Santa Visits Over The Years

Every year my work has a holiday party with all kinds of breakfast treats.  Mr. & Mrs. Claus are there and then we get to go to a movie.  One of my favorite parts of the morning is the picture with Mr. & Mrs. Claus.  I work with Mrs. Claus and its so fun to see every year how Ian and now both boys change!  Here the pictures are over the last couple of years!  And for some reason we did not get a picture when Borne was a baby - darn it.  But fun to see the growth!  Man they are getting big - this little girl growing in me better be ready to handle these two!! :)

2011

Ian (6 1/2 years old) & Borne (2 years old)

2010

Ian (5 1/2 years old) & Borne (1 year old)

2008

Ian (3 1/2 years old)

2007

Ian (2 1/2 years old)

Being Silly

A couple of weeks ago Borne and I went to the mall to get a few things.  A trip that could have took 10 minutes with just me turned into about an hour adventure.  But he was all about wanting to go into the photo booth and me loving them growing up said why not.  So the above shots are what we got.  I think they are so fun and now I want to go to the mall with Ian and take more.  Although next time I might have to get the black and white so they are more "vintage."

Fright Night at the Museum

The week before Halloween we went Fright Night at Morrill Hall on UNL campus.  It was quite crazy - there were a lot of people but I think the kids had fun and I do love supporting the Morrill Hall - it's something very neat to have in town.

Our GI Joe Ninja - this is the only picture we have of Ian wearing the mask - he hated it.

The little kids.  Griffin, Kael and Borne.

Our little vampire loved the tunnel in the play room.

This is one of the last games the kids played (minus Borne - he was ready to leave before this point!).  So they were off to get a little more candy!

It was a fun night for the kids and a great way to start our Halloween week!

Pumpkin Run

In the middle of October Ian decided he wanted to run the Pumpkin Run.  We were all pretty excited about it because this would be his second race - he ran the Mayors run last May.  The week before the run Ian's knee started to really hurt him.  We had no idea why - we went to the doctor and did blood work and everything was fine.  So the day of the race we were a little worried because he was really not even completely walking on it but he wanted to do it so we figured it would be a good teaching moment. 

So we arrived and found Ryder (Ian's cousin) right away!

Then shortly Brandon (Ian's friend) showed up.  Look at those three - they are going to break some hearts in the future - such cute kids!

Then daddy and Ian got ready at the starting line.

And they are off!

This is one of the final turns where Borne and I sat watching.  I think the look on Ian's face says it all.  Chris said he was getting really tired and just wanted to stop but Chris pushed him a little bit and he was able to run the entire race.  Although Chris was probably dragging him at times!

I was able to catch Ryder at the finish line - Brandon was too fast so I missed him. 

Then Ian came in.  We did not pay attention to the time too much at the Mayor's Run but we are pretty sure he beat his time even with the hurt knee.  So it was a good morning!

This event was very well organized and I have to say a great event.  I think there was just under 3,000 kids that ran it and they expect even more next year.  We'll be back!  And I know Borne was itching to get out there so in two more years he'll probably see him blazing a trail.

Borne Turns 2

On October 13th our crazy little monkey turned 2.  We had quite a few exciting plans for his birthday and I think he enjoyed them all.

First his actual birthday:
The night before I had Chris pick up 15 balloons (Borne LOVES balloons!) and we put them right outside of his door hanging from the ceiling.  I forgot to take pictures but it was pretty cute to see his door open that morning and he got all excited and happy.  He had fun that day with his daycare friends.  That night I brought home a cookie for us all to enjoy.

Then the next weekend we celebrated his birthday with family and friends at our house.  I decided a couple of weeks before that I was going to make his birthday cake.  So the night before his party I got busy.

This is after all the different colors were made and a layer of frosting between each!

This is the birthday boy and the final product. 

I was a little worried about the icing but it turned out pretty good and I think everyone like it.  I was pretty proud of myself and really it was quite easy - If I can do it - most likely anyone else could do it!

A couple of pictures after we cut into the cake and served it with ice cream!  Yum makes me hungry for cake and ice cream.

