Snow!!!!

So it snowed here last week!  I was so excited...but the kids were beyond ecstatic!  They bundled up, boots, jackets, hats,  (after some firm promting) gloves and went out to play.  They are mostly of Brooke.  Peter was being a goof and hiding behind the bushes the whole time, and Heath wouldn't look at me because he was too pre-occupied with the snow! (Also, for my anti-facebook family members, here is the link to the Engagement session I did last week!)

The Sluggish Blogger...

I am so sorry I have really dropped the ball lately with this blog!  I have every intention of blogging...but my computer only works in the basement near the router, and I am never down there because I am chasing kids upstairs!  At night, when I should just break down and do it, I am so exhausted from my day that I am a total vegetable on the couch...and going downstairs in my cold dark basement is not on my list!

So, what is new with the Hays family?  It seems like we need some sort of catch up, because it has been over a month since I blogged!

Bryan has applied for the Endodontics program through the military and has his interview tomorrow.  Tomorrow also happens to be his birthday!!! Happy Birthday my love!  I think he is slowly adjusting to the working life, and misses the life of a student... But the Army has its perks!  He gets every other Friday off, and all federal holidays too, so lately we have had some 3 day work weeks, which means we get to play!

And we have been playing!  We got a mega deal on a multi mountain season ski pass, so we are pretty much ski bums on the weekends.  We even took the kids last week.  They were adorable in their little skis.  Of course, Brooke didn't want me to hold on to her, she just wanted to zoom straight down the mountain.  Peter on the other hand, didn't want me to let go of him.  He was such a chicken.  (go figure...)

Halloween:  We were the cheapest parents every and spent all of 0.00 on their costumes.  To be fair, the kids picked them. Peter was superman, Brooke was 'a dancer' (and wouldn't let me take a single picture!), and Heath was a monkey...and I guess he didn't really get to pick.  It was Peter's old costume.

We have discovered that Peter may be the world's worst soccer player.  We even 'let' him quit halfway through the season.  I was so happy with this because it was so cold during games and all Pete was doing was following the heard of kids with his arms half pulled in his sleeves and flapping his arms like a chicken.  He never once made contact with the ball.  Not once.
  He has moved on to Wrestling and had his first ever tournament this weekend.  Bryan predicted he would get pinned in less than 20 seconds.  I am happy to say he was wrong.  Peter wasn't as bad as we thought he would be!  He is however, the only person I have ever seen wrestling with a big happy grin on his face.  He didn't win any of his matches, but he scored some points and got a metal at the end.  He thinks he got it for being the world's best wrestler.  Just ask him.

Brooke is challenging me on everything.  Just like always.  She does have her cute moments though.  She loves dancing, which is good because I am teaching 3 classes a week out of our home.  She takes all of them.  I just love watching her progress.  She got lucky and has Bryan's feet too.  And great turnout.  I am not sure if she is really my kid...
She is a really good big sister now.  (Most of the time)  I came in to Heath's room last week to find more books in his crib than I even knew we owned.  Brooke decided to help him pass the time by putting about 60 books in his bed for him to read!

Heath is finally talking.  He went from nothing but grunts to complete sentences.  "I want out"  and "Where did it go?" are some of his favorite lines.  He is LOVING Thomas the Tank Engine.  We build train tracks daily and go 'choo' 'choo' all over the house.  He also loves milk, cheese and yogurt.  And I have this feeling he is lactose intolerant.  I switched to a lactose free dairy products (gross!)...wish us luck!

This is typical of Brooke's attire these days:  Leotard, with underwear, and NOTHING else. It is a miracle her hair is in a pony tail.  Most of the time she insists that it is down and in her face.  You would never know it is November by the way this chick dresses.

 

I am super busy, but loving it most of the time.  I love teaching Piano.  And dance.  My 2-3 year old dance class gives me more stress than I care to admit and some days I want to end the class...
I am still jogging with my trust-ee stroller and kids.  My stroller has reached the end of its life and I need to break down and find a new one.  The front wheel broke off a couple weeks ago and ejected Peter from the front of the stoller (no joke!)  Bryan re-attached it, but now it pulls so terribly to the right I think my biceps will show proof in a week or two!
I finally got around to re-doing my kitchen table, and some projects around the house.
I also had 4 photoshoots in October, and a couple more this month.  So ya, I have been a sluggish blogger, but I promise I haven't been sluggish anywhere else in life!

