Bronco Fever ...

This hasn’t been the best season for the Denver Broncos but that didn’t stop Justin, Dwight and I from braving the FREEZING COLD weather and attending the last Broncos game of the season on January 2^nd.

Denver Broncos vs. San Diego Charger

Justin has been waiting all season for this day to come. Not very many 7 year olds are lucky enough to sit FRONT ROW at an NFL Football game. We are just so stinkin’ lucky my cousin has front row Denver Bronco Season Ticket and graciously shares them with us. It didn’t matter how cold it was outside … for the record it was about 35 degrees at the start of the game … I wasn’t about to miss sharing Justin's excitement. Justin is really into football … loves the Broncos and faithfully follows the NFL games and stats. So I knew this was going to be a special day for him.

We took Justin to a Broncos game several years ago that ended in a disaster … Justin and I both got food poisoning … we only saw a few minutes of the game … it was ugly and not a very memorable moment for any of us.

This time we were determined to make it a wonderful memory for Justin. Despite the cold we were all excited to see TEBOW play!! I even made a sign in the car on the way to the game :)

The seats are right next to the visiting team tunnel ... Chargers waiting to run onto the field

 TEBOW!!!

 One pampered pony!!

This is what you call serious BRONCO FEVER!

Despite the COLD and the Broncos losing (Broncos 28 – Chargers 33) … we stayed for the entire game.  Justin found out first hand that having seats right next to the tunnel has some bonus perks when it comes to the end of the game.  #87 Kelley Washington from the San Diego Chargers handed Justin his hand warmer and a glove.  Justin smiled the entire way home!

#87 Kelley Washington ... Justin's favorite San Diego Charger!

Raise Your Glass ...

Slam, Slam oh hot damn …. What a night!!

We had so much fun last year ringing the New Year at the Embassy Suites Hotel we gathered again for ROUND 2. This year we added some WILD couples … more kids and more rooms!! With a total of 11 couples and WAY TOO many kids to count the night was nothin' but FUN. We gathered for happy hour and dinner in the main atrium then headed back to our floor for some room HOPPING. This year we had a BLOCK of room. All of our rooms were side by side with several of them adjoining. We played poker, drank a few cocktails, got out of control on the dance floor and laughed are buns off.

The view from outside our room ~ Looking into the Open Atrium

 ~ Audrey and Me enjoying Happy Hour ~

 ~ Mommy and Makenna ~

~ Mommy and Justin ~

My wild and crazy girlfriends ... Audrey and Julie ... That tore up the dance floor with me!

~ Daddy and his New Years Princess ~

~ Celebrating our 16th New Years Eve Together ~

The great thing about the Suites is each room has a bedroom with a separate living room area.  So there is lots of space and plenty of room for everyone … the kids had tons of video games set up, movies playing, toys out etc.  Makenna crashed out before midnight but Justin stayed up and had a blast blowing horns, hooping and hollering and celebrating the turn of the New Year!!     

~ Midnight on the Balcony ~

 ~ Me, Julie and Jen ~

~ Daddy with his best little buddy ~

Merry and Bright ...

The holidays were a bit different for our family this year.  The bigger and busier our family gets the harder it is to work around everyone’s schedule. This year we ended up having our holiday celebration with Dwight’s parents, sister Nadene and her family on December 23^rd.  Of course the kids were super excited to see their cousins and open up presents before Christmas.

~ Justin watching Grandpa Bruce open up a present ~ 

~ Makenna and Memphis playing with his new truck carrier ~

This year there was no annual “Hodges Party” on Christmas Eve (Dwight’s Mother’s Extended Family).  So for the 1^st time in 10+ years we spend Christmas Eve with my family.  My sister and her husband Bob cooked a fabulous festive dinner that was delicious … we topped of the evening with lots of wine, presents and Justin loose tooth finally falling out!

~ Sadly I have NO pictures cause I forgot my camera so we took photos with my sisters camera ... maybe she will read this and decide to forward them to me :) ... if she does I will post a few later!! ~

Yep … Double Duty … Santa and the Tooth Fairy after several bottles of wine! I’m happy to say everything ended up in the right stocking!!

My dad and Bobbye joined us Christmas morning for breakfast and “the opening of presents” chaos. It’s always lots of fun watching Justin and Makenna open presents. I got so into watching them this year that I almost forgot about taking pictures. Normally I have dozens to look at … this year I only took a few. Opps!

