Happy 11th Birthday Julia!

Wow, it's crazy that Julia is getting close to being a teenager. I can't believe it. Here are some pictures of her birthday weekend. I brought her home some flowers on her actual birthday since it was during the week.

The next day (Saturday) Julia had a great time with her two best friends, Sierra and Cadence. They left town mid-morning for a fund day of shopping at the Park Meadows Mall in Denver. Instead of a party, they each got some spending money. As you can see below, before they hit the road they enjoyed a treat at Starbucks. After having fun in Denver they came back to our house for a sleepover.

The next day we opened presents with the family. Since Stacey's parents were in town both sets of grandparents were able to join us for opening gifts.  

Student of the Month

As voted on by his classmates. Each month a couple of students in Jonathan's class are awarded SoM for exhibiting certain, predefined behaviors. Alright Buddy!

Kitchen Sounds

Freckles watching and listening intently to Stacey making noises in the kitchen. Blender = nuthin. Can opener = jackpot! She never misses an opportunity to be near food...

Thanksgiving Weekend

We stayed around town this Thanksgiving. The entire family ran the Turkey Trot for a second consecutive year, only this time Jonathan stepped up and ran the adult distance of 5k. I ran with him and the girls ran together. Julia did really good, finishing something like ninth in her age group.

Uncle Tom drove down from the cabin and joined us this year. He ran the 5k too and finished first in his age group. Dad took it easy and finished second in his age group. We did the family meal at my parents house and the next day we all met at the Pikes Peak Center to watch the Nutcracker. Jonathan tolerated it, even though "it's probably mostly for girls"!

Play Date

At Cade and Avery's!

Trick or Treat

This year the kids dressed up as a Latin dancer and ninja. It had snowed earlier in the day and was a very cold night. So, because of that and because we are trying to get the kids to be a little more independent, we hatched the idea that they should go trick or treating with their friends and let us stay home and hand out candy.

I think in the end they had more fun without us! Julia took Stacey's phone and they hit up our street and the next street over. That was enough for them to get about 100 pieces of candy each! We have so many families that come by our neighborhood that it's pretty safe to be out with a group of friends this night...just like Charlie Brown used to do it. The good news is, nobody "got a rock".

Royal Gorge

We spent the day at the Royal Gorge outside of Canon City. Maggie's family was in town for her AFA reunion, so we joined them and my parents for the day. I hadn't been down there for a couple of decades and this was the first time for the rest of the family. 

I took a couple trips across the bridge...once with both kids, once with everyone, and once running across it with Julia. The kids liked to look through the cracks in the planks at the 1,000 foot drop below our feet. Julia and I didn't enjoy the gondola ride across the canyon, which is why we ran back over the bridge!

Pumpkin Carving

Spokane Getaway

This fall Stacey and I went up to Spokane for a long, restful weekend without the kids. My parents watched Julia and Jonathan while we spent some time up there relaxing. We didn't do too much - a few walks, a few movies, and a few coffee and dinner meetings with her family. It was nice to get away and chill for a couple of days!

It's Getting Colder Outside