What are the Sutcliffe's up to?

Washington DC - A Family Adventure

2012-01-08T22:44:00.001-07:00

We spent Christmas in Washington DC this year! It was an amazing trip. We can't wait to plan and go on yet another vacation. Here's a few captured moments from our trip.

Christmas Spirit

2011-12-04T15:55:00.001-07:00

Well the decorations are up! We went for a small tree on the shelf this year and our new sectional sofa doesn't allow for much shifting of our furniture arrangement. We spent today with my obsession of recording Lifetime Christmas movies! All in all a great way to start December and get in the Christmas spirit.

Finally! A new blog post!

2011-11-23T15:45:00.001-07:00

It is amazing how quickly time goes by and how often I get home from school and barely make it through dinner before melting into the couch to watch a bit of TV with my boys! But I have good news. I just downloaded the app for blogger on my phone! The same phone that I use to take all of my photos. If this doesn't help me keep up with this blog, then I'm not sure there is much hope on regular posts. Anyway here are a few pictures to catch you up on life in our world. Andrew and Dylan attended their first Broncos game, a friend of mine had two great tickets they weren't able to use that day. They had a blast. As i said- the boy with the Bronco room finally had a real live fan encounter at his first game. His tackle football season ended with a freezing cold game but just instilled a deeper love for football. And of course Halloween. We spent the weekend before Halloween at a Bunco group where Andrew and I showed up in fun '20's costumes. My mom was the best little nasty witch around an Dylan was a phantom... It had flashing red lights. We also enjoyed a ghost tour on the Trolly. We have been enjoying lots of fun times together.

Everything I needed to know, I learned in Kindergarten - including Friendship

2011-09-12T22:02:00.003-06:00

In June I had the great honor of serving as matron-of-honor for my dear friend Krista. I want to share my toast. Which I am sure didn't come out of my blubbering mouth word for word but it certainly comes from the heart. I love you Kris!

Today we have the privilege of celebrating two very special people – Krista and Jeremy!
For those of you who don’t know me – I am Cortney, one of Krista’s honored bridesmaids and friend of 20 years. 20 years seems incredible until I tell you that we met when we were six as kindergarteners. I didn’t know in kindergarten what an amazing friend I was gaining or that her family would soon become a family to me as well – but now 20 years later I feel more blessed than words could ever describe to be part of the Tafoya family.

Over the years, Krista and I have enjoyed lots of time together talking about life and what we dreamed of for ourselves. Krista always said she would have her career and be a home to many furry friends but a guy and marriage were never a part of her picture … that is until she met just the right one.

Jeremy, you showed Kris that once in a while, right in the middle of an ordinary life, love gives us a fairytale full of extraordinary adventures. You took her to new heights, literally, and gave her the courage and desire to try new things. You have a one of a kind gal on your hands and a loving family that adores you.

I am so happy for you both and hope that God will bless you all the days of your new life together.

Heres to Mr. and Mrs. Cotton – Cheers!

Fall Fun!

2011-09-12T21:38:00.005-06:00

Holy Smokes it has been forever since I posted. I am so sorry. We have been running in all directions with school starting and football, football, and more football. At the beginning of August Dylan began practice with the YMCA Tackle football. That consumes our evenings and Saturdays. We have loved being a cheering squad for our little corner back! He also plays flag football with the school and so we literally go from one to another most nights.

Also, in recent months we added a new member to our household. (No, I am not preggo - sorry to those still crossing their fingers!) Dan, Cort's cousin, is our 18-year-old new addition. He moved in last July. This is Dan's senior year of high school and we are offering a supportive living environment to help him achieve his future goals. He and Dylan are loving having one another around. They play, read, and share their lives with Andrew and I each day. We love having him around and are so proud of his choice to join the Marines upon graduation.

Below is a quick picture update on the last few months.

Brothers at heart!

Happy 18th Birthday, Dan!

First day of his first McJob!

Sweet paycheck! $$

Dylan and his good friend, Nick. They even like to practice for fun!

Go #4!

First day of his senior year.

First day of 6th grade. My how time flies.

Summer Fun!

2011-07-06T22:18:00.004-06:00

The fourth of July was a wonderful long weekend spent with family. We went up to the lake. The weather was beautiful, which for our fair skinned family meant lots of SPF 50 reapplications! Aside from that both of my boys wake boarded, yes you heard me, Wakeboarded! Even Dylan became adventurous and has a new found love for being pulled behind the boat. We had amazing sunsets and hot fires with smores. It is the perfect way to enjoy life. Below are a few moments from our weekend.

Our Happiest Place on Earth...The Lake

2011-06-26T18:50:00.006-06:00

One of our favorite weekend get aways is going to Guernsey Lake. I have been going since I was a little girl with my family. Andrew and Dylan have embraced this camping adventure whole heartedly. This was the beautiful sky we were welcomed with on Friday night.

Dylan found a toad and caught it while we were around the camp fire. The amazing and calm nights around the fire are by far my favorite part of the weekends, not to mention the smores. Andrew is a master marshmallow toaster! Mmmm Mmmm Good!

Dylan's Flight to Mt. Rushmore

2011-06-19T14:25:00.003-06:00

Yesterday, Dylan went flying with Papa Garry. They flew all the way to Mt. Rushmore! Here are a few pictures that Dylan took of his adventure. This wasn't his first flight but it was indeed one of the longest...

Our house with landscaping captured by Dylan on their way back into town!

The loss of an amazing lady.

2011-06-19T14:03:00.005-06:00

This past week has been full of mixed emotions. Andrew's Gram passed away after a long and brave battle with cancer. This post is a tribute to her life, one that touched all in a positive and ever lasting way.

Mary A. Jordan
1936-2011

Mary Ann Jordan, 75, passed away June 13 in Carlsbad, N.M.Born May 29, 1936, to Amos and Margaret (Mulcahy) Goyer in East Longmeadow, Mass., Mary attended schools in Springfield, Mass., where she graduated June 9, 1954.She married William Sutcliffe on June 19, 1954. Mary held a variety of jobs in Springfield, while bringing up her sons, David and Steven. She married Donald B. Jordan on Dec. 18, 1976, and they moved to Cheyenne in November 1979.Mary worked for the state of Wyoming as a fiscal control officer until her retirement in 1995. She spent several years exploring the southwestern U.S. and enjoyed living the last 10 years as an active resident of the SKP Co-op Ranch in Lakewood, N.M., with her longtime companion, Joe Cherry, and her beloved dogs.Mary was an independent and generous woman, who acted as foster mother, confidant and friend to many she met in her journeys. She always had the info needed to find family members, old neighbors and friends. Mary loved working on her computers, digital painting, genealogy, her knitting machines, reading, traveling and talking with people.She was a welcome guest among her family, friends and neighbors at The Ranch. She will be sorely missed.Mary was preceded in death by her husband, Donald Jordan; parents, Margaret M. Goyer and Amos Goyer; and her brother.Mary is survived by her longtime companion, Joseph Cherry Sr.; her sons, David W. Sutcliffe and his wife, Tami, of McKinney, Texas, and Steven H. Sutcliffe of Cheyenne. She is also survived by her grandsons, Robert Sutcliffe, Andrew Sutcliffe, Joseph Sutcliffe and Kevin Sutcliffe; three great-grandsons, a great-granddaughter; and many nieces, nephews and cousins, including her close cousin, Sr. Roberta Mulcahy.

