What's Happenin' With The Hodges

School Dance

2011-02-24T18:04:00.003-07:00

Colton attended his first school dance last weekend and absolutely loved it! The theme was "New York New York" so Colton dressed in his suit and tie and looked dashing.

Of course Grason had to come along. It took him awhile to feel comfortable enough to get up and dance but when he did get out there, he really cut a rug! Grason was waiting for a Justin Bieber song but we didn't hear one believe it or not.
And I have to admit out of my four boys Colton is the only one with a sense of rhythm. I love that he enjoys to dance and hope that he doesn't grow out of it.

The boys worked up a sweat after dancing the night away!

Dancing buddies - Colton, Connor, James and Tony

The End of a Season

2011-02-20T13:07:00.005-07:00

Basketball has come to an end for Baylee once again. They had a rough season, ending with a 2-7 record. The boys played really well together this year which made for a fun season for Baylee. He has decided to not play next year at the high school level so it was hard for me to watch the last game and know it was the last time I would see him play:(

Happy 2011

2011-01-18T07:56:00.007-07:00

Me, Bonnie and Julie

Well one of my New's Years Resolutions failed already. It was to keep up on my blog and I am already two weeks behind!

We rang in 2011 with grace and style (I did anyway but I really can't say the same for my husband). We joined some friends at the Embassy Suites in Loveland and had a great time! I recommend this to anyone with a crazy husband and little kids. The husband gets drink without driving and the kids get to run around, play video games or watch tv all night. And the wife, well she just gets to relax and take a break with drinks in hand. We made some great memories that night and can't wait to do it again next year (that's if my husband gets invited back)!

Dwight, Darren, Josh and JC enjoying themselves

Colton and Grason rang in the New Year for sure. Grason actually lasted until 2:30 am!!!!

Our first couple picture of 2011!

Taylor and Dan

Good thing my husband didn't find this gingerbread house in his drunken stooper or it probably would not have been standing in the morning

Happy New Year to all my family and friends and looking forward to many fun times to come!

Christmas Moments 2010

2010-12-30T13:24:00.002-07:00

Create your own free scrapbooking design

What I Want for Christmas is....

2010-12-17T16:10:00.002-07:00

I have taken the boys to see Santa at the Foothills Mall in Fort Collins for awhile and they now swear he is the "real" Santa because it has been the same Santa for the last 5 years!

Grason and Colton were super excited to see Santa and tell him what they wanted for Christmas!

Mom had to do a little extra shopping after what they told Santa what they wanted:)

I cherish these moments with the boys because they still believe and I know that won't last much longer:(

Christmas Puppies

2010-12-14T10:51:00.002-07:00

We have 7 Golden Retriever/Border Collie mix puppies that we are selling ($150) if you know anyone that is interested. We have 3 males and 4 females ready for new homes this week (Dec. 15). They are super sweet and I am sure they will make excellent family pets!

The mama is our Golden Retriever and the papa is our neighbors' Border Collie (oops!)

How cute would he be sitting under the tree on Christmas morning:)

Call Audrey @ 568-3210 if interested

Basketball

2010-12-12T09:57:00.003-07:00

Colton had a another first this year and that was playing team basketball. After playing for two months, he said this is his favorite sport he participated in all year. His team consisted of 1-3 graders from Wellington. Colton's team went undefeated this year mostly I think because coach Tony was extremely knowledgeable in the sport. He made basketball fun and Colton's skills improved immensely throughout the two months playing.

I am glad Colton is trying all these sports and coming into his own.

Birthday Month

2010-12-07T15:38:00.007-07:00

Darren calls it Birthday Month whenever the boys have a birthday because we usually have many celebrations between family and friends. This year was Taylor's 16th Birthday and we started the celebrations at "Dave and Busters" in Denver with his friend Dan and my family since the live there (no pictures available). I was surprised but relieved when Taylor said he didn't want to do a big Sweet Sixteen party. We then had dinner and dessert at Grandma Hodges.

One of Taylor's gifts

The boys chose a Halibut fish fry for their special dinner. We still have fish in December from the fish we caught in Alaska in August.

Another one of Taylor's gifts. (The shirt not the baby)

Opening of gifts at Grandma's house

Our tradition with birthdays is that the boys get to open their presents throughout the day. Colton's started out the morning opening a gift his brother Baylee picked out for him, a Batman video game.

Colton is really into Star Wars right now

Here are the special cupcakes I made for Colton's "Friend Party". They are cupcakes made to look like little pies.

Cute and simple

Colton and his friends spent the night playing video games, football, basketball, board games and watching movies. Of course, up late and up early as with most birthday sleepovers:)

Colton opening up Joel's present to him

The best of friends: Anthony, Colton, Joel and James playing Hedbanz.

Happy Birthday to Taylor and Colton. Love you both very much!

Halloween

2010-11-02T14:15:00.002-06:00

{Connor, Anthony and Colton}

The boys had a lot of fun this year because I think it was all the trick or treating we did. After all was said and done they went out three times to get candy. Once at Treatsylvania (see previous post) and then on Friday the Wellington businesses were handing out candy. And finally they went trick or treating on Halloween night. This is the first Halloween I can remember when the boys complained they were hot in their costumes.

This was the Wellington business trick or treat day with Colton's friends. Grason was a sweaty duck because it was 70 that day.

