The Colorado Aults

Richly Blessed

2009-12-19T09:31:00.005-07:00

I have to admit that I am the type of person that can get lost in the details. I have spent so much energy buying, wrapping, checking lists, making menus, cleaning and organizing, decorating, cooking, etc. that I tend to lose perspective on the meaning of the holiday. Silly! I know better, but in the endless pursuit of creating the "perfect" environment for my family to create holiday memories, I deprive my family of me. The fun me is replaced by the stressed and harried me - which is MUCH less fun to spend time with.

This morning I awoke feeling different. The stress is minimal, not because overnight some elves came and took care of my to-do list for me, but it is just less. I have a renewed perspective. Today, I know that making that gingerbread house with Annalise that has been sitting on the counter for weeks is much more important to her than having her stocking stuffers wrapped. Making the holidays more memorable for my family has to do with our relationships and not the quality of my garland and light stringing abilities. I am thankful that I have this new perspective with a week left before Christmas - I will do a better job of giving my family something more meaningful than the fudge that is on my to-do list - I will give them back their mommy and wife (still neurotic and type-A, but much more fun than the task obsessed person I have been).

I know that I am richly blessed. Not because of the nicely wrapped packages under the tree, but because of so many other things that have never had a price tag on them.....a loving husband, precious children, amazing parents, a brother that would do anything for me, a charming sister-in-law on the way, family and friends that support me always, and most of all, a Lord and Savior that loves me always and fills even that darkest moments of my life with joy.

Merry Christmas everyone!

My wonderful husband. He loves me at my best and at my worst. I know I am supported and loved always. Thank you for our life and our beautiful family!

Trevor. The kiddo with a huge heart. And he makes me laugh almost every day. He's funny down to his soul.

Ian. My cuddly, snuggly, lovey boy. He always has a smile and is happy from the top of his birdman hair to the tips of his adorable toes. He melts my heart daily.

My Daddy. Tough as nails and incredibly soft hearted. The best kind of daddy and papa any kid or grandkid could have. He would sacrific anything and everything for us.

Greg and Madonna. Supportive and always available for a laugh. You guys light up a room and our lives.

Zach. Too cool at 16 to say anything mushy about....but, he is a great big brother and for some reason isn't embarrassed of me (not enough to avoid me in public anyway).

Nana. The bionic woman. An endless well of love. There really aren't words to adequately describe her....my angel on earth is as close as I can get.

Annalise. My independent and strong-willed bundle of love. She can make me laugh and cry within a 2-minute period. She introduced me to a new and powerful kind of love. The one person who single-handedly transformed me. She changed my heart into what I always wanted it to be, but could never figure out how to get there.

Enjoy the real blessings in your life this holiday season!
K

Yes, I know........

2009-12-18T03:52:00.002-07:00

I dare not attempt to explain my lack of posts.

Just make a note of the fact that I'm writing this at 3:54 am on December 18th. This has been my life. I became soooo consumed in the holidays and the massive amounts of prep, planning, and work that goes into it that I simply missed fall. My very favorite season!!! I'll post pics of the pumpkin patch and jack-o-latern carving and trick or treating that took place.

We have some really fun things planned for the next week and I can't wait to catch you all up and post some pictures!

Love and missed you all!
K

Thankful Thursday - The El Nino (or La Nina.....whichever it really is) edition

2009-09-24T07:50:00.004-06:00

I have been eyeball deep in creative ways to get Ian to eat. I can honestly say I had never dreamed of pureeing a buttermilk biscuit with half-n-half, but now I have. And I attempted to feed it to my little monkey. Notice I say attempted. He was having no part of it. However, Ian has developed quite a taste for potato soup and brownies. Score! Plus, this weekend he ate his first hot dog and a slice of birthday cake! Yippee!

While I have been consumed with trying to fill the little man up with calories and move his scale numbers North, you'll never guess what!

Annalise has decided to take a little vacation from food as well!

Over the last three days, I have managed to get her to eat a half of a biscuit with jelly, 4 goldfish crackers, 2 spoonfuls of Dora the Explorer yogurt, one Fudgee Oreo cookie, a half of an apple slice......and last night for dinner, she picked the marshmallows out of some Lucky Charms and ingested a whole whopping six of them. Ian has eaten more than she has over the last 3 days. Why won't my babies eat?!!

The lack of food consumption is so uncharacteristically Ault/Holderness that I am beginning to think I was implanted with someone else's embroy's. Oh wait, different story, I have no frozen embroy's.....only frozen Otter pops.....which neither of my children will eat by the way.

Even though food has been the prominent topic surfing my brain waves this week, I have found several things to be very thankful for.

- I am thankful for the "missing" compact flash card reappearing. I would have been soooooo heartbroken to have never recovered the photo's of our summer.

- I am thankful for getting to see Brad Paisley and Dierks Bentley in concert. They were AWESOME. (As a side note, I am too old to sit general admission at Fiddlers....my body is still aching and I think I may have hammer toes from my toes sliding forward in my shoes on that crazy hill all night!)

- I am thankful for getting to see friends from high school this weekend. It's amazing how much certain relationships don't change with time. We always seem to pick up right where we left off!

- I am thankful that "Hootie" is no longer a "Blowfish". Have you heard Darius Rucker's song "Alright"? It makes me happy from my head to my toes.

- I am so thankful to have finished my continuing education credits to keep my pharmacy license active. This year got away from me quickly and I had to cram it all in the last month. Now I can spend whatever free moments I stumble across blogging rather than reading about disease!

- I am thankful that our bout of nasty weather is heading out today and we have a warm weekend in store for us. I think El Nino (or La Nina, whichever it is) sucks.

Stay warm and have a Thankful Thursday,
Kristen

48 Hours later I can laugh.....but only a little!

2009-09-16T17:20:00.002-06:00

I don't particularly care for Mondays. Mondays have never really held much more hardship than any other day of the week, but I think I have been conditioned not to really enjoy them because they have been labeled as the red-headed stepchildren of the week and I fell for the sales pitch. Not that I have anything against red-headed stepchildren, or salesmen either......well, maybe salesmen. My apologies to all of you fine upstanding salesmen out there, but while I was in pharmacy school, I was witness to a rather unfortunate incident between my dear friend Rhonda and a smarmy traveling salesman, whose name I shall not divulge.....okay, okay, it was Roman but that is all you are getting out of me.

Whew, am I the queen of tangents or what?!

This Monday really did stink it up. Ian was the first of the babies to wake. He was super fussy and after using all of the tools in my fussiness arsenal, I let him do one of his favorite things (which happens to be one of my least favorite things to let him do), play with the phone and the remote control. So we are playing on the floor in our bedroom and I hear "Hello. Hello. Is anyone there?" I grab the phone away from Ian and realize that he has hung up on whoever it was that he called. It didn't take long to learn who it was because the phone began ringing in my hand.

Yes, he dialed 911.

And, no, we do not have it preprogrammed on our phone. The little monkey pressed talk and then dialed 9-1-1 and hung up. I explained to the lovely lady on the phone that my 9-month old was playing with the phone and must have dialed her on accident. Remember, at this point I have taken the phone away from Ian so he is screaming his handsome little head off and I'm sure the 911 operator was not feeling warm and fuzzy about me. So we hang up. I can't get Ian calmed back and figure he must be hungry, so I nurse him. While I am half undressed, feeding the finally calmed down baby, I hear the doorbell ring. I was expecting a package from UPS and figured it was them doing what they normally do....drop the package, ring the bell, and leave. So, I don't break away from my nursing duties to get the door. A couple of minutes later, the phone rings again.

Yes, it's the sheriff's department. And in a very stern and direct voice, the lovely lady I talked to earlier says "We have a deputy at the door. Go and open your door." I get myself properly clothed and pick up my once again wailing baby (he hates it when he doesn't get to finish eating on his own terms) and answer the door. The deputy seemed nice enough even though he kept eyeing me like I imagine Aaron Thompson gets eyed by law enforcement these days. He rubbed Ian's head and moved his arms and legs and told me that it was common practice to double check on 911 calls that involve an upset child. After several hours passed (it felt that way anyway) he must have felt comfortable enough to continue to leave screaming little Ian in my care and left. The VERY SECOND I closed the door, Ian stopped crying, raised his sweet little baby arms............and began clapping. With my mommy mental telepathy I could hear him saying "Yay, mommy! What a fun game!"

So, that was how I started my week. Getting a little red flag placed by my name at the Douglas County Sheriff's department.