Obituary was wonderfully written by Tami Sutcliffe.

Easter Weekend

2011-04-26T21:02:00.004-06:00

This past weekend, with resting and healing as the first priority, we still had a busy weekend.

On Friday we had dinner with my uncle and Robert Ryan. Dylan and Robert colored eggs...their own way. Super fun.

On Saturday Andrew and Dylan went to Denver with Carol, John, Rob, Barb, Sam, and Abe. They went to the Real Pirates exhibit at the museum. This was planned prior to knowing and surgery and I wasn't feeling up to it just yet...such a bummer. But they had a blast and enjoyed the day.

That evening we attended my cousin, Sam's wedding reception. We all looked super snazy and took a great family picture!

Easter Sunday was a good day. We ate lunch with my mom, dad, sister, grandpa, and cousins, Dan and Bri. Yummo! Steak and crab legs. Dylan and Christy were on the hunt to eggs...plastic eggs that is. I think Dylan won!

Breathe Easy with Sinus Surgery!

2011-04-26T20:39:00.003-06:00

This past week I underwent my first more major surgery. On Wednesday morning Andrew took me to the hospital where I adorned the gown, hair cap, over the sock booties, and IV. It was a little nerve racking waiting for all of the doctors to arrive and get this party started but they finally got everything ready and prepped. I then had to walk into the super cold…brrr…side of the surgical center holding the back of the gown closed of course and lay on the table. All I remember is having a nice conversation about one of my teacher partners with her daughter’s father in law, also known as my anesthesiologist! I woke up in some major pain and dealt with a serious bloody nose. I had a reaction to the tape that they put on my eyelids to hold them shut and my skin puffed up and turned all red. That was the majority of the pain source for the day. Andrew drove me home, after stopping for a tea! I had to change out the gauze pad under my nose several times and the tape was beginning to hurt my face and each time I took it off another layer of skin seemed to come with it. To the rescue is my amazing husband who with a head band and hair tie, created the most amazing gauze holder upperer ever! (See embarrassing picture below!) No more tape pain. I spent that night wide awake..the meds were upsetting my stomach and I was much more conscious that I wanted to be, if you know what I mean. Today is day 6 and I am feeling much better. I am now off all meds and feeling more like myself. I can breathe through my nose, which wasn’t ever the main concern, and I no longer have the agonizing pressure in my cheeks. I go back to work tomorrow..ready or not. I miss my kiddos and can’t wait to spend the final few days with my student teacher, oh how I will miss her. She has become my right hand. I will have to relearn how to do things like attendance and lunch count, oh my! In all seriousness that was an amazing match and I am so glad she was there. I feel bad that surgery ended up being in her time frame but so grateful that she was there to take care of things. It made resting so much easier.

On another note…I have a new FAVORITE toy! I saved up my allowance…and bought an Ipad2. I am not one with any allegiance to mac or pc. I did, however, get an iphone in February and I have loved it. Super user friendly. I did a great deal of research and found that an ipad would meet my needs for facebook, blogging, searching on the web, email, and ereaders. It came in the mail yesterday and I haven’t put it down yet!

Flying like a Superhero...

2011-04-04T20:30:00.006-06:00

Our spring break started off with a bang! We spent two days in Denver centering around one event...Indoor Skydiving. Thanks to Krista and Jeremy, my boys had an experience of a lifetime as a Christmas gift. We walked into the two story building to be the first class of the day. In the class they learned the hang signals used to help stay in correct body form for prime flying. Then they suited up. Knee pads...check. Elbow pads...check. Jump suit...check. Ear plugs...check. Goggles...check. and Finally helmet...check! Amazing instructor Ryan gave a few last words and into the wind area they went. First up Andrew...and then the natural D Man in super blue. They both did really well. All of the other intructors agreed that for their first time, did really well. Most people flip and roll but not my superstars. On the way home Dylan stated that he now knows what he wants to do when he grows up - you guessed it, he wants to work at Skyventures! Enjoy a quick snapshot of their adventure.

Abe Turns 13!

2011-03-29T14:41:00.004-06:00

Our dearest nephew and cousin, Abe, turned 13 this past month. To celebrate we joined up for a family dinner at Scotty's pizza. One of Dylan's favorite places to eat and play...a normal dinner menu for Dylan...2 pieces of regular pizza and about 6 slices of dessert pizza pie! Now you can see why he likes it so! It was a great evening of catching up and celebrating a wonderful little man!

Those Sneaky Leprechauns...

2011-03-29T14:32:00.003-06:00

Our classroom was invaded by some very sneaky Leprechauns! That Mrs. Sutcliffe must have left the window open and they snuck right in, trashed our rooms, evaded the traps on each student's desk, left us a pot of gold necklaces and some skittles and hopped right back out the window. There was indeed a trail highlighting their path of destruction! What a fun day, is all I have to say about that! Dylan helped find a great green pot and gold necklaces...of course 'taste the rainbow' of skittles made perfect sense as well! I have to say that making a nasty mess of the room, rather than picking up the random assortment of pencils, sraps, and left over snacks that I am usually collecting at the end of the day...

Oh, the pressure....

2011-03-16T20:06:00.005-06:00

The district science fair! This past weekend Dylan attended the district science fair for the second year in a row. He did a project on water pressure and could explain it backwards and forwards. He didn't place but was really excited to be there. It is so amazing to walk around and view all of the projects. The ideas in this gym were amazing. These kids will be big things one day, including our one of a kind Dyl!

Healthy Living = Good Choices

2011-03-08T20:57:00.005-07:00

Well...Here is the first post to translate the goals that Andrew and I have been working on for the past few months. When lives get busy and you can actually afford to eat out and buy what you would like at the grocery store....always making the best choices is not the first thing that comes to mind. In mid January we made the first move to living healthier lives and shrinking our bodies a bit. So far we have done really well...it is so helpful to be working together on this goal. And funny enough efter you get rid of the junk (or really after the first week of withdrawl symtoms for the loss of diet coke) you don't want or NEED it anymore! This is a work in process for a lifetime...feels good to be turning things around.

On the flip side...here are the top 3 Amazing delights that we are Lovin'

1. Yogurt, berries, and... Quaker granola.

2. Diet Lemonade at Chick fil A (just about the only thing we can safely enjoy at Chick fil A)

3. My super amazing Ice tea maker....from none other than the Container Store.

Football and the Black Eyed Peas = Dylan's Heaven!

2011-02-06T17:46:00.002-07:00

Superbowl Sunday....

