Stones' Shenanigans

Race Day - Gift of Life and Breath

2011-06-06T20:49:00.000-07:00

4th year in a row. We all ran the whole way without stopping (except Wyatt). We are proud of Andrew and Mylie.

Wyatt Before and After

2011-06-06T20:31:00.000-07:00

Before:

After:

Dying Easter Eggs

2011-05-08T12:40:00.001-07:00

Here are some pictures of the kids dying eggs for Easter.

The finished product.

Wyatt is so proud.

Busy working.

Wyatt wasn't quite sure what to think. Why were we putting eggs in juice?

He thought it was to eat.

Casa Bonita

2011-05-08T12:18:00.001-07:00

Last time we were down in Denver. My mom didn't want to make dinner so she asked if we wanted to go to Casa Bonita. We had a great time. The kids love that place and Wyatt was just fascinated with it. Thanks Grandma.

Mylie broke the piñata again!!

Wyatt enjoying the show.

Our First Visitors

2011-04-18T09:53:00.000-07:00

This past weekend we had our first visitors up here in Leadville. Breanne and Ben came to visit us. We had such a great time showing them around our little town and explore new things with them. We went up to Cooper Mountain and Frisco in the morning and then in the afternoon we went to downtown Leadville and walked around all the fun shops. We also went exploring and found some really fun camp grounds that as you will see in the pictures are still covered in a lot of snow. It was a beautiful day. Both Friday and Saturday night we stayed up late visiting and playing games. It was so great to have them here. My kids were so bummed they had to leave. We hope to have more visitors soon.

Snowboarding

2011-03-26T19:28:00.000-07:00

Today Mat took Mylie and Andrew snowboarding for the first time. They went to Ski Cooper which is only about 10 minutes from our house. Wyatt and I meet them up there for lunch and took some fun videos and pictures. They had a great time!

Mylie and Andrew going up the ski lift. This may look easy but on a snowboard it is not.
It was a beautiful day for snowboarding. They definitely want to go back again. Next time I hope I get to go with them.

Mat's Commute and Office View

2011-03-14T19:46:00.000-07:00

This is what I see all 12 minutes of my commute to work.

This is the mine. I work in the grey building on the left side of the pic.

This is the view from my office window. That is Mount Lincoln (+14K feet).

This is looking slightly to the right. Mine is the third truck from the right.

This is a pic from my truck up at the window I work out of. My window is the first one on the left (not those little ones).

More Sledding

2011-03-13T20:18:00.000-07:00

On Saturday we took Mat to the big sledding hill here in Leadville. It was a beautiful day. We had a great time. We even got Wyatt to go down a couple of times. We are not quite sure what he thought of it. He pretty much had no expression. Maybe it was too boring for him.

Ski Jorring in Leadville

2011-03-06T18:39:00.000-08:00

Ski Jorring was a new sport to us before Saturday. The city of Leadville hauls in enough snow to cover the main street for about 6 blocks and makes a course including jumps. A horse and rider pull a skier at full speed down the street. The skier is timed and is given penalty points for missing a jump or missing the rings or missing the slalom gates. They have races for all ages (the younger groups are pulled by snow mobiles).

This is downtown Leadville in preparation for the races. (Yes, they spend all winter clearing the white stuff off the road just so they can bring it back for a race.)

Andrew wants to drive the snow mobiles.

Wyatt liked the horses.

Mylie wants to be pulled next year. She needs to learn to ski since snow boards aren't allowed.

We were bummed that they ran out of hot chocolate so quickly, but happy that Andi remembered to pack enough popcorn balls.

And here is the winner.

Swimming and Fun

2011-03-05T19:36:00.000-08:00

Life is treating us good up here at 10,200 feet.

Mylie and Andrew started swimming lesson

Cute Wyatt at the pool.

Sledding Fun

2011-02-27T19:53:00.000-08:00

Wyatt ready to go play in the snow.

Andrew and Mylie making snow angels.

Mat had to work on Saturday so me and the kids got on our snow gear and went sledding. In Leadville they have a big free public sledding hill that the kids have been dying to try out. It was awesome. It was quite a hike up but way worth it. They even let me go a couple of times!

