Santa 2013

We haven't had much success with happy go lucky visits with Santa in the past. But we finally got the kid that will gladly sit with him!! You'll be able to tell from the (extremely-blurry-phone) pics below which one of our kids it is. One of our kids loves the dude and the other kid is firm on his opinion----not a fan (of his lap). The one that is not a fan has watched from afar and would rather 'send him an email' instead. He also states that 'maybe he'll be ready when he's six'.

The kiddo that is a fan has requested that he bring him 'a candy cane' and 'iron man socks'. He may very well be the only kid on the planet that has ever requested socks for Christmas.













I love how different our boys are from one another. I'm proud that the each stay true to their convictions. In this case, one makes for a much cuter photo op ;)

(Edited to add the following photo;)





This is the photo that was posted in our local paper. They did a full spread with every kid that sat with Santa. We thought perhaps being in the paper might be enough of a draw for Coop but we thought wrong.

Thanksgiving 2013

Today we went on a beautiful sunny Thanksgiving hike. We are missing our family but are thankful for each other and thinking of you all from a far.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Halloween 2013

Hey, that rhymes.

Another fun (but chilly) Estes Halloween in the books. Coop dressed up as "Aladar", a dinosaur from a movie released in the early 2000's. He discovered the flick when we went to WA and stayed with Aunt Jennifer over 2 years ago. Not many kids know who Aladar is. I think the movie went straight to video when it was released ;). Thanks to EBay, the costume was easier to come by then I would have thought.

Cruz was "Super Hero Tuxedo Man" with his best buddy, Rocco. They were actually Harry and Lloyd from the movie, Dumb and Dumber. They of course, didn't know this but their Mother's sure ate it up. An added bonus is that Rocco's mom majored in costume design! This is probably the last year I can have any type of influence in what either of our kid's costumes will be and I went with it. Before you question my motives, I'll have you know that Cruz LOVED his costume and still wants to wear it daily. They had quite the fan club too. Numerous people wanted to take the duo's picture. Coop jumped in several of the pictures too. Cruz and Rocco quickly learned that people could take their picture but they wanted candy in return. Smart kids!

Coop also had a super fun class Halloween party that we all got to be a part of. I've included a few pics of his kindergarten parade as well.





























"Ninja Turtle" fan club. These girls asked to take their picture and shrieked like giddy High School girls that D & D is one of their favorite movies. Who knew? I don't think they were even born when the movie came out. It just goes to show that classic potty humor knows no age. The boys were just as star struck to be surrounded by TMNT's. Totally win-win.

Hello There

Well hello there blog, it's been awhile. There has been quite a bit going on since my last post. Enough stuff that I just don't have the energy to catch up in full detail. A quick synopsis doesn't do any of these events justice but perhaps one day, I might have the desire to dedicate more time to some of these events. Until then, here's a recap (in chronological order NOT in order of importance;

-Coop lost his first tooth.
-We put an offer on a house.
-We said farewell to our sweet boy, Targhee (after a month of waiting for him to tell us 'it was time').
-We witnessed a '1000 yr flood of Biblical proportions'.
-I got involved in a t-shirt fundraiser for flood relief.
-We proceeded with the purchase of our home.
-We moved into said home.
-Both boys completed a season of soccer.
-We eagerly await the moment when we can finally flush our toilet like civilized human beings in our new home.




































That's pretty much it.....

Kindergarten Coop

Coop started Kindergarten last Weds. We've made it through 5 whole days already. So far, it has been nothing but good. He loves his teacher and is on an Elementary School high! Every day I pick him up he asks when he gets to go back and tonight after soccer practice he wanted to go back to Kindergarten right then and there. We're off to a good start I'd say.

On day 3 he asked if he could walk to his classroom by himself. I asked him if he'd humor me a little longer so that Cruz and I could walk the halls with him and be a part of his day. Both yesterday and today I took a chance and walked in with him again. He didn't say anything but I'm sure he's going to kick me to the Kindergarten curb very soon.

I'll have you know that I did not shed a tear the first morning I dropped him off. He was excited and I was at peace. I did feel a little guilty because numerous Moms have told me how distraught they were and how the cried for days!?!? Coop is happy and I am proud!

Mark missed his first week but luckily was home for Coop's open house the week before so he at least got to meet Coop's teacher and see his classroom. We'll catch him up to speed once fire season is over. Only six more weeks!!!!!!

Our First-Morning-of-Kindergarten pics didn't start off very well. Coop was not happy with the shirt I chose for him to wear. I was panicked because every shot I took looked like this;




Does that look like a Happy Kindergartner or what? Luckily, he came around when I told him he didn't want to start his first day boo-hoo'ing about a SHIRT. Kindergarteners don't fuss about such nonsense ;)

His eyes are still a little puffy here but he's slowly coming around........



Targ did his best to tell him how proud he was of him.










Welcome to Kindergarten, Coop!!

Camp Farewell

Last week was our final week of summer camp. The boys enjoyed it and SO DID I! It was a wonderful break for all of us. Coop made some new friends that he will be going to ELEMENTARY school (still seems weird to say) with and Cruz gained a whole bunch of confidence and independence. I gained some sanity.