Dylan is in hog heaven today....football (obviously HIS sport of choice) and the Black Eyed Peas (his very favorite music) are playing at the half time show. Needless to say he is having a great afternoon...except that the Steelers are having a rough start to this game. So you see the Steeler's are Grandpa Johns team and since the Broncos, Dylan's team didn't make, he is rooting for the Steelers. Andrew and I are going for the Packers because they just happen to be the opposing team.

A little bit of Color!

2011-02-06T17:38:00.004-07:00

This weekend my mom and I got a wild hair to paint...well really it was my wild hair and a little bit of begging for the talent to jump on board with the idea! We painted a wall in our master bedroom and bathroom this teal color. Now lets just say for the tan and brown neutral Sutcliffe's this is a BOLD color choice but I am loving it and Andrew is living with it!

Favorite Book

2011-01-14T22:10:00.003-07:00

My mom gave me the book Redeeming Love by Fancine Rivers for Christmas. Within a week, thanks to Christmas break and many late nights I had finished this amazing book. I know that many of my friends have come across this book but if you have not I highly recommend borrowing or buying this book. One for you and one for a friend because you will want everyone to read this book. Happy reading!

Dylan

2011-01-14T22:03:00.002-07:00

Dylan went snowshoeing for the first time with his grandparents. He had a blast but I love this sweet picture of my boy!

Tis the Season!

2010-12-28T21:25:00.004-07:00

We have had a busy and joyful holiday season. We are so grateful for all of the time we have been able to spend with family and friends.

Dylan at his school Christmas program. It was too cute...he did an amazing job considering that singing (at least in public) is not one of his favorite things.

Christmas morning! Bright and Early! It is so much fun to have a little guy at Christmas. He is excited about everything and had big smiles...best gift? He doesnt have a favorite from "Santa" but my parents got him the magic set that he was really begging for. He is still working on a few tricks.

Love his cute face!

We hosted Christmas Eve with the Ottoes, Chadwicks, Sutcliffe's, Grandpa, Danny, and Bre. It was a great time. We had a yummy dinner and good laughs!

Happy New Year! Here's to 2011 may it bring peace and joy to our hearts and yours!

Family Pictures 2010

2010-11-14T21:13:00.002-07:00

Today we braved the snow and chilly Wyoming day to capture some smiles for Christmas cards! I love that Christmas gives us a reason to get together and take family pictures each year. Enjoy!

We love and miss you Aunt Rose...Especially those "love" pinches.

2010-11-07T22:26:00.003-07:00

Rose Marie Palma
1951-2010

Rose M. Palma, 59, went to be with the Lord on Nov. 7 in Cheyenne.

Today “Rosie” made her final trip home to be with the Lord.
She was a loving wife, mother, grandmother, sister, aunt and a friend to all. In 1977, she became a member of Our Savior Lutheran Church and was known by the children as “the candy lady”. Her grandchildren were her pride and joy.

She was born in Ottawa, IL and had lived in Cheyenne since 1977. She worked for Taco Bell Corp. for many years and retired in 2001 as District Market Coach.
Rose is survived by her husband, Saul Palma, of Cheyenne whom she married on August 20, 1976. Her three daughters Diana Kush (Tom) of Havelock, NC, Ana Pope (Eddie) of Las Vegas, NV, and Evelina Carreon of Cheyenne. Her grandchildren Vincent Pope, Savannah Kush, Katie Pope, Sydney Kush, and Amirah Thompson.

She is also survived by two sisters; Alice Ehret (Ed Bauer) of Ottawa, IL and Helen Penoyer of Cheyenne and two brothers; Norman Penoyer of Marseilles, IL and Alfred “Fred” Penoyer of Clifton, CO. She is survived by many nieces, nephews, and numerous friends as well as her beloved pets Paco, Oscar, and Blue.

She is preceded in death by her father, Alfred Penoyer, her mother Evelyn Rice, grandparents Harold and Christine (Thumm) Dickens; brothers, Gene Penoyer and John Penoyer and sister, Kathleen LaPradd.

Cremation has taken place at Wiederspahn in Cheyenne.

A celebration of life will be on Thursday, November 11, 2010 at 10:00 a.m. at Our Savior Lutheran Church, 5101 Dell Range.

In lieu of flowers, family and friends may contribute to Our Savior Lutheran Church.

Boo!

2010-11-06T22:55:00.004-06:00

Love, love Halloween. Dylan was a giant football this year...even better it had a fan that kept it inflated. After a fabulous week at school watching super cute costumes on kinders and first graders it was so exciting to hit the streets with Dyl on a beautiful October night. We went to our old neighborhood and boy was it packed with little trick-or-treaters. Lucky for Dylan we ran into his bestie, Nick, and walked from house to house with them.

What a fun night....

Parenthood...

2010-10-20T21:31:00.003-06:00

Okay so I have recently discovered one of the new little joys in life...PARENTHOOD the show. I just love knowing that I am not alone. There are some days (that I am not excited to admit) that I am just heartsick by the choices and actions of my little 10-year-old man. Then there are other days where I couldn't imagine life without this super cute, smart, and witting little jokester.

I love to sit down on a wonderful week night after sending Dyl to bed and laugh and cry a little at how hard life can be with a kiddo but how sweet, sweet the rewards can be. There is nothing like the responsibility of helping his become a success person in all that his heart desires.

Just thought I would give a shout out to some great TV...it reminds me to take one day at a time and relish all the moments as they will come and go all too quickly.

It is a privilege to grow old...

2010-10-13T22:13:00.004-06:00

It is amazing to me that the older we get the faster days, months, and years go by. Life gets to full and busy that it becomes harder to slow down and smell the roses…even living in Wyoming! I chuckle to think that “date nights” often turn into grocery shopping after dinner.

When I finally am able to find some peace and quiet I can’t help but realize how incredibly blessed I am. While everyone has inner battles or circumstances that often take, a forefront there is so much to be thankful for. The desire of my heart is to truly radiate love and kindness to all those that I cross paths with. Trust me on the recreation volleyball court…this is a much harder desire! J

I just wanted to take the opportunity to share my thoughts about never taking anything for granted and living each day to the fullest. I cherish all of family, friends, and I am a better person because of the amazing people in my world! I love you all.

Gotta share the love for my sister...you inspire me and I love being your sista. You are so beautiful and This picture just makes me smile. One of the opportunities to enjoy the little things in life.

Our Gram...We love you and we miss you.

