1-5, Em's Headshots

I thought you all would get a kick out of some headshots I took of Em in the studio the other day.  What a character!  I posted about them in my photography blog, so click the link below to see it.

link to Finding Focus blog post

12-30, Ice Skating

The town of Parker built an ice trail a few years back.  Nik and Em expressed an interest in giving it a  whirl, so we went last weekend.  Nik brought his girlfriend along, and I stayed firmly upright on land given my tendency to get dizzy (and enjoyed the warmth of the various fire pits surrounding the trail).  It was fun to watch them all try their hand at ice skating.  Nik and his girlfriend decided it wasn't as much fun as they expected it to be, but Emalie loved it.  I was surprised to see her almost skating on her own so quickly.

12-25, Christmas Day

Is Christmas day crazy at your house, too?  It seems like a whirlwind of activity and emotion.  Fun, but whew!! Here is our recap:

"Can we come down yet?!"...."No, everyone else is still asleep!"  Lol......

Thad and Kelly

The family gathered around the tree.

Love those happy faces!

Hmmmm..... wonder what that gift is.....

Grandma and grandpa scored with this token gift for Em.

And I think Grandpa likes his gift, too.....

Too cute not to post this pic of Nik and Abby.  She may not be the dog the kids want, but she's pretty loved!

Playing with the new Christmas drones.

A family game around the table.  Something we totally need to do more often-- but more players is what makes it so fun!

Paper airplane time.

We're all starved after a busy day.  Thank goodness Chef Sven prepared a delicious prime rib dinner for us to enjoy this Christmas night.

Hope you all had a very, Merry Christmas and a wonderful holiday season.  We hope 2018 will be a year of joy, health and happiness.

12-24, Family Time

It's always such a welcomed change to have our home filled with family and activities.  Our house tends to be pretty quiet-- even with 2 kids.  Come see all the fun little things we did as we counted down to Christmas.

Emalie joined in our annual 'dad and daughter fudge making' tradition.

When you have 'post concussive syndrome,' it is hard to concentrate and you forget things easily.  Proof of this mistakenly substituted ingredient is in the previous photo.  Proof of it's negative consequences are in this one.  I just didn't understand what dad meant as he was stirring and saying, "This just doesn't look right.....".  Ugh.  I was reading the recipe calling for "coconut milk" and thinking "coconut oil".  Nope.  Not the same.  Quite a disgusting mistake on many levels!!  That was a first for our fudge-making!  Thank goodness for my friend/neighbor who grabbed another jar of marshmallow cream at the store for me to redeem our fudge!

Another loose tooth and another chance for grandpa to save the day!

Story time with Aunt Kelly.  Such cute smiles on both of their faces.  I love that they are reading a children's Christmas book I snagged (with permission of course) from my Grandma's bookshelf during one of our last visits with her.

Em getting to work on her letter to Santa (with spelling help from Grandpa).

Our first ever gingerbread house.  Em's got a knack for it!

I think everyone  enjoyed decorating the gingerbread house.

Another Christmas, another puzzle.  Not just one, I think the grand total was 3.... or 4.... this Christmas.

Proof of the dusting of snow the evening before as Sven heads out to grill the Christmas Eve brats.  (Go ahead and laugh at his headlamp.... I always do....lol.....)

These kids just keep getting bigger!  The annual 'kids in Santa hats' photo in front of the tree on Christmas Eve.