Garden of the Gods

Last week while the fam was here, we went to Garden of the Gods. My sister's three adopted kids haven't ever been to Colorado, so we had to give them the whole tour. It turns out that we chose the coldest day of the week to go. It was pretty nice when we first got there, but then the wind came up and it was freezing. Here are a few pictures of our adventures. Addison was so bundled up that she was sweating when we took her out of her back pack.

This was after the wind came up. We had to bundle ourselves up.

Jamey was sick and his ears got cold, so I gave him my hat (I told him to bring his own and he decided not to.)

Addy loves riding in her back pack. She is also obsessed with sticking her tongue out and licking things all of a sudden.

Bishop's Castle

Since my fam was here from Kansas, we decided to take them to see the ever exciting Bishop's Castle. It is something that you have to see if you are ever in the Rye/San Isabel area. It's a castle that has been hand built by Jim Bishop. It's quite the sight, and we always make sure to take everyone who comes to visit there.
A quick family pic on Addy's first of many trips to the castle.

Me and Addy in the giant chair. It was about 30 degrees! Don't you love the rosy cheeks?

Jamey and Addy in the giant chair.

Addy in the giant chair. Such a big girl!

Christmas

Our Christmas was very busy! Each of my siblings and their families came. That means there were 19 people in my parents house on Christmas eve. Opening presents was a zoo! Addy had a huge stack (everyone went all out since it was her 1st). After a while, I got a little tired of opening her presents and wished that we wouldn't have bought her so many. Here are a few pics of our eventful Christmas.

My parents bought Addy this lion. She can push it or ride on it. It's cute, but it's pretty annoying. When you push its nose it sings a little song. Addison loves it and pushes it repeatedly. Let's just say I'm happy you can turn it off.

I finally got to open my North Face vest. I was with Jamey when he bought it, and he let me wear it for our pictures and then he wrapped it up. As you can see, I was pretty excited to open it. Jamey got new shoes. They are Goretex running shoes. I was a little upset when he told me that he isn't going to wear them for a few months because he wants to keep them new!

Addy got this toy from Jamey's parents. It has ducks on it and she can chase them as she pushes it when she crawls. She doesn't quite get it yet.

Here's one of me helping Addy open her presents. Do you see that huge pile? There are more off to the side that you can't see. The giant elephant is from her Aunt NiNi, and she can sit on it when she gets big enough.

We hope that everyone had as crazy and fun a Christmas we did!

Photo studio

Earlier this week, Addison and I were home alone as usual, and I got bored. I decided that it was time to play photo studio. I covered my bed and wall with white sheets for a back drop and found some fun props for Addy to play with. She wouldn't hold still and it made me wonder how professionals deal with toddlers. She just kept trying to crawl away from me or she would lay back and kick her feet. I didn't put her bloomers on because I thought she'd be a good little girl and just sit there patiently while I took her picture. I was very wrong. She thought it was hilarious to try to kick me. But, look at those cute little feet. I gave her a bow to play with and she just couldn't get enough of it.

She also enjoyed the tinsel very much! She got herself all wrapped up in it.

I gave her some flowers, and she had to hold one in each hand.

This is a classic Addy picture. She is so smily all the time. She just loves her teddy.

Getting Ready For Christmas

I have been very busy getting the house ready for Christmas in the past few weeks. I decided that I should show off some of my hard work. In our house we have three Christmas trees. The first tree is mine and Jamey's. It is little and has fiber optics. My grandma got it for us and it works for now. Someday we'll have a real tree, but for now this will do. It is decorated mostly with homemade ornaments. We have a few that Mirissa made for us for Christmas last year. They are clear glass and have each of our initials on them. I also made clear glass ornaments with each of our names on them. My wonderful mother-in-law made us ornaments with pictures inside. There are two of them, the first one is a picture of us with Addy on her blessing day. The second is one of Addy posed with angel wings when she was 2 weeks old. We also have a baby's first Christmas ornament. We are excited to add many homemade ornaments that Addison brings home from school to us in the years to come. The second tree is my parents. I decorated it for them because my mom was in Florida and my dad tends to be a bit of a scrooge when it comes to decorating. Their tree is a bit bigger than ours (actually a lot bigger). I could barely get the angel on top. It is decorated with blue and gold glass ornaments and beads and bows. I love their tree.
PS. All of the presents under both trees are ones that I bought! Jamey and Addy sure are spoiled.

The last tree is Addison's. She gets an Addy size fiberoptic tree. It's on her dresser in her room. It has pink ornaments and a silver star on top. I let her pick out the ornaments.

We finally decided that we should get a picture for our Christmas cards (which I still haven't mailed out). My parents have a canyon on their property. We love it (it's so pretty). We decided that since we don't have snow, it would be a scenic place to take our pictures. There is a huge 100 feet drop off behind me.

Jamey got me a NorthFace vest for Christmas and he let me wear it in the pictures. We went for the vest theme because I think Addy's little vest is so cute.

PS. If you're on my card list, I'm sending them out tomorrow (hopefully) so you'll probably get them sometime after Christmas. It will be like a little surprise. You think you've opened all of your presents and then you'll get one more from me!

