to death and couldn't have asked for a better one. She truly is my hero. She is such an example love and selflessness. I hope that I can grow up to be just like her.

We thought it would be fun to have a pinata to celebrate Mother's Day. It really was quite fun!

I am so thankful to have such amazing women in my life. I have the best mom, grandmother, and sisters anyone could ever ask for. HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!! I LOVE YOU!!!

~Love To All-

Plants, Pretzels, and a Luau

2010-05-03T08:43:00.004-06:00

Last Monday for Family Home Evening we talked about plants. We talked about how Heavenly Father made the plants for us. We talked about how plants start as a seed and need sun and water to grow. We read the book The Tiny Seed by Eric Carle (Thanks Kimmy for giving us the book). After we read the story we pulled out the seeds and soil that we purchased, Cayden picked out the flowers he wanted to grow, and planted them. We made quite the mess in the living room because it was too cold outside. Thank goodness for hardwood floors. It was a very fun evening. Afterward Cayden watered all the seeds and plants that we planted. Then we found places to keep the plants in the house until its warm enough outside. We finished the evening with soft pretzels as our treat since it was "Pretzel Day".

Our "Tiny Seed"

I just LOVE spending time with our little family. We always have so much fun. Its great just to have evenings to ourselves to strengthen our family bond. I'm so thankful that I get to be with them FOREVER!!

Our stake had a luau on Saturday. I signed up to take food because I knew that if I didn't have a reason to go that when the time came to go I probably wouldn't have wanted to go. SO we took our food and left. Just kidding. I put on my "Hawaiian" get up, (I got my dress when I was in Joseph as a sophomore in high school and it still fit) made a flower clip for my hair and we went. It was a neat activity. There was dinner, a show, and then a dance. I love dancing with Jared, he is so funny. We had a great night. Special thanks to Bethy for staying home to watch the boys for us. You're awesome! (We didn't take any pictures pre luau, these are all post luau.)

~Love To All~

Kite Flying

2010-05-03T08:33:00.003-06:00

For Easter Cayden got an AWESOME kite from his Aunt Jenny and Uncle Steve. We took it out for my dad's birthday to give it a try. Cayden LOVES it. He is now addicted to kites. I don't know if any kite will ever compare to this one so I hope it never breaks. ; ) Thanks Jen and Steve, you rock!

4 months old

2010-04-19T16:26:00.004-06:00

I really can't believe it has been 4 months already. We sure do love our little Jacob. He gets bigger and bigger every day. He loves to smile and giggle. His smile is contagious! And he LOVES to be held. Its really quite difficult to put him down though, he's so sweet.

Here are his "stats"

Weight: 16lbs 12oz 80th percentile

Height: 25.3 in 65th percentile

Head: 16 3/4 in 50th percentile

He is such a joy and we are so thankful to have him.

~Love To All~

Easter Weekend

2010-04-11T08:35:00.004-06:00

The boys Easter afternoon. Cayden just got up from his nap.

We had a fabulous Easter. My parents were in sunny Florida and while I was EXTREMELY jealous I was glad to spend the holiday with my brothers and sisters. We went to Loveland and spent the weekend at Kimmy and Tyson's house. We headed up Friday night and came home Sunday evening. We played games, watched movies, had a Mary Kay party, and just hung out. It was nice to sit and watch General Conference too. What wonderful words we got to hear from our sweet prophet and apostles.

On Sunday morning Cayden and Spencer woke up much earlier than anyone wanted them to. Kimmy and Jared held them off as long as they could but once they spotted the eggs the Easter Bunny "hid" there wasn't much more they could do. Everyone hurried to get ready for the day so Cayden and Spencer could have their fun. After the final session of conference we sat down to enjoy a FABULOUS Easter feast. It was a wonderful meal shared with wonderful people.

Kimmy had projects for the boys to do during and in between sessions.

Cayden really enjoyed his Easter "basket"

Sorry the pictures are so randomly placed. Blogger was being difficult!

~LOVE TO ALL~

Jacob Videos

2010-04-09T16:56:00.003-06:00

Here you go Grandmommy and Granddaddy. Can't wait for you to meet him. But until then this will have to do. We love you guys so much and hope you are doing well. LOVE YOU!!!

4-8-10

For the record, I did not dress Cayden, he dressed himself. I will be sure to teach him the stripes and plaids DO NOT go together no matter what his uncle may say.

4-9-10

Sorry for Cayden's semi tantrum. He only got a 40 min nap today.

~Love To All~

Farewells, Reunions, Remodeling, and a Blessing

2010-04-02T08:27:00.008-06:00

What an AWESOME whirlwind of a weekend! We left on Thursday to head over to Utah. Jared's sweet Grandma B. passed away and the funeral was on Friday. Grandma B. was so sweet and loving. She never "knew" me but I sure adored her. She always had a big hug and kiss for me every time we went to see her. My fondest memory of her was at my wedding.

*When the sealing was finished as everyone exited the room they all passed Jared and me and gave us hugs. As Grandma B. passed she asked who Jared was. He said, "I'm your grandson, Jared" and then she looked at me with such loving eyes, gave me a great big hug and told me I looked beautiful. It was such a simple and sweet moment. It was the first time I had met her and I immediately felt the love she had to give.*

The day of the funeral was very cold and wet. I don't think Jared's family can have a funeral without snow. When his Grandpa B. passed in Sept of 07 it snowed then too. But, Grandma's funeral was lovely and the spirit was definitely there.

After the funeral we went and hung out at Jess' house and just had a great time being together. I know Jared loves to spend time with all of his siblings. Its a little hard because of how spread out everyone is but its always a good time when they are all together.
*WARNING* The next part of this post contains a picture that young children and people with easy gag reflex probably don't want to see*
Saturday started out quite interesting. Jared's Grandma had a sweet little dog named Sarah. She loved Sarah so much that her family questions if she loved Sarah more then them. Tragically Sarah died on a trip to the dentist over 11 years ago and everyone silently celebrated while Grandma B. mourned. Grandma I guess couldn't face putting Sarah in the dirt so she wrapped her up nicely and put her in a trunk and then into a refrigerator that was buried in their side yard that was once used as a potato cellar. Well, Grandma always denied putting her there so we had to lay the suspicion to rest.

