February 5k

While Joe's cousin, Abby was in town, she wanted to run a race with Daniel and I. She had heard he was quite the runner and wanted to see for herself. So, she found a 5k in our area and we all signed up. It was a little cold so we didn't get much training in, but we were able to finish it. And in our fastest time yet. 30:32. 

This is pre-race

Daniel again placed 2nd in his age division (19yrs and under)

Abby and I even placed in our age division. (I'll let you guess what that was).

Thanks for pushing us, Abby!

Valentine's Day

For their Valentine's parties at school, the boys each picked out their own Valentine's to hand out. 

Daniel's had to be Star Wars.

Patrick didn't pick this out but how cute is this? I found this online. 

Josh didn't want anything too "mushy". I guess he's at that age. 

They all had parties at school. (I guess I didn't take any pictures at Josh's class). 

Then for my Valentine's day, they surprised me with homemade cards and breakfast in bed (s'mores pancakes. Yum).

I'm one lucky lady. 

Happy Valentine's Day!!

Colorado Springs Fun Day

The boys had the day off of school and Dad had the day off of work, so we decided to take a quick trip to Colorado Springs for some fun for the day. We visited the Space Foundation Discovery Center. It's a very hands on place. They had a lot of activities for the boys to experience. 

They were a lot more excited about it than they look for the picture. I think they were just hungry. 

We found a restaurant that is inside an old Boeing KC-97 tanker from the 50's. The boys really enjoyed sitting in the cockpit. 

All the boys.

It was a fun morning for the family. Eating in a plane is definitely a new experience. 

Super Bowl Parade

Joe and I decided that if the Broncos won the Super Bowl, we would take the kids to the parade downtown. Well, they did it! So Tuesday, we excused the kids from school (along with about 25,000 other kids from the area) and trekked downtown to witness the festivities. We headed down a few hours before the parade started to make sure we beat some of the crowd. It worked. We got a great spot right behind the temporary fencing that was set up. The parade was amazing. It was fun to see all the players who appeared just as excited as everyone else. They were taking pictures and videos from the firetrucks as they went through the city. People were yelling and cheering. It was a fun atmosphere. Here are a few of the pictures I took (of course I took many more). 

The team's owner's wife with the trophy sitting next to Von Miller

Then, Payton Manning (the side of him at least) and DeMarcus Ware

Demaryius Thomas (Josh's favorite player)

The parade was a bunch of firetrucks with different people on them

Miles had a pretty sweet ride for the parade

Just us and a million of our closest friends

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We stopped for lunch at Sam's #3 diner instead of heading down to the pep rally. We had heard there were people camped out there since 5am so we didn't want to take the kids through that crowd. It was a good idea. The pictures from the news showed it was very crowded and we probably would not have been able to get close enough to see anything. Luckily, the place we stopped to eat had TVs turned on with the sound so we got to watch the whole thing while we waited to be seated.

It was a fun family outing that I'm sure the kids (and I) won't forget for a long time. I'm so glad we braved the crowds and made it work.

Super Bowl

Josh's driveway art

For most of the Broncos games this year, we watched them at the Weldon's house. So, we didn't want to break tradition for the biggest game of the season. I found some fun recipes online to celebrate the "big game". 

Orange flavored krispie treat jerseys. Made with orange jello flavoring.

Orange and Blue jello with whipped cream for the kids.

Orange and Blue jello shots for the adults. (They were a "tad" strong).

And it all worked. Broncos win the Super Bowl!

New Year's Eve

We were actually home for New Year's Eve this year. I think that has only happened one time before since we have moved out to Colorado. Lucky for us, we have great friends who invite us over, with our kids, for a family friendly party. 

They had yummy food and activities for the kids (including watching Star Wars). We even had a "champagne" toast at midnight (New York time) before heading home. 

Thanks for a fun evening Dircks!

Happy New Year everyone!

Strutt Christmas

With one sibling uber pregnant, we decided to bring Christmas to her. So, Christmas morning, we packed up from Iowa and headed down to Kansas. The kids are so used to road trips, this was nothing new to them. It was something new for Dad and I. Being Christmas morning, all the food places were closed. Oops! Luckily we were headed south and that area has something Nebraska doesn't have, Quick Trips. The boys were finally introduced to the yumminess of gas station food. It was actually a really nice food stop that consisted of hot dogs and taquitos with chips and slurpees. I think the boys enjoyed it. 

We made it to Wichita and headed over the Aunt Becca and Uncle Brandon's (with Jonah and Cora). Grandma and Grandpa and Uncle Rob and Aunt Whitney (with Autumn) were already there so there were a lot of people to play with and the boys were ready to get out of the car. And soon, Aunt Jenny and Uncle Aaron (with Carly and Layla) made it to town. 

The kids couldn't wait much longer so we got down to the business of opening presents and having a delicious dinner. 

Then we headed over to the hotel to spend the night. The boys passed out pretty quickly from a long day of traveling. It was cute.

Saturday was move-in day. We had rented a 4-bedroom house so everyone could stay in the same place. It worked out really well for us. 

There were a lot of games played....

and a lot of cousin time.

And just generally hanging out. It was really nice. 

Sunday morning, we headed downtown for a brunch buffet at the Do-Dah Diner. It was delicious. 

Table for 18.

Then Sunday evening, some of us ventured out in the ice to catch the new Star Wars movie. 

On Monday, while the little ones slept, the two big boys made it to the local arcade and bowling alley. They got to enjoy go-kart races and running through the lazer maze. They really enjoyed getting to run around for a few hours.

Then the rest of the kids joined us for a few games of bowling. I think everyone enjoyed themselves. 

For our last full day together we headed over to the Exploration Place and walked around. It was full of things to climb on, play with, and explore (hence the name). The kids loved it.

Wednesday, we all headed our separate ways. It was five days of fun, relaxing, and playing with family. I'm glad we were all able to meet for the holidays. It's fun to get to see new places. 

Merry Christmas!