Posing Halloween night at Grandma Hodges just before we headed out to get more candy!

There were many wonderfully decorated houses which made it even more fun to go trick or treating. Those were the only houses Baylee would go to because somehow he thought he didn't look good enough to go to them all. I am not sure why but it might have something to do with him being close to that teenage year:(

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

Treatsylvania

2010-10-25T18:52:00.004-06:00

Last weekend we joined friends at our first experience of Martinez Park Treatsylvania in Fort Collins. It has been an event that has been around awhile but never took the older boys to it but now I regret that. I think the little boys enjoyed it so much that it will be an annual event for us. Grason dressed up as a giraffe and Colton is a Storm Trooper from Star Wars this year.

Colton (Storm Trooper), Jackson (Luigi) and Justin (Tim Tebow)

Makenna (a skunk) and Grason (the giraffe)

They have little "houses" set up throughout the park that you have to knock on and someone opens it and gives you a treat. What a concept!

The gang:)

Getting ready for a short hay ride around the park

Skunk, Giraffe and Duck getting their treats

Stopping by the bank to make a withdrawal of candy!

At the end of the trail of houses they have a little park and Grason loved the spring rocking horse
This turkey knew he would be eaten soon because all he could do was pace back and forth but Grason was so fascinated by him. A big thanks to the Michaels' for turning us on to this fun event and hope them again every year from now until Grason and Makenna are 10 years old.

The Boys of Fall

2010-10-20T07:10:00.004-06:00

My favorite sport to watch happens to take place in my favorite time of the year - FALL. Colton played flag football for the first time this fall and he absolutely loved it. And to my surprise, that boy has got some natural talent in football! He is quick, he nows how to make cuts while he is running with the ball, and he can throw a spiral like a pro.

Coach Mark let them try all positions and he did well at quarterback

We couldn't of asked for a better coach for Colton this year. He taught them several plays that I don't think many other coaches took the time to do.

The Eagles

Baylee also played this fall for the Wellington Middle School Eagles this year. He says it was he last year to play football ever because he is not going to pursue it at Poudre High School next year.

He played both offense and defense but preferred playing corner back.

No. 8 looks pretty little out there.

Baylee was sad to see the season come to an end with a 3-6 record but now he gets a break until basketball starts in December.

We are very proud of how you play with such heart Baylee!

My Baby is 4!!

2010-10-11T14:47:00.004-06:00

Our baby Grason Roy turned 4 last weekend and we celebrated with a party at a local corn maze called Harvest Farm in Wellington. We were blessed with a beautiful October day which we were very thankful for since we planned an outdoor gathering.

We had a group of about 20 family and friends. We tried to navigate through a corn maze in the shape of Denver Bronco player Champ Bailey. As you can see from the picture above, our leaders were Darren and Uncle Kevin which may explain why it took us longer than we expected. We joked that if we got lost, that at least we wouldn't go hungry walking through a corn maze and all.

Here are Colton, Grason, Makenna, and Justin sitting in a giant rocking chair!

Makenna giving Grason a little love:) He really does love her but you couldn't tell by this picture.
I asked Grason what was the best part of his birthday and his answer, "Getting buried in corn!"

Opening of the presents!

The pumpkin cupcakes that Leah and I made turned out pretty good if I say so myself. That is Tootsie Rolls topped with yellow Starburst for the face.

Making a wish for anything Star Wars would be my guess!

Yes the kids did have LOADS of FUN at Harvest Farm!!

Sienna Grace and Grason swinging!

I can honestly say I have never watched a pig race before and I really enjoyed it. They had funny names for the pigs like Hammah Montana, Hamgelina Jolie, Brad Pig and of course, Kevin Bacon!

Grason, Presley, and Colton watching the races.

Grason, Baylee, and Presley on top of big hay bales

Presley and Grason really like the barrel train. Happy Birthday Baby Boy!

First Day of School

2010-08-18T07:33:00.004-06:00

Colton with his new duds

Sending Colton off is always hard because he really is my "good" kid.

Baylee with his mismatched clothes but I didn't have the heart to tell him because he thought he looked so good. Maybe I should have because Middle School kids can be so cruel:(

Taylor's first day as a sophmore in High School. He is now officially taller than I am standing at 5' 10".

The summer went way too fast and school started way too soon. The boys were excited to go and maybe I was just a little bit excited myself. We did have a great summer going to Water World, City Park Pool, going to Alaska, bowling, basebll, Larimer County Fair and just hanging out at the lake. Sorry all of these pictures are missing but it would take me too long to track back so we are starting anew today.

Happy Ending

2010-07-20T18:31:00.002-06:00

Baseball for the summer has come to an end. Baylee's team, the Nationals, ended the season better than anybody expected. They made it to the championship game in the tournament but lost to the Twins. Baylee has never played on a team that made it that far so it was exciting to see the smile on his face (not shown) when they won their first two games. He hopes to play on a more competitive league next year but we have a lot of time to think about that.
Colton also had a great season with his team, the Crushers. Everyone is a winner in his league so lets just say they took 1st place!! He learned a lot from his coach so by the end of the summer we saw a huge improvement in his hitting, throwing and catching. Colton will be in coach pitch again next year and we will definitely be requesting Coach Amy!!!

