Fun in the.... snow!

Today was Sierra's first opportunity to actually PLAY in the snow this year. We have had snow since the weekend, but on Saturday it was too bitter cold to be out, and Sunday's are a busy day with church, and nap time, and dinner time right after. So Sierra finally got a chance today to go out in all her snow clothes, and play.... play... play. The first thing she wanted to do was make a snow angel. She was even sure to give each one a "smiling face". I was the target for all her snow ball attacks. She really wanted to build a snowman, but the snow was not good packing snow so we really couldn't, but she has the standing promise that as soon as we get good snowman snow, we will help her build one.

Visit with Santa

Well this morning was a Christmas Breakfast at our church. We got up early, and out the door so we wouldn't miss Santa Claus. He was scheduled to arrive at 8:00 a.m., and then breakfast was at 9:00 a.m. . Sierra has been very excited about Santa this year, and walks around the house, saying "Ho Ho Ho" and bringing us presents. She was really happy to see him at church and was sad that he didn't stay to have breakfast with us. She was more understanding though after being told that he had to return to his house at the North Pole to work on making presents for all the good girls, and boys.

Deck the Halls

Today, to follow tradition, we pulled out the Christmas decorations. It was really fun because this year Sierra was old enough to be excited about it. It of course was a big change from last year when we were living in a hotel room, with our counter-top Christmas tree. We had a great time decorating, and will post pics of the finished product soon.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Today we have so much to be thankful for! I can't begin to express how grateful we are for all of the many blessings that are in our life right now. We had a great Thanksgiving together as a family. This year we decided to stay at home in Colorado, but it was a great decision for us. We were able to enjoy each other, and a beautiful Thanksgiving dinner without having to travel. It is a beautiful thing when you are happiest with those you live with. Sierra had a great time helping me how she could with the dinner, and she was a great help to wipe the table down before dinner. Her favorite part of the meal was the turkey. She kept stealing some off the platter before we could even make her a plate. She continued to enjoy it throughout the day, asking for more turkey all day long.

It's a GIRL !!!!

Well I am a little late getting this posted, but we wanted to make the "official" announcement on the blog. It's a GIRL!!!! We couldn't be more excited about the thought of Sierra having a baby sister. J.R. makes such a good daddy to his little princess, and I am proud to be able to raise two little girls with him. Sierra is excited that the baby is a girl; although, she has said it was a girl the whole time. I'm certain that she already knew something that we didn't yet. I have included some ultra sound pictures so everyone can share in the fun with us!

Lions, and Tigers, and Bears.....oh my!

Today was Free day at the Denver Zoo so we took the opportunity to enjoy some more family time out. Of course with it being free day they were PACKED! We had to park on a residential street in the area, and walk over, but I suppose the walk was good for us anyway. (That's me trying to look on the bright side... LOL) We had a really great time together! It was really hot, and crowded, but we were still able to see lots of great habitats. By the end of the day Sierra was ready to go home though, and fell asleep shortly after getting back to the car. I couldn't blame her though, as I was exhausted myself.

Lions, and Tigers, and Bears.... Oh my!.... continued

Denver Museum of Nature and Science

Today J.R. had the day off work so we decided to take Sierra to the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. She absolutely loves to go and see the dinosaurs. We have a lot of fun seeing all the different breeds of animals, and even spending time learning about ancient egyptians. Of course we always have to take a break to dance a little jig, or sing a song. Sierra loves any opportunity to feel like she is on a stage to perform, and then be in the audience while one of us performs for her!

Circus Fun

J.R. surprised us today by buying tickets for us to go the Circus! We had talked about it over the last couple of days, and he thought it would be a really fun experience for our little family to do over the weekend. So once J.R. called I started to get Sierra hyped by showing her pictures from the circus on the internet. She could barely wait to go and see the elephants, and she was most excited about seeing zebras! Haha! Let me tell you my relief that there were actually zebras there. I was worried that I would have a disappointed little girl other wise. Somehow, I'm still not exactly sure how we were able to make it through the miles of stands of overpriced toys, and flashing devices without Sierra having a nervous breakdown. We did however endulge in some overpriced nachos, soda, and candy. It was well worth it though as Sierra was happy as could be eating her chips and watching the tigers, and elephants. Her favorite act, and mine too was the trained dogs they had. The tricks those dogs were doing was hilarious. I tip my hat to those trainers, I can't even get our dog to lay down half the time. Haha!

I am now 16 weeks and 2 days pregnant. I had an appointment with my midwife yesterday, and everything seems to be going really well. The baby's heart sounded perfect, and my weight, and blood pressure were all right where they should be. The midwife ordered our ultrasound so we should be getting a call to schedule that sometime soon. She said it would be in the next 3 weeks sometime. Hopefully at that ultrasound we will be able to tell if we are having a boy or a girl. Sierra was really excited to hear the baby's heart, and it was just kicking away!

And he bites the dust.....

When I heard J.R. pull up in the driveway from work today I was suprised to see him in a leg brace. He has now promised me that in the future if he spends the day in the emergency room, that he is to call me! Ugh! Okay now that my little rant is over....... he had a very unfortunate injury during the training for the MCMAP Instructor course. While fighting on the ground with a fellow Marine his foot stuck in the dirt causing his knee to turn the opposite direction that his body was going. He tried to shake it off, even after hearing a loud POP. Later that morning though as they were carrying Ammo cases back to their camp he heard another POP and dropped to the ground. At that point he couldn't bare any weight on that leg. He spent the day in the emergency room, and was told they are booked out on MRI's and will have to wait. He won't even be seen by our PCM (Primary Care Manager) until October 2, at which time they will give him a referral to Orthopedics to be further evaluated. So for now I plan to take care of him, and keep Sierra from tackling him, a daily ritual for her. He will find out tomorrow if he is medically able to continue the course, but we both feel like it will be better for him not to continue. We'll see what the Doc says tomorrow.

J.R. has been working really hard in this MCMAP program. He comes home every day completely wiped out. It is VERY physically demanding, and requires a lot of dedication, and determination. Here Sierra is helping daddy change the wraps on his knuckles that are split and raw. She makes a very good nurse, and even gave some kisses to daddy's boo-boos to ensure they would heal quicker.

GO SEAHAWKS!!!

For the opening Seahawks game Sierra and Daddy both had to sport their team gear. Sierra actually seems to really enjoy watching football, since we took her to the Broncos preseason game against the browns a couple weeks ago. She also had to practice some tackling moves on daddy.

Last night Sierra was watching a video in our bedroom, and fell asleep. This is how I found her. She was resting so peacefully I couldn't resist taking a couple pictures of her. There is nothing sweeter than looking at your sleeping child; except for the fact that they are being so quiet.... hehehe.

Knock down, drag out fight...

Last night I could have sworn I had a teenager, and not a three year old. She was upset and fighting with me in a very opinionated way. We were both crying, because of course we couldn't see the other's point of view. Haha! It ended in us embracing and her falling asleep on my chest on the couch. There was a point during our little cat fight that I just wanted to run away. In the end though, as I held my sweet daughter and sang to her to calm us both down I realized that every moment of her screaming at me was worth every moment of this loving embrace we were sharing. She is my piece of Heaven here on Earth, even when she is Hell on wheels.

Labor Day picnic at Great Plains Park

For Labor Day our ward had a picnic at cute little park in the area. We had a lot of fun visiting with people, and Sierra especially had fun chasing the little boys around. We didn't see her play with a single little girl the entire day. Hahaha! She spent the day being a monster in high pursuit of all the little boys. She definitely isn't a dainty little thing. She enjoys looking pretty, but definitely doesn't mind getting down and dirty.