Celebrating the New Year ... on Snowshoes

"Check out my Spiderman snowshoes!"

Cold weather (single digits ... brrrr!) + 2 sick patients + cabin fever from being cooped up for the last 2 days = Mama was ready to get out and about today! Luke woke up this morning feeling much better after his 24 hour flu bug, so this afternoon we decided to dust off the snowshoes and head to Fox Run Park to explore the snowy trails. Luke has snowshoed around our backyard, but this was his first experience on a trail. One of the best parts of parenting is introducing a new activity to our children and seeing their enthusiasm about it: "Mom, I'm just like Bigfoot in these snowshoes!" So Mom and her lil' Bigfoot ventured off into the woods. Luke spent the better part of the first half of our snowshoe trek running ... guess he was THAT excited! What a wonderful way to spend New Year's Day!

Here's to a mother/son snowshoe adventure

on New Year's Day!

Goodbye, 2010. Hello, 2011!

The end of 2010 may not have been packed with big plans (both Scott and Luke had a flu bug so we lounged around home), but it certainly was restful ... as have been the last 2 weeks. We caught up on movies, home projects, and final tasks before the baby's arrival. We went to bed early and slept in late. We spent time outdoors enjoying warm 50 degree temps and our chilly winter weather with snow. We played a lot of board games, listened to music, tried out all the new Christmas toys, and laughed a lot. Going into the holidays, we hoped we could enjoy a nice laidback break from the usual hustle and bustle of life. Happy to say ... mission accomplished. January is about to bring much excitement and change, and all this rest & relaxation from the last 2 weeks has us prepared and ready to go. Thank you, 2010, for being a fantastic year. Welcome, 2011, and all the blessings you will bring!

SNOW!

We've been waiting ... and waiting ... and waiting. The snow seemed to be everywhere else but Colorado Springs. Finally, our snow rolled in yesterday, and the boys were happy campers! They couldn't wait to get on the gear and play in the powder. Luke stayed outside for about 30 minutes; Reid lasted about 2 minutes. He's more about the hot cocoa afterward!

A-Hiking We Will Go!

A daytime date hiking at Spruce Mountain!

Scott is fortunate to get the week off work between Christmas and New Year's (a great perk of his company!) We've enjoyed having him home this week and spending the extra time with Dear Ol' Dad. Papa was able to watch the boys for a while today, so we headed out for a mid-day date to hike at Spruce Mountain and enjoy the great weather with our temps in the 50s.

Scott's first hike at Spruce Mountain.

Hitting the trail at 37 weeks ...

3 more to go until we meet the

littlest Leahy! So excited!

Very Merry Visitors

One of the greatest gifts of this season is spending time with family and friends, especially those whom we haven't seen for a while. Some dear friends Brent and Kori stopped through Colorado Springs for a visit this week. Scott and Brent have known each other since 3rd grade and grew up together. We all ended up going to K-State and shared some fun college memories together. Fast forward to the current stage of life with babies on the way ... Brent and Kori are also expecting! What a joy to catch up with them on Monday and Tuesday!

Merry, Merry!

'Twas the night before Christmas when all through the house, not a creature was stirring ...

Until 3:24 a.m. when the boys woke up, tiptoed downstairs, and decided it was time to start opening presents!! Jami heard a little ruckus and found the two brothers rummaging through their stockings! And so began the morning of Christmas 2010. The boys were brimming with excitement for Christmas this year. Luckily, Mama was able to get them to fall back asleep for a few more hours until a more reasonable time (6 a.m. is MUCH better than 3:30!) Following are a few photos from our Christmas festivities (both the eve & morning). Sending much love to all this Christmas!

All dressed up for Christmas Eve Mass.

Yes, we are minus one family member

in this photo because...

This little one fell asleep in the middle of Mass.

Such a peaceful sleeper.

Pretty packages beneath the tree.

Our Christmas tree features this great collection

of ornaments. Some date back to Scott & Jami's

childhood days; others are new each year for the boys.

We love the story behind each one!

"Look! Santa brought a new video game!"

"What do you mean I have to wait to take

this out of the box until we're all done

opening gifts?! I've only been talking

about wanting a Spiderman

WebBlaster for 2 months!! It's so cool!"

One treasured family tradition is making a Swedish meal.

The meal has morphed into more of a Scandinavian meal

with some Norwegian additions to honor Scott's heritage,

too. This year we decided to cook a special breakfast

complete with this menu: Swedish pancakes topped

with lingonberries, potatis korv (potato sausage),

lefse, almond pastry, and sandbakkelse.