Borne had fun playing with friends and opening presents after cake and ice cream!  I'd say overall Borne's 2nd birthday was a success!

Our 8th Anniversary

On October 11th Chris and I celebrated 8 years of marriage.  In some ways it seems like yesterday when we got married but then other times it seems like forever ago.  In the last 8 years alot has changed.

-We have moved two times and purchased two different houses!
-We've had two babies and now celebrate the birth of our third!
-We've been on numerious vacations - I started counting but there are too many.
-We've done so many renovations to both of our houses it's scary - but every one of them have made our homes into what we wanted them to be!
-We've been through I think 6 or 7 cars - this is mainly Chris!

Those are just a few of the things I could think of off the top of my head.  We've been together for a total of 15 1/2 years - married for 8 of them!  We've been through a lot in all of those years - I'd say in general many more wonderful things than hard or sad.  This last year has thrown us a few harder than normal but I really think because of the wonderful man I come home to every night I can get through just about anything and I hope he feels the same.

And for as much crap as he gives me and the show he puts on in front of others I know he loves me with everything he has (just look at what he did last year for me!).  This year he surprised me with a dozen red roses.  This is the first time he's sent flowers since our 1st anniversary.  They were beautiful and I cried - actually multiple times (must be the baby hormones!).  But I loved them and love him for sending them to me.

Can't wait to see what the next 8 years will be like and what our list of "stuff" will include.  I'm sure it will be fun, exciting, boring, normal, crazy, funny, sad, and everything inbetween.  I don't think I'd want it any other way!

Omaha Zoo

In the middle of October we took a quick trip to the Omaha Zoo after we picked the boys up from a sleepover at Grandma Kershaw's house.  We were a little worried because we were there during Borne's nap but he did pretty good for a couple of hours but then we knew it was time to get on the road and get a nap in!

This trip to the Omaha Zoo was fun because Borne is just so much more involved in the entire experience.  I swear the entire time we were there he was pointing and saying something.  He was so excited about everything!!  It was fun to see.

 The boys checking out the tapirs!

 Borne had to sit on the tree swing when he saw it.  It was quite crazy to see the difference in the size of the boys when Ian sat down!

 Borne was trying to catch water from the waterfall.

 I love this picture because Ian is hiding and wants to jump out and scare us.  Borne and I have no idea.  I just love how Ian is using every possible way to stay quite!  He did not give himself away!

 The monkeys and gorillas are always a hit and all the boys had fun climbing on the statues!

On the way out we had to get a snack and they do have wonderful ice cream!

Colorado

The first weekend in October Chris and I took a quick trip to Colorado just us!  We left Thursday right after work.  Our original plan was to drive to my brother's house in Windsor and spend the night.  But after thinking about it we decided to just take it slow and ended up stopping in Ogallala and got a hotel room.  Although we were sad we did not get to see my Marcus, Meghan (w/ baby in tummy!) and Cache it was nice to not feel rushed.  And I have to say this pregnant lady was not really enjoying the ride - for some reason my back was really hurting so I was happy to crawl into a hotel bed and get a good night of sleep!

Friday morning we got up around 8 and headed out.  We made a quick stop in Loveland for a quick shopping trip.  We got the boys a few things but after about 45 minutes we were ready to get into the mountains!

We got into Estes and headed to our campground.  We got our weekend home set up!

The rest of Friday we just hung out.  We went into town for dinner and did a little shopping.  We decided that we would try to eat at all new places while on our trip.  It was fun since we've been there multiple times and never really thought about it before but found some great little places to try again.

The leaves were really starting to change when we were there.  Chris tried many times to get a great picture of them but as he says - it's really really hard to see the true beauty in a picture.  It was beautiful to say the least!

Saturday morning we got up fairly early and decided to head out for a hike.  We went up to Bear Lake where we've been quite a few times but we decided to take a different trail.  We went to Bierstadt Lake.  The trail started out a little steep and I was a little worried that I was not going to make it.  I've not been very good about working out since this baby started growing but after about 1/2 mile or so the trail leveled out and it was a fun new trail.  When we got to the lake we were glad we picked this trail - the lake was beautiful and it was just a fun new place to experience!  There was a great view of the mountains!