2010-10-09T21:29:00.002-06:00

1919-2010 Evelyn E. Rice, 91, went to meet her Lord and best friend Jesus Christ on Oct. 6 at the Hospice Care Center in Grand Junction, Colo.She was born April 11, 1919, in Ottawa, Ill. She had lived in Cheyenne since 1977.Ms. Rice worked as a waitress, cook and baker until she was 75. She raised eight children and was very involved in PTA, Boy Scouts, Campfire Girls and Blue Birds. She was an avid reader, made quilts for everyone, enjoyed needle work, crafts, loved feeding and watching the birds and liked playing the organ.She was a member of Our Savior Lutheran Church and the Republican Party.Evelyn is survived by two sons, Norman Penoyer of Marseilles, Ill., and Fred Penoyer of Clifton, Colo.; three daughters, Alice Ehret (Ed Bauer) of Ottawa, Ill., Helen Penoyer of Cheyenne and Rose (Saul) Palma of Cheyenne; 30 grandchildren, 43 great-grandchildren and 22 great-great-grandchildren; numerous nieces and nephews; and good friend Paco.She was preceded in death by her parents, Harold and Christine (Thumm) Dickens; four brothers, Harold (Louise) Dickens, Carl Dickens, Roger (Norma) Dickens and John (Opal) Dickens; three sisters, Mary (Anthony) Brieler, Vivian (Victor) Bute and Joanne Pignotti; two sons, Gene Penoyer and John Penoyer; daughter, Kathleen LaPradd; grandson, John Penoyer; great-granddaughter, Jessica Ehret; son-in-laws, Rudy Torres and Larry Ehret; daughter-in-law, Janet Penoyer; and companion, Robert Alderman.Cremation has taken place at Callahan Ed Fast Mortuary in Grand Junction.A celebration of life will be 10 a.m. Saturday at Our Savior Lutheran Church, 5101 Del Range.In lieu of flowers, family and friends may contribute to Our Savior Lutheran Church. We will all miss her.

Hello September...Goodbye September

2010-10-01T22:47:00.006-06:00

Holy moly...it has been forever since I posted anything on here. I am so sorry for my faithful followers (whomever you may be! :)

Anyways, September is just a bittersweet month. It always starts off by hitting the ground running as summer comes to an abrupt end and school begins. Between getting back into a homework routine with Dylan and trying to keep up with all that is new at school our world has been jam packed. Andrew was away for training for a week and that just added to the chaos!

Lets go back a month or so and fill you in on the happenings of our little place outside of Cheyenne! We spent some of our weekends camping this weekend up at the Lake. Dylan was a rockstar and took a ride on the knee board and tube.

At the end of June I finally finished my venture of higher education...my Masters! To celebrate the whole family (Mom, Dad, Andrew, Dylan, Kisser, Kendall, of and of course myself) went to the Melting Pot in Fort Collings. It was a great time of family and yummy fondue!

Andrew and I celebrated 3 years of marriage on June 30th. It is amazing how far we have come in life and how true it is that we are better together.

We had a fantastic summer!

Dylan has been loving fifth grade. He played flag football with his school again this year and had a blast. He is a superstar! A flag hunter... He is also just addicted to books. He met his word goal for reading within a few weeks of school and can serisouly devour a book in a day.

Andrew is still working hard at the Wind farm. My class was able to take a field trip out to the site last week..I still am not 100% sure if they were more excited to see a turbine or to meet Mr. Sutcliffe. He is part of a new project at work and went to training and may even travel to other sites. Today was his 31st birthday... we went to dinner and enjoyed celebrating with him.

For me things are going well. First grade is still a wonderful fit. I work with amazing people and love my students. There are always those days that just completely wear me down but each day is a new day that brings new suprises. I am taking a course this year to become a reading CLIP trained teacher. This requires me to attend a three hour course each Monday and then each day my CLIP student and I work together for 30 minutes in a reading intervention. It has been an amazing opportunity to learn all about how children/ people learn to read. After finishing my masters on this very topic I am now able to put my knowledge into practice. I look forward to October...

Here are a few pictures to share... Happy Fall.

A Gift of Independence!

2010-07-10T22:26:00.003-06:00

On Monday, July 5th Dylan was presented with a gift....a key....to an ATV! Living on 5 acres and going back and forth to his grandparents it was a needed mode of transportation. This 4 wheeler is just right for him as it is a small size and one speed kinda deal. Top speed...a bit under 20 mph! Just right for mom to have piece of mind while the boys play!

Let's just say that he has been crusing around for the past week and loving this new found freedom. He has also embrased his responsibilities of wearing a helmet and carefully driving over bumps and hills.

Yellowstone or Bust!

2010-07-10T21:57:00.004-06:00

We took an road trip to the North West side of the state over our three day July 4th weekend with my folks, my sister, and her boyfriend, Kendall. It was a lot of driving but a great deal of fun! We left on Friday afternoon and made it to Boysen Res. for our overnight stay at the lake. It was a beautiful night - until the wind picked up. We were getting a little sea sick in the fifth wheel from the wind blowing us back and forth but we survived to get an early start on Saturday morning. We drove into the part that afternoon. The rest of the afternoon was spent exploring the waterfalls. We spent the night at an RV park and after Kendall and Christy cooked us up some chicken for dinner we were ready for a good night sleep. On day two we ventured to Old Faithful and the other gysers in the park. Of course there were lots of bison but no such luck in seeing any bears or moose. Dylan was our photographer and spent two days just looking out the window and learning about the various spots. It was so neat to not hear him ask to watch a movie, read, or play DS! The outdoors really is an adventure! We left that afternoon and headed to Jackson. We spent the fourth enjoying the great views of the Tetons while watching the fireworks. We had a great dinner at Teton steak if you are headed that direction it is highly reccomended (especially by my sister!) We left Monday morning and made a stop for lunch in Riverton. It was fun for our family to see where Andrew grew up and some of the houses they lived in. Once we were back on the road again, everyone was ready to get home! It was a long weekend with lots of road covered but a great deal of family memories! Note to self always bring walkie talkies on road trips - they are the best form of entertainment (not to mention form of communication in multiple no cell service areas!)

The big 1-0!

2010-06-02T21:10:00.003-06:00

Dylan turned ten last month and I haven't been able to post lately...sorry! It was the week of birthday celebrations, as Andrew says! It started with a friend birthday sleep over (I was informed several times that you call is a sleep over for boys not a slumber party!). Going for mom of the year I purchased flashlights for all the boys in the thoughts that they could play tag or capture the flag in the dark. Unfortunately, Mother Nature did not cooperate and it rained - all weekend! So, they played football in the storage room instead. It was a great time and just what it was suppose to be - food, fun, and no sleep! Andrew's family came over for lunch the next day and we enjoyed their company while grilling some grub! On the 19th my family joined us at the Outback (Dylan's pick) to celebrate. Dylan now orders an adult steak and eats it all! He received many gifts and felt very loved!

Mom's Day!

2010-05-10T20:54:00.004-06:00

What a great day! I am so blessed with an an amazing mom...it is always a neat thought that I too am a mom. For me this day is so very special because while I did not know Dylan as a baby and while his tiny little body didn't change my world then...the day I met a five-year-old little boy in his pj's eating cereal at 10:00 at night did change my world forever! Now almost 10-years-old he is able to express his own appreciation in his own words. It reminds me how special and powerful words are. His cards can bring me to instant tears and instill joy any day...they are just so thoughtful and sincere.