Papa even said a special Swedish prayer!

Silly Luke with his drinking straw glasses!

Papa brought over this bag of Christmas hats.

We couldn't pass up the chance to take

a funny family photo!

All I Want for Christmas...

Is my bottom front tooth!

Luke lost another tooth this week. That makes Tooth #3, all on the bottom so far. The Tooth Fairy one night, Santa the next ... we're keeping the skies above Colorado Springs busy with all our magical flying friends!

Countdown to Christmas

On the days before Christmas, my true love gave to me ... a week filled with family and holiday "favorites." With all the baking, shipping, wrapping, gift-buying, and holiday hustle and bustle complete, we've been enjoying a special activity each day this week as we countdown to Christmas. Slowing down a little and enjoying the gift of quality time together is truly the best!

Monday :: Lords A-Leaping

One of the boys' absolute favorite places to go is ArtSports, a huge trampoline gym. We joined our MOMS Club on Monday morning for 90 minutes of jumping, flipping, and diving into foam pits (Mama excluded, of course!) Luke and Reid were on Cloud 9 to hit one of their favorite kidspots right off the bat on Christmas break!

Tuesday :: Jolly Old St. Nicholas

We had yet to visit Mr. Claus this holiday season, so we headed to the Outlets at Castle Rock on Tuesday morning to visit Santa. The boys created letters to Santa and even cut-and-pasted some wish lists to share with him. In years past, they have been a little timid around St. Nick, but not this year! They marched right up and sat on his lap with no fear whatsoever.

The boys & their letters to Santa!

Reid's top item: Spiderman WebBlaster

Luke's top item: Video Games

Chatting it up with the Big Guy!

This looks like a serious discussion about life

with Santa. They are actually probably

talking about flying reindeer!

Tuesday Evening :: O Christmas Tree

One of Colorado Springs' finest resorts is The Broadmoor. It is nestled into the mountainside and features some spectacular Christmas decorations. On Tuesday evening, we loaded up the family (with Papa along for the ride, too) and pointed the sleigh to the south toward the Broadmoor. First stop: hot cocoa at their coffee shop. Next stop: upstairs to see the gingerbread village, the designer Christmas trees, and the lights out by the lake.

A gingerbread replication of The Broadmoor.

Even gingerbread men need a nice place to stay!

The theme for this year's gingerbread village: cartoons.

Look for these favorites ... Strawberry Shortcake,

Astro from the Jetsons, the house from Up,

and Aladdin's Castle. And to think ... all edible!

Twinkle, twinkle, Christmas lights!

The lights hanging from this tree

looked like a weeping willow.

Wednesday :: 'Tis the Season ... for Swimming!

Perhaps it will always be in their blood with their Arizona roots, but our boys love the pool! Thankfully, our YMCA has a great indoor pool and is a treat to escape there in the chilly winter months. Papa took the boys swimming at the YMCA on Wednesday morning while Jami had a routine weekly doctor's appointment. They splashed about for over an hour and had a blast.

Thursday :: Fa-La-La Fondue

What better way to celebrate the season than with friends and fondue! We enjoyed hosting our friends the Reisings for a dipping dinner of swiss fondue with chocolate for dessert. Such fun!

Friday :: Cookies for Santa

On Scott's first day off for the holiday break, we relaxed all morning, played Legos, and watched movies. Then the boys retreated to the kitchen to make some special cookies -- the Scandinavian almond butter cookie called sandbakkelse -- to leave tonight for Santa. He's in for quite the treat! While Reid and Scott finished up the cookies, Jami and Luke took advantage of our 50 degree temps for a long walk (Mom) and bike ride (Luke). If you can't have a White Christmas, gotta enjoy the spectacular weather!

Hope Santa likes the sandbakkelse!

Surprise!

Tonight we joined our neighbors for a little Christmas dinner gathering ... or so we thought! It turns out they surprised us with a baby shower, too! We fed the kiddos first and then sent them downstairs to watch a movie, while the adults enjoyed a fine dinner with all the trimmings. It's been a while since we've been able to see everyone, so this was a great chance to celebrate the holidays, our friendships, and a baby on the way! We are truly blessed by our thoughtful neighbors.

The Girls at Dinner.

Notice Melissa's beautiful blue and silver tablescape.

She put so much thought into hosting the dinner,

and every detail was marvelous!

