The boys spent the morning with the BB gun.  Note Warren's choice of shoes.  Socks with flip flops.  His German roots coming to the surface.  The bottles were lined up, the safety rules were laid down and the shooting began.  The boys took turns shooting, under the supervision of the German who owns the gun.  The boys learnt to line up their sights, control their breathing and hold their breath before pulling the ...

Every year we go to Pagosa Springs to our American family for Thanksgiving.  The Shuldas are friends we are glad we made.  We can be ourselves when we are with them.  There are no airs and graces to worry about.  We fit right in with their family and they fit right in with ours.  Jordan says Brayden (one year older) is his best friend.  Girl-Jordyn calls me her "wild Mama" ...

It's Thanksgiving. It's Pecan Pie time. Here's a lighter version.  Ingredients are pre-made (frozen) pie crust, egg, egg whites, corn syrup, brown sugar, salt, pecans and vanilla extract.  In a mixer, beat the egg, egg whites, vanilla extract, corn syrup, brown sugar and salt together at a medium speed.  Mix in the pecans.   Pour into the pre-made pie crust and bake at 350 F for 30 minutes.  Remove from the oven, cover with foil and ...

Besides Almond and Cranberry Biscotti, another tradition at Thanksgiving is to dye 'girl Jordyn's' hair.   Every year, the colour changes. Its either blonde or brown-and-blonde, or brown with blonde highlights, or brown with red highlights.  It started out blonde with her natural (brown) showing through. She'd bought the two colours and I put them in like she wanted me to. And then she had to wait for it to take.  Being a ...

It was a trying time for Cullen this Thanksgiving. With each year, the gap between Jordan and Cullen widens and although they can be great friends, there are time when having a 'little brother' around can be soooo annoying.  Jordan and Braydon, who are 'best friends', don't see each other but at Thanksgiving and the odd trip during the summer when the Shulda family comes to Denver. So when the two ...

The day after Thanksgiving, we woke up to a gray morning. It was quiet outside and the dogs needed a walk.  Since no one else was up, the four of us ventured out with the dogs (ours and theirs) for a walk along the trail which runs past the back of our friends' property. It was muddy and wet, the cloud was low and it was misty.  We didn't see anyone else ...

Our tradition is to spend Thanksgiving with our friends in Pagosa Springs. They've kind of adopted us and we love them like family.  It is a 5-hour drive from door to door (provided no one needs a bathroom break) and we usually get to Pagosa around 8pm on Thanksgiving Eve. We hug and eat and talk until late into the night.  We weren't sure we were going to make it this year ...