The Colleran Collage

 

Click on the picture to view. Thanks to friends and family for a great holiday this season. We are truly blessed to have you in our lives.

1ST TIME SNOWBOARDING DEC 2009

It was a great day yesterday! Nick is spending his Christmas break in CA this year. We definitely missed him yesterday and sent him a bunch of pictures. He'll have lots of snowboarding time when he gets back after the New Year. The weather was in the low 40's and hardly anyone on the slopes. I guess Christmas shopping needed to be done..:) I love the picture of Jake struggling to get up a little hill that he wasn't prepared for when coming down. David doing a few jumps and enjoying the snow. He just doesn't listen to me when I ask him not to get too crazy!

JAKE'S CHRISTMAS MUSICAL 2009/NSA

Jake very excited as he participated in his NSA Christmas Musical for 2009. It was very cute and all the moms did a great job with costumes/decorations! It was just too bad that Jake was in the middle of the stage as it was very hard to see him. Every now and then he would peek out to be sure we were still looking at him. We told him he should of just jumped up and down..lol. This was 1st grade, 2nd, and
3rd grade only. They did an awesome job in a short amount of time.

POP'S VISIT FOR THANKSGIVING 2009

Unfortunately, I was sick for Pop's visit and just out of it for the most part. The weather was pretty nice but Pop continues to struggle in our high altitude. Our neighbor, who works for the Avalanche Hockey team gave us a couple of hockey tickets for Pop and Steve to enjoy. Dad enjoyed the game but needed a wheelchair at the end of the evening.

Here are few pics of the visit. Thanks to my David for cooking at Thanksgiving! David was also very sweet and surprised me with an early X-mas gift! Nikon D5000 -so let the pictures begin!!! I'm so excited!

My Colonoscopy Experience

You may want to skip this post..:)..but it is for me to remind me once my 3 years are up again what I went through. As many of you may already know, my mother died of Colon Cancer and passed away in 1994. She was diagnosed at the age of 54 at stage 4; the doctors told her that she had 6 months to live but she was a true fighter and passed away at the age of 60. Much too early for herself and her family. Miss you always!




Monday was the beginning of my ritual experience of the liquid needed to prepare for my colonscopy on early Tuesday, 12/1/09. Thank god a friend told me to suck on hard candy as this stuff was completely horrible to drink. I'll leave out some of the details so as not to ruin your stomach. If it wasn't for my orange sucker, I wouldn't have been able to do it. I think the hard part was that I've been sick with a nasty cough for most of the week prior so their wasn't much left inside me. The procedure was fine and the good news out of all of this is that I have no polyps. I need to go back in 3 years for a repeat and if all goes well I don't have to go for another 5 years after that...I can only cross my fingers! More broccoli for me!!

I went through another 6 hours of hell after the procedure because I couldn't keep anything down and my head was going to split open. Not sure if I was dehydrated or if it was the going under that did it for me. So, my lovely David came home and nursed me back to health. We called the nurse twice to get me through this ordeal as I was ready for the ER. All I wanted was to feel better..::(. I'm feeling much better on day 3 and am grateful for a healthy ARSE!! Now, let's begin and celebrate our blessings during the holidays with family and friends. And, thanks to my brother, Steven for checking in on me :)- your turn next!!

New York Trip 2009

Make a Smilebox slideshow

1st Big SNOW of 2009

Last week the kids had 3 days of NO school - which made it a very long weekend!! We enjoyed ourselves making forts in the snow, sleigh riding, and enjoying hot chocolate with marshmellows and whipped cream...yummy!! I think we had nearly 2 ft of snow. I hope this is not an indication of what the winter will be like...:( I'd rather this snow be in the mountains. The season of snowboarding and skiing begins this weekend..:) Halloween was alot of fun hanging with friends and enjoying a few drinks..;). I stubbed my pinky toe which I'm still favoring this week. We were very happy that the cold weather did not dissappoint the Trick O' Treating.

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Make a Smilebox postcard

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Make a Smilebox slideshow

August 31st - Summer almost over..boo whoo! Cousins spending time together and practicing Roller Blading before Jake celebrates his BIG birthday on Sunday! I can't believe he is going to be 8!!! Only 10 more years to go...ha ha. Jake had one bad nasty fall - Daddy trying to console him..:(. Mike took his time to get on the floor, but once he did he really enjoyed himself! Poor Kati had a blister and had to end her skating a little early. Hopefully, they will remember to bring their blades this weekend. My boys are now wanting blades..:) Note: This Twilight background won't stay up long; it was for Emily..:)

Lost Park Camping Trip 2009

Great weekend camping with our friends, the Martins. I'm glad I found the camera. We had all kinds of weather from rain, hail, to sun. Nick caught the first fish and all the boys followed suit. Jake loved the feel of the fish in his hands..:) We must of hiked while fishing close to 4 miles. Mosquitoes were a killer! We had all kinds of bug spray on. Kids filled up on smoars! Peeing in the woods and playing football were a couple of the highlights..:)

BASEBALL BEGINS AND SO DOES THE RAIN!

Jake's first baseball game. His little legs carrying him to 1st base after his third try of hitting the ball. Practice this last Monday was rainy and cold. Next game tomorrow, Thursday but looks like more rain..:(. Nicky on his way to school. He's almost done and then he is off to middle school. 7th grade here we come. The scarey clouds are from the evening we had the tornado hit (10 minutes from our house). They were pretty cool to look at.

To My Little Brother from Nick

JAKE

He is my little brother
Sometimes he is a pest
But that is when I know I love him the best

He is my little brother
He gets hurt alot
But then my dad helps him and he learns to stand on top

He is my little brother
He has long hair
And when it's all messy he doesn't even give a care

He is my little brother
Sometimes his breath stinks
And that is when my mom says, "Go brush your teeth"

He is my little brother
So sweet nice and kind
And when we play hide and seek he is really hard to find

I love you Jake

HOLY COMMUNION FOR JAKE

Jake recently celebrated his 1st Holy Communion with family and friends. Thanks to everyone for all the generous gifts. Jake loved everything! The picture we ordered of Jake while receiving the host was quite funny. Both himself and Father Don were laughing because Jake forgot to say, Amen. It was the one question he was asked prior to Mass..:)

WHAT A GREAT DAD!

SPENDING TIME TOGETHER

David took 3 days off to chaperone Nick's Outdoor Ed (Science expedition with School). They traveled to Keystone, CO and spent time exploring different types of rocks to learn about the various minerals within the rocks. They were like two little kids when they came home telling me about all the fun activities. Nick enjoyed the hikes within the snowy mountains and playing poker in the evenings with his friends. They stayed in little cabins and slept in their sleeping bags. David said by the 3rd day it smelted like dirty boys..ha. I felt bad for the girls!

Nicky is home from School Break

I'm not on this site very often as I don't think many view but here are a couple of pictures of the family. We have been busy in the mountains snowboarding/skiing. Jake took a lesson to learn how to ride the 'boxes/rails' and do a few tricks on the board. He is quite the little snowboarder. Now, that Nick is home we only have a few more weekends left and his brother, Jake wants to show him some of his moves. Next year will be different as Nick will be back to the normal school schedule and will have more time with us in the mountains. Happy St. Patty's Day to ya' all!