Today, I can laugh about it.......but just a little.

One of the MANY signs I'm no longer young, hip or quasi-cool!

2009-09-14T11:24:00.003-06:00

I was never really a cool kid. I was never really an "outcast" either. I was the kid somewhere in the middle.

As I moved on from high school, I hoped to shed my garb of mediocrity. Truth is, I don't think I did but I really didn't care either. Somehow that stuff matters so much less when you are no longer in high school and your only focus is passing organic chemistry with your psyche and limbs intact.

But, unbeknownst to me, I occasionally have participated in "cool" behavior. I can honestly say that my moments of serendipitous "coolness" are over. Heck, just the fact that I keep saying "cool" is evidence enough.

Let me provide you with a few examples:

- I think it is ridiculous that kids now days say "sick" when they think something is "cool". Much as my parents thought it was ridiculous when we said "bad" when something was "good". Plus, I just said "kids now days".

- My idea of the perfect evening is sitting in a spotless house, laundry finished, burning a caramel biscotti candle, drinking a cup of Ghiradelli hot chocolate, reading a Jodi Picoult novel, while my blissfully well-mannered children play together. Am I a ROCKSTAR or what?!

- The one activity that generated child-like excitement in my adult life was going to the book signing of my favorite author when she came to town on a book tour. I bought tickets 6 weeks in advance and showed up an hour early just to get a seat in the bookstore. My emotions had a flashback to age 15, standing and screaming in front of the stage at Fiddler's Green with my friend Tracey Flecksteiner at the New Kids On The Block concert.

- I understand only 10% of the lyrics our kids listen too. Most of the time the 10% I understand is enough to make me change the station and lecture them on how their choice in music is a barometer of their character.

- Until recently, I thought Twitter was a newfangled dirty word that the young generation added to our lexicon....much like "snogging".

- Rather than using my computer time to read Perez Hilton or People online, I scour the net for new recipes.

- When an opportunity to go shopping arises, I never come home with shoes or clothes. I come home with books, cooking utensils, and stuff for the kids. I'd rather visit Dean & Deluca than Nordstrom every day of the week and twice on Sunday.

So, you get my point. I'm not even remotely cool.

The newest occurrence to remind me of this fact is the overwhelming excitement and tummy butterflies I experienced when I learned that my favorite blogger, cooking maven, and kindred spirit is publishing a cookbook and will be at the Tattered Cover bookstore downtown in November.

Her name is Ree Drummond. She is commonly known as "The Pioneer Woman". She is my idol and I'm sure we'd be best friends if given the opportunity. Kindred Dweebs. Meeting her will be a brush with fame for me. Here is the link to her blog and a peek at the cover of her cookbook. Check it out, you won't be sorry. The Pioneer Woman

You can meet lovely Ree at the Tattered Cover bookstore in Denver. 2526 E. Colfax. November 2nd at 7:30 pm.

Be there or be square. Or if you're square be there. Whichever applies to you.

Is Baby Garlic Breath Really A Bad Thing?

2009-09-13T16:45:00.004-06:00

I love garlic. I'm Italian, therefore I am required by the laws of genetics to exalt my undying adoration for the glorious little white bulb of deliciousness from the highest mountain tops.

However, garlic breath is not a pleasant scent anyway you slice it.

Our little Ian is a very picky eater. Without getting into too many gorey details, the little guy refuses to drink out of a bottle or sippy cup (I'm afraid that I may be nursing him until he heads off to kindergarten), he really dislikes store-bought baby food (he will occasionally eat apricots or peaches if he is famished) so I puree fresh fruits for him, and anything other than fruit is strictly off limits unless I'm up for contending with baby dry (and sometimes not so dry) heaves.

So imagine our surprise on Saturday night when he picked up a big garlicky breadstick at Pasquini's and began gnawing away. He was in a foul mood when we got to the restaurant, but with each additional gnaw his frown began to turn upside down. Yes, I am envisioning the kangaroo jumping on the frown and turning it into the smiley "U" in the Toys R Us commercials - circa 1983.

Ian has struggled with some serious teething issues the past few weeks, and smiles have been few and far between. Nothing we did really seemed to improve his mood.

We took him to "Create Playdate" at the Denver Art Museum and let him play with crayons and feathers and this is the face we got:

So we moved on to the blocks....

But oh the magic of a garlicky breadstick......

And tah-dah........smiles!!

See my teeth - it feels sooooo goooood on my teeth!

After dinner, I picked up my happy bouncing baby boy and smothered him in mommy kisses. It was very strange to get a strong whiff of garlic coming from that sweet baby mouth that usually smells like....well, baby's breath. It's kind of like biting into a piece of chocolate and rather than tasting chocolate you taste black olives (I've done that more than once).

But the question I pose is this: Is Baby Garlic breath really that bad if it brings a smile to the face of my sweet little teether?

In this case, I chose to go with the wisdom of the great philosopher Sheryl Crow - "If it makes you happy, it can't be that bad."

Thankful Thursday - The Teething Continues

2009-09-10T12:20:00.002-06:00

It's been another tough week in the Ault household. Poor little Ian is really struggling with the teething ordeal. He is getting a bunch of teeth all at the same time and he is just miserable. He wants to be loved and snuggled all day long, which is very sweet, but it makes it incredibly difficult to get anything else accomplished. I literally cannot put him down or he bucks, flails around and lets out the most blood curdling scream you have ever heard......and he simply will not stop unless I pick him up and walk him around (me and no one else).....which still doesn't work a good portion of the time. The poor little man honestly has been screaming for almost 6 of the 12 hours he is awake on most days, and probably 7 hours today. After 2 solid weeks of this I'm in a bit of a funk. It's amazing how rotten you feel when there is nothing you can do to alleviate discomfort for your baby, and I'm positive it is no picnic for him either.

I'm out of ideas on what to do to help him. I've done frozen washcloths, popsicles, Tylenol, teething rings, and this new fancy teething pacifier that was given to me in the nursery at church on Sunday, but nada tostada, nothing seems to help. I'm in unchartered territory here because Annalise didn't have these issues with teething. She had a bad day here and there, but not this constant curse of new (and very slow to erupt) teeth. So again, this is my plea for some teething advice if anyone out there has some.

Ian is begging for your pearls of wisdom.

His mommy is failing miserably and he needs your assistance.

So here I sit at my computer late on Thursday night fully aware that the last post I made was last week for Thankful Thursday. I had huge aspirations for this week and lots of great stories to tell....I'll keep my fingers crossed for next week. I was going to add a great story tonight about David Del Dotto, but I'm simply too exhausted. So I'll get on that sometime other than right now because I am ready to do a face-plant onto my keyboard.

This week my Thankful Thursday points are:

- I'm thankful that teething is not a continual process like growing hair or nails!!

- I'm thankful that Jay Leno is back on the air next week.....yahoo! I have missed him so.

- I'm thankful that Annalise has made some little friends and for the afternoon we enjoyed at the Art Museum with them on Wednesday. Check out Create Playdates at the Denver Art Museum if you have little ones younger than 5. They are so much fun, and FREE!

- I'm thankful that the weather is cooling off. I got to wear a sweatshirt this week.....and most importantly, I ditched my flip-flops for socks and tennis shoes and can stop being embarrassed of the wrecked, old and chipped pedicure that I'm sporting......bleck.

- I'm thankful that the boys are getting into the groove of school and really seem to be enjoying it. Zach is loving baseball and the new found freedom of having a car and Trev is totally engrossed in marching band and the friends that he has made within that group.

- I'm thankful for the preacher at our church. He is really good at challenging people to be much better than they are, and he's not afraid to tell you to buck up and live like you are really thankful for what Jesus has done for you. I won't speak for anyone else, but I need to hear that more often than I would like to admit.

- I'm thankful for Starbucks Caramel Apple Cider. They are simply amazing. I started drinking them when I was pregnant and REALLY wanted coffee but REALLY wanted to avoid the caffeine. This is the perfect time of year to have one. Try it, it'll change your life.

- I'm thankful for the super comfy bed that is just a few short steps away from me....man am I spent.

Goodnight all and happy Thankful Thursday,
Kristen

Thankful Thursday - yes, again!

2009-09-03T08:53:00.005-06:00

First order of business, apologize. I'm sorry not to have posted anything since last Thursday!! I don't intend to make a habit of this. I have lots of good posts in my head but just didn't get them written down this week.

It's been a crazy week.

Both babies have been battling a cold, then the thoughtful little monkeys passed it along to mommy.......in their defense, I am teaching them to share!

