Lately.

So just in case nobody knew, I have the best husband on planet earth. A few weeks ago I was griping about how badly I wanted to go to an upcoming Rocket Summer concert in Denver. A couple days later he walked in after work and handed me two tickets!! Brownie points for Paul. It was an acoustic tour, so it ended up being just the lead singer on the stage talking, singing, and playing the guitar and piano. Like typical Joni, I brought my camera sans SD card. So here are a few pics I snapped with my phone. Best night ever!







So I just realized that this blog is going to be a conglomeration of random happenings from the last month.

Unrelated topic #2:
Here is the cake I made for Ali/Sadie's baby shower over Thanksgiving.



Unrelated topic #3:

I have heard a lot of new moms describe experiences where babies are "growing up too fast", where they get sad/stressed the first time their child gets a tooth, rolls over, or some other milestone. Ellie has made it through many firsts, and I have been fine. Until this ONE thing... I smiled... I cried a little ... time is passing too fast...

P I G T A I L S... Funny how two little elastics changed my baby into a little girl.




Last random topic:
We got super great courtside seats to a USU vs. Denver basketball game last night. We were able to sit directly behind the Aggie players. Being at the game made me realize a few things:
1. I miss the energy and excitement of the Spectrum
2. Denver Pioneer fans are pitiful (sorry guys)
3. Never under any circumstances, should any school band attempt a Black Eyed Peas song
4. I will always have a place in my heart for Aggie Basketball

Romantic Football (let me explain)

I remember years ago when the Broncos were doing so bad that a fan camped out on top of a Billboard in the middle of the winter on I-25 in Denver, and said he'd stay up there until they won a game again. The guy stayed up there for several weeks through more than a couple of snow storms. Supporters brought him food, a tent, a tv, clothes and the news stations even climbed up there to interview the guy.

Now that I think about it, that guy was an idiot. You have to give him credit for being committed, but it makes me wonder, why are we fans of teams that 99% of the time don't win the championships we want them to? What do we get out of this seemingly one-sided relationship?

I used to ask my friends in high school the same thing. They would have a huge crush on a girl, but never do anything about it. They were the ones that would always respect a girl, and never take advantage of her. They had thoughts of the perfect moment for their first kiss, but never kiss the girl...they were romantics.

Ever since I watched the movie Fever Pitch, I've come to realize that certain sports fans are romantics...it's all about the excitement, the anticipation, the hope, holding something or someone up on a pedastal, sticking with a team (or person) through the good times AND the bad. Not jumping to criticize when times are tough, sharing your excitement, being able to say "we" scored like I was on the football field with the team. For all the heartbreak we experience, the idea of coming out on top is one of the most exciting feelings we can have. That feeling is what makes a fan a true fan. You do a double take when you think you see someone wearing your team's shirt, you look for your team's name on TV and in the newspaper.

So, while the Broncos continue their struggles, I will patiently wait for better times to come. I will not be angry after the game is over, I will not wish to kill one player or coach that makes a mistake. Now onto the pictures of my first Bronco game at Mile High, they lost to the lowly Rams, it was freezing cold, but I was in my own personal Disneyland. I will not be the idiot that you'll see on top of a billboard, but I will respect the man who does so, because I understand him.This was before the game of course from our awesome seats, although the end of the game didn't have many more fans left than this.
Before the loss in Denver...Losing in Houston...
...and losing in Dallas

Joni here again. It looks as though Paul has fallen off the face of the internet planet so I guess I will take over the blog for a while.
I cant believe teeny lil' tiny lil' Ellie is already 1 year and >1 week old! I have hung out with this kid every day for the last 374, and she never ceases to amaze me with how much she smiles, learns and loves. Here she is at 1 day, 2 months, 6 months and 1 year.










I love this kid...


This weekend my two good friends Andrea and Jessica came to visit. Both are into running and decided to sign the lot of us up for the Longmont 36th annual Turkey Trot 10K. Here we are in the freezing cold getting ready to go.






Although I have been running for many years, it's been a while since I took stock of exactly how fast I go. I was surprised at how many people asked "what time are you shooting for" and didn't really have an answer. Finally, at the starting line I told some guy next to me I was hoping to run nine minute miles. Some time in the first mile, I was running along at what felt like a comfortable pace and the same guy said (in an arrogant way, might I add) "Hey, you better slow down or you are gonna burn out" and passed me. Those of you who know me, know that those words lit a fire under me and so I decided to try to keep the guys pace. I stayed comfortably behind him for the first 3 miles or so and even noticed I kept creeping up on him. Finally, I made the big decision to go for the pass. As I went around him he looked over at me like "good luck with that". The last 3 miles were surprisingly fun (after I decided I was comfortable passing people :]) and I ended up finishing in 46:02/ ~7:20 min miles, so I was happy. I wish now that I had tried a little harder because I got 4th in my age group and if I had gotten third I would have won a free thanksgiving turkey! Maybe next time.



