Happy Holidays!!!

Merry Christmas! We hope everyone finds themselves having a beautiful holiday season and a new year full of joy and surprises!

Make a Smilebox greeting

Happy Halloween!!!!

This year, Afton really wanted to be a horse. Not a huge surprise! Since she wakes up "neh-ing" and seems to act like a horse 75% of the time, it was invetible she would want a costume to go along with the character. Well we looked and looked, and there just aren't many horse costume options out there (go figure).

So, Afton spotted the costume she wanted which was the next best thing to being an actual horse:


Here are some more pics of her at her Pre-School program and on Halloween:

Jason Mraz Times Two

One of my all-time favorite artists, Jason Mraz, came to concert in October 2008. We were on the 6th row- not too shabby (except for the mysterious stench coming from the row ahead of us). The concert was awesome... he is a great performer and exudes happiness. I love it!

The next day I was still on a high from the night before when I received the best call EVER! You see, being married to one of the luckiest guys has its perks at times (err... I mean ALL the time, of course). Usually when he lucks out- I also reap the benefits. His good friend, Anna, from his work had been informed by her sister that she had some extra tickets for a private Jason Mraz concert that nigh for Overstock.com. Long story short... we got to go! (THANKS ANNA!!!!) Even better... we were FRONT & CENTER!!! No obstructions, no stinky, mysterious smells... just a clear view of one of our faves! Only negative: we thought we couldn't bring our cameras, so I only have my crappy cell phone images to reminisce with. Here are some pics of the two heavenly nights. :)

Playing Catch Up! (July-October '08)

I am very behind (as usual) with going through the hundreds of pictures I have accumulated over the last several months. I think we are finally caught up (hallelujah!)... so here is a summary of our lives since July:

JULY

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4th of July Festivities
Pool party at the North's and Oakley Rodeo

Afton's 3rd Birthday (July 14th)
We can't believe it has already been 3 years since you came into our lives. You are a treasure and a huge blessing in our lives! We love you!!!

We had a "Safari" party with the whole fam at a park nearby our house.

Cutest cupcakes EVER were made by my friend, Gina. She is uber-talented, as you can see. These pictures don't even do them justice! Afton loved them all, but the zebra was her cupcake of choice. Mmmm-mmm, they were tasty!

Of Course... BOATING!

We didn't go as much as normal this year... but we had fun when we did.

AUGUST

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Trucker's Union Event (with Trav's dad)

We thought this would be a fun event for Afton when we heard there would be pony rides. It was a beautiful day, despite the presence of creepy clowns. :)

SEPTEMBER

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First Day of Pre-School
Afton was so excited to start school this year. She worked hard to get potty trained so she could go (that and stickers were her motivatation). She loves her teacher, Miss Bonnie (pictured with her) and she is learning a lot.




Concrete, Concrete, & More Concrete

Travis worked hard (with many helpers... thanks to all of you, especially Kent) to prepare and pour concrete along the side of our house. It was quite the project- but now we will have more room for storage and we will be able to park the boat further back.

State Fair with Kolton
We had fun at the State Fair with the Smith's. Of course... all the animals were a hit with Afton.

Tyler's Homecoming
Tyler is finally home after faithfully and diligently serving an honorable mission in Colorado Springs, CO.

We are so proud of him! 

Afton has loved getting to know her oldest cousin (she's a little obsessed, actually). We're excited to have him home.

Afton and Kolton on the trampoline at the homecoming festivities....

Timmerman Cousin Party
My cousin, Kelly, had us over for a much overdue cousin party/family reunion. We were all so close growing up, and now we hardly see each other. We have all grown up to have crazy lives, I guess! 

It was fun to reconnect with those who could come. 

(Isn't my grandma a Babe!?)

The kids had a blast in the pool. Even in late September, it was perfect weather for a swim.

(L-R: Sam, Jaycee, Lyndee, Morgan)

Waterlogged Afton.

Ready 1-2-3! Morgan and Sam demonstrate the three simple steps of flipping ONTO the tramp.

OCTOBER

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Grandma Robinson's Cabin (near Oakley)


It's hard to believe that this chilly, drizzly day was only a week after playing in the sun at the cousin party! I love the fall and the rain, though, so I was a happy camper!

Trav's sweet grandma Evadean Robinson passed away on September 29th. It is sad to see anyone you love part from this earth, even though you know it is only a temporary parting. She has waited to be reunited with her sweetheart (Ernie) who passed away over 25 years ago. It is neat to think of their reunion. She will be missed, but I bet she is loving to finally be beside her eternal companion now.
In the 12 years since I have known Travis, I have never ventured to the famous "Grandma Robinson cabin." I've heard stories about shooting cans and riding four-wheelers... but have never experienced it first-hand.
Well...after grandma's passing, and after learning at the funeral how the cabin was built (the Robinson family built it from the remnants of two demolished homes), we wanted to go to this special place. Shaun and Brenda had already planned a weekend getaway there, so we joined them for a day, along with Trav's parents.