In the midst of dealing with his cold, the little man decided to cut a couple of teeth.

Zach turned 16. Party planning and celebrating ensued. This also meant a trip to Trinidad to pick up the car my parents had been storing for him down there.

Getting the car here resulted in hours of fun to get him drive-ready: new battery, oil and fluids changed, National Driving school drive test, coordinating auto-insurance set-up (which has opened our eyes to the fact that we are totally getting ripped off by our insurance agent) DMV license issue, emissions test, back to DMV for plates and registration, tire shopping....like I said fun, fun, fun. With a close-to-empty checkbook and a renewed sense of disdain for the DMV (and our good Governor's hefty tax hike on auto registration) Zach is on the road.

I am experiencing a nasty flare in my eczema, stress induced no doubt.

And the cherry on top, a hugely painful stye decided to pay a visit to my eye yesterday.

Warning: Tangent Ahead. Have you ever seen the episode of Two and a Half Men where Charlie was dating the witch? Alan was trying to get Charlie to stop dating her, and in her anger the witch cast an evil spell on Alan. Alan then developed a laundry list of physical ailments and by the end of the episode he looked like Quasimoto, he had tons of bloody bits of toilet paper stuck to his face because he kept cutting himself while shaving, his lips and ears were swollen to the point where he was almost unrecognizable, and the icing on the cake was a stye that was almost the size of his head. Point of the tangent: I feel like Alan. Sorry, I'm visual and needed to convey this image for you. I looked for a picture of Alan in this state of disarray but couldn't find a decent one.

So, needless to say, I really needed to take the opportunity to reflect on the things I am thankful for this week!

Thankful Thursday -9/3/09

- It's September!! I LOVE fall!! I wish it could be fall year round. Fall festivals, pumpkin patches, apples, colorful leaves, sweatshirt weather, football.....Yay!!

- We've officially survived the most chaotic summer on record for our family.

- The 4 weeks that baseball didn't touch our lives.

- Annalise's new swim instructor! She's awesome and our girl has made so much progress in the past 2 weeks.

- Well babies. I dearly love them when they are sick as well, but I realize how for granted I take our health.

- The clear results on my mom's CAT scan! Thank you Lord!!!

- We live in a country where our government officials are employed by us and not the other way around. Our freedom of speech allows us to remind them of that when it seemingly slips their minds.

- Paula Deen. This week she taught me to make bacon dregged in brown sugar and cayenne pepper.... Have Mercy!

Hoping you all have lots to be thankful for this week as well - even if your week left you haggard and looking like Alan Harper post-Wicken curse,

Kristen

Thankful Thursday - 8/27/09

2009-08-27T12:02:00.003-06:00

Wow, it's Thursday again! Time just blows by doesn't it? I'm glad to be taking the opportunity to consider more deeply the things in my life that put a smile on my face. I hope you've been inspired to do the same.

This week I'm thankful for:

- Witnessing the marriage of my cousin Shaina and her new husband Andy. I have a theory about weddings...if the groom cries while saying his vows....the marriage will weather whatever life brings the couple. Andy cried :)

- My friend Susan. She is an amazing cook and fellow foodie and always introduces me to new and yummy things. My lovehandles fear her but my mouth loves her dearly.

- Sabra brand hummus. Specifically the roasted garlic variety. This is the hummus that hummus-haters love. Try some, it'll change your life.

- Getting the opportunity to see Poison and Def Leppard at Fiddler's Green, and for my awesome brother and his fiance' for organizing the outing. I can't believe that as a teen it was my dream to marry Bret Michaels....YIKES!!!

- Unanswered prayers. I don't think I would weather life as Mrs. Bret Michaels very well.

- Two babies that sleep the night!! Hallalujah!

- Sunday afternoon "Italian supper" at my parents house. One of my favorite childhood memories is the enormous Sunday suppers we had at my Nana and Papa's farm. Now my babies get to have Sunday spaghetti suppers with their Nana and Papa.

Hope you are having a blessed week and a Thankful Thursday,
Kristen

Hello? Waternoose?!

2009-08-25T19:02:00.007-06:00

Last night, Annalise picked up her Daddy's cell phone and began an interesting dialogue.

"Hello? Waternoose?! Why you put Michael in time out? He's scared out there!"

For those of you that have no idea what she was talking about, let me introduce Michael (aka Mike Wazowski)........

Mike is her favorite character from the movie, Monsters Inc.

I had to think a bit to understand where she was going with the "Why you put Michael in time-out? He's scared out there!" Then it dawned on me. In one of the more suspenseful scenes, it is revealed that Mr. Waternoose (the CEO of Monsters Inc.) is actually a bad guy, and in an attempt to cover his evil plot, exiles Mike and Sully to the frigid and snowy Himalayan mountains. There they meet up with the also exiled, and incredibly charming, Abominable Snowman. At this point in the movie, Mike is hysterically ranting about how his life has been ruined and he is doomed to a life of frigid misery with nothing to eat but yellow snowcones, yes I said yellow snowcones, interpret that however you wish.

I love that my sweet little girl is concerned about Mike's well-being.

I love that my sweet little girl responds so well to time-outs. Just the mention of time-out immediately remedies the situation.

Being the science-minded nerd that I am, I ponder....1) if Annalise thinks time-out for Mike is scary and 2) Annalise responds in a New York minute to the words "time-out", then 3) Annalise must equate time-out with snowy exile with a monster and a diet consisting of bodily fluids!!! Am I scarring her for life and paving the road for lots of high dollar trips to a therapist to undo the damage that I've inflicted to her psyche?

Hopefully not. And if someday she should need to revisit this topic with her therapist, I'd like for her to know that I'd eat a truckload of yellow snow before I'd ever do anything to intentionally harm her, and that exile to the Himalaya's is simply out of the question. Period. No matter what she does. Ever.

Because, I love her more than there are stars in the sky and fishes in the sea.

Thankful Thursday - and it's actually Thursday!

2009-08-20T11:38:00.002-06:00

How did it get to be Thursday already? And how is it that I've been doing laundry since Monday morning and am still not finished??!! Oh well, I'm celebrating because today I know what day of the week it is and I remembered to do my Thankful Thursday!

This week I'm thankful for:

- Sprayway glass cleaner. The stuff is awesome and makes the kitchen smell oh so clean.

- Costco and Sam's Club. I don't know how I'd survive if I couldn't buy diapers by the truckload.

- The six hours of uninterrupted sleep that I got last night.....woohoo....it's been 9 months since we've slept that long.

- Spanx. No further explanation necessary, thank you very much!

- Getting to spend a couple of days in Trinidad visiting with Aunt Josephine and Uncle Jerry. We love and miss you guys!

- Karma.

- Our patio. We eat dinner out there most nights and eating outside feels like a mini-vacation to me.

- My washing machine!

Happy Thursday and I hope you all have much to be thankful for,
Kristen

Orlando - Part Deux

2009-08-19T10:23:00.004-06:00

Before you get to the second half of the Orlando pictures, I wanted to share a couple of travel tips if you should ever frequent our travel route.

- I wouldn't recommend the Hard Rock Hotel. It's run down, kinda dirty, and customer service is blah for the most part. If you want to stay at a Universal property, pick the Portofino Bay Hotel.

- If you do stay at the Hard Rock Hotel, don't rent the cabana's by the pool. They aren't worth the money.....again, dirty....it is still blistering hot in them and there are so many trees around the pool area that there is plenty of free shade to be had.

- If you are going to spend much time at Universal Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios, I would HIGHLY recommend getting an Express Pass. You get them for free if you stay at a Universal property or you can purchase one at the park if you stay at a different property. All of the rides have an Express pass line that is significantly shorter than the other line......this will spare you HOURS of standing in line.

- Islands of Adventure is opening a Harry Potter section of the park. Hogwarts was under construction while we were there...it looked AMAZING!! Don't miss that!

- The Hard Rock (and possibly the other Universal Hotels) have a "concierge floor". Ask for a room there if they are available. It will cost you about $15 bucks a night more than a room on any other floor, but they have a continental breakfast, snacks during the day, appetizers in the evening, and milk and cookies at bedtime. All free. This includes sodas, milk and alcohol....this saved us gobs of money!

- Don't go in late July/August. TOO HOT!

Monkey business.

Thing 1 and Thing 2 at the entrance to Seussland.

McElligot's Pool was sooo cool (Seussland makes you want to rhyme!)

Lovin' on the Thing dolls.