Wyatt didn't really want to sled so him and I played in the snow.

That is Mylie in the middle of the picture.

This is the view from the top of the hill.

Here are some fun videos of the kids sledding outside our apartment.

Moving to Leadville

2011-02-24T20:22:00.000-08:00

Mat got a job doing the HR and recruiting work at a mine that is reopening in Leadville, CO. They are providing us with a furnished apartment for the first 6 months, so we packed up our clothes, food and toys. We left our condo staged and put it on the market today.

These first two pics are Wyatt trying to help Andi pack some food.

The next two pics are the view from our living room window. Leadville is the highest incorporated city in the US at 10,200 feet. It is about two hours west of Denver, between Vail and Frisco.

It has snowed a little over 200 inches so far this year in Leadville with about 50 inches on the ground right now. It has been cold but sunny so far. Andrew and Mylie went sledding for the last three days in a row. They love it here. The jury is still out for Andi. Mat could live here forever.

Mylie to the Nutcracker

2010-12-24T22:20:00.000-08:00

The Great Redistributor

2010-09-13T16:54:00.001-07:00

This is why we call Wyatt the Great Redistributor and why we can't fold laundry when he is awake.

Cartoon about Mylie

2009-11-13T08:39:00.000-08:00

Grandma sent a letter to Mylie with this comic included. It describes Mylie. I think the creator of the comic spies on our family for material.

Foot Surgery

2009-11-08T15:21:00.000-08:00

Andi went to a foot doctor about 10 years ago who explained that her foot pain was due to a mutated foot bone causing a bunion. He said that although it was painful, it wasn't the right time to fix it.

We hit our deductible this year and finally decided to fix it. Here is the before picture (the blue line is the doctors guide line).

Here is the 3 day after picture.

On the 3 day visit she got her permanent cast that she wore for 2 weeks. She let everyone sign it. She let me draw a (classy) halloween picture on it.

Here is a picture of her foot after she got her permanent cast off after two weeks.

Here are the x-rays of the foot after the surgery.

It has been one month today and Andi is walking around the house without crutches and can even put a little weight on her toe. She is really itching to get back to the gym. On the right is a little poll to see who can guess the total cost so far for this procedure (we already met our deductible, so it only cost us $25 for a shower bag for her cast).

Halloween

2009-11-06T07:57:00.000-08:00

We had a great Halloween. Andrew was a zombie, Mylie was Jessie from Toy Story and Wyatt was Superman. They had a great time trick or treating with their cousins. Now of course we have too much candy!!

Park Fun

2009-08-30T15:19:00.000-07:00

We took the kids to the park yesterday. Here is Wyatt's first swing ride.

Zoo Trip

2009-07-21T13:35:00.000-07:00

This is Wyatt sweating to death in his carseat. Mitchell, Blake, Andrew and Mylie

We took the kids to the zoo on July 3rd. We meet my sister Ashley and her boys there. It was extremly hot that day but we still had a fun time together.

Wyatt's Blessing

2009-07-20T15:44:00.000-07:00

On Sunday June 28 we invited friends and family to our home to be there for Wyatt's baby blessing. It was a very special day for us.

Andrew, Mylie and Wyatt

2009-07-02T21:23:00.000-07:00

Just updated photos of the little twerps.

Father Son Campout

2009-07-02T21:00:00.000-07:00

Unfortunately for Wyatt, he was too young to go with Andrew and me to the father-son campout in Larkspur, CO. First pic: Andrew getting his harmonica. Second pic: us being normal (goofy). Third pic: Andrew pushing himself out into the middle of a pond on a very low floating Huck Finn style raft. We had tons of fun.

Wyatt

2009-05-21T20:11:00.001-07:00

Wyatt Wilson Stones was born this morning (5/21/09) at 8:14. He was 7 pounds 7 ounces and 20 inches long. We went in for the induction and they started the pytocin at 5:00am. Andi was already dilated to a 5. They gave her an epidural and broke her water at 7:00am. An hour later they said she was ready to push. Three strong pushes and Wyatt was born. Andi is recovering quickly with no rips and Wyatt is doing great.

