Life has been WAY too busy to keep up with this blog! 

So in a nutshell, Alli just finished Kindergarten. She is turning 6 in a couple days. Sidney is finally growing some hair. She is feisty and sweet all wrapped up in one cute bundle! Dan is busy working. He and I are planning to do Tough Mudder in a couple weeks. If you don't know what that is. Google it, watch the video, then pray for us! We are running the Bolder Boulder tomorrow. By the way, Dan is NOT a runner. I planted what I hope to be a fantastic garden. You can read about it here.

Alli and Mrs Frankenfeld, her Kindergarten teacher.

BellaGrace, Alli and Abby

My kitchen disaster. Strawberry jam that boiled over. Nice.

Sidney talking with Grandma. Not really. She's pretending.

Sledding

After the big snow storm last weekend, we figured it was high time we take our kids sledding. Yep, this was their first time. Yes, Sid is wearing her bike helmet. With chicks on it.

I sent Dan on a mission to buy sleds. He struck out at FIVE stores before he finally found what he claims to be the last sleds in all of Denver. No Alli does not have a helmet. Wouldn't fit over her hat.  We really do love them equally.

 Look at how cute I can be!

 Actually, see how cute we both are?

 And silly we are?

 And how much we like to eat snow? Only the white stuff though. Despite the fact that they have never been sledding before, they do know to avoid yellow snow!

Snow loving family!

Loading pics

Anyone know how to upload photos from my stupid new Mac to this blog?

Dusting off the blog

Time to get this blog rolling again! Happy 2012!
I've selected a few resolutions for this new year. Mostly fitness related goals, but a few other 'be a better' person sort of resolutions and some get organized goals too. Sometimes I think I pick too many challenges to accomplish, then I get overwhelmed and achieve nothing. That ever happen to you?

One thing I have done differently this holiday season is to take note and reflect what I and we, as a family accomplished this past year. It was such a year of change!
-we moved our family of 4 across the country.
-we sold a house (without losing our pants in this market!) and bought another one.
-alli started kindergarten and we are transitioning to life with a school aged kid.
-Dan started his career in a perfect fit practice.
-I found the best job of my career yet.
-I ran a PR half marathon(1:52) in Philly this fall. Then repeated it again in Denver 3 weeks later.
-the girls completed 4 months of swimming lessons this fall. They went from scared of the water to being little fish!

Here's to an equally successful 2012.

A few pics from our new life.

We found a park in our neighborhood. Luckily it has swings...Sidney's favorite.

This is Alli's latest favorite piece of playground equipment. She calls it the "tater totter".

The girls have spent a lot of time playing in the water in our backyard.

All the Shadrick cousins. Emmy, Alli, Maddie, Erin, Sidney and Peyton.

For all you wondering if we have successfully weaned Sid from the binkey...well, no. She has found that she can multi-task with it. However, she is now potty trained!

Farewell tour of Pittsburgh, Fallingwater.



In attempt to cram in all the sites of the Pittsburgh area before we move, Dan & I visited Fallingwater. Fallingwater is a  Frank Lloyd Wright home built essentially on top of a waterfall in the 1930's in western PA.





Beautiful.



Farewell tour of Pittsburgh

Oliver, Heather, Callum, Alli and Sidney aboard the Gateway Clipper.

Pittsburgh.

The view from atop the Monongahela Incline, or as Oliver likes to call it the "Mon-cline".

Cal, Oliver and Alli.

Shadrick girls.