She's a beaut, Mark!

Our Thanksgiving break went all too quick and we weren't anxious to return Bailee to school. We were however, looking forward to our annual Tree Tromp while she was still with us. Since we have been getting our tree in the Snowy Range, it made sense to make an outing of Sunday and 

get the tree before taking her to her dorm in Laramie. 

Thankfully the weather continued to be beautiful and didn't mess up our plans.  It was so nice that we weren't able to sled like we usually do ...  always trade-offs I guess:)

I think it was little Sam that came this outing

We tromped around for a while before finding this beaut! It seems like just when one of us sees a good one, someone else spots one equally as good. It came down to a vote.

traditional pic with the saw in Karsyn's hands

Mark went to work cutting down the Engelmann spruce, while the rest of us just stood around and watched... HA!  Some of us did (try to) help too!

I wanted a nice picture for our Christmas card this year. So we played around with that....

When Emm insisted we also do a funny one ... it was a bit of a disaster and someone ended up in the snow!

We "warmed up" with hot chocolate and donuts/muffins.

The cocoa was a little too hot so we problem solved and used snow as a cooler

And there she is ... ready to make the trip down the mountain into Laramie and then 

through the canyon to Wellington.

It was late afternoon when we got into Laramie. Emmrey was so excited she cartwheeled across campus (although she wasn't excited to leave Bay there)

We grabbed something to eat at Washakie before heading home. It was quiet when we first got there and then slowly students started filling in. A visual reminder that break was over:( The good news is we will see her in a few weeks and this time her break will be long (maybe too long for her;)

that girls head lined up perfectly for the shot;)

#OptOutside

On Black Friday, Bailee met a couple of her high school friends at Starbucks to catch up.

She invited Kars along so they could do some Christmas shopping after.

So while the two of them spent the day in Old Town ... Mark, Emmrey and I participated in #OptOutside.

We drove to Lory State Park and hiked around a bit. Little Yoon also came along:)

We have been having some mild winter weather around here and we are loving it. The hike was pretty short, and I am pretty sure Mark was disappointed that we didn't do a more intense one. 

Sometimes you make sacrifices in order to keep it a positive experience for everyone.

It was a fun way to spend part of the day. 

I'm glad Mark suggested getting outside rather than fighting the crowds:)

Give Thanks 2017

Thanksgiving this year was a quiet one with just our little clan. The highlight was having Bay home for the first time since leaving for college. We have gone to visit her, but she hasn't been home. One of her friends is from the Denver area and so when her mom was picking her up on Tuesday to take her home, they offered to drop off Bailee since they would be going right through here. It worked out great since I was working that day and Mark would fly in Wednesday morning from Salt Lake. 

It saved us a trip Wednesday afternoon and got her home a day early. 

cute door hanger from my parents

We spent Wednesday relaxing and preparing food. 

Mark prides himself with the family rolls and was trying to share his wisdom with the girls;)

Thanksgiving was low key. Mark and I went for an early walk while the girls slept in. 

We stuffed ourselves with our traditional meal about 2:00. 

Emmrey shared some tidbits about Thanksgiving history with us while we ate.

We waited a few hours before breaking out pie ... 

... this year we limited it to Pumpkin and Reese's Pie (made by Bailee)

We tried a family picture. ....

We hung Emmrey's turkey again this year and I think it's funny that our semi-vegetarian still won't eat anything that resembles an animal. If it's disguised well she has less of an issue.

She was so mad when they wrote these last year and always reminds me that what she really wanted to write was a case to not eat meat at all but the assignment was to choose and alternative to Turkey;)

 Weather was nice enough for Mark to build a fire in the pit to burn some dead garden stuff.

We ended the day watching Planes, Trains and Automobiles which the (teen) girls have decided is somewhat of a tradition.  I was shocked and a little embarrassed for not paying closer attention to the rating, because we have all watched it together numerous times. I have ignorantly been subjecting my small children to an R-rated movie!! Ah well.... it is a classic and I guess I will just chalk it up to the way movie ratings have changed over the years:/  So so THANKFUL for this crazy crew of mine!

