Santa came and so we had to open our GIGANTIC stockings the next morning. Dylan and Brody were especially excited! i got a movie and some tape (a tradition) and some ornaments and Santa left me some money, too! Hooray for Christmas!
This is good ol' underwear Magey!
Baby's first wine? i think so!
Isn't my girl beautiful?
We are working on making her "floppy", a.k.a. letting her know she is not the alpha!
Well, it almost didn't happen because of a sick puppy, but we finally made it back at 5am on the morning of Saturday, Dec. 22 to have an engagement party! It also was partly to show off dad's new townhome as well. It was a lot of fun, we got to see all kinds of Sioux Falls friends!
The house looks a lot like his old place, so the furniture fit in perfectly.
The beautiful Christmas tree. Why aren't there pictures of Brian and me? we managed to have the whole party without getting one!
The full goodie table..all calorie free, of course! It was a lot of fun, i am glad we made it.
Once we decided we might want to get married at the church i went through RCIA in and also are doing our marriage prep, then we decided to look for reception sites. It was Erika that knew of this place and man am i glad she did. It is awesome. It is just outside of Boulder and has a huge yard for game playing and a big open room that has tons of windows. Best part is you can bring your own food and alcohol, and so it is just a rental fee! HOORAY!!
This is the big yard that also comes with a fire pit...though we may purchase a few more. It has lights all hanging in the trees and will be so fun for games. Bocce, anyone?
These are just a few shots of the front, LOVE THE GREEN COLOR!!
Once inside, they have a couple great places to sit and relax. This room is just off of the front door and is a perfect place to relax and unwind. I can see people just chilling in here at the end of the night.
This kitchen is somewhat small, but wraps around and will be perfect for a buffet line.
The main room is a beautifully lit natural room with lots of windows and huge french doors that overlook the large stone deck. We will set up a large tent out here to have either the food or partying separated.
Although buried in snow, the large stone deck and yard will be perfect for games and little kids running around. I LOVE THIS PLACE!!
Well, we originally wanted to be married in Estes Park as it has come to mean so much to both of us. However, it also is very expensive. I spent the first week of December searching Estes for the perfect site, but ended up finding it in Boulder! This first one is a place called Crags Lodge and is a historic building in Estes. It was lovely.
Mary's Lake lodge is a great choice as well, and a very nice place to have a fancy dinner!
The Stanley was by far my favorite choice, but at $95/head before alcohol, it was not really in the budget, but still a glorious place.
This is the building at the Stanely...
Since Brian and i were out in Colorado for the month of December, we got a chance to hang out with my niece and nephew a bit! Here is the dashing lad himself, posing for a lovely Christmas shot!
Gaia and Evan are so cute by the tree! Though getting this picture out of that head strong little girl was quite something!
Then we got to make Christmas cookies one night. And what kind of chef doesn't wear a hat and apron?
Evan cutting out all of his bells, angels and Santas! We had a blast, so much fun to see them.
We decided one lovely and snowy Saturday in December to go ice climbing in RMNP with Matt Cohen, Brian's good friend from Iowa and his friend Todd. So, i took this first shot to prove that we actually tried to get ready, should it turn out that we did not make it climbing as all of us indulged a bit heavily the night before and had a slow and rough morning. This morning involved some drinking to curb the hangover. So round about noon we actually made it to the storage unit.
We loaded as many things in the car as we could find, except the women's ice boots that i used before. As it turned out, i ended up using Matt's men's size 10! Strap em on and go to town, i say! So that is just what we did.
We started out to find a waterfall we had never been to and along the way met some very nice chaps who told us they had been coming up here for years and didn't know if any water where we were going...interesting. We plodded on anyway and found a waterfall...with people on it. But a few sandwiches and some Bailey's hot cocoa later, they were done.
So we all got our gear on and took turns on the high ice. It was a good climb for me as i am still a very very beginner and i was wearing men's boots!
Ah, the majestic treeline and the silent protector...the belayer! Brian on belay with Todd climbing...
i look cold, i was cold. where is my hot cocoa?
Matt climbing a mixed route up the crack to pull the rope. Notice how dark it is getting?
This was Brian's last climb of the day...a mixed route on the front of the waterfall. We probably should have left a bit sooner, but with such a late start, we all hung out a bit too late. With snow and light falling fast, i actually ran most of the way back because i am the slowest walker! I definitely earned my guiness stew and Dale's beer that night! It was great! 
We have a new baby! Tikka was born on 9/26/07, just south of Leadville, CO in Twin Lakes. She is a healthy 11.5 weeks and just about 30 lbs. She has a very sweet temperment and a lovely personality. We are very lucky to have her. We also feel like she has had an excellent upbringing and her breeders were top notch. We are very excited to add her to our family.
We did have a bit of a scare today, though, as our girl was very sick...she is recovering though, and we hope all is well. Please give a quick prayer or good thought that she will be alright...we love her already! Thanks
Brian and i headed south to Houston for Thanksgiving to see my brother and his family. We finally made it to Houston at around noon on Thankgiving day after delayed flights and a night in Memphis...in a haunted crazy hotel! And, we didn't even get dinner! Oh well...it was worth it!
Karina made such an amazing dinner, there was little talking and a lot of eating!
After dinner, we watched football for a bit and then took a walk around the block to get a bit of exercise after such a carb overload!
This little cutie all snuggled in her sling...so cute!