Mother's Day

2009-05-17T17:00:00.000-07:00

Andrew made a ceramic frog for Andi for Mother's Day. He was crushed to find out that he couldn't give it to her because it was selected for the regional art show. Andi was just as happy for the gift knowing it was beautiful enough for everyone else to see. She really likes it.

Mylie is Cool

2009-05-13T20:46:00.000-07:00

My daughter is so cool. She is the perfect mix of feminine beauty and tom boy. I walked in on her organizing her purse with her chapstick, pocket mirror, play cell phone and necklace. Then she loaded everything back into her purse, then shoved it inside her ninja turtle backpack and was ready to go.

Then a couple days later I walked in on her playing with her stuffed animals having a tea party. Then she said, “hey Dad. These plates are awesome ninja stars.” Then she threw the ninja star tea set plates at her animals.

Then a couple days later she asked me to come play house with her. The house was made out of hot wheels and I was supposed to the be the daddy semi-truck.

Then a couple days later she asked Andi to paint her nails while she watched Superman.

She is so cool.

Easter Morning

2009-05-01T10:18:00.000-07:00

I know this post is a little late but I just wanted to share some of our pictures. The kids had a great time on Easter. We first got to go to Papa Jim's house for an Easter egg hunt and pizza party on Saturday. Then the Easter Bunny came to visit. He left lots of yummy goodies and hid Easter eggs full of jelly beans all over the house. He did leave a little footprint trail in the kitchen too! That evening we went over to Grandma's house for Easter dinner and yet again another Easter egg hunt. What a fun day!!

Baseball and Stiches

2009-05-01T09:38:00.000-07:00

Andrew started baseball a couple of weeks ago. He is having a lot of fun. Mylie really wants to be on the field with him. She just about goes crazy having to sit there and watch (so boring). The first game we went to she got antzy so she decided to run up and down the bleacher and of course she fell and hit her chin really hard. The next game she got bored again and decided to run around she came running back to us and went to climb up the bleachers and missed. She hit her face three times. We ended up having to go to the ER that night and she had to get 5 stiches on her eyebrow. Of course she was really tough and thought it was cool. Now when we go to the games Mat makes her sit still. He thinks we should make her wear a helment.

Andrew's Blog

2009-03-11T20:23:00.000-07:00

Andrew started his own blog. http://scurfybudoo.blogspot.com/ Please go check it out. He is very proud of it and is having a fun time. He would love to get comments or emails from you.

Light Red Shirt

2009-03-01T20:38:00.000-08:00

Andi bought me a new shirt. She justified it by saying it is a white and red striped shirt. Mylie calls it a light red shirt. Andrew calls it pink. Below is the fabric of the shirt scanned at different resolutions. The top square is the actual size of the stripes. The middle square is at about four feet away. The bottom square is about 4 inches away. Take the survey on the right side to let me know what you think: red and white striped, light red, or pink?

Big Baby Bump Banner

2009-02-26T11:27:00.000-08:00

Alice 105.9 is a local radio station with a contest to see who can make the best belly banner advertising their radio station. The banner must be painted or drawn on a third trimester pregnant belly. The public helps decide which is best, so go to their website and check out the other entries. Ours is below. The winner gets $2200 worth of baby related supplies.

What Andrew Would Rather Eat

2009-02-05T20:22:00.000-08:00

I asked Andrew what he would rather eat: brains or an eyeball. He thought eyeballs would be tastier. He asked his class and was crushed to find out that everyone else would rather eat brains. I know I would. What would you chose. Take the poll on the right.

Week of Birthday Fun!

2009-02-02T09:17:00.000-08:00

Mylie's birthday was this past week and she turned 5!! I cannot believe that my baby is 5. She was so excited and wants to be big so bad. We had a great week celebrating with her.

On her actual birthday (Jan 27) we went to Chuck E. Cheese. The kids had a blast. We ate pizza, cotton candy, popsicles, care bear shaped rice krispy treats, opened presents and of course we played a lot. We ended up being there 3 hours!! It was a great day.

