In the Life of Stentz, La, Cho-Cho & Laners

IronKids US National Championships

2011-09-18T14:51:00.000-07:00

Hi all! Just got home from our road trip to West Des Moines, Iowa for Bradley to compete in the IronKids US Triathlon National Championships and had to share pictures!

He finished 22nd out of 66 9year old boys in the country! What a great experience for him! We love watching him race and hope he continues on his journey in the sport of Triathlon!

Delaney's Tangled Bday Party!!

2011-07-06T15:12:00.001-07:00

Whoa, already July and I failed to post pics of Delaney's 5th Birthday on June 9th so here we go...

Here is the 5 year old with her custom made Tangled Tower cake. The entire party was done with Disney's movie Tangled as the theme. I found some amazing ideas online from others who had done a Tangled party so I can't take all the credit.

The happy family on party day.

Prepping party...that is my personal event coordinator Kendi at the sink....she always helps me when I throw parties...don't think I could ever do it without her! Thanks Kendi!!

I found these cute paper lanterns at the Dollar Store thanks to a tip from Ashley...sooo cute!

Kendi and I building the Tower cake...I made the cute banner from a template on supermommoments.com which is where these ideas came from.

I used cake donuts to build the tower and cupcakes decorated with silk flowers to fill in the bottom. My handy husband made the tower base out of wood and drilled a wood dowel for us to thread the donuts on. It was super sturdy but I used a dozen donuts which was more than suggested so the bottom one was starting to split but nobody noticed and it tasted sooo good nobody cared!

Another pic...can you tell I liked the Tower Cake? :)

Stentz and I created an 18ft braid out of yarn and used it to welcome the guests at the front door. Delaney loved the braid and uses it now to swing from the trees in our yard :)
Here she is greeting her friend Landon...
Blowing out her #5 candle...

Enjoying the treats with Landon and Davis.

While friends arrived we had Tangled coloring sheets and flower cheese cutouts with crackers to snack on. Notice the cute flower decorations...that is all Kendi! She makes the most beautiful bouquets.

The first game was slap Flynn with the frying pan which is played like pin the tail on the donkey.

Here is Flynn Rider with his faced all slapped...We did a craft where the kids made pasquel party blowers. Pasquel was the funny lizard from the movie who becomes Rapunzel's friend.

Having fun with their party blowers!

Enjoying some time outside with all her friends!

1, 2, 3 blow!!

In the movie, Rapunzel creates a beautiful drawing in the town village so we had our little artists create their own pictures with sidewalk chalk.

Delaney got some bubble wands so we decided to have some bubble time too!

Everyone having fun??

Nothing like playing in the trees with friends Allikaye, Davis, Landon and Lily.

Delaney and Allikaye rocked their Tangled t-shirts at the party. Cuties!!

Cheese, Delaney and Landon!

The party favors were watercolor paints with a cute label that said "Rapunzel Paints" and thanks for coming to my party!

Delaney got a Rapunzel dress from Brady and accessories from Davis so that was the first thing she wanted to do!

Opening all her fun presents...

We can't believe she is 5 and starting Kindergarten in a month. What a fun 5th party that I hope she never forgets!! Happy Birthday Delaney! We love you!!

Summer is Here!!!

2011-06-17T14:20:00.000-07:00

What's been happening? Check it out...

Mom's Day 2011Mom and I got to spend the day together getting pedicures, shopping and then we all went out for dinner at one of my favorite places, J. Alexanders! Yummy!

Delaney's class had Rodeo Day...they made stick horses and did all kinds of activities. Each child named there horse. There were names like: Butterscotch, Sprinkles, Hawk, etc. Delaney named her horse Laura....hummmm not sure what to say about that :)

On the last day of Pre-K with Ms. Chris and Ms. Kara. She had a wonderful year there and learned a ton! Can't believe she will be starting Kindergarten in 2 months!! Yikes!

Tri the Rock

Both kids did the local kids triathlon in May. It was Bradley's 3rd race and Delaney's first.