DYLAN is one stellar boy and it is my honor to spend each day with him as he grows and learns about the world around him. Fourth grade has been full of experiences including science fair, football, track, reading and MATH! He might have already read more book this year than I have read in the past five years. He has read the most words in his class at a whopping 350,000 words! It is a teachers dream to take their own child on a hunt through Barnes and Noble to find Math workbooks that he is so engaged in that he forgets to feed the dog or go to bed! Sometimes we deal with bigger meltdowns but we are privileged to have the problems of reading or doing math rather than other things...just teaching him to find a balance between what he WANTS to do and what he NEEDS to do! What a problem to have! He is so thoughtful and giving...at times the things he does just shock me. Like clearing everyones plates from the dinner table or giving all the quarters from the Easter egg hunt to the little cousins. I have so much to learn about being a mom but I am fortunate to have a great mom to help me along the way when I lose sight of my path. I also have an amazing husband to remind me of the more important things in life and to find the silver lining in all things! I really do have so much to learn... Happy Mothers Day!

Life IS Good! Joy is abundant! Gratitude is everlasting! Happiness is in the simple things!

Yay for Projects!

2010-04-24T22:05:00.004-06:00

Today started out as an ordinary Saturday...a little road trip to Denver changed everything! My wonderful and very talented friend Sarah is a fabulous artist. The story begins a few years ago when I feel in love with one of her paintings. This hung in our other dining room and was the perfect size.

Well the dining room wall upgraded into a monster wall in our new home ... so of course the painting needed to upgade as well. So I contact Sarah and she so delightfully agreed to add pannels to this painting. We went today and picked up the paintings! Before we could even get them home my mom and I made a trip to Lowes because all paintings need a frame, of sorts. Ours is a painted frame! (P.S. Frog tape is better than blue painters tape but still doesnt make a super straight line - yay for my mama's amazing painting skills!)

LOVE it! Thanks Sarah for your talents that share the spirit in a beautiful way. Thanks Mama for your amazing painting skills! It makes my house a home! And a dining room to remember!

Happy Easter!

2010-04-04T20:05:00.007-06:00

Our Easter Sunday...we are so blessed!

Andrew and I...

My beautiful sister and I...new super short hair cut and all.

Dylan on the hunt for his basket.

Found it!

Looking for eggs and getting a double dose of love!

Bunny teeth anyone?

Some colorful fun.

Today was a fantastic Easter. Our day started with following the clues to find Dylan's Easter basket. Then off to Mom and Dad's to have a super yummy dinner and an Easter egg hunt. Everyone from age 9-30 was involved in this hunt. The winner (Dylan) was given the grand prize of a "hug and kiss casserole" by Mom and Aunt Robin. Obviously he just loved that one! We ended the evening by watching some family TV of America's Funniest Home Videos and Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.

Finally a new post!

2010-03-23T21:23:00.005-06:00

Hi Everyone,

Sorry that this blog has gotten away from from me. March has been a crazy busy month...We started off the month with Andrew in Evanston for training. He made it home safely and saved me from all of the single parent duties that I experienced for the few days that he was gone. Those single parents are just amazing people - a few days of reality check were enough for me!

Andrew's nephew, Abe, turned 12 at the beginning of March which was a cause for celebration. We had a family dinner with Andrew's fam and the cousins had a "blast", in words of a fourth grader! It was a fun night and good to take time to see everyone.

Dylan spent March working on his science fair project. He came in first place in his class and participated in the district science fair. He did an amazing job and had a great experience even though he didn't place. He is already thinking of ideas for next year! One of his favorite books was made into a movie and recently released so he spent an afternoon with Andrew at the movie theater while I was working. I found a making of the movie book and bought it for him on Saturday night and he had the enitre book read on Sunday!

As for me I am thrilled to be on the down hill slide to spring break (I think Dylan is pretty excited too!) I am continuing to work on my masters program...just a few more month to go! We are continuing to do projects around the house and are starting to talk about landscaping! Which means summer is coming. I hope to teach summer school again this year with the little pre-k kids. That will get me and Dylan up and moving in the mornings and give us afternoons to play.

Well that is about all the updating I have for now.

Hope all is well with everyone.

Science Fair!

2010-02-26T19:33:00.003-07:00

We have spent the last month or so being the scientist Dylan's assistants! Andrew and Dylan created the battery tester and together we watched and timed 12 batteries (give or take a few as some of them turned off before we remembered to watch!) Dylan tested three brands of batteries: Energizer, Duracell, and Sam's Club Members Mark AA to see which would last the longest. His findings were very applicable to our shopping list as Duracell lasted the longest by about 5-10 minutes of the other two. At half the cost I think we will stick with Members Mark.

Anyway this week Dylan took his project to school and WON first place! He is one of eight 4, 5, and 6th graders from his school moving on to the district science fair! YAY! We are so proud of all of his hard work and his ability to know this project inside and out to answer the judges questions.

25...

2010-02-15T20:59:00.003-07:00

Having a Valentine birthday has always been so much fun. I always feel like everyone is celebrating my day! Not to metion that I just love when all that pink, hearts, and mushy gushy stuff shows up in the stores. Each year growing up my dad celebrated my birthday and my sister and mom's valentine's day. My Valentine's day came in July on my sister's birthday. My second date with Andrew was on my July Valentine's day and he kept that tradition going...awww. Both days are so special and I always feel so loved! Above are the roses and Andrew gave me and the daisies are the flowers that my dad sent to me at school! Getting flowers is so nice but getting them home is always another story. 25...dang it is amazing how fast time goes. 25 means that Andrew and I have been together for almost 5 years! It means that i have been in school for 2o years of my life! It means that I have had some great friends since grade school for almost 20 years. It means that I am so blessed to be where I am in my life.

Parenting...

2010-02-05T22:11:00.002-07:00

“Children need love, especially when they do not deserve it.” Harold S. Hulbert.

My life lesson as a parent is to offer unconditional love. This is a true test, as there are circumstances that make this task difficult. This last week Dylan’s teacher sent home an assignment for parents to write a Valentine letter to our children singing their praises of accomplishments. Next week she plans to hang these up and have students identify the letter to them. We were directed not to put Dylan’s name on it and to only sign it as mom and dad. This was a delightful experience as it gave us time to reflect on the child that Dylan is.

It is such a privilege for us to be his parents. I can’t even tell you the sheer meaning that the word mom has for me. Last mother’s day Dylan made a homemade card that said “Dear mom, Happy Mother’s Day. You are a great mom and you deserve this day because you make me happy and are helping me through my life every day. Let me tell you what – those sweet homemade notes will tug at my heartstrings for life and they make up for every tantrum, unkind word, or rough day. I missed those baby and toddler years of Dylan’s life but these past five have been a true testament of what it means to be a parent. It is an all-consuming job. My heart and mind wonder to his day often and I enjoy seeing the world through his eyes.

