What We've Been Up To! (Finally!)

Okay, I'm REALLY behind in posting! We've been so busy I haven't had a minute to sit down and do this...
So, here goes nothin'... several days worth of posts stuffed (quickly) into one...

Last Friday, Kaitlin invited her friends Hailey and Bronwyn over for pizza and fun! Their mommies, Lisa and Tara came along too. Here are some pictures of the girls playing outside! The six of us had such a great time!

On Saturday, Kaitlin and I went to the Denver Zoo with Tara and Bronwyn. The weather was absolutely perfect, and Kaitlin really enjoyed seeing the animals.

She is still talking about riding in the car with Bronwyn.

Sunday was a big day! We spent the morning doing some outside chores. Kaitlin is such a helper... here she is scrubbing the deck:
Her new thing to shout is, "my turn!"

And of course, she got some playing time in too...

This girl LOVES being outside!

Sunday evening we decided it was time to put together Kaitlin's big girl bed! The transition to her toddler bed went amazingly well, so we were pretty confident that this would go just as smoothly.

Kaitlin helped Brandon put the bed together... like I said ~ she is a big helper!

I admit, the room still has miles to go before we're ready for the new baby. We're still trying to figure out the best possible furniture arrangement and other decoration details still need to be worked out. It's functional for now, though... and that's the main thing. Here's Kaitlin bouncing around in her new bed ~ can you see the joy in her eyes?

The first night in her new bed went really well. She slept through the whole night ~ no problems! She loves laying in her bed and reading books. When it's naptime, she asks, "Girl bed?" Meaning: will she be sleeping in her big girl bed? Here's a picture of our sweetie sleeping in her bed that first night. (Brandon thought I was craaaaazy for using flash to take a picture of her - but she's such a good sleeper, she didn't even stir.)

On Tuesday morning, Brandon and Kaitlin were looking for some productive fun. They chose to wash the cars in the driveway! It made me want to go outside and play ~ but, unfortunately I had to work.

Most importantly, I hope the following picture makes the wait for this blog worth your time. This could be one of the best shots I've EVER gotten.... and I mean EVER!

Hahaha.... (PS ~ I think if you click on the picture, you can make it bigger!)

We have lots more planned during the next week, so be sure to check back!

Updates Coming Soon!

We've been so busy the last couple days I haven't had a chance to post anything new! But, I have lotsa pictures and stories, so stay tuned.....

Officer Michael Nincehelser

Yesterday, my brother Michael graduated from the Aurora Police Academy! His training was six-months and included incredible amounts of physical training, classroom education and firearms training. During the graduation, they showed a brief video of what his class of 10 encountered during the academy. They showed the officers being tazed, being pepper-sprayed, and braving the gas chamber. They also showed the class at the shooting range and driving course. It was an interesting video and more intense than I imagined.

Michael was chosen as the class representative and gave a 7-minute speech during the graduation. He was also interviewed by a local news channel and was featured on the 9 o'clock news!

Friday evening we had a graduation party at Mike's house. About half the class came to the party to celebrate with Michael. It was fun to meet his classmates and to see everyone so excited about being Aurora Police officers. They were so proud of their accomplishment and spent most of the night flashing their newly-earned badges. ;)
Here are a couple pictures from the graduation, the reception, and the Michael's graduation party:

YAY, MICHAEL! We are so proud of you!

One Busy Weekend!

So, we had kind of a busy weekend!

Since my last post, Kaitlin has been counting non-stop! It's very cute. I still haven't been able to catch her saying the numbers in perfect order on video, but here's the best (and funniest!) clip I've gotten so far:



She usually does a lot better than this, but she has to be in just the right mood. It's not actual "counting," but it still amazes me that she can say all these numbers!

Saturday morning my friend Tara and I did the MS Walk! We walked with Tara's sister-in-law and my friend Kanda and her family. It was a BEAUTIFUL morning. The weather was absolutely perfect. I was amazed at the size of the crowd. We had so much fun, I think we'll plan to do this walk again next year!

Now that it's May, it's time to plant flowers! Brandon and I took Kaitlin shopping for flowers Sunday morning. Kaitlin helped us pick out the flowers and then plant them when we got home! FUN TIMES!


Sunday evening, we met uncle Kyle for dinner. Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures, but we had a really fun time! Kyle was on his way back to Colorado Springs after running a marathon in Fort Collins Sunday morning.

After dinner, Kaitlin talked us into stopping at McDonalds for ice cream.

Brandon left the table for a minute, and Kaitlin stole his sundae!

When he came back, he caught her red-handed!

Then the two of them shared the rest of the sundae together..

On Monday evening Brandon and Kyle went to the Rockies game together! It sounds like they had a good time. Brandon said the seats were better than they expected! Yay for boys' night, beer and peanuts!