Happy Birthday Wesley!

Now that it's been a month, I should probably post about Wes's birthday!  

We celebrated Wesley turning 37 with a weekend full of a few different fun celebrations.

Lindsay and Jeremy had been telling us about this really cool 20's style speak easy called Williams & Graham.  They had been there once before and really enjoyed it, so we headed down there together on Friday night.  The entrance looks like a book store, and when they are ready for you to come in, they open a secret door in the wall!

We waited in the "standing" area for a bit before a table was ready for us.  They don't really make standing bars that fit all sizes of people :)

It was SUPER dark inside, so these are my phone pics very altered to allow us to even show up.

We ordered some fun drinks and decided to try a few adventurous apps--bone marrow with bacon jam and buffalo frog legs!

After dinner we headed to another one of Lindsay and Jeremy's favorite restaurants--a Native American Chipotle-ish place called Tagabe.  It was really good!  Finally, we met up with Dana, Nate, and Trish for a few drinks.  It was a really fun night!

Saturday was Wes's actual birthday.  So, in the morning, the kids surprised Wes with breakfast in bed!\

Wes and Tim went ATVing for most of the day, which was Wes's birthday wish come true.  That night, although I didn't take any pictures, we hung out with Gwen and Tim and had dinner together.

Finally, on Sunday, after another round of ATVing with Jer, we celebrated at my mom and dad's house with the family.

Both Payton and Brady made homemade cards.  Payton came up with 37 reasons why she loves her dad, and Brady got to about 10 and then just said 'that's pretty old!'  But, it was so cute to read all of their personal reasons.

After a great hamburger lunch, we topped off the weekend with a birthday bundt cake.  Landon got to sing with the birthday boy!

Happy Birthday Babeski.  We love you so much!

President's Day At The Zoo.

Last Monday was President's Day, so the kids and I had the day off of school.  The weather was chilly but sunny, so we decided to head to the zoo.  We have a season pass that expires in a few months, so I've been trying to get our money's worth!  We've been to the zoo a few times when it's a little colder, and the animals are so much more active.  Monday was no exception.  Here are the three kiddos in front of the cheetahs.  Rare to get them all looking and smiling!

The cheetah was pacing back and forth, so we got to see him right up close!

Then we headed over to the primates.  My primates checking out the other primates behind the glass.  I thought these three were cuter, so I took more pics of them :)

Silly boys.

Love this shot.

Brady is by far our dirtiest kid...he can't eat a meal without getting food all over his face, the table, the floor, so he was right at home with these wild pigs!

We stayed for several hours and saw almost everything at the zoo.  I slowed down a bit on the photography and just enjoyed spending time with my kids.  It was really nice to not bring along any buddies and just let the kids runn around together.

Jumping in the wild bird area.  Brady and Payton argued about whether it was the Nurture Center or the Nature Center.

Some solo shots.

I'm so glad I ventured out with the kids for the day.  We had a great time and are so looking forward to the arrival of spring so we can be outside all the time!

Payton and the Junior Toms Take Three!

For the third year in a row, Payton has participated in the Arapahoe Junior Toms program.  On Thursday night for a few hours, Payton and a couple of her school friends got to know the high school Toms, learned a  cool dance routine, and ate pizza.  The next night, Valentine's Day, all of the girls performed what they learned at halftime of the boys basketball game.  

We arrived early to watch Uncle Bradley coach JV.  I also realized that they FINALLY put up our State Runner Up Volleyball Plaque.  You only get a plaque on the wall for state champion or state runner up, so this is the first ever volleyball plaque on the wall of the gym.  So cool!

At halftime, the girls all came out and got ready to dance.  Payton is as far away from us as possible.  She is under the basketball on the far door.  See her?

Here it is!

After the show, we had to wait in line to pick up our daughters.  This is Olivia, one of Payton's group leaders.  Her mom works at Twain.  Juliana is also in Payton's class.

Payton and Grace.

Brady brought his friend Danny along, and they met their buddy Andrew there as well.  They had a blast running around out in the hall.

Great job P!  You did awesome!

Brady: Wrestle Mania!

