Welcome Back to Colorado J. Cuts

I spent a wonderful evening with my husband at the Broncos and Bears game last weekend. I don't usually go to the games because 1. the kids usually beg to go and I give in and 2. I don't really like it so he has more fun going with friends and other family members.

However, when J. Cuts headed to the Chicago Bears during the off season, I called dibs on that game. Our seats are literally above the door where the opposing team comes in and out of, so... perfect place for some serious heckling.

Please visit my friend Kelly's blog to find out why this was so important because she said it perfectly http://anewblockparty.blogspot.com/2009/08/over-it.html .

I worked on a few signs to display my appreciation for J. Cuts during the week before the game and surprised Brian with what I thought were some pretty fabulous signs, if I do say so myself. I think he was kinda proud of me for getting into it so much. He did give me a pretty hard time about "girlying" them up though, he said I couldn't color and glitter them, but come on, I still have to be me, even if I am heckling a former player at a Bronco game.

We had a great time, I even had the paparazzi after me when I first got to our seats, the newspaper and TV cameras all came running over to take a picture of my signs, I can't lie, I felt like a pretty cool wife. Brian missed it though because he was with his brother over at his seats, so that bummed me out, he missed my one second of Cool-Wife-at-the-Bronco-Game-Glory. My poster even made 9 news the next day.

Here are the posters I made for the game.

The game also started "Birthday Week" for Brian, and he got his first Birthday present at the game, it was the Denver Broncos Sideline Cap. Doesn't he look so cute?

Brian's brother, Bill, posing with another excited poster maker fan.

Here is part of the very cool group of people we sit with at the game. In the picture is my brother-in-law, Sam; his dad; and some of his friends, along with Brian. I hope I filled the seat next to my husband with grace and hope that I am welcomed back soon. I may even end up loving Sunday Football Games, watch out kids, I may end up stealing your tickets.

Rachel and Mason Off to School

Well today marked the first day of school for Rachel and Mason, 10th and 11th grade! They both have first hour off so they don't have to leave the house until 7:15 or so. I know they hate having to get up earlier while living at our house, but we sure love having them.

The morning went well, for 5 people to be getting ready and heading out around the same time. Rachel has been going to bed a little sooner, and getting up earlier in the morning to prepare for today; although Mason hasn't been to bed before midnight and hasn't been up before 10:00 in the morning all summer long; I wasn't sure how he was going to do, but he did great.

This year is a little different for them because Rachel can drive them and they don't have to depend on the "parents" to get them there. They both have very tough schedules this year, both of them taking some honors classes, although Rachel is not happy at all about getting stuck in bowling 3rd hour, they are running out of the things to do with her, she carries a pretty heavy class load and has almost all of her core classes already done.

We are really proud of them, we know it takes a lot to drive back and forth to Arvada, and to be there early in the morning and not start homework until 3:30 or 4:00. We are also really appreciative of them being able to pick Brady up and take him home so he doesn't have to sit at the office all afternoon, they can all start on homework before Brian and I even get home.

Well, I guess summer vacation is officially over for the Strong Family, we are officially into the swing of things. Brady starts soccer practice tonight - 3 nights a week, Rachel is going to continue to tutor on Wednesdays and Mason has to work on homework vs. XBox from now on. Let the chaos begin...

I love lazy days!

It is very rare that we have a day with nothing to do, and today was one of those days. It was so nice to just hang out, we slept as late as we wanted to, we barely got dressed, and made sandwiches for lunch. Everyone kinda did their own thing; Brian, Rachel, and Mason wanted to watch the Rockies game so that's what they did; I, of course found my way to Lifetime Movie Network :) and Brady just roams around and keeps busy with whatever catches his eye. I love that we can have those days every once in a while and that our kids actually still like to spend the lazy days with us.

Rachel and Mason start school tomorrow and a whole new routine will begin. Brady starts soccer practice tomorrow 3 times a week, so we will fall right back into our busy school routine once again. I can't believe that we have a 5th grader, a 10th grader, and an 11th grader, when did they grow up and how did it happen so fast?

