Zoo with a view.

Today we enjoyed a playdate with our friends the Giffins. Jami and Torie used to work together at Banner Health many moons ago. Torie and her family have lived in Colorado Springs for several years so she gave us the grand tour with a cruise by the Broadmoor and then a trek through the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. What a fun afternoon! The zoo is built into the mountain and has an amazing view of Colorado Springs. Plus it has a great giraffe observation area and penguins (any zoo with Jami's favorite animal gets bonus points!)

These giraffes were very friendly and ate right out of our hands. Well ... Mom's hand anyway. Luke was leery about getting that close to the giraffe's mouth.

Although they just met today, Luke and Levi were instant friends and had a ball exploring the zoo.

Dad's 1st Day

Today was a big day for Scott ... it was his first day at his new company RT Logic! He enjoyed being off for 3 weeks (although some parts of moving were more 'enjoyable' than others), but we were all so excited for him to start this new chapter in his career. Scott has been making the rounds to meet his new co-workers and getting up-to-speed with his GPS-focused projects for the government.

Fun-lovin' cousins.

Luke, Reid, and their cousin Dalton had a ball playing over the last few days. Dalton (who is 9 months) was quite entertained by his older cousins. Luke enjoyed singing to Dalton and sharing toys with him. Reid liked having someone his size to pal around with. What fun-lovin' cousins!

Hats off to you!

Cute boys in caps.

Many blessings, many thanks.

This year as we celebrate Thanksgiving we have so many blessings to count. The year -- with its ups and downs -- has made us appreciate each and every day so much more. We are so grateful for the love of family and friends!

Today we hosted Jami's side of the family for the full turkey dinner with all the trimmings. Our first houseguests have been Briana, Craig, and Dalton. Mimi and Papa drove down for the day and the "big meal," which was topped off with 3 of Mimi's homemade desserts -- pumpkin pie, chocolate pecan pie, and pumpkin swirl cheesecake.

All in the family! Jami's family joined us for the feast.

Buzzin' Cousins Luke, Reid, and Dalton.

Snow!

Let it snow!

This morning we woke up to a nice blanket of powdery snow! The boys bundled up and headed outside bright and early to check it out. Mom, Luke & Reid cleaned the snow off the cars with our new handy dandy window scrapers. Then Dad and Luke surveyed the scene in the backyard and created a snowball factory. Hurray for the snow!

For a kid who's grown up in the desert, Luke was skilled at making snow angels!

Reid takes a warm seat indoors while watching the snowball fight outside. Guess who was the target then ... watch out, Reid!

Take a hike.

Today the Leahy family ventured out to one of the landmarks of Colorado Springs -- Garden of the Gods. It's known for the unique red rock formations, nice hiking paths, and gorgeous scenery. Luke enjoyed climbing on the rocks, and Reid enjoyed scouting out all the dogs on the path. This is sure to be the first of many visits there!

High-flying adventure.

As we get to know our neighbors, we paid a visit to a rather unique and highly respected neighbor: the Air Force Academy. It's less than 5 minutes away! Jami's parents came down for a visit Friday afternoon, and we journeyed over to the Academy to see the cadets march. We also toured the chapel and visitor center. Very interesting!

The cadets marching.

Luke & Scott in front of the Cadet Chapel.

(Sometimes Luke wears these fake glasses. Perhaps he's playing up his intellectual side so one day he can enter the Academy.)

Getting settled.

We are feeling pretty settled in our new digs. The garage still houses a fair share of boxes, but we'll eventually work our way through those or just leave them packed until we move into our more permanent abode.

We live on the north side of Colorado Springs, which is a quickly growing community. There are many new home subdivisions and a lot of open space still that's yet to fill in. (Our neighbors were very excited that the road just opened making it a straight shot to the grocery store!) The views are amazing, too, with the mountains visible from our bedroom window.

Our neighborhood has a small park which we've hit almost every day. Scott took the boys today, and Luke made a new friend named Nicholas which resulted in a funny conversation...

Scott: "Luke, his name is Nicholas. Can you say hi to Nicholas?"

Luke: "Oh, I have a Nicholas at home."

Scott: "What do you mean?"

Luke: "A Nicholas ... like you put around your neck."

Oh, that Nicholas.

Home sweet home.

We've been in Colorado for just a few days, but our house is shaping up nicely. Our first day here it was 70 degrees. Yesterday it was in the 30s and we woke up to snow flurries! Here's a pic of the new Leahy residence for the next 6 months. We found a great rental house in a very family friendly community. The boys are adjusting well, and we are all having a ball exploring our new surroundings.

Quick trip.

