Christmas Program...A SUCCESS!

Hazel performed in her 1st Christmas Program with her Pre-K class at Prince of Peace.  They all were extremely adorable and performed amazingly!  They had a couple actors for the main characters of the night in the manger.  The rest of the kiddos were amazing singers!  Here are some really cute pictures from the program. I am soooooo proud!

 Here is Hazel and Evan, whom we refer to as "boyfriend."  They go to daycare and school together!

 Here is Action Shot #1.  They had sign language and choreographed all the music.  I can't beleive that she remembered all of it!

 Action Shot #2

 Here is Evan smiling at his mom.

 They were starting to wander about half way through.

Here are the kings men and the angels gathering around baby jesus.  They did an amazing job!!! And great job Prince of Peace staff!

New Family Pictures

Last year we were soooo busy and Willa was sooo tiney that we didn't have our family pictures done. This year it was beautiful outside and the girls didn't mind sitting in the snow.  Of course my sister in law, Sommer Grogan with BOKA did the photos.  Here is one of Tim and I. I haven't had a pic of just him and myself since we were married.                                  

 Here are the girls. Willa was absolutely not interested in anything we were doing to get her to smile. 

 I thought that this is perfect for Willa, because this is sorta her demeaner all the time. Better to have a photo of her being her, right?

 Hazel on the other hand, is a complete ham!

 Here is the gang, trying to make Willa smile. It didn't work!

 This is all of us with Tim's brother, Tom and his wife, Sommer, and his parents. Aparently, this is the best we can do! Hahaha

Maybe, just maybe, I will get christmas cards done! Hopefully, you will get some pictures to hold onto!  Have a wonderful night!

Sitting in the hospital in cheyenne. Mom is having a procedure done. Gotta love elderly couples yelling at each other at 6am! Yeah waiting rooms!

Happy Halloween!

 This year Halloween was really short for us.  I was moving my office into a new building that week and really dropped the ball on family time.  We did however, find time for Jack-o-lanterns and made sure I was home in time for trick or treating!

Hazel was really funny becasuse she wanted to cut up a pumkin but didn't want to get her hands dirty.  She

made me laugh.

 Willa, on the other hand, loved digging into the pumkin and got all sorts of slimy!

Willa, on the other hand, loved digging into the pumkin and got all sorts of slimy!

Here is Hazel being a Ham!



The girls with Willa's decorated pumkin. She did stickers and markers!



Here is Hazel as Strawberry Shortcake.



I dressed up as a fairy and I am guessing Tim went as a SCARY Broncos fan! Hahaha

 This is what Willa did in between stops. She was all stickered up!

 Here is all of Hazel's costume. I was actually pretty impressed with it.  She was mad because the tights weren't actually tight! I had to giggle!

 They were totally wired by the end of the night! I have never been soooooo happy to drop them off at daycare and preschool the next morning!!!

Bambi LIVES!

This year Tim and my dad both got an Elk License.  This year we were unsuccessful (strange I say "we", I don't shoot anything!)  Anyway, the girls and I had a great time playing "camping queens."  Here are some funny pictures of our "event."

 Dad was chopping wood and the girls were cheering for him.  Hazel and Willa were entertained for hours and I think my dad was sore for a week!

 This is Hazel enjoying our trip.  And yes, I do pigtails crooked!

This is how Willa chills!

It has been sooooo long!

It feels like I haven't written in soooo long.  I have been so busy over the last month and haven't been able to write about it at all.  Our biggest project over the last month is that Mercer House (were I work) moved!  It took a week moving everything and still barely opened on time.  I ended up working 35 hours of overtime and it has taken weeks trying to recover.  My poor husband was soooo sick of being home with the girls by himself, he played mommy very well! 
Anyway, I will come up with some new photos to post!

Missing home a little bit. Vegas is nice and warm but had to take willa to urgent care. Damn ear infections. Her tubes are MIA!

Today my sister-in-law, Sommer, told us that they were beginning to work on their nursery. Last week they found out that they were having a boy and now knowing the babies gender( he wasn't shy!) they are starting to get ready for him. I sit here, patting Willa's back and listening to Hazel snore (no nap today) and think about when Tim and I got ready for Hazel. Her room was painted and we had new carpet laid on the floor, it was previously painted blue, long story. Anyway, new paint, new carpet and a classic whinnie the pooh theme. I loved it! Not one piece of that room exists now. Five years later there is no "theme" to be found. Just lots of "stuff" everywhere! The newest addition, a purple lava lamp. I feel like I was watching Tim put that crib together just days ago. Wow, it flies by so fast!