Saturday afternoon included a wonderful nap for me and some Husker football.  Although the game was not really to our liking it was kind of fun sitting in our camper watching football!

Sunday we drove up trail ridge road.  It was a nice drive and on the way back down we decided to venture off on a different little trail that we'd never been on.  From the road it appeared that it was about 500ft off of the road but once we got up a little hike we realized it was about 1/2 mile or so to some rocks.  We were again amazed we'd never been on this little path.  At the top of the rocks some ladies were very nice to take our pictures.  It was a little chilly out so after enjoying the view we took off down the mountain.

 Chris at the top of the rocks!  Such a cool guy!

On the way down we realized that our plan to leave early the next morning was not going to work.  We had our ultrasound for the baby the next day in Lincoln at 3:30pm.  It takes about an hour to tear down the camper so we decided we'd head back to the camper - hang for a little bit and then leave later that night.  So Sunday night we drove to Cheyenne and got a hotel.

I must say this vacation was weird.  This is the first vacation Chris and I have been on all by ourselves since 2004 so it was much needed!  But after being in Colorado with no kids we realized it was much needed and nice - it was a little boring.  Although having the boys with us would have been a lot of work it just felt a little weird without them.  We'll see when we go on the next vacation just us - might be a while!!

And I must say I don't know the last time and Chris and I talked about so many different things.  In our everyday lives we get caught up in the day to day stuff and don't really just get to sit and talk.  I must say I still love just sitting and talking to my husband.  We can still have a good conversation followed by complete silence and be perfectly happy!

Nebraska vs Ohio State Football Game

Chris and I got to go to the Nebraska vs. Ohio State football game a couple of weeks ago.  My mom took the boys for the day and also purchased the tickets for us.  I'd say that's a pretty good anniversary gift!!  THANKS MOM!!

We had high hopes of hitting 3 different tailgate spots but ended up only making it to brooke and brian's spot.  Allison joined in on the fun as well!  As you can see my belly is starting to get big.  And you can't even tell that brooke is pregnant (she's due 3 days after me!) - maybe I should have worn black!

We had some very serious (ok not really) conversations - this appears to be one of them.  I will say tailgating with these guys always makes me laugh - to the point of having to use the restroom!

The game was a little wet - not terrible - but I was glad we had stopped at Walgreen's on the way to buy $6.99 Husker poncho's!

It's always fun when the first points are scored and the sky is filled with balloons!

The game started out not very good but by the end the stands were rocking and we were very happy that we got to experience another awesome Husker football game.  Chris is looking forward to going to the Michigan State game and we are still debating on if I'll go to the Iowa game (this belly might just be too big).  But I know Chris will be there yelling for our Huskers!!  

GO BIG RED!!!!

Breakfast

This is how breakfast goes at our house sometimes with two boys!

Zoo

A Sunday morning trip to the Lincoln Children's Zoo was filled with lots of fun.

Borne was more interested in the goats - already pointing at them!

The highlight of this trip was by far feeding the goats - Borne was so funny - just check out this video.

Leaves

A couple of weeks ago Ian got the idea that he wanted to make a pile of leaves in our front yard to play in.  We had quite a bit of fun and most of the leaves in the front year got picked up!

I'm not real sure what Borne was doing here but thought it was kind of funny!

I got this fun picture of the back of Borne's head - his two cow licks!

UNL Band Night

Back in August we went to the UNL Band Night.  Amy, Pat, Kael, Deni and Kathy all went as well.  It was fun watching the kids enjoy the music.  Once the music was over they (at least Borne) was ready to go so we left a little early but it was a fun free night out!

As soon as the music started this was Borne.  His attention was completely on the field and then almost immediately he started dancing like crazy.  It was the cuties thing ever.  Not much keeps his attention but the UNL band sure did.

Ian and Deni had fun listening to the music and playing and talking the entire time!

This was how Borne sat for about 2 seconds - at least until the music started!