Dusting off the ol' Blog

6 months. That's how much time has passed since I last blogged. That's way too long and one of my New Years resolutions is to update our lives on here more often.

I could blame it on our busyness, but truth be told it's a combination of that, the fact that I'm tired all the time, and the fact that I've let Instagram substitute for updates on our lives. Instagram is okay, but even though a picture is worth a thousand words, I forget that words are often times better.

In the last 6 months much has happened. I figured since it's the new year I should start it off right. I want to kind of recap our crazy, busy, wonderful fall and thank God for all he did to finish out our 2014. I'm also looking forward to 2015 and what God has in store for us. 

Since I last blogged, so much has happened. I'll begin with the kiddos, youngest to oldest.

Our Emsley began walking just before her 14 month. We were all so excited for her! She took her first steps at the Howard family cabin.

We also dedicated Em to the Lord at our church on Sunday October 12th. It was a special day and we celebrated with family afterwards. We all love having Emsley around. She is turning out to be quite a ham and has us laughing on a daily basis.

Ethan began preschool 2 half days a week and is loving it! He was very shy and hesitant at first, but preschool is accomplishing all that we hoped it would in him. We knew he was doing okay academically, since he loves to learn and is obsessed with letters and numbers. We just thought he needed a nudge socially and in learning to be a bit more independent. We've seen him grow up a lot this fall. He has several friends at preschool and although he still melts down when he's tired, he's a lot more mature and social! Praise God!

Elliana started kindergarten and is loving that as well. We've never worried about her since she is so social and loves to learn as well. She is also flourishing! The biggest change I've seen in her is the way she has taken on her role as a big sister. She amazes me with the way she loves and cares for both Ethan and Emsley. Another big milestone for her is that just before her 6th birthday she lost her first tooth! She was so proud of herself.

At the end of October, I got to check a visit to New York off the bucket list! As a Christmas gift from Caleb's parents, the four of us stayed with Caleb's Aunt and Uncle for 5 days and the trip was everything I dreamed it would be! We saw everything from The Statue Of Liberty, One World Trade Center, 9-11 memorial, The Met, Rockefeller Center, Top of The Rock, Empire State Building, Central Park, Broadway, Times Square, etc.

The biggest highlights for me were ice skating in front of Rockefeller Center, seeing the fall colors, seeing Wicked on Broadway and going to the top of the Empire State Building at midnight with Caleb. It was a wonderful trip and one that I'll never forget.

In October we also visited California but not for a happy reason. Caleb's paternal grandmother, Jeannette Howard passed away and we went to celebrate her life at her lovely funeral. It was sad to be there for that reason, but also so good to see the rest of that side of the family.

In early November Caleb's volleyball team won State again this year and they completed another season undefeated! Their record is now 58-0!! There are no words to describe that moment, or how proud I am of him and his incredible team. They are so special, and not just athletically.

At the beginning of the fall Caleb and I finally joined a small group at our new church Mill City and we are enjoying getting to know more couples and families there. One of my goals for this year is to get on the worship team at church.

We ended 2014 with a whirlwind December. We celebrated Ellie's 6th birthday, my 33rd (gulp) birthday,

bought Ellie a betta fish as her first pet for Christmas (she named the fish Sophie),

and then took off to an indoor water park in South Dakota for a few days. It was a wonderful trip as well!

Whew! 2014 was so busy and so, so good to us. It's true what people say about the years going faster and faster. Here is my new favorite photo of my 3 littles on Christmas Eve.

We have much to look forward to in 2015 and I'm excited to see what God has in store for us. It's hard to believe that Caleb and I will be celebrating 10 years of marriage already! We've planned a trip to Santa Barbara in March to celebrate! Stay tuned, I promise to not go 6 months again. ;)

I hope your 2015 is off to a great start!

My Life In Small Square Photos

We did it! Caleb and I finally decided to join the 21s century! 2 weeks ago, after a lot of talking, researching,and hitting a few "bumps" along the way, we officially had both new iPhones in our hands. 

We're never going back. We are so enjoying these new "toys" and in the meantime trying not to let them take over our lives. 

Just as big as getting a smartphone for me was joining Instagram. Friends and family had been begging me for months and now I know why. It's so fun to see little snapshots of my loved ones every day lives. I've been enjoying sharing the small things in my every day life too. 

I thought it would be fun to share some of my favorites from the last 2 weeks on here too. 

So, without further ado, here they are:

 I got tendinitis in my wrist and thumb around a month ago and had to wear a

 brace/splint thingy. This is me announcing and celebrating that for the most part, 

my wrist has healed and the brace is off! 

I may or may not be taking too many photos of Emsley, but I'm all too aware that my baby days are almost over. So, I'm soaking up every little last minute of her babyhood.

Besides, babies are so perfect and photogenic. 

I mean, c'mon, look at this beautiful face and perfect little foot!

EASTER! I got some great photos on Easter. Here are my 3 little E's all dressed up for church. Oh my heart!

Here's Ethan trying to "catch" water from a squirt gun. 