Sarah then

On Saturday morning as we were eating breakfast, amongst many other suggestions, it was decided to remove the "Sarah Jinx" from the house. So we headed to Bountiful to dig her up. Yep, we dug her up. OK, so I didn't. But I sure watched as Jared, Ryan, and their Uncle Richard (whom I came to really enjoy) dug her up. They first opened the trunk and then set it aside. Then they dug up the fridge and went back to Sarah. It was pretty sick to watch them open her "tomb" but I couldn't look away. Sarah was laid back to rest, minus the pillow, 2 blankets, plastic, trunk, and more plastic that she was originally wrapped in, and hopefully Grandma B. won't hate us when we see her again.

Sarah now

When we returned from our grave digging excursion Jared's mom had jobs at the house to be done. She had some yard work and remodeling that she wanted done. She had a built in vanity in her room that she wanted removed so she could have a reading corner instead. Jared set to work removing the vanity, with a little help from Cayden. The remodel took longer then expected but was completely finished before we came home on Tuesday. Jared did an awesome job! It looks amazing! I love watching him work. He is such a perfectionist and always puts in 100% until the job is done to his liking.

BeforeAfter

On Sunday we had the pleasure of attending the blessing of our precious little nephew Jackson. What a darling little guy he is. The words of the blessing were beautiful. It was a special day. After church we went back to Sean and Jess' house for brunch. Thanks for the wonderful day!

The "Original" Linton Crew (Jared, Brent, Mom, Jess, Jen, Ryan, Julie)

The "Original" Six

Jared, Brent, Ryan

Jayson adored Jacob

Cayden and Jayson~ 5 months apart

Jackson and Jacob~ 1 month apart

Rylee and me~Best Buds

It was a great trip with a lot packed into it. It was fun to see everyone and we definitely didn't want to come home.

~Love To ALL~

Mary Kay

2010-03-24T08:05:00.003-06:00

Hearing those two words may make some of you cringe. But for the past month and a half those two words have been weighing heavily on my mind. Not many of you know this but for the past month and a half I have been seriously thinking about becoming a Mary Kay consultant. I kept wondering if it was the solution to being able to bring in money but still be able to be home with my boys.

Well, last night I attended one of the weekly meetings that my personal consultant invited me to. 50% of the women in the room, including the National Sales Director, were LDS. As I sat there thinking I wasn't ready to make the commitment, listening to everything that was going on around me, I had an overwhelming feeling that this was something that I could and should do. So I sent Jared a text asking if I could sign my agreement and he said yes.

SO I am now officially a Mary Kay consultant and I'm so excited. Its a big step but I really think I can do it. I really do love the products and the women that I get to work with are awesome. And of course I'm excited to share the products with all of my family and friends and hope that you may love them as much as I do.

Here's to starting something new! And maybe someday I'll get one of these!

~Love To All~

MARY POPPINS

2010-03-24T07:54:00.003-06:00

So in February I REALLY wanted to go see the stage production of Legally Blonde. It sounds silly but the music is FANTASTIC and fun. Long story short, we couldn't go see it. So, when we got our tax return Jared told me that we needed another date night to which I replied, "Umm, ok. Do you have something specific in mind?" He then said, "Yeah, I really want to take you to see Mary Poppins."

Well, at that I almost cried. I have been wanting to see Mary Poppins for years but it has never come to Denver. (Mary Poppins is one of my ALL TIME FAVORITE movies. I used to pretend I was Mary Poppins, talking to the end of my umbrella and everything. I had a healthy imagination.) So we purchased the tickets and I couldn't wait to go!

We went on Saturday and it was AWESOME!!! I didn't want it to be over. I can't wait to go see it again.

Thanks Jared for such a wonderful evening! Thanks Mom, Dad, and Bethy for watching the boys so we could go.

~Love To All~

3 Months Old

2010-03-24T07:18:00.003-06:00

I can't believe its been three months since our little Jacob joined us. He is such a cutie. He is already starting to sit up on his own and for the past week he has been sleeping from about 8:30pm until 6:00am. I'm hesitant to say he's sleeping through the night now because I don't want to jinx it. But we are getting lots of sleep these days.

Jacob happend to be three months old on St. Patrick's Day. ;)

I just LOVE my boys!!

~Love To ALL~

"What's your name?"

2010-03-14T21:26:00.003-06:00

So Cayden hasn't really learned that Sacrament meeting is a time to stay quiet and do quiet activities. He talks A LOT. We are trying to teach him to at least use his whisper. Well, while he was talking about his snack I noticed he wasn't calling his snack a cookie he was calling it a "tookie" and his carrots were "tarrots." I thought this was strange considering he says car and cup with no problem. I decided I wanted to really hear how he said his name. So I tapped him and whispered, "Hey, what's your name?" To which he replied, VERY loudly, "BIG BOY!"

I guess he decided that was more fitting than Cayden. ;)

~Love To All~

First Bath with Daddy

2010-03-12T15:59:00.004-07:00

I haven't taken any pictures of Jacob taking a bath because I'm the one always bathing him. Jared finally gave him a bath last week so I ran and grabbed the camera. Cayden helped too. Jacob really LOVES bath time.

Although, I think we need to move him to a bigger sink. ;)

~LOVE TO ALL~

Great Weekend!

2010-03-12T15:31:00.004-07:00

Sorry its been a few weeks. Life gets crazy. But I have to tell you about our fantastic weekend!

Last Saturday we decided to go on a trip down town. We had a special friend with us that we wanted to show the sights. Our trip started at the Capital Building where we found the "Mile High" markers. Yes that's plural. There are 3 of them because as science gets better they can better estimate where the "Mile High" spot really is.

Our special friend

Then we headed over to the DAM. The Denver Art Museum. We love to go to the museum and since it was the free day we thought it was a PERFECT place to visit. They have an exhibit right now that spreads throughout the entire museum. Its titled EMBRACE. One of the pieces is actually a room full of words. Guests can write a word, cut it out, and add it to the wall.