Here is B on the swim...

Transitioning to the bike...

Cruising on the bike...

So fast on the run I barely got the photo!

Delaney showing off her body marks...what a poser!

Ready for the swim...

Coming in on the bike with Daddy and Bradley along for support!

She totally amazed us on the run! She was going all out! It was awesome!

The triathletes with their medals!

Bradley finished 6th in the 9/10 year old boys age group!! Pretty good considering he won't even be 9 till August!

We are so proud of them :)

And of course Delaney's favorite part was the free hot dog at the end...

Now on to other summer activities:

New haircuts...

Chocolate chip pancakes and strawberries for breakfast...delicious!

Building Lego creations together...They named this one "Super Duper Manison"

Climbing trees is a daily thing around here...

Swim lessons at our neighborhood pool...

And fun in the sun after!

Updates...

2011-04-13T17:41:00.000-07:00

Well everybody I really have no excuse for not updating. Just busy with life! Things are good here and VERY busy, but I like busy once I get used to the schedule.

I started working part time for Play It Again Sports here in Castle Rock helping with the bulk team uniform ordering. It has been an adjustment learning how to balance it all. I really admire all you working parents out there!

Bradley is wrapping up his last 6 weeks as a 3rd grader and also playing his first season of kid pitch baseball.

Delaney is finishing up pre-k, in fact I just made my last payment!! She is very excited to be starting Kindergarten this fall at big brothers school. It will be fun to have them at the same school for the first time!

Stentz continues to grind away at Aurora Bank. Both of us are spending lots of time during the week training for the upcoming Triathlon season. We will both be competing in many races over the next 5 months. The kids are also signed up for 2 Triathlons! It is exciting to see their interest in the sport too. I just completed my second 1/2 marathon this last Sunday. It is now Wednesday evening and I'm still waiting for my legs to recover! Hopefully that bowl of ice cream I plan to eat later will help, right? I will try to keep you all updated on our races. Speaking of, check out this awesome photo that a friend took of our little triathlete in training.

Killer form, huh?

Now for some more photos from the past couple of months...hope you enjoy!

Stentz and Delaney enjoyed their second annual Daddy Daughter Ball night out. She really thinks it is a big deal and I can't stress enough how much she loooooves spending time with her Daddy. It was an interesting night because we had a blizzard but the Daddy Daughter Ball must go on!

In Feb. my mom and I traveled to Clearwater, Florida for a girls trip! We had talked about doing this for a long time and I told her now was as good a time as any. I loved having my mom's attention all to myself! My dad and I always joke that we have fallen lower on mom's totem pole since Bradley and Delaney came along so this was a special treat for me to have alone time with her. We enjoyed beautiful sunsets, soft white sandy beaches, warm sunshine and we also got to witness live the last launch of the Shuttle Challenger. That was quite the trek. I believe we spent close to 8 hours in traffic that day to make it over for the launch! Once in a lifetime opportunity though!

The annual ski trip. Yep, we live in Colorado and usually only ski 1-2 times a year. Pretty lame I know! On this trip we meet my mom at Eldora and decided to skip the lessons for the kids and just teach them ourselves. It actually worked out really well...they both did great and they love it. Hope we can go more than once next year!

This is how we worked with Delaney...the harness system! She did great. Wondering if I can just latch onto her everyday with this thing and maybe her non-stop energy would just pull me through the day?!

You might this see one again on the 2011 Whitaker Christmas card :)

Images of Christmas 2010

2010-12-27T18:44:00.000-08:00

Hope everyone had a good Christmas! Here is what we have been up to.

Above is a picture of my angel Delaney after singing in her preschool program at school.

Below is celebrating my dad's 55th bday. Looking pretty good for an old man, he he!

Delaney sang in the Christmas pageant at church too. We really needed a picture on the resident donkey!

Are we going to start singing yet?

