Memorial Day - Camping

We went camping at Devils Den all weekend (Sat-Mon) with our friend Wade (Nicole, his wife went out of town for a wedding...p.s. we missed you) and their kids Nora (Calie's best friend) and baby Audrey.  

It rained here and there (I didn't carry the camera around much due to the rain but below are some) but it was still a lot of fun...lounging, hiking, eating, playing cards (Guthrie's...thanks for coming out to play cards)...you know...all the fun things about camping!

As Colby was taking down our tent, Calie asked "daddy, when we going camping again?"  

Great Weekend!

 

  

 

  

 

Mother's Day - May 10, 2009

MOMS and GRANDMAS...We hope you find this post filled with love and we hope it warms your heart on Mother's Day and everyday knowing of our love for you. You are thought of everyday!

Colby and Calie gave me lots of love on Mother's Day!..

Oh, and a yummy Cold Stone Creamery Cake...so good!

 

 

Easter - Sun, Apr 12, 2009

Easter Morning before Church...The Easter bunny came to visit at our house :)...

 

Our first attempt will Calie to dye eggs...(I forgot to take pics our cool finished eggs)...

A fun egg hunt at some friends house...

 

I have officially caught up our family blog...Amazing!

I am so excited!!! I have officially caught up our family blog since last summer all the way with my latest picture I took last weekend!!! I can’t believe I actually did it…well I’ll have to admit it took a few late nights :) I wasn’t going to go back that far but so many fun and memorable events have happened. I really wanted just for the sake of record keeping for our family. I hope you enjoy seeing what our family has been up to the last 6 months or so…not that I expect you to look at it all. I love looking at those of you that have blogs, those that are near and far… Lots of Love, Lori (and Colby and Calie)

CANDYLAND!!!

Last weekend I bought Calie her first board game...one of my favorites growing up...CANDYLAND!!! I think she really liked the idea of this game thinking there was really candy involved...it took her a second of playing the first game to get the game... Calie was so excited every time we drew a card and moved the spaces...she squealed every move and would get excited for us whatever color we drew... On Saturday afternoon, we played one game as a family, two games just Calie and I, and two games with Grandma Suz the next day. We played by the rules and guess what? Calie won all five games. One of us others would be ahead and then she would pull ahead to win. Colby said that I handled losing well...Thanks Daddy!

So happy for you, Karin! Feb 14, 2009

I just wanted to create a post for my mother-in-law Karin who has fallen in love and now happily married!... We are so happy for you and we welcome Bob into our family with open arms!... Oh, by the way, we know you only moved a few weeks ago, but we miss you already!... We can't wait to see you and Bob in May! Lots of Love, Colby, Lori, & Calie :)

I think Calie is a beach bum even in Arkansas!

I think Calie is a beach bum even in Arkansas!
I wore my swimsuit all the time growing up in California...I felt like I practically lived in it at times...I consistently catch Calie putting on her swimsuit...even in the dead of winter she will be running around the house in her swimsuit (I am sure the wood stove helps).
Well, Grandpa Bob & Grandma Tamie mailed Calie a special candy bar that had $10 on the wrapper. So ,the next day we were at Target and I asked her if there was something she wanted to spend her money on. First she said a dress but as we walked over to the kids section...there it was...DORA SWIMSUIT!
I knew that her suits from last year would not fit this year, so that is what she spent her money on. She of course wore it the rest of the day after we got home. She has actually already gotten a lot of wear out of it around the house and in the tub a few times.We can't wait to wear it to the pool if it ever gets warm enough!

Calie turned 3 with a Tinkerbell party!

I kept asking Calie what kind of party she wanted for her birthday...I gave a few choices of her favorite things...Dora the Explorer, Little Mermaid, or Tinkerbell...She kept insisting Tinkerbell! I made green tulle tutus for all her little friends (and one peter pan hat for her only boy friend), we had good food and I bought a delicious cake from a great bakery in town (actually the lady just won a Food Network Cake Challenge)..., a fun pinata, and Calie and her friends all made green glittery wands to compliment there tutus. I know she is only 3 but it seemed as though they had a fun time in all the chaos and good times... Calie was blessed with a lot of great gifts, all of which she has continued to play with and enjoy! Mommy & Daddy gave Calie a new Dora scooter for her birthday...I did not expect her to love it as much as she does! Colby assembled it that afternoon and for days & days, she would not walk anywhere in the house. If I asked her to go get something, she would say, "Okay mommy, I go get in on my scooter!" or if I asked her to put something away, she would put it in her Dora backpack on her scooter and wheel away. Even to this day, she rides it everyday, she will take it with her often to the bead store and ride up and down in front of the store, she rides it in the driveway, and around the house still. It is great to see she loves it that much!

