Merry Christmas

Well things fell far behind this year in the way of Christmas, we are so sorry that all the Christmas cards and treats did not get done but we just want to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas!! The girls are so excited for tomorrow and I am sure that will be ten fold tomorrow night. It seems like just this past week I have come to reflect on Christmas.... which is much too late but I am grateful for everyone God has put in our lives and us in there's.

I am also so very grateful for family, near and far and how much love we have for them that cannot even be expressed.

For girls that smile that very big smile and those little ones too.

For a son that loves to snuggle into you.

For a home, even with all the work we need to do, that is a palace compared to most and it is ours.

For a husband who loves me even on my cranky days (which seem far too many these days).

To be able to go to church and believe as I do without persecution.

For a Savior who died on the cross for all of my many sins...

For a Father who loved each of us so greatly that he could give his child...

Merry Christmas All. We love you!

Pre-Holiday craziness...

I can't believe it has been so long since I last posted. Well you didn't miss out on much besides...

Painting the Living Room (it looks so nice!)...Joe and the girls getting a stomach bug...Jackson turning 6 months old....Emily working on loose tooth 2, 3 and 4 (I think #2 may not make it through tomorrow)....finally getting the presents in the mail and some of the Christmas cards..for those I did not finish, we wish you a very Merry Christmas I am just not running on full steam this year...next year I promise :)...finally seeing "Twilight" with some friends (yes we were the gigglers in the 5th row, music and camera angles, how could you resist?)..experiencing -3 degree temperatures and man is that cold... having a fantastic family that makes me so grateful....

I will try and get some pictures of Jackson posted soon. Hope everyone is enjoying the Christmas season!

Pampered Chef Party

If any of you received the email it was all very confusing... but I am hosting an online Pampered Chef Party. It is now open and closes on the evening of the 14th. Personally I love the pizza stone, I use it all the time for cookies :) and it always bakes them perfectly. Anyways, if you need a Christmas gift for the cook on your list this is a great place to shop.

http://www.pamperedchef.biz/kimfowler?page=products-main

Finally!

I also wanted to add that Emily lost her first tooth on Thanksgiving day! She was so very very very excited and the Tooth Fairy even left her four quarters that night. Way to go Emily!

So Very Grateful!

Well, we are home and trying to get back into the routine after an amazing trip up to Evergreen. We spent almost a full week with family and had an incredible time. Aunt Pam and Uncle George opened their home to our big old bunch and boy was it fun. Thanksgiving was at Alli and Scott's house followed by a surprise 80th birthday for Grandma on Friday. There were lots of tears and smiles all dedicated to an amazing woman. Thank you to all my wonderful family, we loved seeing you all and spending time with you. I think Jackson will never be the same, he seems to think he needs to be rocked to sleep ;D. We love you guys and miss you all already!

Jackson's Room

Well, one more down with the biggest one still on the procrastination list (the remaining part of the Living Room). This is the little man's room. I have to tell you, the type A side of me just loves these lines ;D. Someday I will add a valence to his room and the girls'......

2 Monkeys and a Giggler

Before we left Utah we made sure to go to Ikea one last time (not for long, Denver here we come!!). Anyways, while we were there we saw these great rings that hang from the ceiling. They looked so fun for kids we just had to get them in hopes that one day we could use them. Well Joe hung up 2 of them in the basement the other day and the girls just love them. Here are some shots of our little monkeys....






















The girls also found a great way to get Jackson to laugh. I couldn't help but record it, sorry it is so long, it is just too cute...

You gotta love Family!

We were so incredibly blessed to have the wonderful Aunt Pam and Uncle George come for a visit this past weekend! It is so nice actually living within a few hours of family! They both came ready and willing to paint and work hard but thankfully Joe opted for a relaxing weekend instead (we spent last weekend painting all the doors and door frames in our house). So we headed off for a walk around Lake Pueblo and found out that Daisy is quite the water dog. She loved playing fetch in the water while we all got to enjoy this beautiful weather. Thanks for the visit guys, we love you!

Halloween with the Irelands

What a wonderful time of year! We got to have so much fun this past week and the season is only getting started!

We kicked it all off with a western murder mystery party at a friend's house. Joe was a suspect but didn't end up being the murderer, it was a really fun night. Then Jackson got his first taste of rice cereal and didn't really like it. After a few bites we quit, we'll try again another night. Next we got to enjoy Trunk or Treat with all our friends at church. What would our two princesses be with out their little dragon. Jackson was just adorable in his costume! The girls raked in tons of candy and it wasn't even Halloween!

Then both girls had parties at their school. Emily and I got to go watch Lizzy's and then Lizzy and I got to go watch Emily's. Too much fun. We followed that up with pumpkin carving where each of the girls cleaned out their pumpkins and drew their faces. They loved pulling out the seeds and Emily came up with a 3 faced pumpkin (he was a rabbit, a mouse and a scary face). Lizzy's was as cute as could be.