This year the May's joined us for the annual cutting of the Christmas tree. Here the kids, bundled and ready to start hiking. I really needed to take more pictures but Margaret had a nice new camera so I let her do the photography this round, which makes me realize I really need to get those pics from you M :)

The first Christmas in my parents new home! Here are the giddy kids on Christmas morning!

I'm sooooo excited for my parents...the new home is wonderful. Relaxing, beautiful, inviting and the view is stunning! More on that in the next picture...here they are on the front porch.

And here is the view on Christmas morning! My dad continues to tell us he "just can't believe he wakes up to a postcard view everyday" and it truly is dad!!

Christmas morning breakfast. My wonderful neighbor Michelle sent me to my parents with Blueberry French Toast that she had prepared for us. Look at this! Absolutely delicious!

Of course that paired very nicely with mimosas...CHEERS!

One more shot of mom and dad on their back deck! They are such a striking couple, aren't they? We had a fantastic stay there for Christmas and can't wait to get back up to the mtns!

Now on to some more pre-Christmas fun. I LOVE this picture of Laney because this is just totally her...always on the go!

One of Bradley's favorite things to do is to challenge Kayla for the ball when I'm playing fetch with her. This is the scene in our backyard many times a week!

Delaney and Kayla

'Tis the season so we had to bake cookies, right? This was Bradley's choice, peanut butter blossom cookies with hershey kisses.

Oh man, I really wish I had some of these right now....drooling...

You think they liked them? Check out Delaney...that is hilarious!

For those who may not know, I LOVE baking!! Especially sweets! Get it from my mom and Grandma May. So, I'm so excited to be teaching my kids to bake and now Bradley is learning to use the oven. Wow! What happened to my little guy who used to play in my Tupperware cabinet while I baked?

The chefs in training...

In celebration of the holidays we did a night out with the Bliesmers. We really pumped it up to the kids because we took them to one of our favorite places that we usually go to without kids. Here they are with their business causal dress attire and best manners tucked in their pockets!

So, with camera set atop of the car on timer here is the whole crew...looking good. The joke these days is at what age will Bradley be taller than Kendi? He is getting close :)

As always we had a great time! All the kids did well. We cherish our time with the Bliesmers and hope to turn this into an annual holiday tradition.

Another fun holiday activity...our neighbor/friend Ashley and her daughter Allikaye hosted a gingerbread house party. I have so many good memories of doing this as a kid and it is really fun to see my kids get into it. Ashley made some really yummy food and we had a really great time decorating, playing, visiting and eating!

At home with her finished masterpiece.

Hope you have a fun and safe New Year! See you in 2011!!

The Farewell Thanksgiving

2010-12-02T07:01:00.000-08:00

As I'm sure most of you know, my parents are moving from the only house they have owned. They are fulfilling a long time dream and moving to the mountains! So, this Thanksgiving was our last family holiday there...bittersweet I'd say. I'm soooo excited for them yet I'll miss the house I grew up in. So many memories, holidays, birthdays, laughs and tears were experienced there but now we'll have a new place to make plenty more memories!

Oh, did I mention that both the kids came up with Strep Throat...so here is Bradley's response to having his picture taken. As you can see above it had not quite hit Delaney yet.

The happy (or slightly crazed) turkey carver!

The O'Connor Wedding

2010-11-10T19:35:00.001-08:00

This past weekend the kids were in the wedding of our nephew Josh to Miss Ashley :)

Bradley was a ring bearer and Delaney was a flower girl. Bradley was soooo handsome in his first tux and Delaney was adorable in her flower girl dress. We had a wonderful time celebrating and wish Josh and Ashley all the best!

Here are the kids with our nieces Jamie and Taylor.

The boys with Stentz's brother Randy.

Halloween 2010

2010-11-02T11:57:00.000-07:00

I had to put this picture first! My Dad dressed as Chewbaca and Mom was Darth Vadar!

It was hilarious and they got lots of comments from the trick-or-treaters!

