Happy Thanksgiving!!!

We got to spend Thanksgiving with Dave's whole family. Deb, Todd and the boys flew down Wendesday from Denver, Grandma and Grandpa drove in from camping, and we drove out on Thanksgiving day. It was a comical day for us from the beginning. Addison was up early (4ish), and would go back to sleep, but didn't want to be put down. So about 5:15, I brought her into our room...Dave started to chuckle because Jackson had crawled into bed sometime earlier...I attempted to get into bed with a sleeping Addison, and she promptly woke up and pronounced "Hi Da-don (think Jackson)" then "Hi daddy" with such a smile in her voice that we knew sleep was over for us.

The kids played outside and ate their poptarts (the morning snack before breakfast) while I got ready. We packed into the car, and off we went. First lesson of the morning was not to count on McDonald's unless you want a SUPER long line. Second lesson of the morning, my children do not like french toast sticks, so they only ate the hash brown circles (remember this, because as far as calories go, we are not doing well for the day).

We made it to Aunt Dianna's in time for "lunch." So at this point, my two ate some cheese and crackers...but had tons of adrenalin due to the excitement of the cousins! Jackson absolutely loved playing with his cousins...who range in age from 9 to college age. His most favorite was playing legos with Nick, who is a junior in high school. He also loved playing outside with Devin and Trevor. Wes was a great "watcher." Addison was a little slow to warm up. But once she discovered the stairs, she was all about it. She went up and down so many times, Dave and I got quite a work out trying to keep tabs on her.

Addison and daddy...you can tell Addison is thinking about her next escape up the stairs, "how can I get around my dad, yet again?"

Addison after a successful trip up the stairs. My she's proud of herself!!

Jackson and Aunt Debbie discussing the owl that sat in the neighbors palm tree all day long.

Jackson and Nicholas playing with the legos.

Dinner was fabulous...Jackson won't eat turkey, so we've started telling him that it's snake. Yup, snake. And last night, Jackson ate snake, anaconda to be exact. He had more pieces than I thought he would. Addison wasn't too interested in the meal, but she and Grandma went for a walk. Jackson's real dinner came with desert though. By this time, he was almost on melt down, so he had apple pie, cheese and crackers. Not too much later we had bath time, then it was time to hit the road. Both kids fell asleep about 30 minutes into the drive home, and slept until morning! Of course, I didn't get any pictures of our family together. But we did get an entire family shot, that when I get it from Grandpa, I will share!

We've been talking about what we are thankful for at dinner time. It's been a neat time to share. Jackson has said he is thankful for the TV, Santa and his "Kaylee blanket." Hopefully next year mom and dad will make the list. Dave and I are truly thankful for each other as well as our children. God has definitely blessed us beyond measure, and I give thanks each day for their presence in my life. I am definitely the luckiest wife, mom and woman on earth!!!

Bring on the snow.

We made plans to go skiing this year for the first time as a family! We found a place where they start ski lessons for kids at 3, so Jackson will hopefully be up on skiis and having the time of his life. In the day care section, they take the kids out to play and enjoy the snow. Skiing is something Dave introduced me to when we were first married, and I am so excited for us to get back to the snow. I know Dave is equally as excited, as he has been able to go on ski trips with my dad and brother, and now we will be able to go as a family.

In preparation for this trip, I found them both snowsuits...



In true Bayles' kids fashion, I couldn't get a picture of them together to save my life!

Go Broncos.

Dave and I headed off to the Bronco game this past weekend in Denver. We dropped off the kids in Las Vegas with my parents, and headed out to the cold. We got in super late on Friday night, but discovered that Friday night is a GREAT time to fly. The airport was empty, the plane was empty and we were able to rent our car in record time.

We got to stay at Dave's sister's house, which is always a treat. Saturday we hung out with her and the boys. We played Trivial Pursuit on the Wii (didn't know they had it), and had a lot of fun. It was boys vs girls, and the only way the boys won was with the girls answering the last question because we were done. We had a great Italian dinner with Dave's aunt and uncle, Debbie and Todd.

Sunday we went to the Broncos game. Dave is a die hard Bronco fan, so this was a real treat. It was a disappointment that the team didn't play well, but we had a great time. We met up with Trevor and Laura, and John and Sara and had a great time. Dave got the lucky seat right behind a lady who had had her bronco tatoo signed by John Elway and kept showing it off...to everyone, including the cameras. We were in the 2nd row, right by where the Broncos run in and off the field. It was definitely exciting to see and be so close.

Pictures...finally!

Jackson posing for the camera.

Jackson was exhausted one evening, and put himself to sleep on the playroom floor at 5:45pm.

Addison playing dress up in grandma's shoes, her sunglasses and my old purse...doesn't dress up mean clothes???
Addison rocking her baby to sleep.
All tuckered out after trick or treating.
Addison the Butterfly. She thought that you had to growl when you put on a costume, so she was actually a "growling butterfly."
Jackson the friendly monster. He had a blast getting his treats. He probably had more fun handing out candy at our friends house!
Our attempt at pumpkins...

Busy little bees.

It has been some time since my last post. We have been crazy busy, and when I get home the last thing on mind has been blogging...but I'm back! Here's a quick recap of our weeks since the last post...
1. Dave and I went to indianapolis for a conference in October. Left the kids with Stefany and grandparents. This was a big step for me...we had a great time. I brought bronchitis back with me and spent the following week trying to get better because...
2. The whole family went to CLU for Homecoming and had a blast. It was their 50th year celebration so they went all out. We stayed with our good friends Shaun and Erica, and had a blast watching the kids play with Zoe. Jackson got to hold all kinds of snakes and was just in heaven. We had a blast!
3. The week before Halloween, Dave went to atlanta for the ACE convention. He was gone for almos a week, and thus started our ear infections. I've come to realize that when he is gone, one of the kids will het sick...it just seems to work out that way. Addison came down with an ear infection.
4.We made it to Halloween. Jackson had had a fever for a few days and missed his Halloween party at school. He felt fine, we just couldn't shake the fever. So he and Addison got to trick or treat at my school. They looked super cute. Had a good time on Halloween. My parents came down and spent the weekend with us. During the night of Halloween, Jackson spiked a fever of 104.5. Talk about mom freak out! We got it down, and it went back up again. Called dr in the morning and got an antibiotic. Come to find out on Monday he had a bad ear infection. So now we are at the point of one more before Christmas and we get to see an ENT. Not sure how I feel about that. So far so good.
5. We've just been biding time since November started. Dave has been working on the BBQ on our patio. He is building one. As soon as the tile gets put down, I'll post pictures. He is most excited for the beer fridge and beer mug freezer.

Both kids are into pretend these days. Addison loves her baby and taking care of it. She also loves to play dog...complete with licking kisses and everything. Jackson is learning his boundaries almost daily. It's most definitely a challenge as well as an adventure. I'll put pictures up tonight!!!!