We all went out to do karaoke to celebrate Uncle Jeremy's birthday.  I don't know how many times Mika sang "Let It Go", from Frozen, but it was at least a half dozen.  LOL.  Uncle Jeremy and Aunt Jenny had their own setlist prepared and were really into it.  The rest of us were...there.  😉

Mika sure keeps her Daddy busy playing.  We went to the Denver Golf Expo and Mika got to try chipping some balls into the alligator's mouth.  We also got to play some arcade games in the basement.  Mika always says, "Daddy, when I get big, I'm going to play the videogames".  Too funny.

Whew, busy day today!  Mika had two friends with Birthday parties today to attend.  She was worn out and so were we.  🤣

We went over to Brooke's Mom's house for dinner to celebrate Jeremy's birthday.  Had a great dinner with family.  Nana made her excellent chicken nugget recipe and we were able to snag this fun family photo before the night was over.  Of course, Mika and her cousin have their tongues out.  🤣

Mika's new school that we moved her to this past year is great.  The teachers are awesome and the kids get to do new and fun activities all the time.  Mika loves it and has met lots of new friends.  It's nice to get a daily report of everything they did, with great pictures, too.  They've got a really cool climbing wall at the school, too, which Mika loves.

We got to visit the Phoenix Zoo on our trip, too.  Wow, that place is really spread out.  I feel like we definitely got our steps in!  LOL  Mika was a little nervous to brush the goats but it quickly became one of her favorite memories.  

There was a ton of fun stuff for the kids to do at the Phoenix Children's museum, but the coolest was probably the huge climbing gym right at the beginning.  Justin and Mika went all the way to the top in it and Mika wasn't scared one bit!  This kid loves to climb.

We had a blast at the the Phoenix Aquarium, while visiting Justin's Mom and Stepdad down there.  It was great to see them and Mika loves to see the "fishies"!

We took our first vacation of the year to Arizona to see Justin's mom and stepdad.  Mika was so excited to go see Grandma and Grandpa, and couldn't wait to get on the airplane.  By the time we got in the rental car and were heading to their house, Mika had already passed out in the backseat.  This little girl was already wore out after a half day of travel.  That's ok, she got her second wind when she saw Grandma and Grandpa!

Mika had a fun time at the salon today.  She loves to go so her cousin can cut and style her hair...and they can just have fun and be goofy.  

Took Grandpa with us to the Denver Children's Musuem.  It gets crazy busy in there on the weekends but Mika sure does love it!  They even have real tools that the kids can use to build things.  It definitely scares me a little, LOL, but it's one of Mika's favorites.  With the annual membership, it makes it super easy for us to just drop in for a couple hours.  Great weekend activity for Mika.

We had been on the wait list to go to the newly remodeled Casa Bonita and our time finally came.  We were able to take Brooke's brother, and his family.  We had no idea the place was so big and so cool!  Cliff divers, puppet show, magic show, balloon animals, arcade, and the list goes on and on.  Could have spent hours and hours exploring that place.  We are already on the wait list to go back.  

Today, we got to go to the Denver Museum with Brooke's brother, and his family.  Mika always loves to go to the museum to see all of the animals.  This trip, she really loved the walruses, seals, and polar bears.  Plus, for the 2nd day in a row, she got to see a movie.  This one was all about Antarctica and was in 3D.  The 3D glasses were way too big for Mika's head but she still enjoyed it.

On the day after Christmas, we took Mika to the movie theater for just her 2nd time ever.  She didn't really know anything about the movie "Wish" yet, but she was definitely excited to wear her matching dress that Asha wears in the movie.  

One of the funniest things Mika said this holiday was, "I like Santa.  He's a good dude!"  🤣  He sure is!  This kid cleaned up this Christmas.  Her favorite present was her jeep.  She started piling up her other presents in the back of her jeep.  It was so cute and it was great for us to see the wonder and excitement Mika had throughout the holidays.  Such great memories.

Brooke got us all matching "Team Santa" shirts for Christmas this year.  Every Christmas, we do matching outfits of some sort.  Brooke did an amazing job, as always, of decorating the house and wrapping presents.  Justin was the builder of toys.  LOL

Mika and Brooke had a good time making cookies to put out for Santa on Christmas Eve.  

We went to the "Christmas in Color" show for the 2nd time this year.  It's a really impressive Christmas light display, synched to music on your FM radio, that you drive through.  Mika loved it!  Her favorite part is "the pretty light tunnel".  🤣

More great pics from our trip to the ICE! exhibit at the Gaylord Hotel!  Everything is made of ice.  It's incredible.