This winter, Brady decided to become a part of the Arapahoe Warriors Wrestling Club.  He tried basketball last year and liked it, but we thought this would be a good chance for him to try something different.  In all our years of sports, our family has never had any wrestlers!  Not Wes, not my brothers, so we are brand new to the sport.  To prepare, Brady and I went to watch the Arapahoe wrestlers compete in a tournament.  We learned about the scoring, timing, and basic rules.  Brady also got to see how the boys are super aggressive and strategic.  It has been really fun to learn something totally new!

Boys ages 5-13 can join the club.  They practice two nights a week and compete in weekend tournaments or weeknight dual meets.  Last Tuesday night, Brady competed in his first dual meet at Arapahoe.  The 5 and 6 year old boys were up first.  They went downstairs and lined up according to age and weight.

Can you see why girls don't wrestle?!  We would hate having our ages and weights displayed for all to see!

Here is Brady's first opponent from Cherry Creek.  He was three or four pounds heavier, but Brady was a few inches taller.  They gave their names to the scoring table and headed back upstairs for the match.

The meet is run by the high school wrestlers from the home school, so Arapahoe boys are the referees, scorers, etc.  They always make the boys start by shaking hands.

They wrestle for three, one-minute periods.  Boys earn points for take downs, good moves, and pins.

Here are some video highlights of Brady's first match!  

He ended up winning 6-0.  No pin, but several good take downs.  Apparently if you win, you get to keep the score card!

Then we had some down time while we waited for the second round.  Landon found this head gear and thought he was big stuff.

Opa knows a thing or two about wrestling from his high school days, so we is a good resource for tips, strategies, and demonstrations!

On to Round 2.  This time, Brady's opponent was about 10 pounds heavier, but really short.  Brady had to work hard to stay low and quick.

Check out that determination!

Brady almost got pinned in Round 1 because he got stuck on the bottom, but thankfully the whistle blew.  The next two rounds, he completely dominated his opponent and was much more aggressive.

He ended up winning 8-2.  Way to go Brady!  His next dual is tonight at Valor, so hopefully he will continue to improve and be successful.  Go Warriors!

One Big Giant Christmas Post!

I'm going to put ALL of our Christmas celebrations into one big, giant, Christmas post, so here goes!  

Grandma Inge went to Atlanta for three weeks to visit some of her other kids, so we had to celebrate with her in early December.

  A few weeks later, we resumed the holiday season just like we always do by celebrating Christmas Eve morning at my parent's house.

Their fireplace and mantle are a sign of just how much our family has grown over the past ten years!

Landon, aka Santa.

Payton the Elf.

She asked me to take this shot of her.  A sneaky little elf hiding presents under the tree. :)

Silly Boy.

Mr. Cohen.

Cousins, Brady and Nolan, waiting anxiously to start opening stockings.

I love this pic of Nolan and Payton checking each other out!

So cute!

A perfect kid shot.  Cohen digging for treasure and Lando making his silly face.

Heath's turn to open his stocking.  All of the younger boys got these cool magnifying glasses for exploring Oma and Opa's back yard.

Landon checking out the dinosaurs from his stocking.

Arie's turn!  He wasn't sure what to think of it all.

Even the big boys have fun with magnifying glasses.  What luscious lips.

Oma and her ONLY granddaughter!

Opa found this cool dice game called Tenzi for Brady.  It's perfect for his little mathematician mind.

A few weeks back, during a game of Trains, Wes made a strategic move that completely took Opa out of the game.  As was promised that night, Santa would probably bring Wes a stocking full of coal!  The kids thought this was hilarious.  Once Wes made an apology that was approved by Oma, he received his regular stocking as well. :)

Jayne's turn!

After stockings and breakfast, we gather in by the tree to open presents.  I think I got every kid to look, except Arie seems to be missing completely!

Little man Brooks opening some new snow boots.

Heathy, I mean Wolverine.

Heath drew Payton's name and he picked out this funny cat with a top hat and bow tie shirt.  Payton LOVES it.

After the kids finished opening their gifts, we send them to the other room so the adults can relax and enjoy our gift time as well.  Brad gave Mark some booze, along with a very creative wrapping job.

I got Jayne's name and got her a new purse.

Mark modeling his new cologne.

And my mom and dad sporting some of their new gifts.