Annalise loved to ride on Trev's shoulders. EVERYTIME she got up she had to put her hands over his eyes. He was such a good sport!

Riding the Cat in the Hat....ahhh...air conditioning!

Providing cover for Bart....

Busted!!!

You really didn't expect me to pass up the gratuitous cheesy tourist photo did you?

The cutest Thing 2 I've ever seen.

Chillin' like a rockstar.

Finally!! It only took 6 days of pleading before we broke down and got Trev a turkey leg.

Ian's first swim!

Ian's first ride on "One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish". See him in between Nana and Papa sucking away on his fingers?

Sea World, definitely the highlight of the trip for Annalise. She is still fascinated with fish.

But, lunch with the sharks was not a hit. About 15 minutes in, she was scared of the "big teef" and sat on Daddy's lap for the rest of lunch.

Shamu!!

Feeding the stingrays....see him in the water taking the food out of her hand...eeeww!

Riding the kiddie version of the "Tower of Doom". She looks scared but ended up loving it and wanting to ride again.

The night before we headed home. We are in front of the replica of Portofino Bay at the Portofino Bay hotel....it was very cool!

Happy future travels,
Kristen

Orlando - not Tony, the Destination

2009-08-17T09:21:00.007-06:00

Ah yes, it was time for the Ault family vacation. Every other summer we try to take the family somewhere "away" from all that is familiar in our everyday lives. Sounds fun and easy and exciting, right? Well, kind of. Planning vacation time for our crew is a task that is seemingly equivalent to reforming healthcare. Having to juggle Brian's work schedule, Zach's baseball schedule, Trev's band schedule, the vacation time the boys have with their mom, and my parent's schedule is a task not for the faint of heart. Once we finally nailed down the dates, we let the boys take the reigns on deciding what to do.....

They elected to "relive the best vacation they ever had". See, when they were 6 and 7, Dad took them to Orlando. They stayed at the Hard Rock Hotel and went to Universal Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios. They still talk regularly of the fun things they encountered on that trip and were REALLY excited to do it all again. Me, with my mental telepathy, was slightly less than confident that this trip could live up to their memory. See, I've been there and I'm sure most of you have as well. Isn't it strange how our mind's eye remembers things from the early parts of our lives, then when we revisit those places later in our lives we are somewhat saddened that it's "just not like we remember". Plus, I was thinking Orlando in August........seriously........with two babies...........are you mad??!! Yes, they were. They know it now too. It's nice when the universe reveals to teenagers that their parents aren't the complete idiots they believe us to be :)

So, this year we went to Orlando, stayed at the Hard Rock Hotel, visited Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios, and squeezed a day in at Sea World. Yes, I know what you are saying.....NO DISNEY??!! And yes, I couldn't agree with you more. How you can go to Orlando and not want to do Disney is truly beyond me. It's unnatural. It's like oil and vinegar....it just doesn't work.....unless you're making salad dressing that is. But, I guess teenage boys don't think Disney is cool. Universal has Spiderman, Hulk, Superman, guy stuff, and Disney is for "little kids". Our two little ones are small enough that they will have little to no memory of this trip, so I conceded my desires for breakfast with Mickey, knowing that we can hopefully take that trip in the future. To Universal's credit, they do have a great area of the park called Seussland that caters to the little folk and they have done a lovely job. It was like walking into a Dr. Seuss book....if I only had packed my fishing pole I would have headed down to McElligot's Pool.

We have tons of pics and I haven't yet sorted through all of them, but here are some of my favorites so far.

A lesson in aerodynamics from the two-year-old prior to boarding the plane.

Our little man's first plane ride. Yes we feed him Starburst, don't all parents? Just kidding!

He got his flight wings and a tour of the cockpit.

Dinner at "The Kitchen". Home of the best Mac N' Cheese ever. I think Zach ate this pasta yumminess 4 times while we were there.

Papa and Bart. Bart scared the babies. Bart scares me.

Look, it's Brett Favre!!! Not really, it's my handsome hubby, but several people mistook him for the Wrangler wearing QB. Several people mistook me for Shamu...

Papa and Nana in front on the Hard Rock Guitar fountain.

If only they made strollers in my size I would have followed little man's lead....except I probably would suck my thumb.

The children that won't nap at home slept in the theme parks....I guess the trick is 104 degree temps with 100% humidity.

Papa in his element. He is THE Colorado Parrothead.

Trev's face says it all. He was a HAPPY boy!

Zach's "Thing" impersonation :)

Thankful Thursday - The Monday Edition

2009-08-10T08:04:00.006-06:00

Okay, okay.....I forgot on Thursday, and Friday....and Saturday.....I remembered on Sunday but didn't get to it until now. I am having some brain malfunction issues lately. Thankful Thursday was only one of the casualties.

I packed up my family and took them to Grand Junction for the Palisade Peach Festival (hubby had to go for work, but I made it a family get-away weekend). My darling husband even had roses in our hotel room when I got there to celebrate the occasion (I have wanted to go for several years and we never seem to make it.) But, the Palisade Peach Festival is next weekend.

Last night, I was unpacking our bags and discovered that my bottle of conditioner exploded all over my husband's duffel bag and shaving kit. Being the doting wife I am, I wanted to get that cleaned up in a jiffy, so I threw it in the washing machine. Good wife, check. Later, "Honey, have you seen my phone charger?" Nope, sorry, I haven't. The phone charger was later discovered in the washing machine along with gooey Q-tips and some other random, unidentifiable items. Water was oozing out of it and his work phone (which is capable of launching a space shuttle) is now in need of a new charger. I guess I missed a pocket....

So, my point is, I forgot about Thankful Thursday....but it could have been much worse.

Thankful Thursday - The Monday Edition

I'm thankful for sidewalk chalk. My hubby and daughter love to draw on the basketball court together. I have watched a lovely bond take shape between them.

I'm thankful for the night out we had with some friends on Friday. It has been over 3 years since we spent time with other adults, sans the bambinos.

I'm thankful for my kind-hearted, good-natured, forgiving husband that just laughs when I haul the family 4 hours away for a Peach festival on the wrong weekend and/or wash his phone charger.

I'm thankful for books on tape (I guess CD is more accurate). They make a road trip so much fun.

I'm thankful that the junk food purchased at gas stations on road trips is calorie-free....it is, honest. My momma told me so, and we all know that if your momma says it, it's true!

I'm thankful for Palisade Peaches. They are AMAZING! Eat one, they'll change your life.

I'm thankful for certain types of family stressors. There are the kind that drive a wedge and there are the kind that draw together. I'm thankful for the kind that draw us together.

I'm thankful for the occurrences in my life, good and bad, that remind me that I have been entrusted with such precious people to nurture and protect.

Happy Thursday, errrr, I mean Monday :)

Applesauce and Flamingos

2009-08-07T08:07:00.006-06:00

There are some things about having a two-year-old that are challenging, I'm not gonna lie. But, there are some things that make it all worth while. This is one of them.

Yesterday, my sweet daughter was sitting on the kitchen counter "helping" me make dinner. This is a fairly normal occurrence. She decided to drift away from her responsibilities (sticking every clean utensil in my utensil jar into the salad dressing) and open the cabinet door where I keep Ian's baby food. Then like such a grown up she placed her hand under her chin and used her index finger to stroke the side of her mouth (like she was REALLY pondering her findings). Then she said "Hmmmm, what do we have here? (pause) Applesauce and Flamingos!!! (much excitement)". Funny, right? Well it gets better. She took me by such surprise and I found it so humorous that I couldn't help but to laugh out loud (I try not to make a habit out of laughing at her). She then turned to me with a scrunched up nose and her finger pointed at me and said "No Mama, you not laugh at my flamingos!" with so much authority in her voice that I felt like I was being scolded by a teacher.

(I had no video or picture of this little scene, but this look is fairly similar to the one she threw my way)

Have a blessed day everyone! And happy flamingo hunting, you never know where one may pop up....

West Star Wilderness - We Love You!

2009-08-04T11:01:00.012-06:00

I love West Star Wilderness. It has changed my life. It has changed Trev's life for the moment and hopefully for a long time to come. I guess I should provide some background to clear up my ramblings.

