no re-takes this year...

When I try to take pictures of my kids....I usually get something like this:

Where they are not paying attention.

And sometimes something like this:

Where they are trying to be silly.

When what I usually really want is something in between the two!

So when Jack and KJ had school pictures last month, I was a little bit worried that they would sport their infamous 'cheesy' smiles. Well, we got the pictures back last week and I was pleasantly surprised! They actually turned out just fine! Pheww...no re-takes this year! Yay for OTHER people taking my kids' pics!

Jack - Kindergarten

Keaton - 2nd Grade

So Grandparents, Aunts and Uncles....look for these to be arriving in your mailboxes soon!

Fall has found us....

The Fall weather has officially hit Colorado Springs, and I'm not sure what to think about it. My favorite season of all is Summer, by a long shot! I am so sad to say good-bye to it. We are back to wearing shoes and socks, bundling up with warmer blankets on our beds, undershirts and jackets in the morning, shorter days, leaves in the yard, and no more outside swimming. But....along with the Fall and Winter comes the Holidays and I LOVE Holidays! Our house has been decorated with all things scary for about a month now, the kids have all their costumes ready to go, we've made a new playlist of Spooky music, and we're sipping on lots of hot Apple Cider! I'm a little bit nervous to experience winter in Colorado, it's all new to me! But I'm told it's not much different than Bend and we get lots and lots of sunshine here(over 300 days a year), so that's good!

Now...on to a HAPPY note:

My parents and my 'little' brother Jess came to visit this past weekend! They were all actually in Chicago for the week and had a long, extended layover in Denver and so we were lucky enough to snatch them up for the weekend. It's always a great time when they come. And of course, it always slips by much too fast. We were able to make it to the pumpkin patch and we also went on a little hike. The mountains here are right at our fingertips and there are so many beautiful places to explore! Here are some shots of our weekend with them-

And of course, we had to share our love of this 'real' BBQ joint with our family. Mmm...Mmm...finger lickin' good!

Then....

Now....

So much has changed. Jack was barely one and just learned how to walk in the first picture and now he's running around like a monkey all day! One thing that has stayed the same is that I love those 3 boys like crazy!

Since we have swimming lessons Monday nights, we have been doing FHE on Tuesdays...so tonight was the perfect night to carve our pumpkins! It's always a stinky, gooey, messy, fun time! The end result is unique jack-o-lanterns and delicious pumpkin seeds!

Have a Spooky good week everyone!

A little bit of this...a little bit of that

I've been waiting and waiting for something big and exciting to happen in our lives so that I could make a great post....but alas, our lives have been completely 'normal' lately now that we are in school. Today someone asked me what my hobbies were, and I had to think about it....I don't know! (except for the little bit of time I squeeze in for playing my piano) Isn't that sad? I guess I don't really have time for hobbies, my family is my hobby. Does that count?? I will have all the time in the world for hobbies once the kids leave, right?!? I think my mom would have to disagree as she assures me that life really never slows down!

I'll do a quick run-down of our week (besides school and church stuff):

KJ has swimming 2x a week, running, & cub scouts, Jack has swimming lessons 2x a week, therapy & play group Friday's after school, and Olivia has Tap and Ballet lessons, and play group on Wednesday mornings. Between swimming, my morning exercise classes, and ballet and tap....I think we should ask the athletic club if we can just add bunk-beds in the locker rooms for the Howard clan. It would save a lot of time in the car that's for sure!

Do I really have time for hobbies?? I barely have time to keep my toenails painted!

My little prima-ballerina!

2nd place in this race! He didn't get his running skills from me!

But I guess something BIG did happen this past weekend....it was the 10 year Anniversary of Dan and I meeting! Holy Cow...time flies! (nancy...do you remember that weekend?) And to think of all that has happened since then.

This is the car ride and dinner that started it all.

(left to right- my uncle Jim & Aunt Sherene, ME, David, Tawni, DAN, dan's best friend, my pops and nana Ball)

He's just so cute!

I also got a fabulous package in the mail this past week.....my BLOG in Book form!! All 193 pages of it! It will be a great piece of our family history. It was so much fun reading thru all the posts over the past 2 years. And to tell you the truth, my favorite posts were the regular, every day type of posts. Those are the times I would have most likely forgotten about, and I'm so glad that I have a book that documents some of those little moments that so easily slip out of my mind.

So here's to the next two years of blogging! Let's see what time will gift us with!