We went with home-made costumes this year. Found a lot of ideas online and this is what Bradley picked for his get-up this year. Turned out pretty good!
Kendi hosted a kids Halloween Bash at her place on Saturday. She cut out eyes, noses, mouths, etc from magazines for the kids to decorate their pumpkins with. I wish I had taken more pictures of everybody :(

At home on Halloween with some traditional pumpkin carving...

Halloween night consisted of us four, my parents, my cousin Alison, husband Darren and daughter Arden, our friends Ashley, Matt and Allikaye...we had yummy chili before setting out to the streets for treats. Here are some pics from the evening...
Bradley and Baby Arden

Kids posing and ready for some candy!!!

Darren and Baby Arden :)

Ash and Matt hamming it up!

Alison rockin' the pink wig!

And one final shot of Grandma and Deeda with Bradley. Isn't he lucky to have such hip Grandparents? Dressed as Star Wars figures, WOW, that is impressive!!

Catching up :)

2010-10-12T12:38:00.000-07:00

What have the Whitaker's been doing the past couple months? Here is a run down of some of the things we have been up to. It only took me 5 days just to get this post done so please excuse the quick rough draft version...yikes!

We got to watch professional cyclist Levi Lephiemer win the Leadville 100 mountain bike race and Bradley even grabbed Levi's autograph!

Bradley competed in his second Triathlon and took FIRST PLACE in the 7-8 yr. old division! Here he is concentrating on setting up his stuff in the transition area. Notice he is jammin' the tunes on his i-pod...just getting pumped up for the race! Love it!

This is not the greatest picture but I had to share...this is Bradley having a post-race massage. He really thought he needed one after all that hard work :) I was laughing so hard when he asked to go over to the massage booth but how cute is that?!

Something new this fall...I'm watching my friend Ashley's little girl Allikaye once a week which is definitely Delaney's favorite day of week. Every night when I tuck her in for bed she asks, "Mommy, is Allikaye coming tomorrow?" It is so cute to watch her develop her first true girlfriend that is her age. We usually try to something fun on Allikaye days! Here are some pics of when we went to this cute little cupcake shop for a special snack...

Posing beautifully! I know her momma will love this cute shot :)

And this is what I get from my darling daughter....HILARIOUS!!!!

Back on Labor Day weekend we hosted a BBQ at our place. Stentz made some very yummy pulled pork and chicken on the grill. Have I told you all what a great grill master my man is? We had a great time and here are the pics to prove it...

Delaney started Pre-Kindergarten at Faith Lutheran Preschool (also our church). She attends Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings and LOVES it. She is such an outgoing and active girl and we enjoy watching her grow and learn. Here are some pictures from the class field trip to the neighborhood fire station.

Maybe Laney will drive one of these someday? It wouldn't surprise us!

Pulling her weight on hose duty...That's my girl!

It was awesome when she rocked this water hose all by herself. I actually really wanted to do it too! I am totally asking next time!

In Memory of Grandpa Mischkot

2010-08-03T09:33:00.000-07:00

My Grandpa passed away July 23rd so last week we traveled down to Sherman, Texas for the funeral and time with family. It was wonderful to see everyone!

We will miss you Grandpa!

Bye-Bye Baseball (well for this year anyway!)

2010-06-25T12:58:00.000-07:00

Bradley's first competitive baseball season came to a close last night. They lost their second game in the end of the season double elimination tournament. Only 2 games shy of being in their leagues world series! We were so impressed with how much he learned during the season! He LOVED every minute of it! Last weekend we came home from a double-header and all he wanted to do was to play MORE baseball in the backyard. Of course, I told him to take a break but he said, "I don't want to! I need to get better and stronger!" I love his competitive nature, calming composure and stellar sportsmanship. He is really developing into a little athlete!

My stud catcher!!

B is loaded and ready to swing!

Man is he cute in his uniform or what?!

