Bucket List 2014

I still really love the idea of a bucket list vs. resolutions. It just feels more achievable and not so disappointing if it doesn't happen, just try again next year!

Here's my bucket list from 2013

• Pay off the minivan (hoping for a good tax refund!)
• Obtain an animal, cat or dog
• See the new elephant exhibit at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo
• Play with friends more
• Go camping at least 5 times
• Go hiking at least 10 times
• Go to the top of Pikes Peak either by driving or by the cog railway
• See my Dad
• McBride family reunion!
• Yes, I would like to lose weight...

I'd say my bucket list was a huge success! We tried to drive to the top of pikes peak, but were stopped by weather both times. It will happen this year!!  As for playing with friends more, I really need to work on that. I tend to be a bit of a wallflower and just be entertained by my husband, but a girl needs to hang out with good friends too.

So if we add the two things that didn't happen last year to the top of the list, and then complete it for 2014, it looks like this!

• Go to the top of Pikes Peak either by driving or by the cog railway
• Play with friends more
• Save money
• Cade's baptism!
• Combined birthday party for the boys
• Summer road trip
• Camp 4 times
• Accomplish these three projects around the house
• Learn guitar
• Get Dan promoted to E6!
• Go horseback riding at Garden of the Gods
• Lose more weight :)
• Finish my Korea blog book

I think that's a great start for my bucket list! A lot of these things are just things I'm looking forward to happening this year and will be easy to cross off. Others will need a little work!

Hope you have a great start to your new year!

Catching Up

Time for some serious catch up! The holidays happened!!

Halloween 2013

The boys wanted to be scientists, so i turned a few of Dan's old dress shirts into lab coats, got them some safety goggles and rubber gloves. Cade wants to be a volcanololgist when he grows up so I got him a volcano patch to put on his lab coat. Alex wants to be a space scientist, so NASA was the perfect patch for him! 

Thanksgiving 2013

Since Dan was gone for Thanksgiving (he went back to ALC november 1st-december 16th), we headed up to Denver to spend time with Grandma Kathy, Uncle Kevin and cousins! 

They boys both had school parties just before Thanksgiving break. Alex had a feast with his class and Cade shared an awesome thankful project.

Christmas 2013

We had fun this Christmas season. There's always crafting, decorating, baking, and lots of fun to be had.

Hot Cocoa after sledding!

Meeting Santa at the North Pole

Our candy cane house 

Oh Christmas Tree!

Handsome boys!

Christmas Piano Recital

Daddy's home!!

Yearly making of Christmas cookies!

After a year of on and off knitting, I finished Cade's stocking. Now to make one for Alex and Dad!


Christmas Day fun!

I think that pretty well displays our holiday season this year! Unfortunately most of those pictures are phone pictures and ended up on Facebook before on the blog. Gotta do better about that!

Happy New Year!

Excuses, excuses, etc.

And it's been awhile since I've blogged. School started and life got crazy. Here are a few highlights over the past few months.

• About a week after school started we got a call from CMCA that they had a spot for Cade! We were and still are beyond thrilled that both of our kids are in this school. They have such a strong thirst for knowledge and it is being satisfied here. They are both thriving and doing well. The amount of homework was an adjustment but now that we're in a routine it is grrrreeaaat!
• Piano lessons resumed! I have 12 students spanned over four teaching days. I feel more organized and on top of things than ever. 
• Dan was (finally) selected to attend the Advanced Leadership Course (ALC) in Virginia Beach. He drove all the way out at the end of September. This is something that he has been wanting and needing for years. The promotion points will make it so he can be promoted to E6 much sooner.
• With that said, you'll understand our frustration when one day into the course the government shutdown. It will still never make perfect sense to me, but everyone from the ALC course got sent home. I mean, they were already there, had started their training, and it started in the last fiscal year. It was paid for. Nevertheless, Dan made the disappointing trek back home.
• Two weeks later the government reopened and so did his course. He left November 1st and will be home just before Christmas.

I don't deal well with changes, and life likes to make me learn to be flexible. With everything from school, piano, army stuff, church stuff, blog stuff, I just haven't even thought about writing here! The boys were looking at this blog the other day and I realized how much time I'd missed! Our adventures have been small. Lots of hiking with Carson, catching a $1 movie, attending church and school activities. 

But one adventure I had to share with you is from the weekend that Dan was driving back home. We had already planned to head up to Grandma Kathy's, and since the fall colors were beginning, we headed up to the mountains and caught a train ride! We went Georgetown and rode their steam engine. It was awesome!!! Time for picture overload! Make sure to watch the video at the end. The sound of their horn was gorgeous echoing through the valleys!