Halloween night finally came and the girls went out and around the neighborhood (Jackson stayed home). After an hour or so they brought Lizzy back home and Emily and Dad headed back out. Emily is a marathon trick or treater! What a great time they had though! We hope you had a great night too!

Sorry for the picture overload :D, you can click on each one to expand it.

Tagged and More Tagged...

OK, so I have been tagged twice now and just kept putting off. So hey what better way to avoid cleaning up the house while the kiddos are at school?? :D

Becky's first... This is one where you have to list your crazy quirks. Mine are veeerrryyy similar to yours Becky!
1. I don't like to mess up the bed once it is made (i.e. sitting, laying on it). Whenever I walk by it I feel a need to straighten it just a little.
2. Warm tortillas with peanut butter and honey are so yummy! The girls even like them now. They love Fajita night because we know what is for dessert!
3. I check on my children constantly when they are sleeping. If they sleep in late for some reason I think for sure they are no longer with us. This happens at least once a week.
4. I hate for people to come over to a messy house. Thankfully I have had to swallow my pride several times, it is hard to keep up with 3 kids.

So onto Karen's... 8's
8 shows I love to watch: Grey's, Medium, Chuck, Designed to Sell, House Hunters, Design on a Dime, I am not sure what else, we don't have cable anymore...
8 Favorite Restaurants: Sweet Tomatoes, Fresh Choice, Soup Plantation, Melting Pot, Chipotle, Bucca Di Beppo, Pat & Oscar's, Rubios
8 things that happened yesterday: Went running with Daisy, took Emily to school, watched a friend's little girl, had a meeting for church, chatted with friends, did the dishes, did homework with Emily and Lizzy and played with Jackson
8 things I am looking forward to: Thanksgiving, Painting the living room, replacing the fan, knocking down the wall downstairs, the weekend, hanging up pictures, giving Joe his Christmas present, loosing the rest of my prego weight and more
8 things on my wish list: A new kitchen counter, a new van, a finished basement, landscaping, Emily to get over this 5 year old bump, a vacation with my family, to live close to family, daisy to be perfectly trained
8 people I tag: Elise, Genel, Michelle King, Peggy, Kristin, Kasi, Kim Fowler, and Katie... Love you guys! :D

A New Addition...

We promised the girls that when we moved to a "big" house we would get a dog. Well it came time to fulfil that promise. We had been checking the shelter periodically online and came across a 3 year old yellow lab. She was the one. So we officially brought Daisy Mae home on Wednesday afternoon and we love her already. She is very sweet tempered with a little bit of stubbornness (don't all women ;D?). The girls love taking her for walks and playing outside with her nonstop. This afternoon we took her on our Saturday adventure and hiked around the lake. It was so beautiful and a great afternoon together. Have we mentioned how amazing it is to have Joe home on the weekends???? Anyways, welcome to the family Daisy!















Have I also mentioned that Jackson is now 4 months old? How is it that time is going so fast? He is weighing in at a healthy 14 pounds (he is at 50% for height, weight and head circumference). He is such a cheery little guy and we love him to pieces. He is also so picky about eating. I had to go to a meeting this morning and was gone for a few hours. When I got home Joe said that he did great and the only time he cried was when he tried to feed him a bottle (both breast milk and formula). He just hung out and waited for me. 6 1/2 hours this little guy waited and when I walked in the door he looked at me and went from a smile to a pouty face to a little cry. That guy is too funny!

A Week of Fall

What a busy fun week it has been! Fall is definitely here and the cooler air feels nice. We kicked off the season by getting the house decorated and then had some friends over to paint Halloween shirts and make caramel apples. It was a ton of fun (thanks Kristen for all your help!).

Then Lizzy had a field trip for school and they were off to the pumpkin patch. They got to go on a Hay ride and then pick their own pumpkins. It was so much fun spending that time with Lizzy while Emily was at school. She is such a great girl and makes me smile all the time.

After that we decided to go as a family to another Pumpkin Patch for our Saturday adventure. It rained just before we got there so there was a lot of mud. The corn maze was awesome though. By the time we came out we each had 10 pounds of mud on each foot and we couldn't stop smiling. They each picked out a pumpkin and then we warmed up by the fire with some hot cocoa. Now it is time to start some more painting. Tomorrow begins work on the doors. Cross your fingers everyone!