(No, not an Instagram pic, but a must share).

And, our best attempt at a family photo. :)

Ethan's latest thing is picking dandelions and bringing them to me. 

The best part is that he calls them "candylions". 

I won't correct him anytime soon. I love it!

Ellie had a "Princess, Pirate, Pizza, Pop" party at preschool and she was SO excited! 

She loves any excuse to dress up!

And last, but certainly not least, some nature shots. 

I took this on the way home from dropping Ellie off at preschool last week. The weather was gorgeous all week, and I was feeling so lucky to live in the beautiful state of Colorado.

This is my favorite so far. I took this as the sun was setting at the park.

Well, that sums up my day to day life in photos. 

I fear I may never use my real camera again. 

Now, if only I can convince Caleb to take some "couple selfies" with me. We have VERY few photos of the two of us together. I'm so going to work on that. ;)

Christmas Break Part 2

On our way home from the cabin we had dinner at my parents house to have dinner with my family and the Janelle family. We've grown up with the Janelles and we get together every Christmas break. I always look forward to seeing everyone.

The next morning Caleb and the kids made me breakfast in bed to celebrate my birthday. Caleb then informed me that we were getting away for a night to continue the birthday celebrations. :) 

I'm such a lucky girl. Caleb is very romantic and always does a wonderful job of surprising me and spoiling me for my birthday!

After packing up all 3 little ones (this was my first night sleeping away from Emsley) and myself, Caleb and I dropped the kids off with my parents and headed for lunch at Panera. Caleb didn't tell me what was planned, only that we were getting away. 

After Panera, Caleb suggested that we go for a little walk and he walked me right into a new massage place. He had planned the massage, but my parents wanted to pay for it. Did I mention that I'm a lucky girl? So, I got to enjoy a wonderful, hour long massage. :) It.was.heavenly!

After the massage, Caleb greeted me with my favorite drink from Starbucks (Cinnamon Dulce Latte) and we headed to Denver. 

We headed straight to the hotel, The Curtis close almost right on the 16th street mall. 

We had never stayed at this hotel before and it was awesome! Every floor has it's own theme. For example, the 13th floor is the horror movie floor. When you reach the 13th floor, the elevator plays "Heeere's Johnny!" from The Shining. 

I'm not a huge fan of horror films, so thankfully we ended up on the 11th floor, the chick flick floor. Perfect if you ask me. :) We relaxed a bit and then showered and got ready for dinner.

We had dinner at our very favorite restaurant, The Cheesecake Factory on the 16th street mall. 

After splitting a delicious dinner we decided to try out a new cheesecake and it was amazing! It was called Chris's Outrageous Cheesecake and it did not disappoint! Even though we split the cheesecake we couldn't finish it all!

After dinner we wandered the 16th street just a bit. We stopped in at Bath and Body Works to use up a gift card I was given for Christmas. They were having this HUGE 1 day sale and I got a lot for the money!

By the time we were done shopping, it was show time at the movie theater for Catching Fire. We had heard that it was soooo good and way better than the first movie, The Hunger Games. We couldn't agree more. We loved it! The character development was so good in Catching Fire, and I loved the way they brought out the emotion to make you hate the capitol and President Snow just as much as the characters in the movie. I can't wait to see Mockingjay!

There's not much to say about the rest of our getaway. After the movie was over we went back to the hotel and to bed. The next morning we had a nice breakfast and then headed back up to my parent's house to pick up the kids and watch the Broncos game.

The next day or so was spent organizing and cleaning from Christmas and having some down time at home with the kids.

Our New Year's Eve celebration was perfectly small. We went to my parents house and played poker and Apples to Apples with my sister Jenn, BIL Jon, and our good friends David and Becky while the kids played and watched movies. Sometimes a small gathering is just what you need to ring in the new year. It was a very fun night!

We had promised the kids that we would do a night at a hotel with them while Caleb was off so we headed back down to Denver with them on the 1st. 

We found a GREAT deal on priceline and got this sweet hotel for a good price! 

The rooms were perfect for families! We had a mini kitchenette complete with a fridge and microwave and there was just a little separation between our bed and where the kids slept. Yes, perfect!

Really, the only thing the kids cared about was swimming, so we made sure to find a hotel with a pool and hot tub. We spent the evening swimming and watching movies/TV with the kids.

Here's a sweet moment with our girls the next morning. :)

The next morning we all enjoyed the delicious hot, complimentary breakfast and then we swam some more. After a somewhat slow morning we headed to the Denver Children's Museum and met up with Caleb's parents, his brother Josh and our niece Abby. The kids spent a good 2+ hours at the museum and then we headed home to crash!

After that, there was just a few days left before Caleb had to head back to work. We just hung out and enjoyed being with each other. I already miss getting to spend all day every day with my family. We sure packed a lot in in just 2 weeks. I love Christmas break!

P.S. We got Emsley's 6 month photos back from Nate and Amanda yesterday. I LOVE them! 

Here's just a few of my favorites: