Happy Birthday Brad!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

We celebrated Brad's birthday this year

with peanut butter cups (his favorite).

His cake was loaded with

peanut butter cups

and rich chocolate ganache.

Soooo D-E-L-I-S-H.

Happy Birthday to our dashing fellow. :-)

We all adore you.

RECIPE

1 devil’s food cake mix

3 eggs

1 cup buttermilk

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 cups chopped peanut butter cups (plus more for garnishing – I used 2 bags)

8 oz. dark chocolate, chopped

1 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup peanut butter

•Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat two 9-inch cake pans with non-stick cooking spray. Line with wax paper and coat paper.

•In a large bowl, beat cake mix, eggs, buttermilk and vegetable oil on low for 30 seconds. Increase speed to medium-high and beat for 2 minutes. Scrape down sides after 1 minute. Fold in 2 cups of the chopped peanut butter cups.

•Pour batter into pans and bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.

•Cool cakes completely.

•Place chopped dark chocolate in a medium bowl. Bring cream just to a boil and then pour over chocolate. Whisk until chocolate melts. Add peanut butter and whisk until smooth.

•Trim each cake layer so the tops are flat. Place one layer on a cooling rack and pour 1 cup frosting on top. Spread evenly with a spatula. Add second layer and pour remaining frosting over top and sides of cake. Smooth out with spatula.

•Allow frosting to set for a minute and gently press remaining chopped peanut butter cup pieces all over top and sides of cake. Place in refrigerator for about an hour to set.

Remove and serve with vanilla ice cream

Christmas-New Year

We had a fabulous Christmas.

L-o-v-e-d the time together---away from school and work.

Santa found our new house and left a few surprises.

The favorites...

Addison's new alarm clock (her top request). She's a cutie.

Tickets to Beauty and the Beast and Wicked. Can't wait.

Ava's wooden instruments.

Instead of playing them,

she pushes them around in her stroller.

SO s-w-e-e-t.

The girls received a plethora of American Girl crafts to keep them busy.

Olivia was so happy about her new sewing machine. She loves to sew.

After Christmas, our little Ava spent some time in the hospital with pneumonia.

She was in the hospital for 4 days and on oxygen at home for another 4 days.

NOT what we had planned to celebrate the new year. Poor little girl!

She is such a sweetheart and has made a full recovery. So glad.

While Ava was recovering, we spent a lot of time at home.

So, I decided to give our bedroom a makeover...

I painted our bed, armoire and even our old pillows!

Brad knows how much I love to paint furniture, but pillows?!?

I wasn't too sure, but it worked. :-) Here is one of my favorites.

New home

The last few weeks have been busy!

We moved into a new home and we are loving it!

We were so excited to find a home within the same

community, school and village of fantastic friends.

Our girls are adjusting beautifully to the change.

Our cute little Ava is walking now.

She started walking soon after we moved.

She is excited to have new space to explore. So fun.

The last few weeks have also been

full of holiday fun! So much more to come. :)

Love this time of year!

The Lion King

The Lion King at the Buell Theatre.

We spent the evening spellbound by costumes

and magical theatrics. The costumes were unbelievable!

We were captivated from the start. Loved it!

Fuzzy picture inside the theatre.

The girls were so cute--so excited.

They loved every minute of it.

Baby Ava

Having a 4th little girl join our family has been a delight!

Baby Ava is a s-w-e-e-t-h-e-a-r-t.

It is so exciting to watch her grow

and see her little personality blossom.

She loves to be with her sisters.

She follows them everywhere. They LOVE it.

Watching a movie---all in a row.

Ava thinks she is so big! :)

A few snapshots from my phone...

Eating a banana before church--her favorite.

Shop 'til you drop.

She sleeps anywhere. I love it. She is a very easy baby.

I could kiss her little cheeks all day.

Morning run--she loves to ride in the stroller.

Listening to the story at Pottery Barn Kids story time.

She is growing up so fast. LOVE HER!

Halloween

C*O*S*T*U*M*E*S

Angel---Ladybug---Mad Scientist---Fairy

Sweet Little Ladybug

She loved Halloween.

Halloween highlight--creepy Hillary Clinton mask.

Brad went to the Costume Shop in search of a

costume for work. The last minute selection

was terrible. He ended up with...Hillary.

His costume was H-I-L-A-R-I-O-U-S.

Little Ella could not get enough.

She thought it was the funniest thing ever!

She had a great time in photo booth,

laughing hysterically under the mask.

H-a-p-p-y H-a-l-l-o-w-e-e-n!

First Snow

Snow, snow and more snow

in Denver today!

B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L

Olivia and Addison after school--

SO excited about all of the new snow!

Training-Day #1

Ella, Ava(hiding in the stroller) and I---early morning run.

Brad and I are looking forward to our next race. Training started today. We are training with my sisters, cousins, and other family members. Our goal: Train together and run in a race Thanksgiving morning. We are going to run different races since we don't all live near each other. Brad and I will be running the Turkey Chase 10k. I love my family so much! We are very close. It will be so much fun to train together. Love it!