Lumpy Ridge

The Veteran's Day holiday left Mark with a day off work, but the girls still in school. It's not often that we end up with this combination so we took advantage of the day and headed to Estes Park for some outdoor time. Due to some construction, we ended up taking a different route through Allenspark and stumbled upon The Chapel on the Rock. 

It was stunning and although you can't see it well from this angle, it is build on a rock formation.

The chapel was built in 1936 inspired by the biblical phrase "upon this rock I will build my church", and was visited by the Pope in 1993. A statue of Jesus overlooks the grounds.  An unexpected gem for sure!

We hiked around Lumpy Ridge, a 11 mile loop of various trails. We didn't have any destination in mind and only went about 4 miles out and back. We came prepared with snowshoes and ended up not needing them, but I was glad to have my Yaktrax through the dicey spots.

We took the Black Canyon Trail around various rock formations. 

This one is famously known as Twin Owls for obvious reasons.

It was a nice quiet hike, with only a few others on the trail. The weather was beautiful and we enjoyed our snack on some sun warmed boulders before heading back to the car.

We stopped in at Penelope's for a burger and grabbed some Caramel Corn 

before heading home to meet the girls.

This kind of day makes me happy:)

Trick or Treat 2017

With the school festivities complete, we headed to main street for the downtown Trick or Treat. I love the atmosphere, but kinda despise the lack of effort the kids have to put into filling their buckets.

 The weather was cool, but nice enough to still be comfortable without jackets.

 Emmrey got lots of compliments on her costume and lots of remarks about "mimes don't talk", when she said Trick or Treat or Thank You:)

 We met Karsyn at home after she got off the bus and had pizza for dinner. Kars didn't necessarily want to collect candy, but she offered to take Emmrey around the neighborhood. In my theme driven mind, I had envisioned us being a family of mimes. When I presented the idea, Kars wasn't too fond of it and suggested that she would like to be a nurse instead {her future plans as of now}. I wrestled with some disappointment before reminding myself that Halloween isn't all about me and if my 15 year old wants to dress up, she ought to be able to wear something she is excited about.

 I dressed as a mime with Emm and rather than have Kars be the odd man out, Mark dressed as a patient. His buns peaking out from the gown were a little too full and unless he was sitting they looked more like two huge potatoes {or hemorrhoids}.  Ah well... he is always a good sport!

Our girls are good friends with two sisters, Kennedy and Raigan. They arranged to be dropped off in our neighborhood and they went Trick or Treating together. 

The candy haul was ridiculous as usual, but I do love that kids around here still do traditional Trick or Treating. It seems like all these community and church events are pulling families away from it.

Bailee had a Biology exam on Halloween and missed out on the festivities. It was strange not having her around. She did send me this a couple of days before ... creepy!

Another Halloween in the books!!!

Halloween Parade and Party

Eyestone held their traditional Halloween parade on Tuesday and I had offered to coordinate the 5th grade classroom party. They have very little time to change and get ready for the parade in the afternoon, so we skipped the white face makeup.

Emmrey and  some classmates lining up

The 5th graders start the parade so I grabbed a spot in the main hallway so I could get back to the classroom for their party before the parade was over. 

I decided to do a Popcorn Bar. We had several different kinds of popcorn along with various mix-ins they could add. The kids LOVED it and it was great not having 20+ packages of cupcakes/cookies;) The parents were so awesome to jump into action right away and we had plenty to go around.

By the time the parade was over and the kids got their popcorn, there was only about 30 minutes left in the school day{ +clean up time}. I had a few games scattered around the room for kids that wanted to play. I also set up a camera on a tripod with a very simple backdrop for the kids to take their own photos. 

The kids were fascinated with tripod.  I snagged a photo with Emmrey and the incredible Miss Neal. This is her first year teaching and Emmrey really likes her.  The class is a pretty great group of kids too.

The afternoon was fast and furious but the kids had a great time!