Monday, October 30, 2006

New Addition

Carter was given a very special gift today from my mom and dad. He received (as did we) his first real pet. We've had fish and a small time with a turtle over the years, but he has yet to have a cat or dog or basically something with fur. We've had our reasons...the house wasn't right for a pet....with both parents working, leaving a dog at home all day and on weekends, too, wouldn't be right....no time to walk a dog...nowhere to put a litter box.....the list was long. So, now here we are with a lot of room and a perfect opportunity for Carter to have this very special part of childhood and for him to learn the responsibility of taking care of an animal (besides baby Jack).

It was a special day for us all. While Carter was in school, we raided Walmart and picked up just about every cat accessory known to man. Then, we wrapped each piece of the collection and had them waiting for him at home....kitten in the basement. He came in, opened gifts and seemed puzzled as to why was he getting "stuff for a cat?!" Finally, Grandmudder brought in the cat and Carter was, for the second time in his life, speechless. He didn't totally understand at first, but once he realized that the sweet kitten was indeed his to keep, he was elated.

Thanks to Grandmudder and Grandad for a wonderful gift.

Oh, and his name.....it's still being discussed....but "Batman" is the current front runner.




New friends.


Jack and "Batman" trying to figure each other out.

Casa Bonita

On Saturday night, we went into Denver to have dinner at Casa Bonita, a totally over-done and outrageous restaurant complete with huge water falls and cliff divers, an arcade, haunted house, caves and tunnels, etc....the list goes on and on. It's a ton of fun and the food wasn't bad!

Entry.


Caroline and Carter watching the water show.


I never could get a good picture of the whole production, but it's exciting! Check the website (link above) for more photos if you wish.


Arcade!


Cool Halloween decorations.


Caroline and Carter outside after dinner.

Sunday, October 29, 2006

First Tooth



What a big day! Carter lost his first tooth overnight. It's been loose for days and he was afraid to pull it, so it finally fell out in his sleep. Our biggest boy is growing up!

Caroline, Grandmudder, and my aunt Barbara are in town for Halloween....how lucky to be here for the first tooth!

Happy Birthday to Carter!

We celebrated Carter's 6th Birthday on Friday night. His actual birthday is November 17, but we wanted a "spooky" celebration this year, so we did it early. Had a ton of kids at the house and it was fun!

The whole group - almost all neighbors and some family members, too.


The scary lion, Jack, and Daddy.


Boys decorating pumpkins.


My mom's cousin, Linda, and scary monster Emily.


The mummy creations!


Just about everyone wanted a turn.


Birthday cake time! Each child had a cupcake, too.


A full house.


Belinda (my mom's cousin's daughter) and Jack.


Gavin and his little sister, "girl Payton".


Carter's new video games got a lot of attention.


Sweet Emily as a pirate.


All the cousins....Devon, Noah, AnnMarie, Lindsey and Emily.

Saturday, October 28, 2006

Thanks, Pa and Mae Mae!

Carter and Jack loved their Halloween package. The glasses are a hit! Thanks for all the candy (from mom and dad, too!), cute socks and bib, slimey rats, etc.

The mad scientist.


Crazy Jack and Carter.


Paeton loved the glasses, too.

Friday, October 27, 2006

Snowy Afternoon

The final total has come in and it looks like we got almost 16 inches of snow. This is normal to some and totally insane to us!!!!

The boys headed out to sled yesterday afternoon and had a blast.

Blake going up the hill with kid and sleds in tow.....sweet Gavin from next door.


Snow plow clearing the streets.


Blake sledding.


Blake and Carter notice I'm taking pictures from the kitchen window and give me a quick wave.


Carter, forever eating snow.


The boys climbing the fence to get back to the house. Carter going full force as usual.


And, landing on his face!


Cutie Gavin.


Gavin, Blake and Carter (as always, rolling in the snow).


Gavin.


Blake shoveling snow from the driveway.


Hard work!

Thursday, October 26, 2006

Feedback

So, with almost 4 months of the blog behind us, a few people are starting to provide some feedback on it. First, Pa (Blake's dad) suggested we're too "Cleaver-like" and need to have full disclosure of the day-to-day events. I liked that idea and threw in a note about Blake wrecking his car on his first attempt to drive on ice. Quite entertaining, we thought. I wanted so badly to photograph the tow truck hauling off the car (yes, I always have a camera in hand), but decided against it out of respect for Blake. Now I wish I had.

Then, my always-hilarious brother, Chris, provided the following after viewing the blog today for the first time in a while:

Snore. You need to jazz this up some.

Suggestions:

1) 2 words: llama, sombrero.
2) OK, maybe a monkey and a sombrero
3) creative new paint job on the Tahoe
4) Guest appearance and show from those pyrotechnics guys who did the
last Whitesnake concert (I'd do this at a neighbor's house).
5) 42 inch plasma TV installed on Carter's bike


Although we're grateful for the constructive criticism, I think we'll pass on most of those. Except maybe the plasma.

Keep the comments coming!

More From The Blizzard

The snow is finally slowing down and so now the kids come out to play! Carter is having a ball.

Blake and Carter in the backyard.


We have a perfect sledding hill behind us. Unfortunately, the sleds that we have won't work with this deep snow. We need a disc! (think Christmas Vacation)


Some photos from outside....






Yes, It's Certainly A Blizzard

It looks like we might have about 8-10 inches of snow right now and it's expected to continue heavy snowing through 2:00pm. Then, it will trail off into light snow until this evening. And, tomorrow it will be almost 60 degrees. Figure that one out!

I now understand that a blizzard is quite different than "snowing". The wind is fierce and blows in every direction, leaving windows and doors and even the sides of houses covered with snow. It's really beautiful and really cold all at the same time.

Carter ventured out at 10:00am this morning to go down the street for a bit, but after 2 minutes out, I pulled him back into the house. Too windy! Blake just took a quick break from working and headed out with him. Some photos....

I love this first one because after I took it, Carter said, "Hey, Mom, I was smiling in that picture."