Circus

2010-06-25T11:06:00.004-06:00

We decided to support our local community and go to the circus they brought into Wellington. It was a small, low budget circus for sure but we can at least say we experienced it. Grason was really just there for the cotton candy and cheap souvenirs they had there. He was ready to go right after the first act which was the lion and tigers.

Colton and Anthony enjoying the cotton candy also.

The acts were entertaining which is the only way I can describe them!

Batter Up!

2010-06-16T19:44:00.003-06:00

Colton has started his first season of Coach Pitch baseball. He is really enjoying it so far. Three of his best friends are on his team so that makes it even more fun.
His coach, Amy Anderson, does an awesome job with the boys (and girls). She lets them try every position which I think is very important at this age so the kids see what positions they like the most. Colton really is enjoying being the catcher which is what position his older brother Baylee plays.
He had his first hit last night which helped boost his ego because he was having a hard time connecting with the ball the first few games.
Coach Pitch is still hard to watch sometimes because for many of the kids it is their first experience with baseball. So many of them don't know all the rules and have a hard time staying focused.

We look forward to a fun year at the baseball fields!

2010-06-09T18:33:00.002-06:00

Scrapbook design personalized with Smilebox

Blue Belt

2010-06-04T20:23:00.003-06:00

Colton tested for his blue belt last week and passed. I am so proud of him because he works very hard to keep up with the older people in his class. I don't think many seven year olds can do 20 knuckle push-ups and 50 sits-ups and he makes it look easy. He is now taking a break from karate to give baseball a try.
We are very proud of Colton's accomplishments and look forward to seeing him grow into his big heart.

Field Day

2010-05-26T07:22:00.003-06:00

Colton celebrated Field Day with his first grade class. They had a western theme this year which turned out to be a lot of fun. Here is Colton and his friend Anthony enjoying the day!

Colton Roping a Calf. He may have a little rodeo blood in him after all.

Getting wet was the best part for Colton. Good thing it was a nice afternoon or it may not have been so fun.

Colton had no trouble knocking Darla off the "Bull Fighting" event.

Colton with egg all over his hands after the Egg Toss. Field Day is the last hurrah of the year and this one definitely went out with a bang!

Run It Out

2010-05-24T09:29:00.004-06:00

Baylee has recently finished another Middle School Sport, Track. He participated in the 800m run and the long jump. He really is unlike me in this aspect because I really hate to run long distance. I enjoyed watching him run because he runs with such heart and always had a little more to give at the end.

Baylee always ran at his own pace no matter what place he was in.

He also tried the long jump this year. Again I think he did really well for doing it for the first time in competition and being a year younger than the boys he was jumping against.

Good form buddy

Baylee was sad to see track come to an end but we have already started baseball practice!!!
(more pictures to follow)

Mother's Day

2010-05-10T20:40:00.003-06:00

I had such a wonderful Mother's Day! It started out with breakfast in bed. Baylee and Colton made me scrambled eggs, an Eggo waffle with strawberrries on the side, and of course chai tea. Taylor cleaned up the kitchen after them because he was still sleeping while they were cooking. I stayed in bed and watched a movie, My Sister's Keeper (good movie but so different from the book). Then we went and got lunch from Big City Burrito to take to the City Park. It was like God knew I needed this beautiful day outside to spend with my family after having such sucky weather lately. We walked around the park, played at the playground for awhile and then we were ready for a snack at Diary Queen. We ended the day with having dinner with the whole family. I am truly blessed with my four boys even though they can make my life very hectic sometimes. They treated me with love and compassion today which is what made my Mother's Day wonderful!

Author's Tea

2010-04-16T15:35:00.003-06:00

Yesterday Colton had an Author's Tea at his school. It was a beautiful day to listen to 1st graders read to all us parents the stories that they had written themselves. Colton's class was the first class to ever create a "Vocabulator" at his school to help them with their writing. It was a tube filled with pictures of things from the Artic which was what their story was supposed to be based around. So they shook the Vocabulator, which is what his teacher Mrs. Langel is holding, to give them ideas of what to write about.
The subject of their stories was a penguin that lived in the Artic Circle. So they had to write and illustrate a five page book telling the adventures of a penguin.
Colton is a very good reader and has a very good imagination to create wonderful stories. And I have to say, he actually can draw better than I can.

Dad and Grason enjoying the little readers

The kids definitely enjoyed the cookies and tea at the end the most.

Egg Hunters

2010-04-06T13:00:00.002-06:00

We did four Easter Egg Hunts this year! The first one was in Wellington and did not go well at all. I was with Grason and Darren was supposed to be with Colton but he needed his Copenhagen instead. So he dropped us off and by the time he got back the hunt was over and Colton ended up with no eggs but found lots of tears. Grason on the other hand could of cared a less about finding eggs. Needless to say the first hunt was a disaster. I don't even have a picture to remember that day (thank goodness!)

The second egg hunt was at my friend Bonnie's house and it went a little better. I just wish it had it not been so cold and windy.
But of course Grason was more interested in the real bunnies she had her dad bring in for the kids than finding an egg.

Egg count = 5

Third Hunt

2010-04-05T15:33:00.005-06:00

The third hunt was at the Fort Collins Library and it went very well. They had it set up by age group and staggered the starts which was perfect so Grason went first and then Colton's group was shortly after that. I could of handled this one on my own but Darren did join us with Copenhagen in tote.

Egg count = 3
He told us at the beginning that he was going to get 4 eggs. Underachiever!