Our Ten Year Anniversary Trip! Jan 2-5,2009

After 10 years of marriage...we agreed we needed to celebrate!

We wanted to do something fun, affordable, and somewhat close to home...Colby suggested we go the ski resort right outside of Kansas City "Snow Creek Peak Resort"...Colby asked if I wanted to ski or snowboard...I told to him he should know what I like and what I am capable of learning (I have neither done either; remember I am used to the sand under my feet with the offshore breeze against my face :)... Colby chose snowboarding and I said "Sure!"... We left for our Kansas City hotel (which was very nice) Friday afternoon, snowboarded Sat & Sun and ventured back home Mon afternoon...Thanks again to all of our loved ones who took care of Calie while we enjoyed some time away...we definitely missed her but had a blast as well...It was hard to take pictures when you are all bundled up...Here are the few that we took...

The one and only picture of us together on our trip!

me making my way down hill...notice the snow on my behind...i'll have to admit it was there quite often on our trip...as sore as I was, I have to say that I had a blast!

Colby waiting to get on a lift...So Fun!

Here is to 10 Years...of Love!!!

We were very excited to celebrate our anniversary this year...especially since it is our 10th!
Oh, all the many ways we have melded together...marrying young I think was a blessing in the fact that we had nothing and were not set in our ways...so we were able to start fresh together and help each other become who we are today!
Here is to many, many more years together! Below are some pics from over the years...
Jan 2, 1999
circa 2001
Feb 2006
most recent picture I could find of us together :)

NWA Ice Storm...Jan 2009

As many of you know, we (Arkansas, Kentucky and Tennessee) were blasted with a major ice storm end of January...doesn't sound like it could be that bad...I have never seen anything like it...I heard a few people say it looked a little like Narnia...A thick glaze of ice (upwards of three inches) and heavy snow snapped trees and tree limbs causing them to fall onto homes and power lines. Over 300,000 homes and businesses in Arkansas lost electricity during this storm system.
I can gratefully said that we were very blessed and our family was actually pretty cozy during the whole event...We lost our power one day for about one hour and another day for about four hours...We had plenty of wood, food, and recorded shows to catch up on...Colby and his buddies had fun getting out of the house and "helping others"....My MIL Karin stayed with us for a few days b/c she had no power at home and it got pretty cold especially at night...I did have to close the store for a few days and our shed in the backyard got crushed by some limbs...good of been worse...
As the storm was a comin'...Calie was worried about her clay turtle outside...I love you can see her reflection in the window

Calie's "helping to get firewood" outfit...

So, Colby was going outside to get firewood for our wood stove...Calie wanted to go and help Daddy and I told her she had to go get her hat, gloves, and shoes on because it was cold outside...
this is what she came up with...play hat, warm gloves, and her slippers!

Barely Making It...New Year's Eve 2008

We kept our New Year's Eve fun and simple this year...We went to our friend's (Hammontree's) house...We enjoy their company and Calie loves playing with her friends...Of course, we got in our share of good food and guitar gero...Sad to say but, each year it gets harder to make it the new year!

Christmas Memories 2008

SDC Branson Hotel........Kiddy Ride-SDC..........Calie 1st kiddy ride by herself Christmas Sunday.....Cookies for Santa!...only my child would need to be woken up Christmas morning to open presents...we love our sleep! On Christmas Eve, Calie and her fun Aunt Carrie made and decorated gingerbread cookies... P.S. Santa loved them! Daddy wanted Mommy to put Calie's hair in rollers..... Calie loved it with her new Dora dress! ......Visit Great-Grandma Love & Great-Grandpa Love's house.........

Santa, Gifts, and Good Food...12/6/2008

We went to Colby's work Christmas party...generously, Colby's company buys and wraps a personalized gift for each associates kids...and of course Santa comes to deliver them...I was a little surprised to see Calie actually sit on Santa's lap this year...I was pretty sure she was going to be okay this year...but then she got to watching the other kids...a couple of the little ones fussed...and that through off into the "I am not sure about that" mode...she quickly put together that to get your gift you had to go up to Santa...We also play the gift exchange game for adults(we ended up with a nice Belgian waffle maker)...add good food in the mix and it was a great evening!