I just wanted to give a shout out to being a parent – the toughest job in the world but boy oh boy is it just a delight to continue to watch this little guy grow and experience the world!

Happy New Year!

2010-01-20T19:49:00.004-07:00

The new year has had us off and running. We are still loving our new home and living out in the wide open spaces. Here's just a few quick updates:

Andrew is doing well. Busy with work but enjoying all of the problem solving that he has to do. He sold his truck a few weeks ago and has been looking for a new one ever since. We are hoping that it doesn't snow buckets before we find the right one to buy. We have to invest in a bit bigger truck to pull our camper. Andrew is thrilled that Dylan has a science fair project to do! They will be working hard to get the experiment underway! My job is just to make the posters look "pretty".

Dylan is doing great. He is loving school and can't get enough of all those good books! Last week he got a new life jacket at the boat show and promises to be more adventurous this summer on the lake! He is such a responsible little boy - trust me I don't let that word responsible out of the bag too often but lately he has been on top of his homework and chores before I can even remind him. He is such a loving and caring kid to have around. I love our daily debriefings on the way home all about his day! The other day I went and picked him up and he gets really serious and says "Mom, can I talk to you about something?" I managed to say yes while running all of "those kinds of conversations" through my mind. "Well," He says "We have a project at school and I think I might need to take some cardboard tomorrow." That was hilarious and added about 10 gray hairs to my head. Never a dull moment!

As for me I am still working on my masters which consumes my evenings and weekends. I am also having a mini meltdown as my 25th birthday seems to be unavoidable at this point. I know, I know its 25..but my oh my I am a little freaked out by the number. I have never been one for odd numbers in the first place but when you add the fact that it is half way to 50 I start to feel a little sickish...! I'm sure I will get over it soon enough and celebrate along with all my wonderful life blessings...

We hope that 2010 has brought many blessings to you and your family. We hope to see more of everyone this year!

Christmas Goodness!

2009-12-25T20:53:00.005-07:00

It is hard to believe it is Christmas! We had a wodnerful week of time with families. Last Sunday we spent the afternoon in Aurora with the Chadwick's, Christmas Eve was at our house, Christmas day we had a fabulous lunch at Papa Garry and Queen Rhonda's, and Saturday we ventured out in the weather to the Gorman/Sutcliffe gathering. Here are just a few highlights of our wonderful times together.

Dylan was given a Bronco Fan mask and went around sharing the blue and orange fun with everyone!

A family tradition is to have a white elephant gift exchange! Aunt Robin "liked" my white elephant gift!

Dylan picked a pretty funny white elephant gift!

Aww Cousin love...Travis sandwich!

What would a family gathering be without a little x-box time. Robert and Dylan are just two little buds!

Our tree!

Christmas morning was such a nice time. Dylan wanted two things...a DSi and the new Call of Duty. Of course Santa delivered on the wishes with a bit more as well. Everything he opened was greated with an excited attitude and a great big smile. He is such a sweet boy and just loved all of his gifts. We got lots of hugs all day long!

He spent about an hour put this lego Halo guy together! Pretty impressive when your 9-year-old can read directions and assemble his own toys!

Merry Christmas! We wish you all peace and joy in 2010!

Family Photos...

2009-11-28T20:10:00.003-07:00

This year has been full of so much to be thankful for...

First UW game!

2009-11-22T09:54:00.002-07:00

Andrew finally returned from a two week stay in Minnesota. He went there for a work training and it was the longest two weeks ever! But he learned a lot and we all lived through it. Yesterday a friend offered two tickets to the UW basketball game so Andrew and Dylan went to spend some one on one time together while I finished up the Christmas shopping. It was their first UW basketball game. They seemed to really enjoy it and came home with big grins.

Halloween

2009-11-08T19:41:00.003-07:00

This Halloween turned out to be a blast! We spend a Saturday in Fort Collins at a corn maze. Then Dylan had a Fall Festival at school a few days before Halloween and dress up as Harry Potter, as they had to pick a book character. For Halloween night he dressed up in a full skeleton costume. We spent the day a the Hobbs carnival and the night trick-or-treating! What a wonderful time.

Our Bunko group had to postpone our Halloween get together due to the freak snow storm. This past Friday everyone dressed up ... super fun! It was such a fun time and great to break in our new house with lots of laughter and good friends!

'bout settled in...

2009-10-07T22:03:00.003-06:00

Welcome to the Sutcliffe's!

This is our guest room. Just beggin' to have company!
Laundry room (upstairs)

Living room, kitchen, and dining room from about the front door.

Master bedroom.

Office...one of my favorite rooms!

Kitchen and dining room from hallway

Kitchen from the dining room...

So it is still a little plain jane...it is dang hard to decorate! But we are loving it. Next on the list are blinds. The moon is bright and the sun is brighter!

Happy 30th Hubby!

2009-10-06T22:42:00.002-06:00

My Hubby turns the BIG 3-0! On October 1st Andrew turned the corner on the age train! To welcome him in style his family and my family went in on a grand grill! It might have been the first gift that was still a semi-secret...I am so bad at keeping secrets expecially when I am just too darn excited to see how happy it will make someone!

Anyway he was pretty excited. Although our to do list of house stuff has kept him from hooking it up it is on the list and we can't wait to have some grilled grub. Funny enough we were given a set of grilling tools for our wedding so it is about time we get to use them!

Finally...Here they are!

2009-10-01T16:05:00.011-06:00

Home Sweet Home...

This is a view of the front of the house. We ended up with a circle drive so that you could park and either walk to the front or to Grandpa's door.

The garage...enough said. I am sure that I will love this thing come winter!

This is the south side of the house and the walk path to Grandpa's patio and door.

This is the basement greatroom and Grandpa's digs. He has a bedroom off the the right and then a bathroom and laundry room down the hall!

This is the upstairs great room.. It is completely open - kitchen, living, and dining room. It is very cool!

This is the view from the dining room of the whole great room area. It turned out just amazing! The glass doors lead into a small office area. Just super cozy for me to do all of my school stuff!

So that is the just of it. I will post more pictures as soon as we get things moved around and settled where we like them! But to see the real deal you gotta stop by! We will let you all know when we have an open house!

Go Stallions!

2009-09-18T22:45:00.002-06:00

Dylan is playing flag football at school this year and loving it! They won their first game! But lost the second game. Many more to come! He is the kicker team and first offence. I am learning so much about football it is very impressive!

My Sweet Boy

2009-09-07T21:03:00.003-06:00

Here's my little man helping his dad put light cans and bulbs in the house. He is such an amazing helper!

What's 30 days?

2009-09-06T21:34:00.006-06:00

Well this last week has shown a great deal of progress on the house. They have painted the entire interior and trim, put up the trim around the outside of the house, and Andrew started on the finishing of the electrical! We should be living in our house within 30 days! Here are a few picture updates. We are waiting on the rock and porch on the front of the house and then we will post more pictures of the front.

