An attempt to take a trip up Poudre Canyon for some Fall Colors

 I really wanted to take the kids somewhere this year and see the Aspen trees in their fall colors and get some good pictures.  Unfortunately this trip was not my strong suit since I have no idea where to go in the Mountains or hiking or really anything of that nature.  I jumped online and took a look at a few things and thought - Poudre Canyon - that's not so far, we'll go there.  The day I picked was a Sunday.  So first it was off to church and Sunday school for me and Katelynn and then we rushed home so I could watch the Vikings Game.  At about 2:30 / 3:00 we were heading out the door much to Dan's disapproval.  He said it was too late to be heading up there and that it was a 2 hour drive.  I blew him off and threw the kids in the car and said we are going.  So off we went.   We did get to Poudre Canyon within 45 minutes, but apparently where I wanted to go was about another hour and half drive, bummer.  The kids were getting restless and Junior wasn't feeling very well.  We eventually stopped and found a trail to attempt to walk in or I suppose "take a little hike" and get some pictures.  Five minutes into our walk Junior says he really isn't feeling well and wants to leave.  Shit.  Dan and him walked back to the car and Katelynn and I quickly took a few pictures and then we drove home.  What a bummer and waste of time in the car.  I will try to plan this better next year I guess and leave earlier and only if the kids are feeling well.  We did get some pretty pictures of Katelynn though.

This is my favorite picture of my beauty!

Katelynn wanted to take pictures too.

Birthday Party Time - Bubbles Galore

Once again it was time to plan the friends party for Katelynn.  We usually have it our house and invite some friends and neighbors over.  This year we didn't want to spend the bundle of getting another bouncy castle and wanted to keep it simple.  After racking my brain on what we could do that the kids would enjoy outside I finally came up with the idea of a bubble machine - who doesn't like bubbles?!  Katelynn also decided that her theme this year was going to be My Little Pony's.  I was running short on time, which seems to be a constant the past year, so I jumped on the internet and ordered a party pack for My Little Pony's and because I was short on time I paid the extra for the rush order.  I know, I know, I could have ran to the stores and looked, but the price was decent enough and I just didn't have it in me to search and decide on each little piece to buy for the party.  I did go on the hunt for a Bubble Machine.  I had looked at the prices of renting them and figured it would be something fun to have at the house so if I was going to pay that much to rent one why not buy it.  This turned into a rat race of running from store to store and the places I thought would have one didn't and the places that should have had them were out.  I finally had to call a rental place and rent a machine and then ended up buying the expensive jug of bubbles from them to go with it.  Funny that it is not easy to find bubbles in September and we were out of our summer supply.  I brought the bubble machine home on a Friday and we hooked it up and let the kids check it out in the front yard.  After about 5 minutes we had about 8 kids on our driveway all running through bubbles for the night.  At least I knew that I was right and the bubble machine was a hit.  

Saturday morning Katelynn and I ran to Sam's club to get some snacks, drinks, and a birthday cake for the party.  We also had to stop and buy a helium tank to blow up balloons.  We definitely were cutting it short on time as we got home and started decorating.  Thanks to Sarah and Ryan for coming early and helping us out with the decorations so I could get ready!

The party goers started to arrive and we turned on the Bubble Machine, but no sooner did I turn it on that it started to get windy and started sprinkler outside.  You have got to be kidding me?!  I hauled everyone inside and downstairs and turned on the Wii and the kids played to Wii Dance for awhile. The sprinkles and rain finally quit and we turned on the bubbles full blast and it turned out to be a nice afternoon.  We did cake and ice cream and opened presents.  All in all it was a good party and Katelynn enjoyed it.  Our neighbors stayed for supper and we grilled and ran the rest of the bubbles through the machine.  I actually enjoyed the bubbles all over the backyard and decided that Dan needs to build me one of these machines, it was rather relaxing watching them.  I will say as fun as bubbles are, it is not easy to get a fantastic picture with the amount of bubbles that were coming out of the machine, but we did our best.  And apparently I left the wrong setting on my camera when we went inside to take pictures of the cake so the color is a little off.  And now the countdown to next year for Katelynn has already begun.

Katelynn Turns 6!