Trev is the younger of our two older kiddos (that sounds confusing, doesn't it?). He is the chocolate to his older brother's vanilla....literally. Those boys really couldn't be much more different. One of the obvious differences is in their extracurricular activities. Zach is the baseball player and Trev is the soulful musician. Typically, our summers are dominated with Zach's baseball and the rest of our clan gets to tag along to his activities. Dad was absolutely set on finding something just for Trev this summer, something he didn't have to share with his brother, something to reinforce our love for him as he begins high school and navigates all of the insecurities and stresses of teenagerhood. After much searching and consultation, Dad found West Star Wilderness http://weststarwilderness.com/. It was a five day hiking and camping trip in the Rocky Mountains. Up to twelve kiddos set out with a group of adult counselors and nothing other than the packs on their backs. The goal is for the kids to build relationships with others and gain a sense of accomplishment. Good stuff. And this is RIGHT up Trev's alley, he loves outdoors, camping, "roughing it". I was hoping that it would be a positive experience for Trev, but I didn't forsee the positive for our family. We set out to give Trev a gift, and true to the wisdom of the ages, "when you give, you get". Our gift to Trev turned out to be such a blessing to our family.

When Trev got home last Friday, we heard his fun stories of the amazing scenery they saw and the friends that he made, some of the low-points (dehydrated food, outdoor bathroom challenges), but what I didn't expect was the change in his view of our family. He could not stop gushing about how much he missed us, about how much he appreciates my cooking and all of the things we do for him, how much he loves us and in particular, his baby sister and brother. He immediately started helping me out with little things around the house that I usually have to solicit help with. Then we headed out for Orlando the next morning and I noticed that throughout the duration of our trip Trev was always searching for a way to help, carrying the diaper bag for me, buckling the babies into the stroller, taking on more of his share of bags when going through security (which is no small task!). Other changes were also evident, he was cognicent of what things cost and kept talking about being less wasteful and spending less money, he blew off the hurts that Zach doled out rather than retaliate. It has been an amazing transformation to witness. I just love the beautiful things that happen to our lives when we stretch outside of our comfort zones.

Thanks West Star for providing Trev with many lovely memories and for returning to us a more compassionate, thoughtful, helpful young man.

Here are some pics Trev took:

Trev and his new friend Chris. They bonded hard and fast.

Trev and his counselors/guides.

Trev and Chris in the shelter they built.

Beautiful scenery. Trev's turning into quite the photographer!

Trev and his favorite counselor, Tim.

Purple mountain majesty.

Self portrait.

The entire gang.

Thankful Thursday - The Vacation Edition

2009-07-30T12:14:00.003-06:00

Well, I've been trying to make a blog entry since Sunday and have had no success. We have been traveling and I totally expected to make daily updates while we were gone, honest, I toted my laptop through airport security and everything!! A host of problems occurred, no chance to get on-line in the airport (too chaotic), no WiFi in our room unless I wanted to mortgage the house to pay for it, sent on a wild goosechase to random points around the hotel searching for the elusive "free WiFi" spot......"it's in the 7th floor lounge" (nope), "it's poolside" (negative), try the lobby (BINGO) so here I sit four days later. I'm not sure how long they will let me sit here. They are tearing the lobby apart setting up a stage for some "performance" and I'm sitting on the only couch left with two dripping wet babies from the pool. I'm getting looks from the "roadies" - seriously, I can't make this stuff up. A bald guy with beard down to his belly button and ten pounds of metal in his face (accentuated by his almost completely tatooed head and neck) just walked by me and looked at me like I was from another planet. I was going to post some pictures of vacation, but didn't bring my camera with me to upload photos because I kind of expected to hit another dead end with the internet connection. So, I will try and get some pictures up today or tomorrow.

Anyway, I HAD to find a way to update since it is Thankful Thursday and I certainly didn't want to miss my very first Thursday after the debut. So here goes...

- I'm thankful for Dramamine!

- I'm equally thankful for Children's liquid Bendadryl - makes a plane ride with babies a possibility.

- I guess you could say I'm thankful for the pharmaceutical industry in general. (I don't agree with the bad reputation you have been labeled with, I believe in better living through science).

- Jason Mraz. His music can put a smile on my face regardless of how bad my day might be going.

- Air Conditioning - genius.......PURE genius!

- Colorado water. I forget how great it really is until I travel somewhere and can barely brush my teeth with the nasty sulfur smelling stuff.

- My parents! Vacation with little ones can be a logistical nightmare and thank heavens they were willing to come along and be such an enormous help!

- The "express pass" tickets to Universal Studios that came with our hotel room. If you go to a Universal theme park, you MUST get them. You get to go in the "special" short line rather than the "regular" line...you get on a ride in less than ten minutes rather than somewhere North of an hour.....woohoo....especially when the temperature is somewhere near that of the surface of the sun!

Okay, I'm signing off for now because this lobby is getting more strange by the moment. A guy just hung a picture of a crying Velvet Elvis on the wall next to me and there is another guy five steps in front of me that is hanging a disco ball from the ceiling (no joke).

First Tooth!

2009-07-25T00:08:00.004-06:00

Ian's first tooth broke through yesterday. I must say I have mixed emotions. He is doing so many new things these days, getting up on all fours and rocking away - he is going to take off crawling any day now, pulling himself up to a standing position with this eagerness on his face to sprint across the room.....sigh. While it is very exciting to watch him develop and witness the firsts in my little guy's life, I do feel a tug of sadness. He's growing up! As I look at him while I'm typing this post, I'm amazed at how big he looks lying there - was he really 5lbs 13ounces when he was born? So while I celebrate Ian's milestones, I also mourn the loss of the little guy that only a short time ago was swimming in his preemie pajamas.

Maybe it's time to have another baby?! Just kidding honey!

Thankful Thursdays

2009-07-23T07:07:00.008-06:00

We live in a fallen world, don't we? Every time I turn on the television, radio, computer, cell phone, stand in the checkstand at the grocery store, log onto Facebook, check my e-mail, or talk to another human being it seems that I am digesting difficult news or am confronted with information that drains me rather than builds me up to be a better person. I am not nor have I ever considered myself to be a "Debbie Downer" (if you don't know who I'm talking about check out this old SNL skit...HYSTERICAL...http://www.buzznet.com/tags/debbiedowner/video/12536/saturday-night-live-debbie-downer/) or an Eeyore type of character. But, I must admit that while I believe myself to be a pretty positive person, I find myself crestfallen at times when I think about the world my brood is navigating. Really, think about it, our economy is in the toilet and despite what experts say most of us don't see the positive turn we are supposedly taking (this takes a much bigger toll on our families than just our checking account balances), our childhood idols drug themselves to death because life is too much for them to bear, teenagers are getting plastic surgery for their 16th birthday's because they think their value is in what they look like rather than who they are, etc. (I'll stop now because I am starting to sound like Debbie Downer!) So, this has inspired me to take better stock of the things in my world I have to be thankful for. I'm going to try to publish this list every week...probably on Thursday's....and call it Thankful Thursday's. Why Thursday's? Because I thought the "Th" in Thankful and the "Th" in Thursday's was kind of clever and I like clever things (yes, I know, nerdy....this is a theme you should become comfortable with) - we'll see how it goes and I'll adjust if needed. Here ya have it!

Thankful Thursday 7/23/09

- I'm thankful that my darling husband remembers to return the stroller into the back of the car after the boys take it out to load up their guitar and baseball gear - this has spared me from getting to the store and having to turn around and come right back home countless times.

- I'm thankful that my husband still has a job.

- I'm thankful that my parents have moved a mile away from us. Their help is priceless and I love that my children have grown so close to their Nana and Papa.

- I'm thankful that Ian wakes up every 3 hours during the night. Yes, I'm tired but it gives me uninterrupted time to hold and cuddle my sweet little man. I realize that in a blink he will be grown and I will long for the days that I held him, and would welcome being tired for the chance to do it all over again.

- I'm thankful that Zach will be getting his driver's license in a few short weeks. Can I get an "Amen!" from those of you that seemingly have little time to do anything other than be a chauffeur?

- I'm thankful that my family is healthy and for the astute medical caregivers that have helped to keep us all this way. In a country where the healthcare debate rages on, we should all be pulling for a system that continues to attract the best and brightest.

- I'm thankful for McDonald's iced mocha's and $1 sweet tea....basically caffeine in general.

- I'm thankful for the group of girls that gather in my basement on Tuesday nights to watch the Bachelorette. What a sweet group of ladies! Can I get an "Oh Yah!" for girl time?

If anyone would like to share the things they are thankful for, or even complain about the things that you aren't, feel free to leave a comment.

Happy Thankful Thursday,

Debbie.....ummm, I mean Kristen

I'm Not a Giggle Box, I'm a Diva!