Wow look at all those eggs!

Colton was so ready for this!

If you picked an egg that had a piece of paper in it, you received a special prize. We weren't so lucky to find those eggs but Colton still had a lot of fun and this hunt didn't end in tears. A successful day!

Fourth and Final Hunt

2010-04-05T15:00:00.001-06:00

The final hunt was at Grandma Hodges house. Grandma, Taylor, Uncle Kevin and I hid the eggs while Darren cooked (seriously).

Grason was actually into this hunt

He did get a little angry when Colton found an egg that he wanted

Baylee on the hunt

Grason found the prize egg (an egg with extra candy in it). How cheap are we!

Pi Day

2010-03-15T21:22:00.003-06:00

I think we are starting a new family tradition on March 14, making pies. Baylee, my math nerd, informed us it was pi day (3.14) and declared he wanted to make a pie. And so we did.

Grason and Colton helping to make the pie crust

Baylee putting the crust into the pie plate

The chocolate cream pie "looked" amazing but it tasted terrible.

I am officially 40!

2010-03-12T16:37:00.006-07:00

Arriving at the Sheraton

Dinner at Earl's

Enjoying the sights of the 16th St. Mall

"Birthday Princess" at Maggiano's

A toast to 40

I can now say I am over the hill! I turned 40 on March 8 but can actually say I am ok with it. Even though I now think forty is the ultimate F word lol. I celebrated with three of my best girlfriends from high school. They came to Denver to enjoy a fun filled long weekend. We arrived on Sat. at the Sheraton downtown on the 16th Street Mall. Enjoyed a nice dinner at a restaurant called Earl's which was very good even though we all just shared a bunch of appetizers. From there we went to a piano bar named Sing Sing. Was brought up on stage for my birthday song which was a parody from the song Hello by Lionel Richie. The singers made up there on raunchy words to the song which will go untold from me. Sunday we walked and shopped the 16th St. Mall and then went to the movie Alice in Wonderland in 3D. The movie was definitely better than I thought it would be. That evening we went to one of my favorite restaurants, PF Changs, and ordered way too much food. While we were there, our waiter told us we for surely needed to stop by a little restaurant called Lucille's because he said they had the best biscuits and rubarb strawberry jam ever. And so we did on Monday morning, my official birthday, enjoy our biscuits. From there we went for massages at a spa called New Spirit Spa. They have the only floating tank in Denver which was the ultimate experience. You lay in a tank with 800 pounds of epsom salt so you naturally float on top of the water. If you never have experienced it before, I highly recommend it. I was an Olympic Synchronized swimmer in there. We also had a full body massage and when I say full body I mean full body because my ears were even included in that. They also detoxed our bodies through our feet. We had to soak our feet in a tub of minerals that released all the bad toxins in your body so by the end of the soak my water was actually black. Must of been all the Buzz Buckets we had at Sing Sing I'm guessing. After all that relaxation we had dinner at a restaurant that I like to call Heaven on Earth, 'Maggiano's. This is the best food I have ever had in my mouth. Then we were off to the highlight of the weekend, BON JOVI!!!!! Having grown up in the 80's, I know all the lyrics to every song they ever wrote. The accoustics at the concert were amazing and Jon looks just as good as ever. When they played there last song, I can honestly say I cried like a baby. I'm not sure if it was the great performance or me realizing that after three days of pure bliss that I would have to return to my normal life. Probably both right? I have to thank Jonna (Bits), Angel (Muffy) and Candy (Skanky) for making this the best 40th birthday a girl could ask for! Thanks also to my mother in law Marilyn for taking such good care of my children and husband while I was away. Even though my husband says it is so good to be me because my "job" is a breeze, I really missed my family. Darren did not really do my job though because all his meals were prepared for him (mamas boy), the boys did most of the stuff by themselves that I normally do for them, Grason spent the whole time with Grandma so he only had three kids to take care of and the house was just as I had left it. Grason said it best, "Mom, I'm so glad you're home because Dad really needed you!"

Sienna Grace

2010-02-23T11:17:00.004-07:00

Last weekend my great niece, Sienna Grace Kline, celebrated her 1st birthday.

Her mom did such a great job making this a special day for Sienna. Even though Sienna won't remember this day, the pictures will definetly show how hard Courtnie worked on her party. She made the cutest little doll to put on top of Sienna's cupcake. Courtnie said she plans on making a new doll every year from now how.

Proud Parents

Courtnie also made these bath towels as party favors for the kids. The boys version was a monster and the girls towel was white with a hood that had pink ribbon and a bow on the top. She is so creative. I told here she could make good money being a party planner but I think her engineer paycheck is pretty good too!

So adorable! Funny how both boys made the same face when I went to take their picture.

Valentine's Party

2010-02-23T10:39:00.003-07:00

This blog is very delinquent but my camera has broken again so I am using Marilyn's camera and I kept forgetting to get her docking station to download the pictures onto my computer. Colton really enjoyed his Valentine's Day party at school again this year. He handed out GI Joe valentine's with suckers attached. Funny story: The day he was doing his valentines, I didn't have the suckers yet. So just joking, I told him all I had was left over Christmas candy and he said that would be fine. How did I get so lucky to have such an easy going kid. Santa suckers on a valentine, I 'm sure it has happened before.

Grason was so happy that Colton made him a valentine too. How sweet!

