December 2009

After working for 3 weeks in December I had 2 weeks off for the Christmas break! YEAH!!!

During this time we attended our neighborhood children's party and also a party at a neighbor's home. It only took us 4 years in this neighborhood to make it to the "A" list parties! :)

First of all I won 19th row Avalanche tickets for December 22nd! The game started at 8pm so Jason and I got a babysitter and headed to the National Hockey League game. We lost at the end....and it started to snow on the way out to the car and all the way home. But we still had fun!

The first week I was out Nathan and I hung around the house because it was COLD and SNOWING. Day 2 he locked me out of the house - in the snow - in slippers. I went through 3 screens until I found a window that we had left unlocked. My next step was calling 911. He sat right by the door he locked me out of and did not move from that area. He did console himself by coloring on the walls and door with a marker while I was out....

We also went back to his daycare for their Christmas party. It's too funny to see 18-24 month olds "partying".

Christmas Eve we attended our candlelight service at church and went to our neighbor's holiday party. Christmas we were home, just the three of us, and it was pretty low key. Nathan really got into opening the gifts. Before that he had not really bothered the packages at all - just the train underneath!

The next week I enjoyed time with Nathan. Tuesday, Stacy and Ethan joined us for a trip to the aquarium. Wednesday Nathan and I headed to the Children's Museum and Thursday (New Year's Eve), Jason, Nathan and I went to the Denver Zoo for the Zoo Lights.

November 2009

November went by in a flash. I started my new position at Johnson & Wales, Assistant Director of Experiential Education. Two weeks later the Director was gone! I went through intense training with some ladies from our Providence and Miami Campuses and feel much better about my ability to be of great use to the department!

Jason is working in Cheyenne, Wyoming and downtown Denver. We rushed to get as much Christmas shopping done as possible so we could check gifts in a suitcase to bring to SC when we went home for Thanksgiving. Still spent well over $100 in just shipping this holiday season - maybe even closer to $200 when you factor in the almost 100 cards we mailed out!

We flew home on Thanksgiving Day this year and flew back the Monday after - to return to work on Tuesday! Thursday Jim and Wanda picked us up for the airport and took us to Terry & Harold's home to celebrate Thanksgiving. There were about 30 people there, including the DeWitts, the Moles, the Darby's the Jennings and the Braxtons. It was great seeing everyone!

Friday we visited Nathan's Great-Grandmother, Vernelle, AKA "GG". We then ate BBQ, saw some friends and that evening headed to Columbia to the Japanese Steakhouse. We had almost 20 in our group - this was my chance to see and catch up with as many friends as possible! I saw Ann Flynn - my best friend in high school and college that I had not seen for more than 10 years. Shannon my old pal and past roommate. I saw Alexa who was 8.5 months pregnant, Sherry who looked awesome as always and Stephanie who had lost 105 pounds as of 1/4/10. Jason got to see his friend Troy, who he'd not seen in about a year.

Saturday was the Carolina-Clemson game and we gathered at my parents' house to watch the game. Carolina had a surprising victory!!! Sunday we spent with Mom and Dad and Aunt Lil - going to church and just letting them have time with Nathan.

Monday Mom and Dad took us to the airport where we flew home without any problems. It was a great trip!

When you thought I wasn't looking....

WHEN YOU THOUGHT I WASN'T LOOKING

When you thought I wasn't looking I saw you hang my
first painting on the refrigerator, and I immediately
wanted to paint another one.

When you thought I wasn't looking I saw you feed a
stray dog, and I learned that it was good to be kind
to animals.

When you thought I wasn't looking I saw you make my
favorite cake for me, and I learned that the little
things can be the special things in life.

When you thought I wasn't looking I heard you say a
prayer, and I knew that there is a God I could always
talk to, and I learned to trust in Him.

When you thought I wasn’t looking I saw you make a
meal and take it to a friend who was sick, and I
learned that we all have to help take care of each
other.

When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw you give of
your time and money to help people who had nothing,
and I learned that those who have something should
give to those who don't.

When you thought I wasn't looking I saw you take care
of our house and everyone in it, and I learned we have
to take care of what we are given.

When you thought I wasn't looking I saw how you
handled your responsibilities, even when you didn't
feel good, and I learned that I would have to be
responsible when I grow up.

When you thought I wasn’t looking I saw tears come
from your eyes, and I learned that sometimes things
hurt, but it's all right to cry.

When you thought I wasn’t looking I saw that you
cared, and I wanted to be everything that I could be.

When you thought I wasn't looking I learned most of
life's lessons that I need to know to be a good and
productive person when I grow up.


When you thought I wasn’t looking I looked at you and
wanted to say, ‘Thanks for all the things I saw when
you thought I wasn’t looking.'

Race for the Cure

Sunday, October 4th, 2009

I participated in my first Race for the Cure! It was amazing and I am already planning for next year. If you have never participated in one of these walks take the plunge and do it!