2009-07-22T09:07:00.006-06:00

My lovely, sweet daughter that I love more than there are fish in the sea and stars in the sky will occasionally provide me with glimpses into our future. Sometimes these glimpses capture her sweet and nurturing nature that gives me some insight into what kind of mommy she will be, sometimes they capture an intellect that really blows me away and I wonder if she will cure cancer, solve world hunger, or be our first female President, or all three, and then sometimes she lets me see something that scares me to my core - a high-maintenance princess. Does she really have the potential to be a diva? I suppose the potential exists, but rest assured that I am flexing the best parent muscles I have to prevent this from developing.

I apologize for those of you that have caught wind of this story on Facebook. I don't intend to make a habit of duplicating content here and there, but had to document this story here and provide some video footage as evidence for Annalise when she is grown. I regret that this video is not the first time she said it.....this occurred later the same day after she realized that what she was saying got lots of laughs and attention from those around her. This was not rehearsed and I didn't coach her on what to say - this came from somewhere within her - please say a prayer for me now.

My Handsome Prince

2009-07-20T09:27:00.004-06:00

Now, I'm sure that my mommy bias is partly to blame for my belief that I have the most gorgeous babies around. I am not and will not apologize for that because I believe all kiddos should live in a home where their parents think they hung the moon - and the kids should know that their parents think they hung the moon (....sorry, slowly stepping off of soap-box). But, I was delighted when our photographer went out of her way to gush over our little Ian. She told us he was one of the cutest she has ever photographed and that choosing which photos to select to present to us for possible purchase was the toughest "edit job" she ever had to do because she wanted to keep every single one of them (we still had 87 pictures to choose from). If she had that tough of a time selecting her favorites, can you imagine how difficult that was for us since we have all the love and emotional connection business going on as well.....let's just say we emerged from the office hours later and pounds lighter - it was a physically and emotionally challenging process!

Anyway, we do not yet have all of the images because some of them are currently being framed, but I wanted to share the pictures we do have. One of them is the photo of Annalise and Ian on the top of the blog so I won't repost that one and I will post the others when we get them.

Also, I like to share my favorite things with my friends so I'd like to share a little info about our photographer, her name is Sandy Puc. SHE IS AMAZING, as a photographer and as a human being. I want to be Sandy when I grow up. I can honestly say that I have only personally known a very few people that give back to worthy causes as much as Sandy has - and I'm all for supporting people that support other people. I have attached a link to her studio website and to her charity's website (you may have heard about them, they have been featured on the news and in several magazines). Her organization (Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep) goes into hospitals and takes the most amazing portraits of babies that are too sick to ever go home and provides these families with professional portraits free of charge....before I was a mommy this idea really hit me the wrong way....but now I think it is one of the most amazing gifts a family could receive in such a desperate and dark time. So, If you are in need of any sort of family pictures, I would highly recommend Sandy Puc of Expressions Photography.

Expressions Website: http://www.expressionsphotos.com/home.shtml
Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep Website: http://www.nowilaymedowntosleep.org/

Evanovich, baby!!

2009-07-18T11:34:00.008-06:00

Today, I'm sharing with all of my fellow bookworms, those that like or love a bookworm, aspire to be a bookworm, sat next to a bookworm once, or anyone that has any plans to ever read a book in their lifetime.

I am a bookie, not the kind that takes your money to place bets, but the kind that doesn't just like books but LOVES books. Prior to having babies, I constantly had more than one book going and still could never get through my "too read" pile. Since having babies, my consumption of literature consists of reading assembly instructions for miscellaneous baby contraptions and road signs - job requirements for the caregiver of two little ones and two teens that do not yet have drivers licenses. However, there is one guilty pleasure that I look forward to every summer that I simply will not forego, regardless of how busy my life gets. Each summer, Janet Evanovich releases a new Stephanie Plum book. You may have seen them out and about, they always have the number in the series in the title (One For the Money, Two for the Dough, etc.) When I say these books are my guilty pleasure I mean guilty pleasure for sure - they will not teach you to be a better person, increase your understanding of your fellow human being, or even increase your vocabulary......but you will laugh out loud more times than you can count, turn pages quickly trying to figure out "who done it", and begin mourning once you hit the halfway point in the book because you are reminded that you will be finished much sooner than you would like to be. I will be enjoying a little "pool time" in the near future and just purchased "Fearless Fourteen" and I'm like a little kid on Christmas morning (you don't have to tell me, I already know I'm nerdy). For those of you that read the Stephanie Plum series, yes I know that she just released "Finger-Lickin' Fifteen". So why am I one book behind in the series, you might ask? Well, first of all, when the new hardcover comes out, the previous book is released in paperback for at least 40% off, meaning I can buy it for about four bucks rather than the cost of a new release (hey! I'm not cheap....I'm just financially aware!). Secondly, and most importantly, I treat my books like they are my children. The covers and pages are in pristine condition when I finish reading them, never will I dog-ear a page, highlight, write, or even allow a blemish on the cover.....so when it comes to the book I bring to the pool, I will be much less heartbroken if it is my little paperback that gets water-logged or sun-tan lotioned than a hardback. So there you have it, my reasons for always being one book behind, even if you really didn't care why.

Enough of explaining and defending my neuroses, please go read these books now - you won't be sorry!
Do you have a favorite book or series of books? If so, let me know about it. I'd love to add it to my "too read" pile!

Watch Out Taylor Swift......A Star is Born!

2009-07-16T22:02:00.006-06:00

Let me begin by stating that my entire life I have avoided being in the spotlight. Attention makes my palms sweaty and large black spots appear in my line of sight, so avoiding anything that captures the attention of others is my modus operandi. Brian is basically of the same make-up when it comes to these matters. That makes it difficult for me to explain what happens in this video. We have created a child that......performs......I'm getting clammy just thinking about it.

So, this is how it went down. For those of you that don't know, Trev is a guitar fanatic and has gotten quite good recently. He practices everyday and then in the evenings we convene in his room for "Trev's Bedroom Concert Series". Last night, we had a guest vocalist. While Trev was wailing away, Annalise picked up the microphone and the following ensued.......watch out Hollywood, here we come!

A New Leaf?

2009-07-15T08:29:00.007-06:00

Well all, I believe it is apparent that I have fallen off of the blog wagon....in a BIG way! I will not make excuses but merely admit that I have. But I am beginning to feel drawn in a super committed way to making this blog a regular part of my day. I know it is a belief of some that blogs are for those of us that can't get enough of ourselves and think that our lives are somehow so amazing that the world will benefit from reading about them. This has been somewhat of a roadblock for me in the past - being the people pleaser that I am I shutter at the thought of having someone think ill of me and/or my blog. So, what has gotten me over this hurdle and thrust me into the arena of wanting to spew my life all over this silly web....it is simply....my babies. I will confess that well I have had great intentions of scrapbooking and filling baby books with oodles of adorable babyness (ha, I made up a word) life right now just doesn't seem to allow me the means to get this accomplished. I have realized that blogging is kind of the best of both scrapbooking and baby booking (ha, I made up another word) in that I can preserve favorite memories and pictures at the same time. AND there are now these great companies that will turn your blog into a memory book....what a great gifty for the kiddos when they are grown. There you have it - my reasons for rededicating myself to this crazy process - they are my sweet bundles of baby deliciousness - Annalise and Ian. For those of you that are more visual, I hope this will provide all of the clarity necessary!

Reasons I Have Not Kept Up with my Blog

2009-01-14T15:46:00.002-07:00

1) Ian Michael Ault was born on Dec. 1st which now means I have two babies under two years of age.

2) Our family computer is dying a slow and painful death. It has been a use at your own risk situation.

3) Because of item number 2, I asked for a new computer for Christmas.

4) Because of item number 3, those of you that know me understand my "technical challenges" and realize how difficult it is for me to navigate a new computer. I am just downright scared. I had the computer for 2 weeks before I even took it out of the box because I was scared I would break it.

5) I want to install photo software on my new computer before I download new photo's on it. Because of item number 3 you now understand why it was necessary for me to write this line item.

6) Most days I have to get very creative with my scheduling to find time for a shower, forget about writing a witty and interesting blog.

7) Have I mentioned that I have two under two......and two teenagers.......I'm surprised I remember how to type.

8) Pregnancy amnesia is a very real condition and most days I don't remember my name...so I could I possibly remember I have a blog to update.

