mischief

Finn randomly turns the Christmas tree
on and off throughout the day.

Awesome! Now he can climb onto kitchen tables.

Our little Finn-Finn sure can find trouble. I swear this kid gets into so much more than Cullen ever did! I guess Cullen was always where the action was (around people), Finn sneaks off and makes his own action.
On Sunday, when Cullen was opening his birthday presents, I asked Sean... "Where's Finn?" We hear a noise in the kitchen that suspiciously sounds like the napkin holder-- on the kitchen table. I stand up to check to find Finn STANDING on the kitchen table banging the napkin holder on the table. Awesome.

Happy Birthday, Cullen!

Cullen has had a birthday party extravaganza this weekend! On Saturday we celebrated his birthday with his preschool friends at The Little Gym. It was so cute to watch them all run and play! Fun was had by all! Today after church, we ate lunch out and when we got home it was time for presents! After dinner tonight we continued our ice cream cake tradition. :)

Happy birthday Cullen! I can't believe you are already four years old! We love you for all the things you are- ornery, smart, funny, talkative, social, goofy, and wild! We couldn't be happier to call you our oldest son. :)

dining out

The team had a dining out last night at Maggiano's in downtown Denver. We all had a good time. Everyone was able to make it except for about 3 couples who were already on leave. It was amazing the response the general public gave us all. The people in the Springs are used to all the military, but people in Denver were not. Several people bought everyone rounds of drinks and tons of people stopped to shake their hands and sincerely thank them. It was really heartwarming. One guy didn't say anything but gave Sean a high-five as we walked downtown. It was kind of humorous. Of course we did run into some knuckleheads that wanted to argue foreign policy, but no one let it ruin a good night.

getting in the Christmas spirit

the boys with their new ornaments

Finn's ornament for 2009-
Scooby Doo eating gingerman cookies

Little Sean's Cullen's ornament for 2009-
Scooby Doo playing the guitar

Sean putting lights on the house. Yikes!

Finn "helping" decorate the tree

Belf, the elf, is back!

Sean did a great job on the lights!

We decorated the house for Christmas the day after Thanksgiving. Cullen loved it! Finn's getting into the Christmas spirit too, adding "Christmas Tree" to his little vocabulary. Both boys enjoy finding where Belf comes to hide each morning.

snips and snails and puppy dog tails

that's what little boys are made of

the deck reveal

Backyard before- July 2009

Sean and Matt laying the decking. Sept. 2009

staining the deck- Sept. 2009

Stamped concrete is done! October 2009

It's done! November 2009
We put solar lights on each post.

They put the step in today, so it still needs to be stained.

Hooray! The deck is done. :) Hopefully we'll have some warm days coming up, so we can get out there and stain the steps. We are so happy with the deck! It's amazing to me that Sean and Matt did it all. Our backyard still needs a lot of work. We'll be planting a lot this spring!

family day

Finn, Cullen, Luke, and Maggie

Luke is outta there, that megaphone was loud!

Finn checking out the crawl space in the team room.

Cullen watching TV on the loft in Daddy's team room.

me shooting an M9

I don't want to brag, but the Soldier teaching me
told me I was a good shot.... :)

It's got a kick to it!

Me with my friends- Jessica and Allison

We did it!!

Cullen loves a good bounce house!

Checking out the ATV's

Of course, you've got to push all the buttons!
Cullen is good at pushing buttons.

In a very TALL truck.
Forgive me, I don't recall the name.

Tired boys after a long day at Daddy's work.
Notice the two Action Man's. :)

Daddy is finally home from Kyrgyzstan!! He got in while Cullen was at preschool, so Sean was able to surprise him by picking him up when school was over. It was so sweet to see the surprise in Cullen's face. He was thrilled! Finn has really been taking it all in, we can tell he remembers Sean. Finn's also on his way to being a Daddy's boy again, wanting Daddy to carry him, etc. And of course, Daddy brought back souvenirs... Cullen got a Snake Attack Action Man and Finn got the Police Man Action Man with a barking dog. The boys are in love, they love Action Man!!

Today was Family Day at the Battalion. This is the first Family Day they've had since we got here. We all had a blast! It started with a catered BBQ lunch and a chili contest. Jessica, Allison, and I bravely tried all 14 chili's and voted on the best. Some were very unique... one was made with Duck, and another with Elk. Then it was off to let the little ones jump on the bounce house.

While the kids were occupied, the girls and I made a run for it and went to the range to shoot. We caught the last bus out there. It was really fun! We donned our bulletproof vests and helmets and moved out. I shot a few times and had no idea where the bullets were going (the target had a ton of shots in it), so I asked the Soldier helping me. I was worried I wasn't even hitting the target. He told me I hit it every time and the last one was in the gut. When I was done, he told me I was a good shot. Most went into the gut and a few between the breast bone and shoulder. Not bad for my first time shooting a gun! We closed down the range and headed back to relieve the men.

We then let the kids run around the team room a bit. A team guy (with no children) thought it would be a good idea to teach Cullen how to use the Megaphone. I think he quickly realized that was not a good idea. :) Then on the way out to the car to head home, we had to make a quick stop to see some Army vehicles. It was a fun day! I'm sure the boys are having sweet dreams tonight.

A Cullen side note... When we told Cullen about going to Daddy's work today, I think he thought that he was going to work with Sean by himself-- to REALLY work and help. He went on to say, "Mom, when I'm a big kid, I'm going to the Army to help Daddy. You can stay here, cause I'm bigger." When I asked him what he'll do in the Army to help Dad he said "You know, clean up and pick things up."

the short lifespans of snowmen

our beloved Frosty

trying to get a hold of those pesky blueberries

Cullen's first snowman

Frosty didn't see the quick jab to the gut coming.

or the fast footwork...

bye bye Frosty

helping me shovel :)

We got several inches of snow last night. Once Finn went down for his morning nap, Cullen and I went outside. I needed to shovel the driveway and Cullen was itching to go play. As you can see, we built a "beautiful" (Cullen's words) snowman. Cullen found the nice weeds for his arms. Frosty had Finn's hat, broccoli eyes, a pink sucker nose, red pepper mouth, and blueberry buttons. He didn't last long, as soon as I took his picture with Frosty, he was asking to knock him down. If you can't beat them, join them! In case you're wondering, Cullen did manage to salvage the nose. :)