We tried to get him to hold up his two fingers. He did but not long enough for a good picture.

Another part of the EMBRACE exhibit.

Teaching moment

After the museum we headed to 16th Street Mall. Its a big tourist spot. Its a pretty fun place with some CRAZY street performers.

Such a fun family day!!!

~LOVE TO ALL~

More Home Projects

2010-02-26T11:36:00.003-07:00

So we bought blinds for our living room over a week ago and Jared finally got them put up. It completely changes our living room. I love being able to enjoy my bay window now. Its AWESOME!!! Cayden had so much fun helping his daddy put them up. He really loves doing projects with Jared. Its really cute.

Putting up the blinds

Dragon breath...keeping the fire going.

Jared also built a shelf to put our dvds on so Cayden can't get to them. It looks really nice and finishes of the room nicely.

I love not living in an apartment anymore. Its so fantastic!!!

~Love To All~

Four Years, Two Kids, and...

2010-02-21T10:39:00.005-07:00

STILL SO IN LOVE!!!

Jared and I celebrated our fourth anniversary this week. It was a day much like our actual wedding day. It was overcast and cloudy and began to snow in the afternoon. Then after a long exhausting day, of work not fun, we came home and fell asleep watching the Olympics. Its kind of fun to think that every four years we can spend our anniversary watching the Olympics. ;)

Anyway, I was so excited to give Jared his gift. I think it was my all time favorite gift that I have ever given him. It made it even more special that he shed a few tears when he opened it.

We have always followed the traditional gift list for our anniversaries. Well, this year the gift was fruit. I remembered Jared had an awesome painting that he had done and has wanted it framed for a long time now. So I snuck it out of his portfolio and had it framed. It happily lives on our dining room wall now. Cayden had fun helping Jared hang it.

Last night to celebrate our anniversary we went to a place called Color Me Mine. It is a ceramics studio where you can pick a piece, paint it, they fire it, and then you bring it home. It takes a week for them to fire the pieces though. It was so fun. It is the only art related thing we have done together other than scrap booking. We had a great time and had the studio all to ourselves. It was awesome!!!
I am so thankful to have the amazing husband that I do. These past four years have been so wonderful and I look forward to the many more that we have together. I love you Jared!!!

A little side note before I go....Our little Jacob is now 2 months old! Its amazing how fast time goes by. I'm sure you can tell why I am losing weight as quickly as I am. He's quite the chunker. We love him so much!!!

~Love To All~

Brotherly Love

2010-02-21T10:31:00.003-07:00

I am so thankful that I have such a loving two year old. Cayden is such a great big brother and loves Jacob dearly. The other day we were in my mom's car coming home from breakfast. (We went to breakfast with Mikey before he went back home.) I was sitting in the back seat with Timmy and Cayden and Jacob were in the seat in front of us. All of a sudden Cayden pulled Jacob's blanket up so he could see him and said, "Hi Jakey boy, hi Jakey boy!" Then he reached over and did this...He held Jacob's hand all the way back to the house. It was such a sweet moment.

What a Great Weekend!

2010-02-16T08:05:00.003-07:00

This weekend we had lots of family come into town for Jacob's blessing. My brother Mikey came from Florida. My sister, Kimmy, and her family came down from Loveland. Jared's mom and sister, Jess, and 2 of her kids came from Utah and his oldest sister, Jenny, came from Georgia. It was awesome to have so much family in town. It was nice to spend time with everyone and have those that hadn't yet meet Jacob. It was a very special time.

Cayden and Rylee watching a movieJess brought Jackson along so we got to meet him too!!!

Sunday was a great day! Jacob was blessed in Sacrament meeting and the words Jared spoke were beautiful. It was really special because it was also my grandfather's, who Jacob is named after, birthday. I never knew my grandfather but if he was anything like my dad he was a fantastic man. My dad and Grandma always speak very highly of him and I'm so glad we named Jacob after him.

Jacob on his special day

It was a long day ;)

After sacrament meeting we went to my mom and dad's house for lunch. (Thanks for hosting our big bunch mom and dad, YOU ROCK!)

The weekend was full of fun times. Thanks to everyone who helped make it special. Special thanks to those who traveled to be here for Jacob's special day. It meant so much to us to have so much family to share this special time with us.
~Love To All~

Family Outing Night/Home Decor

2010-02-01T07:47:00.006-07:00

So Friday was our second official Family Outing Night (F.O.N). We had so much fun! We are a part of the "5 Buck Club" at our local theater so after a movie has been out a while if you flash your card you can see it for $5. SO we FINALLY went to see The Frog Princess. It was a cute movie and Cayden lasted about an hour before he got up and started moving around. Then he learned that if he said "Potty Time" Jared would jump up and run him out. After 2 times of that Jared caught on. So Cayden sat in his lap and watched the last 20 min. of the movie. I really enjoyed the movie and the boys said it was "ok". Jacob slept through the whole thing!

After the movie we headed to Chili's for dinner. Cayden drank so much of Jared's soda at the movie that he was asking to go to the bathroom every 15 minutes while we waited for our dinner to come. While I was sitting at the booth alone with Jacob I looked over and saw a man at another table that looked kinda like my dad (all I saw was the back of his head). I looked to see who the man was sitting with and it was my sister! We had no idea that my dad and sister were going out to eat too. We chatted with them for a few min. until their food came. Then when they were done they took Jacob so I could eat. It was a fun evening. We finished it off with a good ole Chocolate Molten Lava cake. CAYDEN LOVED IT!!!

He scraped the plate clean!

Saturday morning I went to a baby shower but when I came home it quickly became a work day. We have been in our house now for almost 4 months and still had not put up all of our pictures on the walls. So, that's what we spent the afternoon doing. I love the way the house feels now. It feels even more like home. Its awesome. Cayden was excited to have a picture on his wall and his mobile, that Jared made for him, hanging from the ceiling. I still don't feel like we are 100% organized but we are getting closer!

On a different note...Cayden is doing SO well with potty training. Its been a long process but I think he has finally got it. It's very exciting!!!!

Playing at Aunt Kimmy's house

Potty training buddies!

~Love To All~

New Nephew!