It is a rainy day! Does it say something about my personality when I like cloudy days?

HCG Hell Day 16

Hello All! I was under the impression that I was going to blog each day on my HCG diet BUT....... my life is eternally chaotic! My household usually suffers from a (what I hope to be) pretty normal state of chaos for a family of four with three pets AND a roomie in the basement.  THEN........ I decide to add a cruel, cruel diet and hormone drops in the mix; a theoretical "cherry on top."  So, the last time I got to blog it was only my 1st and 2nd day of the diet; what I would (and most) think as the easiest and BEST part, the gorge days!  Day 3 I started the 500 calories a day and it was really tuff.  The first day went well untill the evening, then the phsycotic behavior and irrational manipulating began.  I am hoping after this whole thing is over that Tim will still be living in the house! Seriously, he is taking care of me VERY well and has the most patience!  The first night; as sad to admit, I cried myself to sleep.  I definitly wasn't hungry, I was only crazy with lack of control. Over the last two weeks I have come to realize that my "bordom eating" is ALOT worse than I had suspected. I have always been a self-proclaimed emotional eater and bored eater.  I KNOW that I eat just to put things in my mouth.  This diet, as hellacious as it may be, has helped with curbing those habits.  I think that the emotions and feelings I have experienced over the last two weeks have essentially thrown me to a new low, psychologically. 
Any addiction causes a severe desire for the addicting substance.  Most people with an addiction, whatever it may be; smoking, meth, alcohol, (or in my case) food, people hit rock bottom before deciding they MUST change.  When I started this diet I thought that I was the heaviest I could possibly get and was at my bottom, I was wrong.  At least, I was wrong about the bottom part. This new low that I spoke of earlier made me realize how SICK I am in the head, that realization brought me to a completely different low.  This taught me how manipulative I can be when I don't have control over my body, my food!  I was irrationally planning when I would open the bag of chips after Tim went to bed. "The bag will be too loud, I will have to take it out to the back deck with out him hearing me. Should I set my alarm clock so that I can make sure to wake up before him?  When he asks about the marshmellows I will just tell him that I gave them to Hazel."  I was and AM amazingly shocked how awful I felt, my brain started to turn on me!
Two weeks into it, I seem to be clawing my way out of my deep, deep hole.  I have lost 10 pounds and have actually done a lot of cheating.  Alot more cheating than I really should.  I have noticed that I don't want to eat as much as I was.  I haven't had any pop.  Don't get me wrong, I have thought about pop, alot!  Potatos have been a lot easier to let go of than I thought.  My biggest shock is the green "bunny food"!  After 26 years I have trained myself to eat Romaine Lettuce and Spinich!!! Yeah, that's right, I can eat a salad!
Now that you have picked yourself off of the floor (hope you didn't hurt yourself mom) I am going to sign off.  I need to get some rest so that I may motivate myself to keep on truckin through another 500 calorie day!
Laura:)

O:-)

HCG Hell Days 1 and 2

HCG Hell
Day 1
195 lbs

The first day is here! I have taken my first dose of HCG drops and have the process “clicking away.” Phase 1 encompasses Days 1 and 2. These days are for binge eating or I as I so lovingly call it “gorging out.” I have decided to have a pasta dinner tonight and a glass of wine. A canolli at Boticelli’s would probably work nicely also! Wish me luck!


