The McGurn Family

The Family Photo

2012-02-09T12:36:00.000-08:00

Until now this was our most recent family picture... 1.5 years ago!

So while we were in Green Bay we got a new family picture taken and I love it! I love Jackson's silly smile, Mason's shaggy hair, Matt's trucker beard, and all of us together at once!

Boy Update

2012-02-02T15:36:00.000-08:00

Since I definitely win the "Worst Blogger Award" and the Blog is my way of journaling the boys lives, it is definitely time for an update on them. Plus we just had both of their pictures taken!

Jackson John

3.5 years old
Sleeps with his Grinchy, quilted blankie and crocheted blankie.
Loves to sing, favorite songs include "Jingle Bells", "Rock a Bye Baby", and "The ABC's" (the traditional way, and the "Pig way")
Adores Babies, holding them, feeding them, and anything to do with them.
Could eat Peanut Butter and Jelly every day of the week
Prefers showers to baths
Watches Caillou every day
Loves to ride his bike (and asks us to take his training wheels off daily)
Potty trained wearing pull ups at night
Daily highlight is calling daddy at night
Milk monster
Tucks Mason in for every nap and at night
His favorite book is "Curious George Rides a Bike"
Is positive that he is going to be a "Statue Man" when he is bigger, "Because he is so nice" (The man wearing the statue of liberty costume waving outside of Liberty Tax)
Crazy about Pirates, Pirate ships, Treasure, and the phrase, "Argh Matey"

Mason Curtis

Sleeps with his three blue uglies and crocheted blankie
Loves to point out and list all body parts.

Loves "Super Why" and dancing to the theme song.

Hates riding in the car

Cruises super fast on his razor scooter

Copies everything his brother does

HATES haircuts

Reads Goodnight Moon tons

Loves dogs

Lovers to walk around in everyone else's boots

Hates wearing boots in the car

Loves bathtime

Loves listening to Oldies

Sings the ABC's like this, "ABCDEFGEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE".

Can say about 25 words/phrases (Hello, Bye bye, Night Night, Mama, Dada, Bro, Mine, More, Please, Thank You, NO, Yeah, "My oh My", "Oh Boy", "Happy Birthday", Go, Up, Juice, Grandma, Boots, Shoes, Cow, Eyes, Ears, Nose, Mouth)

Our Green Bay Vaca(tion)

2012-02-01T13:06:00.000-08:00

This year we aren't taking a typical warm vacation, but we had to take advantage of only being 7 hrs away from our good friends Timmy and Libby in Green Bay... hence our 2012 "Green Bay Vaca(tion)".

We were a bit apprehensive to drive 7 hours with the boys, but they were AMAZING! Not one whine or cry the entire drive there, or home!

Although Matt would hate to admit it, we had so much fun in "Packer-land". There was a definite Packer theme to the weekend as we went to dinner at Lambeau on our first night where the boys played with a packer ball on the packer field and I ate "Wisconsin Mac and Cheese with Johnsonville Brats", then the next day Matt won the boys a stuffed bear in a game at the mall at it happened to be a "Packers" stuffed bear. Then we ate at "Titletown" which celebrates the Packers Title wins! Jack may have also learned to chant "Go Pack Go" from Timmy and Libby.

We also went to a carnival where Jack got to jump on an awesome trampoline, he thought it was the coolest thing ever. We wished that we could have done it too... it was pretty sweet!

Then, on Sunday we drove to Milwaukee and met Matt's dad, stepmom, and our niece Ana! We had so much fun with them at the Children's museum. It has been a year and half since we had seen them and it was awesome to spend some great time with them.

Harrison's Quilt

2012-01-31T20:17:00.000-08:00

Back when I found out Britt was pregnant, I bought the fabric to make her a quilt.... then I washed it and packed it up. Then...I waited, and waited, and waited. Finally, with two sewing days left until his induction, I decided I'd better get busy and made this quilt for him! The fabric matches her "Little Lambie" decor from pottery barn. I followed this tutorial and with my mom's expertise I was able to knock it out pretty quickly. My parents brought it out to him, so even though my arms can't be wrapped around him it's nice to know he can be swaddled in a blanket made with love for him by me!

The new little cutie!

2012-01-31T07:45:00.001-08:00

Introducing Harrison Curtis Devane

2012-01-30T20:06:00.000-08:00

After 39 weeks of anticipation, today, January 30th 2012 my new nephew Harrison Curtis Devane was born! 6lbs 15 oz., healthy, and doing wonderful. In 20 days I get to go to Denver to see him, so until then I'm anxiously waiting to see pictures of him! I am so proud of my "baby" sister Brittaney and her husband Brian. They are going to be outstanding parents.

You may wonder the significance of the name "Curtis" being Mason's middle name as well. As some of you know Curtis is my dad's name. His character and influence has made such an impact my life and in my sister's that we both chose to name our son's after him!

More Crafting.

2012-01-22T13:52:00.000-08:00

Today I made another laptop sleeve, I'm really enjoying improving my sewing skills and having something cool to show for it!

Macbook Sleeve Creation

2012-01-17T20:07:00.000-08:00

For Christmas I got a new MacBook laptop! But... since getting it I have been carrying it around in a reusable target grocery bag. Not so stylish. I kept waiting for the opportunity to go to Best Buy and pick out a nice sleeve for it. Finally I got their and their selection was pathetic. So then I went to Etsy with just a few requirements: just a sleeve (not a bag, so I can put it in any bag), stylish, very padded, and pockets for the charger. Turns out that is nearly impossible to find. So... I put my 6th grade Home Ec. sewing skills to the test, and made this! I am pretty pleased with how it turned out, and from the comments on the post I put on Facebook a lot of other people like it too! Hmm... future business opportunity? Anyways, here it is!

Our Dickinson Digs

2012-01-15T11:43:00.001-08:00

On Thursday night I rode back to Dickinson with Matt and got to check out the whole town. The boys stayed in MN with my parents and had an outstanding time. On Friday, we met with a real estate agent, found a house we really like, went to the bank and got our financing approved, put in an offer, and got our offer approved!

With rent up there being outrageous ($1500-$2000 per month for a 2 bedroom apartment!), we decided buying a house would be a better option, what we ended up finding was a house that we can see ourselves staying in for a while, much more than what we originally hoped for!

Last night (Saturday night), I rode the Amtrak home, and then this morning the minute I arrived, my parents took off on the 6.5 hour drive for Dickinson to check out the house and give it their seal of approval! I am so thankful that they are willing to help us along this process!

The house has a bit of work we would like to do on it, but it will be a really comfortable place for us. Here are some pics of our future digs:

BIG BIG BIG News!

2012-01-11T11:54:00.000-08:00

My brother Jake and his wife Britt just announced that they are going to be having a baby, due August 14th! I am so pumped. My sister Britt is also having a baby, due February 4th! This means that not only will I become an Auntie once this year, but twice!

It's sort of funny how things work out, because when both Jake and Britt, and Britt and Bri got married they said, "We're going to wait a while", and "We're not ready". This was sort of disappointing for Matt and I who got pregnant immediately (well...3 months in), because it meant that our boys wouldn't have cousins who they were close in age with. While, God has hand in this one, because unplanned and unexpectedly both Britt's got pregnant! Although it was a bit of a shock for each of them, they have embraced it and are excited about it and Matt and I got our wish for our boys to get cousins close in age!

Oh, and about the lack of Blog posts, sorry. I know I'm a slacker. It has something to do with having limited internet, something to do with losing ALL my pictures on my external hard drive, something to do with being a "Stay at Home Mom" being much busier than I expected', and something to do with this new addiction called that consumes all my online time! (See the link in the sidebar of the Blog... you'll be addicted too!) I promise I'll start trying harder.

Jack's First time skiing!

