Late Summer Adventures

I can't seem to stick to my goal of monthly blogging, so I won't be able to do justice all the fun things we've done since I last posted.

Recently, my youngest brother Steven came home from his LDS mission. On his way to school this fall in Provo, UT, he and my parents stopped in Colorado for a visit. My oldest brother Craig came for a visit, and Daniel and Becca surprised us with a quick visit as well, so we ended up having the whole family there except for Teresa and Frank and co. They were definitely missed, but it was fun to be with everyone else for a few days. We went to Boondocks and did mini-golf, bowling, bumper boats, and go-karts and had lots of LAN parties in Ben and Allison's basement. Game of choice was, as usual, Unreal Tournament 2004. Good times. After Steven and Dad left to get Steven checked in to school and Craig, Daniel, and Becca all left, Mom came up to Greeley to stay with me and Chris for a couple days. It was fun to have Grandma over. We went and had portraits taken at Walmart of Sadie for her birthday. I don't have a scanner and I wasn't about to fork over $150 to get a cd of the photo shoot so I can't upload the shots here, but believe me, they were adorable. There's not a whole lot to do in Greeley, but it sure was fun to have my mom here just to hang out a little bit. She treated us to groceries and dinner at Red Lobster. Nom. (And unfortunately, I'm realizing now that I only have these 2 pictures from the entire week...bummer.)

On Labor Day weekend we went to Utah and were able to visit with Chris's family. We celebrated birthdays and Sadie got to eat a whole cake (the equivalent of 4 cupcakes) slathered in gooey frosting by herself. She was in heaven. We were gifted some seriously awesome/sweet/thoughtful gifts. Sadie got a Dora the Explorer riding toy that she LOVES, along with a walker, a VTech Learning lady bug toy, blocks, a stuffed puppy, an awesome bedtime book, sippy cups, and some really cute clothes. She plays with them all on a regular basis. I was given a new Jillian Michaels workout dvd which totally kicks my butt, a yoga ball and workout book, a book of Gothic stories (I've since read 2 out of the 5), a really beautiful book of Mary Engelbreit poetry about motherhood, a movie trivia game and popcorn buckets, some yummy candy and a workout shirt. My in-laws are fabulous.

Also during our visit we had a softball game. I haven't played softball since middle school; I wasn't good at it then, and I'm not any better at it now. When I was in school and it was my turn at bat, I remember my friends telling me to imagine the ball was my big brother Ben to help me channel my energy in hopes of actually getting a hit. Sadly, I don't think that strategy worked too well. 

We also did a mock Iron Chef competition. Each couple chose something to cook within an hour and had a friendly competition to see who could make the most awesome dish. Chris and I made gyoza, Japanese potstickers. Now, I don't want to brag or anything, but we all voted anonymously at the end and Chris and I totally won. :D  I voted for Lori's Swedish dessert rolls. Oh goodness, they were yummy. Some other dishes were empanadas, meatballs, pulled pork, and pizza. Everything was super delicious.   

  

 

After all the visiting with family we returned home and have spent some quality time hanging out together and relaxing. Well, relaxing during the time we get between working and the everyday hustle and bustle. Sadie has had some major accomplishments lately, but I'll devote a separate post for that. :)