Colorado Thanksgiving {North Pole}

Sawyer had a BLAST at the North Pole! He is quite the little daredevil and wanted to ride all the rides. The higher and faster the better! He even rode the roller coaster and the scrambler and he was smiling through it all. The only tears we saw all day occurred because he wanted to keep riding when it was time to go :) I think we know where we will be spending our summer vacations as Sawyer grows. Here's a peek at all the fun:

Sawyer, Kyle, cousin Noah and Aunt Christina ready for their 1st ride

He could barely see over the bar but he has his hands up

Ridin' that motorcycle

Driving a car with Nana

Flying an airplane with cousin Noah

me and my daredevil

Nana and Papa with Noah and Sawyer

ready to ride the roller coaster

serious about his racing

Colorado Thanksgiving {Part 2}

Thankfully Sawyer was feeling better the next morning because on Wednesday we went to the North Pole. Papa and Nana wanted to take the older grand kids for a day at the amusement park. Sawyer had a BLAST! This event deserves a post of it's own so more to come... Wednesday night Kyle made everyone homemade pizza then we played a few card games.

Thursday was Thanksgiving. My parents hosted the event and everyone brought a few side dishes.  The kids ate early and then went down for naps. During naps the adults enjoyed a wonderful meal. Following the meal we took our traditional walk then came home for desserts.  The rest of the day was spent watching football, looking at black friday ads, eating more dessert, playing cards, and wrapping gifts.

Nora eating her 1st Thanksgiving meal she loved the turkey and sweets, not so impressed with the corn

Sawyer eating his Thanksgiving meal, curiously enough he does not eat well when we travel, the only thing he touched at Thanksgiving was broccoli which he normally refuses to eat

Thanksgiving family pic

an attempt at a grandparent pic but obviously the kids were done

Friday morning we made the trek back to Denver and flew home to Canton. We had a wonderful time visiting family in CO. We packed a lot of fun stuff into a few short days but we loved every minute of it (well except for the nights...our kids never sleep well in new places, ugh)

a few last minute pics before we hit the road

Colorado Thanksgiving {Part 1}

We left for Colorado bright and early on the Saturday before Thanksgiving. In fact we landed in Denver at 8:30 am. We spent the rest of the day recouperating from the 4:30 am wake-up call. Sawyer was very excited to ride on the airplane and he did a great job on the 3 hour flight.  Nora is at a hard stage for flying, she wants to be moving and she is not yet interested in watching movies. So she walked the aisle and ate a bunch of snacks. Towards the end of the flight she finally fell asleep.

How cute is he wheeling his suitcase through the airport?

Someone had energy at an early hour

Nora not so amused

On Sunday we went to my sister and brother-in-laws church for a special event, the dedication of Josiah. Tache and Papa arrived on Sunday. It was beautiful weather the whole time we were there so we took advantage by playing outside everyday! On Sunday we took Sawyer to a nearby playground. He had a blast playing with Daddy, Papa and Nana!

Daddy enjoying the playground

What's more fun than playing with sticks?

Sawyer making Nana run home

Daddy showing Nora how to fly

 Monday morning Nana, Tache and I took the kids to Focus on the Family. They have a wonderful play area that we try at visit each time we are in Colorado.  This was Nora's 1st time and she LOVED it!  That afternoon I got a little pampering in the form of highlights and a haircut.  On Monday evening we met Kyle's Uncle Kevin, Aunt Cheryl and cousin Jess at Red Robin for a little reunion.  It was so fun to see them and get a chance to chat.

Nora loving Focus on the Family

Sawyer was a good big bro and helped Nora on the log over and over again

Tuesday the girls went out Christmas shopping while the boys stayed home with the kiddos. I don't get a chance to shop much so it was fun to browse the stores looking for others. That evening we had a birthday dinner for all those in the family who have a November birthday.  We went to a Japanese hibachi grill.  Sawyer had a blast watching the fire! And we learned Nora likes the finer things in life like calamari and tofu! Unfortunately, Sawyer got sick that night so we spent most of the time soothing him.

Tache and Josiah

Nora looking cute in her pig tails and eating her calamari

Snuggle Bear

Nora loves to snuggle with anything soft. Right now she prefers daddy over mommy for that very reason :) Just kidding, but she really does love to snuggle her soft blankets.  She is constantly pulling them out of her crib and carrying them around. They are a little cumbersome, but she has to hold onto all of them.

Things I am loving...

About my kiddos. Time moves so quickly and I often get caught up in my to-do list but there are things about my kids right now that I don't want to forget. They bring us so much joy and here are a few things we are loving about them right now:

Nora:

• The way you moo every time you see a cow
• The way you love to read books. You pick out a book and bring it to me, if I agree to read it you turn around and back-up until you reach my lap and then you plop yourself down
• Your love of showing affection through kisses. Even after your brother has been mean to you you will approach him with a kiss while he is in time-out
• Pats you on the back when you pick her up
• Your quirky obsession with your belly button (see pic above)
• You are turning into a daddy's girl and it couldn't be sweeter. You light up when Daddy enters the room and sometimes you will run to him instead of me.

Sawyer:

• When I walk in the room the way you run to me and yell "momma" with great enthusiasm
• Your love of learning
• The way you always want to play "rough" with daddy
• Your love of family hugs
• Your onry grin
• The way you always wants to pray if others are praying
• When Nora starts to cry you will come over to her and start signing Jesus Loves Me (I used to do this when she was little to calm her down and he caught on)
• Your little voice
• The way you ask to go to a Happy Party (aka birthday party) every day

I've been busy...

Not only have I been busy with contract work 3-4 days a week but I've been working on building up the Etsy shop for the holiday season.  Check out some of my recent work:

Holiday towels

Lots of state embroidery...this was just 1 order

Additions to the game day collection: state embroidery in your favorite team's colors

And I got to visit the store, Simply Vague. Below are a few of the items I have for sale at the store.
It's located in Columbus, OH which is also the home of OSU so there's a game day collection display.

 

I've also been busy making towel sets that are currently in the shop.  I love creating something special for someone else!