The kids loved the ice cream sundaes at the party. They could put just about any topping imaginable on them. Most of the kids were too busy opening their valentines that the ice cream just melted anyway.

I Love You Colton Phillip!!!

Anniversay

2010-02-01T13:18:00.004-07:00

Darren and I met 16 years ago this week. I am surprised that we have lasted this long because everyone says that couples that meet at a bar don't have a chance of making it. I think it was fate myself. We met at a bar called the "Cactus Moon" in Thornton, CO. Darren was living in Wellington at the time which is about on hours drive from there. So needless to say he didn't go there much. My friends and I really enjoyed that country bar because we only lived about 15 minutes from it. I wasn't going to go out with them that night but they talked me into it (fate stepping in). It was definitely not love at first sight either because his pick up line to me was, "Can I stand here and lie to you for awhile". And lie he did. He said he was a lawyer, then a doctor, and then a rock star. But after dating for two weeks I knew he was THE ONE! Love You Darren and I look forward to growing old together.

Basketball

2010-01-16T17:08:00.002-07:00

Baylee's basketball season has begun at Wellington Middle School. He has NEVER played organized basketball before so we were really anxious to see him play. Especially when everyday after practice he tells us he is the best player on the team.
I had to tell Baylee that there is a fine line between confidence and cockiness and he was wavering towards the cocky side.
I do think he played very well considering it is his first year and he is actually a year younger than the kids he is playing against.
He made the varsity squad because I think he was the only player that really knew the offense.
I am very impressed with how Baylee would take control of the team while on the court also. He would shot out the plays, call out when a shot was made, and try to tell the other boys who they should be guarding. You really don't normally see that from a beginner basketball player so that makes me very proud. I can't wait to see how well he progresses throughout the season. He tells us that he will be a starter by the end of the year. Good Luck Son!!

2010-01-05T08:37:00.002-07:00

To those of you who follow my blog, I am sorry I have been delinquent in my posting but I was pretty sick over the holidays. I ended up with strep throat, two ear infections, and a sinus infection. It started the Tuesday before Christmas and I am still coughing today. I couldn't get in to see my doctor until the Tuesday after Christmas so I was in so much pain that I started to take some Vicodin that I had left over from throwing my back out this fall. When I finally got into my doctor, she says I was justified in taking the Vicodin (jokingly of course) because she was sure that was in terrible pain. I have never been that sick and hope to never be again. The up side was that I lost 6 pounds while I was sick but sadly I have already put it back on (lol). Grason was also sick along with me and had the same infections as I did but as I was laying in bed for three days straight he was able to jump and play around. Either I am a severe baby or he just has a high pain tolerance. Well anyway we are still taking our antibiotics and pray we are never sick around Christmas again because it just didn't feel like Christmas lying in bed for so long. I felt sorry for my boys also because I was sick 75% of their Christmas break and we didn't get to do some of the fun things I try to do over their vacation. Well thank you for all the well wishes I received from family and friends. Happy New Year!!!

Trigger

2010-01-05T08:20:00.003-07:00

We welcome the newest member to our family, Trigger. Darren has been waiting for these two dogs that he has been watching on the internet to mate for awhile and they finally produced. Trigger is a Golden Retriever puppy. He is full of energy and loves to chew on anything he can find as with any puppy.

He gets along very well with our other Golden Retriever, Birdie, but not so much with our other dog, Dodger.

Darren and Trigger resting after a long days work.

It is always fun to have a Christmas puppy

Darren hopes that Trigger is a better hunting dog than Birdie and he better be because as pricey as he was, I told Darren that Trigger was his gift for the rest of the year. Darren thinks he can just keep buying dogs until he gets a good one. Too bad we can't do that with kids!

Christmas Day

2010-01-05T08:06:00.002-07:00

Santa must not have been watching because my boys were not so good this year and somehow managed to get everything they wanted. It might have something to do with Mrs. Claus being sick this year and Santa having to finish up the shopping.
Taylor pretty much just wanted clothes, shoes, and money. Santa delivered.
The ONLY thing Baylee had on his Christmas list was an iTouch. I told Darren he really didn't need or deserve this pricey gift but Darren's reply was, "I do easy, not practical".
Colton received a new bike for Christmas. The only bad thing is that he has to wait until spring to enjoy his gift or maybe he could just ride it around the basement in the new house which we still have not moved into yet!

We always spend Christmas Eve with Darren's extended family in Wellington. We did have to leave early this year because Grason and I were sick. We were disappointed we didn't get to participate in the white elephant exchange because that it always the highlight of the evening. Next year I pray for good health and my new house to be complete!

Traditions

2010-01-05T07:32:00.004-07:00

Making gingerbread houses has been a tradition for us for three years now. I did not take the time to make the gingerbread this year because as most of you know I was pretty sick around Christmas. So we just used graham crackers for the house itself. It didn't turn out so well because the boys had a had time cutting them and making them fit together.
Colton did a great job with the "lights" on his house. I think he did the best job with a little help from Dad.

Grason was more into eating the house pieces than creating a masterpiece.

Baylee is obviously not too happy with the outcome of his house!

Another tradition I try to do every year with the boys, is make new ornaments for the Christmas tree. Trying to cut corners again due to my illness, I used a salt dough recipe that you microwave (big mistake). They were pretty dry and wouldn't hold there shape very well. We painted them anyway.
Taylor's was the shape of a clover and he tried to paint it North Carolina colors but I don't think he tried very hard.
Again, I think Colton's ornaments turned out the best. He has patience which is one thing the others boys don't have.

