Meet Riley!

Well, life around here just got a lot busier and a lot more fun!

Meet, Riley, our newest little family member:

Don't you just love that face?!

Riley is a yellow lab, just 8 weeks old, and he has already stolen all of our hearts! He is playful and sweet, and a joy to be around :)

I have never had a puppy, and they truly are a lot of work, especially at this young age. But just like having a newborn baby in the house, you do the work because you want to protect this joyful little being and do your best for him.

He is eagerly exploring his new home, when he is awake, that is! He plays hard and sleeps deeply and often.

We have an orientation tonight for the puppy kindergarten we will start attending next week, and I am very excited! Riley is so smart and eager to please, it will be great to learn how to train him properly- and he gets to socialize with other little puppies his own age in a safe environment. Win-win for all!

You can be sure I will be posting updates on our life with this little guy!

The year in review?

When did life get so busy? I wonder when I stopped having- or making- time to blog, when I actually enjoy it?

In any case, it's been nearly a whole year since I posted anything and I guess that means that I have a little catching up to do here :) Brevity is not normally my strong suit, but I will make an extra effort this time!

In October, we finished up marching season with the two girls, and in early December, the Columbine football team won the State Championship! The girls attended and played at that game- we watched it on TV.

Then came December with my birthday, some minor surgery, our holiday Open House, and Christmas with the kids and our little granddaughter! Isn't she just the sweetest thing?

We also had some sadness too, as our across-the-street neighbor was killed in a car accident just two days before Christmas, leaving behind his wife and two small children. We have tried to help out in as many ways as we can, and they have become part of our family.

Life is just so unpredictable and we always have to remember to cherish the ones we love. 

The new year rolled in quietly. In January, I joined the After Prom Committee to make the Senior Wall, and we worked all the way through April on it. And I took a mozzarella-making class at the Truffle Cheese Shop in Denver. That was SO fun!

There isn't much to write about February; Rich had eye surgery in both eyes, and recovered well.

March was rather fun; my sister Sandy and I flew to Regina, Saskatchewan to surprise our baby sister Becky for the weekend for her 40th birthday! Sandy made these t-shirts and we all wore them for the whole day.

April brought about Prom- and after Prom. This was Heidi's Senior year.

The Senior was is made up of 10 panels on each side- and each panel measures 4' wide by 10' tall. The theme was "Games Rebels Play".

Heidi turned 18 years old in May, and my eldest, Holly, turned 23. Heidi graduated from Columbine High School at the end of the month, and school ended for the year for both girls.

June saw Chloe get her braces off!

Heidi started a six-week program up at CU Boulder in June as well, which prevented her from joining us on our Canada trip in July.

We stayed in Ottawa with my sister Sandy, and had a little reunion of sorts with everyone.

Then Rich and I continued on to the Maritimes, where we spent 12 days eating all the seafood we could manage. 

We went to Halifax, Nova Scotia:

Prince Edward Island:

And St. John's, Newfoundland:

(these are statues of a Newfie and a Lab)

Back home again, it's August, and just in time to get the girls ready for a new school year. Chloe is a sophomore and in marching band again. 

We got Heidi moved up to Boulder, into her dorm room, and she loves it up there!

I have been canning up a storm since getting home from our holidays at the beginning of August. I have done tons of tomatoes, dill pickles, peach jam, peach salsa, tomato salsa, peach butter, and I have grilled corn for the freezer. I still have a lot of jam to make, but the really seasonal stuff has to be done first.

This weekend is not only Labor Day, but the baby of the family celebrates her 15th birthday :)

They say there is no rest for the wicked- and if that is true, I must be VERY wicked! 

How's that for a brief year in review???

Time really flies!

Another marching band season has come and gone- and thus explains one of the reasons I have been remiss in posting here...

The Columbine Rebel Marching Band finished its season yesterday up in Fort Collins at CSU; they competed in the state quarter-finals and though they had the best performance of their year, they didn't make it to the semi-finals. No one was disappointed though. They have a largely young band and so they really did well overall.

This year was especially fun for me, since both girls were in it together for this one and only year. Chloe entered Columbine this fall as a freshman and Heidi is a senior, off to college next year. Both girls have been really involved in music since their school days at Toniata, in Brockville, Ontario.

Heidi started in marching band playing the flute. She played flute for the remainder of the year in band class. In her sophomore year, she played mellophone (the marching version of the French horn) in marching band, then went back to flute for band class. Last year, her junior year, Heidi played mellophone in marching band, but switched to tuba for band class. This year, she marched with the sousaphone (the marching version of the tuba) and will play tuba for band class. From the smallest instrument to the biggest!  Heidi is so tiny- just a little over 5'2" and 100 lbs- carrying an instrument that is half her weight!

She had a little solo in the show this year where she played and danced around a little- it was a huge crowd pleaser!

I'm a little sad that she is done with it all. Marching band really saved her when we moved here. She knew no one, had to start high school all alone- but joining marching band gave her a community, friends, and instant belonging. It's been great.

Here are some photos of Heidi:

Tucked inside the sousaphone

Playing flute at the mall during a Christmas fundraiser for the band

Marching with the sousaphone during the Western Welcome Week parade here in Littleton

Heidi performing her solo in the field show (she is the one on the right)

Playing mellophone, Heidi is right under the One Way sign

Playing tuba during a band concert- she is the tuba on the right

Chloe has been active in music too, since moving here. At Normandy Elementary, Chloe played clarinet, tried her hand at oboe, and also was a member of the bell choir, which was very cool.

At Ken Caryl Middle School, she started off on clarinet, but switched to French horn soon after. She seems to like playing French horn, so maybe she will stay with that...

Looking all serious as the band prepares to start in the Western Welcome Week parade (Chloe is right out front)

Warming up before the Arapahoe Invitational at Littleton High School

Playing the field show (Chloe is directly behind the blocks)

Marching in the Grand Junction parade. In this competition, they had a full inspection, and they were being judged during the parade and the field show. So, full-on serious! (Chloe is on the right)

A little break from the sombre... (Chloe is in the middle)

\

Warming up before the field show at Grand Junction.

This is the first Saturday that the girls haven't given up the whole day for either a band practice or competition since the beginning of August. And they were forced to get up mid-morning to help with leaf raking and cleaning.... ahhh, gotta love autumn!

Kids' Visit

I say kids, but they really aren't anymore, at 22 and 20.

Holly and Ben spent ten days here, after we got back from our trip to Sweden and Denmark. We had a lot of fun shopping, hanging out, and just talking.

No visit would be complete without the obligatory photo shoot, so here are some photos for you to enjoy. Click on any photo to view it larger.

This time, the location was the trampoline. Which apparently Heidi doesn't like. Who knew? lol

Love those mid-air shots!

And everyone having fun! 

A pretty good photo of all four, no small feat!

Holly, 22

Ben, 20

Heidi, 17

Chloe, 13

At the end- and Heidi's face pretty much sums up how she feels about being on the trampoline... lol

Oh boy.

Has it really been THAT long since I posted something????

I don't even know where the time has gone. But I DO know that next week, I am catching up!

I actually have lots of fun things to share, and lots of updates to post.

Next week, my time is back to (mostly) my own and I will be here! :)