Duck, duck... GOOSE!!!

I've been amazed at the Canadian Geese here since we moved to Colorado. They are everywhere and they are huge! Our first up-close-and-personal experience was this summer when a goose nipped Ashlyn in the backside at the park when she got a little too close.

I'm surprised that they don't fly South for the Winter. Lately, there have been hundreds of geese hanging out on the golf course behind our house. I will often hear a flock of them honking and then see a dark shadow through the window as they fly overhead. I love seeing how groups of geese sit on the edge of the ice when the lakes freeze and how they fly together in giant "V"s.

Last week Ashlyn walked out on the golf course with about 200 geese and scared them! The noise of their low honking and the flapping of hundreds of giant wings was quite a sound! Here's the video Corey took.  His commentary is hilarious:

2010: A Year in Review...

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Looking back, 2010 was another interesting year for our family. The pain of selling our home in Arizona for almost nothing has been buffered by the new life we've found here in Colorado. I'm sitting here in my warm {rental} home watching the new snow falling down outside and I feel extremely grateful. Ashlyn and Corey both had friends over to play after school today and the house was full of happy noises. Now, I know "home is where your heart is," but this home is one I'm starting to feel like I never want to leave! I'm so thankful for new friends, a great school for my older 2 kids and an awesome co-op preschool I'm participating in with some friends for Claire. I love our new ward, the conveniences that are close, our neighborhood and the views of the Flatiron Mountains.

For the fun of looking back in a few years, I polled my family on their FAVORITES of 2010. Did you remember that the #1 song from 10 years ago, in 2000, was "Breathe" by Faith Hill and I will always think of 2007 when I hear Gwen Steffani's "Sweet Escape." For me, I hear a song and can remember exactly what was happening in my life at the time that song was overplayed on the radio! Here are some songs that, for good or bad, will always remind me of 2010:

• "Bad Romance" by Lady Gaga 
• "Dynamite" by Taio Cruz
• "Need You Now" by Lady Antebellum
• "California Gurls" by Katy Perry (ugh!)
• "Down" by Jay Sean featuring Lil Wayne
• "Kings and Queens" by 30 Seconds to Mars
• "Resistance" by Muse
• "Raise Your Glass" by Pink
• "Just The Way You Are" by Bruno Mars
• "Hey, Soul Sister" by Train
• "I Gotta Feeling" by Black Eyed Peas

Our favorite movies of 2010:

• Tangled
• How To Train Your Dragon
• Despicable Me
• Inception (adults only, of course)

Favorite moments of 2010: (completely un-edited)...

• Ashlyn: "Having my 2 best friends in my class at school."
• Corey: "Turning 8, getting baptized and building LEGOs with Dad."
• Claire: "Preschool.  Ummm... Dinosaurs and unicorns."
• Alli: "Regular date nights, thanks to our best babysitter, Ashlyn, seeing my kids make new friends & getting Claire potty-trained."
• Dan: "Just write whatever you want."                           

"2011" Word art by Elegant Word Art, paper by Tracie Stroud