2012-01-09T15:57:00.000-08:00

Mason singing "happy"

2011-12-28T13:51:00.000-08:00

Mason is learning more and more words every day, yesterday's word was, "happy" and it was so cute to hear him so happy!

Baseball baby

2011-12-20T10:56:00.000-08:00

Mase's new favorite game is "catch" and believe it or not he's actually pretty good at it! He loves to walk around with his mitt and ball. In this picture Mase is wearing his last pair of baby footy pajamas, they've been too small for a few weeks now but I just wasn't able to let go. Makes me sad that my baby is growing up!

This is how I roll.

2011-12-19T21:19:00.000-08:00

To me pushing a limo sized shopping cart with two boys making car noises through Cub is routine, to my mom, it was a sight so hilarious that an iphone picture was necessary. Very funny mom. You just try and navigate that thing!

My Little Cutie

2011-12-12T19:20:00.000-08:00

Mason loves his Christmas hat, and swiffering. How cute is he?

Britt's Shower/ Early Christmas

2011-12-11T12:43:00.000-08:00

As you may have noticed, there was a slight lack of posting lately, that was due to the fact that I've been busy planning my sister's baby shower, and we celebrated an early Christmas with Britt and Bri!
The reason we were celebrating early with them is because my sister is 33 weeks pregnant, which means no my flying after this point! Our weekend with them kicked off with a baby shower in the Cities that her friend Kelsey and I threw together. I was in charge of decorations, and I may have procrastinated a bit, which led to a late night of sewing napkins, banners, and other crafts with some help from Matt! The shower went great though and included tons of great friends, good games, great food, and the decorations looked great!

Then, we all headed back up to the lake for an early Christmas weekend! Jake and Britt also came up so the rest of the weekend involved wonderful gifts, great food, lots of cookie making and ping pong playing, and LOTS of baby talk! We all can't wait for baby Devane to be here! (We don't know his name yet and it is killing me, who would do such a terrible thing to their families???????) Although I've got my money on a certain name (did somebody say Finn???)! Speaking of bets, we also all put bets on baby Devane's weight, let's hope I win the big $9 with 8lbs 4 oz.

Here is my sister's post from the weekend: http://brittaneydevane.blogspot.com/2011/12/last-flight.html

Target Time

2011-12-09T11:48:00.001-08:00

I don't know why I never posted this, but when I quit Target 1.5 months ago Jack was so excited that I snuck this video of him singing about it!

Jack's Monkey Song

2011-12-09T11:44:00.001-08:00

Christmas Village

2011-11-29T19:36:00.000-08:00

Last week I set up all of my mom's Christmas houses, which has been the boys absolute favorite part of all the Christmas decorations. They love to just sit and watch all the houses, cars, and soak up every detail of the village! I love just soaking them up!

Thanksgiving

2011-11-25T13:53:00.000-08:00

This Thanksgiving was a bit different than most, my parents were in Denver visiting Britt and Bri, Matt was in North Dakota working, my cousins were all out of town, and my brother was with his wife's family. That left me and the boys with my aunt and uncle and grandma and thank goodness for them, because they put on the best small thanksgiving we could imagine. It involved outstanding food, jello jiggler shape cutting, Jack's first 4 wheeler ride, and lots of playing. It is so nice to be so close to great family!

Short trip to the cities

2011-11-22T18:32:00.000-08:00

This last weekend my parents were out of town and it was the start to 9 days of just me and the boys. We decided to break up the time a bit by making a weekend trip to the cities. We hung out with my friend Rach, went to a great craft fair, went to my old church (westwood), went to my parents farm, got the boys pics taken by my friend Jess (http://jesscphotography.blogspot.com/), spent time with Jake and Britt, got my sushi fix (there's no sushi in brainerd), and just enjoyed being in the city!

O Christmas Tree!

2011-11-18T20:27:00.000-08:00

This year our Christmas celebrations are starting on December 3rd, since that's when Britt and Bri will be here to celebrate with us. Because the celebrations are starting early, this meant the tree was going up early!

Putting up the 12 foot tree, lights, and ornaments was a two day process and the boys loved every second of it!

On The Ball

2011-11-16T14:12:00.000-08:00

It's official, this year I am on the ball. Last year I got cards out late, gifts out late, and it really just made Christmas a lot less enjoyable. This year I refuse to do any last minute Christmas shopping, Christmas cards, or Christmas baking. I will be able to just ENJOY Christmas! So here it is, our early Christmas card that I just ordered on Shutterfly.

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5x7 Folded Card

View the entire collection of cards.

Lefse

2011-11-15T22:04:00.000-08:00

Today my mom's friend Cindy came over to make Lefse with us. Lefse is a traditional Norweigan flatbread and it once you put a little butter and brown sugar on it it is AMAZING. It was Jackson and Mason's first time ever having it, and they both loved it too.

Big bed for the Little Boy!

2011-11-13T14:16:00.000-08:00

A few days ago Mase was supposed to be napping in his crib when I heard a huge thud followed by screaming. I ran in to find Mase laying on his back on the floor. Whether I was ready or not, that meant his crib days were over. Luckily he was fine, and my parents already had a twin mattress that we set up on the floor for him. He's not much a fan of staying in his bed, and he doesn't just stay in his room and play, the minute he's out of bed he swings open his door, and books it down the long catwalk to the laundry room! When he gets there he's like a proud little baseball player whose made it to home base! Usually I carry him back kicking and screaming. Hopefully he'll learn quickly to stay in bed!

Soaking up the Sun!

2011-11-12T21:22:00.000-08:00

With winter looming over us, we've got to snatch up every nice day that we can get and today was one of them. We might have had winter coats and hats on, but the boys loved every minute of the park today! Do you think he was proud to be on the "Big Boy Swing"?!

Matt's First Grouse!

2011-11-11T19:34:00.000-08:00

Right before Matt took off for ND, my dad took him out Grouse hunting and he REALLY wanted to get a grouse. Last year him and my dad hunted for 3 days straight only to have my dad be the only one to get a grouse. This year, they had about 3 hours and Matt knew it was his only chance! One really cool thing was that Matt was hunting with the gun that he inherited from his stepdad Glenn's dad! Anyways, to my surprise after a few hours out Matt showed up with 2 of his very own grouse!

Jack was not afraid of them at all! When they skinned them and pulled out the breast to freeze and cook Jack said, "I don't eat birds, I eat chicken!" What a cutie.

Great Grandma Verna saves the day

2011-11-11T19:16:00.000-08:00

Right now my parents are gone for a few days, and Matt just left for another 21 days in North Dakota, which meant I was feeling a bit sad and lonely. Ok... more than a just a bit sad, really sad. But... luckily I wasn't left to mope alone, but my Grandma Verna came and brightened my day! It really just lightened my heart to see how happy the boys were to spend the day with her!

Update in 30 Pictures

2011-11-10T20:36:00.000-08:00

As you know, I am the worst blog updater ever, but I now have a LOT more time on my hands, and have heard from many of you, dissapointed in my lack of blogging, so here it is, I am committed to blogging more frequently again.

So, in order to catch you up, I will get you back up to speed with 30 pictures.

