Time Flies

Well we have been up to no good. No we really have been very busy. Going here and there. Over the last few months a lot has happened. Peter and I celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary, we had a nice weekend (it was Easter weekend) we went to Royal Gorge and just hung out in the Springs. Dakota's three birthdays celebrations were a lot of fun... but our camera was a piece of poo, so we don't have too many pictures.
In the last few weeks... we have been up to Estes Park to the Stanley Hotel.. we did not see any ghost. We had my cousins with us.. it was fun having them with us for 4 days. WOW all those boys... but it was fun, Dakota enjoyed taking them to miniature golf! The Stanley Hotel is beautiful. We love going to Estes Park it so beautiful up there. We did take the time to take a small hike in the Rocky Mountain National Park. We love these warm weekends.

For Memorial day we decided to go to my Parents house in Montrose. We had a good time. We took my mom hiking to a few cool spots in Ouray. Its always interesting visiting my parents.. but we had a good time. Dakota loves going to Grandma and Grandpa's house. We are planning on a lot of trips this summer. Hope everyone had a great couple months. We will try to do better and keep this updated. This is how Dakota takes a break from the hike

and enjoys the view of the falls.

The First time I saw this sign I thought it was pretty good.

Never thought of taking a life vest with me on a hike.

Dakota's Birthday- Part 1

Today starts the beginning of Dakota's birthday weekend. Today we had Dakota's Pirate Party. It turned out good... and would have been better had there not been snow for the last 2 days. So a few friends had to cancel. But we did have a good time with Emily, Kate and Reagan.  We had the house all decorated in pirate garb. We had Pizza for lunch, and very cute pirate face cake(thanks to Melani), a treasure hunt and sword fighting. 

I am very frustrated.... in that our Camera continues to act up. I took a lot of pictures of the cake making process, but all the pictures were corrupted. I am so getting a new camera! 

I can't believe my baby is going to be 3 on monday. He is a great kid. So funny. A few things about him as of right now

- He can sing his ABC's.. (see post below)

- He is 3 feet tall

- He loves nursery

- He loves to ask questions

- His waist is 20 inches around and so is his head. 

- He loves fruits

- He has an imaginary friend name kuh kuh kuh kuh ( we don't know where the name came from, and we can't seem to get him to change it)

- He loves to read 

- He knows how to work the Ipod and Computer (this amazed Lars at Whitney's wedding) 

- He is having his first driving lessons on the jeeps 

- He loves to play in the snow, or watch it snow.. or anything that has to do with snow

He is so much fun to be around. We are blessed to have him in our family. He bring joy and happiness to each day. I am grateful the Lord has blessed us and trusts us enough to take care of him. 

There will be more birthday post as the weekend goes on..... It's an all about Dakota weekend! (that's what happens when your birthday falls on a monday!)

2 great sites...

Hey.. I just wanted to share with you 2 great sites.. and tell you about a contest you could win. The first site is Melissa Howell's Photography Site.http://blueprintsphotography.blogspot.com/ she is holding a contest right now (the drawing is Friday April 17th)... she is giving away $200 in photography products and services. You can also see details to the contest on a blog called 30day.. follow this link....http://thirtyhandmadedays.blogspot.com/

Thanks for checking out these great sites! 

Okay I wasn't

I really wasn't going to get sucked into the Twilight craze that is sweeping though.. well everywhere. We were at Blockbuster the other night.. it was in stock and Peter says "you don't want to rent this?" I said.. "sure I guess so"... so we rented it. It sat on our counter for 3 days before we got around to watching it. I put it in Sunday afternoon while the boys were taking a nap. Even when it started I was like.. "I am not going to like this... not my kind of movie" WRONG! boy was I wrong. I LOVED IT! It was just so good! Peter woke up and I was half way though the movie.. he said "you watched it with out me?... you didn't even want to see it" I said "I know but.. oh my gosh it's so good!!!" I couldn't stop watching it... I watched it like 3 times in the next few days.. then I went out and got the book. That is the first time I EVER read a 400 and some odd page book in 2 days. SO GOOD. I am so excited to go see New Moon in Nov. So count me in for the midnight showing. But I still can't believe how much I enjoy the book... I love Bella and Edward! So.. such is my life right now.. totally involved in Bella and Edward. I LOVE IT!!! 