Each game one player was given the "game ball" for a good performance. Here he is holding the game ball that he received for hitting a HOME RUN!! The next night he hit another one so he tells us now, "I've got 2 Home Runs so far in my career!" Hilarious!

I was told to take this picture...nice pose B...and also nice socks!

I'm not sure how many times I will say it but once again, SO PROUD OF YOU BRADLEY! We enjoyed watching you and can't wait to watch you play next season! Yes, he asked last night if he could play again next year. I told him YES and that would be his Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, Happy Valentine's Day, Happy St. Patrick's Day, Happy Easter, etc...and Stentz added a Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day!

Ok friends, I am no longer a slave to the baseball schedule. (I hear cheering in the background!) Next stop...Flag Football but not till August!

Happy 4th Birthday Delaney!

2010-06-12T10:37:00.001-07:00

We celebrated Delaney's birthday on June 9th with a party at the park! Here are some photos of the event...

Yes Folks, my "baby" is 4!! Notice the SUPER cute shirt my friend Ashley made for her!

Thanks Ash!

Here are some pinwheels that Kendi and I made for decoration at the party...sad thing is we didn't get to use them because it was TOO windy. Guess we asked for that one by making pinwheels, right?

Also due to the windy weather Delaney had to "pretend" to blow out candles. My little actress pulled it off no problem. You are such a good sport Delaney!

How do you like my hair-style...just proof for you all that it was WINDY!

Adorable cupcakes ALL frosted by my mom! Thanks Grandma, we couldn't have done it without you!

...and after Grandma got off cupcake duty it was time to PLAY!

One of D's favorite things to do is swing. She is actually very good at swinging without help on the big-kid swings although this time she wanted to be pushed on the baby swing.

The kids decorated and planted flowers for their party favor. Here Delaney and Allikaye show off their flowers but as always Delaney is more concerned with making a funny face for the camera. This is sooooo Delaney!

Sometimes we are able to capture a smile. (Thanks Kendi for grabbing this cute photo of Laners.) Happy Birthday to our precious girl!! Thanks for always making us smile! We love you bunches!

11th Anniversary!!

2010-06-12T10:32:00.001-07:00

Stentz and I celebrated 11 years on June 5th. On Thursday night we were lucky enough to get tickets to see Sting and The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at Red Rocks! Now that is what I call a perfect summer concert! We had a wonderful evening enjoying time together!

Tri the Rock!!

2010-05-23T13:14:00.001-07:00

Once again Stentz and I are PROUD PARENTS! Bradley raced his first Triathlon today. It is a local Tri for kids called "TRI THE ROCK". For those of you unfamiliar with the sport of triathlon, each participant must swim, bike and run. The length of each is dependent upon age. Bradley raced in the 7-8 year old bracket and had to complete a 50 meter swim, a 4K bike ride and a 1K run.

Getting ready to start the swim! He was a little nervous but excited!

Coming out from the swim...

Leaving to go out on the bike course...

Leaving to go out for the final leg...the Run!!

Feeling good at the finish line with his medal! Says he is ready to do it again next year!

GOOD JOB B!!!

Remembering my brother Justin James May

2010-04-24T19:01:00.001-07:00

Justin James May

1979-1997

My brother Justin...today marks the 13th year since your passing. I miss you today more than ever... wish you could get to know Stentz and hang out with him...wish you could take Bradley 4x4 in the jeep and watch him play baseball...wish you could throw Delaney up in the air and make her giggle...wish I could be giving you "girl advice" and you could be making fun of how neurotic I am...wish you could go camping with us and make us laugh with your ridiculous humor..."just" wish you were here!
Justin, I love you and miss you dearly...until we meet again...your sis, La

And they said...

2010-04-20T12:16:00.001-07:00

Over the past 4 years I have been collecting funny quotes from B & D. Many of you are sharing these on your blogs and they always give me a good laugh when I NEED it...so thanks to Kendi today for posting the Brady quote and inspiring me to share one too.

Stentz and Bradley are "talking baseball".