Baylee ended up making about 10 ornaments.

Taylor rolling out and cutting the ornaments.

I had found a cute idea for an ornament in my Family Fun magazine which used cut up paper towel rolls and pipe cleaner. My original intention was to do this as a project at Colton's class party but didn't have enough paper towel rolls to make an ornament for each student so we just did them at home instead.

I think they are a pretty cool ornament for a small cost.

I am so happy Taylor still participated in making the ornaments this year.

Who's was the best?

Basketball

2009-12-19T13:27:00.003-07:00

Taylor, #23, played a good game against Fort Collins High School this week. They didn't win but it came down the last basket. He really enjoys basketball and we are very proud of him for making the freshman team this year. I hope he sticks with it because I think he has the potential to be a really amazing player.
Taylor said he wishes he wouldn't have got #23 because he has a lot to prove wearing that number with it being Michael Jordan and Lebron James' number.
He hasn't really played with any of the other guys on his team before so I'm sure that will take some time before they start to connect with each other.

Coach Brubaker is a great coach for Taylor. He is not too harsh with the boys but does let them know when they are doing something that he doesn't like.

Tree Decorating

2009-12-16T10:38:00.003-07:00

The boys did a great job decorating the tree. If I didn't smell the tree, I would swear it was a fake tree because it looks absolutely perfect. We bought our tree at a tree lot this year and are a little late getting it up because of our busy schedule with four boys.
Grason has been waiting since Grandma put her tree up a couple of weeks ago. "When are we going to get our Christmas?" he would ask. Not a Christmas tree but just a Christmas. When we got the ornaments out he just wanted to play with them not decorate the tree.

Mom helping Grason with the delicate ornaments.

Colton is the one that enjoys this tradition the most. He wants the tree to look perfect when we turn out the lights and turn on the Christmas tree. He said this is going to be the best Christmas ever (I think he says that every year).

Taylor has taken over the job of donning the tree with the Christmas Angel.

Christmas Program

2009-12-12T15:42:00.003-07:00

Colton was so excited to wear his suit to his program. I have to admit, he is one handsome boy.

All the kids had to wave to their parents before the program began so they wouldn't be tempted to do it throughout the whole performance.

Grason wanted to stand on the risers as soon as the program started but he had to wait until the end.

"Hush now, don't make a sound. It's Santa again"

I don't think Colton will be a performer one day but he did a wonderful job in his first grade Christmas program. Love You Buddy and Merry Christmas

Birthday Star

2009-12-06T10:50:00.003-07:00

Colton wanted to celebrate his birthday at Chuck E. Cheese along with every other seven year old in Fort Collins. Charles really does a birthday up right there. He had a great day and the smile on his face the whole day proved it!

Colton, Anthony, James, Presley, Grason and Joel taking a group pic with Chuck.

Colton being "knighted" as a birthday king.

I can't believe my little Colts is seven.

The face of a great present

Scuba Diving

2009-12-04T11:55:00.004-07:00

My son Baylee has a very exciting life for an eleven year old! He is in a class called Science
Adventures and they got to go Scuba Diving last week for a lesson in buoyancy. He has now decided for his high school graduation present that he wants to go to Mexico somewhere and go scuba diving. I don't think I can object to that request.

Thanksgiving

2009-12-02T12:37:00.004-07:00

Thanksgiving in South Dakota was very nice but since Taylor made the basketball team at Poudre High School, he and Darren had to stay home because Taylor had practice all weekend. It was strange not having all my family together but I still enjoyed my visit. Spending time with my family is always a special time for me and I cherish the memories we make each year. God has blessed me with much happiness and for this I am so THANKFUL!

Natioinal Junior Honor Society

2009-11-18T09:44:00.002-07:00

Baylee never seizes to amaze me! Last night he was just inducted into the National Junior Honor Society. It recognizes students who not only excel academically but someone who shows great character, leadership, and citizenship. The students were nominated by a faculty advisory board based on these criteria.
As most of you know, Baylee skipped 1st grade which I think makes this award even more impressive. That he can excel as he does in every class being a year younger than most of his classmates makes me extremely proud to be his Mom.
Baylee does work somewhat hard to keep his grades up but I hate to say everything does seem to come easy for him. He grasps concepts fairly easy and has an enormous capacity for useless knowledge. I wouldn't consider him a ''nerdy kid" because he loves his sports and has a great group of friends.

I am very blessed to have such a talented child and thank God everyday for the blessings he has given me in having four very different boys.

Baylee on the top row posing for the picture. Way to go kid!!

Another Snowy Sunday!

2009-11-15T15:16:00.003-07:00

We had another snowy Sunday. "They" said we were supposed to get 6-12 inches but we only ended up getting about 3-4 inches of snow. But the boys still had enough to make a fun day out of it.

Colton making a snow angel

Colton, Baylee and Grason playing chase

Grason sliding down a little mound. I wonder if Birdie pushed him:)

Halloween 09

2009-11-04T14:05:00.002-07:00

Halloween started with our traditional pumpkin carving in our kitchen. It always makes a big mess but the boys enjoy the end result of great looking pumpkins.