Every year, the Gaylord Hotel has an amazing Christmas Village setup they do, along with a really cool (pun intended) ice exibit that has rotating themes each year.  We joined some friends to do it for our 3rd time this year.  This year's ice theme was "A Christmas Story".  They even have really neat ice slides that Mika and the kids got to go down a bunch of times.  Afterwards, we warmed up with some warm drinks and dinner at the restaurant there.

We've been practicing at home and school for weeks to get ready for Mika's 1st Christmas program at school.  They sang two songs.  She had a little trouble focusing but she sure did look cute!  

Every Saturday, we take Mika to gymnastics.  This week, we were able to take her early to see Santa.  Each year, she is very excited to go see Santa and then gets very scared once we get there.  This year was no different.  LOL  Funny to look back at the evolution of Santa pics over the last 3 years.  She's getting better each year.  Hopefully next year is the year!

We finally got some snow and Mika went sleighing for the 1st time in our backyard.  She loved going down over and over again, followed by Dad pulling her back up the hill on her sleigh.  Now that's the life for a kid!  LOL

Brooke's sister and her family came to town for Thanksgiving this year.  So great to see everybody!  Brooke's sister and niece both share a Birthday at the end of November so the girls all went out to celebrate the night before Thanskgiving and the guys all took the kids to dinner.  Then, Brooke cooked up an amazing meal for Thanksgiving day.  Awesome!  

We were able to get some family together for dinner and fireworks to celebrate Diwali and Mika's Indian heritage.  Diwali is a Hindu festival of lights and marks the beginning of the fiscal year in India.  It was great fun and we love to learn and teach Mika a little more about some of her ancestry.  We celebrate Diwali every year with Mika.   

Some friends of ours had a Birthday party for their son, who is close to Mika's age.  It was at this really cool place that had all sorts of things for the kids to climb on and ball pits for the kids to jump into.  Mika had a blast and even got to pick out a free cup of candy from the candy store at the end.

We went Trick-or-Treating with friends in our neighborhood.  Mika was a flamingo and her friend was Elmo.  They got lots of great candy that Mom and Dad may have to help them with later!  LOL

We went out and celebrated a birthday for one of our friends.  It was at the golf simulator, so perfect for Justin.  Their daughter is one of Mika's good friends and they are almost exactly the same age, so perfect for Mika.  Brooke loves to chat with the girls, so it was perfect for Brooke.  Fun for all!

Mika's school celebrated Halloween at school.  She dressed up as Skye, from Paw Patrol, her favorite!  So cute!  After school, we got to join the kids for a pumpkin drop.  The fire department came out and dropped the pumpkins that each class had decorated from high up on the ladder of the firetruck.  Splat!!!

We had a great time having family dinner at our house.  The girls were being silly and having fun.  The guys were watching football.  LOL 

Our neighbor's had a birthday party for their one-year-old.  Mika had a blast with the other kids jumping in the bounce house, playing instruments, and painting her own pumpkin.  It's really cool to have such great people in the neighborhood with lots of young kids for Mika to play with.

Mika looked so cute in her Halloween skirt, to go to the pumpkin patch with Nana and Papi.  Mika loved the tractor and didn't want to get down.  She said she was going to drive it to Iowa.  LOL

So many great memories from our vacation to San Diego!

Mika was mesmerized by all of the animals at Sea World.

We had an awesome family vacation to San Diego to celebrate our 10th Wedding Anniversary.  It was Mika's first trip on an airplane and she did great!  We went to the beach, Sea World, the zoo, and more.  Mika even got to meet "Harvey", the sea lion, up close and personal.  She was scared at first, but now she talks about him all the time.  LOL

So exciting to have Brooke's brother, Jeremy, and his family move to town.  They recently moved here from Texas and we were able to go over for dinner to see their new house.  It's great to have Mika's aunt, uncle, and 2 cousins here nearby!

Can't believe Mika is already 3!  We had a great time with family and friends at her party in our backyard.  So funny watching Mika and all of her friends trying to break open the pinata.  It took a while.  LOL

We are gearing up for what will hopefully be a better season for the Denver Broncos.  Brooke and Justin were able to make it out to the last preseason game and do a little date night, while Mika got to hang out at home with Nana and Papi!  None of the Broncos starters played, and we were in the "nosebleed" seats, but it was still fun to get out and go to the game.

Justin and friends had an amazing week at the Prairie Club Golf Resort in Valentine, Nebraska.  They played 6 rounds of golf in 4 days!  They are already counting down the days until they go to Bandon Dunes, Oregon next year.