1. Driver's beware, Mase loves to "text and drive"!
2. Matt, Jack, Mase, Myself, Britt, Bri, and my mom took a beautiful drive up Mt. Evans, which is one of two "fourteeners" that you can drive up! In case you were counting that's 7 people and the Tahoe fits 6, which meant Bri enjoyed the views sitting against some pillows in the trunk of the Tahoe!
3. My mom and the boys enjoyed a nice backyard picnic, and now Jack would like every meal to be a picnic!
4. After testing out my sister's new "BOB" stroller, I fell so in love that I got one for myself! It is the coolest stroller ever, and I only wish I would have gotten it 3 years ago.
5. We enjoyed a TON of time at the Arvada fountains this summer.
6. Both boys think that they are cowboys, and most mornings cowboy boots and hats are put on even before breakfast begins.
7. Jackson's first ice cream cone.
8. The March babies at 18 months, Mason, Leah, Owen (left to right)
9. Glenn and Diane came to visit for 9 days and brought Corkie, sadly I didn't take a single picture of them, but have numerous pictures of Cokie!
10. My Grandpa Orien came to Denver to celebrate his 90th birthday.
11. Jake and Brittany (my sister in law, not my sister) came to Denver to celebrate our Grandpa Orien's 90th. This is them and Jack on the Leadville railroad.
12. The Leadville railroad.
13. The entire family together for Grandpa's 90th.
14. Grandpa and the famous "Olson family fudge cake"
15. Matt came home for 10 days off where we enjoyed every bit of fall in Colorado, including a beautiful drive through the mountains to Cripple Creek.
16. Mase at Cripple Creek.
17. At the pumpkin patch with Britt and Bri.
18. Bri and 24 week pregnant Britt at the pumpkin patch!
19. Jack's first trip to the Dentist.
20. Jack and his buddy Gabe at our last babysitting swap ever. Why... you ask?
(this one's not a picture) Becuase after the nanny didn't work out, I decided to quit my job, we put our house on the market, 1 week later a great family offered to rent our house meaning we wouldn't have to sell at a loss, but... they had to move in in 14 days, so I finished out my 2 weeks notice at Target, sold most of our belongings, and moved EVERYTHING into storage all in 2 weeks!
21. All of this happened while Matt was working his 20 days in North Dakota. Here is our family picture at our going away party. It was sad to say goodbye to everyone without him. Luckily that gives an excuse to go back!
22. The March babies at 20 months. Possibly their last "March Babies" picture for a while?
23. Jack and Mase saying goodbye to their buds at the going away party that our OUTSTANDING friends through together. We found out we were moving on a Saturday, told everyone on Sunday, and they threw the BEST going away party ever the following Saturday! I miss them just thinking about it.
24. Matt saying goodbye to his buds at the going away party. Just kidding, but it was pretty funny to have his picture posted throughout the party to feel like he was there!
25. Packing up the house. Thankfully in our whirlwind 2 weeks both my mom and Diane came out and helped!
(I also have to thank our AMAZING friends who not only through the best going away party ever but also came and packed my master bedroom, the shed, the car, took out my trash, cleaned out my fridge, packed up a bunch of stuff for Goodwill, and helped me clean my house. Did I mention they are AMAZING?)
26. Halloween in Minnesota! After packing everything my mom flew back to Minnesota with Mason, and Jack and I drove back and we are temporarily living with my parents in Nisswa, MN.
27. The cutest dragons ever.
28. Jack and my dad doing some yard work here in MN.
29. Jack. Cutie.
30. Our daily view of Gull lake. I can defnitely get used to this.

As for our future, neither of us really knows what it holds. Right now we know that Matt won't be home for Thanksgiving, but that he will be home for a week in December, and then again for 3 days at Christmas. Also that he will continue commuting 6.5 hours between here and North Dakota for a little while. It's super hard for him to be away, but his time off is wonderful and we enjoy more quality time as a family than we ever had with us both working in Denver. Otherwise, we're leaving it all in God's hands and I am REALLY enjoying being close to family, not working, spending more time with the boys, and just having a perfect change of pace!

Big Changes!

2011-09-03T10:11:00.000-07:00

Lately there has been another lack of posting. So let me update you on the big changes from the last few weeks of our lives.

1. Matt quit his job at UPS! Almost 4 years ago Matt started working early mornings (2-7AM) as a temporary job that would allow him to stay home with our boys during the day, until I promoted and had the income to let him stay home completely. As promoting has been pushed back for me, it went from being temporary, to lasting for 4 years. This lifestyle was not something that we wanted to continue, which leads me to #2

2. Matt starting CDL trucking school! My dad owns an oil trucking business in Dickinson, North Dakota and Matt is going to begin going to North Dakota and trucking 20 days a month, and coming home for 10 days a month. Although this lifestyle may not sound better, we're hoping that it will be because we will be making more money, and the 10 days that Matt will be home it will actually be quality time together, versus the minimal time we have had for the last few years.

3. Matt's mom, stepdad, and their dog Corkie came out to help take care of the boys for 9 days! Not only did they watch the boys but Glenn took care of my incredibly long "honey-do" list which included everything from changing lightbulbs to hanging trim and everything inbetween. Can you believe it took us 2 years of living here to caulk down our kitchen countertops?

4. We hired a Nanny. Her name is Sam, she is a 19 year old college student, and she is awesome with the boys. This is something that is so difficult for both Matt and I because we are going from one of us being with the boys all the time, to trusting someone else to be with them 50 hrs a week!

5. Jackson turned 3! He is a little spitfire, whose favorite word and question is, "Why?". We had a big pancake party, and I'll post more on that soon!

6. Matt passed his CDL test and is leaving for ND on Sunday!

7. Our babies are turning into little boys! Here is the picture I had taken of them last week!

Brothers and Books

2011-08-14T14:09:00.000-07:00

I LOVE kids books. SO you can imagine how much it thrills me that both of our boys love them just as much as I do! Moments of peaceful reading where both boys sit on the couch like this don't happen too often, but they do both sit contently any time we read to them.

Can you see Mase's excitement for his books!

Of course the peaceful reading didn't last long and soon turned in to hugging/tackling time!

As for Jack being in his underwear, that's him being so proud of his big boy underwear that he refused ot wear anything else!

National Night Out

2011-08-13T12:54:00.000-07:00

Last week was National Night Out. This is an event that Target is the national sponsor for and it encourages relationships between law enforcement and communities. We wanted to show our support, and Jack and Mason absolutely loved it! Jack got to go in a police car, ambulance, and fire truck! Mase just loved all the free cookies and balls!

Grand Lake Camping

2011-08-10T22:38:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago Matt's cousin Keri came out to visit for the week. We had a GREAT time with her and got to get away to Grand Lake for a night. It is still our favorite place in Colorado to be, and we dream of owning a place there someday!

We also stayed here almost two years ago and this was the picture of Jack on the porch then.

Here is a picture of the boys on the porch this time! Mase is the same age Jack was then!

Here is the link to the blog post from when we stayed at the Elk Creek Campground last time! http://mcgurnfamily.blogspot.com/2009/09/perfect-weekend-in-co.html

Our new passenger

2011-08-10T21:04:00.000-07:00

Jack still loves Elmo, or in his words, "Melmo". Some days we don't leave the house without an extra passenger.

Grandpa Curt Would Be Proud

2011-08-10T20:48:00.000-07:00

Sorry about the lack of posting, ever since the flooding debacle it seems as if our whole lives have been in disarray. Take away an office and playroom and it is bad news for the McGurn family! Thank goodness though that we now have replaced the carpet, and have moved back in and are happily enjoying our basement again.

Anyways, since I am working on getting caught back up on photo and video uploads, I thought I would post this one for Grandpa Curt... Mason LOVES french fries, McDonalds french fries to be exact.

Mealtime at the McGurn's- No words necessary

2011-07-29T00:02:00.000-07:00

Water Damage

2011-07-23T21:46:00.000-07:00

Recently Denver has experienced Monsoon like rainstorms, and although it has been nice for the yard, it has not treated our basement so well. During one of our monsoon rains, one of our gutters clogged, resulting in gallons of water dumping into a basement window well.

The water was actually overflowing over the sides of the window well. This resulting in gallons of water dumping in through our basement window. Matt actually went out in the monsoon and bailed the window well with a bucket, and then stood on a ladder holding up the gutter. He had a minor injury when he slipped and fell into a rosebush... but that's a different story.

