Key Lime Pie, Sun by the Ocean, Raging Infernos and Tennis, Tennis, Tennis!

 Spring Break 2025 did not disappoint. Always an adventure with our family, in one way or another, and this year was so much fun (with some ups and downs but mostly ups!!!). 

We started the week in the Florida Keys, amidst raging wildfires on our way down to the Keys! But made it safely to our hotel on the beach in Marathon. 

Lylah was in her element at the beach/pool for the two days we had there! We enjoyed some relaxation time, some great seafood (conch fritters!), sunsets and Kayaking/paddleboarding with the manatees. We even made friends with some hermit crabs! Brady got a lovely sunburn (beach is not so much his element but I think he enjoyed some relaxation regardless). 

We then left the keys and headed for Miami for my (our) first ever pro tennis tourney. I pretty much lost my mind with excitement and was able to see many of my favorite players. Lylah joined for the first evening but wasn't feeling well on Day two so she stayed behind. :-( 

I think Brady really enjoyed seeing pro tennis and seems to have a renewed interest in following the sports and hopefully continuing to play here and there! 

My first and hopefully not my last pro tennis event was amazing!!!  I am so thankful for the memories from this trip, which is likely the last true spring break the four of us will have together! 

Happy SWEET 16 Lylah Bean!!!!

and now here we are.....16 years old!!! Our baby is growing up fast!! This year brings more independence and responsibility, all at the same time! 

Lylah's big bday wish was to balyage her hair, so we made that wish come true and it looks super cute!! 

She had a fun dinner outing with her closest gals at La Loma and then came home after for dessert and time with her pals. 

Then on her actual bday, we went to Park Meadows (a trip she and I will never forget) and then had a most fun beach themed dinner with crab legs, steak, pina coladas and more! 

She passed her drivers license test super easily and is officially a licensed driver. 

Today, Lylah continues to be an excellent student, kind friend (remember the fish you bought for Avery), good role model, amazing dancer, and more. This past year, she has become more vocal and aware of politics and social issues and she knows what she believes and feels. I am proud of her for speaking up and voicing her opinion and thoughts. 

She has a solid group of smart and kind friends and she just recently started working out at the gym, in addition to her Poms commitments. She loves her Charlie and she has gotten closer with Brady this last year. She is starting to talk about colleges and careers and can't wait to see where her path leads. She has tons of opportunity and potential! 

While I may drive her nuts sometimes, I love that we are super close and do a lot together. I enjoy her smile and sense of humor and kind heart so very much! And while she still has plenty of sass ;-) she gets over her irritations quickly and is quick to apologize. I know her heart is HUGE!!!

Love to the moon Lylah Beans. Always here for you! 

 

Quick Mtn trip and Deca February!

And February did not disappoint either! The months are flying by and we are trying to squeeze in as much as we can with the kids, when they are free. Between work for Brady, swim and poms for the kids and social time for them both, it's hard to find times when all four of us are together. So...I enjoy very much the moment we do have! 

We snuck in a quick trip to Breck this month, where the boys skied and Lylah and I went into town, and we all enjoyed the hot tubs and arcade. Grand Timber holds so many good memories for us and I always love going back. While I was sad Lylah and I didn't ski, it worked out well for the boys with lots of snow and cold weather, just like they like it! 

and this month, Brady made it to STATE DECA!!!!!! Such a great accomplishment for him and a fantastic opportunity to prepare him for the business world. 

Very proud of him for representing Columbine and glad he was able to have this experience. 

and then there is Charlie. she is the love of our life. the sweetest puppy and not sure what we would do without her!!!

 

A little fun for everyone!

We kicked off 2025 with all kinds of (unique) fun!!! 

Lylah competed in her last JV poms competition of the year and she did amazing as always. I love seeing her dance and she proved to be a great leader and role model for the rest of the JV girls on the team this season. 

and this year, Dancing with the Stars was especially fun as she performed in a ton of routines and was able to compete with two of the teachers too. and she had the great pleasure of seeing me perform a flash mob dance to Dancing Queen with the other dance moms :-)  I seriously don't know how she learns all of her routines as I practiced and practiced for days and days for one dance! 

Brady had the opportunity to tour University of Utah again with Juliette and was able to sneak in some skiing in Park City too! Lucky kid! He had the best time and the tour second time around pretty much sold him on becoming a Ute! 

and Jon and I snuck in some adult time at the Justin Timberlake concert (fantastic seats) and had a blast dancing to all of our favorite JT songs! 

Not a bad way to start off the year!! 

 

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!!!