Pledge of Allegiance

On Friday Miss Emily was selected along with another student in her class to say the Pledge of Allegiance at a school assembly honoring Walmart's Teacher of the Year. She was so cute when she got up there and can I say how choked up I was watching??? She is getting so big and just loves going to school and all the things they are learning about. (someday I will buy the software to rotate the picture, sorry guys. she is the smaller girl)

Well, we decided quite last minute to run off for a night of camping in the mountains nearby. We ended up in San Isabel, about an hour southwest of here. The leaves were starting to change, it was absolutely beautiful. On the way home we stopped and walked around the lake and toured Bishop's Castle. It was really nice to just get away for a little while, if even for a night. Here are some shots from the trip. It was a little cold at night, thankfully we got a little one room cabin with a loft (beds only, no kitchen or potty). I like the picture at the end where Lizzy is just crashed out once we got home (she has something smeared on her lips, I think it was her fruit snacks she was sucking on ;D).

One room down... so many to go

Well, I finished up the girls room today. A great big thanks to Dad who switched out the light for a fan, Kristin for her consultation, Joe with his chair rail and blind hanging talent and neosporin for my battered fingers from all the caulking ;D. The girls got to pick their colors and we came out with a beautiful room (it used the be white with dark purple baseboards). At some point I will get the curtains sown and a few more things on the wall but here it is in all its spendor. The girls love it...

3 Months old already!

Can you believe how fast time is going by? Jackson is already 3 months old and as cute as can be. He has started to grab for things that are front of him and smiles and talks all the time.


The girls and I are also trying to get their room all finished too, we have painted and now just need to get the chair rail and pictures up. I'll post a shot once it is done (it will be the first room in the house that is all done :)). On our last trip to Lowes they were making pirate ships. Once we got home they just had to paint too.

Plane Crash

Not sure if any of you have seen it on the news but there was a plane crash. It was an instructor and a student that were up. It looks like they will both make it. Boy did it make me grateful that my husband came home safe last night. He was up flying with a student when it happened as was Cody and the other guys. Our prayers go out to the instructor who is in the hospital right now.

http://www.krdotv.com/Global/story.asp?S=8971266

Sparkle Girls

Well the girls talked us into it. This afternoon we went and got their ears pierced. They were both so excited too. As Emily sat on the chair waiting to go she was holding her cheeks. When I asked her why she said "to keep them from smiling, I just can't stop smiling", it was too cute. She was also amazingly brave. After her first ear was done she wanted to cry but held it in so her sister wouldn't get scared. What an amazing girl I tell you. Lizzy on the other hand cried at the end but by this evening it was all but forgotten and they are both so excited to sleep with earrings in.

If you click on the picture you can see their earrings better. Emily got white and Lizzy picked pink flowers.

Sunday Evening

It seems to me that it gets harder and harder to keep up on my blog. We have had so much fun going on. The family has all left now and we miss everyone terribly, come back! Saturday we had the opportunity to go to Denver though and visit with family there. The girls were able to attend their cousin Maddie's birthday at the Butterfly Pavilion and had an amazing time. Thanks Maddie, Happy Birthday girl! Then we spent the afternoon at Pam and George's for a grill out (just for you Stac ;)). They live in a beautiful house in Evergreen and every moment you spend there you feel like you are a vacation in a log cabin. It is so nice to have them somewhat close by. Our dream is to someday live even closer to family!

Well we are back in the swing of things now at home and getting ready to start the new week. Jackson, the cute little guy, has started talking up a storm and I couldn't help but to catch a little on our camera. Please disregard the silly lady in the background talking. Love to everyone!

Lizzy's Turn!

Well, it is here, Lizzy's turn to start school! She was super excited until we got there and then decided she wanted to spend the day with Mom. Thankfully her wonderful teacher kept her distracted and a little later called to tell me she was as happy as could be. What a big girl!

Just to keep Jackson in on the loop too, here are some shots from yesterday. He was smiling up a storm (but still my little spitup man, this is just before I changed his shirt).

So, So, Much

Well, we are full fledged into a whirlwind of fun. Over the last 3 weeks we have had a visit from Nana and Papa, the blessing of Jackson, moving to a new house, a trip to Denver to see family, a visit from Pops and Gaga and Emily and Lizzy starting school. Whew! So many wonderful things. I'll post the pictures from Emily starting Kindergarten, Jackson's 2 month and their awesome fishing trip with Pops for now. I will post more later on. For all our family, we love you!!!! Ma and Baba, we can't wait to see you guys!

We are homeowners!

Can you believe it, after 9 years of marriage, 4 kids, the Marines, College and living in 3 states we have purchased our first home! We are so excited and whew is there a ton of work though!


I do have to say how wonderful people are. Just this morning I had 3 friends call and offer to watch the girls while we signed the papers and it was such a great help. While Joe was outside trying to tackle the enormous weeds today, a friend came out and started pulling alongside him. How truly blessed we are. I just can't believe how far we have come and how many people have helped us to get this far. So thank you to everyone! Our door is always open and there will always be a bed waiting for you!

The Divers

So this round I got'em on video! We don't have the version of software to rotate the movie but just turn your head sideways and see the big jump! :)

And this is what Jackson does during the lessons.. my little companion