Mom, Dylan, and I put up this wall lettering in the laundry room! It will be a nice touch will all is finished!

These are the many many doors that will be in our house. They painted them downstairs in our storage room. Three walls are covered in doors. It is a pretty crazy sight.

Here's Grandpa's room ready to go...just waiting for carpet!

It seems like September brings with it all of the busy part of life. Dylan started fourth grade and seems to be loving it. He is playing flag football for school and really likes his teacher, Mrs. Whitehead. It is always a transition and this year brought on a greater one with communication from school to home being Dylan's responsibility...this has brought a few growing bumps but I think he is getting the hang of the need to tell your parents what is going on at school! Oh boy oh boy...overall it has been a positive move and transition for Dylan which is all that we hoped for!

Andrew is working lots out at the "Wind Farm" as they are putting up more turbines. He is enjoying it very much but it has meant another adjustment as it is more time away from the family in the evenings and on call weeks that require him to be available. All of this is only a minor change that Dylan and I can make in order for Andrew to pursue something that he is enjoying!

As for me, my year started off with a bang! I have 15 (class size reduction -amen!) super cute first graders that are ready to be readers and writers! We are off and running already in all content areas. We started our bug unit in math and so far out at our house we found two praying mantis' that my class enjoyed viewing!

I am looking forward to moving in to our home and having a real kitchen again! In the meantime we are loving living with the family and building a greater connection together. I truly do believe that people who live with many generations of family in the same household are onto something! It is amazing to know that someone is always there for you and having great family dinners...every night!

Dylan's New Adventure

2009-08-23T16:00:00.002-06:00

Hi it's Dylan. Im posting something I've done at the lake this weekend. This is when I connected glowsticks. I connected them all because no one had them on. They looked like they were a long glowing rope.
This is me on the tube! It was a bumpy ride. I went to the sides off the wake a lot. When Garry would drive the boat from side to side I felt like I was going to fall off but I didn't. I never fell off the tube!

I tried kneeboarding. I got up the first time. I was on it for 20 minutes...and then my knees got kinda soar so I just stayed on because it didn't hurt that bad. Eventually they just stopped and I forgot to let go of the rope so it pulled me. I let go and grabbed the board and I got back in the boat.

I liked kneeboarding and I can't wait to do it again next weekend! Next time I plan to go off the sides of the wake!

Thats my BIG adventure!

Summer is Officially Over!

2009-08-20T21:11:00.004-06:00

House Updates:

The have the siding up and painted. The picture below is the grey house color with white trim. My amazing husband finished the electrical after many many hours of work. They started drywall today! That was the coolest thing to step into a house and start to see walls and ceilings. We can't wait to move it and call it home.

My classroom! This is my home away from home. I can't even tell you how many hours I spend within these four walls. I still have a bit of work to do but this is the just of what my classroom looks like. This year I fully established a black and white theme (our school colors) and I found some great posters and bulletin boards. Last year they installed my SMART board and projector! This is the best thing since sliced bread...I love teaching with technology.

So back to work today and students go back on Wednesday. Dylan is super excited to go to fourth grade at a new school. We will go tour the school and meet his teacher next week. He is such a great kid, we are so lucky to call him ours. Lately his interest has revolved around golfing. He took golf lessons at the beginning of the summer for a few days and Christy is going to take him golfing tomorrow. Of course we bought clubs and he would probably sleep with them if we let him. He has been outside warming up...!

We hope the end of August is treating everyone well, even with the chilly weather.

House Photos...

2009-08-06T19:47:00.003-06:00

Dylan on the big 'ol equipment! He has been a super help by handing off tools and picking up nails! He has made some bucks by finding over 200 nails on the ground!

The front of the house with a roof and the beginning of siding!

Our fabulous front door from the inside.... (sorry I forgot to turn it right side up)

The frontroom..a work in progress...

The back and north side of the house

August Already...

2009-08-05T22:02:00.005-06:00

Whelp...it's August already.

So last week they put in windows and this week we have a roof, plumbing, electrical, doors, and Hvac. This is the neatest process ever! It has been so fun to learn all about the makings of a house (so much more than I ever imagined!) We should be moving in mid to late September!

Other than the house consuming our time not much else is going on. I found a super cute picture of our sweet boy and puppy that is now much biggerbut still a wonderful part of our family. Dylan has been very responsible is feeding and taking care Emma. Both of them love the wide open spaces of life outside of city limits. Emma jut runs and run (mostly bird hunting) and Dylan just runs and runs after her!

It's beginning to look a lot like...our house!

2009-07-22T21:31:00.002-06:00

Sorry that it has been so long since the last update. We officially have the bones of our house up! Yay! We are really excited to see how our design on paper is taking shape to what we have pictured. This is the best experience ever. Hopefully it keeps moving along and we will be inviting you all to a BBQ soon!

2 years later...

2009-06-24T20:48:00.008-06:00

Our 2nd Anniversary...

Wow...it is amazing to think that Andrew and I were married 2 years ago June 30th. We are going to celebrate by going to the Melting Pot in Fort Collins on Sunday...yummo! Here are some of my favorite wedding pictures to reminisce. Seriously though the last 4 years since Andrew and I met have been the best years of my life. It is amazing what a great duo we are. We are so good at working as a team. (We would kick butt on the Here come the Newlyweds show.) Andrew is such an amazing dad to Dylan. He is that total loving but playful and fun dad and wants nothing but the best for him. It blows me away just how much he believes in doing what is right and finding the good in people. Seriously I have never met a more dedicated, hard working man in my life! It doesn't matter if he has worked a 12 hour day and you need him to fix something...he will and he will do it all smiling... Okay enough, enough I know but just know that I found a keeper for sure and I love him to pieces!

I love love how sweet this moment was!

Super cute girls...They were the best ever. I love their guts!

So funny, Kris remember when you tried to dip yourself while dancing and I dropped you?

Sweet sweet little Gracie... that dress was such a special family deal. My Aunt Robin wore it when she was little, I wore it in her wedding and Gracie wore it in our wedding!

What a handsome "ring barrier"! (He really love the shoes for the tux - he called them his dancing shoes and asked about them for a week after the wedding!

We really are Better Together...

There's a hole in the ground!

2009-06-22T20:24:00.004-06:00

We are so excited to see the progress that is taking place on our house. Last week they dug a hole and poured the footers. We officially have a permit and an address! It is so beautiful and serene out here. Dylan cannot wait to start at the new school. He will be a forth grader if you can believe that. He is doing so well and is turning out to be a very kind hearted little boy. He has spent the first two weeks of summer break playing and reading! Yes I did say reading. Our boy loves to read. He has started the Harry Potter series and can't put them down. The other night we went in to his room a little while after he went to bed and he was caught red handed reading in bed! Now really can you punish a kid for wanting to read. Andrew and I decided that we can't and we have been offering him time to read before bed. It is so great.

