Our long awaited trip to visit my sister finally arrived and we were all very excited. This would be Devin's first time in an airplane and he wasn't sure if he was excited about that or not, but he ended up loving it.
When we arrived in Denver it was snowing. This was a first for all three of our kids. They've been in the snow, but have never seen it actually come down, so they were very excited and could barely contain themselves in their seats until we taxied to the gate. We met my sister and nephew after we got our bags and went to grab some dinner, all the while watching it snow. Unfortunately this was the only time we got to enjoy it. It cleared up and never returned where we went. My sister lives up the mountain from Colorado Springs, so with it snowing and being extra cautious on the roads it took about 3 hours to get home. We were all a bit exhausted, but still were able to enjoy the Angels game and cheer them on to victory - yay! Before we left on this trip Justin was sick with a cough and fever, but luckily he got well just in time to leave....and then pass it on to every single one of us (I'll get to that later). The next morning (Friday) Kirk and my brother-in-law went golfing. It was a beautiful day with clear, blue skies and about 50 degrees up where we were at 9000', but come to find out they had fog and only about 30 degrees in CO Springs. So, they froze while they golfed, but they still had a good time. While they were gone Sandi took the kids for a walk around the lake near their house.
Here is a picture of their house.
It's very remote and in the mornings and evenings deer come on their property. So cute! Anyway, Avery was starting to cough and go a little downhill around now, but still was a trooper and had fun. When they got home they swung on the swing on the front porch
and then Matthew got his old Lego's out and played with the kids for a bit
and then got out the pumpkins for a fun project. What a nice cousin to carve three pumpkins!
Avery lasted a little while and then needed to lay down because she started a fever and didn't feel well. When Kirk got back she fell asleep on him.
That night we watched the Angel's beat the Red Sox again - so much fun! Avery's fever spiked to 104.6 with meds in the middle of the night. We put her in a tepid bath and gave her popsicles and it started to go down a bit. She had that fever for 3 days, but at least it was manageable. I hate fevers like that. They're scary. Saturday Dave, Kirk, Justin and Devin went to Cave of the Winds while Sandi and I stayed home with poor, sick Avery. They said it was 18 degrees there, but it was really neat to see. Devin and Justin really enjoyed it.
Sunday we watched the Angel's sweep the Red Sox. Woo hoo! Avery still had a fever, but with meds it would go way down and she could enjoy herself, so we took advantage of that and went for a drive down to Colorado Springs to see some property my sister and brother-in-law are selling.
Then we went to dinner at Chili's and then to see my niece at her work on her break. Here we are with Jessica. She's living in the Springs working at Walgreen's and going to school. All grown up!
We went home in time for the Rocky's game for Dave. Monday Sandi took us to a little tiny town called Cripple Creek. We had planned on going to the mine there and see where she works. Kirk wasn't feeling very well now and come to find out later he had a fever of 101.5 and Devin had one of 101. Geez! We toured around the small town and we met all the nice people my sister works with and then went to the mine only to find out it was closed because the barometric pressure was too low or too high. Can't remember which. That darned barometric pressure! When it's like that they can't go down the 1000' where the mine is. So, that was a bust. We decided to head back over to Woodland Park and let the kids play at McDonald's and have lunch. At this point we didn't know about the fevers. Shame on us. We then headed back to the house because Kirk wasn't feeling well and then basically we just vegged the rest of the day.
Tuesday Dave took us to the airport where we made it home effortlessly. So, it was a good trip in that we spent time with family, but it was disappointing that we didn't get to do a whole lot of what we had planned. Oh well. Next time, right? Here is a picture of some elk along one of the roads. They were further out then on other times we went by, but I didn't have my camera those times, of course. Well, you can still see them somewhat.
Oh....and I only got the cold part of that bug. I got lucky. :-)
This morning we took Kirk's mom and headed over to see Kirk's dads gravestone. We didn't know what to expect since he was cremated, but they gave him a very nice stone in a nice location. It was nice to go see it and we were touched when Avery leaned down and kissed the headstone. I'm sure her grandpa was touched by that too. Then we all went to lunch and had a nice visit.
At church my calling (or job) is Activity Days Leader along with one other person. We are in charge of the girls ages 8 - 11 and helping them achieve certain goals. We have activities twice a month and try to make it a fun time for them. This past Wednesday we had a little Halloween party at the other leaders home. We had 8 girls (one came after this picture was taken and we normally have closer to 10 come) and they seemed to have a good time. We had various games to play and then they decorated cupcakes. It's kind of a fun calling. :-)
Last night was our ward "trunk or treat" party (where you trick or treat at peoples cars in the parking lot). They had lots of booths set up for kids to win prizes, had a cake walk and even had a pie eating contest that I entered Kirk in (he wasn't too thrilled with me for that :-)). Thanks to my friend Jolene we have a few pictures, as I didn't bring my camera for a change. 