9) During the mellow moments of my day, I choose to stare at my beautiful babies. Sorry, I do love to blog but they are so gorgeous I find myself unable to stop staring at them.

10) Have I mentioned that I have two under two.....and two teenagers.....and two dogs.....and a wonderful husband...........

Thanks for still checking my blog. I promise to get my technical glitches worked out and get pics up of the gorgeous kiddos.

Love,
Kristen

I know I am a bad, VERY BAD blogger

2008-11-10T17:48:00.003-07:00

Hi All,

For those of you tenacious souls that still check this blog on occasion even though it hasn't been updated in eon's, I am trying to get back in business here. We do have a few new rumblings in our home that have us on our toes!

- we have a baby boy due in 4 weeks..........krikies, that is going to be here in no time
- Brian started a new job downtown........the commute is a killer
- Zach and Trev started school......Zach is in high school......and has his driving permit (Lord help us all)
- we are adding a bedroom and bathroom in the basement for Zach, as the new baby will need to be upstairs near us..........and yes, we have managed to outgrow the house.

I recently took a photography class and will be uploading some new photos soon.

Love you all,
K

Bahama Mama's (and Dudes...but it obviously doesn't have the same ring to it)

2008-04-09T21:15:00.010-06:00

Here are some pics from our Spring Break trip to Paradise Island. Sorry to be tardy but I'm caught up in planning Annalise's very first birthday party (can you believe it is here already?!!!!) and battling some nasty bug I caught from my stent in the giant germ tube (aka airplane) last week.

I'll be brief since there are lots of pictures attached to this post. In a nutshell we had a great time! Annalise did great on the airplane, lots of time was spent kicking back around the pool, we saw Jason Alexander in the pool and at the lobby Starbucks, ate lots of yummy food, and had to come back way too soon in everyone's opinion. Enjoy the pictures, and I'll be chatting again soon!

Here is the crew headed for our sandy, sunny retreat. Don't think us too fancy for the sweet ride - it was cheaper than parking two vehicles at the airport for the week. But it was pretty fun and
Annalise loved ditching her car seat!

Annalise had lots of fun poking her head over the seats and pulling Zach and Trev's hair!

The great flight crew made Annalise feel welcome on her very first airplane ride. She got to sit in the Captain's chair AND wear his hat......how cool is that?

If you have never seen a cockpit (which I hadn't) here is a peek.....it is a tight squeeze!

Here are the two divas ready to hit the pool. Annalise's watermelon bikini and sun hat were such a hit! We had total strangers stopping to talk so they could get a closer look :)

Annalise and daddy headed out for her very first swim! She is giving us her best Elvis impersonation...."thank you, thank you very much"

Here is our family taking Annalise on her very first swim. She absolutely loved it! She had serious prune skin and cried when we took her out.

I absolutely love this picture! Annalise posing on the beach with big brother Zach.....the camera could hardly handle the cuteness!

We will be signing autographs from 4-5pm only. Please respect our privacy at this time. Have you people no respect for celebs trying to get a little well-deserved R&R??!!

Annalise had some pretty tasty meals on this trip. She had an amazing appetite, maybe it was all the swimming. Here she is having lunch with daddy.

Annalise had so many exciting moments on this trip, but the event that took the cake for her was the aquarium. She was absolutely mesmerized! This is Annalise gazing at an ENORMOUS ray - you can't tell but the wing-span on this puppy was about 10 feet!!

This is my favorite Annalise shot from the trip. Isn't she too cute for words? She loved gazing at the "Shishies". Yes, I'm still waiting for her to say "mama"......but I'm NOT bitter!

We found Nemo. He obviously picked up some chic and settled down in a posh reef in the Caribbean.

I bet Nemo rode in on his white horse....I mean seahorse....and swept his chic off her fins. (I really crack myself up sometimes.......)

This was very cool but very creepy. The fam is traveling through a tube surrounded by sharks. When we looked up we realized we were so far under that we couldn't see the surface....YIKES!

This was immediately after exiting the shark tube. See how happy we all look!

Nana and Papa in front of the "predator lagoon". I love this picture. Thanks for coming with us and enhancing the joy of our trip! It was great to share this time with you!

Brian could add photographer to his resume. I took at least 50 pictures of the water lilies in front of the hotel lobby. Brian took one. Any guesses who took this one? (hint: it wasn't me)

Early Easter

2008-04-01T11:21:00.009-06:00

Hi All! I am so sorry it has been so long since my last post. I know how much of a bummer it is when you check a blog over and over waiting for new info, only to be disappointed to learn that your loved one is falling down on their job.

We have had a very hectic (but fun) couple of weeks. We took the kiddos to the Bahamas for Spring Break and the week before I spent in overdrive trying to get everything ready for the trip. It is AMAZING how much stuff you have to pack for a baby! The wonderful thing about it though was that I got off the hook for having the most luggage :)

I will post pics of the trip as soon as I get them all organized. We have them off of the camera(s) but I haven't yet sorted them, so stay tuned!

You are probably wondering why I haven't talked about "Early Easter" yet, since I titled this posting as such - know that you aren't confused I just ramble and talk WAY TOO much most of the time. So here goes. We did an abbreviated Easter (nice dress clothes for church and opened Easter baskets) the Sunday before Easter since we were going to be on a plane to the Bahamas on Easter Sunday. This was a tough thing for me. I am the type of person that buys into the "whole holiday package". I enjoy spending holidays surrounded by family and friends trying to pay homage to the spirit of that given holiday. I actually have no recollection of ever spending a holiday doing something other than celebrating the holiday. This being Annalise's first Easter added another layer of mixed feeling for me as I wanted to dress her up in an Easter bonnet and white gloves, watch her first Easter egg hunt, eat ham, dye Easter eggs...you get the picture. So when we discovered that the boys Spring Break began on Easter weekend and we would be traveling (we promised them a Spring Break trip last summer when we skipped summer vacation due to travel restrictions with Annalise's heart condition, so there was no turning back on the promise), a large lump developed in my throat. An Easter without church, no Resurrection sermon, no family gathered around the Easter brunch table - instead I'm going to be in sweat pants riding on an airplane and munching on the world's smallest bag of pretzels! EEEK!

I fully realize that there are gobs of people in this world that love the idea of Christmas on a cruise ship or a ski slope, eating Thanksgiving dinner in a restaurant or a condo somewhere far from home, that’s just not me. I am however, married to a wonderful man that enjoys the adventure-filled holidays and Zach and Trev are right there with him. They have all indulged my traditions and spent the holidays since I’ve been around in true Kristen fashion. It was definitely my turn to make a contribution to the melting pot of marriage and open up to different traditions. It did end up being a great trip, we had tons of fun, and created many terrific family memories. At the end of the day, varying my traditions to include the wishes of my family involved taking a vacation to the Bahamas – NOT too tough if you really think about it :)

Happy belated Easter everyone!

Annalise, Zach and Trev on Easter day, 2008. Aren't they precious?

Annalise with some treasures from her 1st Easter basket. Thank you Nana and Papa for the goodies, I love them!

I'm digging for some goodies!

If only Mommy would let me eat these jelly beans!!

Trev and Annalise are best buddies!

My moment with God!

2008-03-12T12:20:00.008-06:00

Okay, as I sit down to create this entry I am filled with mixed emotions. Great excitement that this moment finally occurred in my life and some hesitation because my relationship with God is something I have viewed as personal (which I believe is completely wrong by the way) so I am a bit uncomfortable on my "new legs" as I talk about my God moment, especially in such a public forum. Isn't it funny how you can be a believer most of your life (as far back as I can remember) but be so stingy with the things God has done for you for fear of scaring people away with your religion? I confess this sad fact about myself and pray that God will teach me to fearlessly share Him with others.........that's really what we're here for anyway, right?

Anyway, back to my God moment story. My whole life I have heard people say things like "God told me to do ........" or while I was praying God said to me......." I must admit for several years I thought these people were just a bit off their rocker but as I grew older I became jealous that others had experienced such intimacies with God. It's not that I had never felt God's nudging or that He was leading me, I have several times in my life, but I have never actually heard Him say something to me and I really longed for that. Well, I'm happy to say it finally happened!