Delaney: looking at Bradley says, "You just need to challenge to believe."

It kind of makes sense I guess? It doesn't even matter if it makes sense, it was just so cute that she was trying to be the supportive sister!

Easter with Grandma Whitaker

2010-04-08T15:06:00.001-07:00

Stentz's mom came for a visit over Easter weekend! Of course, as Grandma's should, she came bearing many gifts for the kids! As you can see from the following pictures the kites were a true hit!!

We love you Grandma!!

I love the concentration! Bradley was quite the little kite flyer...at one point two of the kites got entangled breaking the string on the one he was flying. He was so sad watching it fly away! Lucky for him, Delaney decided to share her kite with him :)

Easter photo shoot...

Wow, a decent one!

Typical Delaney...

And we all give in...

And the award goes to...

2010-03-19T11:27:00.001-07:00

Bradley's school is an International Baccalaureate Elementary school. For those of you who don't know what that is...the belief is that education can be used to promote a better and more peaceful world. They promote the development of 10 key learner traits in their students: caring, balanced, reflective, thinkers, inquirers, open-minded, risk takers, knowledgeable, principled and communicators. This morning Bradley received a "Top of the Rock Award" for displaying the IB trait of being knowledgeable. Over the past 3 years he has been at Rock Ridge Elementary he has received awards for being balanced, excellence in Music as well as excellence in World Language(Spanish). It is so awesome to watch him learn and grow into such a wonderful young boy. He continues to do well in school and his teacher speaks very highly of him as a student. Above he is pictured with his amazing teachers; Miss Deffenbaugh on the left and student-teacher Miss Allen on the right. We are so proud of him not just today but everyday! NICE WORK CHO-CHO!!

Future Basketball Star??

2010-02-24T16:59:00.000-08:00

Bradley finished his first season of Basketball on Saturday.

Yes, that is Stentz coaching the team...he did a such a great job

with the team. As many of you can imagine, it takes

A LOT of patience to coach a team of ten 7-8 year old boys a sport

that none of them had played at the team level before.

Stentz, along with another dad and friend Larry

worked hard to get the boys ready for games every Saturday.

It was so fun to see them improve each week! Basketball may be

Bradley's sport...he really caught on quick and enjoyed playing.

Many commented on his abilities including Grandma and Deeda

who I believe only missed one game all season! That was amazing

considering they had to drive down from Fort Collins which

is a good 1hour 45min drive in good weather!

They were die hard fans for sure!!

Sorry for the dark, blurry pics but apparently my camera was not

equipped for gym photos :( That is Bradley in the purple shirt.

Nice shot B!

Bradley as Benjamin Franklin

2010-02-24T16:46:00.000-08:00

In B's class they did influential people presentations, as you can

see Bradley was assigned to research Benjamin Franklin.

He did an awesome job researching, creating a poster and report, then

presenting dressed as Ben to a room full of classmates, parents and teachers.

We were so proud of him!!

Daddy Daughter Ball 2010

2010-02-08T09:48:00.000-08:00

Stentz and Delaney went to their first Daddy Daughter Ball on Saturday night! Delaney had been so excited from the day I got the tickets...she would ask, "Is today the Daddy Daughter Ball?" She got to go shopping for a new dress just for the occasion and picked this adorable pink and white gingham print. Of course Daddy had to had to get dressed up too and Delaney was sure to tell him on the way that he looked "so handsome"! They danced the night away to such tunes as "The Chicken Dance" (her favorite) and "The Hokey Pokey". They even joined in on the big dance train that formed! Delaney came home on cloud nine...she absolutely LOVES her Daddy so getting to spend a special night out with him was on the top of her list!! She can't wait for next year's Ball!

All dressed and ready to go!

Delaney showing off her twirls and spins!

I can't believe "my baby" is such a big girl!

Happy Bday Stentz and La!

