Valentine's Day

Brandon and Mason came to our house for Valentine's Day and we decided to decorate sugar cookies with them. They did a great job! TJ was sick and declined to be in any of the pictures, so here are pics of me and the boys making our cookies.

Happy Birthday to TJ and TJ's Big News

Happy Birthday! TJ turned 34 on January 26th. We were talking about his birthday and I started to say, "Wow, you're 34. That's old. Next year you're going to be..." TJ promptly cut me off and said, "Don't even say it!" I think TJ is still 25 at heart :) We celebrated by going out to dinner and to a movie. Hopefully 34 will be a great year!




TJ also got a pleasant surprise on his Birthday. He received a promotion to Assistant Vice President. We're so happy that his hard work has been recognized. Good job TJ!

It's been a while...

It's been a while since we posted an update, so here's a bunch for your reading pleasure.

We went to Scottsdale, AZ for Thanksgiving. My's parents have a timeshare there. The weather was great. We were able to see our friends, Jen and Nick and also Amber and Mike. Good times!

TJ has been trying to persuade me to hop on board with the idea of him shaving his head. I've resisted for awhile for fear that his head without hair may not be as smooth as one would like. Well, I finally caved and he shaved it off. It actually didn't turn out as bad as I thought it would.

We went to Louisiana to spend Christmas with TJ's family. We had a great time. Since there were quite a few of us there (22 adults and 16 children), TJ's parents planned some really fun activities. They rented out the local bowling alley one day and the skating rink another day. TJ even got to ride in the giant skate!

If you thought it was odd that TJ and all his brothers were sporting a little something extra on their faces, that's because they had their mustache contest!

It was so fun seeing everyone. Thanks Ted and Evelyn for everything!

On our way home, we stopped in Dallas to visit my friend Natasha and her husband Jacob. It's been a couple years since I've seen her so it was great to visit with them. I wish we lived closer! We drove back to Colorado and then on to Utah to visit my family for New Years. We visited with my relatives, watched the Utah game, and went to a couple of movies. The holidays were a great time for us!

Our Place

By the request of a few, we've finally gotten around to posting some pictures of our new place. We like our new apartment!

Kitchen

Dining Room

Living Room

Our Bedroom

Our Bedroom

Our Bathroom

Brandon and Mason's Bedroom

Guest Bathroom

TJ's Office/Corner

Halloween

For Halloween this year, Brandon decided to be a 'Chick Magnet' and Mason was a WWE wrestler (I don't remember the name of the guy he dressed as; I'm not as up-to-date on my wrestling characters these days). Puppy was a pretty balerina! This was of course against her own will, but she was a good sport. She didn't really have a choice! My favorite is the second picture with Mason giving the camera the fist. Funny boys! They trick-or-treated in their grandma's neighborhood with their cousins. We brought Puppy and walked with Mason, but Brandon opted to go without us. I think he's getting to the age where going trick-or-treating with dad isn't cool anymore.
We also went to our ward's Halloween party. It was actually a combined ward activity with 3 wards. Maybe I grew up in a ward where every activity was a major event and the ward activities committee were probably over-acheivers, but TJ and I both agree that it was just okay. It was good to go out and support though! I think if they had had a costume contest, Brandon would have won for sure. He had a pretty good costume!

Goodbye Arizona, Hello Colorado!

We've moved! We're now residents of Arvada, CO. Although we really miss Arizona, we're excited to live closer to Brandon and Mason. For our first adventure in CO, we took a day trip with the boys and Puppy to see the leaves changing. We went through Estes Park and along Trail Ridge Road. We ended up in Grand Lake where we ate lunch and hiked to Adam's Falls. The weather was beautiful and we had a fantastic time! If you're ever in the Denver area, please come see us!

TJ's New Look - a.k.a The Badger Christmas Challenge

To all the Badger brothers and brother-in-laws:
Sport your best beard/stache for Christmas in Louisianna this year. Below are a few pictures of what TJ can grow after 10 days. You think you can beat this???