Christmas in the Rockies 2015

We pretty much traveled non-stop from Fall through Christmas time!!!  It was such a busy 4 months! We started off the holidays with our annual Prindiville ski vacation to Keystone.  This momma was not skiing this year but I was able to spend some down time with my parents and the lil boys in the condo.  This year we stayed in a condo right at Old Keystone resort.  It was really nice with an amazing view of the ski mountain.  Unfortunately, Emmett caught a really nasty virus and was under the weather during the entire trip:(.  Poor kiddo!  He started off in good spirits but it went downhill fast.  We were still able to enjoy some family time and Mike was able to get some snowboarding in on the trip.  I walked around the resort a little bit and saw the ice sculpting, chocolate display, and ice skating performance on the lake.  It was a fun way to start the holiday season.

Opa and his boys

The iPad provides constant entertainment when it's too cold outside

Our view from the condo of the ski mountain.  

I love visiting the chocolate display every year.  They change up the theme.  This year was Start Wars

Paul, Kate, and Alex went with me to check it out this year

The details in the Star Wars display was impressive

There was a fireworks show this year we could see from the balcony. 

The boys got pretty jazzed from the fireworks.

Only family picture we could get when Emmett was feeling somewhat ok.

Thanksgiving

Alright I'm caught up to Thanksgiving 2015!  I'm slowly getting up to date here!  Ha!

We traveled back to Illinois for Thanksgiving this year.  We celebrated with my Mom's side of the family at our house and then drove to my Aunt Lu's house for the Prindiville side of the family.  It was a really busy couple days but we had so much fun.  Kate, Paul, and Alex drove in too for the holidays.  Emmett and Alex had a ball tearing up Oma and Opa's house;)

The boys stayed entertained on their electronic devices

First night together we had chili and Guiness

Aunt Jane, Rachael, and Mom

Grandpa Bushmeyer and the boys

Alex and Emmett took baths together every night.  They had a ball!

Usually a few rounds of rough housing was the way every night came to a close.  

Look at those Prindiville heads!

Last day before heading home

Jessie's Wedding

One of our Fall trips to Oklahoma included attending cousin Jessie's wedding.  It was an absolutely beautiful wedding that took place at the Philbrook Museum.  We all had so much fun.  A babysitter came to take care of Emmett so Mike and I could enjoy the night out kiddo free;)  It was so much fun dancing with all the cousins and watching the younger nieces and nephews have a ball!  Can't wait for the next family wedding!

Fall 2015

We just kept rolling after the summer months!  Fall came in and we were pretty busy with quite a few trips!  After our Labor Day trip to Tulsa, Emmett and I flew into Illinois for the harvest and then we made two more trips into Tulsa.  Mike and I also found out we were pregnant!  Our baby girl is due on May 7th.  Emmett is going to have no idea what hit him when this little one arrives:)  I think he will be a wonderful big brother!

I loved taking Emmett back to my roots and seeing him part of a harvest!  It was so much fun and needless to say this kiddo couldn't get enough of all the "toys." My Dad took him on several four wheel rides and he got to help drive the combine.  Emmett was in heaven!  I'm not sure regular toys will ever be the same after this experience:)  Ha! My mom and I took Emmett to a  pumpkin farm while we were in town too. There were huge inflatable toys, a petting zoo, and so many activities that kept all of us entertained. After our Illinois trip, we all went down to Tulsa for Grandma Jones' 90th bday!  I don't have any photos unfortunately of the event but it was beautiful.  The venue was at a golf course on top of the hill.  The food was amazing and everyone had a wonderful time especially Grandma Jones.  We then came back to Tulsa a few weeks later for cousin Jessie's wedding.  I will post some pictures from that event later on.  While in Tulsa, we visited another pumpkin patch with all the cousins.  The kids loved it!

Riding in the truck to the field.

First ride in the combine.  We spent 3 hours with my Dad that day!  Emmett didn't want to leave!

Emmett was a great helper with steering the wheel and pushing all the right buttons.

The pumpkin patch in Tulsa

Emmett and Mike loved feeding the animals

This bin was filled with corn for the kids to jump around in.  

It took us longer than I would like to admit to find our way out of the maze;)

Love this photo with all the kids after we made it out of the maze

Summer 2015

We had one of the best summers ever!!!  We met so many new neighborhood friends in our new home.  I love the area we have moved into.  It's not far at all from our 1st home but there are so many kids on our new block.  Emmett loves playing with everyone!  Our summer was packed with activities, visits from friends/family, trips, and pool time.

We have a neighborhood pool.  There is a kiddie pool and lap pool.  Emmett loved going almost everyday that we were home.  Usually my friend Lisa and her little boy Paxton would join us too.  It was so relaxing and not that crowded most days.  Emmett got used to the water pretty quickly and I think this coming summer he will want to be in the big pool a lot more!  I loved watching him get more comfortable in the water and trying to swim.  My friend Sarah and her two girls would go night swimming with us.  There was never anyone there at night and it was a nice change up!  Can't wait to get back over there this summer.