2010-01-25T09:46:00.003-07:00

Very late on the 20th Jared's sister, Jess, gave birth to a beautiful baby boy. I don't feel bad that it takes us an hour to name our babies because it takes them longer. We later found out that they decided to name him *Jackson Ryan*. We are so glad that both he and Jess are doing well. CONGRATULATIONS!!!

He is so dang cute!

We love you guys so much and can't wait to meet him!

Little Monkey Bizness/1 Month Old

2010-01-18T10:05:00.004-07:00

Jared decided we needed a fun family night out when he got home from work on Friday. So we talked about going to the movies, Chuck E. Cheese, out to dinner, or just somewhere fun. We finally decided to go to Little Monkey Bizness. There is a Monkey Bizness here in town that is full of inflatable slides, bounce houses, and obstacle courses. Its a little much for someone Cayden's size. So they opened up Little Monkey Bizness that is perfect for toddlers to age 5. It is only $5 from 5pm-8pm on Tue and Fri. so it worked out perfectly. Cayden (and Jared) had a BLAST! Here are some pictures from our play time.

Jared and Cayden coming down the slide.

Playing basketball in a bounce house.

Ready to come down a slide.

Playing on a rope swing.

Chillin' on a jump hammock.

Enjoying our night out.

They even have a dance floor and costumes for the kids to play dress up.

After we played for a good hour we headed to IHOP for some all you can eat pancakes. They were so YUMMY. We had a great night and decided to have a Fun Night Out at least twice a month.

So yesterday our little Jacob hit his one month mark. I can't believe it has already been a month since he joined our family. Its amazing how fast time goes by. We love him so much and are thankful to have him as a part of our family.

Hope everyone had a fabulous week!!!

~Love To All~

Mt. Fuji

2010-01-06T09:19:00.003-07:00

So the 4th was Mikey's last day here in Colorado (until February when he comes again). He was planning on going to the movies with Timmy but instead we all went to Mt. Fuli. Its a yummy Japanese restaurant here in town. It was my first time eating there and I was pretty excited. My brothers and parents have gone a billion times but this was my first. Cayden has even eaten there before me. Anyway, we sat at the Hibachi table so we could watch our food be cooked. After all, that's part of the fun of a Japanese restaurant. We all had a blast and the food was excellent! I can't wait to take Jared there.

Cayden, Mikey, Timmy, and Chris
Our Chef
Onion Volcano (Cayden jumped every time the chef lit something on fire.)

Cayden and Uncle Mikey; Happy after a yummy meal.

So whenever you may come to Denver make sure you save your pennies to go to Mt. Fuji!

~LOVE TO ALL~

Christmas 2009 and New Year's

2010-01-05T09:54:00.007-07:00

We had a wonderful Holiday. It seemed to go by a little too quickly but we sure did enjoy it. My whole family was able to be together.(minus my little brother Matt who is serving his mission in Honduras) It was so fun to be together. It was especially fun to have our new little addition, Jacob, to spend the holiday with us in person rather then in my tummy.

We spent Christmas morning at home so Cayden could enjoy what "Sandy Daws" brought him. He was SUPER excited when he saw all the presents under the tree as he came down the stairs. We opened stockings, Jared started the fire, ate breakfast, and then we opened presents. Cayden needed no direction to open his presents. He didn't really stop to play with toys he just wanted to unwrap everything. We had fun making a mess with the paper and tinsel. Jacob slept through everything but Cayden happily opened Jacob's presents and then would hand them to him to enjoy.

Opening up his stocking

Helping Daddy start the fire.

His tools and his basketball hoop were two of his favorite gifts.

"Baby Jake" with his loot

Playing with Tinsel

Cayden thought it was pretty great that he got more presents at Grandmommy and Granddaddy's house.

We anxiously awaited a phone call all morning from my parents to let us know that Matt had called. We got a call around 10:15. It was perfect timing. We had just finished opening presents and were starting to play. We packed up some new toys, hurried and got ready, and then headed over to talk to Matt. It was so wonderful to hear his voice. He is doing well and is loving his mission. He told us some pretty funny stories and let us know he was making a name for himself on p day when they play soccer. All the natives and impressed that a gringo plays as well as he does. We also had a treat and saw some pictures that he had sent home. His living conditions are pretty crappy but its good to know that he is now trying to make the best of it. I miss him so much and just want to give him a great big hug. I am so proud of him for serving a mission and setting such a good example for my boys. If you ask Cayden where Uncle Matt is his reply is "Mission".

We spent the rest of the day opening more gifts, playing games, and enjoyed a wonderful dinner that my mom and dad prepared. It was a wonderful day spent fantastic people.

Our New Years was pretty standard except for the fact that my sisters and I had a girls outing and went for pedicures before we headed to my parents house for the rest of the evening.

Our pretty pedicured feet (I think feet are so GROSS!)

Then once at my mom and days house we celebrated 3 birthdays. My brother Mikey (12/1) and my sisters Kimmy (1/2) and Bethy (1/3). It was a fun birthday/ New Year's Party.

Spencer helping his mommy blow out her candles. (all 30 of them!)

So my mom got a cake for Bethy and Mikey to share. Apparently the cake decorator thought the cake was only for one person.

My mom and dad had all sorts of YUMMY treats to keep us snacking all night. We played some fun games and some that got a little competitive. We put Cayden to bed around 10:00 and then played more games until midnight. I laid down with Jacob around 11:30 and fell asleep. Jared came and woke me up in time to watch the ball drop. However, the clock that they all were looking at was slow so we all missed the ball drop. We gave our hugs and kisses to everyone and then headed out for the night.

Jacob sound asleep on new year's eve.

We are excited for the many wonderful new adventures that 2010 may bring. Happy New Year to everyone!

~LOVE TO ALL~

Pictures of Jacob

2010-01-01T11:19:00.004-07:00

Here are a few more pictures of our little Jacob. Sorry its taken me so long to post them. Enjoy!!!