On Monday afternoon, Annalise and I headed down to Trinidad to stay with my parents for a few days so that Annalise wouldn't be exposed to the sinus infection Trev is currently battling. Annalise was awake for the entire 2.5 hour drive and babbled or fussed most of the time. However, there was a moment when we were climbing the large hill to Colorado City that Annalise fell silent and all I could hear was my country radio blasting. I didn't hear a physically audible voice, but inside I heard a voice tell me to turn off my radio (those of you who know me well realize what a huge request this is since I don't enjoy quiet and ALWAYS have a radio or TV going to drown out the silence) and be quiet because God wanted a moment with me. (Yes, I know what some of you may be thinking because I have thought the same thing......she's out there, or she's a holy roller, or something along those lines.) So, I turned down my radio and awaited God's cue and sure enough, as I crested the hill I saw the most glorious sunset. It was God and He took the opportunity to show me something beautiful and let me know that He was right there with me. I can't accurately describe the experience with words but I knew God was there, He filled up my truck, I could feel His presence and it was incredible!

See, I have really been working on my relationship with God lately. Life has had more than its fair share of challenges for our family and I have naively tried to draw upon myself to find the solutions. I'm sure it won't surprise anyone when I say that I have failed miserably. Which is exactly what I needed to turn my stubborn head in the direction it should have been in the first place, up toward Him who loves me unconditionally and provides everything I will ever need. I have asked Him to be more obviously present in my life and to comfort me, I have asked the Holy Spirit to fill me and for God's hands to guide my steps in all areas of my life - wife, mother, daughter, sister, friend, etc. Let me tell you, He is doing it and it is wonderful. I pray that anyone who reads this and thinks I'm wacky will have the same amazing experience someday and will realize just as I have that God is not a distant God, but is a God that is intimate and reveals Himself to us - we just have to remove the scales from our eyes so we can see Him.

Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits-
who forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit
and crowns you with love and compassion,
who satisfies your desires with good things
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.

Psalm 103:2-5

Have a blessed day!

To Curl or not to Curl, that is the question!

2008-03-06T15:49:00.008-07:00

It's surprising to me the things that occupy my thoughts now that I am a mommy - such as baby hairstyles. Being raised in Colorado where hair, makeup, and clothes are generally determined by ease and comfort, I really never imagined spending so much time trying to decide what to do with Annalise's hair. When she was born she had this baby mohawk thing going, which has been really cute but now the top is getting long and the bangs are in her eyes. I'm hesitant to cut it because the hair around her head really isn't growing so I want to keep what hair is there.....so what to do about the bangs in the eyes? Well, I had the bright idea of putting a cute little curl on top. The idea was good but the results are questionable at best. At least she was a good sport!

Not only were the rollers fun to play with, they were tasty too!

And they also kind of tickled :)

One day I'm going to be upset with my Mommy for posting this picture!

Daddy and I are composing a little blues tune about baby hair mishaps.

And the first word is (drumroll please).........

2008-03-05T08:38:00.004-07:00

Coco. Yes the Chocolate Lab gets the honor of being the recepient of Annalise's first purposeful word....sigh. Annalise has babbled Mama, Dada, Nononono, and Nana for months now but we have never consistently gotten the impression that she KNEW what she was saying. Dada has been her favorite word (which has made Brian very proud); however, while Dada can be Brian, Annalise has also labeled things such as a flushing toilet, the dogs, Mommy, and to my total humiliation almost any random teenage boy "Dada".

Yesterday morning, I was feeding Annalise her bottle when Coco wandered up to the edge of the sofa to say good morning. I rubbed her head and said "Hi Coco", just like I do most mornings and Annalise spit out her bottle and said "Coco". I looked at Brian and said "did you hear that or am I imagining things?" He agreed that she said Coco but we kind of wrote it off to be one of the other words she babbles without association. However, the rest of the morning she followed Coco around the house calling her name, she'd point to Coco from across the house and say "Coco" and last night she walked up to Coco as she was trying to sleep on the couch, gently patted her (which is drastically different from the fur, tail and ear pulling that normally occurs), laid her head on Coco's side, and said "Coco". At that moment, I knew my months of preaching Mama and Dada in hopes that we would be the objects of her first purposeful word were in vain. Coco has the honors.

Well, in this I will count my blessings. I'm thankful the word wasn't "no" or "mine", and I will admit Coco has endured much baby induced torture over the past few months so this is a nice reward for her. I will however keep this story in mind for the first opportunity I have to dole out a Mommy guilt trip. I can hear myself now. "Right in the midst of your second week with the stomach flu, after poor Mommy had spent day after day changing 2 to 3 poopy diapers an hour, staying up with you at 2 in the morning, making you special food, rocking you when you were fussy, etc. you decided to say your first word. And it was Coco, not Mama, but Coco" (all true by the way, I didn't have to resort to concocting some story about how it was an uphill walk both on my way to school and back home). Wow, even as I wrote this I am shocked at how easily the words of my future guilt trip flow........this must be a new super power I somehow acquired during the birthing experience!

A bit of a rewind

2008-02-09T12:48:00.014-07:00

It is a bit difficult for me as a new mommy to just dive in with new info now that Annalise is 9 months old without rewinding a bit so I can catch some of you up (and show off pics of adorable moments leading up to now). I'll start by saying that she is the most beautiful, intelligent, curious, joyful baby ever to bless this planet with her presence (I'm positive no other mommies have ever felt this way :)). Annalise is an amazing little girl and in her short time on earth has been touched by God's hand and has proven to the masses that the Lord is so very present in our daily trials.

See, Annalise was born with two congenital heart defects - basically two holes in the middle of her heart. She was diagnosed at 2 weeks of age. One hole was fairly minor and would allow her to grow up and live a mostly normal life. The other hole was large and required open-heart surgery to repair. I had a total meltdown in the Cardiologist's office. We were told that there was a less than 1% chance that this sweet baby's heart could heal to where surgery wasn't necessary (because sometimes these defects will "heal themselves"). Because Annalise's heart was operating well enough that she was able to breathe and eat without too much difficulty, the doctor's decided to wait until she was 3 months of age to schedule her surgery. So home we went where I spent so many days angry, sad, worrying, optimistic....basically feeling every emotion out there. Finally I did what I should have done all along....given it to God. We had prayer groups literally all over the world praying for Annalise - from India (yes the country) to our own backyard. There were folks we had never met spending time with God asking for Him to heal her heart.

When Annalise was 3 months, we headed back to the Cardiologist for a status check. After listening to her heart, the doctor thought the holes "sounded smaller" (isn't it amazing that someone can hear a healing heart?!). We were told to return when she was 4 months old for a repeat ultrasound and her pre-op workup. Well, after hundreds of ultrasound pictures of her heart, the cardiologist could find no evidence of either hole and told us to go home and enjoy our baby!! Can you believe it! She's our little less than 1%. Thank God for healing her so that she would not have to endure that surgery.

She is a miracle in more ways than I can mention. Annalise is the happiest baby I have ever seen, even through the tougher spots in her first 3 months of life. She is so energetic (walking, yes walking, at 9 months), smart and loving - I never could have anticipated how great being her mommy would be.

Enjoy some of our memorable moments.....

Annalise's very 1st baby picture.....

Annalise with her big brother Trev, she loves him so much!

Annalise with big brother Zach. These boys make such a fuss over her and love on her like I never could have imagined......what a blessing!

Annalise indulging in a Mommy and Daddy sandwich kiss.

We love to have baby modeling sessions where we dress Annalise up and take lots of pictures. This is the face we get when she has lost patience with us!

Annalise with Uncle Greg and Aunt Madonna at her first Air Force football game. The Falcons beat the Army. The flyovers and the National Anthem were amazing!

Annalise, Mommy and Daddy at Children's Hospital right after hearing the amazing news that Annalise's heart was healed!!!

Brian was so excited about the World Series that he went out and got everyone something Rockies to wear..........this is Annalise's outfit.

Annalise posing with her Papa on her 1st Halloween. Isn't she the cutest ladybug ever?!!!

Annalise and Daddy at the park in Crested Butte, Colorado.

The big family gathering for Nana and Papa Holderness' birthday celebrations.

Now that we have Thanksgiving out of the way, let's bring on Christmas....I love my Nana!

This one is for the Ohio Ault's, here is your little Christmas Buckeye!

Annalise's 1st Christmas picture with Papa and Nana Holderness.

Annalise's 1st Christmas morning, she was much more interested than any of us expected.

Blogging New-bee

2008-02-07T12:20:00.003-07:00

Well here goes. I am so techie-challenged that I hope you all bear with me as I learn. I already am feeling a bit more young, and cool (is cool stil an "in" word.....how about "hip".....oh well). I am creating this post so I can share the life of our rapidly evolving and active family with family and friends. I hope you all enjoy and look forward to more frequent communications!