Halloween Fun 2009

The week of Halloween we had a HUGE snow storm (the 1st) that left a pretty good amount of snow. Nothing like an early winter in the Mile-High-City. Ben and I were planning on working in the yard, but ended up hunkering down inside instead. We were not expecting this storm, but did not mind a valid excuse to procrastinate. Considering Ben had worked all day outside in the snow, he was pretty excited to just cuddle in bed and watching a movie with me.

Our Halloween back in 2009 was probably our favorite (before having Jayden, of course), and we made some amazing memories with some new friends in Cenntenial, including one of Ben’s old mission buddies-Elder Bethurem-who introduced us to his family and friends. His wife, McCall  is super into theater and music, so it was pretty much a perfect fit as far as friendship goes! Our first time hanging out with them felt as if we had all known one another for years! It was good to have a group of friends again, since all of our previous Colorado friends had moved back to Utah at the end of the summer.

McCall’s brother was playing in a band in the city the Friday before Halloween, and McCall and her hubby invited us to tag along…ummm….a concert in the city-YES! Since it was a costume event and pretty last minute, we got creative with what we had around the house. I ended up going as a gypsy and Ben went as a zombie. They picked us up, and we may have gotten very lost trying to find the concert (which shows we have even more in common), but when we found it we let loose, rocked out to the music while dancing our hearts out, and enjoyed our non-alcoholic sodas.

The next night the Bethurem’s let us tag along to a family/friend party with a bunch of young newlyweds. We were so grateful for good friends to help us branch out socially since when we moved back to Colorado, we moved from Westminster, an hour south to Centennial. If you know me, you know that socializing is a big MUST in life. We had fun and loved getting to know everyone there!

I went as a gypsy again, but switched it up a bit. I do that. What can I say, I get bored easily. You should see my house. I have to rearrange the furniture every 6 months it seems just to change it up.

Like I said, probably the best adult-oriented Halloween EVER before we could live vicariously through our little Jayden. Kids just make everything better in my personal opinion.

A Trip Home to Visit

I told Ben there was one condition to us moving back to Colorado, and that was that we would come back to Utah and visit. Ben stood by that promise and our first trip back was October of 2009. We left early, grabbed breakfast on the way while making the 10 hour drive through boring old Wyoming (at least the bottom half of the state and the road we drove so many times it seemed like) for a packed weekend of fun! We hit up the much cheaper than the Colorado theaters, little ole’ Brigham City Capitol Theater to watch Fame, spent some time at my parents house, went to my sister-Andrea’s-indoor soccer game to cheer her on, hung out with some good and much missed friends, and then made the 10 hour drive back to Centennial, Colorado. It was a busy and crazy couple of days, but it was so much fun and so worth it!

This guy makes 10 hour car drives enjoyable.

Somebody gets really into Halloween. You should have been there for my panicked double-take upon first seeing this out of the corner of my eye. Ben was laughing pretty hard at my horror.

Can’t beat a good and current movie for $3.50 a person!

Andrea played so well. If you know us “Ahlstrom’s”, you know we are a BIG soccer family. We all play and my Dad coaches, but I am a bit of a black sheep and am more passionate about music, theater and dance. Yup-I am one of those artsy geeks, but look out, I am still pretty athletic and competitive too.

Fun with married friends Spencer and Tori Hanks, and Chelcee and Hyrum Davis and their adorable baby-which so does not help being baby hungry by the way!

Taking the scenic, tourist route home.

It was such a fun weekend and so good to see so many loved ones again.

Italian Night-a New Tradition

Ben and I decided we wanted to jazz up our every-day life a bit, and so we started the traditional weekly Italian dinner. I cook like crazy in the kitchen before Ben gets home from work and joins me, we set the table, bust out the candles, got out the chilled, sparkling red grape Martinelli’s and turn on the romantic piano arrangement we often like playing in the background during a nice candle-lit dinner at home. Then we sit down-often times all gussied up (I have a special dress for such occasions, but tonight we played it down a bit due to Ben getting home extra late), and ENJOY a fun, cheap, romantic date at home! We have a lot of fun with our “Italian Nights”, as we have come to call them.

Following dinner, we enjoy games, a movie, a fun activity together, or just talking on the couch while cuddling. This particular night, we roasted marshmallows and made s’mores in our backyard. It was beyond perfect, and Italian Night soon became a bigger hit than a night on the town. Our life may be simple, but it is ours and I LOVE it and we are enjoying the now and planning for bigger things (traveling-can hardly wait) for a little later while getting the most out of and enjoying all the precious and meaningful “little things” first. Although, let’s face it, the “little things” end up being the big things. It will make the more exciting all the more worth it, I just know it

My cute Eagle Scout was just about as excited about his fire as I was about making s’mores…almost.

Can you say YUM?!

I LOVE time with my Lovie and nights like this are the BEST!

House Sitters

While staying at my Aunt and Uncle’s house, we were called and given a wonderful opportunity to house sit for the Walker Family that was moving back east for a few months for the father’s work. We paid the utilities and other than that got to stay in a beautiful home for quite the deal. Ben and I really enjoyed our time there and the timing could not have been more perfect. Sister Walker was quite the decorator and the home was as cute as could be. The really cool part was learning the couple grew up in Brigham City, UT (mine and Ben’s hometown) and. knew a lot of the same people we did. Talk about a small world! It seems everywhere I go I run into someone that knows someone that I know. When I spent summer of 2007 in Jackson Hole, one of my roomies knew my brother Ryan from a convention they had attended together. It is crazy just how small this world really is!

The front

The backyard

The entry-way

The dining room

The 2 living/family rooms

The kitchen

The powder and main baths

The Master Suite

The 2nd bedroom, office and craft room

Getting to live here was one of those blessings I look back at and am still very grateful for.

Denver-Round Two!

Since moving back to Denver happened so fast (under 24 hours), we moved in with my Aunt and Uncle until we figured things out. They were AMAZING! They gave us so much help and support throughout that entire year of craziness in Denver. It was nice getting to know each other on a level I was never able to (due to them living out of state) and making memories together. We never would have made it without them, and we are eternally grateful to them.
 

We stayed with them for about a month before settling into what was somewhat our own place (more on that in the next post). I enjoyed hanging out with my Aunt, Uncle and cousins especially with Ben’s long work hours (although we did make time for some nights together out on the town). From watching David’s track meets, to making and eating delicious food, to fun bike rides and days at the park with a picnic lunch, to doing nails, hair, etc. (girly stuff). It was all such a BLAST! I have some great memories with them and miss them a LOT since we moved back to Utah 3 years ago.

Becca and I goofing off on the sidelines of one of David’s track meets.

A night on the town with my Lovie enjoying lots of calories that were SO worth it and some quality us time.

The cupcakes (yes they look like dinosaur feet, but they are supposed to be fall leaves) that I made for the Relief Society General Broadcast I attended with my Aunt.

Girly mani-pedis!

LOVE these girls!

 

Our picnic before our game of hide-n-seek

Our life has been a total rollercoaster, especially with jobs and moves (really, we deserve some kind of record-setting award) for…well…most of it, but it is about finding joy in the journey and I would say we have gotten pretty good at  doing just that! Awesome family and friends have definitely helped with that.