Coming home from the hospital 12/18/09

Chillin with Daddy 12/23/09

~Love to All~

Jacob Nevin Linton

2009-12-17T20:51:00.003-07:00

We welcomed our second precious little boy into this world today. He is so sweet and wonderful. We are so grateful that he was born heatlhy and is doing great. He was born weighing in at 6 lbs. 12 oz. and was 19 1/2 inches long. He has a beautiful head full of black hair and has a beautiful smile. We can't say how thankful to our Heavenly Father we are for this tiny little miracle. We will post more later, but for now here are some pictures to enjoy. Hugs and love to all!!

Just minutes old.

Mommy and baby - both doing great!

What a pose!

Brothers

Family of four now!

2 YEARS OLD!!

2009-12-07T21:24:00.006-07:00

I honestly have a hard time believing that 2 years have gone by since Cayden joined our little family. Sometimes it seems that he hasn't been with us all that long and other times it seems as if he's always been around. He is such a sweet little guy and brings so much joy into our lives. (He brings many frustrations too, but that's all a part of growing up right?)

He has grown so much in the past year. He is counting, recognizing colors, singing parts of his ABC's, and putting together sentences. It is such a joy and a treat to watch him learn and grow. His newest phrase is "I do it." He is at that point in his young life to where he doesn't want help. He wants to be a big boy and do things on his own. He also is saying "not yet" and wanting to do everything in his own time. He is still a Daddy's boy and I think he always will be. They have such a special bond that I hope and pray NEVER goes away.

We had Cayden's birthday party yesterday. When he woke up from his nap he saw his pile of presents by the fire place. He got a big smile and wide eyes and said, "Me." He was very excited about his presents. We invited family over and had dinner, watched the Christmas Devotional, and enjoyed cake and ice cream. Cayden had a blast opening presents and needed no help getting into them. It was a fun evening.

Tonight we decided to take him to Red Robin for a special birthday dinner. He was allowed to have a soda and he chose what he wanted for dinner. He got 2 balloons too. He was in awe of the atmosphere and loved the white horse on the wall. He kept saying "White horse! Yay!" What a treat it was to see his excitement.

We are so thankful to have such a special boy as our own to teach, care for, and love. We truly are blessed.

~LOVE TO ALL~

Whobilation!!!

2009-12-06T21:44:00.006-07:00

Jared and I were called to the activities committee 2 weeks before the Christmas party. They said they needed more people to help out and since we were "new" in the ward they chose us. OH BOY! We were so excited!!!

Anyway, the theme was "A Whobilation". It was all centered around How the Grinch Stole Christmas. And by the end of the evening Cindy Lou Who made sure that everyone understood what the true meaning of Christmas was. It really was an AMAZING party. It just took A LOT of work to prepare. They asked Jared (and me) to make signs for each of the activity rooms that people could roam through for the first hour. Well, if you know Jared at all then you know these could be no ordinary signs. The party was last night and I'm glad its finally over. We had to make 14 signs. 1 week and many sleepless nights later this was the final result....

Each child had a package in the post office

Water gun game shooting a snowman ping pong ball off a tee

Balloon dart game

Anyone could go in and get a "whoville" hair style

Make a Grinch Christmas ornament

Pick a present- they gave a small gift to everyone

A game of "toss" using garbage and throwing it into a trash can

Take a photo with the Grinch

"Operation" giving the Grinch his heart that grew 3 sizes (my dad gave us the x-ray)

Each person got to go into the candy store and fill a candy bag with homemade candies

They served hot cocoa and funnel cakes in this room

This room was set up as a cafe. Anyone could go in and read "poetry" from a Dr. Seuss book while a band played behind them.

Last but not least...The Nativity room. Members of our ward brought their Nativity scenes to put on display in the chapel.

It really was an excellent activity and everyone had a blast. They ended the program portion of the activity with a live nativity and then had everyone circle around the Christmas tree and sing Silent Night. It was really neat. Jared stayed to help clean up and I thought it would take HOURS to clean up the mess. But there were so many people in the ward that stayed to help it only took about an hour to get everything put back to normal. Here are a few more pictures from the night.

Making Grinch ornaments

Last year's Cheermiester-The Grinch

Cayden enjoyed watching the dancers, band, and singers, but his favorite was the Grinch

~LOVE TO ALL~

A Day at Home With My Boy

2009-11-25T07:37:00.004-07:00

So I only had to work 2 days this week. School is out Wed-Fri. However, yesterday morning I woke up with pink eye. So I "unfortunately" had to stay home. A 1 day work week isn't all that bad. I was super excited to be able to stay home and hang with Cayden. We played at home in the morning and then ran some errands. We went to my mom's house to meet up with her and then were on our way.

First we went to the bank. Cayden knows that money is at the bank. The whole way to the bank he kept saying "bank, money". We went to exchange the coins in his piggy bank to buy birthday presents for him. We only took half of the money and got $77.00! I was very excited!!! Cayden had a blast using the coin machine at the bank. I was happy that the bank didn't charge to use it.

After the bank we stopped a few more places before we made it to the outlet mall in Castle Rock. We grabbed some lunch (Chinese, mmmm) and then headed out to shop. Cayden was so good and stayed in his stroller the whole time. I told him that because he was so good we could play on the playground for a bit. However, when we got to the playground it was gone. They had taken it out!!! I was shocked! So, as angry as he was we were able to get him in the car and promised to go the park when we got home.

We got back to my mom's house and found a soccer ball because the whole way home Cayden kept saying "soccer, play". So once he found a soccer ball, and woke up his napping uncles, we headed out to the park. My parents neighborhood has a park so it was only a short walk and we were there. He had so much fun playing with his uncles. He even got them both to go down slides! After a while of playing, and more cold weather rolled in, we headed back to the house to warm up.

Walking to the playground (he likes to walk "fast")

Playing basketball with Tim and Chris

He kept trying to lift the tree

I had so much fun spending the day with Cayden. He is such a fun little guy. Its hard for me to believe that he is almost 2 years old. He is so smart too. One of my favorite things about riding in the car with him is when he tells you to stop at a red light. He knows that red means stop and green means go. I just love to watch him grow.

I am so looking forward to 5 more days to hang out with my boy.