2010-02-03T13:55:00.000-08:00

Yes, Stentz refers to me as the "old lady". I was born just 72 hours before him but I guess it makes him feel young! I turned 33 on Jan. 25th and Stentz on the Jan. 28th. We got to celebrate the weekend before with my parents...my mom made a wonderful chocolate cake recipe of my Mema's (her mom)! For those of you who are wondering what the cake says...you may not want to know...it is an inside joke in our family. I believe it was my brother Justin's 15th bday...mom and I were making him a cake and asked him what he wanted on the cake. In his typical Justin sarcasm he replied "This is made of DoDo!" So that is actually what we put on the cake! Over the years Bradley has seen pictures of Justin and I growing up and has always got a good laugh out of that story so this year while my mom made the cake he asked if she could write "This is made of DoDo" on it. What a nice gesture from our 7 year old son, huh?

I just called my mom and I'm going to get a picture of the original "DoDo cake" so I can post it on the blog for some laughs!

Now can you believe you just spent the last couple of mintues reading about a DoDo cake story...I never guaranteed this blog would make you smarter!!

My little ballerina!

2010-01-12T16:08:00.000-08:00

Well my precious little Delaney has begun ballet lessons :) Hope you all enjoy the video...please excuse the slight shakes, I was teary-eyed and sniffling the entire class. She was just so sweet! The teacher actually asked if she had taken lessons before and just assumed that she had an older sister who danced. Maybe she will dance The Nutcracker someday...unless she ends up being build like me then I'm not thinking that Nutcracker dream will happen. In the meantime, I will enjoy watching each and every lesson my little ballerina does!

Memories of Christmas 2009

2010-01-04T10:14:00.001-08:00

Delaney posing by the angel ornaments on the tree at church. What an angel!

On December 17th Delaney's preschool class had a Christmas program. She was a wonderful singer and performer. We were very proud of her!

She loved this donkey prop and just needed a picture by it!

Bradley's teacher had a Polar Express Party for the kids before school got out for break. It was so much fun...she had there desks arranged as the train and set-up a Polar Express Cafe' for them to buy treats from. Here is Bradley getting a candy cane from the principal Mr. Ingram who makes the perfect Santa! Yes the beard is REAL!

We spent the Sunday before Christmas with my parents. Here are the kids opening gifts at Grandma and Deeda's.

My mom was able to get some of my brother Justin's old football jersey's from high school and gave them to my dad. It was very emotional to see my dad and Bradley wearing the actual jersey's that Justin played and practiced in.

Bradley and Delaney helped Grandma hang her new ornaments on the tree. Of course the new ornaments had pictures of Bradley and Delaney on them!

Unfortunately Stentz's mom Jean was unable to make it for Christmas. There was an awful storm in Oklahoma and her flight out to Denver was cancelled. We were sad that she was not able to share Christmas morning with us :(

The kids slept till 7:00am which was great and then we had a very relaxed day of opening gifts and just spending time together. Santa brought Bradley a Wii and Delaney was very happy to get a play dog that walks and barks. They even got a letter from Santa!

I'm not sure who was more excited about the 110 piece marble run set...I've always wanted one!

The kids completed a pirate jigsaw puzzle which you see them working on. All the pieces to the right are a 1000 piece puzzle that Stentz and I have been working on now for 10 days...yes we are STILL working on it! That being said, it is interesting trying to eat at the dining room table when it is covered by an enormous puzzle!

New Year's Eve was spent with Eric, Margaret and Davis. We got hotel rooms and did some swimming, movies and pizza! Check out this cute picture of Bradley and Davis snuggling on the couch. B and Laners just ADORE Davis and can't seem to get enough of him!

All dressed and ready to go swimming! Don't you just love the pink cowboy boots? She told me today that she needs to go ride a REAL horsey with her pink cowboy boots and that she is also going to need a hat! I'm telling you these kids make me smile everyday...can't wait to see what fun things we will get to do in 2010! Happy New Year everyone!!

Adventures in December 2009...