Before the hot days of summer, we could take morning walks with Emmett's lawn mower.  We would go down the block to visit our old neighbors by the park.  Somedays we would go around the block with his Strider bike.  Our summer started out pretty mild and even kinda chilly sometimes.  I think by August it was pretty warm though and we had to get outside earlier than usual.  

A lot of weeks when Mike was out of town flying,  Emmett and I would have a morning Starbucks date:)  He knows that's mommas favorite coffee!  It's pretty close to our home and I love sitting out on the patio with my little guy enjoying a cup of coffee.  I think Emmett became a fan of it too:)  Decaf for him of course!

Our first outing with my friend Sarah and her girls was to a local putt putt/go cart place. Emmett loved riding the cars and he even tried a bit of golf.  I'm pretty sure the cars were his favorite though.  I knew Sarah and I would be good friend when I saw her jumping into every activity with her girls.  We have so much fun with them and there is no shortage of activity that we will try out!

4th of July started out with a bbq at our house and of course ice cream for dessert!  We all walked up to the golf course to watch the fireworks.  It was a great show and it was pretty neat seeing it up on the hill of the golf course.  I think the kids enjoyed the ice cream best of all though!

We tried out a swimming class at the local rec center.  Emmett loves the water already and the class was mainly to help kids get used to the water.  We will try it out again this winter when there aren't any outdoor pools for us to go to.  He enjoyed swimming with his Dad though.  Mike even looks pretty relaxed in there;) 

My friend MaryJane came into town in July.  We had so much fun with her and we kept so busy with outings.  We took Emmett to the Science Museum in Denver.  He loved this exhibit with the astronauts.  His favorite was the dinosaurs though and he has gotten into dinosaurs even more since then.  I have never walked through the whole museum before and I enjoyed it too.  It was so kid friendly and I can't wait to go back this summer.

MaryJane and I drove up to Cheyenne the next day for Frontier Days.  We took Emmett to his first rodeo while we were there!  He loved it!  I think it lasted for about 3 hours and he sat through the entire show! We finished up the day with a pony ride which he loved too. 

Our last activity at Frontier Days was the Petting Zoo.  Emmett really loved petting and feeding so many different animals.  It was a great day!  We even went back the next week with Mike, his mom, Sarah, and her girls.  I can't wait to go again this summer.

A lot of Friday and Saturday nights were spent having movie nights with Sarah, Reese, and Skylar.  The basement became a theater room for the night!  We would break out pizza, ice cream, popcorn, the works!  Can you tell from the smiles on all their faces that they were on a sugar high:)

Emmett and I love going to Mike's soccer games in Boulder.  Emmett loves watching Mike play and as you can see he loves going out on the field.  He usually kicks a soccer ball around with some of the other kiddos on the sidelines.  It's pretty fun watching him try to imitate Mike.  I think he's ready to start playing!

Emmett and I cheering Mike along on the sidelines.

Mike and I have been going to Beaver Creek almost every year on our anniversary.  We took Emmett with us last year and lets just say it wasn't exactly relaxing;)  This year Pam and Bill came out and babysat Emmett so we could enjoy a weekend there sans kiddo.  They are the best in-laws!!!  We usually stay at the Hyatt resort which is amazing!  It's pretty crazy up there with a lot of people, weddings, families on vacation, etc.  This year we stayed about a block away at a more private condo resort connected to the Hyatt though.  We loved it!  It was so quiet and we practically had a private hot tub  and pool which was wonderful!  We enjoyed some great dinners around town.  We woke up one morning and did an 8 mile hike up the ski hill and around a lake.  It was so beautiful and nice to get out on a hike.  We used to hike all the time before we had Emmett and I would love to get back into it again.  After our hike, we toasted our anniversary with champagne and appetizers at the bottom of the ski hill.  That night we roasted marshmallows at the huge fire pits set up by the resort and walked around the town.  It was an absolutely wonderful anniversary!

Just a typical summer night with the kiddos enjoying ice cream out on our deck.  I can't wait for Summer 2016!

Emmett had his first trip to the dentist in July!  He was such a champ!  He did great and got through and entire cleaning.  I wasn't sure how it would go but he did better than I expected.  He has his second visit coming up this week.  I hope it goes as well as the last one!

One of our outdoor malls nearby has a train that goes around the area.  We only went once this past summer but I think we need to go a few more times this upcoming summer.  Emmett loved it!

We went on a few trips over the summer that were great!  I posted already about going to Jackson Hole which was amazing!  We rounded out the summer by heading to the lake over Labor Day.  It was beautiful weather and we enjoyed spending time with family, going on boat rides, and of course lots of swimming.  I'd say we had an amazing summer!  Can't wait to see what this summer has in store for us:)