Grandma Frances has Arrived!

Better late than never... Grandma is here!!! Unfortunately, her ride cancelled last Friday because of the weather so we've been waiting and waiting for her to finally get here! Tuesday morning, Auntie Carla drove her to Castle Rock and the little kids and I picked her up there to bring her to Fort Collins!

Already she has worked with me in Tatum's classroom, went to Keith's FCHS baseball game, and made a large batch of tortillas! We're headed to sing and storytime at the library now, lunch with Daddy, and then work in Diego's classroom. Tonight she gets to watch the Tigers play! Fun, fun!

Maybe we'll cook tomorrow....

Special Time with Gma Shrum

Grandma Shrum has been biting at the bit to take the 'little' girls for a sleepover. She took Corin, Mal, Andie, and Miranda ten years ago and wanted to make sure the second round of grandkids got their turn, too.

So Saturday afternoon, Isabella, Avery, Tatum, and Tyla went to the Jester's Theater production of 'The Secret Garden' in Longmont. Although Grandma was disappointed in the lack of enthusiastic singing and dancing, the girls loved it. Ebie and Avery had to head back to Denver after the show, but the other girls went to Grandma's for a night of fun.

Paul's family and mine arrived early Sunday afternoon to enjoy a wonderful lunch together. At 86 years old, Grandma still has it. How she managed to entertain the three girls and prepare a meal for so many people is beyond me. Heck, she even braided their hair, took them for a walk, and let them bake a cake!

Let's hope Grandma took ALL day Monday resting and recooperating after all that. The girls certainly have a load of memories to keep forever from their special weekend with Grandma Shrum!

Still a Baby

At 17 mos, Niko is such a go-getter, big boy. He does pretty much everything and is starting to communicate to let everyone know exactly what he is thinking. Such a super-fun age! He's still such a small, little guy and looks so cute when he puts his hands in his jean pockets and struts around in his Nike tennis shoes.

Who knows how he escapes injuries- he climbs and gets into terrible situations daily. My least favorite is when he uses the step to get on the toilet, to get on the bathroom counter, to take a drink out of the sink. YIKES!

BUT my favorite part at this age is that he can relax in your arms so much that he falls asleep (zones out watching the other kids play, etc.). It feels so sweet to snuggle him when he's like that! Definitely want to remember that feeling forever! And even better, he transfers wonderfully and continues to sleep wherever you put him. Ahhhhhh....

Spring Fling

Linton Elementary had their Spring Fling and Silent Auction on Friday night. So much fun- so many great things for the kids to do all night long. I loved looking at all the themed class baskets at the auction. Tatum's class did a 'sports' one and Diego's class had an 'ice cream party' one.

 In the movie room for 'Princess and the Frog'

In the gym for the round of games and dancing.

The cake walk was in the cafeteria (we didn't win- boo hoo).

Face painting and fortune-telling, carnival food- what more could you ask for?

Ram Jam 2010

Tyla and Niko experienced their first Ram Jam Tuesday night at Moby Arena. Last year, Diego had a baseball game so we missed it but we made it happen this year. Actually, I barely survived! Keith had an away baseball game, so I was on my own with four kids in literally mass chaos. Fun, but not so much fun! The kids came away with all sorts of goodies (free t-shirt, popcorn, coupons for free stuff, etc.) and I looked like a crazy woman trying to keep track of everyone.Those are some BIG shoes to fill there, Niko!

The football gear table was the first place Diego headed; he can't wait to play!

Niko is SO fun these days- such a big boy (17 mos!) enjoying all sorts of big kid activities! I love how social he is and super cute interacting with strangers- he goes from flirting to major dirty look to laughing all in a matter of seconds. He certainly has an opinion about everything!

Relay races and other opportunities to try out all the different sports = F-U-N!

Getting 'wrapped' by athletic trainers.

Niko couldn't decide what 'BALL!" to chase after everywhere he turned!

Luckily, Diego found a Tiger friend and ran around with him all night, so I was really down to three to keep happy.

Bread Day Retreat

Last Saturday, Diego and I went to a retreat together at the church. It was a super special time just one-on-one with my big little guy! The bread day's focus was around the sacrament of the Eucharist. We did a handful of activites, including making our very own loaf of bread (super fun!), to help learn important information regarding the many gifts from God. Such a memorable day!

This retreat is the last big event before Diego's First Communion coming up on May 2nd! Everyone is super excited because Grandma Frances arrives this Friday and will spend the next couple of weeks with us so she can be with us for this special event.

PS- a HUGE thank you goes out to Paula and Sammy for taking the other kiddos so I could be with Diego. Keith had a baseball game, so Paula stepped in to make sure Tatum got to her soccer game in the morning and then entertain the three of them all afternoon. What a saint!

Kitchen- before and after

And to continue our bang for our buck, the remodel of the kitchen!
A big thanks to Heather and Shawn Matz at Advanced Interiors
for working with us on all three projects and doing such a fabulous job!

Before, it was pretty standard. No upgrades- not even a microwave above my stove!

Cracks me up to look back at how I used to organize it in the old kitchen

(ie- dish rack and baking tins on the counter, trash/recycle cans in front of the outside door). It might drive Keith crazy because I don't want anything on my counters these days, but he's gotten used to it!

From plain to FANCY!