2009-12-23T21:48:00.000-08:00

MERRY CHRISTMAS!! My apologizes for not posting in so long. Guess the last couple of months got away from me. We have been busy and here are some pics to prove it! Hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas!!

For the second year in a row we bought a permit and hiked up in Pike National Forest to cut our Christmas tree. Here it is home and lit! We adore our "Charlie Brown Christmas Tree"!

After about an hour of looking we had found our tree! The kids were so excited to help Daddy cut it down.

Stealing the idea from Margaret, I got the kids trees for their rooms. They were so proud to decorate their own trees.

We went to the annual holiday parade in Estes Park with my parents. It was cold but Delaney sure kept me warm!

We also attended the annual Castle Rock Starlighting with Eric, Margaret and Davis. It has become our tradition to meet with them and have dinner at the Castle Cafe (famous for their fried chicken!). Our planning was not so good this year as we were still eating when the star was lit...oops :) We had fun anyway!

Delaney and Bradley enjoyed petting the camel at the live Nativity.

The kids pose for a picture with Rudolph.

From Leaves to Snow, Snow, Snow

2009-10-30T19:38:00.000-07:00

Within a matter of days we went from this....

To this...

School has been cancelled for the last 3 days! It was fun to just spend some lazy days at home. We had lots of fun:

Enjoying new books!Making the kids do "photo shoots"

Can we be done yet mom?

And sledding!!

Enjoying Fall Evenings

2009-10-03T21:28:00.000-07:00

On Friday night, my cousin Eric's wife Margaret and son Davis came over for dinner and playtime! Here the kids are holding the last of the tomatoes from our inagural garden we planted in the spring.

I love these pics of the kids because they show such a realistic view of who they are.

Active, Adorable & Always on the Go!!

Look at my handsome Cho-Cho Man...yes that is what we call him! I'm not sure how I came up with it, I just starting calling him that when he was a baby. Hint: It is pronounced as spelled...not choo choo train. Even Delaney calls him by this nickname. When at school she was asked about the members of her family and she responded with "Mommy, Daddy and Cho-Cho".

Delaney adores her cousin Davis. I think she loves being the older one who "needs" to help her little cuz :)

Rockies beat the Cardinals!!

2009-09-28T13:22:00.000-07:00

For all who don't know, we are a Rockies-lovin' family and I am what some may call a Troy Tulowitzki maniac! He is the Rockies superstar shortstop who is leading the Rockies to another possible playoff bearth this year. Thanks to my supervisor at the Rec Center we were able to get tickets to the fan appreciation fireworks game. We were in seats that got to go down onto the field to watch the show! It was a very loud show and Delaney hid under a coat for the majority of it...she couldn't quite decide if she liked it:) What a great night...fireworks were amazing and Tulo scored the winning run in the bottom of the 9th inning! We have already purchased tickets for the NLDS playoff series if our Rockies make it...GO ROCKIES!!

Stentz finishes his first Triathlon!

2009-09-14T14:12:00.000-07:00

After months of training, Stentz entered and finished his first sprint-distance Triathlon! It consisted of a 500yd swim, 12 mile bike and 3 mile run. We are so proud of him!

That Girl Can Pray!

2009-08-29T19:02:00.000-07:00

This video of Delaney praying is a year old but too cute to pass up. Watch out we may have a possible future Evangelist on our hands!

My Son Speaks Duck!?

2009-08-27T12:43:00.000-07:00

This video is so funny...we were at a lake in Rocky Mtn. National Park and Bradley just started calling the ducks right up to the shore! I'm not sure what side of the family he gets this from??

IT IS ABOUT TIME!!!

2009-08-27T12:26:00.000-07:00

YES, FOLKS...I HAVE FINALLY DONE IT! After looking at friends blogs and talking about doing my own for over a year I can finally say I have created my own! I'm excited to share fun pics, videos and blurts about our life with you all so hope you enjoy!
And for those of you wondering if this is just the beginning...I have decided to remain "FACEBOOK FREE" for the time being ;)