HELP ME DECIDED?

Which cake should I do for Dakota's 3rd birthday? I can't decided... I really like both of them. Just leave me a comment and tell me which one you like... just need some opinions. 

HOME IMPROVEMENT part 1

So now that we know we are staying here in Denver for a while we decided to do some upgrades to the old homestead... We pulled up the carpet in the dining room and in the living room and with the help of some great guys from our Church.. we installed laminate wood floors.

Ripping up the carpet! Are you sure we know what we are doing?

There it goes.. up and...

out of here...

The install starts.

Tommy is measuring.. turns out he might not be the best guy for that task.. Just kidding Tommy!

The last of it is going in.. isn't is PURDY?

Is that Brandon using power tools? nice cut Brandon!

I think they look beautiful. Thanks to Tommy, Clint, Brandon and Clark for helping with the install and the use of tools! We are most grateful! I was surprised at how fast it all went. They started at about 9am and were done by 2. Dakota and I took a little trip to Chuck E Cheese.. I am not sure who had a harder time the guys or me running after Dakota at Chuck E Cheese. But we had a good time.

I guess I should mention that my living room was in disaray for days. My couches were in the hall way.. the dining room table in the kitchen.. the chairs and other furniture were in Dakota's room. We are slowly getting things back to a normal state. On top of that Peter got sick on Wednesday night.. we had a huge snow storm thurs... what an adventure it has been.

The second part of our home improvement project is.. PAINTING. This is more of me than for anyone else. I HATE white walls. I think walls need life! So once again I have a yellow dining room and kitchen which I had in Charleston too... Although there are no pictures of me painting I did most of the work. Peter did rescue me in doing the trim... he is great! But we are also going to be painting the living room.. so more pictures to follow. I am so happy it's getting all done!

Here is the bare white walls of my dining room...

my wonderful husband smiling while getting the trim~ The color is all off in this picture. I do not have orange walls!

There the color is much better!.. Peter blends in with the wallThere are my beautiful yellow walls! I love it!

ABC's and Colors

Dakota is learning his ABC's and Colors. Just thought I would share a video of him.. it took us like 4 tries to get him to say it all the way though. Enjoy!

Dakota Franklin

Dakota Franklin

Name & Meaning: Dakota Franklin got his name because I have always loved the name Dakota, but to me it's a total boy name. and Franklin after my dad.. we are going to try to use family names for middle names in all the children we are blessed with. We also found that Peter has Franklin in his family line too... Dakota is native american name that means Friend. and Franklin means "free man" 

Age: 2 years 11mos

Nicknames: bugga bear, Kota Bear, Kota, boy. 

Favorite Activities: Swimming( he like water), being a pirate, sword fighting (including w/ light-sabers), cars, riding his big wheel, playgrounds, playing with Tate and Vince

Favorite Foods: Hot dogs, applesauce, chocolate, chicken nuggets, 

Least Favorite Foods: That list is to long. 

Favorite Music: Primary songs, mostly daddy's music.

Favorite Toy: Cars 

Favorite Book: Where the wild things are. 

Favorite Item of Clothing: He doesn't care what he wears. 

What Makes Him Happy: bed time stories (but not bedtime), cuddle time, going to the park, playing in the snow. 

What Makes Him Sad: Getting told no. 

Funny Words or Phrases: "I can't say that word" ; or the made up words that don't really mean anything.... "easy killer" "your driving me crazy kid" 

10 days is too LONG!

Well Dakota and I made it back home yesterday afternoon. We were both very ready to home in our own beds and with daddy! We had a great time visiting Grandma, Grandpa and Pepper in Montrose. And also Aunt Margaret, Racheal, Steve and baby Ava. It was great seeing some old friends from California who now live in Utah... We didn't get to see everyone we wanted to but the mission was a success in what we went there to do.. and that was to help Racheal with the new baby. But we won't be taking a trip without daddy again for a long time.

We started the trip going to Grandma and Grandpa Burris' house. We stayed there for about 4 days.. we played with Pepper and went on walks. And I even made my very first apron. I think it turned out quite well for a first time.

