Some of my favorite things

1. My hero that is serving and protecting our family and this country

2. Technology that helps me feel connected to my hero

3. My three sweet kiddos that keep me busy and make me smile

4. Family and friends that take care of me, keep me company and make me laugh

5. My down slipper boots from REI (thanks mom)

6. My super cute hats I got for my birthday

7. My warm mittens

8. My soft and warm scarf

9. The sights, sounds and smells of Christmas

10. Being with family for Christmas!!

Videoteleconference

This past Saturday at Bill's company Christmas party we had the opportunity to do a video teleconference with Bill. It was so great seeing him!! We had so much fun laughing and joking and for the ten minutes we had it felt like we were all together again and that was amazing.

Here are the kids hanging out and waiting for our turn.

Here's Bill!! A little puffy eyed as it was like 6:30 in the morning for him =)

Here's Bill doing what he does best...being silly and making us laugh!! I miss that so much!!

And here are the kids with Daddy! It was such a great time!! Hope we get to do it again soon!!

Thanksgiving Fun

For Thanksgiving this year, my mom and dad rented a house in Las Vegas where my brother Aaron lives and my whole family all met there and spent the week together. It was so much fun! Some of the highlights of the trip are pictured above. The pool was the kids' favorite of course and they spent at least half of every day in it! We went to the Hoover Dam, saw the fountains at the Belagio and walked through some of the casinos. Playing Quelf was another favorite...we laughed SOOOOO hard! And then Thanksgiving dinner with my sister-in-laws family and just spending time together tops off the list of highlights. It was a really fun time and so nice to be with family. It was a little bittersweet not having Bill there but we did get to talk to him and Skype with him so that was nice. It was a really great Thanksgiving week...thanks everyone!! I love my family =)

Dog Tags from Dad

When Evan checked mail today there was a letter to the Cook kids from Bill. Here are the pictures of them taking turns tearing parts of the envelope and then they all closed their eyes as Evan opened it. Inside were dog tags for each of the kids that say "With Love From Dad, US Army, Afghanistan 2010" They loved them and thought they were so cool because they were from Dad. Sarah got very emotional which made me get teary eyed =) We sure do love and miss our hero!!

Pumpkins

Carving Pumpkins

Here are some pictures of the kids carving their pumpkins. It was nice this year with Evan and Sarah being older and being able to pretty much do their pumpkins by themselves. They were all very creative this year and I think they all turned out really good!! I have yet to carve mine...will probably tackle it this weekend...or maybe not =) The three the kids did look perfect!! I'll post their pictures in a separate post =)

Evan's Birthday

On October 18th Evan turned 13!! Crazy, I know!! His birthday was on a Monday so on the Saturday before, my mom and I took him to the mall to pick out some clothes. He got a couple of outfits from Hollister and then one from Aeropostle. We also took him to ToysRUs to pick out a couple of Lego sets...he was in heaven!! Then later Saturday night the kids and I went to ITZ. It's the same concept as Chuck E Cheese's but geared more towards bigger kids. We had dinner at the all you can eat buffet and then played games and rode rides for an hour and a half. As much as I was dreading it, we actually had a lot of fun together =) So Evan thought he'd gotten all his gifts already but we surprised Monday night after his birthday dinner. We had him look for some presents around the house playing the hot and cold game...he found things like socks, underwear, tshirts, etc. Then on the last gift as he was looking for it he heard some saxophone music playing (my mom called his new cell phone) He was right by where it was hidden and it took him like two seconds to find it!! He was so happy he almost cried!! He's been wanting a phone for while now and it was pretty cool to see him so happy!!

Pumpkin Farm

Last week we went to a small pumpkin farm up in the Black Forest area in Northern Colorado Springs. There were animals to pet and feed and this of course was the kids' favorite. There was a little train for Liam to ride on, a hay ride, an alpine slide and then the hay tower to climb on. It was a beautiful and warm day too. We had a lot of fun and we each picked out a pumpkin before heading home =)

Trip to the ER

This past Tuesday morning Evan was out back walking on some paving stones and stepped wrong and his last three toes got bent under his foot and he couldn't walk on it. We thought it might be broken so we headed over to the ER. After two set of xrays and four hours later turns out it was just a bad strain. They sent him home with a cast shoe, crutches and Motrin. By Wednesday afternoon he was able to put some weight on it so he was able to go back to school today.

1st Day of School

Evan and Sarah started school on August 12th, which is also Bill's birthday!! Evan is in 7th grade this year and Sarah is in 5th. A brand new elementary school was built on post and Sarah gets to go to it this year instead of the same one she went to last year. She was a little nervous but pretty excited since some of her friends from last year were also going to the new school. Evan was excited to see friends but not about having homework. So far they both love their teachers and classes and it seems like it'll be a good school year!! =)

Pepsi Explosion

So this is what happens when you put a Diet Pepsi in the freezer to get cold and forget about it until the next morning!! =)

Mud fight!