The basement we remodeled just a short 15 months ago, and carpet we finished paying for a short 3 months ago

This is what our basement looked like pre monsoon:

And here is post monsoon:

Bad news. We even had to cut out and throw out moldy carpet. Luckily I was able to hold the last remnant of our carpet that exists in Colorado, and it is the perfect size. Unluckily though this is going to cost us a pretty penny.

Botanic Gardens

2011-07-21T10:16:00.000-07:00

I know that I have seriously been slacking on the blog posting. To all my loayal readers (Britty, Mom, Diane) I'm sorry. For the rest of you, I'm sure you haven't even noticed!

Anyways, a few weeks ago my good friend Julie invited the boys and I to go to the Denver Botanic Gardens with her. I didn't realize what an AWESOME kids garden that they have! It had a huge area for kids to dig, a stream for them to play in, a "Mountain Climb", kids activities (Jackson planted a sunflower), stories, and more. Jack and his friend Will had a great time and even Mason loved the stream!

Happy 4th of July!

2011-07-06T14:57:00.000-07:00

We had a wondeful 4th of July. We spent the day lounging around our house enjoying each other, then we headed up to Boulder for two short hikes. Jackson is becoming quite the hiker and LOVES to lead the way! Then we enjoyed the Arvada fireworks only a short block away from our house! It was awesome and we have definitely found our favorite firework viewing location! For the fireworks Mason was in awe and just stared for 45 minutes straight. Jackson was a chatterbox and couldn't help but saying, "oooh a red one, a loud one, a purple one, an orange one, a bright one... etc." for the entire 45 minutes. He LOVES to talk!

Arch Street Reunion

2011-07-03T21:52:00.000-07:00

In college, Matt lived in a house on "Arch Street" with his two good friends Timmy and Eric. Now... 4 years later Eric is a teacher in Maryland, and Timmy is married to his college sweetheart Libby and they are teachers in Green Bay. This means we all don't get together too often, but this weekend here in Denver we had an awesome, "Arch Street Reunion". Hopefully this will become an annual event!

They all arrived on Thursday, and left Sunday morning, and we packed a LOT into their short trip! We went on a Coors Brewery Tour, went to Jack n Grills where the boys weren't man enough to attempt the burrito featured on "Man vs. Food", rode the Gondola at Brekenridge, went on an awesome hike near Breck, went to the Greeley Stampede Rodeo, went out in downtown Denver and got to see the Rockies Fireworks. For not having any kids, they all did great with the boys and Jack LOVED Eric! We already can't wait until next year!

The Cutest Brothers Around!

2011-06-30T11:09:00.000-07:00

Daddy's Helper!

2011-06-29T10:49:00.000-07:00

With both parties we had last week, we had to make sure the yard was in order, and Jackson was not about to let Matt get the yard work done without a little help from his miniature cowboy! Jack LOVES to "help"!

Goodbye Ferreira's

2011-06-25T20:49:00.000-07:00

Last week was bittersweet. Although we hosted the welcome home party for our friends the Minnick's, we also hosted the going away part for our friends the Ferreira's. And they are leaving for good, not just a year like the Minnicks.

Almost three years ago, Savanna and I met at our church's playgroup. Jackson and her son Levi were just a few months apart and we immediately bonded. Later we started our babysitting swap with the Ferreira's which was a huge blessing. Savanna also babysat the boys numerous times when we were in a bind.

Now her husband just got a promotion and they are moving to Richmond. Although we are sad to say goodbye, we are excited for this new opportunity for them!

In order to have a proper sendoff, our initial babysitting swap group all got together for a going away barbeque. Again, I forgot to take any pictures, all of these pictures were taken by my good friend Angie, but at least we have a few pictures to remember the party by!

Belated Father's Day Post!

2011-06-24T14:44:00.000-07:00

I took these pics of the boys fathers day morning!

As you'll notice they are decked out in their plaid because we were heading to the Rodeo! I had big plans to surprise Matt when he got home from work.. First a Cowboy breakfast at Cracker Barrel, church, then the Evergreen Rodeo, and a home cooked cowboy dinner. Well.... we got to Cracker Barrel and had to wait for 45 minutes, which is where our problems began. We first realized we would have to skip church. Then, the boys were TERRIBLE. When we got seated they only got worse. Both boys began screaming uncontrolably as if they had never eaten in a restaurant. Everyone was staring at us! I was so ashamed of us. Matt shoveled in his food and we left mid-meal, food barely touched by anyone else.

With plans to head to the Rodeo we began our journey and the boys did not get any better. So... we headed for home, put the boys down for naps, and hoped everything would be better after nap-time.

When the boys woke up, they were no better and we realized there would be no leaving the house again that day with them, let alone the rodeo.

So... there you have it. Father's Day 2011. The worst our boys have EVER been. At least they smiled for a few pictures that morning right? (even if Jack wouldn't take off his water shoes that are two sizes too big). Hopefully someday they can make it up to him!

Welcome Home Minnicks

2011-06-23T11:26:00.000-07:00

These last two weeks have been a whirlwind of parties, and they have all been so much fun that I forgot to take pictures at most of them. Anyways, two of the parties were because our great friends the Minnick's moved back to Denver after being away for a year. They have two kids Jadon who is a bit older than Jack, and Morgan who is a bit older than Mason. All the kids have a great time together though!
First we had a, "Banner Party" at our friends the Peterson's house, where we made the banner to hang on their garage. It was lots of fun and even the little guys got in on the action.

Next we had the, "Welcome Home Party" where our entire small group came to our house for a "Shish-Kabob" barbeque. We had a great time grilling, talking, eating, and playing. The camera only came out for the tail end of the party, I guess I'll have to work on that!

The Picnic Table

2011-06-23T10:29:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I picked up a kids picnic table for $15 at a consignment sale. This has been the best purchase of the summer. The boys love eating outside, we love the outdoor cleanup of just hosing down the table, and all their friends love it too! My favorite part is that when Mase eats at the table he thinks he is part of the, "Big Kids Club" and tries so hard to fit in with the big kids. He laughs when they laugh, he steals and shares food off their plates, and he is the proudest boy in the world! So cute!
Here are a few pics from our babysitting swap a couple weeks ago at the picnic table!

Gutter Bookshelves

2011-06-10T10:39:00.000-07:00

I LOVE kids books. I always have loved them, and I hope to inspire the same love of books for my boys. I hated the way all of our kids books were shoved on the bookshelf, where the boys couldn't even see all of the books that they have. So... Matt and I built "gutter bookshelves"! Yes, they are actual gutters, but they work perfectly for displaying all of their books in a way that they can see the covers!

Congratulations Ian and Erin!

2011-06-06T00:03:00.000-07:00

Last weekend Matt headed home to Crystal Lake, IL for his best friend Ian's wedding. Although I would have LOVED to be there with him, the timing and finances just didn't line up right, and I ended up staying home with the boys.

Matt and Ian met in middle school, played football together in High School, and have been super close ever since! Here is a picture of them at High School graduation.

A few years ago we all went to Vegas together and for the whole trip Ian just went on and on about, "This awesome girl Erin who he just started dating"! This was one of the few moments from the trip where he wasn't on the phone with her or telling us about her!

This was Matt and Ian 4 years ago at our wedding, congratulating Matt right after the ceremony!

and and hug too! I love this one!

Ian married an AWESOME girl named Erin who is absolutely perfect for him. We are so happy to have more good friends join us in the "married world"! Erin is just as sweet as she looks!

Here they are with their wedding party, I love Matt's cheesy smile, and Ian's cheesy jump!

Lastly, here is a picture of what we did while Matt was off having fun!

Great Grandma Verna Visits!