On Saturday we had a birthday party for her up in Longmont (Nana's house). With both families and some friends we had about 30 people there. It was very special for Mylie and she felt very loved. We had a fun day of roasting hot dogs, playing bocce ball, playing games, going on a treasure hunt, opening even more presents and eating cake and ice cream. Mylie had a great time with all of her family. She loves them all so much.

Iowa Vacation

2009-01-25T14:55:00.000-08:00

Andi and I spent the past couple days in Des Moines for my company’s holiday party. Iowa is charming in a boring kind of way. What else is there to do in a city with nothing to do when you are in a hotel with the one you love … go out to eat. We ate at Skips, The Iowa Beef Steak House, The Waveland Café and B&Bs Deli – all local restaurants with Iowa flare. We had a really fun time and we always look forward to … the restaurants.

Broken Hand

2009-01-18T14:55:00.000-08:00

Carmelo Anthony (Denver Nuggets' star basket ball dribbler) is not the only one with a broken hand. Andrew tripped while racing me to the front door on Friday night and fractured his pinky metacarpal near the carpal joint. This is commonly known as the "boxer's break". He wears a splint for about a week till the swelling goes down enough for the orthopedist to cast him up.

Trip to the Zoo

2009-01-18T14:13:00.000-08:00

Grandma gave our family a year pass to the Zoo for Christmas!! On New Years Day we were able to use it for the first time. We had a great day together as a family. We are excited to be able to go as often as we want. Thanks Grandma!

Cupcakes and Crystals

2009-01-18T13:31:00.000-08:00

The last couple of weeks we have been working on all sorts of projects that Andrew and Mylie got for Christmas. Andrew got a crystal making kit and Mylie got a cupcake baking kit. Daddy help Andrew make the crystals. It was a quite envoled project and Andrew just thought it was the coolest thing ever. He had a fun time and was especially excited that it came with a set of gogles. He felt very offical. It has been fun to watch the crystals grow. I was just impressed that it actually worked!!

I got the better half of the deal. I helped Mylie bake her very own cupcakes. She did everything by herself (except for the clean up). She made very sure that I knew it was HER project. I thought she did a great job. With the help of Andrew she frosted them and she finished them off with of course sprinkles!! Maybe we have the next Martha on our hands. She was very proud of the final outcome. Yummy!!

Ultrasounds

2009-01-06T12:30:00.000-08:00

Here are a couple cool ultrasounds of the baby.
This is the baby sitting criss-cross applesauce.

This is the baby doing yoga - holding on to its toe.

This is the babies profile. You can see the little tooth buds. We could also see the tongue moved when the baby swallowed.

Baby's piggies.

Crotch shot - possible spoiler if you know what you are looking for.

Go here to see an additional picture of the little criter.

Boy or Girl?

2009-01-05T12:41:00.000-08:00

We find out if it is a girl or boy tomorrow. Vote on the right to see if you are right. The poll results will be posted on Wednesday with the big reveal.

Scooter

2008-12-30T12:16:00.000-08:00

If a person who rides a bike is a biker and person who swims is a swimmer, then is a person who rides a scooter a scooterer? Or is the scooter riding a scoot? And does a person riding a scooter go scooting or scootering at the park. Here is Andrew and Mylie riding their new scooters. Mylie's scooter is named Fasty. Feel free to respond with captions for each picture.

Baby Names Update

2008-12-09T14:50:00.000-08:00

So we've almost decided on names: Wyatt or Gwen. We are pretty sure that it shouldn't just be Gwen, but either Gwendolyn or Gwyneth (Gwenivere has already been vetoed). I checked on the social security website and found the following information. Each name has a number indicating how many baby's were born in 2007 with that name and how that name ranks with other names of 2007:
· Wyatt - 6445 babies - ranks 69
· Gwendolyn - 450 babies - ranks 650

