B-day Shooting

For Mariah's 12th b-day, we decided to take the kids to the shooting range (yes, with their mothers permission). They were so excited and Uncle Dave was excited to teach them!

We went shooting for about 3 hours and lost track of time. We ended up getting McDonalds for dinner since we still had a 45 minute drive home. I say it was well worth it though.  

They were all so proud of their targets. They took them home and I'm pretty sure each one of them got at least one bullseye!

Dave and I got to play a bit... we can't go all the way out there and not have some shooting time ourselves... lol

Fun at the Station

This summer, we had the pleasure of having my nieces and nephew come to Colorado for a month! They did so many fun things this summer. I kicked off my time with them, by taking them to the fire station to visit Uncle Dave. He gave them a tour of the truck and station, and they got to play with some of the "toys".

BirchBox

I've never been a very girl girl, although a few of you might not agree. I hardly do my makeup, I've never plucked my eyebrows, I prefer t-shirts and jeans, and a haircut is one my least favorite things to do. I've never been into any sort of beauty product BUT I have discovered something called a Birch Box that is slowly making me a believer in all those expensive products. I'd never spend $60 on a facewash/lotion system but I do love samples of these things, which brings me to the Birch Box! Birch Box (birchbox.com) is a company that has stock of name brand beauty products. You sign up, and you are put on a waiting list. It took two weeks for me to be plucked from the list but I've been assured that no matter how long the wait, everyone will be selected in time. They can't approve everyone all at once since the demand is high. You pay $10 a month (yes, at first I thought this was high) for 5 or 6 random (the only downfall is that you can't choose the exact ones you get) samples of these products. At first, I though, this is such a rip off but one of my friends got her first box and along with several items, she got a perfume that was 1/4 size of the normal size $80 perfume. This means her 1/4 size was a $20 value. That payed for the box alone! She obviously had other samples that included nail polish, face exfoliater, some yummy teas, etc. I was still a little sceptical but decided that since I could cancel at any time, I would sign up. I got my first box this weekend, with a nice size perfume, a nail polish, face wash, face lotion, face exfoliator (smells just like pumpkin :) ), and few other things I can't think of at the moment. I'm sure Birch Box has to make some kind of profit seeing at they can probably buy these samples at a very small price but for me, this is a deal and I really love it! It's like getting your favorite magazine each month! Anyway, I thought this was post worthy since I was so impressed!

Long Weekend of Fun

This past weekend, Dave and I decided to take Friday and Monday off, to give ourselves a much needed weekend off! I wish we could do this every week but of course, it wouldn't be so special if that were the case! ha ha

We started off the weekend with a much anticipated movie, The Hunger Games. Dave and I read the book (and are finishing the series currently) and were very excited to watch the Movie to see how close it translated. I have to admit, I'm always a bit disappointed in movies that were made from books, because it would take a ten hour movie to translate every little detail, but this one followed the book pretty well! We were happy with the result. After the movie, we decided to do a little shopping at Kohl's and due to clearance racks (he he) we came out with an entirely new bathroom decor/towel set, and new dishware. We've been meaning to get new dishware, seeing as we have to hand wash everything we use on a daily basis, and the glass plates and bowls we had were severely chipped. We opted for some durable, plastic ware that is actually very nice and I love the design. Plus, the are much easier to clean!

One of the days turned into a 20 miles run for Dave (while I enjoyed some reading/nap time he he) and a trip to the Manitou Springs Arcades. For those of you who have never been to these Arcades, you are missing out! Manitou Springs is a well known tourist town about thirty minutes from home. There are a lot of unique shops, the famious Pike Peak Incline is housed here, and of course the Arcades. The Arcades consist of several small buildings with old and new games. $20 will easily last Dave and I well over an hour. We could probably do it with $10 if we tried hard enough. The best part of the Arcades is the Penny Arcade. There are a ton of vintage games ranging from one cent to twenty cents. Many are from the early 1900's! After our fun at the Arcades, we went to one of our favorite Mexica restaurants and finished the night off with a movie at home.