~LOVE TO ALL~

No News IS Good News

2009-11-16T11:56:00.003-07:00

So we went to the doctor this morning. I am measuring now at 32 weeks. So I am still a few weeks behind BUT the baby is still growing at the same pace. We asked the doctor if she was concerned about the thigh bone being smaller and she said that it IS in proportion with the rest of the body. YAY!!!! (So That's why we didn't hear from her.) So no worries. However, she did say that if he doesn't grow big enough by the time I am 37 weeks they may intervene and bring our little guy sooner than later. I have another ultrasound scheduled for Dec. 1st so we'll update everyone again then.

Thank you so much everyone for your prayers, love and support. We appreciate it.

~LOVE TO ALL~

P.S. If we do deliver at 37 weeks it will be around Dec. 7th. HAPPY BIRTHDAY CAYDEN!

Baby Linton Name Bracket

2009-11-15T12:25:00.004-07:00

Jared and I have decided to let the family join in on the fun of picking a name for our new precious little one. We have chosen the name Nevin for his middle name. My Grandpa Crabb's (my dad's dad) middle name was Nevin. I never knew my Grandpa, he passed away when my dad was 18. But from the stories that my dad tells me of him I know he was a great man. My Grandma always tells me that my Dad is a lot like his dad. So to honor my Grandpa and the Crabb family we decided to name our new little guy after him.

Now is where you come in. Jared and I have each picked our top eight names. Jared has put them into a "tournament" bracket. We will e-mail you a simple format of the bracket so you can fill in your winning names. You don't have to do only one per family. Each family member can do their own. You can either print it, fill it in, and scan and e-mail it back to us. Or you can post it on your blogs. Whatever you choose is fine with us. We are excited to see what everyone thinks of the names we have picked out and what name you think we should use. We hope you enjoy joining in the naming process.

We are doing well and hope everyone else is too!!!
~LOVE TO ALL~

Ups and Downs

2009-11-08T08:25:00.005-07:00

This week has been full of emotional ups and downs for us. I was very excited on Monday to go to the doctor and hear the baby's heartbeat again. Jared decided not to come with me this time because they had a deadline at work. I went into the office, weighed myself (I have gained 12 lbs now), and went into the exam room. The doctor asked her questions and then was ready to measure me and hear the heartbeat. However, when she measured my stomach she said I was measuring 29 weeks instead of 32 weeks. The baby's heartbeat was still strong though.

My doctor asked me if I measured small with Cayden and I said no. She asked what his weight and size was when he was born. I asked her what it meant that I was measuring small. She just said that it meant that I had to have another ultra sound to see if it was just me being small or if the baby was small too. She told me the measurement that she does is only a crude measurement but it can alert her if something may be wrong.

I was scheduled for an ultra sound the next day and Jared was able to come with me. Monday and Tuesday, until my appt. was brutal. All Jared and I could think about was the well being of the baby. We went in and got to see our little boy again. All the fluids are good. The fluid surrounding the brain is good. The flow through the umbilical cord is good. The baby is small though. He measures in the 5th percentile for everything for 32 weeks except his thigh bone.

Profile of our little guy. We even saw his hair this time. Jared was a little jealous.

Jared and I felt good when we heard that. But wondered what it meant that his thigh bone was small. It could mean nothing. However, the thigh bone being small is also an indication that the baby could have down syndrome. We opted not to have the genetic blood work done this time at 25 wks. because the outcome won't effect our love for our baby. I haven't heard from my doctor yet. She only works 2 days a week until 12:30 and is almost impossible to catch at the office. We are hoping that no news is good news. My next appt. is on the 16th. So we will update everyone on the baby then. Until then we ask for your prayers.

On another note, Jared is heading to California this week for an install for work. So Cayden and I get to have a mommy/son week. It will be hard for us to not have Jared around but we are thankful that he has the opportunity to work.

We hope everyone has a great week!
~Love To All~

Happy Halloween!!!

2009-11-01T15:46:00.006-07:00

This year we chose a superhero theme for our costumes. Jared was Captain America, Cayden was Spiderman, and I was a very pregnant Batgirl. Jared and I only dressed up for our ward party though. At first Cayden was just excited to get candy but by the end of the trunk or treat he was holding out his bag and saying "treat" without any prompting from me. He heard the other kids saying trick or treat. I made sure he said thank you to everyone that gave him candy.

So, last night was so much fun. Cayden took a late nap yesterday so we had to wake him up to go Trick-or-Treating. He was pretty tired and hasn't been feeling 100% again so it took a while to get him into his costume. He was very grumpy and cuddly when he woke up. We weren't sure if we were even going to get him out. But he cheered up after a while and was finally ready to get "canny". Our child is addicted to candy.

Growing up I think I went Trick or Treating maybe 2 or 3 times. My mom didn't like the idea of going around begging for candy so she carried on her family tradition of "White Magic." We would make treats and take them out the the neighbors and family friends. They were always happy to get our treats and would give us candy in return. So the idea of Trick or Treating is somewhat strange to me. I was a little nervous to take Cayden out but he and Jared were excited. We decided to take him to my parents neighborhood. Tim and Chris both came out with us to watch Cayden Trick or Treat for the first time. Cayden was excited to have his uncles come with him.

Ready to go! (we had to buy a spider man beanie because we lost the hat the came with his costume)

"Yeah" Jared can get him to say and do almost anything!

At first Cayden wasn't sure what to do. Jared would take him up to the door and walk him through a routine. Well, Cayden isn't much for routine. He wanted to go inside every house and chat and play with their dog. I swear, everyone in my parents neighborhood has a dog! If Cayden didn't see or hear a dog he would ask where it was and expect to see it. It was cute at first but it made for a long evening. Jared took Cayden up to almost every door. He would ask me to go with him a few times and then he wanted Uncle Tim to take him. He didn't understand why he couldn't go up to every house so we tried to explain that if the house was "dark" we couldn't go ask for candy. After a while I think he finally caught on.

Trick or treating with Daddy. (first house)

Walking with Daddy

After we made it back to my parents house Cayden was ready to eat his candy. It was hard to get him to eat dinner first. We did our best to limit his candy intake but somehow he kept sneaking more. He LOVED to run to the door and pass out candy to the trick or treaters. They all commented on how cute he was too. (I love when people think he's cute. It makes me happy.)

