January 2009...Happy New Year!
At 23 months old Kenzie went potty by herself for the first time! Way to Go Kenzie!! We were so proud of her...although I think she was a little camera shy. (I love the sweet look on her face - I promise sweetheart, I won't show your future prom date this picture)
January brought beautiful days worthy of fun at the park! 
And finally, after 3 months on the market (drum roll please...) we received an offer on our condo!! After 5 1/2 years we say "goodbye" to Redstone Ridge and "hello" to a new house! Yay!!!Kenzie also go to visit the Children's Museum for the first time. She had a great time playing and spending time with her cousins. She loves to paint, dance and pretend. Her Aunt Angie even showed her how to eat nuts like a squirrel...can you spot the nut? (She's wearing a green!)
At the end of January our family took a weekend away with good friends to my employer's house in Silverthorne. We got to take all of our kiddos out on a snowshoeing adventure!! Boy was it an adventure...We had two girls in backpacks and a boy on a sled so the men had their work cut out for them. It was a beautiful day to be out! All was going well until we had the brilliant idea to send our friends' son down the hill on the sled by himself for us moms to catch at the bottom. The sled took an unexpected turn, down a different hill through deep powder snow between two trees making him land face first in a pile! With the girls on their backs the dad's ran down to get him (with us laughing because the whole thing was a sight to see!) and they pulled him out. One grabbed the boy, the other grabbed the sled and both were waist deep in snow. Needless to say, the poor boy didn't want to go sledding anymore.
We moved in with my parents while we were between houses. It was SO nice of them to open their (new) house to the three of us (plus the cat, even though she was banished to the laundry room for 6 weeks...). We felt like it was home while we were there and the company was nice! Kenzie absolutely loved it...and she still thinks she has a room there :)
Valentines was spent with the two loves of my life! Here's my cute little valentine showing some love of her own!
We celebrated Kenzie's 2nd birthday while we were living there. The family joined us for a pizza party to make our own pizza's! It was fun and some got creative! (Way to go Mom!)
While living there we also found out we were expecting baby #2! We were so excited not only to have a new house but a new baby on the way too. Little did we know God's plans for us would change...(more on this later)
March
A good March snow storm meant building snowmen!....inside Grandma!?!?
March 28th - MOVING DAY! ...Home Sweet Home
We had a great moving crew and were SO thankful for the help!!
April
This month brought sadness. After only a week in our new house I had a miscarriage. Not the way we had wanted things to go...it was a painful, dark, tear filled couple of weeks. I'll share more from my heart regarding this later...thankfully time (and prayer) heals all wounds.
Easter was a bittersweet reminder of the death we had just experienced but a beautiful reminder of life in Christ! We spent time with family and it was especially fun this year with Kenzie when Aunt Angie invited us to a scavenger hunt hosted by a good friend of hers. At a beautiful home on the country, eggs, children and giggles were everywhere to be found!
The following day (on Easter) we gathered for our usual celebration at Mom and Dad's.
We missed Abby though...she was sick :(
We missed Abby though...she was sick :(
The little one's sure did enjoy their treats from Grandma...Kenzie was especially fond of her new bunny friend!
May
This month we spent a day at "Little Monkey Business" with a little friend of ours. The girls had a great time and definitely got their sillies out!
Grandma Sue came to visit us from Minnesota. She was our first "guest" in our new house. Kenzie enjoyed her time with grandma and grandma was nice enough to babysit when Justin whisked me away for an overnight date. We had a nice dinner, night at the same hotel where we spent our wedding night and a couples massage the next morning! It was FABULOUS...and "just because" which made it even better!
June
Summer weather was a welcome thing and my sweet little helper loved watering the roses! And thanks to grandma (my mom) Kenzie had fun with sidewalk chalk!
June also meant home improvements. We decided after trying to live with it for awhile the green carpet and ugly floor tiles had to go! We got to work installing our own hardwood floors...teamwork!! We also replaced the carpet in the family room and upstairs. It made a huge difference and we just LOVE how it looks and feels now.
June also meant home improvements. We decided after trying to live with it for awhile the green carpet and ugly floor tiles had to go! We got to work installing our own hardwood floors...teamwork!! We also replaced the carpet in the family room and upstairs. It made a huge difference and we just LOVE how it looks and feels now.
July
More warm weather meant fun in the sun with friends, relaxing and enjoying eachother's company in the backyard! 
August
In August Justin decided on a last minute triathlon with one of our neighbors. Once again Kenzie crossed the finish line with her daddy! It was a great day for the race and Justin and Kate were happy to have participated.
At the end of August after a summer-long bible study with some neighborhood friends, the seven of us headed to Silverthorne for an overnight getaway to culminate our study and time together. We took an amazing hike and the waterfall at the top was well worth the 2 hours to reach it!
September
Over Labor Day weekend, Justin's brother Jeremy and his wife Megan and the twins, Jakson and Connor drove in from North Dakota for a visit. Their mom and sister also flew in from Minnesota to all stay with us! It was a house-full but really fun! Their other sister and brother-in-law spent time with us too (they live in town) and we had a great time watching the kidoos to gether. We went to the park a couple times and everyone had a good time! Even the big boys got to play!
After all of our company left Kenzie got to move into her big girl room in a BIG GIRL BED!! Yay! She was just a little excited! Not to mention, she did GREAT!
Justin and I also celebrated our 7 year Anniversary together. My sweetie spoiled me with this gorgeous bouquet!
October
This month began with a road trip to Minnesota with my older sister and our three youngest kids. We took off to meet our parents in Breezy Point, MN for a week. 18 hours in a car with a 1, 2, and 3 year old = FUN! We had a great time and the kids were all SO good! Once there, we had fun shopping, reading with Grandpa, playing cards and enjoying the BEAUTIFUL Fall colors! We also ventured into the city for a day and spent 3 hours at the Mall of America and let the girls play at the amusement park. It was fun for all of us!
Mid to late October brought more snow! LOTS of Snow!! Kenzie enjoyed playing outside and even helped me build our very first snowman together!
We also got invited to the neighbors for a Halloween party! We dressed up, made caramel apples and played with friends - what a treat!
Speaking of treats...Kenzie got plenty when she dressed as the cutest little bumble bee and went trick-or-treating around the block. She was happy with her bag of goodies (and so were mom and dad!)
Mid to late October brought more snow! LOTS of Snow!! Kenzie enjoyed playing outside and even helped me build our very first snowman together!
We also got invited to the neighbors for a Halloween party! We dressed up, made caramel apples and played with friends - what a treat!
Speaking of treats...Kenzie got plenty when she dressed as the cutest little bumble bee and went trick-or-treating around the block. She was happy with her bag of goodies (and so were mom and dad!)
