My Star

Words can't express how proud I am of Gabriel.  He was the North Star in our Christmas program at church and he did such a good job.  This is a another moment that makes my heart melt.

Here is my star shining for the whole church!

Christmas Tree

You can't have Christmas without a Christmas tree.  We knew the boys had to have a Christmas tree this year.  The only problem was that our tree, ornaments, and everything Christmas is in Sheridan.

So we came up with a plan.  I went to Target and Goodwill in search of lights and Christmas ornaments.  Bryan went and picked up a tree from our local Christmas tree lot.  We may not have had our Christmas ornaments but we ended up with a beautiful tree. 

Hunting in eastern colorado

On Friday night, Gabe said "Daddy is going to take me and Bridger Pheasent hunting tomorrow".  I didn't think anything of it at the time but I knew that we didn't have plans to go hunting.  At 5:00 a.m. the next morning, Gabe was awake and ready for his dad to take him out hunting.  When we explained to him that we didn't know a place near here to take him hunting, he was crushed.  You would have thought that the world was going to come to an end.  He cried and cried.  Bryan finally broke down after a couple of hours and asked me to call Pop and see if he would know anyplace we could hunt in Ft Morgan .  My dad told us to call his old friend, Mark Christensen, who has a family ranch near Fort Morgan. After talking with him we were all set to go out hunting on Sunday afternoon.  Gabe was satisfied with this and finally stopped pouting.

On Sunday, we loaded the kids and the dog in the car and headed to Ft. Morgan, which is about an hour and a half from Thornton.  We all had a great time being out on Mark's ranch.  The boys and the dog got to run and enjoy the fresh air.  Bridger found two birds but they both got away.  We didn't mind.  We had a great time with some really nice people on a beautiful ranch in Eastern Colorado.

I love Tuesdays

Tuesdays are the best.  On Tuesdays my two best buddies and I get to have a play date together.  Every Tuesday, Nate, Jake, and I get together and do really fun stuff. 

Here are some pictures of our play date last week.  We played games, played with play dough, and had a snack.

Thanksgiving

It is a Dahl family tradition to spend Thanksgiving in Spearfish with Bryan's family.  It is a special time because it's when everyone gets together and the boys hunt.  Uncle Brett, Aunt Cindy, Tyler, and Jackson flew in from Arizona.   Uncle Jim, Aunt Shanna, and Tyler and Austin drove over from Laramie, and Grammy and Gramps came in from Buffalo.  We all met in Spearfish on Wednesday night at a house that Grammy and Gramps had rented for us.

The boys spent three days hunting and loved every minute of it.  When they weren't hunting they hung out at the house.  Here are a few moments from our weekend.

Eli's 1st birthday cake

Some games we play

This is our boat in the middle of the ocean.  We had to row and row and row to get to the shore.

This is Eli's favorite game.  The stairs.  Up and down, up and down, up and down, up and down.

While we are waiting for mommy to cook dinner we play ball with Eli.  He loves to play ball.

Sometimes we play keep away and Eli screams because he doesn't like it.

cherished moments

There are moments in this life that will always be remembered.  Those moments that make the rest of the world disappear because you are overwhelmed with love.  I love having these moments as a mother.  It makes everything worth it.

I had one of those moments today and I was able to capture a picture.

The boys were playing with play dough at the kitchen table while I folded laundry in the living room.  The house was very quiet as Eli was napping.  I looked up from my work and there stood two boys with big smiles on their faces.  "Mommy here is some flowers" they said in unison.  Those two angels had made me flowers out of their play dough.  This is one of those cherished moments that melts a heart!

The Lake

I've always wanted to live on a lake.  When we moved to Thornton, I got my wish.  We live on a beautiful little lake called Hunter's Glen.  The view from my dining room table is amazing.  Everyday I look out at the lake with the mountains in the background.  But, this lake is much more then just a beautiful place to look at.  It has also been our entertainment since we have lived here.

The boys and I walk Bridger around the lake at least once a day.  On our walks we always see lots of wildlife including ducks, geese, muskrats, and kingfishers.   There are several small beaches where we can throw rocks for Bridger and there is also a small park on the other side of lake.  The boys always stop to go down the slide and swing for a few minutes.

Gabriel learned to ride his two wheeler around our lake.  Owen also loves to ride his bike and sometimes he rides his scooter.  Eli loves our walks also.  He sits in the stroller and enjoys the view.

Here are the boys playing outside our condo.

Here we are on our morning walk.

I am thankful and blessed that we have such a wonderful place to live.  And as I look out at our lake as I'm writing this I'm filled with this thankfulness.