My niece Rebecca (not pictured) actually got married on Halloween night which was a lot of fun. Here is Baylee as "Downtown Jones" from the movie Semi-Pro and my great niece Sienna.

Colton as "Duke" from GI Joe and Grason as "Spiderman". This picture was taken at Colton's class party.

The family at the wedding. I am so lucky to know what my husband Darren is going to be like when he is about 80. A dirty old man!

Taylor decided to make Darren happy for one day and dress up as a cowboy. I told him he should dress like this every day and the girls would be all over him. One good looking hick!

Fall Football

2009-10-17T14:43:00.003-06:00

This was Baylee's first year to ever play football and I think he really enjoyed himself. His team ended their season with a 2-6 record on Wednesday. Baylee played many positions on kick off team, defensive line and offensive line. He is for surely going to play again next year for his middle school team but he wants to put on about 20 lbs. before then. I just have to remind him that most of those kids are a 1-1 1/2 years older than he is.

No. 22

Baylee did receive a war wound on the field. He hit another players face guard with his forearm and gave himself a nice bump.

He played with a lot of heart all year and I admire that most because he may not have a lot of natural talent but he always tried real hard.

First Snow!!

2009-10-10T14:48:00.003-06:00

We had our first snowfall for the season and I Love It!!! Darren is hunting with the older boys so it was just me and the little guys. The snow was perfect for snowballs and we had a "ball":)

Grason's Birthday

2009-10-09T15:55:00.004-06:00

I finally got my camera fixed and very excited to be bloggin again. I was going to go back and catch you all up on everything from the last time I blogged in July but realized that would be a lot of typing and decided I would just start with Grason's 3rd Birthday. My little guy has definitely grown up because he is no longer into his "farm stuff". He has been indoctrinated to like Spiderman and Transformers. Darren and I bought he a train table for all his train stuff but he really enjoyed the Spiderman toys much better. We just kept his party small this year with family and had a great dinner at Grandma and Grandpa's house. Grason chose to have Ice Cream cupcakes which turned out pretty cute. It was funny watching him try to blow out his candles because he kept blowing up. Brothers finally helped and hopefully his wish will still come true.

I LOVE SPIDERMAN

I LOVE SPONGEBOB

AND I LOVE TRANSFORMERS

BOO HOO!

2009-07-21T20:10:00.002-06:00

My digital camera has broken and I am in the process of getting it fixed. So it may be a while before I have a new post on my blog.

Baby Sienna

2009-07-12T21:37:00.003-06:00

This is Sienna Grace Kline, my nieces' daughter. Every time I see her I just want to eat up those cheeks.

My babies days must be over because when I hold her I do not get the urge to have another one of my one. Thank God!

Proud Mom and Dad

This was the first time Taylor had seen Sienna and he did such a great job with her.

We definitely do not get to see her enough to my liking so when I do see her I tend to hog her.

The Fourth

2009-07-07T14:27:00.005-06:00

We all enjoyed the parade in Wellington like we do every year. The weather was perfect for sitting on the corner and watching the show go by. The boys all said that they didn't get as much candy as they have in previous years but still they managed to come home with full pockets.

Darren looked very patriotic in his Fourth of July shirt. It is a tradition for all the family to get red, white, and blue shirts every year but Darren's may have been a little over the top this year. He sure does love his country.

Grason wished that there were more animals in the parade and I wished that there were less fire trucks. I think that is all that the town spends their money on, new fire trucks every year and they drive EVERY ONE through the parade.
After the rain had passed for the afternoon, we got the jet skis out for the first time this year!

Colton relaxed floating on the water

Grason has never been out this far into the water My sister and two of her children, Logan and Brooklyn, came down from Sundance, WY for the holiday weekend. The kids have such a ball when they all get together but they somehow seem to gang up on the only girl.

Colton enjoyed the new load of sand we had delivered on the "beach". I now notice that I never have any of my oldest son Taylor in the pictures this year. This tells me he is growing up because he never wants to be around us anymore. BOO HOO!

Weekend Vacation

2009-07-01T20:27:00.003-06:00

The boys and I went to South Dakota for the weekend and had a wonderful time. We went for my sister Tammy's 50th birthday party and her and her husband Ken renewed their wedding vows after 27 years of marriage. I would post some of those pictures but somehow they got deleted off my camera. We went to a water park in Spearfish with my sister Becky and her three kids and had a "splashing" time.

Taylor trying to show his muscles climbing the water wall

Baylee is my fish! I had a really hard time getting him to leave after four hours. He enjoyed the day the most I think doing everything the park had to offer including the slides, the lazy river, the water wall, and just swimming.
This is Grason and I just as we got into the lazy river but as soon as his face got wet from the water falls he was done!

Happy Father's Day

2009-06-21T09:44:00.003-06:00

Today is another day that makes me sad my Dad is no longer with us. He has been gone for almost seven years and I still think about him nearly every day. I miss his smile, his laugh and especially the love he gave me as his baby girl. I know he is shiny on me today because the sun is finally out and it is going to be a lovely day. I love you Dad!

God's Garden

God looked around His garden
And He found an empty place
He then looked down upon the earth
And saw your precious face

He put His arms around you
And lifted you to rest;
God' s Garden must be beautiful
He always takes the best.

He knew that you were suffering
He knew you were in pain
He knew you' d never ever
Get well on earth again.

