BOO at the ZOO

This year we decided to go to the Denver Zoo for their annual Boo at the Zoo.   All the kids (and some adults) dress up and there are trick or treat stations for the kids to get candy.  Of course you can see all the animals too.  We were concerned that it would be pure craziness, and it was, but it actually turned out to be a blast.  It was a fun event for the kiddos!

The Gorillas were nuts at the zoo.  They would walk right up to the glass and just stare at us.  One of them kept throwing this giant frozen piece of ice (that looked like candy corn) at the glass. Another one would run full speed and throw his body at the glass or run by hitting the glass with his hands.  It was awesome, but freaking.  Scared the kiddos, that's for sure!!

While there I got really sad.  99% of all Halloween candy, given out, either has peanuts/peanut butter or are made in factory that processes peanuts.  Let me tell you how much Leo LOVED having his mother pull the candy out of his bag while he's grabbing for it. Even better, he watches as I give it to his sister!  Lucky we did the trade out with sweet tarts, and he seemed to be okay with that.  Needless to say, when we go trick-or-treating I will have a pocketful!

Happy 5th Birthday Gwendolyn!

What a wonderful day Gwen had for her birthday.  It started out with her and Leo jumping in the bouncy castle we got her for her birthday.  She then had her birthday party at PEAK Athletics where she goes to gymnastics.  All of her friends came.  It was a blast!  The kids played, hard, for an hour, then had Skittles, Goldfish, and cake.  I can't believe the energy a group of 5-6 year olds have.  They were running around like mad.  Luckily I had helpers who cleaned up and did everything.  It was wonderful. 

When she got home she opened all of her presents. She was so exhausted that she took her favorite one (a My Little Pony set) and went up to her room to play quietly (that's when Dad, Mike, and I went to BWW to eat wings, drink beer, and watch the Broncos).  She was so exhausted that we didn't even have to go out to eat at the crappy pizza place she originally wanted.  Instead I made her a frozen pizza and we watched The Little Mermaid (gift from my parents) in my bed, with my mom.  It was the first time she ever saw it. 

It was an amazing day for an amazing girl.  She brings such a light into my life.  I look at her and am in awe at how good and pure she is.  She's the best big sister.  She's the best daughter. She's the best friend, little girl, granddaughter....etc.  She's so smart.  She's so funny.  She's so kind.  Even though I am raising myself and we get in fights (she talks back or whines too much), I can't help but wonder what I did to deserve her.  I'm a very lucky woman!!

Annual Pumpkin Patch Visit

We took our annual trip to the pumpkin patch on Saturday the 12th.  My parent's were lucky enough to be in town for the fun festivities.  If someone were to ask me to describe this year, in one word, I would use the word "wind".  Seriously.  We left the house at 60 degrees and sun.  We got 30 minutes south and the temp dropped like 20 degrees and the winds increased by, what felt like, 40 MPH. 

I wasn't going to go because I was exhausted (Story for another day but Leo decided to not sleep for 5 days and would get up ~25 times/night.  I was even up for 24 hours one day.  It wasn't pretty.).   Boy did I make the wrong decision by going.  It was expensive to get in (don't I complain about that each year??) and not much for the kids to do.........well I thought so, but the kids of course had a blast......wind and all.  They went down a slide, they picked pumpkins, we went on a hayride, they got to pet animals.......etc.  My family was happy I went and mom said, and I quote, "we would have been cursing you if you were home warm in bed".  Luckily the fresh air and wind made for a wonderful and refreshing nap afterwards.

The Mountains

It seems like we have headed to the mountains a lot this year.  We are lucky enough to have friends that either own a place or want to go.  This time we went as a family of 4, to Frisco.  It was honestly, the best/most relaxing trip..........well except for the fact that Leo had croup and didn't sleep :-)

Just kidding.......well partly.  We went up again the last weekend in September (I am late blogging about it).  We drove up on Friday after work and ordered pizza in.  On Saturday we did a hike.  It was a bit chilly, but absolutely perfect.  The cold air was great for Leo's croup.  After lunch and naps we headed to a park to play.  We once again ordered dinner in.  On Sunday we did another hike, where Kaiser swam in the water, and then headed home.  In between hikes, Mike and I watched TV, took naps, had some cocktails.......we even played cards and our Big Bang Theory Trivia Game.  We got to enjoy the beauty of the snow capped mountains and Aspen trees.......all while dreaming about the day we could have a mountain house.  I personally want a beach house, but there aren't too many of those in our land locked state.  It was nice to leave "life" back in Highlands Ranch and enjoy a weekend without a care in the world.

Family Photos

We did Family pictures at Red Rocks the other day after many failed attempts. I got smarter this time.  I prepped them for weeks in advance.  I let Gwen pick out her own outfit.  The kids kept their shoes on.  I had candy for them between each shot.  Needless to say, the candy worked.  They were hopped up on sugar and participated.  I got some great shots!!  Here are my favorites:

The Little Fairy

There was a Groupon for Fairy Pictures.  I spent $20 to take her for the pictures and get an 8X10 of my favorite print.  The studio was a little house off of Federal (not the nicest area of town).  When I got there, a Mexican guy was sitting in his car, in the parking lot.  He followed us into the little house.  There was a picture area off to the right, but you could tell people lived here.  I was freaked out (for the record, when Mike picked up the pictures he thought it was sketchy too, but it is pretty legit) Turns out he was the photographer and we had nothing to worry about. Just my imagination of ending up on CNN.

Gwen had the time of her life.  She picked out her dress.  She got her makeup done.  She smiled REAL smiles.  They even had a wind machine for her too!!  It was a real photo-shoot and the pictures came out AMAZING.  They were so amazing that I spent $240 to buy the package with the CD. 

Mac-Cheese

Leo loves "Mac-Cheese".  I think he loves it more than anything in the world.  You even mention Mac-Cheese and he gets a huge smile on his face.  You cannot mention Mac-Cheese unless you will have it ready for him within 5 minutes.  I fear that if he had to choose between me and Mac-Cheese, that he would choose Mac-Cheese.

He eats it with a fork.  He eats it with a spoon.  He eats it with chopsticks.  He eats it with his hands. When he is done eating it, sometimes he drinks the cheese from the bowl.