CHRISTMAS MORNING

Merry Christmas!

We are enjoying our first Christmas alone as a family (and our first alone since we've been married), here in Colorado. Snow has fallen on the ground, making it a White Christmas, with some sledding later this morning.

Cory and I have the house ready and are up at 6:30 a.m., with coffee, waiting for Chloe to wake up.I want to go in her room and whisper, "Santa came!" But the parent in me says, "No, enjoy the peace."

I will wait a few more minutes. :)

Merry Christmas!
Love,
The Huffmans!

THIS MAN

It's only December 4th and I already feel like this month is going to go by so quick. I really want to enjoy each day. Even though we are busy with various parties, holiday activities and everyday life, I want to focus more on quality time as a family.

It's so easy for me, as a mother, to focus in on Chloe. She's just so dang cute, but I also want to remember that there is this guy that lives in our apartment and he's my husband. Oh, hello there.

This photo was take in Cannon Beach, Oregon. We spent about 10 minutes on the beach together, after the Pacific Northwest Conference. It wasn't much time, but we were able to spend it together, take a breath, and keep going.

So, here's to trying to focus on all three of us, being together and enjoying the Christmas season, but also to just enjoying Cory and Courtne, husband and wife.

Happy December!

THANKFUL

I used to think the idea of going around the table and telling everyone what you're thankful for is super cheesy. I still do.

But, I do see the value in actually saying aloud what we are thankful for. I want to be a person that is more thankful for what I have. I don't want to be someone who is always wanting and putting value into even more material things. Stuff that just end up in the landfill, things that in the end are meaningless to our life.

I do want more when it comes to relationships with family and friends. Quality moments of just being together and sharing life.

So, I will say that I am super thankful for my family, Cory's family and especially our immediate family of Cory, Chloe and I.

I'm thankful not just for Cory, but for the husband and father he is. I'm thankful that he takes care of us with his job, but loves us with all his heart. I'm thankful for our relationship as a couple and who we want to be together.

And of course, I'm thankful for my little sugar bums, Chloe. It really is a joy to call her my daughter. I love her sense of humor, her craziness, her kisses and hugs, and the innocence of her just being a 3 year old little girl.

I want to cherish these moments of us as a family of three. Enjoying the big moments, but mostly the little ones that make up our life.

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone. We will be hanging out with good friends, enjoying each other, eating food and certainly not least, watching football.

Pizza Family Night

I love Thursday nights. Why? Because the next day is Friday and that means it's the weekend.

When I was working full-time before we had Chloe, I loved Thursdays too. Now that I'm a stay-at-home mom, Friday means we have the whole weekend to spend time together as a family.

Every so often, if we have no plans, we will have pizza and movie night (with the high possibility of ice crea, too). We make pizza's at home and rent a couple Red Box movies, one for Chloe and one for us.

Chloe loves helping in the kitchen. As an adult, it can be annoying to just let her do her make a pizza on her own at her own pace. But, as her parent, it's fun to watch her learn, discover and make choices all from the simple task of making dinner.

Once the pizzas are in the oven we bring out a bunch of blankets and pillows and make a big bed on the floor. It's fun to just lounge around all together, being intentional about spending time with Chloe.

This particular night, we rented the Muppet's Movie. It was really weird to watch something that was apart of my childhood and now apart of Chloe's.

Sweet Love

I feel so blessed to have Cory and Chloe two in my life everyday.

Cory has been traveling a lot over the past few months. I feel like our life is anything but normal and routine. I do like the craziness, but am more than ready for life to calm down so we can settle into a normal rhythm.

I'm thankful for the little moments we get to spend together as a family. I'm thankful for moments like this one while spending a few hours in San Francisco, before another flight to another place.

Being Brave

Chloe is becoming more and more of a brave girl. For the longest time Chloe had a fear of failing, mostly when it came to physical tasks. One area we really saw this was at the park, going down the big slide, climbing something tall, etc.

It's so amazing to watch her conquer her fear and just try. She climbs on the playground, goes down the big slide, and jumps off big things (that are maybe a little too big). She is so proud of herself.

A great reminder to myself, to be brave and just try.