Electricritters and Santa

On Friday, we took Addison to Electricritters at the Pueblo Zoo. It's a family tradition to go every year, and we couldn't break it just because we have Addy. We bundled her up and prepared to brave the freezing cold. I should probably tell you what Electricritters is. The zoo puts up thousands of lights shaped like animals all over the zoo. It's pretty spectacular. Addy was so attentive and just stared and smiled when we showed her new displays. She didn't like the camera flash so she looks a little funny in some of the pictures. Me and Addy waiting for the peacock to light up.
The peacock is almost all the way lit. There are probably 100 more displays like this one of different animals.

Jamey and Addy with the peacock.

Today, while we were at Wal-Mart, we realized that Santa was there. I've been wanting to take Addy to see Santa, but the Santa at our mall is pretty expensive if you want to get a picture, and let's face it she has no idea who Santa is and I'm cheap so I'm not willing to pay. The best part about Santa in Wal-Mart is that it was FREE!! They gave us a 5x7 print. This is just the shot that Jamey took with his camera phone. Addy didn't even cry, which was a little bit surprising because she's been apprehensive about strangers lately. She was really intrigued and just stared at Santa. In case you didn't notice, Addy is wearing her lucky Gators onesie. (It must have worked because they beat Alabama today!)

Thanksgiving

For Thanksgiving we made the long trek to Oklahoma to see my Grannie. It was quite an interesting trip. We left on Wednesday night so that Addison would hopefully sleep the entire way. It's about an 11 hour trip, but with my parents van, which was having a few problems not dying, it took a little longer. Jamey and I slept most of the way while my parents took turns driving. We stopped at a red light in some tiny town during the middle of the night, and the van died. My mom pulled off to the side to try to start it again, but it sounded like the engine was flooded so it wouldn't start. I really had to pee, so Jamey and I decided that we would walk to the gas station that we could see about two blocks up the road. We had made it about a block and a half when we see the van go speeding by us with the back door open and my crazy sister Nicole hanging halfway out. She shouted, "Get in! We're not stopping." It was a little hard to understand amidst her hysterical laughter. They pulled over at the gas station, and we met them there. The rest of the trip was pretty much the same way. It was a little nerve-racking wondering if the van would die each time we had to pull over.

We finally made it to Oklahoma early Thursday morning. We went to my Grannie's house to sleep for a few hours before we went to pick her up from the nursing home. Since my Grannie isn't living at her house (and probably never will again), my aunt has cleared pretty much everything out. There were beds to sleep on and a couch to sit on but that's pretty much it. Due to this fact, we decided to have Thanksgiving dinner at Perkins in a town nearby. It was very strange because my mom and I usually make a huge dinner, but it was a nice break. Grannie didn't know that we were coming, so she was very surprised. She was also very excited to meet Addy (who got her middle-name from Great-Grannie).

Here are a few pictures from our adventure in Oklahoma. (captions are below each picture)

Me, Addison Roxie, My dad and Grannie Roxie. I got a 4-generations picture of me, ad, my mom, and grandma when Addy was born, so I had to get one of the other side of the family. Grannie Roxie loved Addy. Addison's having a little bit of stranger danger right now, so she cried every time Grannie held her. It was pretty sad. Grannie Roxie holding Addy. It was the one time that Addy didn't cry. (she looks so big!)

We decided to let Addy have a ride on Dumbo after a long shopping trip.

Addy and Aunt NiNi hanging out with Ronald. Ronald's pretty creepy. Addison loves Aunt NiNi (a title that I came up with after a very long road trip). I think Nicole likes it.

I decided to get Addison in the Christmas spirit. The hat is almost as big as she is. We're very excited for Christmas. We went all out on Addy's presents this year even though she won't know what's going on and would probably rather play with the wrapping paper anyway.

Addison has to get her follow-up flu shot today, which I'm not looking forward to. It makes me feel horrible that they have to poke her. But, she's a tough girl and hardly cries so hopefully things go well. She also started walking laps around her crib which is a bit frightening because I'm afraid now that she's mastered pulling up on everything and using it to walk, she'll be walking soon. We certainly hope she slows down a little. I'm not ready for her to be walking yet!

Update

Addison had her "6 month" check up today. I know she's 7 months old, but when we moved back the Dr. didn't have an opening so she got her check up today. She weighed 17 lbs 15 ounces and was 29.5 inches long. In the past 3 months since her last check up, she has only gained a little over a pound but has grown 3 inches. She's a very tall girl.

She has also started pulling herself up on everything. It's only a matter of time until she is walking everywhere.

Enjoying Fall

Yesterday, we went to the last Air Force football game of the home season. It was a great game, and we got to see our friend Blake Morgan play. Air Force played BYU, and we were a little torn about who to cheer for. We've been cheering for AF the entire season, but Blake plays for BYU. I decided that I wanted AF to win, but I also wanted Blake to do well. After a few religious comments from a few stupid fans, I began cheering full on for BYU. In general the fans were pretty good, but there were a few people who had to bring religion in to it. I don't see what being LDS had anything to with the football game, but apparently it did. BYU won the game, and Blake had a few good plays. Michael came to the game with us, which was fun, but we wish that Kristi and Will could have come too.