The night before Bill left he and I decided to have a mud fight with the kids in the puddles on the dirt road behind our house. At first the kids were like are you sure? I didn't get too muddy cause I was taking pictures but Bill and Evan had a blast throwing globs of mud at eachother. Sarah didn't like it very much and started to gag when she got some on her face...in her defense the mud did kinda stink =)

Deployment

Bill left for Afghanistan for a year long deployment on Wednesday night, August 4th. We have had such a great summer and have done so much together it made it even harder to say goodbye. The goodbye part is always the hardest! After Bill tucked the kids in for bed I took him over to his unit and we said goodbye. The next two days were hard but on Friday nighty I got to Skype with Bill for an hour and a half and it made everything better...it was so awesome to see him and talk to him! I am so thankful to have my family here as well as the support of so many great friends, many of which are in the same boat! I am praying that this year flies by and that Bill will stay safe!! Please keep him in your thoughts and your prayers along with all those who serve and are away from home!! =)

Pirate's Cove

Our favorite place to go in the summer!! This summer has been so busy that this was our first trip to Pirate's Cove and it was already the end of July!! The kids and I may try to go again next week before school starts...we'll see =)

Fun at the park

We have been trying to stay busy and spend time together this past week before Bill deploys. Here are some pictures we took at the park. We had fun playing Bocci Ball and softball and the boys played catch with the football. Sarah and Liam went to the playground for a little bit but the equipment was pretty hot. Just as we were leaving a storm was rolling in.

Vacation for two!! =)

After getting home from Grand Junction and Glenwood Springs we had the Fourth of July weekend back at home. We pretty much just took it easy and I did laundry =) Sarah stayed down at Matt's house with her cousin Lauren so it was just Bill and I and the boys. Bill and Evan went to a movie on Friday and on Saturday we all went up to 11 mile canyon to spend the day with my parents who were camping there. We had fun hiking around and playing in the river and visiting. On Monday when they got back from camping we took the boys and the dogs over to my parents' house and Bill and I took off for our vacation to Las Vegas! We drove about five hours to Matt's and spent the night and then it took us about seven hours to get to Vegas the next day. We stayed with my brother Aaron and his wife Tatiana!! It was such a life saver (and money saver) being able to stay with family!! I am so thankful to Matt and Aaron and their families for letting us stay with them!! =) Vegas was pretty cool! We saw The Lion King and also a Cirque du Soleil show called KA. Both shows were AMAZING but if we had to choose, The Lion King would be our favorite! =) It was so nice being able to spend so much time together and reconnect before Bill deploys in August! I am especially grateful for my parents who watched the kids and dogs for us so we could go and have a great time!! What a wonderful family I have!! Bill and I have some great memories to get us throught this next year!! =)

Adventure Park

SO MUCH FUN!! Thanks Matt, Nic, and Lauren for going with us!! We had a blast!!

Fun with Family and Glenwood Springs

After Marie left we had a couple of days before we headed down to Grand Junction to visit my brother Matt and his family. We spent a couple of days just hanging out with them and then we all drove to Glenwood Springs which is about an hour and a half from Grand Junction. We spent the first day at the hot springs. The second day was spent at the Adventure Park. This small amusement park is up on top of a mountain! We got up early and spent the entire day there riding the rides over and over. The kids and my sister-in law Nicolle LOVED the Giddy Up ride!! The alpine coaster was right up there with the Giddy Up ride as top favorites. We also loved the 4D theater =) We also toured some caves while we were there. Pretty cool!! The Adventure Park was definitely the highlight of our trip!! So much fun!! (The collages from the Adventure Park are on the next post)

Marie's Visit Part Two

Bill and Evan took Marie to the Olympic Training Center. I haven't been there yet but they said it was pretty cool. They especially liked seeing all the torches. The second collage is from the Flying W Ranch. It's a working cattle ranch that is set up like an old western town. You can walk around and visit all the stores, hike up a huge rock, and even watch some indian dances. Then when the dinner bell is rung it's time to eat. Dinner is served on a tin plate with a tin cup for your drink. Everyone sits outside at picnic table and when dinner is over there is a little show put on by the Flying W Wranglers. They tell jokes and sing and were very entertaining! It was such a fun time!! The last collage is from our trip up to Pikes Peak. Rather than drive up we took the train which was much better and less scary than driving =) The views were spectacular and the donuts we bought from the snack bar on top of Pikes Peak were soooo yummy!