Denver this winter

Three year old Denver is like a Mission Impossible movie - non-stop action. (If we're being honest so was 1 minute old, 1 year old, & 2 year old Denver).

He's spent most of his days playing with his best buddy Mosi - they divide their days crashing toy cars, chasing each other, wrestling to the ground, seeing who can get dirtier...

His favorite place is "Cowboy Town" which he has made up as a fictious place that he visits in his dreams that strongly resembles Papa's ranch.

And why wouldn't it be the place he goes in his dreams? He absolutely loves it there and has visited (without Mom & Dad) twice this winter

As has always been the case for Denver and is no different now he is either in full blown jackrabbit mode 

or passed out

His ornery little smile is almost too much for his mama's heart

and his free spirit and strong will keep that same mama and his dad on their toes (also known as dog tired by the end of the day).

That being said, the fun and laughter he brings to our lives makes us happy to wake up and do it all again every day.

Stitches

We knew it was bound to happen

I'm honestly surprised he made it to age 3 before we had to get any.

But one can only jump into a bean bag so many times before their head or some other part of their body is going to connect with another piece of furniture.

Halloween

Halloween is not my favorite holiday but man alive the kids love it.

I guess maybe it's the dressing up

and getting to pretend to be someone or something else for awhile.

Or it could be all the fun festivals & activities that time of year.

I guess I'm probably underestimating the importance of candy in their lives too.

We didn't have a family theme this year - Annie was a Shopkin (one of her favorite toys), Denver was Buzz Lightyear, & Lily was Snow White.

They had a blast at the OSU student party,

church trunk or treat,

their class parties (Denver below with Leilyn AKA a bad witch - according to her, and Mosi AKA Batmo of the imaginative 1-2-3 gang the Alsup kids came up with)

(Annie went as Junie B Jones for dress up like your favorite book character day - AKA wear your costume to school - but she likes to find any excuse to have multiple costumes),

and trick or treating through our neighborhood with friends.

It was a fun year because Annie really enjoyed every activity & Denver was just the cutest little thing running through the neighborhood trying to keep up with the big kids with his bell bottom Buzz Lightyear pants & helmet continually falling across his eyes & fogging up.

Plus we had this little princess to enjoy

Halloween 2016 was a success for the kids as can be quantified by the fact that as I sit here 6 weeks later typing this out we still have 2 giant shopping bags of candy.  On the other hand for me their success means I will have to slowly & painstakingly hide piece by piece in the trash to prevent the ninth hour pardon by the kids if they discover a morsel of it is being disposed of.

Denver turns 3

It's hard to believe but Denver is 3 now. Time just flies.
A few weeks before his birthday we watched the latest episode (and then reviewed all the old ones) of the Star Wars series and that was the theme he wanted to go with. He'd also been wanting to play at the gym where Annie goes so we had what seems like our 10th party there but it's easy and as you can tell Denver is not a high maintenance kid so Youth Fitness Zone it was.

He got to run around with friends & eat cake with lots of icing so his day was made.

He was a hot sweaty mess as Denver tends to be because he believes in the theory "go hard or go home" with all things.

       

On his actual birthday he woke up early & was pleased to find he now had his own light saber & droid

Most pictures are blurry because this guy is in constant motion, but you get the gist.

As I've said, he's going to be the one to give me gray hair, but it'll be worth the gift of getting to raise him.

Happy 3rd birthday Denver - you make me smile.       

Sweet September

Here's a short round up of how our September went...

We spent weekend not long after school started out at Sayre.

Lily's face pretty much displays the joy we all had for the weekend as we were trying our hardest to get back in the swing of things with school & work.

When we go out to Papa & Nana's the kids get to have all sorts of fun riding around, driving, "helping" Papa with chores & livestock, running around with Nana, jumping on the trampoline...and then there is the added bonus of unlimited access to Oreos & Mt. Dew to keep everyone's energy level high.

Leaving the kids looking like this...when the sugar runs out.

We all have a good time though & it's fun catching up with those I grew up with when we cross paths out there.

Annie had the opportunity to meet Bullet & Pistol Pete this fall too.

And Lily learned the importance of having a closet full of spirit gear here because of Orange Fridays

During September Annie was recognized at school for displaying Respect 

We spent some time cheering on the cowboys

Early in the season things didn't always go in our favor...

Denver spent a morning at work with Dad

Lily had a growth spurt and started babbling some

September kept us busy getting in the swing of things managing three kiddos & work schedules but we've found our new normal which is wild about ninety five percent of the time but five percent of the time we get this

and it's hard to decide which percentage is better.