Friday, November 23, 2012

Thanksgiving!


Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday.  I LOVE to bake and cook, plus I don't have to worry about gifts, and I'm not burnt out by the commercialism of Christmas.  For me, it is like the magical doorway to the season, the promise that all is well and will be well.  This year was a little different, however.  I just couldn't connect to the magic- my idealistic visions of tasty treats enjoyed by smiling family with holiday jingles in the background- to the screams of my son, or the fact that I left out the butter, vanilla extract and salt in my pecan pie!  If one child wasn't crying, the other one was.  And, forget about nap time!  Well, I am learning to toss out my idealistic notions of the holidays for reality, resolving to go with the flow.  It is a MUST, or I would have no enjoyment at all.  At the end of the day, I realize that I have two healthy children, a wonderful husband, and moments that, although brought a few tears, will one day bring laughter and great stories.  The magic will come about, I'm guessing years down the road, when all this hard work turns out two loving adults.  I will try to remember this come Christmas!


What everyone "thinks" our day was like!

The real thing!

Mom and Annabelle's Thanksgiving Craft

Grand Marnier Vanilla candied Cranberries!!!

Little stinker!


Sweet face!

My Turkey Brine!

I LOVE it!  Makes up for the Pecan Pie!


Pumpkin Pie from SCRATCH!

Dinner Time!

First Pumpkin Pie!

Annabelle's Pie Job

Happy Thanksgiving!  :)

Thursday, November 1, 2012

October Fun

October was a great month for the Homans.  Lot's of fun to go around for everyone.  While I am always tempted to break out the Christmas music in September (yes I am one of those persons), I restrained myself, this year, to only the enjoyment of Halloween.  I am thinking the Holidays can only get better for the years to come (until my kids are adults).  I feel like a child myself watching Annabelle experience all that is involved in celebrating this time of year.  Of course Joey is involved too, but he doesn't know what's going on yet.


Photo shoot at the pumpkin patch!





Homan Family 2012

Little Red Riding Hood, Big Bad Wolf (and cub) and Lumber Jack

Not only did we celebrate Halloween this month, but also Joey and I were able to make a trip back home to Illinois to see my side of the family.  Joey was able to meet everyone, and ESPECIALLY his cousin, Wesley!  They were just adorable together.  It was just wonderful to spend some quality time with most everyone in the family.  We were also able to celebrate Uncle JJ's birthday, while back.  Now, I LOVE Colorado, but being back home makes me realize the great distance between our home and my family.  I always get choked up when I leave.

 SO much cuteness... I CAN'T stand it!


Uncle Eddie and cousins Wesley and Emma

BFFs

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Lesson Learned

Michael had last Friday and Saturday off.  We were really wanting to get out of the house and do something fun!  Last year, a friend of mine went to a "pick your own" farm during the harvest, and got a TON of produce for $15!  The farm provides a tractor ride that takes you to different fields to "harvest" your own crops!  How fun would that be?!  Ugggg, a not so fun experience.  We thought it would take about 45 minutes, tops from the way my friend described it.  We had both Annabelle and Joey.  It was a beautiful day, but the Colorado sun can make even a chilly day warm when you are out it it.  Let's just say we were out in fields for 2.5 hours!!  Now, that might not have been so bad for Annabelle, but Joey was a fuss pants the entire time.  Even Annabelle had a meltdown by the end, as she was well past her nap time.  Oh well.  At least there was another Mom with a newborn there as well.  I didn't feel too bad about dragging my kids out into the great outdoors.  We did get quite a loot!  Kind of like "trick or treating" for veggies!  I will go again next year, but not on a busy Saturday, not in the afternoon, and not with Joey!  Perhaps just Annabelle and I will tackle the task.  We got over 20lbs of potatoes, well over 20 bell peppers, 10 lbs of beets, yellow onions, corn, carrots and chili peppers!   We got some burlap sacks and have the potatoes, beets, carrots, and onions down in the cool, dark crawl space.  I feel like we are "Little House on the Prairie"!  


Here comes our Tractor!!


"Happy" faces.


Harvesting with Dad!



The "happiness" is fading!  And poor Joey, we were so NOT prepared!


Some of the loot!

Sunday, September 16, 2012

Grandpa and Grandma


We were very blessed to have Michael's parents out this week!  They come out about every 3 months for a week or so.  It's a bit of vacation for us all, as we are able to travel around Colorado more since we have more adults to kiddos!  Annabelle is really enjoying her visits with them, and she definitely gets lots of attention when they are in town.  She is a bit on the grouchy side now that they are gone and life will be back to a normal routine.  As much as I loved having them here, it will be back on track with the every day stuff.  We did have a great time though, and I got a few pics to share.

A very sleepy girl!

Best Buds!


The beauty in Breck!

Another shot!

Play time!


Ummm... I'm in love!!

 Swinging with Gramps!


I have 2 teeth now!!

Grandma pushing Annabelle (yes she is in the swing)


Feeding the geese!


Hi Buddy!!


Eldorado Canyon



Creek in Eldorado Canyon!


Peaks of Fall

Thursday, August 30, 2012

Summer is coming to an end...


We usually go to the pool every Wednesday.  It is the end of August, and close to 100 degrees!!!  Not much to do outside other than swim.  So, we were all very disappointed to realized that all the pools close when kids go back to school (mid August).  I understand, but when I was a kid, I guess that was labor day weekend.  Well, we were able to make the best of it, and took a day trip to Cherry Creek Beach.  Annabelle, got her first real experience of a sandy beach, since she was a baby.  Turned out to be a great day!!!