What to do in the COLD?!

What else would we do in the cold besides go out in the cold?! It's been below freezing until yesterday when it reached a whopping 32 degrees. It was a beautiful sunny day so we called up some friends and went climbing. Daddy had to work Dorm Patrol from 6pm Saturday night to 6am Sunday morning so we let him sleep in until 10am. Lucas and I bundled up and went to breakfast...trying to keep a two year old quiet in a house while Daddy is sleeping is nearly impossible. At 10am we met our friends and headed for the climbing crag. The approach was full of snow and a little tricky here and there but it was amazing up at the cliff. The sun was beating down and we were able to wear T-shirts and get a little sunshine. What a wonderful treat after a week in the ice box.

How did we did survive the ice box temperatures? Lots of movies for Mommy and Daddy and fun activities for Lucas. We bundled up in all our best cold weather gear and went sledding in the front yard. As you can tell from the photos, we need to purchase a real sled, however, this plastic sheet worked really well. We also made a Marshmallow Shooter out of an old wrapping paper role. It took Mommy a few tries to make it so Lucas could load it and shoot it by himself. The end result...a super happy boy and a real Marshmallow “Plopper”. It doesn't shoot anywhere but it sure is fun to load and push the marshmallows out. I figure when he gets older he'll learn all about potato gun shooters and real propulsion. We don't need to rush that!

Lucas’ favorite indoor activity is counting to three and saying “GO”, then running all the way down the hallway, jumping into the exercise ball so he roles over it and on to a big pile of pillows. It is great exercise and one easy way to wear out a two year old!

It's Grandpa's real birthday today and he is actually in Colorado Springs for business so we get to have dinner with him. We are all excited to see him and sad Grandma can’t join us. We'll see you soon Grandma.

Last photo...Lucas enjoying Grandpa's Excellent Ribs!!

Have a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Love, Janelle, Mike & Lucas

Yummy Leftovers

Today for lunch we had leftovers from Grandpa’s party and boy, were they tasty. Lucas hasn’t wanted to eat in a week because of his two year old molars coming in but the leftovers changed that. He’s a true Jakulewicz and loved Grandpa’s super tasty and delicious baby back ribs!! I asked him today, “How are the ribs Lucas?” He responded, “Pretty good, Grandpa did an excellent job!” I couldn’t agree more!

Our FAVORITE!

More Birthday Photos

Hapy 60th Birthday Grandpa J

Only a "party for the hearty" for sure! With a winter storm blowing through Colorado it made for a slow drive to Grandma an Grandpa's house. Well, Grandpa has some real "hearty" friends and family because the house was packed. My step-brothers, Eric and Brian, made a surprise visit from the East Coast...it was a tough secret to keep from Grandpa but we did it! It was a wonderful Hawaiian party in the middle of a winter storm. I'll let the photos do the talking...thank you Daddy for taking such great photos! Happy Birthday Grandpa (Dad)! :)
We love you!
Janelle

Zion Wedding

Lucas is snoozing right now so I have a few minutes to tell you about our past week.

We returned late Sunday night from a five day trip to Zion National Park in Southern Utah and I've been trying to catch up ever since. We hosted our weekly play group with friends and put up a small Christmas tree yesterday which was a lot of fun. We decided to get a potted tree this year and I hope to keep it alive until we can plant it this Spring. It’s hard to explain to Lucas why he can’t eat all the 10 year old candy canes hanging on the tree.

Mike's twin brother, Mark, married Kate on Saturday, December 1st in one of Utah's most spectacular canyons. The week leading up the wedding was full of both fun and stress but it all came together Saturday for a beautiful wedding. Kate looked gorgeous and Mark didn't look too bad himself...I actually think he is quite handsome to tell the truth. hehehehe! Friends and family shared in a touching and very thoughtful wedding. I think many walked away with a greater appreciation for the love between Kate and Mark and their passion for the great outdoors.

Lucas was a trooper. It was a 10 hour car ride each way but he was excited to see what this thing called "a wedding" was all about. Mom and Dad kept telling him about all the people he would see which seemed to keep his spirits high on the long drive. Silly Puddy was the best for passing time…way to go mom! He was able to spend lots of time with Grandma and Grandpa Anderson which gave Mom and Dad a chance to go climbing with Kate and Mark. He also spent some time with his cousin Henry. It was fun to see both two year old boys running around and interacting with each other. This Christmas should be lots of fun now that he knows all his Oregon relatives again.

Well, we have a performer on our hands. During the reception Kate gave Lucas the microphone and he sang "Tinkle Tinkle Little Star" (yes, tinkle...not twinkle) in front of everyone. The microphone was the only thing that pulled him away from hanging out with the DJ the entire reception. The DJ was kind enough to show Lucas how all the equipment worked. He had tons of buttons and knobs at his fingertips, what could be better?! We also found out that he was quite the late night party man. He wanted nothing to do with going to bed and everything to do with entertaining himself and those around him. His favorite activities were stacking cups and playing a game of fitting water bottle lids under a clear cup. We don't play with toys during weddings, just cups!

It was a great time with family and friends. We did lots of little hikes and even Lucas made it to the top of Angel's Landing with his Mommy and his new Aunt Kate. I apologize for not having any photos of the wedding to post at this time. We couldn’t find our camera for most of the week but discovered it after the wedding. I will update the blog when I get some copies. I will attach photos of our new Christmas tree, Mark & Lucas, Kate after the wedding and Lucas' cup game.

This weekend we are off to Grandpa Jakulewicz's 60th bithday celebration come snow or even more snow!

Lucas’ Funny Quote of the Week

“Mommy, I’m not eating Sloppy Joes…I’m playing with the Fire Hot…Daddy is sad.”

This is what Lucas had to tell me when I came home one night. Daddy and Lucas had just finished dinner, one that Lucas was not interested in. In an attempt to get him to eat, Mike told him, "I'm soooo sad that Lucas won't eat." Lucas didn't seem to care if Daddy was sad or not and really it just became a good story for Mommy. Instead, he was much more interested in the “Fire Hot” which is a little camp stove called a Jet Boil. No secrets around this kid, he tells all now!

Love, Janelle