The popularity of the name has no bearing on our decision. But I did think it was interesting. Here are some other interesting facts:
· Mylie - 322 babies - ranks 861 (I was surprised it was even on there)
· Andrew - 18,157 babies - ranks 10
· Gwyneth didn't make the top 1000
· Sybil didn't make the top 1000
· Polly didn't make the top 1000
· Leroy - ranked 999 was my second choice for a boy - vetoed

More interesting facts:
· Isabella moved up 43 places since 2000 to second most popular name in 2007. You would suspect Twilight as the culprit.
· However, in the same time frame, Edward moved down in popularity from 108th place to 145 place. Maybe her choice of the male protagonist's name was his only shortcoming ... despite his rapturous good looks, charm, elegant flowing gait and majestic persona ... ugh. Every time I read the book for ten minutes I have to take a break to call my friend in Transylvania, Count Barfula over the porcelain telephone. Definitely written for the reader who cares more for the rollercoaster emotions of high school romance. The premise is great and the vampire lore is fun.

Yet more interesting facts:
· Jacob ranked #1 in 2000 and 2007. BUT, his percentage of use went down almost half a percent since 2000.

One more fact less interesting but obvious:
· Mat is a turbo geek.

Here is a quick photo of Mylie in November.

Candy Survey Update

2008-11-05T10:30:00.000-08:00

Here is a link to see Andrew's Candy Survey Data.

This data might be useful when determining what candy to get for someone as a surprise for their upcoming birthday or Christmas.

Interesting facts to note:

Kit-Kat scored highest
Jaw Breakers scored lowest
Suckers ranked 40th on the rating, but we got over twice as much as the most abundant candy bar. This means we live in a cheap neighborhood that doesn't care what kids like. But still, we got 31 Snickers.
The top 13 ranked candies were all in the chocolate category
Tootsie-Rolls are not considered chocolate.

Halloween

2008-11-04T15:42:00.000-08:00

Saturday morning after all the trick-or-treating was done, Andrew dumped all of his and Mylie’s candy out on the living room floor and sorted them. Ever since he has learned to write, he has a fun time making lists. So he made a list in his journal of each kind of candy and how much he collected of each kind. He then proceeded to take a survey of each family member on how they would rate each candy on a scale of 1-10 (10 being their favorite). His analog spreadsheet became cumbersome and I introduced him to the data collection joy of an excel spread sheet. We quickly entered his data and he proceeded to survey Grandpa, Nana and Cousin Sean. The data is below.

Andrew finds the joy in actually talking to the people and collecting the data. I think it is interesting to see what candy people like and hate. Feel free to copy and past the list below into an email to me, take the survey yourself and I’ll repost the results in a couple days.

Also below are some pictures of Andrew and Mylie in their Halloween costumes. (Andrew won an award for the scariest costume and Mylie is The Purple Power Ranger (her own design)).

Candy Name (Amount Collected)

Jolly Rancher (5)

Smarties (36)

Crunch (4)

3 Musketteers (4)

Tootsie Roll (44)

Reeses (14)

Dollar Gummies (2)

Hard Candy Mint (7)

Laffy Taffy (37)

Starburst (36)

Milky Way (19)

Twix (5)

Nerds (11)

Jaw Breaker (11)

Werthers Originals (3)

Licorice (1)

Hard Fruit Candy (9)

Nestle Chocolate Bar (1)

Chocolate Money (2)

Pumpkin Marshmallow (2)

Sour Patch Kids (1)

Hot Tamales (1)

Almond Joy (4)

Gummy Body Parts (3)

Swedish Fish (8)

Carmel (4)

A&W Hard Candy (4)

Milk Duds (5)

Mr. Goodbar (3)

Charleston Chew (Vanilla) (2)

Gummy Candy (7)

Baby Ruth (5)

Hershey Chocolate Bar (19)

Snickers (31)

Kit-Kat (11)

Butterfinger (10)

Whoppers (12)

Gum (10)

Sweet-Tarts (9)

Now-n-Later (12)

Skittles (11)

M&M (15)

Sucker (Dumb-Dumb) (78)

Runts (2)

Teddy Grahms (1)

Pixy Stix (2)

Gum Balls (30)

Peanut M&Ms (5)

558 Total

Washington DC

2008-11-04T10:17:00.000-08:00

Mat and I got some free airline tickets from Breanne and Ben. We were not able to make it work out for the two of us to go somewhere together. We did not want to waste the tickets so we decied it would be fun to take Andrew somewhere that is anywhere. If anything just so Andrew could ride in an airplane.