2011-05-19T23:39:00.000-07:00

This week my uncle Doug had to come to Denver for business, so he decided to drive and bring along my Grandma Verna! After meeting up with "Uncle Doug", Jack continued to call him "Grandpa Dougie, like Duckie, Quack, Quack Quack", the rest of the drive home. Then today when I drove Grandma back to him, Jack asked me, "Great Grandma go home with Grandpa Duckie???". Funny what he comes up with!

While Grandma was here we headed down to Garden of the Gods and enjoyed a nice hike. At one point Jack stopped listening and decided to run and, "hide in the cave", and I got to make a fool of myself running to catch him.

We also got to spend a day with Britt and Bri. Of course the day included some wonderful ice cream, which the boys loved!

Jackson also put on a "Glow Stick Dance Party" for Grandma and got to show her all his moves.

Lastly, he really enjoyed showing off his cowboy duds, he is confident that with his stick horse and rubber cowboy boots that he is a cowboy.

It was so nice to get to spend a couple of days with my Grandma here. Hopefully next time she can come back for even longer!

Babies Galore!

2011-05-17T20:52:00.000-07:00

Some family of good friends is raising a foster baby named Solledad, and even though she is in the foster system, we wanted to be sure that she had a 1st Birthday Party to top all others, so a dance/princess/bubble party was in order! The kids had an outstanding time, and we ended up having 5 babies within 5 weeks of each other there! So I introduce (from left to right): Mason, Solledad, Owen, Noah, and Leah.

Mason also LOVED his party favors. Who knew a baby could have so much fun with a bucket of favors!

Our Proud Little Walker!

2011-05-14T00:03:00.000-07:00

A couple days ago Matt took a few great videos of Mase and his new walking skills, I think you'll enjoy them! There are links to all three on the sidebar titled "Mase walking 1, 2, and 3".

Matt's Cake

2011-05-11T23:20:00.000-07:00

Last week I came home from work, and to my surprise found a homemade cake on the counter! Our snack/treat supply was slim pickin's and Matt decided to bake a cake! It was actually really good too. Such a homemaker!

Mase is walking!

2011-05-05T09:20:00.000-07:00

Mason is a walker! This morning he let go of the couch and took 1 step, I called Matt and told him to hurry home, and sure enough minutes after Matt walked in the door Mason started walking! Here are a few videos of the excitement!

Mr. Determination

2011-05-03T20:01:00.000-07:00

Happy May Day!

2011-05-01T21:41:00.000-07:00

Happy May Day!!! As a kid I loved May 1st because it was an excuse to bake cookies for our neighbors, and deliver them throughout the neighborhood. At 21, I found a new love for May day when Matt took me on our very first date on May Day. When I greeted him at my door with a plate full of "May Day Cookies", he had no clue what the holiday was, or what the point of the cookies was. Now, 5 years later Matt was the first one to say, "Happy May Day!" to me!!!

A Day Trip

2011-04-28T22:24:00.000-07:00

One of the great things about living in Denver, is that there a TON of great places to day trip to. Today we spent the afternoon up in Fort Collins. We went to a petting zoo and both boys loved it. Mase wanted to pet every animal he could. Jackson hated the sheep and got scared everytime that they "Baaaaed". The funny thing is that tonight when he prayed he thanked God for, "The Sheep that Baaa"??? Anyways, here's a few pictures from our day!

The March Babies

2011-04-26T20:26:00.000-07:00

August 2009, not only did we announce we would be having a baby, but so do two of our closest sets of friends, Dave and Rebekah, and Stephan and Lindsay. Fastforward to March of 2010. March 12th Dave and Rebekah had Owen, March 23rd Stephan and Lindsay had Leah, and March 24th we had Mason. Although we have all three been together every step of the way, we didn't do too hot documenting it through pictures. Anyways, here the three were at 4 months, and now here at 1 year!

Family Brewery Tour

2011-04-25T19:46:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago while my parents were in town, we went to the Coors brewery tour. It was actually pretty kid friendly and we all had a great time. Here is the pic that they took as we walked in!

Happy Easter!

2011-04-24T22:18:00.000-07:00

Today was a low key, wonderful Easter. We really took time to Celebrate our Risen Savior. We actually decided that we wouldn't do the "Easter Bunny", but instead focus on the meaning of Easter. Other than going to church this morning, we ended up just spending the day at home with just the four of us... and it was glorious. Although we didn't do the "Easter Bunny" we couldn't help but hide some eggs for Jack and give the boys baskets from us.

Grandpa's Big Truck

2011-04-23T21:42:00.000-07:00

Recently my parents decided to start an exciting adventure with a trucking business in North Dakota. Now my dad is the owner of, in Jacks words, "Grandpa's Big Truck". A few days ago he sent us a picture, and now EVERY SINGLE TIME that I open the laptop Jack asks to see "Grandpa's Big Truck". Every time we drive down the highway I hear about, "Grandpa's Big Truck". Tonight at McDonalds Jack drove his fries on the table and told me they were, "Grandpa's Big Truck". The boy is truck obsessed.

The Sandbox

2011-04-22T21:34:00.000-07:00

Matt's mom and stepdad just got the boys a new sandbox. For Jackson the sandbox is heaven on earth.

Mason's First Birthday!

2011-04-21T22:02:00.000-07:00

This blog post is about... 12 days late, but better late than never right???

Anyways, we celebrated Mase's 1st Birthday "Very Hungry Caterpillar" style. We lucked out with a gorgeous day, many good friends, who joined us, and even my parents and Matt's mom here to celebrate. My Brother in law Brian was awesome and took pics for us all night so that nothing would be missed!

Visit from the Grandmas

2011-04-21T00:30:00.000-07:00

Last week for Mase's Birthday my parents and Matt's mom came to town. I don't know if the boys enjoyed having their grandmas more, or if the Grandmas enjoyed being with their grandbabies more!

Mason's First Haircut!

2011-04-18T21:34:00.000-07:00

The morning of Mase's first Birthday, I took him for his very first hair cut. It was much needed as he was starting to get a pretty bad baby mullet. I took him to an old fashioned barber shop, where everyone knows everyone's name, and it seems like nothing has changed since the early 60's. Because I held him for the cut, there weren't any pictures during the cut, but here are a few of the "after-shots" in the barber shop!

Uncle Bri

2011-04-10T08:54:00.000-07:00

My Sister's husband Brian is one of Jack and Mase's favorite people to play with. When we get to their house, the first thing Jack says is, "Where's Bri???" Once a month Britt and Bri watch the boys for a few hours in the morning. Here's a great picture that Britt took last time.

The BIG Slide!

2011-04-05T21:29:00.000-07:00

At our favorite ice cream place they have a big metal slide that Jack LOVES! On Monday, (when it was 83 degrees!!!!!!!) we went and enjoyed the beautiful weather, got some ice cream, and of course spent some time sliding!

Babysitting Swap

2011-04-03T21:14:00.000-07:00

For the last 2.5 years, every Friday Night us and two other families do a "babysitting swap". One family watches the kids, and the other couples get to go out. It has evolved a bit, with two families leaving, and one family joining, and flipping from Friday to Saturday and then back again, but the thing that remains the same is that we all love it.

We've got our two kids, then Enslea who is 1.5, Gabe who is 2, and Ruby who is 7 months. So on a night everyone is there, that's five kids from 7 months to 2.5 years! Here's how the night goes:

1st- Meal time... see how many kids you can keep happy all at once.

Next- Playtime... Jack thinks that he is the boss.

But... he also can be caught kissing the girls.

Gabe got caught cutting everyones hair with the play scissors, luckily they are plastic and did no damage!

Somehow we had a moment with all 5 of them playing nicely, notice Gabe sneaking a little snip in there!

After a little play time we do diapers and jammies, and everyone heads to bed.