Our house on Kelley sold. We are so lucky to have found someone that fell in love with our house and that will enjoy it as much as we have. We are just waiting on the appraisal and then we will be closing on that part of this venture.

Along other lines Andrew started a new job today - oh yes we do it all at once! He will be working at the Wind Farm off Happy Jack Road. I don't actually know the technical terms for it all yet but I have been calling him a "wind farmer"! He seems to really enjoy the change and is looking forward to learning all that there is to know in this area.

As for me I am teaching pre- k summer school for the next few weeks and then I will be lovin' some R & R and chugging along with my masters program.

Thats the update for now - love ya all!

Holla!

2009-06-16T22:31:00.002-06:00

So we totally moved today...should you want to send snail mail our way it will find us at
3904 Central Ave Suite A box #100
Cheyenne, WY 82001

The other part of our news is that we have a hole! They started digging a hole for our new house! We will get ya'll some pictures soon. Thanks so much for all the box donations and packing help!

Under Contract!

2009-06-05T21:02:00.007-06:00

Two days on the market and we are already under contract and one step closer to feeling a weight lift from our shoulders. We have about a month to pack up and ship out. We will be living my Grandma and Grandpa Chadwick, Aunt Christy, and Chelsie! It will be like having family dinner every night. We are so greatful that they are going to take us in and help us save some serious $dough$.

Dang...Look at that thing...

2009-05-25T19:42:00.007-06:00

My man does dang good work. Sorry that we haven't posted in a while. We have been a little busy with projects at home. Just take a look at the work my hubby did on our kitchen. One week, some new tools, and talent. From green and brown drab...

to tile and neutral colors!

The kitchen I always wanted! At least I will get to enjoy it for a little while. Our big news is - durm roll please.... that we are selling our house and building out East of town. We feel like it may be a little sooner than we might have planned but it will put us in the position to help with Cort's Grandfather and have a piece of land to stretch out on. More to come...Here's our lot...

UW Graduation

2009-05-09T21:31:00.004-06:00

YAY! Today Krista (My dear friend since kindergarten and bridesmaid) and Christy (my super rock star younger sister) graduated from UW. Krista has spent 6 years working super hard and kicking those text books butts and became Dr. Tafoya with a Doctorate of Pharmacy degree. Christy worked crazy hard as well and graduated in four years with her bachelors in Communication and Journalism. We are super proud of both of them and wanted to share a few pictures of their day! "Oh the places you will go" ....

Christy, Chelsie, and myself. Her gown was a little too long but she looked very academic!

Krista being "hooded" at the Health Sciences ceremony.

Ah....Sisters.... :)

1st graders!

2009-04-22T19:33:00.000-06:00

Here are some pictures of my first graders loving on the new class pet...

Offically a class pet

2009-04-21T21:28:00.000-06:00

The toad officially is a class pet and has a name. Today we voted on many ideas and put the girls idea together with the boys idea to make it "fair" of course...drum roll please...Pok-a-dotted Rocket... All 13 of my first graders are stoked about the idea and love that it will like in our classroom. (I will post pictures of them all meeting tomorrow!)

Easter...

2009-04-21T20:45:00.000-06:00

So I know that Easter was not yesterday and that I am a little behind in getting this posted...sorry. But in the meantime since Easter Sunday Andrew has healed from his wisdom teeth surgery, we replaced all the windows in our house (yay, tax credit), and I got snowed into Laramie during the freak Spring blizzard of 2009!

We had a fantabulous Easter. Andrew and I wrote out clues for Dylan to hunt for his basket. It's so fun to have a kid that can read! After finding his basket with goodies he opened a bag of special treats from Grandpa and Grandma Gorman and then off to the Chadwick's for some yummy (Or Yummo as Rachel Ray would say) crab and steak...and oh yes another basket of goodies. Who knew Easter could feel like Christmas? Enjoy the pictures. Dylan is getting to be very bold about sharing his personality and loving to look at his own pictures!

Andrew's Day...

2009-04-09T14:50:00.000-06:00

Just an update - Andrew had all four wisdom teeth removed this morning. The Doc said that surgery went well. They were pretty curved and not as easy as it could have been but Andrew did well and is home resting. Thanks so much for all your thoughts...never really is a fun thing to go through but he is glad to just get it over with.

More spring cleaning projects...

2009-04-08T22:58:00.000-06:00

So I have to tell you that the closet...my closet anyway is always a nightmare. Too many beautiful clothes and shoes and bags and belts and never enough space. There is nothing like a really good closet - I will make do until I have one of those some day. In the mean time my wonderful husband moved his dress clothes downstairs to allow me even more space - praise him for understanding just what a true need this can be! :) He even added a middle support bracket a while back due to the pole dealy bob trying to rip itself free from the wall - who knows how on earth that could have happened!

Of course with the new space I was called to do a bit of cleaning and organizing. After a quick trip to the "happy place - aka target" for some hangers and shelves the organization was on! To top it all off I had to decorate with a sign that I was given for my birthday from ...someone whom will remain anonymous due to way in which this sign was discovered...any who isn't it just lovely! I know that in my own OCD way I could still go back and organize the clothes by like colors but in the meantime - so nice and clean. Ahhhhh...I could just stare at it for hours.

Bronco Lovin'

2009-04-08T22:22:00.000-06:00

Dylan's room went from camo (bottom picture) to Broncos Fan for real! (top picture). Thanks to my mama for all of her painting talents. It took hours and hours of shopping to find the bedding and other decor but it all came together very nicely to create a very grown up - almost 4th grader room! What a great spring break project and Dylan couldn't be more excited and appreciative...what a sweet boy.

Frog or Toad...?

2009-04-07T21:29:00.000-06:00

Say hello to our little friend. He/She/It is a Fire Belly Toad...it's a bit of a long story how it came to be in our house but we are taking name ideas and it just might become a classroom pet if Andrew has anything to say about it! You see my cousin Travis was given this cute little guy by his oh so cool girlfriend as a way to ask him to their school's saddie hawkins dance - She would be so "hoppy" if he went with her! (Super cute idea until somebody ends up with a new pet that they don't want -oops). In the 6 weeks or so since our new friend has been living in a teeny cage home and seems to be loving the live crickets and wet moss in it's new home.

What color is your belt?

2009-03-27T22:30:00.000-06:00

Dylan has been enjoying Taekwondo for about a year and a half. He has worked his way from white, advanced white, yellow, advanced yellow, green, advanced green, blue and now ADVANCED BLUE!! It is the best feeling to watch your child succeed at something that they love and are proud of! He is now working towards his red and black belts. Recently Andrew joined forces and is also attending Taekwondo. Dylan thinks this is the coolest thing because obviously it is the one time where he does know more than his dad (not for long - Andrew might add). I am so proud of my boys!

Welcome to our Crazy Life!

2009-03-16T19:36:00.000-06:00

Well Friends and Family we are now into the all too popular world of blogging. I can't promise much but we will give it a go! Welcome to the Sutcliffe Saga...