The dark granite is pretty dramatic since I don't get a ton of light in this part of my house, but I've learned to love it. Having a backsplash is a huge upgrade for me; I've wanted one for a long, long time! The trash cans have found a new home in the laundry room; it was a bit of 'relearning' but so much more room now!

Microwave above the stove now so tons of room to walk behind the island- luv it! The stainless steel appliances are so pretty but have been difficult to adapt to. They are not cook nor kid-friendly; they show everything, so I guess I need to wear gloves if I don't want to rewipe at the end of the night! Ha!

The granite is gorgeous but looks so much prettier if I do a spray shine-

something I didn't realize I'd have to do every day. But it's worth it!

Love my fancy new faucet and deep undermount sinks!

The window coverings were the last step- very expensive (only three windows but holy moly!) and tricky because privacy was something we needed since we have an open view to the back neighbors .

This is the nook area right off the kitchen that got a new paint job and a matching window covering as well. Unfortunately, the lighting here doesn't show how perfectly the color on the wall goes with the shade. Beautiful!

Powder Bath- before and after

The small powder bath next to our kitchen was thrown into the remodel since it's such a small space and easy to update!

Amazing what a new mirror and light fixture can do to a bathroom!

Found the cool glass backsplash a couple weeks after we picked out the granite,

so we ended up changing granite colors to match it all.

The new granite has blue and green in it and is really pretty.

Can not emphasize enough how much undermount sinks have changed my life! LUV them! Also, did the extra cut to include the built-in soap pump which is so nice to keep things neat and tidy! And how about the fancy-smancy faucet?! We got that idea from the bathrooms in Jim's Wings (who would have thought?!). Really spruces up the space!

Master Bath- before and after

WOW! Loooong overdue but SOOOOO glad I'm finally getting around to showing off all our home improvements!

Our master bath project started in January of  '08 (gasp!), we didn't get our shower door installed for something like 8 months later (was able to use the updated space just with a curtain), and I did some final touches this winter to really start enjoying the space (was finally motivated to update our master bedroom since there is no separation between the two areas)!

All original fixtures and carpet!

WAY too much tiny white tile in the shower- could not keep that clean!

Out with the old... in with the new!!

Same vanity but with hardware, same mirror but with a border.

Bye, bye carpet- So enjoying my backsplash, undermount sinks,

granite counter, and new lights!

The shower door was a HUGE ordeal- way expensive and extremely hard to install (that was after they sent us THREE different ones that were not correct!). Many months later, the headaches are nearly forgotten.

Super fancy shower head and massaging stone basin. SO much easier to keep clean!

Basketball 2010

A nice rebound and assist by Nathan!

Waredrobe malfunction!
Jackson and Diego insisted on wearing their
headbands every game again this year!

Defense! Defense!

Considering we've moved on to a new season and new sports (Tatum's spring soccer and Diego's rookie baseball season are both well into their second week of games), I thought I might acknowledge that Diego played basketball this winter! UGH! Can't believe I never got this posted. Better late than never!

Diego got to play on a 4th and 5th grade basketball team with some of his Tiger teammates and Nathan and had an awesome season. Obviously, the other players were quite a bit taller than him and I certainly had my reservations at first, but he more than held his own and it was a great experience. Let's just say we were happy to see at least one tiny kid on each team we played so he always had someone to match up with! Great!

The highlight of the season was one of our last games when our team was ON FIRE- couldn't do any wrong! Everyone had the game of their life including Diego who shot a 3-pointer, an alley-oop, and numerous other 'lucky' baskets. It was like Angels in the Outfield! Soooo fun to watch! Can't say I was able to capture video at that game- Niko insisted on racing onto the court every couple of minutes! Ugh!

Happy Easter!

MOMS Club egg hunt on Friday was ruined by the wind.... burrr!!! Niko and Tyla both found a couple of eggs and were done. Next year!

It wasn't until Saturday night that we dyed Easter eggs. Tyla waited and waited all day long, eyeing the boiled eggs (her favorite). When we finally handed out the first batch to color, Tyla immediately knocked it on the counter to crack it. Oops, I guess we needed to reinstruct her on how dying eggs work. We forgot she was quite young last year!

Diego was the first one up on Sunday- I'm glad he's still so excited about each holiday! Niko found one egg, cracked and ate it. He preferred to play ball after that! The other children competitively searched until all were found. Tatum was the best at finding the really hidden ones; that didn't go over well with the other two. Oh, joy! Is fighting really allowed on Easter Sunday?

We decided to go to 10am mass- NOT smart. Can you say OVER crowded? You really need to do the 8am or the 12pm to even pretend like it's a somewhat 'normal' experience. We're just happy our church now has a cry room (with audio/video so you can actually still participate in the service! Amazing!).

Dinner with the Eisenhauers

Our great family friend Paula (Niko's Godmother) invited us over for Easter dinner-

What a wonderful way to spend Easter!

Traditional Easter dinner but served with green chilie instead of gravy... YUMMY!

The kids LOVE Sammy and she spoils them with lots of love and attention!

The only grandson, Beau, has this really cool jeep. Gotta love living on a cul de sac... jealous!! We went for a stroll on the golf course before dessert, too.

Happy birthday, John! Today is his special day so we celebrated with a cake

(and strawberry shortcake) on Easter.

We ended the evening doing Resurrection Eggs (the story of Easter).

Such a nice time together! Thanks, Eisenhauers!!