It wasn't really 4-wheeling weather, but we did get to shoot the cans with B-B guns. I just took pictures, but Afton had gave it a go!

Some Jasper and Afton Time

Couldn't resist posting these pics. That Jasper is very tolerant...

Frightmares

Last weekend we went to Lagoon's "Frightmares" with the cousins. We had to get one more use out of our season passes and we had a great time. The kids were all made over (thanks Grandma Marci) so they were frightmare-ish. SPOOKY!!!!.

Riding with Whit & Little Mare

Have I mentioned that Afton has a slight obsession with horses lately? A while ago my sister, Whitney, graciously offered to take Afton on a horse ride (or did we volunteer her ourselves... can't remember, but either way she is a rock-star in Afton's book).
Well the day finally arrived and we were able to arrange our schedules to make this long-awaited event happen. On Friday afternoon we headed up to Wanship where Afton found her heaven. :) She had a BLAST. It is practically all she talks about. She will tell near-strangers " I went on Little Mare!" She now not only pretends she is a horse (she's been doing that for weeks now), but she refers to herself as Little Mare.
This child has some serious passion packed in her little 3-foot frame!
Thanks, Whit!! I'm sure you will forever be asked about going on another horse-ride. Hope you're okay with that. ;) And thanks Dad & Michele for the yummy dinner! We had lots of fun hanging out!

Phew. I'm done. For now anyway...

Random Thoughts of a 3 Year Old

As Travis drove Aftont to school today, she had some interesting things to say. Had to record them here cuz they made me smile:

“Dad, look at all the horses, they are all so beautiful, how come I never see PINK ones?”

“I want Tyler to ride a horse.”
(Her two obsessions right now: horses and fresh-off-his-mission cousin, Tyler)

“Dad…Kauai, say KA Y A…that’s my friend.”

“You should give Payden your ipod dad – he wants a new one”…

Afton: Oh dad look – there are lots of gooses…I want to touch them will they let me touch them?
Travis: They will probably fly away because they might think you will hurt them.
Afton: They wont fly away. They know I won’t hurt them. They know Dad.

"Little Miss Muffet"

We were surprised today when Afton started reciting this classic nursery rhyme. Her Grandma Pat has done a good job teaching her! We had to capture it and wanted to share. Enjoy!

Trav's week at the...

As I mentioned before, Travis spent last week in Denver helping out at the Democratic Convention for his work. Here are some pictures of his (star-studded) week:

As I called it earlier, here is the Paparazzi-style pic of Charles Barkley Trav took at the Pepsi Center

Cool "Hope" sign

Tuesday night, he was invited to a private concert of Graham Colton and Death Cab for Cutie

Wednesday, he was allowed access onto the floor of the Pepsi center where he saw Melissa Etheridge rehearsing

Biff from the Late Show

Tight security


Dudes from Rage Against the Machine leading a protest

Pretty picture of clock tower- Downtown Denver

On Thursday morning, he found out he would be able to go to the historic event at the Invesco field at Mile High Stadium with some of his co-workers. They didn't have great seats (they were pretty much behind the stage), but he was able to see all the performers take and leave the stage before the big "Obama Acceptance Speech." So now, some more paparazzi-style pics:

Will from Black Eyed Peas.... and don't forget Fergie:

Spike Lee

John Legend

View of stage from from Trav's seat (that is Sheryl Crow performing)
Trav's alternative view of the performers (still Sheryl Crow)

This was the highlight of the trip for Trav. Trav was on his way back to his seat when he saw Martin Luther King III (and his entourage) walking towards him. Not only is this man the son of a legend and hero, but that day just happened to be the 40th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s famous "I have a dream" speech. Lucky for Trav, he is not shy in these kind of situations and he took the opportunity to say hello, shake his hand... and of course ask for a picture. He said he was the only one he stopped for, and as he watched him walking away he noticed two sections of people in their seats all staring up at Travis in envy. And.... sigh of relief... the picture turned out OK!!

Stevie Wonder

And here is a little taste of his performance (just sound) and the crowd:

Although not a democrat or even an Obama fan (sorry, mom)-- he couldn't deny the feeling of pride in his country that he felt as he watched a stadium of 70,000 people cheering and waving their flags in unity.

After Obama accepted the Democratic Presidential nomination, there was a great display of fireworks to close out the patriotic event.

What was a week away from home that Travis had dreaded, turned out to be a lot more fun than he expected. He is glad he was there to experience the historic event first-hand. (Even as I watch him review this posting ... he is grinning ear-to-ear) .

Oh- two funny things he wants me to add:

He saw a funny bumper sticker that read: "Democrats are hot... Have you ever seen a nice piece of elephant?"

And a shirt that read: "Black man running... and it ain't from the cops."