We decied it would be fun if I(Andi) would take him to Washington DC. We thought it would be fun to make it a surprise. We did not tell him until we were at the airport that morning. He thought we were going to go pick someone up!!! He was kind of dumb-founded when we gave him his bags and told we were going on an airplane to DC. It was really fun to surprise him. It wasn't until we were inside the airport for about 10 min that he started to jyrate because he was so excited. We were able to stay with Mat's cousins who live in DC. It was so fun to stay with them. They did so much to make our visit so fun!! Thanks guys!! While we were there we were able to see the Lincoln Memorial, The Capital, Surpreme Court, Air and Space Museum, Natural History Museum, Washington Monument, and the White House. Andrew loved every bit of it. It was so neat to see him get so intrested in all the history and sites. It was fun for me also to spend time with just Andrew. It was a trip we both we never forget.

Kid Numero Tres

2008-10-03T15:26:00.000-07:00

We had an ultrasound yesterday and here is number three. The doc said the official due date is May 23rd but the unofficial due date according to history says it will be between May 9th and 13th. He had an opening on May 21st, so if the little critter doesn't appear by then, we're goin in to take him/her out.

Seven Years of Bad Luck and 15 Stitches

2008-09-30T19:20:00.000-07:00

Mylie used Andi's long mirror for a slide down her bed yesterday and cracked the mirror in half. Seven years bad luck didn't take long to start. Five minutes after I came home for lunch, Mylie did a face plant onto our nightstand. She sliced a quarter inch cut in between her nose and lip. It looked deep, like a tooth went through. We called her pediatrician who said to bring her in instead of the ER. They checked and sure enough, it was cut straight through. They referred us to a plastic surgeon who sewed Mylie up. The inside of her mouth was really screwed up and took 12 stitches. The outside only had three stitches. The doctor was impressed that Mylie could sit still for the anesthesia shots. She was really tough. Tougher than me. I almost passed out.

Girls Night Out

2008-09-30T10:24:00.000-07:00

Once a year my sisters and I take my Mom to the Melting Pot (fondue resturant). This year we took her on her birthday. We all look forward to this evening all year long. It is so fun. It is the type of dinning experince that you are there for about 3 hours. It is so fun to sit and talk, laugh and eat for 3 hours. And of course we do have plenty to talk about. I love this opportunity to hang out with 4 of my best friends. I love my family so much. I feel so blessed to have them all live so close to me. I am grateful to them and all of their wonderful examples to me.

The Best Nana

2008-09-25T08:08:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago Mylie received a package in the mail. It was from her Nana. First of all she was so excited that she actually got something in the mail. Of course she opened it right away. To her great surprise it was a snorkel set like Andrew got for his birthday but hers was PINK! I thought she was going to pass out she was so thrilled. These were her exact words, "Nana is the BEST BEST NANA IN THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD!!!!!" Thanks Nana for making her day.

Names

2008-09-15T15:02:00.000-07:00

Here are the list of names we are thinking of so far for a girl (in no particular order):

Polly
Claire
Samantha
Sybil

Here are the names we are considering for a boy:

Wyatt

As of yesterday, number three should be about 5 weeks along. The due date should be around May 12th. Andi is still feeling great. We are very excited.

Be Safe With The Dragons

2008-09-08T20:14:00.000-07:00

Every time I drop off Mat at work, the kids always tell him to be safe with the dragons. I don't know what that means, but it is cute.

This is a picture of our campout.

Guts

2008-09-03T07:24:00.000-07:00

We were munching dinner at the park last night and the dinner topic landed on guts. Andrew cringed and covered his ears when we said the word “guts”. It turns out that is one of the words that give him the willies. He suggested that we use the word abdomen instead. I don’t know why a seven year old even knows the word “abdomen”. What are some of the words that give you the willies?