tHe LoUcKsEs

I have been SOOO busy this year! I feel horrible that I haven't been keeping up with the blog! Here is my pathetic attempt at updating the Loucks' happenings...

Corbin, my baby, turned 7 in Feb!! I can't believe how incredibly fast time flies with these little guys! He is absolutely obsessed with anything military, hence the camo pants and his AK-47. He wanted a military birthday... and Zack delivered! Complete with a boot camp obstacle course, water-gun shooting range, and lots of fun! Even the lucky girls invited to the party had a fun time (such troopers amongst all the "boy stuff").

Here's the birthday crew.

Corbin:
Is a fabulous older brother and loves to play and wrestle with his brothers. He loves to draw and do anything art-related. He is a very good student and loves school. He is a great reader and mathematician. He loves to learn about all things military--especially tanks. Ask him anything related to tanks and he can tell you how thick their armor is, what caliber their guns were, what war they were used in, etc. Corbin is almost always found following Zack around ("goldfish poop") and helping him around the house and yard. He is very mechanically-minded and can be found out in the shop with Zack working on the cars or building LEGO creations.

Kyler's first day of Little Sprouts Preschool. I caved and signed Kyler up for our community's preschool in March. My whole philosophy is that kids will be in school for the next 15+ years and I want to spend as much time with them as I can while they are little. Kyler has been affected the most by our move to Colorado and really missed his friends, old daycare, and our proximity to neighbors and friends. Needing another "authority figure" besides his mom and the social interaction, he happily agreed to try Little Sprouts Preschool. It was a perfect fit! His teacher was/IS amazing and he made some great friends. I'll update later with pictures from his Preschool graduation... so adorable! They run an amazing program and really do a lot for the community.

Easter in Cedaredge! We had Zack's brothers and nephew come and visit us for Easter. It was a fun time and we LOVE being so much closer to family where we can share holidays with them and my kids can know their cousins and uncles (and aunts, grandparents, etc.).

Kyler decorating eggs... can you feel his excitement?

Cousins chilling on the couch with Uncle KaKa (AKA Kelsey).

The egg hunt:

Kyler's Preschool Graduation May 2013:

Yup... them'r cowboy boots! When in Rome... I mean, Cedaredge. I had to get a quick picture of him in his cute boots and shaggy 'do before his graduation.

Don't you just love this kid!? He melts my heart.

Mrs. Frost shaking Kyler's hand during graduation. He said he wants to be a...

Monster truck driver when he grows up. I'm going to work with him!

Kyler's birthday fell on Mother's Day this year... so we didn't have a huge party for him--just some friends over for cake and ice cream. We had fun playing out in the yard and enjoying the warmer spring weather with everyone.

Kyler: He's my little helper. He's a terrific older brother and loves to make Dax laugh. He and Corbin love to play military, dress-up and "shoot" each other out in the yard. He's a quick learner and loves all things preschool. He can write his full name, count to 50, and knows all the words to the Primary songs. He's quick to make friends and is very considerate of others making sure everyone is included and having fun. His favorite song is "Iron Man" by Black Sabbath (which we have to play every Sunday coming home from church in the truck... oh the irony:). He loves to color, draw tanks, play LEGOs, and do puzzles. His favorite food is spaghetti and Zack's chocolate chip cookies (he helps make them every Sunday afternoon).

Discovering Spring in the yard. We are slowly learning about all the 'bazillion different flowers here as each week there's a new flower blooming.

Jamie, Cody and their adorable family came to visit us this June for a long weekend. Again, we sure LOVE living this close to family.

Corbin, Preston, and Max playing in the pool. Kyler got the pool for his birthday and it hasn't been put away once this summer! It's definitely getting some use with these hot, dry days.

Corbin and Max. We went up to the mesa to fish, throw rocks, and get eaten by mosquitoes. We had a ton of fun while they were here and were sad to see them leave!

My friend Kim talked me into doing a century ride with her in Herriman, UT this spring. It was fun training with them and riding the amazing roads around Cedaredge.

Unfortunately, the day of the race it rained all day, hailed, blew like nobody's business and we got stuck in a lightening storm in the middle of an open valley behind Saratoga Springs. Thanks to the SLC paramedics who let us camp out in their truck until the lightening and hail had passed. Needless to say the weather was a huge damper that day and we decided to bail out after about 70 miles. Soooo next year I'll be back to finish the century that was started that cold, rainy, hail-y, windy May day!

Free Fishing Day in Delta, CO. We headed down to Delta to see what the Heritage Days were all about. Little did we know we'd get free fishing poles, fishing lessons from all the "good 'ol boys," and a round of shooting and archery at the shooting lanes they had.

Listening to the presenter on how to select bait, hooks, etc.

Corbin after he shot a bulls eye at the Ruger display. He also out-shot me in archery! Stinker;)

Fun Family Night on the Mesa:

We took advantage of a gorgeous evening up on the mesa with some friends, the Tullises, one Monday night. We attempted fishing,

and rescuing "free" tackle from the lofty aspens to call our own.

Emily and Dax were playing "Chubby Bunny" with the roasted marshmallows. I think Dax won:)

We lucked out this year and ended up getting 8 inches of snow on Christmas Eve. We had plans to meet friends up on the mesa and sled on "Suicide Hill" (sounds tempting, huh?) for the afternoon. The roads up the mountain were too slick for one of our friends' vehicle so we ended up all hanging out here.

The idea of pulling sleds behind the gator and a friend's ATV made for the better "Suicide Hill" alternative. The kids all had a blast getting white-washed for 3+ hours, and we (the moms) had a blast watching them from the window while sitting fire-side and drinking hot cocoa.