Tradition! A Real Christmas Tree...2008

Besides Pumpkin carving as I mentioned in a previous post...picking out a real Christmas tree every year is my very favorite thing to do...
I would call it a family tradition...Colby did it growing up and so did I....I don't think I will ever grow tired of it...We have gone to the same tree lot pratically are whole marriage...
Colby and I trade off years for putting on the lights (except the Christmas I had a huge pregnant belly)...we all decorate the tree...Calie even did a pretty good job this year...

Choo Choo! Nov 15, 2008

THE ARKANSAS AND MISSOURI RAILROAD: We enjoyed the leisurely elegance of real train travel through the mountains and valleys of Northwest Arkansas. Over trestles with views for miles and through a quarter mile tunnel, your journey will take you all the way to the top of the scenic Boston Mountains and into the historic Arkansas River Basin. The Arkansas and Missouri Railroad is one of the few commercial lines left in the United States that operates both freight and passenger service. Passengers travel the regular working rails in refurbished antique passenger or parlor coaches. We stopped in Van Buren where we had a great lunch and fun shopping while we waited to board the train back home. We went with our friends, the Week's (her lil' buddy Zach) with some of their family. My mom and her friend Mike went too. This is all Calie talked about for months!

My Little Bee! Halloween 2008

I am not sure about the bug/animal theme we have going with Calie's costumes but so far she has been monkey, ladybug, and this year she chose a bee. I have come to think it is because she really liked the bee movie of which we watched a view times around the time of choosing her costume. We went to the ward Fall Festival/Halloween Party.

Pumpkin Carving with Friends! Oct 2008

Oh how I look forward to cutting pumpkins every year at Halloween...Seriously, I love it!
Note to my FIL...Colby will never forget the trash bag method to avoid messes...he now passes that on to Calie as you can see...
Thanks for a messy family fun filled night!

Fall Festival '08...SDC...Branson

We have never been to Silver Dollar City during the Fall Festival (usually summer & Christmas). We went with some friends, the Scates Family. We all stayed in a condo near SDC by the lake. We did and saw so much in 2 days: butter sculpture, cow milking demo, train rides, petting zoo...lots of rides...for big and little kids :)
(above) Calie's first ride on a real roller coaster! I think she loved & hated all at the same time!
asleep before we even drove away from the park!
Calie getting that last ride in at the outlet mall before heading home:)

Family Visit! Sept 2008

My Dad & Tamie came for a visit over Labor Day weekend from Idaho. As always, we had so much fun and the time went by way too fast...here are some of the fun times:
If any of you know our family...especially the Graham side...we love our food!
We had to play a little Wii to burn some of our calories from lunch:
video
Calie loves playing with her cousins and they love her too!
Calie loves Grandpa Bob & Grandma Tamie...you just don't want the visit to end...I am thankful for my family:
WE MISS YOU SO MUCH!

8*23*08 Sesame Street Show

Some friends and I thought we should be good moms and take our kids to a fun show...Sesame Street Live came to a town near us...they had a blast! I included a clip for all of you Seasame Street Fans :)
video

NYC trip...this & that...but worth posting

One afternoon, we decided to go to Tom's Restaurant...you may think it looks famaliar...It is where Jerry Met Elaine... and George and Kramer...well not exactly...It is this restaurant that served for exterior shots of the "Seinfeld" diner scenes.

Tide pen...used often on our trip :)

Our apartment was a few blocks from the Martha Stewart Studio. We would passed everytime we went to the grocery store.

This is the Home Depot in the middle of Manhattan NYC...I thought it was so nice looking....

7*31*08...Calie loves Daddy...far from home

Colby had to stay one more week in NYC...it was time for Calie and I to venture home...Daddy has not been away before...Below is Calie's first phone call while he was away...I thought it was cute...had to share... video

By the way...my FIL wanted to know what was the first thing Calie played with at home after our trip...here you go:

...No surprise here...all her shoes...wearing her green flip flops!

7*28*08...Billy's Bakery...YUMMY!

I was with my friend Jeannie when I found out we were going to NYC...she asked me to go to Billy's Bakery...she had ripped out an article about it out of a Better Homes and Gardens magazine years ago...it was indeed so yummy...and I contemplated how I could bring her back a cupcake....I brought her a dozen cookies instead...I think they traveled back home well...I waited to go right before I left so they would be a fresh as could be...It was probably a good thing I didn't go earlier otherwise I am sure I would of visted the bakery too many times!!!  As you can see Calie enjoyed her cupcake and she (we) had great conversation with some locals.