 I found all these frames/mirrors at a thrift store and finally got around to painting them.  I love the way they turned out! 

*Sigh*

October Pictures

Pictures!

I took quite a few pictures last month and didn't get them posted.  Here are a few.  Most of them are of Haley and Mom and I in Telluride.  Enjoy!  I also did a couple photo shoots this month.  I got one of them posted up on my photography blog.  Click Here to see some of them!

October

Well, I am still alive.  Blogging less...but don't worry!  Our lives have been crazy busy.  I got called to the Young Women's program at church.  (I teach the lessons to the 12-13 year old girls during church on Sunday and am in charge of organizing a youth activity on the first Wednesday night of every month).  Bryan got a calling to Boy Scouts and is at the church every Wednesday evening and some Saturdays doing 'scout' stuff.  I am busy teaching piano, and dance, and doing a couple photo shoots here and there.  Bryan is working hard and is busy getting his application together for the Endodontic program.
  Peter switched schools, he started at a charter school a couple weeks ago and I am excited for him and all that he is learning.  It is tougher than the public school he was in, but he is doing great.  He finally eats his dinner, and loves his legos, and is getting really good at reading!  I am teaching him piano lessons and he is doing great! 
Brooke says funny things all the time.  When clothes are inside out, she says "mom!  They are inside-outside!".  She changes her clothes about 4500 times a day.  She also throws about 30 fits a day.  The tantrums drive me crazy.  She is really good at crying, when she doesn't get her way.  Did I mention that it drives me crazy?!  She is taking a nap sometimes. She always wants me to lay down with her and when I do she falls asleep in about 5 seconds.  She is always so sweet to Bryan, and uh, not so much to me!
I do love her and really love when she is not fighting me!
Heath is such an active toddler.  He is truly into EVERYTHING. He isn't talking well, but he does have his token words..."Boat" is his favorite.  After that, it mostly a series of grunts that are pretty much un-audible.  He kind of says "Milk", and "Truck", "Juice", "Fishes"...and that is about it.  He is really good at grunting.  He smiles a ton and has recently picked up the habit of hitting his siblings with the biggest toys he can get his hands on.  He also likes to pull Brooke's hair.  And he does it all with a smile!
  We are enjoying life.  Nothing too exciting is happening, we are just living life and enjoying being here in Colorado!  

Chopped

 Bryan is obsessed with the show "Chopped" on the Food Network.  We met some friends who love the show as much as he does, so we decided to have a double date night and do the competition ourselves. 

Round 1: Appetizers.  Bryan and Eric have 30 minutes to use every ingredient in the basket to come up with an appetizer.  It will be judged by the wives and based on "creativity", "taste", and "presentation."

 I have to admit we were not very kind when it came to the ingrediants. 
We chose: Oatmeal.  Basil.  Canned Tuna Fish.  and Graham Crackers.
    (in case you don't know the rules for Chopped, you can use anything you find in the kitchen to make your meal, but you HAVE to use the four foods in the basket.  Or you lose.)
Here are the final results:

Bryan made a Tuna Quesadilla with a cinnamon graham sauce...
(I know it sounds disgusting, but it was actually edible.  He used lots of cheese, and that may have made all the difference)

 Eric made a grilled Tuna sandwich with marinara and egg, and a caramel oatmeal/graham cracker apple dip. 

 

The result:  The apple dip was absolutely amazing.  The Quesadilla was definately more creative.  They were both plated very well.  Unfortunatley Eric forgot to use the Basil.  So Bryan won by default.  

Next week stay tuned for round 2!  The girls have the dinner entree with the ingredient basket chosen by the boys!

Backtrack to August...

I love living here.  Have I mentioned that before?  We have had so much to do, and met some really great people.  Here are some pictures from various outings.

I LOVE our neighborhood.  This is how a typical summer evening went.  We pull out a lawn chair, get out the bikes, and all the neighbors around us did the same thing.  It was awesome.

I caught them making this contraption last week: They take the handle off the tricylcle, attach the wagon handle, then load up Thomas the Tank Engine and go for a ride.  I wish I was small enough to fit on that wagon!

Peter's first day of School pictures...