3 days later

3 days later the snow has completely melted and we worked all day. Matt counted 9 big branches like these down below that he had to cut.

Jonas was a huge help. He loaded every branch on the wagon and pulled them to unload on the side of the house. He told Matt,"I don't need your help, I can do this myself." And he did.

They bundled over 20 bundles of little branches. Jonas said to Matt,"Opa taught me to bundle these when he was here." It was true. When my dad came out in the spring they worked for hours cutting and pruning trees. He is such a hard worker...it's unbelievable!

Our 1st snowfall

Wednesday came and it snowed 6 inches! And Matt was packing up to come home. He was in the southern part of the state so it took him all day to get home.

Jonas was the first to wake up and looked outside, knowing it was going to snow over night. He ran to my bed and said,"Mom, it snowed, it's winter now!"

Before Jonas could even eat breakfast, he got dressed and went outside. He loved the snow!

Not sure how Jonas remembered making snow angels but he did. He just laughed and laughed.

As he played, I was on the phone for hours with 5 different heating companies to come over and look at our furnace. Yes...we didn't have heat and I was afraid the 42 year old furnace was done. At 10am, I had a friend talk to me on the phone about how to keep the pilot lit until Matt got home that day. Unfortunately, the electricity went out in our neighborhood an hour later so we didn't have heat or electricity. I was panicking but the boys helped me survive by their enthusiasm about the snow.

It took Silas a few hours to warm up to this snow and get outside. New Columbia snowsuit from Oma and Opa! Doesn't it look smashing? My little Bugaboo!

Drinking hot cocoa to stay warm.

Eating food that we didn't have to cook. Crackers, cheese, cookies and milk.

That afternoon I was in contact with Matt FINALLY! He was out of cell service the whole time he was gone. He was on his way home, when we heard big branches break outside. Here is Jonas climbing on one.

Daddy arrives and everyone is happy again!

Jumping on the trampoline.

Burying the boys in the snow.

Candlelight dinner....luckily Matt remembered we have gas stovetop and can light the fire to heat up some soup and grill cheese sandwiches. Just as we finished eating, the electricity came on. Yeah!

Next day, it was sunny and the snow melted quickly. Perfect snow to make little snowpeople. The four of us and our cat. Jonas let me know,"Mom, there's five of us now in our family. You are one, dad is two, Silas is three, I am four, and George makes five."

Hours of fun in the snow!

Photos below are taken from Matt's trip. He had such a great time! Such beautiful views and fun times with guys but no elk this year.

6 days without Dad

I'm finally getting this on my blog but as you may know, taking care of 2 little boys 24-6 is busy! However, we had a great time together and of course missing Dad everyday. Matt left for elk hunting with friends for 6 days. And here is what we did with the 3 of us.

Driving cars in paint. Jonas loved squirting the paint in the box and trying his hardest to not get his fingers messy but he had a cloth nearby to wipe:)

Playing tennis at our nearby tennis courts. Jonas really loves the sport and good at it. Non-contact sport is his preference.

Off to the zoo on a free day! It was a warm day so very crowded. Stayed long enough to see the animals they wanted to see.

Off to the fire station with Jonas' preschool. It was a short tour since the firefighters had a call.

Silas was with a friend of mine for a few hours, so Jonas and I had some time to enjoy each other. I took him to Starbucks for scones and drinks. Jonas says, "This is super fun, let's sit and talk." I reminded Jonas that we use to have coffee/water dates at Starbucks at least once a week before Silas was born. Special times!

Picked up Silas and off to a local pumpkin patch to pick out a big pumpkin to carve for a party the next day.

Making carmel apples for friends and to eat for our movie night.

Movie night, watched 'Peter Pan' and ate carmel apples. Jonas was so attentive the whole movie and didn't understand why Captain Hook was mean. Silas was running around the room chasing George, the cat.

Lowe's Build and Grow clinic...Halloween Monster Truck. We ran into some friends and built together. Jonas is getting so good at following the instructions and putting the projects together by himself.

The boys with their finished monster trucks.

Pumpkin Carving party at the LeCounts. We brought George up to meet his brother again. Jamie and Tim took a kitten from the same litter and looked exactly alike.

We carved Cookie Monster in our pumpkin. It was quite messy!

Jonas adventured inside and found Tim's new drum set. He loved it! Tim always says he is a natural at playing. Tim will be his teacher, I'm sure.

These last few days of October were balmy! We had to enjoy outside as much as possible. Headed to Addenbrooke Park one afternoon.

Played in the creek and throwing leaves in the water. We learned about what floats and what doesn't.

Jonas working outside cleaning up leaves.

Tuesday, the day before the snow came, we had to rake. The boys loved helping and of course jumping in the piles.

Jonas can jump from a stand still and get some height.

My cute boys

Silas working on a ABC puzzle. He is getting so good at fine motor skills and learning his alphabet.

One more day until Matt arrived. Big storm came! Next posting soon....

My 35th birthday weekend

For my 35th birthday, I decided to make a weekend trip to Vail. A few months ago, I found a Groupon online for 1 night stay in a swanky Resort and Spa and booked it quickly for this weekend. We couldn't have timed it any better...the weather was perfect!

Before we checked in at the hotel(btw...Jonas had no idea what a hotel was...lol), we went for a hike on the north side of Vail. The sun was beaming on us and enjoyed the sounds of nature.

Silas being a country boy! He is totally in his elements.

Silas found 2 sticks and tapped them together for a good while on the hike.

Jonas was always ahead of everyone. He wanted to be in front.

First thing, we celebrated my birthday with a glass of wine on the balcony of our room and then headed to the pool.

Our view of the patio and pool from our room.

View of the creek down below us. We kept the door open at night so we could hear the water flowing. It was so soothing!

We ordered pepperoni pizza and watched the new movie "Winnie the Pooh". In which, we all enjoyed thoroughly and made us laugh at times.

Reading some books before bed...and then

...off to sleep. The boys shared a queen sized bed with their blankets. The night was so quiet and smooth. No falling out of bed...yeah!

Matt and I stayed up playing Scrabble since watching TV was too loud. I think next time we will get a suite with 2 bedrooms.:) And enjoyed libations as our birthday dessert.

Sunday morning was relaxing and lazy. But of course the boys were ready to eat. We headed into town on the free bus rides to find breakfast. Jonas looked out the window and said,"I want to ski up there(pointing at Vail ski resort) with Asher this winter." He can't wait to ski again!

When Matt and I use to snowboard a multitude of times at Vail, we remembered the covered bridge and a coffeehouse. So glad it was open...we were ready for coffee by then.

Waiting for our bagel sandwiches and coffee, Jonas asked Matt "Dad, don't you want a beer for breakfast?" And I think he was serious! LOL!

Jonas being silly near the creek.

My sweet boys in orange!

10th Mountain Division Solider Statue in Vail

Back to the heated pool before we checked out at noon. The boys were sad to leave. But there will always be a next time.

Hot tubbing with bubbles!

Jonas got a hold of the camera and took a photo. Ok...we staged it! But what a romantic weekend even with our boys with us.

Saying our goodbyes to the pool!

Saying our goodbyes to the creek off the balcony!

Checked out and rode into downtown Vail again to explore some playgrounds and bike some paths.

This was the pirate park!

Epic bike ride for a 2 year old.

Riding through the cobblestone streets of Vail back to our car. Boohoo!

But that was an epic birthday weekend I have had in a long time! One last thing, when the boys sang the Happy Birthday song to me, Silas would say"Me...no mom!" So cute!