Hard to believe that almost 7 years ago I was  pregnant.  How the time flies.  My little girl and first baby is now 6 years old.                                   Katelynn had been so excited for her upcoming birthday.  Every day she would see or hear about something she wanted for her birthday.  After not winning the Mother of the Year award last year for my choices in gifts I stuck strictly to her list this year.  The night before her birthday we blew up balloons, wrapped her gifts and decorated the kitchen table so when she woke up in the morning she would know it was her special day, all day!  She loved it when she woke up.  We picked out a nice outfit for her to wear to school and a ribbon that we pinned to her that said "Birthday Girl".  We let her open one of her presents in the morning as well.  She picked a gift that Grandma had sent her and it ended up being clothes.  I think she felt a little angry that she picked that one.  She brought fruit snacks to share with everyone in her class.  She got to pick where we went for supper and of course she picked - Chuckee Cheese.  The place wasn't too busy and the kids had a lot of fun.  We headed home after playing and eating pizza and picking out prizes.  Katelynn opened the rest of her gifts up and we had some cupcakes and ice cream.  She loved her presents she bought and I was "The best mom in the world" - at least for an hour!  Next was to get ready for her birthday party the upcoming weekend.

It's Football Season! Time to Dress in Purple

At least the end of summer brings something to look forward to - Football Season!  We hold a lot of Purple Pride in our household.  I love my Vikings and I love eating good food and having a few cold beers and playing some football in the basement with the kids.  It did take a little bit to get into the season this year with them being in a lock out.  It seemed to come rather quickly and we were too busy to catch any of the preseason games.  I think its going to be a little hard to get behind our new quarter back as well, Donovan McNabb.  It just seems odd that he will be in Purple and Gold.
I usually get up on Sunday morning and start cooking lunch and snacks for the game and by 11am we are in the basement and ready to go, but this year will be a little bit of a challenge.  Katelynn is now in Sunday school and she starts at 9:45am and I go to church while she is in class.  By the time we get home its already kick-off time.  Dan has taken over a couple weeks of the cooking duties, but I am missing my big spread of snacks.  I love when the kids get into the game.  This usually happens when I am sitting on the couch or barely sitting on the couch yelling at the TV and then they mimic me, but I still get a big chuckle out of it.  Katelynn is not into the games as much this year and sometimes chooses to hang out in her room and play with her barbies or my little ponies.  Junior is funny.  Every time he sees football on TV he assumes its the Vikings and starts cheering.  He usually runs around the living room playing and then all of the sudden he will stop and watch the game and is completely into it.  He loves to throw and kick the football and I have to say he has a pretty good arm.  I am hoping for a quarter back in the making!  (Which he will need to be because the poor boy can't catch anything).  I keep trying to talk Dan into going to Minneapolis for the Vikes vs. Broncos game because I think that would be a blast, but with a Disneyland Trip coming at the end of January I think a Vikings game this year may not be in the cards for me.  It seems to be every other year now that I get home for a game.  Here's to a fun and exciting season of Football!  The Davids' household is ready.

Katelynn had to have a new jersey this year because she won't wear her Brett Favre jersey anymore
since he doesn't play, funny girl!

My little Quarter Back!

Katelynn's First Day of Kindergarten

Good morning Sunshine!
It's your first day of school!