Reid at the Four Corners, walking in two states at once!

Our movers really got a move on and called to say they were set to deliver earlier than later, so we had to speed up our road trip to make sure our belongings didn't beat us to Colorado Springs. On the second day of our driving adventure, we left the Grand Canyon, made stops at the Four Corners and then Durango for dinner (and some other random towns along the way), and then kept on trucking into Colorado Springs. We started driving at 9 a.m. and reached our destination at 11:30 that night. We were weary travelers to say the least.

Grand finale.

The movers arrived on Saturday and loaded the truck, while we cleaned the house and prepped the car for our roadtrip ahead. We stayed with Jami's friend Terese during our final night in Phoenix and then started our trek northward this morning.

First stop: Grand Canyon. We are embarrassed to admit that in our 8 years in Arizona our first time to visit this amazing spectacle was on our way out! We enjoyed hiking around near the top of the canyon and seeing the historic hotels/buildings near the rim. Luke kept saying he didn't want to stop at the Grand Canyon ... that he just wanted to go to Colorado Springs. (Guess he's in a hurry to get there!) But he thought it was A-OK after we checked out the train. Reid enjoyed scoping out the scene from his perch in the backpack. We also spotted a bald eagle, endangered species of condor, some deer, and big horn sheep on a cliff.

Stay tuned for more adventures from the Leahy Roadtrip '07!

Trick or treat.

The boys ventured out and about to trick or treat in our neighborhood. Then the goblins paid a special visit to Uncle Eric and Charity. What a treat!

Have a dino-mite Halloween!

A special message brought to you by the Leahy dinosaurs...

David, Posh & a couple of dinos.

Our friends Shawn and Amy hosted their annual Halloween party last night, and it was a spooktacular good time! The Leahy family dressed in their Halloween finest. Scott and Jami posed as celebrity couple soccer superstar David Beckham and his wife Posh Spice. The boys sported their dinosaur costumes (and were tolerant considering yesterday was pretty warm!)

David Beckham, Posh Spice & some super cute dinos.

Ahoy, mate.

Our buddy Robby celebrated his 4th birthday and invited all his pirate pals over for a plank-walking good time! The pint-sized pirates searched for buried treasure, munched on pizza, and played outside.

Right: Pirates Luke, Robby, and Logan scare up some fun!

Model student.

Luke recently had "picture day" at school. Spiffed up in his finest school attire, here are his preschool pics. Say cheese!

This is one fancy background for school photos with the 'shrooms and a turtle!

We call this his ventriloquist smile.

Looking so distinguished!

Step it up.

Reid's walking skills have been growing by leaps and bounds and strides. As you can see in the video, the technique is enhanced by walking with his hands over his head. Better balance that way...

Let it snow.

This weekend we took a quick trip to Colorado for our house-hunting trip. On Sunday morning when Scott and Jami were getting ready to head south to Colorado Springs to tour a few potential houses, it started snowing ... and snowing ... and snowing. Nothing says "Welcome to Colorado" like a big snow of nearly 7 inches! We safely made our way to Colorado Springs (and avoided sliding off the road or getting into an accident). Searching for a new home in a winter white-out puts a new perspective on "looking" for a house since we couldn't see further than about 100 feet. After we toured the prospects and had a little lunch, the snow cleared up and melted off the road by the time we were ready to head back to Denver a few hours later. What a great "first" memory!

Here's what the boys thought of the snow. Special thanks to Grandma and Grandpa Keary for the boys' winter coats!

Luke LOVED the snow and kept trying to find reasons to go outside! The cold didn't seem to phase him.

Reid's first encounter with snow was less than favorable. He was a sad little snowman on this quick stroller ride.

On the move.

Big news from the Leahy Family ... the Leahys will be relocating from Arizona to Colorado in the next month! As we close this 8-year chapter of our lives, we will miss so many things about Arizona: all our amazing friends here, living near Scott's younger brother Eric and his girlfriend Charity, our wonderful home and family-friendly neighborhood, the cooler 6 months of the year, and our many memories and milestones over the years. We are so thankful for the AZ experiences that helped to shape our lives!

Now as we look ahead to our new Colorado adventure, we greatly anticipate Scott's new job opportunity with a high-tech company called RT Logic just north of Colorado Springs. He'll be working on satellite ground stations at this smaller company of about 125 employees. We are also excited to be within driving distance of more of our family. Jami's parents will be about 1 hour away, and we will be able to drive back to Kansas now to visit the crew there including our family and friends from high school and college.

The moving van is loading up on Nov. 10, and we should be settled in Colorado Springs by Thanksgiving. Stay tuned...