Whoville?~

The day after our big storm.

As I drove around Broomfield there were

some beautiful sights to see.  The trees

were layered in snow, more than the normal

amount due to the leaves holding the snow.

 Neighborhood tree.

 As I looked at these trees it made me think of the

movie "How The Grinch Stole Christmas" and

all the trees in "Whoville" that were so unique.

 Our neighborhood.

 Along Main street.

 The entrance to our neighborhood.

More "Whoville Trees."

 Earlier in the morning the view over Broomfield was

almost white.  When I came back a couple hours later

to take a photo it was beginning to melt.

 One tree...

 A tree on the church grounds.

 Looking down from the church on Main Street.

 Tree on the church grounds.

 Another "Whoville Tree."

 The Pine trees obviously held up well

for this kind of snowy weather.

 This one was top heavy.

Down the street from us.

So pretty!!!

I love being back in Colorado!!!

Save The Trees~

Monday, the 24th, it was 80 degrees...

broke a record.

By Wednesday we had a major snowstorm,

only in Colorado...

Jim and I were up at 5am trying to knock the

snow from our tree branches.  It had been such

a warm October that by the time the snow flew

most of the trees still had all their leaves.

This became a problem throughout the day

with many fallen branches throughout the

Denver Metro area and northern cities.

There were many power outages, some lasting

for two days.  We lucked out only being without

power for maybe an hour!

 Wednesday morning at 11am we had

some pretty good snowfall!

 7 inches high.

 Little bit of a winter wonderland.

 I had gone back outside for 2 more hours in the morning

working on knocking more snow from the tree branches.

I think we saved the trees!  Whew!!

 By 1pm the same day the railing of snow

measured at 9 inches.

Cody came home and tried knocking more

built up snow from the trees.  Jim had to finish

the job later that night.  We were glad we lost 

no branches with this early storm!

An Award~

Jim is now officially unemployed..

 But, before letting him go he was officially recognized

for his major contribution to turning around the company.

"In Recognition of 3 years of Dedicated Contribution

to a Multi Million $ European turnaround project."

October 2011

Now we begin a new chapter in life...

Time in Trebic, CZ~

Photos of Elder Engstrom serving in 

Trebic, CZ.

 Which way to go?  Azkaban maybe.....

 Surrounding city sites.

Night view in Trebic.

Not Feeling So "Wise"~

Well, the day finally came when Cody had 

to get all four of his wisdom teeth removed.

He's wondering if it was the "wisest" thing

to agree to do.

DAY ONE:

Here you can see Cody giving a little smile

the first day of surgery, that soon changed...

Cody used big brother Kent's idea, and
Kent's head band, to strap those ice bags on
so he wouldn't have to hold them up all day.                                        

 You can see Cody's smile fading a bit.

Cody's was determined to go to a indoor

tramp facility to watch his dive team have

fun.  Missing out on doing tricks and 

starting to feel more miserable made Cody

only last an hour before we headed home

to relax in front of another movie.

DAY TWO:

Not feeling so hot.

 Here's Cody in his headband gettup.

That is a genuine face he is making.

The headband pushes down on his

eyebrows giving him a tired, painful 

grumpy look.

 Here is Cody trying to eat breakfast on

Day two after his surgery. 

He really was feeling miserable.

DAY THREE:

Bed is the best place to be.

 After having friends over all day Friday and Saturday

to watch movies with him, he was ready to lay in bed

on the third day and not do much of anything.

The swelling has gone down a bit, but the pain

is still ever present to keep him down.

I'm glad I don't have to see another one of my

kids tolerate such misery!

Whirlwind Weekend~

Despite arriving at different times Jim, Cody and I

enjoyed a very quick weekend in Utah for some fun

activities happening with family.

 I was able to fly to Utah Friday morning.

Originally the plan was Jim and I flying over together 

but scheduling conflicts prevented Jim flying with me.  

Jim and Cody drove over Friday night transporting things 

for Bryce who had begun his new job in Provo a week

earlier.  I was able to go to to the birthday lunch with my 

nieces Chloe and Autumn and some of their siblings.

 After spending a few hours helping Bryce with 

his apartment we then went to Bryan's high school

football game.  Bryan is having a great football career

in high school, it will be exciting if he can continue

using his talents and great work ethic on a college team.

Kelly, her mom, and myself endured a chilly night at

the game under an umbrella keeping the rain off of us.

 Bryan-#25

Position-Running Back

 Team Huddle after the teams win.

As one of the team captains Bryan gave a pep talk

to rally the team for next weeks game.

 Chloe and Autumn enjoyed sharing their

birthday cakes with us after Bryan's game.

 Happy Birthday wishes!!!

 Despite Jim and Cody's late night arrival

they were up by 9 ready to go to Zach's 

football game with Bryce and I.

Zach is #25 like his big brother Bryan.

 It was great watching Zach play, especially when 

he made a touch down and had other great plays.

Zach's team also had a win for the weekend.

 Following Zach's game we moved things into Bryce's

town home and helped him get more settled in.

Then we raced back to Draper to be at Chloe and

Autumn's baptism.  

 Two cute girls!

Before the baptism.

 After their baptism.

We are excited Chloe and Autumn are members of

the church. Congratulations!

The Career Begins~

Bryce his first career job and will begin utilizing

his Business Marketing Degree he graduated with

from BYU this past spring.

 Orabrush, Bryce's new employer, has hired Bryce

to be an assistant Marketing Manager.

We are excited for Bryce's new opportunity!

And almost as excited to know he's not too far away,

Provo, Utah is a familiar drive to us. 

Finally Feeling at Home~

The boys had a pretty good Saturday together!

Cody started it off doing four hours of diving 

practice and having Bryce come along to give some

big brother diving tips.  After a four hour practice

Cody was one hungry boy, so....

 ... it was a good day for "Jim's Burger Haven."

The place you can get the biggest burgers ever!

 The day also included hitting some balls at the 

driving range in our neighborhood.

It was a perfect fall day!

Just in the last two or three days I have seen the

leaves changing to their beautiful fall colors, despite

the 80 plus temperatures we have been enjoying.

FALL!! 

 One of the best reasons I looked forward to being back

 in our Colorado home.  I love the crisp air, the changing

leaves, and watching football.  Saturday's are my favorite

day of the week hearing the football games being played 

on the TV as I move through the house getting things done

or sometimes sitting down with my boys to take in the fun.

"Home, Sweet, Home"

Homecoming Time~

Cody attended his first Homecoming Dance

at Broomfield High School.

 Cody was part of a large group of school friends.

 One handsome young man!

 Cody with his friend McKenzie he's known since

elementary school.

 Cody indulged me and took a photo 

with his Mom. :-)

 This is the party bus the kids rented to

drive them into Denver for dinner at

Cheesecake Factory and then to the

Homecoming Dance at Invesco Field-

where the Denver Broncos play.

It was a fun ride to Denver but an even better ride

back home once the music was playing!

We Got Mail!~

Saturday, we received a pleasant surprise in the mail!

Letter from Elder Engstrom!

We each received our own personal handwritten letters.

Cody was very excited to read his and immediately

ripped open the envelope and sat down to read his

letter he received from big brother.