February: In an effort to get out of the house during the winter duldrums, we formed a bowling team—Roll With It. We didn’t win any prizes, but we weren’t the worst team either, thanks in part to Mike’s hidden bowling talent. Kelly also took a girls weekend trip with some dear friends down to South Fork.
March: Kelly helped Ashleigh prepare for the big day with a bachelorette party in Denver. We also celebrated Mike’s birthday with a poker night and dinner at the Melting Pot.
April: Carter and Ashleigh’s had a beautiful ceremony and brunch wedding at the Wellshire Country Club. We also celebrated Olivia’s birthday with a tu-tu party—complete with lots of adorable little girls running around in tu-tus.
May: Our long-lost friends Alex and Katey Johnson came for a visit from North Carolina and Olivia started a ballet class, which quickly became her favorite activity. She did great at her twirls and jumps, but most of all she looked adorable in her little ballet outfit!
August: We rented a house in Silverthorne with a few friends and made a weekend of Courtney and Brett’s wedding festivities, culminating with their nuptials in the backyard of a mansion in Breckenridge. While we were away, a storm cell hit our neighborhood and we got a call that a neighbor’s 10-ft trampoline had blown into our yard! Another neighbor lost the roof off their garage and a nearby bicycle track was half flattened. Later that month, Kelly led a retreat for the Mothers of Preschoolers (MOPs) steering team and we took a family trip to Colorado Springs for Kelly’s birthday. While in Colorado Springs, we visited the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo and the girls had the chance to ride a gondola, feed giraffes, and ride the carousel. Sophia also had her baby dedication and was joined by family and friends for this special day. She was dedicated with about five other babies at The Well—the church in Boulder we have been attending since March.
September: Kelly helped host a bridal shower for Anna and we enjoyed the start of the football season by cheering on Peyton Manning and the Broncos. Olivia moved to her big girl bed and is still adjusting to her newfound nighttime freedom.
October: Mike again shouldered the bulk of the parenting load while Kelly spent the weekend in Silverthorne for Anna’s bachelorette party. And he took over again the following weekend when Kelly headed off to Kansas City for the annual MOPs conference.
November: We enjoyed celebrating Anna and Mike’s wedding in a lovely ceremony and reception held at Stonebrook Manor in Thornton. Alex was back in town to officiate, so we had fun hosting him and hanging out for the weekend.
December:Mike will travel to DC for work for a week and plans to see our friends out there. Then, we will spend Christmas with both of our families and host our annual ugly Christmas sweater party.
Meanwhile, Kelly is still working from home part time as a marketing consultant for MWH and a few other companies. She also continues to write curriculum for 252 Basics and wrote an article for the MOPs International weekly email. Kelly is also helping lead the MOPs group at Calvary Bible Church. Mike works four ten-hour days for the Department of Defense in the Denver Tech Center so he can be home on Fridays. The job is going well but the commute is terrible. He gets a lot of “reading” done on his drive, though, thanks to books on CD. The girls have a wonderful nanny who stays with them two days a week. She loves to take them to the park and the children’s museum and they enjoy their days with Jaime. Olivia has started potty training and is slowly getting the hang of it. Sophia is talking a little more every day; though Mike is a little wounded that she learned how to say “ferret” before she learned how to say “daddy” with any type of consistency. All in all, it has been a crazy year with these crazy girls, but neither of us would trade a moment of it for any other life. God has provided for us through all of the year’s ups and downs—including Mike being furloughed during the government shutdown, storm cells, and record floods in our neighborhood—and we couldn’t be more grateful for His provision. We are praying for each of you and hope this holiday season finds you healthy and full of joy.
Merry Christmas!