Something special for Baby Leahy ...

a lovely gift basket packed

with goodies for the little guy!

Many fun additions for the nursery.

The new kid on the block will be all set!

Season's Greetings

Holly Jolly

This year is certainly ramping up to be a holly jolly Christmas! The week brought many a fun festivity for our family. Here are a few pics from our week in review...

One night this week we put on our pajamas,

loaded up in the car, and set out to look at

Christmas lights. This elf & reindeer loved it!

By far, the BIGGEST display of Christmas

lights we've ever seen on a house. Every inch

of the yard and house was not spared

a sparkling light! Quite impressive!

Reid's Holiday Party at School.

Such cute kiddos!

Luke's Class Holiday Party.

The theme was Polar Express, and they made

trains out of rice krispie treats ...

and gobs of frosting!

Thumbs up for brotherly love!

Our new tree topper made by Reid...

a beautiful angel with "handmade" wings!

All dressed up and off to the

RT Logic Christmas Party!

Bump Watch :: 34 Weeks

Time for a little pregnancy update! We are well into the 8th month, and Jami continues to feel great ... just the occasional earlier bedtime. We knew the holidays would be a busy time, so it's nice that all of our baby preparations are complete ... and we're just savoring all the joy of this beautiful time of year. The boys are very excited to welcome little brother and ask some funny questions. "Do babies eat pizza?" "Can we name the baby Peter Parker like Spiderman?" Never a dull moment around here.

The baby continues to move around a lot, and his heart rate was 142 bpm at the last appointment. He has flipped to be head down now, and his feet are tickling Mom's ribs! Here's a photo at 34 weeks. This coat no longer zips over the belly, but that's fine for Mom who needs a little extra AC to cool her off ... the baby acts as an extra furnace these days!

On Friday, Jami shared a special morning with friends at a brunch to celebrate Baby Leahy! These moms all had children in the same preschool class at St. Peter several years ago, and we continue to get the kiddos together for playdates ... and the moms together to socialize! What better way to celebrate than with laughs and good stories over brunch!

Tami, Melissa, Jami, Amber & Jen

Whoa ... SNOW!

Our Crew in Breckenridge

This winter has been very different than last year in that we've had next-to-no snow in Colorado Springs. We've only had one snowstorm that left much of any accumulation, and it melted quickly after. Snow, we've been missing you.

This weekend we took a little mountain escape to Breckenridge (one more trip before baby arrives!) The trek to the mountains turned out to be quite the unforeseen adventure. As we headed westbound on I-70 on Friday evening, we quickly learned that the Interstate was closed not far out of Denver for a near 60 mile stretch due to bad winter weather. Soooo ... with a GPS, map, the fine road handling skills of the Ford Flex, expert driving skills of Chauffeur Scott, and a lot of luck, we opted for a detour route through some smaller towns more off the beaten path. Most of the storm was north of us, so the weather wasn't nearly as bad but still took some time. The usual 2.5 hour trip ended up being 5 hours long, but we were happy we pressed on and arrived safely at our condo that evening. We heard the next day that the storm dumped 14 inches of new snow on Breckenridge! Hello, Winter Wonderland!

Rise and shine at 6 a.m. on Saturday!

Typically, mountain towns are a little sleepy

early in the morning. (As you can tell from this photo,

it's still a bit dark outside!) Luckily, Starbucks was

open for business from a couple of little guys

still wearing their pajamas!

This weekend, Breckenridge hosted a

snow sculpture competition. This was

one of our favorites depicting the TSA lines

at the airport using a polar bear and penguins!

Lunch at the famous Breckenridge Brewery.

No brews for us, but it was fun

watching them make it!

Fueled up from lunch and ready for TUBING!

We happened upon a brand new tubing hill in

the nearby town of Frisco. In fact, we were there

on opening day! The boys took to the slopes

while Mama watched from the lodge below

and took photos. What a fun afternoon for all!

3 tubes as 1 coming down the hill!

The boys held on tight and zipped down.

Luke left. Scott center. Reid right.

"Let's go again!!" The guys pulled the tubes over

to a moving belt to tow them up to the top.

Who wouldn't want a lift up?

Cute Tubers

Dad and Luke in front of the Frisco Adventure Park.

5 lanes of fun ... plus the staff at the top gave you

the choice of a push or spin to send you down the hill!

Big smile. Rosy cheeks. Happy heart.

Reid LOVED tubing!

Dad warms up with a little hot cocoa in the lodge!

Goofy in goggles!