Thanksgiving Wrap-Up

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving in Idaho. First of all, we were greeted by dad's turkey which was possibly the best one yet...

Not to brag on dad's behalf of anything, but we saw several people stop to take pictures of his turkey over the course of the weekend.

Azalea was showered with attention since both sets of grandparents were there. That basically meant that under no circumstances (barring sleep) was she ever without someone to play with, talk to, be picked up by, or go outside with. She loves going outside and finally got used to the idea of her big winter coat because as she says it was "coldy."

Bill and Gail went outside one morning while dad sorted cattle with Spence and Ephrain. Izzy got to come along too so she could demonstrate her cattle working skillz. I got some video of her in action too and I'll try to post that later.

Gail and I decorated the table and I was quite pleased with the final look.

Dinner was delicious as always although I seemed completely incapable of taking a shot that was focused or adequately lit. For crap's sake.

(I put together the cheese tray and then promptly camped out in front of it)

Mom and Aunt Connie hustled around the kitchen and wouldn't let me take a decent picture of them. I told them I was taking these action shots for posterity.

(mom is very happy when she is making pie)

(Connie hid behind somebody else in EVERY SINGLE picture I took of people at the table...therefore, I'm forced to post this picture as the only documentation of her presence)

(One out of focus and one poorly lit. COME ON! Why did I even take pictures?)

And now...the picture's you've all been waiting for: Azalea's second Thanksgiving.

Hope you all had wonderful Thanksgivings and best wishes in your upcoming holiday festivities!

Not a swimsuit

We had another big snow storm this weekend. Church was cancelled and we had a great day bumming around in our pajamas. When Nate went out to shovel the driveway, I decided that it would be a great time to dress Azalea up in the new snow suit that Grandma Nina gave her. I was, however, mistaken.

I think the misunderstanding happened when the word "suit" left my lips. I'm pretty sure that anytime Azalea hears the word "suit" she automatically thinks, "swimsuit" and that she obviously must be going swimming. When I began stuffing her into something that was decidedly NOT a swimsuit there began to be much weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth.

I persevered.

We'll probably need to get her some gloves. Or some socks wrapped in grocery sacks.

Azalea appeared to be apprehensive about the snow...though I prefer to think she was just keeping an eye out for ninjas.

We didn't spend too much time outside...mainly because I was not dressed for the elements. But you can bet we'll be out there again before the 50 degree weather comes back. We can't have Azalea growing out of that suit without getting any use out of it!

I'm sure she'll like it more once she forgets what a swim suit is right?

Waiting for Parker

We've started going to Parker's school early to pick him up so that Azalea has time to play on the playground equipment. Why on earth did it take me two months to decide to do this? I don't know...

She can go down the slide all by herself...but it takes her about three minutes to gather her courage.

Chicken Little

This is the best picture we have of Azalea's Halloween costume.


And it was taken by Ben. (Thanks Ben)

I could feel bad about the pitiful lack of pictures that we took of her on the second Halloween of her life; but, considering the waffling that went on about her costume...I'm gonna go ahead and declare us successful parents once again.

Hope you all had a wonderful Halloween. And from the looks of all the adorable costumes floating around on blogs right about now...it looks like you did. :) Happy November!

Always the helper

I see a few speech clients on Mondays so Nate stays home to take care of Azalea. Yesterday I arrived home to this scene:

Apparently Azalea walked up to Nate while he was washing dishes and said "help." Which is code for, "let me play in the water next to you."

Nate is a really good dad.

Azalea is a really awesome kid.

Fashion Advice

There are times when these luscious locks just need to be tamed.

For times like this, may we suggest: the headband. Simple, fashionable, and always in season.

Be sure to stock up on a few basic colors so that you can always coordinate with whatever you're wearing.

Even if you're wearing your winter footies too early because you've grown out of this season's fall fashion pajamas.

I forgot...

I forgot to mention here that I'm hosting a giveaway over on my personal blog. Check it out if you haven't all ready. Be sure to hurry though because comments close tonight at midnight!

Tuesdays and Thursdays

On Tuesdays and Thursdays, Azalea and I drive our friend, Parker, to Kindergarten. Azalea is quite smitten with Parker and has a wonderful time when he's around. Even when she's having a day when all she wants to do is walk around crying and whining (ahem*today) when Parker gets here it's all smiles and giggles and blue skies. Here's just a glimpse:

Photo Shoot

Since it snowed this weekend, I pulled out a bunch of winter gear to protect myself from the elements. Read: beanies and scarves. Azalea has loved putting on all of the hats that are kicking around. Today she said, "hat...picture!" And I obliged.