We wanted to go feed the ducks. But we could only find 2 ducks and some other little boys had already been there feeding them. But we had fun throwing bread into the water. And we had a nice walk around the park.

Then we packed up and headed to Utah. We were so excited to see baby Ava and Racheal (and Steve too). Ava is so beautiful. When you asked Dakota what the baby's name is he will so EVAAA( like on Wall-E).. if I said no it's AVA.. he would say.. "I CAN'T SAY THAT WORD" So to Dakota she is baby EVA. But we had a good time in Provo. We are grateful to Aunt Margaret for letting us stay at her house. We weren't really there much, except to sleep and shower. We did all go to IKEA while we were there.. I bought a few things.... and we also had lunch there too.

We took a nice walk to the Provo Temple which was beautiful. It was a Monday afternoon and there was a wedding group taking pictures. But we were able to get a few. That was a fun thing to do with Racheal and Ava.

Dakota and I went to visit my brother which was fun. He and I talked a lot... after that we went downtown to see Temple Square and hang out with some friends that moved from Colorado out there. Dakota had so much fun with Navi... we are glad we got to hang out. Here are some pictures from that trip. We did ride trax downtown which was fun. Dakota played MC and let us know who was getting on and off.. and why did that man have that.. or why was that lady standing there. (and Dakota doesn't say anything in a quite voice).. I am sad I didn't get any pictures of us on Trax or with our friends.

Dakota looks good in this one, but I am making a funny face... So I also posted ...

This one. I look good, but Dakota is not looking. But he enjoyed seeing Jesus there.

On Wednesday we went back downtown so we could so see the Conference center and go to the Distribution center. We had a very nice tour guide that got us though the important parts of the conference center and up on the roof. What a beautiful building. I want to go back and do the whole tour. (But I am taking Peter with me next time). Then over to the Joseph Smith Building to get a few things. Then back down to Provo to have dinner with Katie and Ryan, and Laural and her family. Laural's husband Ronaie ( I don't think I spelled that right) and become a citizen of the US that day.. so we were all very happy for them. We had a great dinner until Dakota started running a fever... I think all the traveling had gotten to him. But we went to the BYU creamery which was fun. I had never been there. (and again I didn't get any pictures). But it was a fun night.

The morning we got up to go.. Dakota threw up like 4 times before 9. I didn't know what to do. He couldn't keep anything down.... But he took a nap and when we woke up he drank a little and ate a little.. and we headed to Grandma's. I think all the traveling and stress of being away really got to him. He is so happy to be home and be with his daddy.

Peter took us out to dinner last night to Texas Roadhouse, then we came home and watched Australia. Good movie. Sad.. but good. I am so happy to be home!

Quickpost this image to Myspace, Digg, Facebook, and others!

HOMEMADE just for you!

The first five people to respond to this post will get something made by me!

My choice. For you.

This offer does have some restrictions and limitations:

1 - I make no guarantees that you will like what I make!

2 - What I create will be just for you.

3 - It'll be done this year (might take a little while).

4 - You have no clue what it's going to be. It may be a story. It may be poetry or an article. I may crochet or quilt something. I may bake you something and mail it to you. Who knows? Not you, that's for sure!

5 - I reserve the right to do something extremely strange.

The catch?

Oh, the catch is that you must repost this on your blog and offer the same to the first 5 people who do the same.

The first 5 people to do so and leave a comment telling me they did win a FAB-U-LOUS homemade gift by me!

Oh, and be sure to post a picture of what you win when you get it!

Good luck!

Jumpin' Fun

My Family of 3.

Yesterday we enjoyed a day out in Loveland at Jumpin Fun. We met some friends up there. It was a great day. Dakota had a great time. Jumpin fun is a place that has Jump castles set up and you pay only for the kids and they can jump all day. Dakota loves playing with TJ and this was a great place to go. We went to Red Robin for lunch! (my favorite!) We also met some new friends the Westbos. Such a fun family. It was a great way to spend a Saturday! Thanks Maria. Dakota liked the jump castles but had even a better time on the play equipment.. but it was great day overall!

Best BuddiesJumpin fun!

Enjoy lunch at Red Robin