Just a quite note to let you all know that Devin's IEP was yesterday and we got just what we wanted for him - speech and language twice a week for an hour and a half each session. At this time we feel he's where he needs to be in his preschool. So, we are thrilled that he will be getting extra help and are hopeful that this will bridge the gap that he needs. Yay for Devin!
To celebrate my birthday on Tuesday we headed over to Disneyland. We had to...I had to collect my Disney credit that they give you when you're a pass card holder. I've never been during Halloween. Leave it to Disney to be so darned cute. We had such a fun day together. Devin went on Pirates of the Caribbean and the Haunted Mansion for the first time. He wasn't a huge fan, but did have a smile on his face that he did it and survived. :-) I was very proud of him for trying them. I remember being so scared of those rides when I was little. Avery and Justin braved the Matterhorn and California Screamin' for the first time. Hello my brave 6 year old! Actually, she didn't quite meet the height requirement for California Screamin' and was sent away in tears. To fix it we headed to the restroom and stuffed her shoes with paper towels to give her just enough boost to make it on. They loved it so much they did it twice. Another first for Devin was Soaring Over CA, which he loved. Yay! Now we can go on that with no problems in the future. It was a fun day and we rode 12 rides in all. Devin survived even though Small World was closed, poor guy. He's looking forward to next time when he can enjoy his favorite ride.
Over the weekend we got a baby girl! Her name is Bella and she's adorable, wouldn't you say? She's 8 weeks old, a Golden Retriever and is a great addition to our family. We're looking forward to many memories involving Bella and lots of fun times.
When we arrived in Denver it was snowing. This was a first for all three of our kids. They've been in the snow, but have never seen it actually come down, so they were very excited and could barely contain themselves in their seats until we taxied to the gate. We met my sister and nephew after we got our bags and went to grab some dinner, all the while watching it snow. Unfortunately this was the only time we got to enjoy it. It cleared up and never returned where we went. My sister lives up the mountain from Colorado Springs, so with it snowing and being extra cautious on the roads it took about 3 hours to get home. We were all a bit exhausted, but still were able to enjoy the Angels game and cheer them on to victory - yay! Before we left on this trip Justin was sick with a cough and fever, but luckily he got well just in time to leave....and then pass it on to every single one of us (I'll get to that later). The next morning (Friday) Kirk and my brother-in-law went golfing. It was a beautiful day with clear, blue skies and about 50 degrees up where we were at 9000', but come to find out they had fog and only about 30 degrees in CO Springs. So, they froze while they golfed, but they still had a good time. While they were gone Sandi took the kids for a walk around the lake near their house.
Here is a picture of their house.
It's very remote and in the mornings and evenings deer come on their property. So cute! Anyway, Avery was starting to cough and go a little downhill around now, but still was a trooper and had fun. When they got home they swung on the swing on the front porch 
and then Matthew got his old Lego's out and played with the kids for a bit
and then got out the pumpkins for a fun project. What a nice cousin to carve three pumpkins!
Avery lasted a little while and then needed to lay down because she started a fever and didn't feel well. When Kirk got back she fell asleep on him.
That night we watched the Angel's beat the Red Sox again - so much fun! Avery's fever spiked to 104.6 with meds in the middle of the night. We put her in a tepid bath and gave her popsicles and it started to go down a bit. She had that fever for 3 days, but at least it was manageable. I hate fevers like that. They're scary. Saturday Dave, Kirk, Justin and Devin went to Cave of the Winds while Sandi and I stayed home with poor, sick Avery. They said it was 18 degrees there, but it was really neat to see. Devin and Justin really enjoyed it. 
Sunday we watched the Angel's sweep the Red Sox. Woo hoo! Avery still had a fever, but with meds it would go way down and she could enjoy herself, so we took advantage of that and went for a drive down to Colorado Springs to see some property my sister and brother-in-law are selling.
Then we went to dinner at Chili's and then to see my niece at her work on her break. Here we are with Jessica. She's living in the Springs working at Walgreen's and going to school. All grown up!
We went home in time for the Rocky's game for Dave. Monday Sandi took us to a little tiny town called Cripple Creek. We had planned on going to the mine there and see where she works. Kirk wasn't feeling very well now and come to find out later he had a fever of 101.5 and Devin had one of 101. Geez! We toured around the small town and we met all the nice people my sister works with and then went to the mine only to find out it was closed because the barometric pressure was too low or too high. Can't remember which. That darned barometric pressure! When it's like that they can't go down the 1000' where the mine is. So, that was a bust. We decided to head back over to Woodland Park and let the kids play at McDonald's and have lunch. At this point we didn't know about the fevers. Shame on us. We then headed back to the house because Kirk wasn't feeling well and then basically we just vegged the rest of the day.
Tuesday Dave took us to the airport where we made it home effortlessly. So, it was a good trip in that we spent time with family, but it was disappointing that we didn't get to do a whole lot of what we had planned. Oh well. Next time, right? Here is a picture of some elk along one of the roads. They were further out then on other times we went by, but I didn't have my camera those times, of course. Well, you can still see them somewhat. 
Oh....and I only got the cold part of that bug. I got lucky. :-)