The Many Faces of Chloe

Chloe is becoming a little actress more and more. She is very serious about the roles she plays, whether it be Mulan, a cowgirl, a cat... and we are always the bad person.

Chloe will play pretend with herself or with any child or adult that will give the time of day. It's so fun to watch her imagination grow.

Because of her imaginary play, her facial expressions are becoming so funny.

The Happiest Place on Earth, Part 2

Part 2:

After "rest time" and dinner at the hotel, we headed back to the Magic Kingdom.

Here's the girls, Taylor, Chloe and Maddie

All of us together, the only group shot we got.

After our pictures, we made our plans:
1. Hit as many rides as possible while others watched the parade
2. See fireworks
3. See the later parade as the park closes
4. Beat the crowd out of the park
5. Get the kids to sleep before 1:00 a.m.

I think Buzz Lightyear was Chloe's favorite ride.
Look at Maddie and Taylor's picture on the bottom, right. Those are some crazy faces. :) 

 

Watching the fireworks over Cinderella's castle was magical. Sounds cheezy, I know. 

Chloe sat on Cory's shoulders to get a better view. She was in awe, as were most of us. It reminded me of the commercials you see on tv of Disney World. Something I wish I would have captured on video or in photos. Next time...

 

Another great moment that I wish I would have caught on camera was during the parade. Chloe was in awe of all the princesses and we saw Snow White. For some reason Snow White wasn't on a float, walking the parade route, she came up to us and gave Chloe a little hug, It was so sweet. I know that Chloe wasn't the only little kid that it happened to, but for Chloe she felt like it was. One of the reasons I love Disney and their intentionality to make everyone feel special.

The next day, we spent at the hotel, mostly poolside. It was awesome to relax in the warm sun and when it got too hot, jump in the pool.

The view from our room.

The weekend we were at the hotel, it was their cupcake wars. One of the activities was for kids to decorate their own cupcake. As you can see, Don is a kid, so he decorated a cupcake too. :)

Part 2, done. Part 3 and 4 are coming soon.

Mulan

Chloe, like any other little girl is obsessed with Disney Princesses. Right now, her current favorite it Mulan.

Here's a little video of her singing.

Looking Back

I love looking back at pictures and seeing how much people have changed, especially Chloe.

The Happiest Place on Earth, Part 1

This June, Cory and I got the amazing opportunity to take Chloe to Disney World with our great friends the Don and Crissie. It was the best trip we have ever been on together as a family. Disney really knows what they are doing when it comes to creating memories and making you feel special. It's magical.


We had a 5:30 a.m. flight, which meant we were up at 3:00 a.m. to get ready and to the airport. Waking a child up at 3:00 a.m. goes against everything I know as a parent. The whole time we were traveling I was praying that "sleep-deprived crazy monster Chloe" wouldn't come out! It almost did come, but thankfully she crashed in the stroller for about an hour during our layover in Houston. Overall, Chloe is a pretty good traveler. In fact, all the kids did great.

Our first full day, we spent at the Magic Kingdom. Our first ride...The Teacups.

See the lovely photo of the Talley's and Maddie's face? Love it! Chloe was a little nervous at first, but in the end loved teacups.

 

We left the park and headed to our hotel around 2:00 p.m., hoping the kids would sleep and be rested up to make it until the park closed. As we were leaving a huge rain/wind storm was rolling through. We covered ourselves in ponchos, holding them down so the wind wouldn't blow them off. I loved the rain storm, others didn't. :)

Chloe never napped at the hotel, but fell asleep at dinner, as shown in the picture above.

Part 2 through who knows what to follow soon!

Jori

Happy Birthday to my youngest sister, Jori!

When Jori was about 5 years old, she had an obsession with the movie 101 Dalmatians.  So, Beth and I would say for her birthday we were going to get her a special dalmatian present...dalmatian poop. I know, original. But, we would get the best reaction from her! It was hilarious...you had to have been there.

So, Happy Birthday, I have a special dalmatian present for you.

August Instagrams

Recapping August through Instagram, we spent most of the month in Oregon. So, we have lots of pictures with friends and our adventures in the great Pacific Northwest.