 ~ Justin was SUPER EXCITED about his Manning Jersey ~

 ~ Makenna and her Hello Kitty CD player from Aunt Lori ~

 ~ Aunt Lisa (my bff) hooked Justin up with a Polamalu Jersey and an Apron for Makenna ~

 ~ The Mess ~

Ahh…. by noon I was exhausted.  Makenna and I were lucky enough to get a Christmas Afternoon Nap before a quick visit to the cemetery … We took mom some red flowers and a darling outdoor present yard stake I found at Hobby Lobby.  There is a big pine tree near mom’s headstone ... after our visit this year Dwight and Justin decided that next year they are going to bring a ladder to the cemetery and decorate Grandma H’s tree!  Its special moments like this that warms my heart.  

We ended our day with a special Christmas dinner with Bruce and Sharon (Dwight’s Parents).   It’s such a blessing to have our families close … creating memories and sharing the joys of Christmas … helping make our holiday MERRY AND BRIGHT!

Santa Stop Here ...

This year Justin and Makenna really got excited about the countdown to Christmas day.  We did 3 advent calendars … which really helped them to understand how many days they had to wait.  We’ve had wrapped presents under the Christmas tree for weeks so I was super proud that they have both waited so patiently for this day to come.

Cookies, Oranges and Milk for Santa and the Reindeer ... plus notes from Justin and Makenna

 

Justin's Stash

Elmo's Stash

 Makenna's Stash

 Elmo found his stocking!

 The mess

Santa brought Justin 500 Denver Broncos trading cards ... Daddy helped him sort them all out

This is all Makenna has talked about for weeks ... A Hello Kitty Candy Jar 

This is what Justin has been asking for ... a John Elway Rookie Card.

We had two very happy kids on Christmas day.  Justin crawled into bed on Christmas night and said "mom I know Santa is real cause he brought us everything we wanted ... this was the best Christmas ever".  I crawled into be with a smile on my face.  Another year with more memories ... What a blessing!

Dear Santa, Define Good ...

It took 2 attempts but the kids finally got to talk to SANTA. We heard Santa and his reindeer would be at Bath Nursery on Sunday December 12^th.  The kids got all dressed in the Christmas outfits … when we got to Bath Nursery we discovered that Santa must have sent out a BIG MEMO this year cause there was about 150 other kids waiting to see Santa.  OH MY … there was NO way Makenna would have made the “Good List” this year after standing in line for 2+ hours to see Santa. I knew it was going to get ugly.  Try explaining to a 4 year old ... um there's Santa way over there but all these kids need to talk to him so we will try another day. She was heart broken at first ... "I didn't tell Santa what I want him to bring to me" disaster was about to happen ... then she saw the Reindeer. We told her ... "since Rudolph wasn't there Santa had to get the reindeer back to the North Pole before dark so we would have to talk to Santa at his next stop. She bought it!

Makenna, Elmo and Justin ready to see Santa at Bath Nursery

~ Our Second Attempt to Talk to Santa ~ 

Things got a little busy so it took longer than expected to get back to talk to Santa.  I had the day off on Tuesday the 21^st so the kids and I got dressed up again for another attempt at sitting on Santa’s Lap.  This time Santa was in Old Town at his little cabin next to the ice skating rink. 

~ Watching the ice skaters ~

 ~ Waiting Outside of Santa's Cabin ~

At last they got to talk to Santa.  He assured them they were both on the “Good List”.  Not sure how Santa defines GOOD?!?!?  But it looks like he will be making a stop at our house this year.  Makenna wants a HELLO KITTY CANDY JAR.  Yep Santa, hope you have one of those at the North Pole cause momma elf is having a tough time with that one.  Elmo didn’t want to sit on Santa’s lap.  Makenna says he will next year when he gets a little bigger but she told Santa that Elmo wants a TEDDY BEAR and Justin wants a JOHN ELWAY ROOKIE CARD.  Santa said he would look in his own collection because that is an antique!

Ugly Sweater Party ...

Our dear friends JC and Jen added a little twist to their annual holiday couples party.  This year the attire was “ugly sweater”.    Well I would have never imagined that Goodwill would be completely SOLD OUT of ugly Christmas attire, but it was TRUE!! Since I was slammed with hours at work I didn’t have time to search all the thrift store in town so Julie Bigge shared some of her lovely holiday attire with us. 

The Girls

I know this picture is HORRIBLE ... but it was the best shot I had of this beautiful sweater Dwight wore for the party!

Yep ... The Grizwolds were the hit of the party aka Josh and Julie Bigge!

The Guys

The Hosts of the Party ... Jen and JC Van Cleave!

Like always we all had a wonderful night full of tons of laugh with great friends!