After a wonderful morning, we headed home for a few hours (to take care of some last minute shopping and surprises!), then at about 6:00, we headed back to my parents again for our traditional Christmas Eve with the extended family.  We always start with a great dinner, the same one we ate at Oma and Opa Bosch's for so many years.

The lovely hostesses, my mom and Aunt Sue.

Plyaing with some of Arie's new toys!

Mark and Abby.

After dinner, we head downstairs for some caroling.  I'm trying to grow my hair our, so I'm getting used to seeing myself in pictures with the new do.  It's starting to grow on me.

Brady, Nolan, and Heath sat by Oma and helped her play the piano.  They had been practicing a few songs with her, and they did a great job performing!

These are the caroling books we use.  They were printed in the 1940's, I bet they are collector's items!

Abby's family joined us this year as well.  Both Tyler and Mallory just got engaged, so they will have a super fun year of weddings!

Aunt Sue, aka Rudolph.

After 10 or so songs, it's always time for page 17, Jingle Bells.  We all know what happens during Jingle Bells!  

Payton the Elf was chosen to be Santa's helper this year.  She did a great job calling out names for Santa!

Brady's turn.

Now Lando.

And you can't forget a present for the Elf!

Santa couldn't have chosen better!

After singing and Santa, we played several rounds of Aunt Sue's famous derby game.  Roll dice, and if your number comes up, your game piece moves.  At Thanksgiving, it's pine cone turkeys.  At Christmas, holiday ducks!  The kids round was first, and Nolan emerged the victor.

Then it was time for the adults.  Abby's dad Randy won the final championship.

Rudolph Syers.

After some dessert and final goodbyes, we headed home and got ready for Christmas morning, and hopefully a visit from Santa.   We put our cookies and milk, and the kids wrote some personal notes.

Then we were off to bed.  I'm pretty sure Brady was up at 5:00 the next morning, ready to go.  We made him promise to come in bed with us so that we could go down and see the tree together.  But, we had booby trapped the stair case just in case :).  

Santa was kind to all three kids this year with a new bike and one other small gift.

When it's not snowing, the two big kids have already been riding their new bikes down to the park.  

Stocking time.

After Santa gifts, we opened the rest of the gifts from each other.  Brady gave Wes this outdoorsman book.  They watch a show called Live Action together, so he wrote that on the gift tag.  "To: Dad, From: Live Action."  Wes loved it!

Brady and Payton gave their brother an Iron Man Mask.

And the boys bought this blanket and pillow for their sister.  They know her well :)

New hats for everyone.

After that, all that was left was to wait for Grandma Tammy so we could open her presents and start making Christmas dinner.  Except wait, mom and dad forgot that we had one more present for Payton...

Meet Lucy, our schnoodle (half poodle, half schnauzer).  I'm not exactly sure how we ended up getting a dog.  We had decided on a hamster, then Wes talked to a friend who told us that hamsters are mean, stinky, and not really good pets.  Then we considered a bird.  For about 10 seconds.  Wes finally told me that we would never grow to love a bird, but we would easily grow to love a dog, and that was kind of the turning point.  Our daughter LOVES animals.  And she needs some responsibility.  So, we took a trip to the pet store, told the lady our needs (Brady's allergies, three active kids, etc.), and she suggested Lucy.  We played with her for a bit and kind of fell in love.  We visited a second time and decided to make it official.  The pet store kept her until Christmas Eve, then Grandma Tammy kept her overnight until the surprise.  We actually wrapped up Grandma Inge's ottoman to use as the box!  

She has been very good so far.  Great at night in the kennel, as long as she is in our room.  Good with the kids and visitors, and hit or miss on the potty training.  She just basically wants to snuggle with anyone and everyone.  So, here we go I guess!

Back to the rest of Christmas Day.  Grandma Tammy came and we exchanged gifts with her.  She got Wes his equivalent to a puppy...a new Makita Impact Drive and Cordless Drill!

Later in the afternoon, my mom and dad and Brad and Jayne and the boys joined us for dinner.  We kept it super simple this year and ordered brisket from Winston's BBQ.  Much easier on the cooks which allowed us to enjoy more of the day.

Cohen and Landon trying out their strider bikes.  Landon needs to take some lessons from Cohen.

And finally, the crew sitting down for dinner.

It was a wonderful Christmas, and once again reminded me of the importance of family and friends.