I will post pictures of Rachel and Mason's first day of school tomorrow and Brady at practice again. Until then.... I am just going to enjoy the rest of my lazy day~

Mason's afternoon with a Pro-Golfer

Mason's Grandpa Russ has a good friend that was a pro-golfer and now teaches at the Murphy Creek Golf Course in Aurora. His Grandpa set up an afternoon for Mason to go spend some time with Ben "Hogger" Hoggervaughn (sp?). He said he had a good time and learned some new tips.

Hopefully, he is getting some use out of his newly learned skills because Brian took the afternoon off today to go play golf with Mason at Buffalo Run Golf Course.

5th Grade - I can't believe it!

It seems like just yesterday that I was taking Brady to his 1st day of kindergarten, crying as I walked him into his classroom, taking pictures every chance I could get, and crying as I walked back to the car alone with Brian and then Brian taking me to Starbucks to help get me stop crying so I could go to work.

Well I didn't cry this year, nor was I ALLOWED to take any pictures of him once we left the car. He did allow me to take pictures of him in the front yard, he did let me walk him to class (I'm pretty sure it was only so I could carry his boxes of Kleenex, clearly because he was too cool to carry them). I entered the classroom, he told me to put the Kleenex where it supposed to go and then I was to leave. One parent had the whole video camera going, another one with the professional photography camera shooting away, I thought as far as parents go, I wasn't too horrible, at least I wasn't going that crazy, I just wanted one little shot of him sitting in the classroom; according to Brady - not a chance and if I EVEN considered kissing him, he would never forgive me.

I started thinking on the way back to work, (no Starbucks, apparently I'm too grown for that now too) that I can't believe I walked my baby to school for the last time and didn't even realize it. No more hand holding or packing snacks, no more picking out his outfits - no more little guy! I have officially entered the world of a tween, where I am no longer his favorite person in the world, I am no longer the one he wants to see the most every single day, I am now just Moooommmmm!

How did it happen right before my very own eyes, he is still sweet and handsome and lets me help with homework, but when I ask how he day is, he just says "fine" and the prying begins.

So here is to the beginning of 5th grade, filled with gross boy stuff, girl craziness, and plenty of homework to help with (I hope). For those of you with little ones, keep a close eye on them, it changes right before your very own eyes.

Family in town.

We have had such a busy month spending time with family, some that live here and some that come from out of state. This past weekend, we had family from Wichita, Kansas in town visiting. It was my Grandpa, Step-Grandma, and my cousin Tyler making the long drive this time.

Part of the reason it is so nice to have family here is because it gives all of us a chance to get together even more than we already do. When they arrived Friday afternoon, we had everyone over to our house for taco bar. There was my brother, Shaun and his family; my sister, Julie and her family; my mom, Ray, and his children; Grandpa, Grandma, and Tyler, and of course all of us, which made a total of 24 people.

On Saturday, Tyler came along for Mason's Birthday golf game and had a really good time, Mason said he was really glad Tyler was able to come along.

We spent Saturday night at my sister's house celebrating Sam's 1st Birthday, and on Sunday we went downtown to walk around, do a little shopping, and have some lunch.

It was a great weekend, it was nice to have my mom and all of us kids and our families together for a weekend. The other thing that is great, is that our kids are a perfect age for playing and helping occupy the time of the smaller kids, like my nieces and nephews.

Mason's Birthday Money!

When Mason was asked what he wanted for his Birthday this year, he told everyone he wanted money. A little rude we kept thinking, but he had a very specific idea. He has really wanted an Ipod Touch for the last couple of months, even begging to take money out of his savings account to buy one (guess what the answer was to that one?). So when he told us and everyone else what he wanted to buy with his money, we supported his plight to get cold hard cash. So with all of his Birthday cards opened, he had enough to buy his Ipod Touch AND get a golf outfit. He really wanted to get a "real" golf outfit. So here is Mason, looking very proud with his Birthday gifts. Thank you to everyone who helped contribute.

The Fire Department?

Last night we were just hanging out and relaxing and all of the sudden Brady yells and runs through the house. Apparently the fire department was doing some training behind our house. Engine 52 was training on the fire hydrants, hoses, etc. and Brady and his friend Aaron ran over there. The firefighters were so nice to them, they spent about 15 minutes with the boys, showing them things, letting them sit in the truck and answering questions. They were great and the boys were really excited. I had to take this picture, the sun was setting, the water was spraying, and it looked cool. Brady has spent time around firetrucks and firemen since he was a baby, my brother is a volunteer firefighter and has always been great about taking Brady on rides and down to the fire station. But having a fire truck in our backyard must have been cool to them, it was like having celebrities and I appreciate the firemen taking so much time with them.