Today after church, we decided to head up to the park and enjoy the beautiful fall weather. We love being back in Rye, and the park is a great place to enjoy the beauty of the mountains. We took a few pictures also. I'm trying to decide which one, if any, to use for our Christmas card.

We brought extra clothes because we didn't know how snowy it would be.

Addison loved to feel the trees, and she even tried to play in the water. I wasn't very enthusiastic about that idea.

Since he's been working outside, Jamey usually only shaves on Sunday mornings. This morning he decided not to shave his entire face. I wasn't very happy, but after more consideration I decided I think it's a good look for him.

Of course, in the minute that it took us to get from the church building to the park, Addy fell asleep. It took me quite a while to wake her up. She was out cold. Thankfully, when she did wake up, she was in a good mood!

Air Force

Yesterday, we went to the Air Force vs. CSU game. My parents have season tickets and a tail gating spot, so Air Force games are an all-around good time for us. The Falcons, of course, beat the Rams. It was the Veteran's Day game so they had a special flyover. They always have a flyover before every game, but yesterday they had 3 jets fly over and it was amazing. Going to the games always makes me feel so proud to be an American. It was just the uplift I needed after Tuesday's unfortunate election results. It's amazing to see all of the dedicated service people.

It was a little chilly, but Addison was bundled up and slept through most of the game. She had fun hanging out with Dad and Aunt Nicole during the tail gate party.

Addison was asleep (and being held by Aunt Nicole) so Jamey and I decided to take a quick snapshot of ourselves.
A quick family shot before heading in to the game. I think she was a little tired of pictures by this point.

On Friday, I had just finished cleaning the house and came back in to the family room to find Addy's path of destruction. We like to call her Hurricane Addy because she loves to get into everything and wreak havoc. Things have only intensified since she began crawling. She took a break from throwing things off the bookshelf to pose for a picture.

Addison has also gotten a lot more coordinated as of late and can hold herself up. She started pulling herself up on her toy basket. It shouldn't be too long until she can pull herself up on taller furniture.

We are having so much fun with Addison and can't believe that she's almost 7 months old. It's an amazing experience to watch how much she learns, grows, and changes in a matter of days!

Halloween Fun!

Today was an exciting 1st Halloween for Addison. She had a packed schedule. Addy dressed up as the "Queen Bee" and was quite cute if I do say so myself. We went trick-or-treating at Grampa's office, where she was a big hit. Then, she had a parade at Grammy's work. She won 2nd place in the costume contest. which was exciting. Tonight we went to trunk-or-treat at the Church, but they were packing up stuff by the time we got there. Instead, we decided to take her to see Chelsea and Jan. They loved her.

Tonight while she was getting changed into her costume, Addison decided that she wanted to crawl. She's been trying for the past few weeks, but she finally got the hang of it tonight. We're in trouble now. She isn't very fast yet, and she's already into things. I'm worried about what will happen when she gets a little more coordinated.

We hope you enjoy the Halloween pictures!

Husband Brag Tag

I was tagged by Kristi so here goes!

THE HUSBAND BRAG TAG:

1.Where did you meet? We met at Rye High School in choir class.

2.How long did you date before you were married? He officially asked me out on January 8, 2001 and we got married on June 15, 2005. We dated for 4 years, 5 months, and 1 week .

3.How long have you been married? We have been married for 3 years and 4 months.

4.What is one thing he does that surprises you? Lots of things he does surprise me. Mostly how loving and caring he is with Addison. Who new such a tough guy could be such a softy.

5.What is your favorite feature about him? I love his smile.

6.What is your favorite quality about him? I love that he's so willing to serve at a moments notice.

7.Does he have a nickname for you? He sometimes calls me stepher hepher. Only he and nicole can get away with that so don't even try.

8.What's his favorite color? Blue

9.What's his favorite food? He likes food in general. But, I'd say his favority is anything barbeque.

10.What's his favorite sport? Football. He loves the Tennessee Titans and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

11.Who said, "I love you" first? He did on January 8, 2001

12.When and where was your first kiss? December 15, 2000. It was also our first date.

13.What's your favorite thing to do as a couple? We love to go to sporting events and to parks. We also love going on drives through the mountains.

14.Do you have kids? Yes we do. A beautiful baby girl who is 6 1/2 months old and the apple of her daddy's eye!

15.What's a hidden talent of his? He makes the best oatmeal raisin cookies I've ever eaten!

16.How old is he? 25

17.What do you admire most about him? I admire the fact that he honors his Priesthood. It would have been so easy for him to marry me outside of the temple, but he new what was really important and because of his steadfastness, we have an eternal family.

18.What's his favorite past time? He loves playing with Addison. He also like to ride his motorcycle, fix things, play video games and board games. He loves to hunt and fish and do anything outdoors.

19.What's his favorite type of music? He likes all kind of music, ranging from country to rock. He loves different generational music too, especially 80's hair bands like Poison.

20.Do you think he'll read this? No.

I TAG: Martha, Tiffany, Tyffanie, and Megyn