After a little bit my sister surprised us and brought us "white magic" treats. We weren't expecting to them to come down but they did. It was fun to hang out with them. Cayden and Spencer and best buddies. They get along so well.

Handy Manny and Spiderman

So we all hung out until everyone was tired and then we came home. It was a fun Halloween. We are hoping that next year we can have our party again. I must say though, it was nice to have a carefree night rather than tending to party guests.

Zoning out at the end of the night.

Hope everyone had as much fun last night as we did!
~Love to All~

Halloween Treats!

2009-11-01T15:35:00.004-07:00

With all the snow this week and the month of October just being crazy for us we decided not to do pumpkins this year. I think Jared was a little sad because he enjoys coming up with his own stencil and making an awesome pumpkin. But I just couldn't face it this year. So we agreed to make fun Halloween Treats instead.

I called up my big brother, Chris, who hadn't even been home from the hospital for 24 hours and asked if he wanted to help Cayden make the treats. He loves hanging with Cayden and couldn't resist the offer.

We went out and bought the few things we needed and headed to my Dad's house for a treat making Friday night. We made marshmallow/chocolate ghosts and spiders. They were YUMMY!

Granddaddy helping Cayden scoop out the ghosts.

Daddy helping Cayden put eyes on the ghosts.

Bethy sneaking a spider leg!

It was a fun evening. Chris helped as much as he could but needed to sit most of the time. He is doing well though and getting better every day.

~Love To All~

Fall Snow!

2009-11-01T15:21:00.004-07:00

So as most of you know we had quite the snow storm this week. I was so glad when the snow finally stopped. We got close to 2 feet of snow. It was RIDICULOUS!!! Cayden and I stayed in and stayed warm on day one of the storm. Day 2 of the storm we had serious cabin fever so we tried to go out and play. Cayden lasted about 5 min. before he was ready to go in. I couldn't even get pictures of him playing because he really couldn't play. He tried to walk on the snow but kept getting mad that he sunk down into it. Thankfully the snow stopped and the sun has been out and shining. However, there is still quite a bit of snow left. Hopefully it melts soon.

Here are a few pictures of our back yard during the storm. Hopefully you can get an idea of how much snow there is on the ground.

He came in and fell right to sleep after attempting to play in the snow.

~Love to All~

The Move...and more...

2009-10-28T07:45:00.005-06:00

This month has just felt like one giant whirlwind! To be honest, I'm glad October is almost over. But here is the recap of our month...

We moved Conference Weekend. DON'T ever move conference weekend if you are hoping for help from your ward. We only had one of our home teachers come and help for an hour and a half in between sessions. The rest of our helping hands were family and my good friend from work, Ginger. I love how family helps out. It was a stressful weekend, with many tears from being overwhelmed, but we got moved. I took the following Monday off so that I could spend the day cleaning out the old apt. I was there cleaning from 9:00-3:30. Then we went back around 7:00 and I left at 10:30 to pick up Cayden from my mom and dad. Poor Jared was there until 2:30am. I never thought it would take so long to clean a stupid apt. but you just don't think about all the little things that have to be cleaned. But we were glad to be done and in our new place.

Our Kitchen is the most unpacked room in the house so that is all I'm willing to take a picture of right now. ;)

The next week was the week of H1N1. Boy was I glad to have that week over with. It was not easy being pregnant, tired, and rundown and have to take care of my family 100%. I did my best though. Cayden went in and out of a fever but seemed to handle being sick just fine. He was up and bouncing all over the place. But poor Jared really had a go with it. I couldn't get him to stay home from work so he would come home and just crash. He had a fever and chills. Then he had headaches and nausea so bad that if he moved he thought he may throw up. He spent practically an entire weekend in bed. I thankfully never got sick and was able to take care of my boys.

This past week wasn't too bad. We have a tree in our backyard and Jared and Cayden had fun picking up leaves. However, Jared was annoyed the next day when the rest of the leaves had fallen off the tree. He still hasn't made it back out to pick them up. I made yummy truffles this week for a work party. Bethy and I had fun making a mess. Cayden got to spend the week at Auntie Annie's house since my mom is in Florida. He got up everyday asking for "An Annie". It is so nice to know that we have someone else close who loves him and is willing to watch him. She is more of a 3rd Grandma. He absolutely adores her. All month until it was time to go to her house he would say "An Annie, soon." And we would tell him "Yep, you get to see Auntie Annie soon." He was so excited.

Helping Daddy "clean" up the yard

Bethy and me making truffles

On Friday my oldest brother Chris had surgery again. About a month ago he had an MRI of his brain tumor to see if it was shrinking. It is. However, they decided to take an image from a strange angle. In taking the image at a strange angle they found a mass in his throat. A biopsy was done and we found out that now Chris had thyroid cancer. It is totally unrelated to the cancer in his brain. Cancer # 2. So they stopped his chemo treatments until the thyroid cancer is gone. He had MASSIVE surgery and they found more cancer than they thought was in there. The had to remove the thyroid, a piece of a vocal chord, and the para thyroid on the right side and moved the para thyroid from the left over to the right. They also found cancer on his carotid artery. They removed as much as they could but had to leave some to avoid cutting the artery. So now, he will have radio-iodine treatments to kill the rest of the cancer. The prognosis is good however, he most likely will not get his voice back to normal. He is still in the hospital and we are hoping to get him home soon. He is in good spirits but just wants company while he is in the hospital. Annie has been my angel this week too. She has been watching Cayden so that I can go to the hospital and be with Chris. She even offered to have him spend the night. They won't allow children in the hospital. It really bothers me but thankfully I have a wonderful extended family.

Last night Jared kept Cayden so I could go have a Girls Night Out with my sisters. I love hanging out with my sisters! We always have so much fun. We went downtown to the Denver Center of Performing Arts and saw a show called Girls Only. It really is a girls only show, no men allowed. It is an original comedy that celebrates the honor, truth, humor and silliness of being female. The 2 women that perform the show are the 2 women that actually wrote it. It is a fun half scripted half improv show. It was awesome! And I had a blast hanging with my sisters. Ask Jared about the "angel" Christmas ornament I brought home from the show.