Swap has been so great for us because it allows us to go on dates when we probably wouldn't normally hire a babysitter. It has also helped us build great friendships. Hopefully this is something that we can do for a long time to come!

Our Little Peanut- 1 year Appointment

2011-03-31T11:02:00.000-07:00

Today was Mase's 1 year appointment. He is 31.5 inches tall which puts him in the 90th percentile for heaight, and he weighs 21lbs. 7.5 oz. which puts him in the 25th percentile for weight. His head is 18.5 inches which is in the 75th percentile. Jack was always in the 90+ percentiles for weight, so it makes Mase feel like a little peanut. He had to get 3 immunizations and handled them great.

Mase is getting really close to walking on his own, and with his Birthday party on the 9th I know all of you family members are hoping you get to be around for his first few steps! It's looking like there's a good chance that could happen!

It's a good thing we decided not to celebrate on his actual birthday too because he spent that whole day throwing up. We were going to take him to the pool, but he ended up sleeping and snuggling all day. Luckily he snapped out of it by the next day. 3 days after his Birthday Britt and Brian came over to celebrate and Mase was not a fan of his cupcake... I think that it had something to do with the sprinkles. Hopefully he likes the one at his party better!

Snow Mountain Ranch 2011

2011-03-31T00:11:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we spent the weekend as a family at the YMCA Snow Mountain Ranch near Granby, CO. It was a WONDERFUL weekend.

Jack got to craft and painted me a flowerpot

He sledded

Spent 45 minutes watching a tow truck hook up to a bus, and for the rest of the weekend asked if we could hook our car up to a tow truck, lucky for us that did not happen.

Played in the gym

Tricycled

Cross Country Skiied (while the boys were in the awesome childcare center)

Enjoyed the Beauty of the camp and mountains

Visited our favorite place in Colorado (Grand Lake) and saw a moose on the way

Enjoyed ice cream, well Jack and I enjoyed it, Mase doesn't like how cold it is and cringes with every bite!

Although we weren't sure if the boys would be old enough to enjoy camp, it turned out great. The boys were able to nap, sleep through the night, and still have a great time. Matt and I had an outstanding time and Snow Mountain Ranch will definitely be a place we go back to many times.

Happy Birthday Mason Curtis!

2011-03-24T00:42:00.000-07:00

My little Masey turns one today. It actually makes me a little sad to know that my little baby is gowing up. There are so many things to love about Mason:

-He is an outstanding sleeper... he sleeps from 7:30PM-7:30AM every night, plus a nap from 9:30-11:30 and another nap from 1:30-3ish!!! Thats about 15 hours a day!
-He has the most adorable little smile, and knows just the moment when to flash it.
-He is a great eater, and will eat just about anything and love it (except he HATES strawberries)
-He loves his big brother SO much, and wants to be with him all the time.
-He always lays his head on my shoulder for a minute or two before I lay him down.
-He is outgoing and happy with anyone... the ladies in the nursery always say he is the best baby in there! (but I'm going to have to watch out because he is quite the little charmer!)
-He is smart and sneaky... he knows just how to steal his brother's toys or anyone's food.
-He LOVES to play "so big" and "peek-a-boo".
-He's a tough cookie (with a big bro like Jack he has to be, yesterday he got hit on the forehead by a airborne matchbox car and only cried for a second)
-He looks just like his daddy, and has the same expressions too (which makes me love Matt even more!)
-He loves the tub, even when his bro steals all the bubbles and toys!
-He loves puppies and has no fear when it comes to petting them.
-He has completed our family of four and brings joy to us every day!

Here are Mason's 1 year pictures!

New Videos!

2011-03-16T20:24:00.000-07:00

I finally got around to updating videos that have been on the camera since January. They are all on our Youtube channel here.

Or you can get to them on our Blog sidebar here:

Here are a few of my favorites:

So I just realized that I love all of the videos, hopefully you can all enjoy them as much as I do!

All good things must come to an end- The Staycation

2011-03-14T20:13:00.000-07:00

The last week of our lives was glorious. All 4 of us, with no work, plenty of sleep, and lots of quality time together. We relaxed so much that even our to do list didn't get done. Along with the to-do list, I also didn't blog. Sorry. A few things we did do though were:

-Celebrated a girlfriend's birthday with her and a few other friends
-Sew Mase's Birthday outfit
-Get Mase's 1 year pics taken
-Start the planning of Mase's party
-Hung a new light fixture on the back porch
-Sewed superhero costumes
-Went to the "superhero party" for Owen Floyd's 1st Birthday
-Went to "The Keg" for our "5280" date night
-Enjoyed ice cream at Glacier Ice Cream in Boulder
-Played at the Cherry Creek Mall play area
-Took the boys to Westlands Playground
-Swam at the Apex Center
-Rented "The Social Network"
-Had Family Movie Night and watched "Toy Story 3"
-Watched "The Good Shepherd" (but I don't reccomend it)
-Played in the backyard A LOT
-Ate at "The Cherry Cricket"
-Organized the Shed, Laundry Room, and Garage
-Matt and Jack got haircuts (At a traditional Barber Shop)
-Checked out Denver's newest Target (I just couldn't stay away)

Staycation 2011- Denver, CO

2011-03-07T09:18:00.000-08:00

Typically, every March we go to Florida to spend a week with my parents. This year though we decided to still take our week of time off from work, but to enjoy life here in Denver. Matt and I are both so excited to just spend a week hanging out with each other and the boys.

Here are a few of the goals for the week:
-Get full nights of sleep (a rareity for us both)
-Scrapbook a lot
-Declutter (laundry room, linen closet, & garage)
-Go to the APEX center swimming with the boys
-Enjoy a "5280 date night" (courtesy of our babysitting swap)
-Go skiing in Breckenridge for a day
-Sew two superhero costumes (for a "superhero" party the boys are going to on Saturday)
-Sew Mase's birthday outfit and get his 1 year photos taken!
-Plan Mase's birthday party
-Complete a few projects around the house (paint doors and replace hardware, caulk down countertops, hang bedroom ceiling fan)
-Take the boys to the Cherry Creek Mall Play Area
-Get together with a few friends.

The possibilities are limitless!!! I'm sure you'll be able to follow us on our blog as we document our "staycation 2011"!

I'm In LOVE!

2011-03-04T21:46:00.000-08:00

Lately I have been working some long hours. Some days I feel like I barely get a minute with my two little loves. Today though, I got to work at a store 5 minutes from home, which meant no rush hour traffic, no distractions to keep me at work late, and best of all... more time to hang out with my loves. And who wouldn't love more time to snuggle with these cuties???

Visit from Andrea and James

2011-03-03T12:24:00.000-08:00

Last week Matt's cousin Andrea and her boyfriend James came out to Denver for a long weekend. It was our first time meeting James and we gave him our nod of approval (although I don't know if that mattered much!)

We spent the weekend exploring Denver, Fort Collins, and numerous breweries.

When they left Jack had a tough time saying goodbye, as he sobbed hugging Andrea goodbye.

Mr. 11 Months and Mr. 2.5

2011-02-25T23:06:00.000-08:00

Aren't these two adorable in their little matching Nike outfits and silver Nike Shocks??? Thanks Grandma D and Auntie Britty!

Yesterday Mase turned 11 months! He is such a little SWEETHEART. As you can see he LOVES to swing. He even holds the ropes to "pump" the swing and make it go higher! Even though every picture I got was blurry, they were just so cute that I couldn't not post them.

Here's a few facts about Mase: (if not for any other reason than that the blog is the closest thing I've got to a journal or a baby book)

-He's got eight teeth (4 on top and 4 on bottom).
-He LOVES french fries, bananas, and anything he can get off of our plates, but he will eat anything.

-He loves to steal his brother's sippy's .