1. Katie and Chloe doing their hug/wrestle thing, loving on each other.  2. Auntie Jori and Chloe eat a delicious lunch at Laughing Planet.  3. Grandma Shar and Auntie Kaylee.  4. Ice Cream at DQ.  5. On the road to camp, somewhere in Central Oregon.  6.  Chloe watering the roses naked.  7. Sol and Chloe laying on the water fountains in Eugene.  8. Sand, my arch-nemesis.  9. Caden and Chloe enjoying a special moment together (we are already prepping photos for the wedding slideshow).

 

1. & 2. Chloe first time on a boat (she actually got a tube later with me).  3. My sweet niece, Brenlee playing in the fountains at Jameson Park in Portland, OR.  4. Fern Ridge at sunset.  5. A small view of Oregon's tall tress.  6. Auntie Rieley, with Chloe wrapped up like a baby.  7. Cory and Brenlee.  8. PDX to DEN  9. Chloe and her fake hipster glasses

1. Fakers  2. Kitty loves to play piano for us  3. Family Movie Night  4. Driving Range  5. Making tortillas  6. Isaac and Chloe snacking on the slide.  7. BEETS! Mmmm...  8. Comissioner Cory presenting the the trophy to Don.  9. Chloe and Isaac again.

1. & 2. Chloe and I at the drive-in  3. Enjoying the last bits of summer at the park.  4. Park again.  5. Peaches and ice cream.  6. Chloe pretending to clean throw-up. Weirdo, I know.

July Instagrams

Wow, is this a trend to blog a little and take a long break. Here's a little catch-up from my instagram.

Our 4th of July celebration, projected fireworks, thanks to youtube. Fireworks were banned because of the wildfires.

Chloe a few days after her second set of stitches this year.

Testing out expensive eye wear at Nordstroms

Chloe's latest obsession is growing a mustache like her daddy.

Sunset on the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland. It was a beautiful location for camp.

My first Philly Cheesesteak. SO GOOD!!! (It deserves all those exclaimation marks!)

Another view of Northbay Camp in Maryland.

Chilling on my sister, Jori's front porch in Oregon.

June Instagram

If you're friends with me on Facebook or Instagram, it's no secret that I LOVE Instagram. I love the simplicity of the app and how it creates nostalgia in everyday pictures.

Awhile ago, I had a friend that said something to the effect that I always instagram, and the content is almost always Chloe, food, or coffee. At first, I didn't believe her, but then thought about it and it's true! My three loves!

Here's a glimpse into our month of June through Instagram.

Chloe being Prince Phillip while watching Lion King // She's really been into Potato Head

Cory's salsa. It's good. // IKEA meatballs. YUM!

She drew a mustache and beard on her face to be like Cory // Darla, Grandma Shar's cat that Chloe loves and Chloe. Accurate drawing, right?

Costo lunch // Chocolate sodas. I LOVE these, thanks to my mom.

Jimmy John's is dang good and their signs are funny // Chloe and I at the Parker Days Parade

Artichokes // Sunset in Colorado with the wildfire smoke

Splash park // Cory and Chloe chilling together

pool // friends at the reservoir

Rockies game // Chloe doing her Chloe thing

A lot of pictures, I know. If you don't have Instagram, get it! You will love it, and if you don't, well...

Garden of the Gods

Back in April, Cory's mom and sister visited us. We visited a bunch of places, one of them being Colorado Springs and Garden of the Gods, with a short visit to the nearby Manitou Springs.

After Garden of the Gods, we decided to fill up our little tummies with some...wait for it... Rudy's BBQ! Is anyone shocked? Whenever we go to Colorado Springs, we have the idea that we may try some place new and just end up at Rudy's. The meat is so dang good! How could we not stop and eat there?

Then we headed to Manitou Springs. It's a little town with a cute downtown area. They had a bunch of little shops and a penny arcade, which Chloe loved the most.

For some strange reason, I am either really good at getting pictures of what we do or I forget all together. There's no in between. So this is the only picture that I got in Manitou Springs, Chloe riding the helicopter. She loved it.

In Colorado, there are so many wildfires, including in the Colorado Springs area. As of Sunday, Manitou Springs was evacuated. It's sad that so many people are displaced from their homes and possibly losing their homes to the fires. If you think about it, you can pray for rain, the people fighting the fires and all the people who have been evacuated.