Fourth of July

It indeed happened over a month ago... but here's the recap of our 4th of July.

We headed to Town Center for a few adventures.  Will loved the carriage ride and the horses.

He got a balloon animal; a dog, of course.

And then we waited in line for the bounce house for 30 minutes.

He was the 1st one in the bounce house and was jumping all over the place...

Until the big kids started funneling in...

And he had a mini-meltdown...

He refused to move from that spot in the middle.  The bouncy house was a little full, and a little crazy, and Will was frozen with fear.

We eventually convinced him to crawl over to the side and he felt much better bouncing over there.

After all the excitement, (and almost having to go into the bounce house ourselves to get Will to leave), we headed to Freddy's for a custard cone.

Man, that stuff is good.

Happy (belated) Fourth!

Quick Christmas Recap

We had an awesome, three-part Christmas.  First we spent a few days in Winter Park with the Tanner family.  It dumped a load of fresh powder the first night we were there and we skied it the next day.  Best ever.

Then we headed to Utah for a day for Robbie and Katie's wedding.  The ceremony was beautiful and the couple is awesome.  Will was a good sport despite his lack of sufficient nappage. 

And then we finished off Christmas in Denver with Tanners.  Will had fun with two of his cousins, Gwen & Kate, and we were all sufficiently spoiled for Christmas- thanks Tanners!!

Looking Back. Looking Ahead.

Looking back. We had an amazing Christmas.  We spent a few days in Winter Park (got to go skiing!) Robbie got married (yay!) and then we spent Christmas at the Tanners, playing games, watching Tanner classic movies, and eating chocolate (of course).

Looking ahead. We are excited for a new year.  Hopefully, a year without cancer and migraines (fingers crossed).  Today we started the first day of a year-long "Tanner Health Makeover."  This is serious business.  Pictures will be coming to detail the seriousness.  It's serious.

Bring on 2013.

Christmas Tree

Our lovely tree (with lights out at the top), and one of our new rugs (not quite in its place yet), in an ipad picture (less than stellar quality).

Still the best tree ever.

Christmas Tree Cutting

We headed up to the mountains this weekend to cut down our Christmas tree!  We haven't had a real tree for a few years so we were really excited!

Will wore his big boy coat.

We hiked in about a half-mile, checking out all the potential trees on the way in.  We wanted a big tree.

The trees weren't very full, but plenty tall.

We settled on one.

Grant chopped it down.   Will cried.  A true environmentalist :)

We tied it to the trailer.

And drove that puppy home.  On the hour-drive home, we couldn't help but check out other people's Christmas trees tied to their cars.  They all looked fuller and prettier than ours and we wondered if we would still like our tall skinny tree when we got home. (I guess the trees are always greener on someone else's car...)

But we got home.  And our tree is THE BEST!  Pictures coming soon.

Thanksgiving and more

We spent Thanksgiving in Illinois (as I wrote about earlier).  A few of the highlights:

The fish tank at Bass Pro Shop

Santa at Bass Pro Shop

Clearly not a hit with Willister...

Attending a basketball game at Eureka College

And back home, we visited the Highlands Ranch Mansion during a community Christmas celebration

Grant was especially excited about the incredible woodwork in the library.

And of course, we've been projecting.   Almost finished the dining room table and the second wingback chair.  And we purchased our first (ever) area rug.  It rocks.  Pictures soon.

The Fourth

Will had a traumatic Fourth of July.  He happens to be terrified of swimming pools...

But a scared bubba means some rare and unexpected snuggle time for his mama.  Score.

After an afternoon recovering, we checked out a Journey cover band.

They sounded pretty good.  Until the lead singer got the words wrong on "Don't Stop Believing..."  How is that possible?!

Either way, I'm glad to live in this beautiful country.  Happy Fourth.

Dear Ole St. Patty

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!  We spent the day painting the guest room and at a basketball game for the Young Women I coach at church.  (They won.  Undefeated.  Probably because I'm so amazing at coaching basketball...  Today our goal was to "Stand in Holy Places," which means to be under the basket for rebounds and to find places to get open for passes...)

Tomorrow we are having Corned Beef & Cabbage for dinner.  And I just might have to watch Luck of the Irish.  Good times.

Best Cousin Birthday Buddies

Will & Gav had a blast together over Christmas.  

They got twinner jammies from Bma & Papa.

Christmas Homies

Christmas was awesome.  Will got to spend time with lots of different people.  (He also was held, and rocked, and watched by lots of different people- hooray for mama-breaks!)

First, Will got to meet Santa Claus.  Poor kid.  He didn't get a picture with a living, breathing Santa, so i guess this will have to do...

Apparently, this slightly creepy Santa has been around since my mom was a kid.  Though he looks soft and cuddly, his face is surprisingly solid, which resulted in my uncle being spanked after chucking it at my mother.  Keep in mind, this was some 40 years ago... 

Oh to be Thankful

It was a great Thanksgiving.  All the Tanner kids were home (except Paul & Jill).  Will ate turkey, stuffing, potatoes, and rolls; all via Mama's milk, of course.

Ron wore an excellent turkey hat and entertained us with his traditional "Thanksgiving Turkey Gobble."  He really is quite good at it.