Love you Chippie!

I wanted to share some pictures of my loved Uncle who passed this weekend. Our hearts are breaking, and we miss him so much already! Love you Chipper, see you soon!

 Colorado Springs Helen Hunt Falls 2010

Go Broncos! Always a fan.

 Hawaii 2006

 Aloha Beautiful Smile

 Chip & Grandma

 Chip & Jamey

Brothers & Best Friends

 Chip & My Momma at Jamey's Wedding

Best Man (Of Course!)

Brothers & Sister

We are all in shock at your passing. It is hard to imagine not seeing you anymore. You will be dearly missed! Although heartbroken and grieving, we know we will all see you again soon. LOVE YOU!!

Who would have thought, hockey!

This week we have been staying busy & trying to keep warm. With Preston back at school things have calmed down a bit. He has swimming lessons and this week we tried out a "Sports Sampler" class where he can learn the basics of different sports before we put him in a league. We tried soccer before but he didn't like it much & it became too much of a chore to haul him back & forth and comfort him because he was miserable. I was nervous for the class but he didn't cry- instead he had a BLAST! He was asking when he could come back right away. Score! I think I found an activity other then swimming that he enjoys!

Here he is playing Hockey. Who would have thought, hockey! 

He was posing. I wish I got more candid pics of him.

I am very relieved he had fun!

Preston & I waiting for the class to start.

Zac is too cute- I couldn't resist sharing. 

He likes to sit in "Prez seat" when we drop off Preston at school.

He is so demanding :) 

Tomorrow the boys are going to their first ever rodeo. I think they will enjoy the show. Until then...

Happy Birthday Grandpa!

Yesterday, we went to Boulder to celebrate (Great) Grandpa's 90th Birthday! The boys were excited to see the family and eat some cake too. We had a great time seeing all the family & the friends that came to see Grandpa.

Beautiful Birthday Cake

Zac & Papa playing together

Preston with Daddy (of course!) 



So many people came! We were surprised to see people we haven't seen in years! Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, Neighbors & Friends. Here is Aunt Tibby from Ohio, Cousin Kevin from Dallas, Aunt Weezie from West Virginia, and Illona & Mary Ellen from right here in Boulder.

I was so happy to see my Great Aunts Tibby & Weezie. It made our trip!

Love you guys!!

Look who showed up... my Godparents!

Godpapa Paul & Godmama Linda

And of course the Birthday Boy! I love the picture of him blowing out the candle.

Here is a picture of Grandma & Grandpa together. Still madly in love!!

We had a great time. It was really great being able to see everyone. The boys had fun and slept the whole way home.

More adventures coming soon...

Chuck E. Cheese

Today we went to our friend Madison's birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese. We have never taken the boys to Chuck E. Cheese before and they had a BLAST!! Preston really liked playing all the games, while Zac really liked Chuck E! He chased him all around and even got caught behind the stage curtain! Whew! I am worn out but we all had a blast. Here are some pics I couldn't resist sharing.

 The boys in front of Chuck E. stage while he danced and sang.

 Games, games, and more games!

Seriously, Zac was fascinated with this mouse! He chased him all over the place! 

Judging by the amount of fun these two little monsters had today, I can say with 100% certainty that we will be back. Thanks for the invite Madison! Happy Birthday!!

Back to Center

It has been so nice getting back to normal this week! Reggie is back home, Reg is back at work, Preston is back at school & balance has been restored to the Shoats house. The weather has been amazing so we have been spending lots of time outdoors. I pulled out the short sleeved tees, bikes & scooters.

My parents came to town last weekend. We celebrated the New Year together rather uneventfully but we did make time to take the boys to the theater.  They saw Tin-Tin & loved it! These little guys love movies & the theater, although I think the popcorn plays a role. The movie was very good & held both boys attention. I would definitely recommend for those with kids.

I was able to book Preston's birthday party for next month (whew!) big relief. This weekend we are looking forward to a friend's party as well as Grandpa's. Can you believe he is 90!!

 Here is a picture with Grandpa from last year. I look forward to adding more after the event this weekend. We love you (Great) Grandpa! Happy Birthday!!

This month we have a few adventures planned. I will update as we go along.

2012 Here we are!

It is hard to believe that 2012 is already here! Where did the year go? It seems that everybody has new resolutions this time of year. Something they want to accomplish or attain by years end or even sooner. Sure, we all want a more balanced life. More money in savings- less debt. More trips to church- less swearing. More working out- less eating. How about more time together?  We have been blessed to have me home with the boys and together we do everything. There are always more adventures and challenges ahead. It is nice that Zac is getting bigger so we are able to do more activities with ease.

2011 was a pretty simple year for us. There we no additions or deaths in our family. We sold a car, but got a new one too. We finally sold our townhouse (yeah!).  We had no major medical emergencies or critical drama. We spent the year together having fun & loving life.

Hopefully 2012 will be as blessed. We look forward to more time together. We want to go on vacation and make more memories. Preston will be entering Kindergarten in 8 short months (yikes!) and Zac will continue to grow up. Reggie will be entering into his senior year of high school & Rachele will continue to mature into a beautiful young lady. We pray for a great New Year and many more blessings to come! The devil is always at the door so it is important to be strong together and grounded in faith, hope & love.