Sam's 1st Birthday

For those of you who know me, you know that my nieces and nephews are a big part of my life. I adore and love them and can't wait to spend time with them. This weekend, we celebrated my nephew, Sam's 1st Birthday. He is absolutely the cutest little guy, he is so completely happy and smiley all of the time. My sister and her husband had everyone over to their house for the afternoon enjoying a small family get together to celebrate his big day. Look how cute he is...

My sister is so talented at so many things, here is one example... the cake she made for Sam's 1st Birthday - he had a "Little Red Wagon" theme for his Birthday.

Happy Birthday Mason!

We celebrated Mason's 15th Birthday over the weekend. A few weeks ago Mason and I were watching the Food Network Channel and saw peanut butter - banana french toast, we both thought that sounded soo good. So when he got up yesterday, I made him my own version of peanut butter - banana french toast with warmed syrup on a "Happy Birthday" plate, and it was all ready for him when he woke up. I had a bite and it was pretty good if I do say so myself.

As you know from following our blog, Mason has really gotten in golf, so after breakfast, we surprised him with a round of golf with Brian, Uncle Bill, and my cousin Tyler visiting from Kansas (more of that to come). They had a 10:10 tee-time at Box Elder Creek Golf Course and according to everyone, they had a great day, where he was receiving birthday-wish phone calls throughout the day.

After golf, we went to my sisters house for Baby Sam's 1st Birthday Party (more of that to come too) where we did a little more celebrating, Mason received lots more birthday wishes and then we whisked him away for a surprise dinner down in Denver. One of Mason's favorite restaurants is Maggiano's, so we took him to dinner there, just the 5 of us.

All in all, I think Mason had a great Birthday. He is already planning to go golfing again and has been thinking of all of the ways he could spend his birthday money.

Rockin' Strong

Rachel and Mason at the "Crue-Fest 2" Concert (http://www.motley.com/cruefest2/) tonight at Coors Ampitheatre (formally known as Fiddler's Green for us old people). They went with a friend of their moms. When they asked for permission, I told them the only way I would agree to them going would be if they promised to actually take a picture for me to post. I am going to try and con them into actually blogging it themselves, but I can't promise anything - they haven't gotten the "blog bug" yet.

Austin Family Picnic

Every year at this time, we all get together for the Austin Family Picnic. My Grandma reserves the picnic area for that years picnic in January. I can't remember how long this tradition has been going on, but for as long as I can remember. I remember when it was actually in my grandparents backyard, but since then of course, all of the kids have had kids, and now almost all of the grandkids have had their own kids too. I think my Grandma said today that she has 4 children, 15 grandchildren, and 16 great-grandchildren. We now have it at a really nice park in Fort Morgan, my Grandma always gets the picnic area closest to the bathrooms, the playground, and the swimming pool. The grandkids and the great-grandkids always have a great time. Unless there are weddings or babies throughout the year, this is sometimes the only time we see each other.

A tradition started a few years ago with water balloon fights and every year they get better and better. We now have water balloons, water guns, and buckets of water. Lets say that our kids have put their own spin on the good old fashioned water fight. They have learned to bring stashes of water so they don't run out, they have learned to keep it cold, and to keep it away from the big kids.

We have suffered some losses over this last year, and for some reason this year's picnic seemed to tug my heart a little bit more than usual. I look around and soak up all of the families around me. We have 3 new babies at this years picnic and another one on the way; I can't help but wonder to myself how long will this "tradition" go on? Will our children keep it going when the rest of us are gone? I don't know, I hope so. I looked at the new babies around us who are enjoying their 1st family picnic and wonder if they will still be coming when they are 36?

Sammy, Jett, and Grace

We will have a wedding, another baby, and many more memories before the next "Austin Family Picnic". I guess we will just have to all work together to make sure that the tradition that we have grown up with continues throughout our children's life. These are days that you can't ever get back.

TT and Ally

Me with my Grandma