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Colorado Springs

For our family vacation this year, we decided to go to Colorado Springs and Denver. We have completed the Colorado Springs portion of the trip, so it is time for a photo update. Air Force Academy Protestant Chapel... amazing! Air Force Academy Catholic Chapel Air Force Academy Protestant Chapel Organ Garden of the Gods Garden of the Gods Jeff and Josh at Garden of the Gods Our friend the giraffe... up close and personal! Awesome! Moose! (Don't be fooled, it was at the zoo!)

Jennifer

Two weeks ago I was told that my friend Jennifer has breast cancer. I worked with Jennifer at JC Penneys, and she was a bridesmaid in my wedding, her son Caden is my Godson. To say that she is very dear to my heart would be an understatement. Yesterday my friends Amy, Heather, and I were able to attend Jennifer's first chemotherapy treatment. She did amazing. What a strong woman. She is a true inspiration. I have no doubt that she is going to kick this cancer's butt! I look forward to making many trips up to see her in the future!

My Jennifer!!

The "Fab Four!" Amy, Jennifer, Heather and Katie

Big Weekend Coming Up!

We are busy preparing for Josh's First Holy Communion this weekend. We will have a housefull on Sunday afternoon. Josh is getting very excited. Honestly, I am excited for the whole thing to be over. He told me today that they are practicing for the next three days. They got to have the host (wafer) again today. We had a good Easter. It was just the three of us, and as usual, we had a very non-traditional holiday. We went to church on Saturday evening to see the new Catholics from our parish have their first communion, and confirmation. Sunday, rather than taking part in a "normal" Easter dinner, for lunch we had Buffalo wings and for supper Jeff smoked a pork butt. Good times!

Friday Jeff and I each took the day off and the three of us traveled up to Sioux City to finally get my new car. We are now the proud owners of a 2012 Chevrolet Equinox. It is so different from the Honda, but I am loving it. I find myself trying to come up with reasons to drive it. I am a weirdo!

Jeff is actually here all week, and is even taking Thursday and Friday off to get the house ready for all the company. Hopefully he won't drive me crazy! Lol!

Spring Has Sprung!

I think that Spring started springing back in mid-February. I am happy to say that it seems to be here to stay! We actually had two days this weekend that the temperature was in the 90's. Jeff is enjoying the weather as it allows him to get the yard work done that is calling his name. He got the flower beds all spruced up just in time for Josh's upcoming First Holy Communion.

Josh is spending more time outside these days as well. Bella is enjoying his company and annoying both him and Jeff. Josh likes to ride his bike, kick his soccer ball, and bounce on the trampoline. Oh, and this weekend he broke out the sidewalk chalk. He is quite the sidewalk chalk artist! He is also enjoying the last few months of school. We got his report card for the third quarter and he had all A's and B's. We were pretty happy with his improvement, but Josh still needs to work on slowing down and double checking his work.

I am staying nice and busy with work. I like the money part of it, but I sometimes feel a little stressed when Jeff is out of town, I am busy, and I need to get Josh. So, I am very thankful for those times when Jeff is home! Unfortunately, this is not one of those weeks! Jeff is in Casper, Wyoming doing some shake ups with the employees. He seems to be enjoying the after hours part of this trip. I, on the other hand, have been very bored at night with no one to talk to! So, I am researching my new car. That's right, I am getting a new car! I have been BEGGING Jeff forever and I finally have him convinced that I can afford a new car. I don't think that when he listed the Honda on Craigslist on Sunday morning that he thought it would be sold by that afternoon. LOL! So, I am doing my best to find the car of my dreams. It has not been easy. I have it narrowed down to either a Chevy Equinox, or a GMC Terrain. Essentially the same vehichle, just a little different on the outside. My only problem is that I cannot seem to find the one I want. I want one that is white with black leather... apparently they are either very popular or they just don't make them! But, I am going to keep looking! Hopefully we can find something by Saturday, as that is the day that the Honda goes bye bye! We will see.

Josh's First Holy Communion is just a little over a week away. He is super excited. He had his First Reconciliation (confession) last Wednesday. Boy was he excited to get that out of the way! He was so proud!

Not much else to update on right now, so I suppose that I may as well sign off!

Company!

Kara, Taly and Niko came to visit last Friday on their way up to South Dakota to visit Papa and Pauline. We got the kiddos pictures taken. Here they are!

Baby Kendyl

Today Josh and I got to visit with our neighbor Audra. She brought over her new baby Kendyl for a visit. What a good time. Kendyl is adorable, and a great baby! It was also nice to have a chance to chat with Audra. We have lived by them for almost three years, and this is really only the second time that I have talked to her.

Josh had a good day at school. I felt terrible because when I picked him up, he was still wearing his snow boots. I asked him why, and he said, "Because you didn't pack my shoes! I had to wear them all day!" Whoopsie! Bad mommy award goes to me today!

Less than two days and Kara, Taly and Neeks will be here. I can't wait. I miss them when I don't see them for so long! I just wish that they could stay longer.

Always gone

Nothing major to write about tonight. Just thinking that it seems like Jeff is always gone lately. I miss him.

Josh and I ran some errands tonight. We did some birthday shopping for Niko and Lincoln. We got to go to the Helzers for a playdate for about an hour. When Jeff is gone, it is really nice to be able to have that adult interaction, even if it is only for a little bit.

Winter is Here! Dang it!

I guess I shouldn't complain. It is after all FEBRUARY! We just had our most significant snow on Saturday. 11.5 inches in well under 24 hours. It was just crazy. The wind wasn't awful, so we didn't end up with the terrible drifts that we had the last two winters. Thankfully Jeff was home and able to get the driveway cleared before leaving for Washington State... again! This is his third week-long trip to Moses Lake, Washington since the beginning of the year. Good times.

On the work front, besides going out of town ALL. THE. TIME, Jeff was recently promoted to the position of COO at DBI. This all transpired after Erv passed away. Hopefully Jeff will take well to this new role.

I am still staying busy with my medical transcription work. It has been very interesting. I am down one client, but I am totally fine with that. With Jeff traveling a lot for work, it helps that I can get done a little earlier so that I can go pick Josh up.

Speaking of Josh... he is doing fabulously! He is enjoying school and Cub Scouts. The Pinewood Derby is coming up this Sunday. It was originally scheduled for last Saturday, but with all the snow, it was postponed. He and I recently got our library cards, so he has been reading... a lot! The past couple of days have been spent building a huge fort and throwing snow balls at Bella.

We were able three weeks ago to see our niece Hannah get baptized. Pretty neat. We are preparing for a short visit from my sister and her two kiddos, Niko and Natalya. We can't wait. They arrive on Friday early in the afternoon and leave early Saturday morning. We are going to get the kids pictures taken. So, hopefully I will stick to my word and actually post some pictures on this blog! I am just terrible about that!