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Showing posts from October, 2012

Halloween Party

Tonight was our annual neighborhood Halloween party.  It was super cold and our costumes were a mix of re-wears and whatever keeps you warm. This is Gabby and her boyfriend, Finn. This is Braner Party of 8. . .Lesley truly is family!  I should probably change our blog title! :)

Weekend With Andy

This past weekend Andy and I got to spend some much needed time together.  We headed to Denver for our Kivu board meeting and had two nights away from the kids.  It was so good to be together.  Sometimes I really miss him even though we live in the same house. . .it's just that we live in the same crazy house and we seem to be moving in fast forward (or 4X for those of you DirectTV people). We also got to have dinner with some of our favorite people who were in town from Saudi.  We ate at my favorite restaurant (The Melting Pot) and spent nearly four hours laughing and eating and talking and eating and laughing and eating.  It was the perfect evening! Thanks, Andy, for the dates this past weekend!  I love you!

Maggie's First School Dance

Maggie went to her first school dance on Friday night. . . and I missed it (add that to the list of "issues" she'll discover in counseling later in life).  Lesley did an amazing job (of course) making it special and getting her ready and taking tons of pictures for me.  (Have I mentioned lately that Lesley is wonderful?) Maggie was beautiful!!  Oh my!  When Lesley emailed me the first pictures I was blown away.  She was breathtaking!  I was so proud of her and I just wanted to show everyone I ran into the pictures of my beautiful girl.  Maggie and two of her friends got ready together, went to the dance together and then came home to an ice cream Sundae party (put on by Lesley).  They had a blast!  I think she'll remember her first school dance for a long time (and if she doesn't, it will be in photos forever)! Thanks, Les, for making it perfect.  And, Maggie, you're a show stopper!  You're beautiful! Apparently Gabby was feeling very left ou

The Cone Of Shame

Baylor got fixed this week.  No wandering man dog for us this go around!  The kids have been so funny about his surgery.  Tiki is so confused as to why we would do that and often looks at me when he asks "why?" with a weird fear in his eyes like we may do it to him some day.  Gabby said, "he got hes balls cut off!"  Hysterical (and inappropriately worded for many of you readers out there, sorry, welcome to our home)!  He hates the Cone of Shame (as do all dogs, I think).  He just looks so humiliated.  The first two days were so funny because he would lie on his bed and just whimper.  We googled to see if he was in too much pain and learned that he just needed attention.  So true!  Big baby!  (Kind of reminds me of when Andy got "fixed.")

My Little Bon Bon

Gabby tried out for The Nutcracker last weekend.  Number 65 was for sure the cutest of the little hopefuls!  She could have been a Mouse or a Bon Bon and she got the letter saying, "Dear Gabby, Congratulations! You have been selected to be a Bon Bon. . . ."  Super cute!  I cannot wait to see her in costume!  Two months of rehearsals and then you will have more pictures of my little Bon Bon than you ever wanted to see!  Start the countdown!

Happy Birthday, Pops!

Today is my Dad's birthday!  Fifty plus Hays is his age!  He's a wonderful man.  Many of you know "of" him.  Lots of you know him.  He's amazing and I love him so much!  He is so sensitive and compassionate and thoughtful and unselfish.  He is giving and caring and a big dreamer!  He loves me big. . .so big.  I never wonder.  He is man of God who set the bar of integrity high and sticks with it.  He is a go getter and a doer. . .he is wonderfully exhausting!  My kids adore him and I am so thankful that he gives so much of himself to them.  I'm thankful that they have a Pops who loves them with his whole big heart! I love you, Daddy.  Happy Birthday! Love, Peanut

Observation Week

This week was "observation week" at the kids dance classes.  While it took nearly three hours out of each afternoon, it was well worth it!  On Monday Gabby had Tap & Jazz and Maggie had Musical Theater.  Gabby loved having us all watching her.  She was in her element!  Maggie, too, loved having me there, but she acted all middle-schoolie and shy!  Then Tuesday Gabby had Ballet and Dax had Break Dance.  The ballet class was huge and very crowded.  They girls were adorable.  And Dax was totally in his element break dancing.  He loves it!  All in all, I'm so glad we skipped Fall Soccer and let the kids branch out!  Tap, Jazz, Ballet, Musical Theater, Break Dance, Drums, Karate, Gymnastics and a Job (Hays).  This Fall has been a blast!

San Francisco

This past weekend was our annual mother/daughter girls' trip and we headed to San Francisco!  Every year my mom invites her four daughters to go on a girls' trip with her and each year we go somewhere fun to enjoy time away and time together!  This year three of us met mom on the West Coast.  The first day was pretty cloudy, but we saw the city!  We took a bus tour and a boat tour.  We saw the Full House "painted ladies" homes and the Golden Gate Bridge among many other San Fran sites.  Then we went on a walking tour of Alcatraz.  The second day was beautiful!  We walked through China town and took a walking art tour of Sausalito where we got to paint our very own landscape of the Golden Gate Bridge.  We voted and Mom had the best picture by far. . . no one was really surprised because it seems like everything she does works out perfectly!  Jennafer and I rushed off to see the Walt Disney Family Museum and it was a wonderful collection and display of all of Wal

YELLOW!!!!

There really is no place prettier than Durango in the Fall.  (That may not be totally true, I hear the Northeast is amazing.)  Nevertheless, I absolutely LOVE Fall here!  Yesterday the Weather Channel app said that we would have "abundant sunshine."  I love that.  Abundant.  And we did!  Braner Party of 7 plus three (Lesley and two girl Kivu campers) went hiking yesterday and enjoyed the abundant sun and the yellow yellow yellow!  (Dax and Maggie and I only made it half way to the top, but we got the view before we quit.) This was Friday afternoon.  The kids all enjoyed reading in their Enos!  Triple tiered!