The Lost Tooth

It was sooooo time for this tooth to come out-it had been loose since March!

The tooth FINALLY came out (with a little help)...

and the Tooth Fairy even found Jackson, despite the move!

Reunited

 We are reunited with Brent...

It is so nice to be a family again. 

We have been keeping busy...looking for a house, exploring Fort Collins, going to the Denver Zoo, registering for school (the new school mascot is a dinosaur...I can't tell you how excited Jackson is), and getting the kids involved in activities. There is an amazing splash park we are loving. We have also been bowling (Yes, ASHTON won the last time we went bowling). I am busy with my dissertation, but since I am done with classes, school in general is more manageable.

 Life is GOOD!

 

 

 

 

 

Tahoe Finale

 

One of the saddest things about leaving Reno was missing out on a whole summer of TAHOE! We went up a couple of final times...there is just nothing like Tahoe's beauty. Even though it was cold, the kids had a BLAST. We will definitely miss Lake Tahoe!

Wedding

 

 

Our nephew, Clark, was married in May. Brent flew into Sacramento, and we drove to the reception in California. There was dancing at the reception, and the kids busted out the moves. We had a great trip. It really was awful to drop Brent back off at the airport and head home to Reno. After a 3 month separation, we were soooo ready for May to end!

AWWWWWWW!

My boys. (I hate it that Ryan is looking more like a toddler than a baby!)

Spring Break Fun

 I spoke at a research conference in Anaheim in April. Flying with three kids through LAX with multiple delays in the flight=not fun. Meeting Daddy at Disneyland=SUPER FUN!!

It was so great to see Brent. We hadn't seen him since the move. 

Disneyland was a blast...and Jackson even went on California Screamin' with Brent (granted he wouldn't go on ANY fast rides after that, but he survived!). We saw the Princesses, Jackson attended the Jedi Academy, we stayed at the Disneyland Hotel, swam, and made lots of memories.

 

EASTER

There was no way I was staying in Reno with the kids by myself over Easter (and Brent was CRAZY busy, so he couldn't travel home). I loaded the kids up and we went to Idaho. We had a great trip. 

I love this picture. Grandpa enjoys playing chess with the grand-kids. This was the first time Jackson played with him. 

Nana and Papa got a new toy. SOOO MUCH FUN!!!

We also had an Easter Egg Hunt with the cousins. 

The Easter Bunny LIVES (I got a basket!)

It was definitely worth the 10 hour drive..solo...with 3 kids.

The First Haircut

 Yes, normally kiddos are around 12 months when they get a devoted post with this title. Ashton was 4. Here she is getting her first haircut! She was soooo excited.

Her new haircut was so stylish. Thank goodness for Face Time...even Daddy got to see her grown-up look.  She is a beautiful girl, and we love her so much!

It's ON!

Jackson LOVES to light-saber fight. Ryan decided that he wanted in on the action. We probably have 4 light-saber fights in our house a day. I keep telling myself it is just building hand-eye coordination...right?

The New Chapter

This is where it began...

About this time in 2013 (FEBRUARY), our lives dramatically changed. 

It all started with a phone call. 

One of Brent's friends from his graduate Tax Law program called.

He offered Brent an in-house counsel position. 

Brent and I spent 48 hours investigating the opportunity...

and by March, Brent had given his notice at work, packed up most of the house, and moved to Fort Collins, CO. This was quite possibly the WORST time for me to move. I had two major dissertation meetings IN LAS VEGAS... my written and oral comprehensive exams, and my Dissertation Proposal Defense. I stayed with the kids in Reno, and Brent headed to Fort Collins. These months were really just a blur...but I am happy to report that I am now a PhD candidate, our family is reunited, and somehow...we survived these three months.

 

Birthday!

Jackson's seventh birthday was so much fun. We had some great friends over, yummy cupcakes and fun presents! Jackson is such a great kiddo. Some fun facts about Jackson:

He has lost 2 teeth.

He is such a wonderful brother to Ashton and Ryan. 

He is a stellar reader. 

He is doing really well with piano lessons. 

He loves to ride bikes. 

His favorite color is yellow (He is color blind so we are never really sure). 

He LOVES school. His favorite subject is "recess". He loves to read.

He loves (absolutely LOVES) to swim. 

He is discovering Star Wars and Avengers.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JACKSON!!

 

 

SKIING

Best winter EVER! We had sooo much fun. The kids took skiing lessons and Brent and I (finally) hit the slopes together (haven't done that since pre-kids). Both Ashton and Jackson LOVED skiing. Here's to our new family hobby...SKIING!!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Happy New Year! We had such a fun night. We went to a New Year's Eve party. There were some....interesting...games (yes, that is Brent and friends with shaving cream!). Little did we know the changes 2013 would bring!!!

Christmas 2012

Christmas pajamas are a MUST! These three had a wonderful Christmas. We went to a magical Christmas Eve party (complete with a visit from Santa). Christmas Day was just amazing. It was so wonderful to be together as a family for the whole day...December was pretty horrible with Brent's work...OK...REALLY HORRIBLE...so it was great just to be together. MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

SNOW

So much fun in the snow! Ryan was adorable...he couldn't quite understand why it was so COLD. 

Gingerbread Houses

ONE OF THE BEST TRADITIONS EVER!!! My kids had soooo much fun decorating gingerbread houses. This year, I discovered how to use sugar for the "glue"...it worked quite well. This is definitely one of my favorite traditions. I think Ashton and Jackson worked on these for 2-3 hours.

An aerial view of the finished product!

Jackson's First Field Trip

Jackson went on his first field trip in December, 2012. The first grade classes went to the play "The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe". Because I knew what the field trip would be, we read the book together, and then watched the movie. This was such a great way to make sure he knew the story line. The day of the field trip, he was more excited about riding the bus than going on the field trip! He had a great time.

Ashton's Christmas Program

Every year, the preschool has a Christmas Program....I am going to miss the cute songs! Ashton was so excited to sing! 

Christmas Party

Brent's firm had their annual Kids' Christmas Party. There was great food, activities, presents, and of course, Santa! I didn't get any great pictures at the party, but the aftermath was fantastic.

 Ryan is into EVERYTHING! When we got home from the party, he dumped the entire box of Cheerios all over the floor!

 The face painting was super fun.

 Ashton and Jackson had a BLAST.

Merry Christmas, 2012!!