One of the Days we just stayed home watching episodes of Storm Chasers. ha ha! My husband is obsessed with this show at the moment. Basically, it's a bunch of guys who chase tornados to collect data or on camera for an Imax film (more on this a little later).

We also made it up to Denver one day, which, for me, was one of the highlights of the weekend! We rarely go to Denver unless we are just passing through. We went to the Denver Museum of Nature and Science and spent 3 1/2 hours there. It was ironic that the same Imax film that was being made on the show Storm Chasers, just happened to be at the museum the day we went. We had to see it! he he I'm pretty sure we saw almost all the exibits in the museum before heading to dinner at Pasta Jays and then home to watch Footloose and do a load of laundry for the remaining work week.

Dave and I really needed some time away from the normal stresses of life and I this this was just the thing! I enjoyed the solo time with my husband and I felt very spoiled to have him all to myself!

Annual Ski Trip

Every year, my family meets up with a few of our best family friends and take an annual ski trip. We split the cost of a cabin, eat tons of junk food, ski our hearts out, play games and laugh until our bellies hurt. This trip always ends too quickly!

Dad and Josh getting ready for our first day of Skiing.
One of my best friend's goofy husband. He always has a smily on his face and that hat totally matched is personality! Unfortunately, this was the only day he could ski due to a dislocated shoulder that later happened during a crash (aka yard sale).

Thats my handsome hubby! I married such a cool guy!

That same day Albert hurt his shoulder, Josh also had a yard sale and hurt his shoulder. This trip truly was one of injuries.

I just threw this in because I think he's so cute!

Here's a small glimps into our snacking habits over the weekend.

haha, I just love this picture.

haha This is always my favorite part of our trips. We play games and tell stories until we are exhausted and finally all crash for the next day of skiing. We played a few games of "catch the m&m in your mouth when I chuck it in the air".

The hot tub is seriously the best thing after a day of skiing!

There is also a lot of lounge time during these trips. Trust me, it's needed!

And more games...

I can't wait for next year. We should start planning... *cough* DAD *cough*

Josh's Flight

For Christmas, my brother, Josh, received a certificate to take an introductory flight at a local flight school. We were all pretty excited about it, although, I think Dave was more excited than Josh!

This picture is the only one we have of him in the air. It's hard to tell but at the bottom of the picture you can see a small blog just above the building... that is Josh flying! :)

Here he is right before he took off! Big CHEESE!

Here he is right before he took off.

It was pretty dang chilly this particular day in Colorado and we were waiting forever for him to start driving ha.

Finally, they took off for the run way.

I think he looks pretty awesome as a piolet. Who knows, maybe he will become the family piolet and take me to hawaii! Here's hoping!

The Dells, Grand Canyon, Sledding and Great Friends!

We recently took a wonderful trip to Arizona to see some of our best friends, Jordan and Ryan. I stayed for a week but Dave could only stay for a few days until he had to come home and get back to work.

We went to The Dells, which are absolutly beautiful! I've been here before and wanted to make sure Dave had the opportunity to enjoy the sites while we were there. We climbed all over these rocks on our first full day in Prescott.

Pictures truly don't do this justice!

Here is Jordan and Ryan climbing up after Dave and I.

In the evenings we played Dancing games. This is way more fun when you have people around compared to playing by yourself... trust me! lol

On the second full day in Arizona, we decided to got to the Grand Canyon. I couldn't believe how huge it was!

Ryan and Jordan

We also occupied our time with a board game called Quelf! You must do as the card says and as you can see, I was a Mummy at this point in the game.

After Dave flew home, Jordan, Ryan and I went sledding in Flagstaff with a few of their friends. It was someones 5th birthday and he was so excited about sledding. We had to hunt a bit for snow but it was well worth it!

Here's Jordan and Ryan about to get some major speed down a huge hill! I'm pretty sure this was right before a big crash!

All in all, this trip was a great time. We drove all over Arizona but managed a few days of hanging out the house just visiting. One day Jordan and Ryan are going to move back to Colorado and these visits won't be so few and far between! I can't wait!