HCG Hell
Day 2
195 lbs

Today, I finished the first phase of the HCG diet. I honestly don’t FEEL like eating anything! I have really tried to think of really awful greasy, fatty foods to eat during this phase and realized that I ALWAYS eat those nasty foods.
I started off the morning with a blueberry bagel and A LOT of strawberry cream cheese. I knew that I would be throwing away what was left so I really enjoyed myself. The “bagel berry bliss” was short lived because it gave me killer heartburn! I had my drops and that didn’t really add to the damage so I was doing pretty well. Before Tim and I could get our gang ready for Ryne’s birthday party, we made a Digorno Pizza (yet another thing in my freezer I wanted gone). Unfortunately, it came back up. I am pretty sure my stomach just did not really want anything else. So we were off to the party and of course, cake and ice cream! The party was a ton of fun and Mr. Ryne loved his cake! It is always fun to watch their curiosity and bewilderment whilst you lay a 9 inch frosted cake in front of their eyes and wandering fingers. Ryne was cautious at first; his innocent expressions said a thousand words, “really, I can just dig in?” I am praying that I don’t have that same bewildered look later this week as I am starving.
After the party the girls passed out and I had a chance to divide and portion out all of the chicken that I bought yesterday. I also bought a Bison steak and cut it in half. I am actually kind of excited for that tomorrow. I cooked it up for my lunch and am ready to try it; it did smell good! I was tired after getting it all separated and some cooked up. It was definitely a chore today but I think it will prove to be a good choice later in the week.
For dinner I made Crab Alfredo, nothing like a cup of whipping crème and two sticks of butter to top off your binge eating! It was very good but I still had a hard time eating it. I think I am already convinced that the drops help suppress hunger. We will have to see if they work as well when I am down to 500 calories a day! Dinner was good and another thing out of my freezer! After dinner Tim and I emptied out the rest of the food we just couldn’t bring ourselves to eat over the weekend. My fridge is very clean and sparkly now! It is packed with Tupperware of chicken and bison, fruits and vegetables. I totally wouldn’t think that was MY fridge if I hadn’t already known the changes!
After dinner Hazel asked for an ice cream cone and I decided I might as well oblige since it will be my last in a long while. It is weird to think earlier this summer I couldn’t go a day without dying for a McDonalds Reese’s McFlurry. Tonight I almost had to choke it down; in a couple of days, I knew I would regret it if I hadn’t.
I got a ton of laundry done today and that always feels like a huge accomplishment. I also got the bills paid and now have that dreadful feeling of being broke. I wonder when that feeling will go away. Will it ever go away? Besides the norm, my behavior and emotions seem to be going ok. I still feel a little bit of “fluttery-ness” for about 30 minutes after taking the drops. This sensation sort of feels like a low shot of epinephrine running through my system. I haven’t decided if this is something I have made up in made or not, I have decided to look more into the sensation.
I am pretty nervous about tomorrow, it will be my first day of Phase 2 and probably the first time I have only had 500 calories in one day for a very long time. I am really hoping I can pull through strong! I am definitely praying that those drops continue suppressing my hunger craziness.

Day 1 in Winter Park

The great grand girls, Willa Dee, Hazel Marie, and Kylee Ann! Miss Hazel at the playground.

Sideways flowers! ahhhhh

Cousin Maddy pushing Willa.

The Group.

The Casper Carnival!

I am working on my blog while listening to my family snore! I am currently in a beautiful condo in Winter Park, CO. It is beautiful and the resort is VERY family friendly! We are all in a suite, soooooo; I have Willa on the floor in a dark corner, Hazel on the hide-a-bed and Tim and I am in a bed that folds into the wall! It is pretty cozy but super cute! I am actually just sitting in the dark listening to the trio of snoring bliss. If this doesn't make me feel like a mommy I don't know what would! Anyway- I am behind on some of our events and wanted to catch you up, atleast with the pictures. Here are some of my favorites of our day at the carnival!Willa enjoyed her 2nd ride more than the 1st.This is hilarous, Sommer racing Hazel and Maddy.Maddy, Zach, and Hazel all squishing in!I think that this picture is symbolic of my life.Hazel and her gramps.This is my best friend, Jen's, little guy, Ryne. He liked going to the carnival for the first time!Zach mastered T-Bone, the bucking bull!

Mercer House Family Day!

Hello All!! I have made a new addition to our blog!!! Our wonderful Mercer House Board member, Tom Lacock, has put together a wonderful video promoting our Family Day on Tuesday, July 13th!!! Unfortunatly, I am in the video and I was NOT prepared! Very much a FAT day!! Anyway, I have attached the video to the right on the side bar. I hope that you can join us for Family Day if you are in the neighborhood! Also look for us in the parade on the 13th at 10am!

Happy 4th of July!

This is my new favorite picture of Willa! She is such a goober! She is really starting to show alot of personality and has a lot of facial expressions! These expresions come in handy since she still isn't interested in talking. She turned 15 months this weekend and doesn't say much more than "mama", "dah (dad)", "do (dog)", and "ba (ball)". It is interesting but I am sure she will just wake up one morning and decide to start talking in full sentences!

Here Willa is showing me her bebo (bully button)! Her hair is a hot mess!! I like her long hair to the side and the curls in the back but it is really hard keeping her hair out of her face! Most of the time she has a pony on the top of her head but I have been trying to train it back since it almost will tuck behind her ears!