I'm quite certain I will NEVER get sick of looking at that first picture.

Papa Ken Has the Best Toys

Most of the time we were in Idaho, Azalea was hanging out with Papa Ken. It's an obvious match since she loves being outside and he's the only one of us who spends almost his entire day outside. Plus, she got to ride around on farm equipment...and you all know you love to do that. (admit it) She woke up from all of her naps saying "Papa? Papa?" As soon as dad would come in asking for Azalea, she was up getting her "shoesies" and trotting out the door. The video below demonstrates most of what we saw of Azalea during the trip.

You can see how it may be hard for us to compete with such entertainment upon returning to Denver...

My Bad.

I've been having so much fun over at my personal blog that I've completely neglected our family blog. Over a month since our last post?...I am ashamed. I promise to step it up.

In the meantime, we've posted the pictures of our trips to Bear Lake and Idaho on Flickr. If you are an immediate family member and have already seen these pictures...I'm sorry. I already said I'm going to try to do better. Maybe this will appease you

Hesitant

Uncle Kevan has come for a visit after finishing his bike trek. Z warmed up to him quickly...until he let his hair down.

She just wants me to look my best.

Azalea is not so into my barefoot in the kitchen look. About mid-morning she usually comes in with some suggestions to help me "class things up a bit."

A Taste of Colorado

So we went to A Taste of Colorado Yesterday and I wanted to write a blog about it, but dad won't let me use the computer so we compromised and he's taking dictation. Dad has this really annoying trait he picked up from Grandpa Bill where he always complains about crowds, so we decided to park far away and go downtown on what I have been told is called a 'train,' although, I've heard some call it the 'light rail.' So dad bought some tickets while mom and I had a little self photo shoot.



The way A Taste of Colorado works is you go in and buy tickets, and then use those tickets to buy food. Dad says that it's probably a way to mask the actual prices you're paying for the food, but that's ok because we didn't go to get a bargain. I guess the food prices are about on par with what you would usually pay at a fair. Also, using the tickets seemed to help the lines move fast.




The first thing mom and dad got were two mini cupcakes (blueberry lemon and chocolate raspberry) and some spicy Louisiana hot links. I thought the cupcakes were great, mom and dad said they were just ok. The hot links looked great but mom and dad kept telling me they were too hot... I think they just didn't want to share.



While we were eating those things I got to push my stroller around, which was awesome. Also, some guy asked if he could take a picture of me because I'm so awesome.




The next thing we got was fried gator. I didn't want any, but mom and dad said it tasted like chicken, but with the added flavor of how lizards and snakes smell so I don't think I missed out on much.



Next we got some smash fries for me and mom and dad got something called chicken pakora. The fries were decent and mom and dad loved their chicken.



After I had eaten some of my fries, we got some plantains which I also enjoyed.




On the way to our next stop, mom took a great picture of the capitol building that I would like to include here.





After we stopped to look at the capitol, mom and dad split an awesome shrimp taco... again I didn't want any.




By now I was starting to get annoyed at how long I had been sitting, but my patience was about to pay off, because we got shaved ice that we got to flavor ourselves (we got green apple and blue raspberry) and a Pepsi. I tried to eat the Pepsi with a spoon straw after the shaved ice was gone, but it didn't work very well.




Next came mini-doughnuts. I've had these in Seattle before and these weren't as good, but they're more than passable.



After doughnuts it was a time for another break. I took the opportunity to give out some kisses.



After kisses I ate a melomakaruna which is a very very dry and crumble cookie.




See?




Then we had the best thing all day, a cup of strawberry banana gelato and a cup of lemon gelato. Man that lemon gelato was good. Also, I gave out more kisses.




After that set of kisses it was almost time to go. But not before chocolate covered bacon, a beef brisket sandwich, gyoza, a california roll, a bottle of water, a brazilian sausage, and some bacon wrapped chicken.



Finally, after all the eating was done, we got back on the train and went home. I rode like a big girl, as you can see by the way I hold on to the bar.




So that's what $40 will get you at A Taste of Colorado.