The boys are always humming and singing various camp fire songs that they learned and come to find out, Coop was even enrolled in Dance class. Luckily, I made it to his final performance. Here's a little farewell to camp video.....

During the dance portion, Coop is front and center in the green shirt.

My Project from A Mendonca on Vimeo.

Camping Trip #3

Daddy made it home this past weekend. And he's such a sport that he even went camping with us. Just what he wanted to do after camping in the dirt for 2 weeks. That's true love.

Our camping was a little more luxurious then the camping Mark does for work. We even had a tent.

Cruz was delighted to finally get his birthday cake and celebrate with his Dad. He didn't even notice that it got smashed in the cooler. Best of all, the doggies came with us. It was a pretty special trip for our first overnight trip together as a family.

Camping Trip #2

On the weekend prior to Cruz's birthday, the boys and I went on another overnight camping trip. This time, we drove over trail ridge road to Grand Lake. The drive over trail ridge road is gorgeous. We stopped along the way and did some exploring with the kids at the top amongst the tundra.

Once we arrived on the other side, it rained HARD. It didn't seem to bother the kids though. We slapped on some rain gear and were ready to play. Luckily, the rain let up long enough to pitch our tents.

*Speaking of tents...after our last trip, I decided we needed a bigger tent so I bought a new one. Coop was so excited that he could stand in it.

Our campsite was right on the water and we lucked out with an amazing group campsite. One of the moms brought an inflatable boat which we all enjoyed. We danced, enjoyed the fire and played and played in the water. Luckily, we woke up the next morning to sunshine. So the last several hours we were there was spent soaking up the sun on the beach. We even jumped off the boat and swam in the COLD water.

Cruz is 3!

Cruzie Wuzie Lovebug DoodleBop MaGee is 3!! And sadly, my days of getting to call him that are numbered. As I tuck him into bed and anytime we are snuggling, I've always called him this in a sing-songy voice. But as quick as our baby turned into a "Big Boy", so did his will to be just so. He now quickly replies, "I NOT CWOOZIE WOOZIE WUVBUG......I JUST CWOOZIE". But my Mommy Guilt Manipulator skills can still turn him around by doing a quick curl of the lip and pouty face and the sweet boy comes out. "Okay Mommy, I can still be Cwoozie Woozie Wuvbug....".

Cruz's birthday was last week. Mark is on a longer than normal fire assignment so we will celebrate again as a family this weekend upon his return. In the meantime, we couldn't let the day go by without making him feel special.

Coop and I let Cruz dictate our day for the most part, we woke up and went straight to The Donut Haus in our pj's, played at the park and later on, met a couple of Cruz's buddies at "The Big Slide" for cupcakes, sliding and go carting.

The big slide is pretty steep and showcases our boys' personalities perfectly. Cruz couldn't wait to go all by himself and Coop wanted to sit on my lap. We went several times and even with the peer pressure of several 3 yr olds going by themselves, Coop was still happy as can be riding with me or one of the other grownups we were with. And Cruz was happy as can be whizzing by like a little Tasmanian Devil.

Cruz is such a funny little dude and makes us laugh every day. The past 3 years have been amazing and I can't wait to see how his spunky personality blossoms and grows into the little man he is becoming.

Rocky Grass

Last weekend, our family got to experience Rocky Grass. We purchased our tickets back in January knowing it would be a gamble if Mark would be able to go. But the Bluegrass Gods were looking out for us. Mark came home early and got to go Friday night and Saturday but got called out to leave for Oregon early Sunday.

We knew this festival was a big deal. In fact, way back when we lived in Florida (and Colorado wasn't even on our radar), Mark's boss flew out for it every year.
I had no idea how family friendly it was. It's right on the river, so the kids could play in the sand and in the water, there was a music "petting zoo" where the kids could play instruments, a craft tent and even a second stage that had kiddo bands.

On Sunday, the boys and I went alone and met some friends. It was rainy and we still stayed almost 8 hours. That tells you how much the kids enjoyed it--rain and all. They were Blue Grass troopers.

Some of the pictures below are of the river. There was a break in the clouds and the kids went straight for the water before I even had a chance to change them into their swim suits.

Summer Trip

The boys and I went to St. George to visit my folks for about a week and a half. It went by way too fast but we managed to fill our time with all the things we love about summer in the desert. Our favorite being Grandma & Grandpa time.

During the last 3 days of our visit, we were able to spend time with cousins too. The grandparents got to hang out with all of their grandkids together a the same time. We even got to celebrate Emily's 1st birthday!

United Airlines has started up a direct flight from Denver to St. George which was fantastic. Flying direct is totally doable with the boys. Because of the configuration of the plane (2 seats together), Coop had to sit on his own on the aisle across from Cruz and I. He looked so big and grown up. I told him he looked like he was going on a business trip.

Cruz has entered the superhero phase. A bit early for a not quite 3yr old but that's part of being the younger sibling. He wants to play with whatever his brother thinks is cool. Cruz has taken  this to a whole different level. He is some type of superhero at all times. He likes to mix it up and isn't partial to just one. He insists on wearing some type of mask most of the time (even when he sleeps). During our flights, he was batman. The helmet he is wearing is actually Thor but don't try to tell him that. It's BATMAN and don't you forget it!