Hazel and Grandpa Mike were shooting off poppers and aparently their was one that was supposedly REALLY loud! So, I prepped myself to get the "scared-to-death" face.

This subject throws me on a strange tangent.......

I remember being a child and watching the neighbor boy run his bicycle into the wooden planter outside our house and my mom running up to check if he was ok; all while laughing herself into tears! This seemed to happen often. Either my little sister, Patricia, or myself hurt ourselves and mom burst into a fit of laughter. I always thought this strange....untill, I became a mom, of course! Certaintly, it didn't kick in right away. Tim could attest that I did NOT laugh the first time Hazel choked on her own spit-up as an infant OR the time I walked away for just a short moment and she decided to roll over the first time; which, coincidentally meant rolling off of OUR bed onto her small little head! But eventually, it kicked in. Hence, me knowingly getting ready for a funny picture of Willa crapping her pants when the "loudest" popper went off! I know that most of you are laughing as you read this, because I know that you are alot like me and think that our kids are the best intertainment we have!

I think that this picture sums up my little rant! (and P.S. I was a little dissapointed when she wasn't even concerned about the darn popper!)

Here is Hazel assuming the popper position!

This is us all ready to watch the show! Willa was very concerned about sharing her pop-its. This was by far the coldest 4th that we have had in a long while. (I was actually wishing for MORE body fat!!! Yeah wierd!) Anyway- Tom, Sommer, Mike and Jane and my gang all went up to the college to watch the lights from afar. This location seemed less crowded than going to the event center which requires road closures and an hour (4 mile) drive back home! Soooo....besides the cold and the crying Willa, whom should have been asleep 3 hours prior!!!, it was a good night.

This was our view and was pretty good!

Hazel looks like a peeping-tom with her binoculars creeping around in the bushes!! haha, just thought that I should throw that one in for fun!!

I hope that you all had a fabulous 4th of July and I hope that you had the opportunity to reflect on what the holiday means to you. I shared with Tim my favorite 4th of July show. It was in Cheyenne at the Frontier Stadium about 9 years ago. If you aren't familiar with the show you have to be there hours in advance to get a seat. Of course I got there early and listed to the concert and bands play and OF COURSE eat concession food! Duh! As it got later they did a flag ceremony which is really cool to see and then the best choreographed show I have ever seen began! This was not yet 2 years after the 9/11 tragedy and us Americans were (and still are) really pledging our patriotic love for America. The show was shot from right in the arena and before it was over we literally sat in cardboard shrapnel. All of the music was obviously patriotic but being the home of the "daddy of em all" their was a large cowboy edge! I will never forget the lyrics of Toby Keith's Red, White and Blue and the fire works going off like bombs in the sky. Amazingly, you could hear the crowd scream in approval, even over the blasting shells over head!

I pray that you all had an amazing weekend and an even better time with family and friends!!

Laura:)

Simply Perfect!

Tim and I decided to take the girls for a drive Saturday evening (hoping that they would fall asleep early and LEAVE US ALONE.) We drove around a little up towards the mountain and then around the gardencreek area and looked at houses for sale in the area. We drove up a large hill and ran into this view! Go figure the lot we were standing in is for sale and would be amazing to see everyday! The picture looks like a dark storm but there were really just many layers of clouds. The sun is peaking out just before the sunset! I thought it was awesome and completely blew me away!

Pathfinder Dam

Today we decided to go out to Pathfinder dam and see the amazing water flowing over the spillway! Of course Tim was looking for any reason to drive his new truck! I have attached ALOT of pictures below explaining what we saw. Hope that you enjoy it as much as we did!

This is a picture of the dock that is normally above the water at the base of the dam. It is about 6 feet under water! This is the view from below on the bridge that crosses the river.

The Dam from above! This was an amazing view and even better experience! It was beautiful but also, the roar of the crashing water was so loud and the spray left us soaking wet!

Hazel says "Cheers Fremont Canyon", I have no idea where she comes up with the stuff!

Tim thought that lunch with a tan was a good idea! Our picnic-ing neighbors couldn't take their eyes off of his hot bod!!!!

Here is Fremont Canyon. The water was atleast a good 6 feet higher than normal!

On our way to Pathfinder. Tim is VERY happy with his new truck!! He loves it and takes every chance to go for a ride!

This is a pretty good group picture of us at Fremont Canyon. The water was awesome!

Here is Hazel happy to be going to see the Waterfall over the damn! She did NOT look this happy on the way home!