So He closed your weary eyelids
And whispered " Peace be thine "
Then He took you up to Heaven
With Hands so gentle and kind.

It broke our hearts to lose you
But you did not go alone,
For part of us went with you
The day God welcomed you home.

Graduations

2009-05-31T18:53:00.004-06:00

This year went extremely fast for us all. Taylor is now officially in High School. I am very proud of him this year because along with eight other boys in his grade, he was nominated for Outstanding Eighth Grade Boy. This award is voted on by his teachers so I think that means a lot.

He also received Outstanding Technology Student

Taylor's Junior High did not have and promotion ceremony for the eighth graders so the parents and teachers organized a beach party for them. They had a lot of door prizes donated by local businesses which meant a lot to the kids. They played volleyball, had a hula hoop contest, did some dancing and just hung out with their friends.

Signing of the year books

Taylor and his best friend Dan

Baylee had such a great year! He is the last sixth grade class to ever be at Eyestone Elementary because of the new grade reconfiguration. He had an great teacher, Mrs. Schmer, which really made it even more special. He maintained a 3.65 grade point average throughout the year and I think that is remarkable considering he actually should only be in the fifth grade. We are extremely proud of him!

Baylee is very excited to move on to Junior High because he wants to try out for all the team sports. He has never really been a sports kid so I was very surprised when he made that statement.Baylee's Gang

Colton also had a promotion ceremony from kindergarten. I am truly blessed with such great kids because he also received an award for being "The most trustworthy kindergartener".

Dad, Mom, Grason and Colton after the ceremony

Grandma and Colton

Colton receiving his diplomaColton truly loved his teacher, Ms. Lafayette. She couldn't have made it a better year for Colton. I am so surprised at how well he reads and writes now. I know is so ready for first grade but I don't think I am ready to have my special boy gone all day.

I was not as emotional as I thought I would be on this day with all my boys promoting to their next phase of schooling; Taylor moving on to High School, Baylee to Junior High, and Colton to First Grade. I think I am going to cry everyday this summer though having them home all day long with me.

Little Shop of Physics

2009-05-15T18:10:00.005-06:00

For all of Baylee's hard work at school, he was rewarded by being selected to be on TV. Colorado State University chose the top three science students in the 6th grade at his school to participate in an episode of a production of the Little Shop of Physics. He was very honored and excited that he was one of those students.

They did a number of experiments on gravity and how it affects many things in our world.

The production room

Baylee and Dylan Jordan

Brian Jones has been a professor at CSU for 20 years and made the filming of the show a great experience that Baylee will remember as a fun and educational part of his life. The show is set to air sometime in the fall on local Channel 10 here in Fort Collins. I hope to get a copy because we being on satellite TV, do not receive that channel. I can't wait to share it with all our family and friends. Darren and I are very glad that Baylee got to see that good things happen when you work hard! A good quote from Buddha: 'Happiness comes when your work and words are of benefit to yourself and others.'

Genwakai Kan Karate

2009-04-21T17:46:00.004-06:00

Colton has joined a karate class and he absolutely loves it! We enrolled him because he is very shy and doesn't have much self-confidence. I highly recommend anyone who is trying to teach your child to show respect and good character to others that you enroll them in a karate class.
Colton goes to an academy in Wellington at the Creative Kids Corner. His instructor, Fred Trostel is a certified 6th degree black belt and licensed instructor. I think his rates are extremely reasonable, $50 a month for three days a week.
Colton has learned to count in Japanese and many other words that coordinate with his class. We are very proud of him and realize that this class is only going to benefit him in the long run.

WOW!

His brothers are very impressed that Colton can do knuckle push ups! Someday he will be able to lay them flat and they are going to be very surprised.

Happy Easter!

2009-04-13T20:55:00.007-06:00

We had a cold and windy Easter egg hunt at Grandma's on Easter afternoon. Grandma hid a special egg for each of the boys with their names on them. If they found the wrong egg they had to put it back and find the one with their name on it. She had hid a big surprise in the eggs which made staying out in the cold well worth it. Thanks Grandma!

Poor little Grason's hands were so cold by the time he found all the eggs but it didn't bother him at all. He had a great time no matter the weather.

Taylor just searched for his egg and didn't bother picking up any of the "regular" eggs with candy in them. He was on a mission.

Baylee hid his stash in his hoodie pocket. He found the most eggs with a total 14 eggs. I had hid two special eggs and only let him find one golden egg and let Colton find the other silver egg.

2009-04-13T15:02:00.006-06:00

Easter started with the traditional dying of the eggs for the Hodges Family. Colton and I didn't get to enjoy the fun because we were both sick in bed:( So Baylee helped Grason and they did a beautiful job.

2009-04-01T21:35:00.003-06:00

Wishing my mother-in-law Marilyn a Happy Birthday. I got very lucky because I can truly call her one of my best friends. And my boys couldn't ask for a better Grandma!
Happy Birthday Marilyn

2009-03-29T14:03:00.003-06:00

Friday the boys had a snow day and we made the most of it! Darren pulled Colton, Presley, and I around on the sled behind the 4-wheeler. What a great snow day!!! I hope it snows again tomorrow! Hold on tight kids!

What a view we have!

Birdie, Presley and Colton enjoying the ride

Dad and Grason were doing all the work driving through the snow. By the end of the day, Grason was falling asleep on the 4-wheeler.