I would like to take a moment to thank everyone who supported me in my fundraising efforts!
Jeannette Mole
Wanda Holbert
Melissa Darby
Alexa Bigwarfe
Mary Andrusyk
Eve Ammons
Troy Pooser
Jerry McLallen
Michelle Edgemon

Please click on the title of this post to see news coverage from our local Denver paper. The walk route took us onto interstate 25 and exit ramp to make a human "pink ribbon"! Everyone walking was so nice and so passionate about what we were doing. They had survivors walking and those who could not were being carried in pedicabs. Everyone had a story on their backs with their "celebrations" and "in memory of" statements. As many of you know, I walked in memory of my grandmother, Grace Thelma Hoffman (7-12-1983), one of the most amazing women I have ever known!

Here are some statistics that I took from Kayce's blog - you can also check out her version of the same event at:http://obriensincolorado.blogspot.com/

46 degrees, 54,000 people in pink, live music, 3.2 miles = over $2 million dollars raised for breast cancer research and awareness at the 2009 Denver Race for the Cure!


Team Hakuna Ma Ta-Ta's you've changed my life!

Week of September 21-27, 2009

The week was a regular busy week with a little crazy mixed in! We had NO PLANS for the weekend but plans found us. Friday Jason was suppose to meet a guy to buy a hard-top for his Jeep. So on the way he calls him and the guy tells him he sold it the day before. Jason spent an hour taking the top off of his Jeep and drove to work in the rain without a top that day. Needless to say he was not a happy camper, but handled it better than I would have!

So with nothing to do Friday evening Jason suggests we see if the church has any tickets left for the Rockies baseball game. I called and out of the 100 they bought - they had 5 left! We picked up our tickets and headed to Coors Field. It was a perfect evening for the game and Nathan had a ball! He watched the game and ate and flirted with the ladies behind us - and then we won in the 9th inning! To top it all off they had a fireworks show after the game. Nathan actually dozed off during the show!



Saturday we got up and headed to the Denver Merchandising Mart for a Liquidation Sale they were having. We had the best time finding awesome deals on name brand perfumes and knock off sunglasses, among other things. We went to church that evening and then when Nathan went to bed Jason and I had a picnic dinner in our den. Sometimes it's nice to have adult time.

Sunday we attended Karl's Dairy Fall Festival where Nathan and I rode in a barrel train and petted all sorts of animals (goats, sheep, horse, donkey, 2 week old calf, bunnies, geese, rooster, pigs, llama, etc! )




So it was a fun-filled, packed weekend after all! :)

Still have not figured out how to upload photos from the new camera. It has a different adaptor than the old one. I'm about to email a friend that has a similar one! :)

Grandmama and Poppa Jim Visit: Sept 16-19, 2009

Wednesday, September 16, 2009, Granmama Wanda and Poppa Jim arrived! At first Nathan was a little shy, but he quickly warmed up to them! Thursday and Friday he stayed home from school to have one on one time with them. They went for walks and went swimming, they played and ate and went through I believe five outfits the first day!
Thursday was our 4th anniversary but we celebrated Friday evening. Gotta love free babysitters! We had dinner reservations at Oceanaire Seafood Restaurant. It has a 1930's ocean liner theme on the inside and has been voted Denver's Best Seafood in town - our dean of culinary recommended it. It was fantastic! They had "Happy 4th Anniversary" printed on our menus. We started with an amuse of a scallop and fried spinach leaf (and other stuff) that was to die for. They also brought bread and a tray of picked & raw items (herring, black olives, pickles, peppers, cucumbers, carrots, celery, etc.). I had shrimp scampi like I have never had before and Jason had a chili rubbed salmon. Sides were ordered family style and we got salt & vinegar chips(skinny fries with a bite), fried green beans (our least favorite) and steamed asparagus with cream sauce. For dessert they brought us a flaming Baked Alaska that was about 10 inches tall - on the house!! They had a card signed by the staff and rolled up our menu and tied it with a ribbon.


Weather was great so we walked from the restaurant to Comedy Works. We saw some great comedians - the headliner being John Heffron - who won Last Comic Standing. We were front row - my feet were on stage we were so close! Jason and I have now seen two winners of LCS - Josh Blue was the first. We laughed so hard my face and chest hurt.

We then came home to find Nathan up - so I got to put him to bed. It was a perfect evening.

Saturday Wanda let us sleep in a little - then we showered and went to breakfast. After that we had some much needed rest and relaxation time and then went to the park. Nathan had a great time walking Grandmama an Poppa all over and playing in the playground area. Then we returned for our picnic feast and finally ended our day with feeding the water fowl. Nathan loved it and had one or two up front that he was almost hand feeding.

Sunday we got up nice and early to have breakfast before Jim and Wanda departed for SC. And boy did Nathan miss them when they left. First he cried.....then he napped and went to church. I think the nursery play took his mind off it, but when we returned home alone - he realized they were gone again. Monday started our week off cold and rainy - and Nathan having to get use to going to school again after being off four days. He was a little need that evening, but still fun!

We are already looking forward to our holiday trip home where Nathan can see all his grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins!

Susan's craftier side...

Here are a few projects I've been doing in the last few months.....




Machine embroidery
















I'm getting braver with each project....:)