Great Wolf Lodge is a really cool hotel with indoor waterpark, arcade, Build-a-Bear store, ropes climbing course, nightly dance parties, and more.  Mika has now been there twice and loves it.  This time, Brooke took Mika on her own, along with one of her friends and her small son that is about Mika's age.  Here, Mika stopped for a photo op with the wolf, on her way to the water park.

Mom and Mika are going on a mother/daughter road trip to the Great Wolf Lodge in Colorado Springs while Dad is on his annual golf trip.  Mika has her headphones on and her tablet ready for the car ride.  So cute!  

PNC had some fun free activities in the parking lot of the Children's Museum today.  Mika had to choose what she wanted to be when she grows up and she chose doctor!  She'll be able to do anything she wants to do.  She's growing into such an amazing little girl.

The Children's Museum is another favorite for Mika.  She especially loves the "light wall".  Better get there early, though, because that place gets BUSY!

Mika LOVES animals so, of course, she loves to go to the Denver Zoo.  We bought an annual pass and the zoo is super convenient for us.  It makes for a great fun thing to do for a few hours on the weekend.  Mika has a blast every time and a different favorite animal every time, too.  LOL

Brooke and Mika went to lunch to meet this awesome little guy for the first time.  This is the first child for Brooke's goddaughter and grandchild of Brooke's best friend.  Wow!

Justin's mother and stepfather came to visit from Arizona, for his mother's 70th birthday.  Brooke made an amazing dinner as she always does.  As always, the trip was too short, but Mika had a great time with Grandma and Grandpa!

We're not scared!  We saw this baby bear just walking down the streets of Breckenridge.  The first thing Mika said is, "Where's is his mommy?"   Too cute!

Of course, we can never get everybody to look at the camera at the same time...but we had an excellent time in Breck with Justin's brother, Jason, their Dad, Kim, and Jason's daugher, McKenzie.

Mom, Dad, and Mika being silly as we get ready for family vacation to Breckenridge!

Mom and Mika had a blast at our neighbor's 4th of July party.  Glowsticks, sparklers, fireworks, and fun!

Big cousin, Kenzie, is teaching Mika how to play Lacrosse over at Uncle Jason's new house!

We had some family and friends over for Justin's Birthday.  I think Mika may have had more fun in her bounce house, with her friends, than Justin did at his party.  🤣 

This little girl is strong!  Justin had no idea when he was filming Mika hitting her ball off the tee that she was about to smoke one right into his stomach.  She even sticks her tongue out when she's concentrating, just like her Dad!  LOL

Mika is already building away at age 2.  We are amazed at how fast she learns new things and how quickly she's already growing up!

...and warm weather means golf for Justin and attending the annual Hope House charity golf event at the amazing Sanctuary golf course.  The Hope House helps to aid teen moms in achieving self-sufficiency, with a wide range of great programs.  It's a truly wonderful organization.  Justin, his brother, and a couple friends had an outstanding time.  They even won 3rd place!

So awesome for summer to be here.  Warm weather and Mika can get outside and play!  Plus, Mika looks pretty cool in her shades.  LOL

Justin went to his first ever NBA Finals game, a first for the Denver Nuggets, too.  It was Game 5 of the Finals and the Nuggets were able to win the NBA Championship with Justin at the game!  Pretty awesome and big thanks to Justin's brother and friend for securing the tickets.  Absolute dream for a huge Nuggets fan!

We went to the Denver Zoo with Justin's brother and our niece.  Here, Brooke helped Mika feed the birds.

Mika is going to grow up to be a gardener just like her Mom!  So great to have warm weather and be outside again.

Brooke took Mika to get her very first hair cut at the salon.  Even better, Mika's older cousin did the cut!

Justin got to Game 2 of the NBA's Western Conference Finals early with his brother and friend.  It was a great game and, most importantly, the Nuggets beat the Lakers!

Justin had Mika geared up for gymnastics with her Denver Nuggets jersey.  Justin is hoping the Nuggets can win it all this year.  Mika may be less excited, but still likes to say "Go Nuggets!".  LOL

Justin, his brother, and their girls posing at Easter.  Brooke made another exceptional meal at home and the girls went Easter egg hunting outside.  

Another B-Day party!  This time, we were at the Gaylord Rockies hotel for our niece's Birthday.  Wow, that place is huge!  As usual, Mika had so much fun with her cousin and the "Big girls".  

Mika goes to gymnastics every Saturday morning.  Her favorite things to do are swinging on the rope and jumping on the trampoline!

We took a short trip to the Great Wolf Lodge in Colorado Springs for a few days.  What a cool place for kids!  They have a water park, Build-a-Bear, arcade, candy store, nightly dance parties, story time, and more.  Mika loved it!

