How Nolan likes to stay warm

Before school started last month I bought Nolan a new coat. Little did I know he was going to love it so. He almost always makes a comment each and everytime he puts it on in the morning before school... "I sure do like this coat, mom" or "It could rain on me all day and this coat would keep me dry, mom". This makes me happy because my other child who shall remain nameless... absolutely hates to wear a coat of any kind. You'd think I'd asked him to put on a pink, fluffy, glitter covered garment by the looks he gives me anytime I tell him to put his coat on. I just don't get it.

Well, yesterday before heading out the door, Nolan had noticed that his fave coat had a label that touted it could withstand temperatures as low as 15 degrees. His love for his new coat had grown even more. Next thing I know he's standing outside the back sliding door, just standing there in his coat and basketball shorts. He came in from the almost balmy 40 degree weather with a grin stating "It's true mom, I didn't feel any cold penetrate this coat. Except my legs are FREEZING!" I said "Perhaps you should wear pants in the Fall and Winter instead of shorts, silly." He replied by saying "Nah...All I really need is a snuggie."

A snuggie? Ya... I'm sure that would go over well in the 5th grade. Who knows, maybe it'll be the next trend. In any case, I sure love Nolan and his happy goin' coat lovin' ways.

Brandi Spectacular...

For the past 12 plus years, Connor's sister, Shannon, has been a huge help to us with our boys anytime we needed her. She's always willing to lend a helping hand around every corner and for her we are so thankful!

We decided to treat her and her husband to an evening of fun. So when we heard Brandi Carlile was coming to town we thought it would be fun to bring Shannon and Claude along with us to witness one of our all time favorite performers in action.

We saw her in concert 2 years ago and were pretty much hooked. She has an amazing and powerful voice. We splurged on some tickets just 6 rows back from the stage and smack dab in the center. It was AMAZING!! We had a perfect view of her unbelievable show.

What made it so much fun was not only the fantastic music, but the fact that she was playing in her home town on the final night of her tour. She was just as ecstatic to be there playing for us as we were to see her. Our seats were so good that we soon realized we were surrounded by many of her family members and close friends. It was fun to hear them chat amongst themselves about Brandi. Very fun!

Most people I've met have no clue who Brandi Carlile is... it's still early in her career. But let me just say this... She. Will. Be. Big. Her music has been featured on Grey's Anatomy, a few commercials, and she sold out her concert tour around the country. She really has an amazing gift and I have now doubt she'll be widely known before too long.

Connor and I thoroughly enjoyed her concert and I think Shannon and Claude were blown away by her as well. Her live performance far and away surpasses her recorded music, which I happen to love!

Thank you Connor for treating us all to a memorable night. I will never forget it!

Check out her newest video release....right here!

Happy 90th Granny!

This lovely lady is turning 90 years young.

She is Connor's Grandmother and is about as sweet as can be.

She has six children...

She has twelve Grandchildren...

She has 13 Great Grandchildren... Whom all think she's GREAT!

We are celebrating her birthday tomorrow with tons of family who have come from near and far to help Marie ring in her 90th year.
We were told not to bring gifts, but come on...you only turn 90 once if you are lucky!
So what do you get your delightful grandmother for such an occasion, you ask?

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A beautiful jar filled to the brim with candied orange slices (her absolute favorie candy) and a few rootbeer barrels (her absolute LEAST favorite candy...she can offer these to friends who stop by, so she wont have to share her slices).

Connor has been teasing his Grandma about her rootbeer aversion ever since he could talk, so it just seemed fitting to throw some of those in the mix. :)

We love you Grandma Marie and can't wait to spend the day with you tomorrow!

Today I will...

not feel sorry for my poor virus-stricken self...

make a great attempt at feeling more like a human being and less like a plagued troll...

go through an entire box of kleenex...

sneak some candy corn from the witch dish as I walk past...

drop off a fun package addressed to a fun person at the post office...

look outside my windows at the glowing orange and yellow trees lining our lovely neighborhood...

Welcome Nick and Nolan at the front door with a big ol' hug...

smooch Connor on the cheek as he walks through the door (I've got a cold folks!)...

make my family one of their all time favorite meals for dinner...Colorado Pie...

hear a play by play of my family's day and hope for great details...

be thankful for this life I'm living...

The best way to spend 24 hours...

We were the lucky guests of the J household in P-town this weekend and just like our past visits we were treated like royalty....

First up....

Play, cuddle, play, smooch on, and love this little guy! He loved Connor right back! Austin is a mans man, and wanted absolutely nothing to do with me...aka weird lady who was constantly making googley eyes and silly noises.

We spent the day visiting with Brad and Karen, talking about things of importance... such as how much we dislike Huey Lewis...How cilantro makes everything better...How grotesque her oven mitts are... you know, important stuff like that!


Our hosts fed us an amazing lunch and then it was off to Viera's bakery for some much anticipated doughnuts. Let me just say YUM.

We were feeling a tad guilty for the calories we'd chomped down so why not head outside...
We bundled up and walked around their neighborhood all the while scouting out the newly built homes, watching the boys toss the football back and forth, and just simply enjoying the afternoon.

Back inside the boys goofed around and gave the "Wit" an exciting ride on a sleeping bag.