Steamboat Springs

This weekend we fell in love with Steamboat Springs, Colorado.

My parents invited us to join them at their condo for the weekend.

Steamboat Springs is nestled in the mountains northwest of Denver.

Our surroundings were covered with Autumn Aspens---s-t-u-n-n-i-n-g.

Fall colors were in full bloom. We loved it. WOW

Thank you Mom and Dad for an unforgettable weekend!

Addison is the newest member of the student council.

The election was on Friday.

She was so excited-so nervous.

She had to give a speech before the voting took place.

She really wanted to write it by herself.

I thought that her speech was darling! We are so proud of her.

ADDISON'S WINNING SPEECH

This is why you should vote for me for student council:

I will be positive and a good example.

I will share my ideas.

I will attend meetings, student store, and help with spirit days.

I will try to get good grades and be good in class.

I will be kind and follow the rules.

I will help others if they need help and I will be a hard worker.

If you fall down, I will come to the rescue.

If you need a friend, I will be there.

That is why you should vote for me for student council.

On Friday night we celebrated.

Brad took Addison and Olivia to the Rockies-Giants baseball game.

They had a blast being energetic cheerleaders. :-) So fun.

Paris Street Market

This weekend we strolled through the Paris Street Market.

Learn more about it here.

It was a treat.

It is open on Saturdays, May-October.

My girls and I spent the morning rummaging

through antiques and vintage treasures.

So many treasures.

We were there for hours and loved every minute of it.

We will be visiting again...soon.

Labor Day Weekend

We had a fantastic Labor Day Weekend.

We began the weekend with

Les Misérables at the Buell Theatre.

One of our favorites.

B-R-A-V-O

Grandma Daybell was here to visit!

We had so much fun at the...

Pool

Butterfly Pavilion
Art Museum--Marvelous Mud Exhibit
Elitch Gardens
Farmer's Market
Boulder--Pearl Street
Downtown Denver Food Festival
SO fun.

Denver Art Museum

Mud Studio---So many creative sculptures.

Addison added a cute little puppy to the gallery.

Boulder's Pearl Street
Great street performers on the weekends.
Ella had the best view. :-)

Elitch Garden's
Mind Eraser Roller Coaster- YIKES

SO tired-busy weekend with Grandma.
S-w-e-e-t baby.

Mt. Bierstadt

We hiked our first 14er on Saturday.
Mt. Bierstadt
Elevation: 14,060
It was an adventure.
View was spectacular.
Can't wait for the next one.

First Day of School

Addison and Olivia are off to school!

They started school on Monday and they are loving it.
They are so excited about their new teachers,
new grade, the bus, friends and

all of the fun things they will be learning.

Although I miss them,
it will be fun to have some time
with our two little ones,
Ella and Ava.
After I dropped Olivia and Addison
off at the bus stop, Ella turned to me and said,
"Yes! Now I am in charge!"
She likes to be the BIG SISTER and
she definitely likes to be in charge.

Ella getting Ava ready for
a ride in her doll pram.
Ava loves it- laughs so hard.

Ella is a little M-O-M.
She is gentle and sweet with Ava.
They have a great time together.

Addison's 9th BIRTHDAY!

Addison had a birthday this week.
She is 9 years old!
She is such a sweetie! She was so excited to visit
the American Girl store to pick out her new doll!
She picked Julie Albright-
she loves her and loves to read her books.
So cute.
She was also very excited about her new butterfly garden
and earrings from her sweet grandparents and
a ticket to The Lion King musical from her sisters.
She is growing up!

Addison had so many cute ideas for her birthday party...
chocolate fudge cupcakes with suckers and handmade pinwheels.

She invited 5 of her good friends to celebrate at
Elitch Gardens. We had a blast.
They were so much fun.
H-I-L-A-R-I-O-U-S

Happy Birthday Addison- LOVE YOU!

Happy Birthday Ava!

Sweet Ava turned 1 this week!

We celebrated with swimming and sweets (Ava's favorite).
We invited our good friends over for a
POOL PARTY!

Lots of cupcakes for 50 fabulous guests- we had so much fun.

Some of the party guests- great friends.Ava's chocolate cream "smash cake". She devoured it-loved it.

My very talented friend (Natalie) helped me build this
picnic table and beach chair for Ava.
She's a little small for the table (she'll grow into it).
She loves to climb into her chair, she thinks she is SO big.
Love this age-what a cutie.
Happy Birthday Ava!
We love you!

L--O--V--E
S U M M E R

Ballet Recital

Addison and Olivia had a ballet recital this weekend.
Their performance was in Boulder on Saturday afternoon- it was fantastic!
The girls both love being on stage- they did such a great job.
They have really enjoyed being in the same ballet classes this year.
They are best friends. D-A-R-L-I-N-G.

S-W-E-E-T-I-E-S

We were not allowed to take pictures during the performance or dress rehearsal.
I was able to take a picture of the final bow after the performance.
They are in the front row, far right.
Loved it.