-His favorite place to play is on the edge of the couch. (scary).
-He can climb up and down the stairs. (even scarier).
-He falls asleep with his stuffed animal "ugly" while playing with his ears (same as Jack does).
-He still loves his pacifier.
-He wakes up and begins immediately shaking his crib and jumping up and down holding the crib rail.
-He still takes two naps a day and sleeps from 8PM-7AM.

While Mason swings, Jack LOVES to get out in our typically beautiful Denver weather. Here is a picture of what he calls, "playin hoops", and he is pretty darn good at it!

Jack is 2.5 years old and here's a few facts about him:

-He asks to stop and play at every park we drive past.

-He still loves fruit snacks.

-His favorite show is Calliou and he watches two episodes every morning while Mase naps.

-He is a HUGE stinker when it comes to bedtime and most naps and bedtimes require me going back into his bedroom numerous times.

-He loves to line up his cars and trucks into rows, he is an extreme organizer.
-He sleeps with his blankie from Grandma Jane, blankie from Grandma Jan, Ugly from daddy, Sheriff from Grandma D, and Elmo from my Grandma Caroline's sister Velma. He will not close his eyes until all of his lovies are there.
-He is talking a TON and one of his favorite phrases is, "I do it myself".

On a side note, a short Jack story is tonight Jack, Mase, and I were in the backseat of the Tahoe. Mase grabbed Jack's arm and Jack yelled, "He's touching me!!!!!", so I turned to Jack and yelled back (not in my finest moment), "He is a baby and it does not matter if he touches you". Then Jackson paused, and somberly said to me, "Mamma, did I make you sad??" Sometimes he just breaks my heart!

Valentines Day with My Loves

2011-02-17T21:52:00.000-08:00

Valentines Day this year was wonderful day, spent with the three men that I love the most! Jack got to bake and decorate cookies. Minnesotas and Hearts... even though he kept getting the two confused!

Mason learned how to climb up, and down stairs. Randomly he dissapeared around the corner, and when I got to him he was on the third stair, so I let him keep going. Then, when he was ready to go down, he just went right back down on his belly! No training, practice, or encouraging, the boy just figured it out on his own! My dad (Grandpa Curt) is who taught my siblings and I how to do stairs, and he wanted to be the one to teach his grandkids too... looks like his little namesake Mason Curtis beat him to it!

Valentines day dinner was AMAZING, Matt and I cooked crab and lobster, which was followed by an outstanding chocolate fondue, all while the boys slept in the comfort of our own home.

Happy Valentine's Day!

2011-02-14T06:35:00.000-08:00

Mr. Terrible Two

2011-02-11T21:55:00.000-08:00

Lately Jack has been the biggest little stinker, and the sweetest little boy at the same time.

One minute he is stealing suckers from the pantry, breaking glass vases, coloring places he shouldn't be, jumping on the couch, throwing tantrums on the floor, and trying to pour his own milk.

The next minute he is saying the sweetest prayers I have ever heard, asking me for hugs and kisses, making Mase laugh when he was crying, and asking me to kiss he "owies" to make them better.

I guest that's why they call it the "Terrible Twos".

Every night Jack says prayers that start with "Thank You for..." then on to "Help me to...." and then Amen. He comes up for all of the Thank You's and Help me's on his own, and all of them make me smile. Recently some of my favorites have been... Thank you for Mama, Thank for you for Daddy, Thank you for Grandpa Curt, Thank you for Grandpa Curt's Truck, Thank you for War (Warren), Thank you for Gave (Gabe), Thank you for trucks, Thank you for Naps (!!!), Thank you for Calliou (his favorite show). His "Help Me's" are always "Help me to sleep", "Help me to be a good boy". The other night he said his prayers, then said Amen, and then said, "Wait! Thank you for Mason!".

Life Lately... Cold Weather, the Parachute, and the Tent.

2011-02-10T21:36:00.000-08:00

Typically Denver weather is absolutely GORGEOUS. Lately, it's been another story with freezing cold weather every day. I can't say that I miss that part of Minnesota or the UP! While it's been cold out we have had to get creative inside. Jack discovered that he can "carry" Mason!

Last week Jack's friend Warren had his third birthday party at the zoo. Jack got to touch a porcupine, a cockroach, and a snake. But... for Jack the best part of the day was the parachute! Can you tell how much he loved it?

For Warren's birthday he got a new tent, and so during the Superbowl that made for some fun for the boys! I became the "tent police" in charge of making sure there was order in the tent, but while there was peace I snapped a few pictures!

Carousel

2011-02-09T23:45:00.000-08:00

Since I am terrible at getting timely blog posts up, here is a link to my sister's blog post from last Thursday when we took Jack on the carousel!

http://brittaneydevane.blogspot.com/2011/02/carousel-ride.html

Our boys and their buds.

2011-01-30T20:55:00.000-08:00

Our good friends the Floyds were over for dinner toinght, and it is so much fun to see our boys play together. Mason and Owen are 12 days apart, and Jackson and Warren are 6 months apart. As you can see getting a picture of Mason and Owen was a challenge.

Jackson has been loving playing with his train set. It is his only toy that we don't make him share with Mason since Mason scooting across the railroad tracks is just like Godzilla coming through town. Jack loves it.

Mase waving and Jackson Jumping

2011-01-16T16:34:00.000-08:00

Meanwhile at the McGurn house...

2011-01-16T15:31:00.000-08:00

Now that Mason knows how to pull himself up to standing, this is what I walk into after every nap! He is always so proud and happy to be standing.

Here are a couple of pics of Mase's new teeth:

Mase also LOVES to stand at Jack's table and play, now we've got two Elmo fans around here!

For Christmas from Grandma Diane and Grandpa Glenn the boys got coordinating Nike workout outfits. They also happened to get matching Nike silver "Shocks" shoes from Britt and Brian. Since Britt took Jack to the gym it was the perfect opportunity to get them in their outfits.

Today the Bears played in the playoffs and all the McGurn boys were dressed to win. Jack even got his, "Grinchy" in on the cheering action. All their blue and orange paid off because they won!

Mason- 9 Months Old

2011-01-13T22:12:00.000-08:00

Mason is 9 months old.

Today was Mason's 9 month appointment. Mason weighed 20lbs 4 oz. which is in the 50th percentile. He is 29 3/4 inches tall which is in the 90th percentile, and his head is 18 1/8 around, which is in the 75th percentile.

Mason is already wearing clothes that Jack wore after he turned one because he is so tall.

-He has two full bottom teeth and just broke his top two and two more on the bottom.
-He is super smiley, and has the cutest little smile in the world.

-He can pull himself up on to the couch, the crib, and just about anything else. Lately he doesn't want to sleep because he just wants to stand in his crib shaking it!

-He loves to play with his brothers trucks.

-He eats any babyfood, rice cereal, puffs, mum-mums, bananas, oatmeal, applesauce, and a few nights ago he loved getting bites of my pizza crust.
-He is like a vacuum cleaner when it comes to crumbs so we have to keep our floors cleaner than ever!

-Mason loves to scream/yell to get attention, and is becoming jealous of attention whenever Jack is getting any!

-He says "dadadadada" but I don't know if he actually knows what "dada" means.

Matthew John

2011-01-10T21:17:00.000-08:00

Through the craziness of recovering from a holiday in retail, I didn't get a chance to write a "Happy Birthday Matt" post. Matt turned 27 on December 28th. We were able to celebrate his birthday by going out for dinner at his favorite steak place, "Saltgrass Steak House". Britt even watched the boys so that we could go.

In honor of his late birthday post I wanted to write about a few of the things that make Matt so great.