Andrea and Jessica have been running a lot of races recently and they both shaved 3 minutes off their previous times, so they totally rocked it!



After the race we decided to celebrate with Five Guys burgers (my own personal heaven). YUM. Then Sunday Andrea made us her mom's white chicken chili and homemade garlic breadsticks. Good eats and good friends make for a great weekend!

Halloween and Cake

We are running a little late getting our Halloween pictures up, but I've had a few requests so here goes. I love this picture of Ellie playing on the porch



On Halloween we went to Mike and Susan's for their annual "scary dinner". I may never view water chestnuts the same way again after we had them disguised as dead mans eyeballs! I made a scary dessert... owl and gravestone cupcakes.




Those of you who are familiar with Yo Gabba Gabba will be quite amused with Paul and Ellie's outfits this year. It's Ellie's FAVORITE TV show and the only thing that can get her to sit still for more than 3 minutes. I found her little "Foofa" costume and was happy, but when I saw the adult sized "DJ Lance Rock" I knew it was meant to be!






It's crazy to think that last Halloween I was sitting around with a GIANT belly wondering if Ellie would show up soon... little did I know I had another week to wait! We celebrated her 1st birthday on Saturday and even got a last minute visit from my bro Ryan and his family! It was so great to be with family to celebrate such a big occasion. Ellie loves raspberries, so Andrea and I made a white cake with raspberry filling and whipped cream cheese frosting. As is tradition, the birthday got the top layer all to her self.




Here is our sugared-up child with a smile on her face and frosting in her hair. I'm pretty sure eating that cake was the best moment of her life thus far :) I thought she would dive face first into her cake (I would have), but she was actually quite delicate at first, taking little scoops of frosting on her fingertips and putting them in her mouth. Eventually she did create a big mess though, so we got her cleaned up and opened presents.






She got a lot of super cute stuff from all her family members and the grand finale was her baby doll from GraMaude! It was love at first sight.








Ellie told me to say thanks to everyone who came, and also to those who sent cards and presents in the mail! Happy Monday everyone!

- Joni

Hey all, Joni here. We have been home for a week now, but I'm determined to blog about our recent trip to Seattle and Oregon. It's a daunting(that's for you Joel, Erin, Maude) task because I took 952 pictures and I have to figure out which ones to put in here! The problem is, 952 pictures still couldn't capture the beauty of the area where we were lucky enough to stay. The first day Paul, Ellie and I drove up to Seattle to see our dear friends Mike, Jen, and baby Rose. It was pretty overcast and rainy in Seattle, this is the best picture we could manage in front of the Space Needle



We walked over to Pike market in downtown. I've never seen so many piles of fish, ice and tourists in my life. Okay, so the tourists weren't in the piles, but it was really crowded in there.



Here we are hanging out (eating delicious donuts) with the Barnes, introducing our girls who are soon to be BFFs. We weren't in Seattle long, but it was totally worth it to see our long lost CT friends. Ellie LOVED playing with Rose and looks like a giant sitting next to her!


That night we picked up Joel and Erin in Portland and headed over to Yachats. Our rental house could not have been in a more ideal location. The view of the ocean/beach/wildlife out the back windows was breath taking, and again, impossible to capture in a picture. These next shots were all taken within 100 feet of our back door.







I loved that blackberry bushes grew wild everywhere around the property! Our first day there we drove down the coast and saw some beautiful mountain chiasms where the waves churned and crashed into rocks. It was like nothing I have ever seen. We also hiked up to an old lighthouse.






The next day we headed the other way on the coast to another town to a whale watching spot. Joel snapped a picture of this big guy for me. The views from the whale watching area were spectacular!






While there we ate at a little cafe and I indulged my inner child on one of my favorite treats - carmel and cheese corn. Mmmm

Glen, Kendi and fam showed up the next day and we had a blast seeing more local sites, catching up, and doing secret handshakes :) Carter caught a giant crab that made all the locals jealous and they brought it home for us to try.


One day we went to the Lion caves and then to sand dunes... in this pic you can see the sea lions sunning on a huge rock.




Paul and Carter, Me and Bess in a "mini-me" situation that was totally unplanned and totally awesome.

One of my favorite parts of the trip was my running mountain. It's a tsunami evacuation route - basically a steep paved road of switch backs that wind up the side of a mountain. The view from the top was worth the daily trek to the top. If you look down you can see the houses down below... I loved it.

This is Bruno. He came to visit a few times on the sand bank right outside our back porch. This is the little guy I was chasing (for a picture) when I hurt my leg... totally worth it though. I miss him!

On our last day in Yachats we walked over to a Mushroom Festival downtown. I have never seen so many funky plants and people all in one spot. A bunch a fun guys. Ha.

All in all, the trip went by WAY too fast. We played games, laughed, saw beautiful places, and made some great memories. I can't wait to go back to Oregon some day. Phew! That was a LONG blog.
... ... ... ...

P.S. Is it just me, or does Ellie have a Justin Beiber vibe going on with her hair?...