The time has come to send my first baby off into the world of school, at least for the next 12 years.  Dan and I couldn't be prouder of her.  She was so ready to start school this year.  We went through outfits the night before and even though she had a bunch of new school clothes it was still so hot outside that she went for a new shirt she picked out and skirt that I picked out.  She was up and ready to go in the morning.  I took a couple of hours off of work that day so I could take her to school and pick her up on her first day.  We wanted to make it special for her and for it to be her day so we took Junior to daycare.  She did so good.  I think the funniest part of the morning was when I sent her upstairs to brush her teeth and since she had time she could make her bed and then come back down so I could do her hair, her response, "This is just like every other morning!"  She was not happy about that!  She ate her breakfast and we took a bunch of pictures.   Then it was off to school.  We were one of the first ones at the playground that morning and Dan and I watched her run around to all the equipment on the playground.  Dan was worse than I was chasing her all over and telling her to be careful and maybe she should just come over  and wait by the door.  I finally told him to stop it because she was going to be here everyday playing and she would figure it out.  She saw a few friend she knew from her preschool class and another friend that lives in our neighborhood.  They all lined up at the door and we watched them go in.  I wasn't nervous until that moment  when I had to leave her there.  Dan and I headed home.  Just when I pulled into the driveway and was about to go and log in for work I got a text from the daycare that Junior had just thrown up in her car.  So off I went to go pick him up.  Good thing I was already in town.  Junior and I hung out for the morning and then went and picked Katelynn up from her first day of school.  She had a lot of fun.  We did have a little daycare issue after the first week.  The school doesn't have a drop off and pick up lane.  Our daycare takes Katelynn to school and picks her up, but with the preschool getting out at the same time at the elementary school and her having 4 other kids in the car there was nowhere close to park.  I was a little freaked out and so was she because neither of us were ready to let the kids go somewhere new.  We ended up being able to work out a plan.  Drop off in the morning is fine and now Katelynn eats lunch at school and takes the bus to what would be her normal drop off by our house and the daycare picks her up there.  This is probably a good thing so that if the daycare is closed then Katelynn knows how to ride the bus and its just down the block.   She is also very happy to be eating lunch at school.

She has now been in school for a little over a full month and is still loving every minute of it.  She likes her special classes and can't wait each week for their turn to go to the library and pick out a new book. She loves her principal and always comes home with some story about what he did at school or what he is going to do.  He seems to be very involved with the kids.  She told me her Art teacher talks really loud and she wasn't too keen on him.  She also has gym, music and computer.  After the first 3 weeks of school Katelynn now has a special seat at class and according to her so do her two friends.  Apparently they talk too much during class and now are seated either alone or separated.  I haven't quite got it figured out yet.  Too funny.  I figured that might happen.  She has figured out as well after the first week of eating lunch at school that she needs to eat within a certain time limit or she doesn't get to finish her meal and then she is starving.  Again, this is because she was talking too much.  I hope that she continues to enjoy her classes and loves her school.

Yes, Junior had to get a picture that morning too.
He was excited for her.  He kept asking her, Katelynn is going to school?

Breakfast time

I got my backpack and I'm ready to go!

I'm Ready

Proud Daddy

Proud Momma

Time for Class

In line to head to the door.

The group of new kindergartners.

Great Grandma Faye's Funeral Day

The night before us cousins probably stayed out a little past the point of no return, but we had a good time hanging out together.  Of course that meant getting up in the morning was not the easiest thing in the world.  I stayed at my cousin Jamie's again since I had a room to myself.  Thank you to his son Skyler for letting me take over his room for the weekend.  We all had to shower and get ready and get to the funeral home.  All 90 some of us make up the Allen family and we all had roses to leave at the front of the church in honor of my Great Grandma.  My mom came to Jamie's in the morning (maybe to be sure that we remembered the flowers since they were at his house?).  We of course were running a little late trying to get ready and were running out the door at the end.  We ended up getting in just in time to get in line to walk in.  Looking at over 90 roses piled up together was really beautiful and sent the message to my Great Grandma that we all loved her flower bed and she loved her roses.  The service was nice and the stories that the grandchildren told were wonderful.  Many people wondered how she made it to 101 years old with all her own teeth and her mind in complete tact - well - they said it was probably a few things - oatmeal every morning for breakfast and she ate coleslaw.  So take that as you will for a little advice to living a long life.

After the funeral we headed back to my grandparents house.  We had a wonderful gift of being able to go out and walk through my great grandparents farmhouse even though it had been sold a few years back.  It was really special for me to be able to get to go out there.  Most of my family had been there during the auction and when it was being sold, but I wasn't.  We were able to walk through the house and listening to their grand kids re-minis about times they had there.  We were also able to spread her ashes where her flower garden used to be. We hung out at the farm for awhile just visiting and taking pictures and then headed back to my grandparents house.  We really just hung out there as a family and enjoyed each other's company.  I stayed at my aunt and uncle's, Shelly and John, that night and we did some visiting and had a few beers.  Shelly and I went out in the morning for breakfast and took a quick stop at Target so I could finally get my Vikings apparel.  Back to the airport for my flight home.  I was very happy that I went home for this and was able to pay my respects.

The Farm House

My nephew Landon and cousin Reid.

Nana & BapBap

Everyone doing the Ashley pose! Peace.