That brings us to today. Its snowing. Yep! We are expecting 8-14 inches. LAME! As beautiful as it is, I'm so not excited about it. I'm worried this winter is going to be awful. But maybe that means lots of snow days? I just pray that when this little guy in my tummy decides to come that the weather cooperates.

Cayden wishing he could go outside today.

Ok. That's it for now. I hope that this blog is enough to keep you all in the loop about us over the past month. I'll try to be better about blogging as long as things settle down.

~Love To All~

When Pigs Fly!

2009-10-15T15:50:00.002-06:00

That is the stupid phrase that kept going through my head at 1 am Tuesday morning as we sat in the emergency room at the Children's Hospital.

On Monday I came home from work and Jared said Cayden had fallen asleep. I thought it was a little strange until I talked to my mom and she said that he had only had a 45 min nap. But when we woke him up around 6:15 he had a fever. I took his temp and it was 102. So we pulled out the motrin and loaded him up. He was shaking with chills so we wrapped him in a blanket while we made dinner. He seemed to be ok once the motrin kicked in. Until midnight rolled around...

We switched Cayden into a "big boy" bed to get ready for the new baby and he wakes up nightly crying for "Daddy". So at midnight when he woke up crying for "Daddy" I rolled over and said, "Jared, he wants you." and rolled back over to go to sleep. A few minutes later Jared came back in and woke up up to ask when we need to be worried about Cayden's fever because he was at 104 and had real shallow breathing. I jumped up and called my mom and got her advice about what to do. When we couldn't get his fever to come down I called the on call doctor and he said to take him to the ER. We didn't really want to have to do that so I took his temperature one more time. But when my cold hand touched his skin it sent him into uncontrollable shaking. He was shaking so bad I thought I was having a seizure from his high fever. So I asked Jared to give him a blessing and when he finished we decided to take him in. We did get his fever down to about 102.

We got him in the car and headed to the ER. When we got there Cayden was wide awake and happy as could be. He wouldn't stop taking about the truck parked next to us.So we second guessed taking him in. So Jared asked him if he wanted to go into the hospital and his reply was "uh huh." Then Jared asked him if he knew what a hospital was and he said "uh huh." (He goes the hospital a lot with my mom and brother) So Jared asked him again if he wanted to go in and he said "uh huh." So I said "You do" and he replied "I do." S0 I took his temperature again and it was back up to 103. So we got out and took him in.

They weighed him and took his temp. and he was up to 104.9. I can't imagine how he was feeling. He just wanted to cuddle with Jared and kept saying "hurt" and grabbing his tummy. They decided to give him more motrin because they said we didn't give him enough. I warned them that he was grabbing his tummy and as soon as he took the motrin he threw up. I felt so bad for him. It broke my heart to see him so sick. He did look cute in the hospital gown though. Once we talked to the doctor some more the nurses came back in to do a nasal swab. It was more of a nasal suction! They shoved a long tube in his nose to suck out mucus for a flu test. I fought back tears the whole time as I sat and watched my little boy suffer wishing there was something I could do for him. It took a little while to calm him down after that but he finally was able to rest. After a while the nurse came back in and said it was the flu.

He tested positive for influenza A and they said it was most likely H1N1 because the seasonal flu hasn't hit yet-Swine Flu GREAT! This is when that stupid saying "when pigs fly" popped into my head. I didn't think it would attack my family but it sure did. They started him on Tamiflu and suggested I see my doctor and get put on Tamiflu as well.

Cayden is feeling better but still fighting a fever off and on. He hates taking the Tamiflu because it tastes awful but he is a trooper about taking it. My doctor told me to stay away from him and wear a mask around the house to avoid getting it. Yeah right. I'm feeling good and having faith that I wont get it. Although I'm a little worried about Jared now. He just got home from work and is feeling pretty crummy. I guess I'd better go take care of my boys. I hope everyone is doing well.

~LOVE TO ALL~

P.S. The move was stressful but we are all moved in. Moved in but not unpacked. I'll post more on the move later.

Almost Moved!

2009-10-05T08:57:00.003-06:00

OK, so Saturday we got most everything moved into the new place. Its a disaster! We are so excited to get all unpacked and moved in though. I am taking a "sick" day off of work so that I can finish things up at the apartment. I hate cleaning!! But hopefully I can get it all done. We have turn in our keys to the apartment complex by noon tomorrow. I'm hoping its not a late night of cleaning. Anyway, I'll post pictures of the new place as soon as I can get more batteries for the camera.

Just an FYI to everyone...Our internet is being shut off today and we won't have it back until the 13th. Dang Comcast. Why am I not their first priority? Anyway, so we will be out of touch by e-mail for the next week and a half.

Hope everyone had a good conference weekend!!!

~LOVE TO ALL~

Moving Day!

2009-10-03T10:49:00.003-06:00

ITS A MAD HOUSE!!!
I hate moving. It always stresses me out and I feel so overwhelmed. But I am so excited to get into our new place. Its going to be awesome! We have slowly been packing things up during the week but I feel we haven't gotten far enough. Annie and Steve came over last night and helped us move some boxes so we would have a little less to do today. They are so great!

We got up at 6:30 this morning and by 8:00 This is what our apartment looked like.

We have been working and the piles of boxes are even bigger now. We start moving this over to the new place in about an hour so I'd better get back to packing.

~LOVE TO ALL~

The Hunt is OVER!!

2009-09-25T08:06:00.002-06:00

We received a very exciting phone call last night. The land lord/owner of the town house we fell in love with called us. He said he was willing to come down to the price we can afford so that he can have good tenants living in his home. WE ARE THRILLED! Another tender mercy. What a blessing!

We meet with him Saturday morning to sign the paperwork. Then we can move in as soon as we pay the first month's rent. We plan to move in Oct. 2nd and 3rd.

We can't wait to be in a home. It is going to be perfect for us. It even has a small, and I mean small, backyard for Houdini to move around in.

I'll post some pictures as soon as I can take some.

~LOVE TO ALL~