sweet home colorado: Where did I leave off?

Thanks to a snowy weekend I finally made myself stay home and get some things done. Like this post. A January mish-mash.

We started the month off with another READ IN in Nolan's classroom.

Heath also went to a Birthday Party at the Family Sports Center. We had only been to Lollipop Park there, so it was fun to try some new things.

Like Laser Tag...

A first for both Heath and Mommy!

For the first two games we played against each other- he wanted to shoot me! Ha! Then when the parents had had enough, we tapped out and the kids kept playing on their own. Heath was so sweaty by the time he was done! But he LOVED it!

Heath also tried bumper cars for the first time! He would have done this all day! He was having a BLAST!

I love his smile at the end of this video.

Heath's friend, Lincoln, turned 5!

We had the best time!

Writing birthday thank you notes. I will never tire of watching my boys write. I just love it! And there is just something so special about chatting with them as they plan what they want to say and express their ideas. A handwritten note seems to be becoming a lost art. But in this family…we will always express our gratitude this way. I love getting letters and cards in the mail from my Grandma and we love sending them to others. There's just something about the thoughtfulness and time it takes to send a letter. It's special.

Speaking of birthdays…

Mark turned 35! And we started the day off right!

The boys wanted to have a "surprise party" for Mark.

We had the best day celebrating this amazing man- from cinnamon buns in the morning to a Mexican food dinner date…it was a good day! I love him even more now than I did as college sweethearts!

Mark has been wanting two things ever since we moved into our house.

1. a big deck/backyard overhaul

and

2. a fireplace/family room remodel

So for a kinda/sorta birthday present/tax return purchase/promotion reward...

we are starting the process of making his 2nd wish come true. (His first wish is a little out of our price range right now…given what he wants to be his dream backyard.)

But a month later and we are still in the figuring out what we want/getting quotes/shopping stage. There has been little to no progress due to the fact that Mark and I have VERY different visions for what the room will look like. But we'll get there. We'll probably be starting our first fire in the scorching month of August at this rate, but that's o.k., we'll get there.

Nolan got Mark his first pair of TOMS. They are really cute dressy ones for work.

And Heath had been telling me for WEEKS that he wanted to get Daddy wine for his birthday. He literally whispered it to me every single day.

So one morning we took a trip to the "licorice store" as Heathy calls it. We walked up and down every single aisle for about 10 minutes before he finally picked out the perfect bottle for his Daddy!

He was super excited to give it to his Daddy! He loved the monkey on the bottle! And it actually was a pretty good wine. We had it on Valentine's Day.

Brooksie gave Daddy a sweater.

And I gave him a massage gift certificate. A present for us both…that way I got out of having to give him one! Ha!

They sure LOVE their Daddy!

We also had a nice lunch at his parent's house to celebrate with the fam.

Nolan was photographer for the day and took this picture of Mark's cake.

Snuggling with Ezra

Lando got Uncle Marky a thoughtful gift…"waisins". It's their little joke! It was so sweet!

Copper Mugs for Moscow Mules…thanks Mom & Dad!

Blowing out the candles.

At then at the end of the party I found this cute selfie on my phone! In just a few short weeks those two top teeth have fully grown in. He just doesn't look like my little guy anymore. But I am so proud of the fun kid he is- teeth or no teeth, he'll always be my boy!

This silly kid is always making us laugh. Whether he's wearing a top hat or batting gloves- he's got a mind of his own!

We enjoyed a month of fairly lazy weekends.

One weekend we went to the Lone Tree pool for some swimming fun! The boys sure miss our pools!

They had the best time!

Hot Tub pals! Heath was not old enough to go in. And sadly, I just realized that I did not take a single picture of him…probably because he stays UNDER the water the entire time. Ha!

You can see him face down in this pic…diving under to get a toy.

They both braved the water slide as well. Technically I don't think either one was tall enough, but the life guards didn't seem to notice or care. And they had FUN!

Heath

Nolan

The pool was a fun winter weekend activity!

A long weekend for MLKJ day!

So, of course, we did a little dreaming of our own!

Heath had a dream that everyone would have food. And Nolan's dream involved making sure that all kids have toys. I dream that they always give to others. I dream that they will always have a heart like Jesus.

Visiting Daddy in his new OFFICE! We are so proud of his hard work and dedication to his company and family! This is when he first moved in, so the decor was in transition. But he is working hard to make it his own!

Nolan on "Dress Like Your Teacher Day"!

Mr. G. loves Batman, so Nolan decided to represent him with his Caped Crusader shirt! It also happened to be the same day of his field trip! They went to the PACE Center to see "The Wizard of Oz". It was the first field trip that Nolan has taken without one of his parents tagging along. He requested a Lunchable, which of course we provided, and he was on his way! I was so excited for him to have this fun experience! He loved the play and had a great time on the bus- riding in the back was super cool!

More Lego building…thanks Sloothaak fam for this fun set. The boys worked together to build it!

The cutest boy in the West! Western Day at school

One day, Mark got inspired to finally paint our bedroom. The boys got in on the fun!

Here's a little glimpse at how it turned out. We ordered a new bookshelf to fill some space and I am on the hunt for curtains…and then it will be done. I'll take a pic when the room is finished!

One day, Heath got inspired to write me a shopping list for items he thought we needed to pick up at the store. It was so cute because it was all his idea.

1. mini bagels 2. raisin bread 3. yogurt 4. grapes 5. bananas

Here's what we got!

We have had the mildest winter so far! Although I'm typing this as it's finally snowing outside! Don't get me wrong, we LOVE the sunshine and 60 degree weather, but I was reallllly hoping for a Snow Day today! Nope! At least Nolan got a late start.

Playing outside while his brothers were at school!

My Target run buddy got lucky on this day…a FREE Cake Pop! Treasuring my time with just him before he heads to preschool next year! Crazy! Thank GOODNESS we have 5 months until that happens! He's got a LOT of growing up to do before then!