Jingle Bells!

 Tis the Season 2024

 

I do love our holiday traditions and I can always count on Lylah to catch the holiday fever just like I do!

This season, we did the favorites, like going to see holiday lights with Lylah and her man friend Colton 😊. Both kids helped to make Xmas cookies this year and Juliette and Brady did some fun cookie decorating at the house.

We even got all four of us to watch a movie together around Jon’s Bday!! (Gladiator Part 1!) and before he took off for his two week trek to Patagonia.

As always, the highlight of the season is going to Grandmama and Grandbob’s to celebrate the season. We enjoyed great weather, golf cart driving, bocce ball, some good movies, great food, a few games and church. Best part of the trip was seeing Gma and Gbob dance together !!!!

My parent’s house is always a place of rest, relaxation, comfort, security, safety and peace for me. I love going there and always feeling “at home”.

And it was nice to see my mom feeling good overall, although she still gets very tired.

Once we got back, Brady lived his best life with a guys trip to Breck (Jace’s parents place) and then a trip to Utah with Juliette after New Year’s.

Lylah had (what seemed to me!) a very fun New Year’s with three other great friends who all have similar interests. They played games, laughed and laughed, ate good food and made vision board. Loved seeing them have fun, get along and just laugh!

For Brady, this New Year’s brought out some things he wants to work on in 2025. I am super proud of him for speaking up, asking for help and addressing his issues.  This is his last semester of high school so I think things are going to move so quickly now!!! I am holding onto every minute I can!

And for Lylah… she enjoyed some relaxation, friend time and a break from school but is diving back into second semester of Sophomore year.

I am thankful for each year I get to spend with both of my amazing kids. They truly make my world a special place!

Turkeys, Trips and Gingerbread Poms!

Thankful for these Turkeys (and Champ Bailey too)!

I am grateful for our Thanksgiving tradition of family and friends every year at our home. It was nice to have the college kids back with us as well!

While it was too cold for our annual Thanksgiving activity, I did sneak in a walk with CHarllie and the Barbics to kick off the day.

Lylah had just had her wisdom teeth out (top two) so was a bit swollen and couldn’t eat much but she was a trooper.

It was nice to have Gma Barb and Papa with us again and we snuck in a couple games of Pictionary to get the competitive juices flowing!

 

And to kickoff the holiday season, Lylah did gingerbread houses with her Poms team and then had a holiday party with her “favorite” white elephant gift exchange (not really her favorite!). But nice to see the team doing some activities together and getting a bit of a break from dance.

It’s hard to beat the Thanksgiving to Xmas VIBE!!! Lylah and I even drove around for almost an hour looking at lights in different hoods. Loved it!

And Brady has been enjoying days like Senior Skip day (to go skiing), working at Chick Fil A this holiday season and getting his best grades yet this semester!

Plus the college hunt continues…. He has heard from 7 schools with acceptances so far!!! And a few more to hear from….

and I went on a super quick Broncos trip to Las Vegas with Kathy.... saw a little F1, had dinner with Champ Bailey and Broncos staff and cheered the Broncos onto a victory! 

More to come soon!!!

Senior year, fall edition

Fall brought the final hurrah for high school tennis, with the team banquet, hosted by yours truly. Brady was names MVP, which was the icing on the cake for an unforgettable season. I am happy for him to have that recognition!!

and he is continuing to thrive in school, even knowing it's his final year. He seems to recognize that it is important to finish strong and not let up on the gas. 

And he's found a job he is enjoying, at Chick Fil A. He works two shifts or so a week and works drive through and front counter, and really seems to enjoy it! The surprise visit with four of my girlfriends was the best!! 

and then there's DECA! What a surprising club for Brady to be a part of and he is killing it. He  qualified for state by coming in second place at districts and will compete in the New Year! It's no easy feat to present in front of judges with little to no time to plan. 

Really proud of him!! 

Be back soon (too soon!!) with Senior year, winter edition! 

 

2024 Poms-season start

Year 2 of CHS Poms is underway! It's a bit different this year, with Lylah being a captain and a leader on the team. She is front and center of every dance and it's clear that the coaches think a lot of her ability and commitment. 

The season starts slow(ish) in August but by the time we hit November, it was full blown competitions every weekend and even weeknight. The girls have worked super hard and even though it's been tough with some girls rotating in and out of dances, Lylah has been a consistent performer all the way through. I know what a commitment it  is and how hard it can be when you are tired and have other things to juggle, but am proud of you for really shining this year as one of the top gals on the team, for many reasons! 

XOXO 

 

Halloween weekend fun!

Super fun to see the kids still get dressed up for Halloween. Brady and Juliette rocked it as Star Wars characters, and Lylah dressed up as police Barbie for Trick or Treat Street with the Poms at Columbine (and dressed up as Rapunzel with her friends)!

And in lieu of carving pumpkins this year, the kids decorated Halloween cookies which turned out to be hilarious (or at least I thought so!!) 

And we can usually count on the Broncos to have a game around Halloween...was fun to take the whole crew including Juliette and Brooke. 

Hard to believe how fast these holidays are going by! I hope both of you (Brady and Lylah) have great memories of many a Halloween here and keep the Halloween fun going year after year! 

Love you guys! 

 

College Tour #4

University of Utah! 

This was a fun one as none of us had been to Salt Lake before. once again, I was hit with rain the entire time but we made the best of it. 

We went to Park City, which is the cutest little ski town, similar to a Breck. And then in an effort to find something to do inside, we went to a living aquarium and had the best time. We all enjoyed it a ton (even the mating otters) and realized this was something we never would have done as a family at home. Sometimes it just takes a change of scenery! 

We went to some cute pubs, and of course, took a pretty length tour of the University. Ironically, while we were there, Brady found out he was accepted to the University of Oregon as well. EEK!! Although he did decide the rain and weather may steer him away from Oregon. 

So Utes are still an option.... but waiting to see what happens with his other apps too! It's been a fun and interesting process for all of us and good for Lylah to experience too! 

 

Brady's High School Tennis Career

Brady's high school tennis career came to an end at Regionals and oh what a season it was. We knew #1 singles was going to be very tough, but he did extremely well and had some amazing matches all the way until the end, 

He may say that he will always remember the very last match (lots of emotion against a not so ethical Chatfield player) but I will remember all of it. The Grand Junction tourney win, the amazing team wins, the walk out at assembly time, the team dinners, the bonding before and after matches, the wins and losses. It all builds character, teaches you life lessons and creates memories you will never forget. It was a joy to watch him do so well at a sport that I understand know too. 

I credit him for helping me to get back into the sport too and I hope that he continues to play for fun, recreation, competition or whatever works for him. He's good, really good, and worked hard to get there!!

Congrats Brady!!!