-Even on 3-4 hours of sleep some nights, he is an amazing "stay at home (during the day at home) dad".
-Jackson looks up to him and he can always put a smile on Jack's face. Wrestling, "fighting", tickling, or snuggling he is very loved.
-He'll answer Jack's million and 1 questions.
-He ALWAYS takes out the trash, with me never asking.
-He's got a soft spot for snuggling with Jack and Mase.
-He gives amazing back massages (which even his cousins will attest to)
-He can make me laugh even when I'm mad
-He let's me drive the car on cold days because it has automatic start
-He has a great relationship with both of his parents
-He never asks for anything (even though his tennis shoes have holes in the toes) (I'm going to force him to use his Birthday money for some new ones!)
-He's a great natural athlete, who was even willing to learn to ski!
-He knows all the words to every rap and country song on the radio.
-He's not afraid to help with.... errands, couponing, cleaning, laundry, and he'll do it with a smile.
-He reminds me whats important at the end of every day.

Matthew John is the leader of our family, the husband that I love, and the dad our kids look up to. Happy Belated Birthday Matt!

The Bacon Celebration

2011-01-10T21:00:00.000-08:00

Our friend Dave (who loves Bacon) graduated from seminary last month, so his wife Rebecca and I threw him a "Bacon Celebration" to celebrate being done!

The party involved "Bacon Candy", "Bacon Dip", "Bacon wrapped smokies", and other Bacon delights. One of my contributions was the "Bacon Cake". Although there was no bacon in the cake, I was pretty happy with how it turned out.

Early Christmas Round 2

2010-12-30T11:25:00.000-08:00

Although we didn't get to spend Christmas with either of our parents, my parents made it out here a week early to celebrate. Now that Britt and I are both out here we're hoping to see even more of them!

Along with them came presents from Great Auntie Connie and Great Uncle Doug. Great Grandma Verna, and Uncle Jake and Auntie Britty.

Jack got to play Wii with the big boys. Mason got to go on a "train ride" with Jack and their new stuffed animals. We did a lot of cooking together, and just enjoyed all being together.

Christmas Morning

2010-12-30T11:10:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful Christmas this year. The day started with Jack and Mason playing with their new gifts, followed by a wonderful breakfast made by Matt, then naps for everyone, more gift opening, and lots of great treats and snacks. It was fun to have Britt and Brian here to at least have some family to celebrate Christmas day with.

The boys were seriously spolied with gifts from all 3 sets of Grandparents, Cousins, Aunts and Uncles, and Santa. In case we haven't told you all already, Thank You so much for all the awesome gifts. The boys are currently in toy heaven.

Here is a link to our Myspace channel for more Christmas Videos: www.youtube.com/user/missjessmc

Christmas Pics

2010-12-26T10:06:00.000-08:00

Last week my mom and I took the boys to the mall for some Christmas Pictures. It was a big challenge to keep them both happy, facing the camera, and in the frame, but we got some good ones that made it worth it.

Vist from Grandma D and Glenn

2010-12-21T22:01:00.000-08:00

Lately our lives have been super chaotic, and I am VERY behind on blog posts, but here are a few pics from when Matt's mom and stepdad visited last week.

We took Jack sledding in Breckenridge and he LOVED it. The first ride down he had tears in his eyes, but when he got to the bottom he turned around and said, "More Mama"? So Glenn, Matt, and I took turns pulling him back up and letting him fly. Before the sled would come to a full stop he would ask for more every time.

Jack loves his "Fiffer" (Swiffer), he thinks he is helping clean.

Mason is still scooting and not using his knees to crawl. He is super speedy though. His new nickname is "little scooty".

Jack and Mason are both super excited to open presents. Mase just likes to pound on the boxes. I don't think he has any clue that even better toys are in the boxes. Jack gets it though, and is ready to open gifts.

Diane and Glenn loved getting some quality time with the boys. Diane loves that Jack calls her "D", just like the rest of the family. Every morning while they were here he would come to my room and ask, "Deeeeee?????????"

Computer, Diapers, and Trains

2010-12-03T21:49:00.000-08:00

The other Auntie Britty let Jack play on the computer, and rather than stopping him, she took pictures! I couldn't believe she encouraged this! But... the pictures were so cute I couldn't help but post them.

We also snapped some cute pics of Mase playing in his diaper.

Jack loves to play "trains" with laundry baskets (all 5 of them), and make Mason his passenger. Mase has no clue what's going on, but when Jack gives him a toy, he's knows that Mase will be a good passenger for at least 15 minutes. Jack loves that Mason is starting to get old enough to "play" with him.

This Year I'm Thankful For...

2010-11-29T00:30:00.000-08:00

Although Thanksgiving is 3 days past, now is the first time that I have sat down with more than a second to spare.

Lately I have been overwhelmed by working 10-13 hrs a day while still not feeling like I am accomplishing enough. Mason who seems to get into everything, Jackson who requires constant attention, and feeling like even when they're being difficult, that I never get to spend enough time with them. Our house and the level of perfection that I never seem to attain. Time with Matt and how I never feel like there's enough of it. Friends and how I lately I haven't been able to be the friend I want to be.

When I started to pity myself and my minor frustrations, it was impossible to not think of all of the things that I am SO grateful for.

-Matt and absolutely everything about him (There are so many reasons that I could make a list of just the reason's that I am thankful for him)
-Two healthy, happy, adorable boys
-My salvation
-Amazing Parents
-My siblings and their spouses
-Wonderful In-laws
-Grandparents (Matt and I still have 5 between the two of us)
-My job (and a boss and peers at work who are wonderful)
-Our cozy perfect home (whenever it's clean I tell Matt how much I LOVE it)
-The opportunity we have to give
-2 reliable vehicles (and 1 with automatic start!)
-Our stocked pantry and freezers
-My bed that is SO comfortable
-Pictures (especially all of the ones that Brian has been taking of the boys)
-Time off (My 2+ weeks a year, which bumps to 3+ in May!)
-Great friends (even when I feel like I can't be a great friend back)
-My DVR (pathetic, but I love being able to catch up or get behind on tv shows knowing that they are all saved there).
-The mountains that I wake up to every morning
-and SO MUCH MORE

Photos

2010-11-28T13:26:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago we had some outdoor photos taken. Here are a few of our faves:

Thanksgiving

2010-11-28T13:24:00.000-08:00

For Thanksgiving we got to spend it with our good friends the Fereirra's the Noteboom's, and my sister and Brian. Jackson loved playing with the kitchen set with Gabe and Levi. Mason just enjoyed scooting around discovering new things. We enjoyed good food, looking at the Friday ads, and just being with good friends.

Videos of Jackson Dancing

2010-11-17T10:59:00.000-08:00

Recently...

2010-11-17T09:56:00.000-08:00

A few recent videos- Jumping & Crawling.

2010-11-15T22:16:00.000-08:00

Matt's Photo Book for Work

2010-11-11T20:56:00.001-08:00

At UPS Matt has a coworker named "Brownie" who always asks to see pictures of our family and of the boys. Because I love pictures, and wanted him to be able to share them all, I made him a photobook to keep at his desk!

Click here to view this photo book larger

Mason's 7 Month

2010-11-10T12:15:00.000-08:00

Even though Mason was supposed to have a 6 month appointment, it turned into a 7 month appointment, but here were his stats:

He weighed 19lbs 10.5 oz. which is in the 75th percentile, he is 28.5 inches tall which is in the 90th percentile, and his head is 18 inches around which is also in the 90th percentile.

He had to get 5 immunizations, but did outstanding.

Mason still has 2 teeth, he LOVES to eat baby food, he army crawls all around the house using his arms, he doesn't do ANYTHING without his pacifier, he loves to be snuggled by his brother, he loves to play with anyones sweatshirt strings, he still takes 3 naps a day and sleeps through the night, he is ALMOST too big for his infant carseat so he will be moving up to the big one any day.