Karen was back in the kitchen whipping up a meal worthy of praise and requested recipes. Seriously... she is a master in the kitchen. We feasted on marinated chicken burritos smothered in cilantro tomatillo sauce, rice, cheese, and the world's best salsa. (I have to admit I have already made a batch of her salsa and we had it for dinner tonight!!)

We chased down that fab meal with a chocolate cake infused with caramel and topped with cream cheese frosting and toffee bits. That is not a typo folks...it was really that amazing.

Into the evening, we broke out "Settler's of Catan". A game that was introduced to us in Cabo and that Karen just loves with all of her heart. Um...ok...that's a lie. I keep telling her that it is a game based fully on luck, which I truly believe... Your luck was just not in the sheep farmin' cards this time around my friend.

We pretty much laughed the entire evening.

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Then it was off to bed...

Their guest room is like a hotel.

Unlike ours.. that is more like a poor college student's excuse for a bedroom. You know... a bed whose box spring is 6 inches too small for the mattress making sleeping on the edge a tad bit challenging. Um..sorry about that Karen, I promise to fix that before your next visit.

Then it was up and at'em to spend a few more hours visiting, playing, and consuming even more delicious calories before our trek back over the mountains.

Here's Connor taunting Sienna and Hannah. They kept trying to steal bacon between his attempts at pinching their fingers with the tongs. They LOVED it!

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Thanks again for always making us feel so welcome. I envy your ability to make everyone who enters your home feel like part of the family. The food was to die for, the accomadations were lovely, and the company couldn't be beat. We hold our friendship with you close to our hearts. You are dear friends and we thoroughly enjoyed our time with you this weekend!

Thanks again!!!

My ears are happy

I'm as giddy as a chubby kid in a chocolate shop....

One of my all time favorite musicians, Brandi Carlile, released her latest CD today and it is pure ear candy...

LOVE IT!

Rockin riffs, heartfelt stories, sad songs, happy compilations... it's got 'em all! She's got the most amazing voice to go along with her thought provoking lyrics. She's a musical genius. Yes, I'm a fan.

I can hardly wait to plug in my ipod on my way to work tomorrow and listen to the entire thing. Can you think of a better way to start your work day... I think not.

But what I've even more excited about is the fact that my rump will be seated only six rows back from her microphone in a mere 3 weeks when I get to see her LIVE in concert!

It's going to be unbelievable! Thanks Connor!!

If you've never heard her songs, I suggest you give her a listen... you won't be disappointed.

Wonderfully Wicked

Today was a glorious day...

I had the opportunity to share this lovely brisk Autumn day with some fabulous gals. We travelled to the Emerald City to watch an amazing show about the Emerald City!

I saw "Wicked" with my dear friend Karen, her adorable daughter Hannah, and her lovely mother Ann.
Knowing I was going to get to spend the day with this lady made me beside-myself-happy.

Isn't Hannah just the cutest? And look at the green scarf adorning her neck. Karen fashioned that little number just yesterday to give Hannah some green bling to wear to "Wicked". She seriously reigns supreme in the mother world!

This shot would have been beyond cute, if my camera had been cooperating. I think it is protesting Fall, and refusing to take any indoor pictures.

We couldn't wait to get inside to find our seats and start the show!

It really was one of the most amazing productions I've seen on stage.

It was so easy to get wrapped up in the story line and be transformed to another place. It was a clever story with amazing performers who could sing the chandeliers right off the ceiling. Unbelievable!

We followed up our fun afternoon at the theater with a delicious meal where we could sit together, share our thoughts, and laugh the evening away.

It was a perfect day.

Thanks ladies!

Yes, I have a pulse...

I'm still alive and kickin'....

Just busy and slackin'...

However, I can safely say my boys have not been slackin' AT ALL. This school year is proving to be a challenging one so far.

First off, Nicholas has entered the world of middle school. I'm still in denial and having a hard time fathoming my child entering this phase of life. Where has my little red-headed knee biter gone? He's entered the halls of a school that so far, has no problem with piling on mountains of homework, that's where. He seems to be liking his new school, just not the amount of homework he's dealt with each night. After dinner, you can find him planted in his desk chair working away for an average of 2 hours. I honestly do not remember this as a 7th grader, do you? He is in honors classes so that may be the difference. I hope things get easier for him and maybe he'll find a better balance of homework and free time soon.

Nolan is LOVING school so far... His new teacher is perfection. I've met her only a few times but she is well spoken, friendly, caring, organized, and has Nolan's success in her best interest. Yay! We've been lucky to have awesome teacher's for Nolan in the last few years and that makes me unbelievably happy. It should be a fun year for him. It looks like he'll have lots of interesting and challenging assignments to keep his bright brain busy.

This is where I would post some first day of school photos. But, alas, I'm unable to upload the photos I chose. It may have something to do with this new template I picked out... Hmm.... I don't know. You'll just have to envision the boys standing in the entry way wearing new school clothes with nicely combed hair. :)

On a side note... I will not let weeks go by before posting again. I know this to be a fact because I've got some fun stuff coming up that I'll want to share. Starting tomorrow! Some wickedly fun stuff!! :)