Mika loves to go feed the ducks with Nana and Papi when she goes to their house.  She loves animals!

Mika's friend next door just turned 2!  They had an animal theme, which was perfect for Mika.  She dressed up like a dog and they had a musician come and play kids songs!  The kids all ran around, danced, and played their instruments along with it.  Pretty cool.

Mika gets so excited to go to swimming lessons every week.  She's getting really comfortable in the water now!

We always get all of our nieces and nephews together each year for "Cousin's Camp".  We do this each summer.  They have been able to build lifelong memories over the last few years.  This year, we were able to get everybody together in Denver, at Christmas time.  Here, the kids are all having a meal at the "Kid's table".  We had a great time playing some games and doing some "Tik Tok challenges" after dinner.  (the safe ones, of course!)  

Mika was so excited to come downstairs Christmas morning and see that Santa brought her a new kitchen!  She loves it.  I bet Santa's elves put in a lot of work to put it all together.  LOL.

Mika was so excited on Christmas morning to follow-up, with Mom, on the cookies and milk she left for Santa.  She was bummed to see that her Elf on a Shelf, "Bella", left her a goodbye note, though.  She had such a fun time seeing what Bella was up to every morning throughout December.  It will definitely be a tradition for future years.  We are just going to have to figure out how to up our game even more for "Elf on a Shelf" next year!

The Denver Zoo does an amazing job with "Zoo Lights" every Christmas.  It was cold but we had a blast.  We went with our friends who have a son that is Mika's age.  They had a great time playing with their glow wands and looking at all the "pretty lights", as Mika says.

We are so fortunate to have our neighborhood bring Santa for pictures every year.  Our neighbor's hosted, so we just had to walk next door!  Mika is still a little scared of Santa, but she sure has figured out what presents are!  We all had our Christmas "Grogu" sweaters on, too!

Mika loves to play with her older cousin, Kenzie.  Here, Kenzie is teaching Mika how to do some arts and crafts!  Brooke cooked an amazing dinner for everybody, as always, and we had a great holiday together.    

Mika had so much fun "Trick or Treating" with Mom and Dad this year for the first time!  She was so cute in her pig costume.

Can't believe Mika turned 2 already!  She had an awesome "Two Wild" themed birthday party with family and friends.  The theme was perfect because she loves animals.  Here, Mom is helping Mika get ready to eat her Birthday cupcake!

8/14/2020 - Justin's Mom came to visit from Arizona for a long weekend.  Justin and his Mom had a ton of fun playing with our niece, pushing her on the swing and driving her around in her remote control car!    

08/16/2020 - Brooke loves to play with our niece, Kenzie, but took a quick timeout for a snack and a photo op.  

09/02/2020 - Starting to run out of opportunities to get out on the lake for the year so Tiki and the two of us were able to get the peddle boat out and soak in the warm weather.  So peaceful and relaxing!

09/10/2020 - Justin attempted to cook a nice dinner for Brooke's Birthday.  It didn't turn out too bad for an amateur!  Brooke's cooking is definitely much better, though.  🤣

09/13/2020 - Brooke and I were lucky enough to stay at the historic Broadmoor Hotel, in Colorado Springs, with a couple of friends of ours for the night.  The boys played golf on Saturday while the girls went to the spa.  Then we had a great dinner and night out together.  Hope to do it again someday!

9/14/2020 - We had to take a second to model our new "Tiki" face masks that Justin's Mom gifted to us.  Too funny, you can get a face mask customized with anything these days!

06/27/2020 - It was about 3 months after her actual 3rd birthday, but our niece was able to get a small group of kids over for an outdoor Frozen-themed birthday celebration.  The weather outside was anything but frozen, so Justin and his brother were climbing in the trees to put up a huge tarp over the backyard so the kids could play in the shade.  It worked out great...until a giant wind gust came through about halfway into the party.  LOL.

07/26/2020 - Brooke's brother and his family stopped by for a night, while on their family vacation.  We had a lot of fun playing games with our niece and nephew.  The kids were playing VR games but the big kids were having some fun, too.  Here, Justin is celebrating his eagle while playing some arcade golf (Golden Tee) with his brother-in-law.  Look close, even Tiger Woods is celebrating Justin's shot, to the right of them on the wall.  LOL

07/26/2020 - Meanwhile, Brooke was brushing up on her Ping Pong skills with our niece and nephew, after cooking everybody an amazing dinner.  We had a great time, too bad they could only stay for one night!

07/16/2020 - Brooke and I attended a wedding for some good friends of ours in Pine, CO.  It certainly hasn't been an ideal year to have a wedding and, of course, the couple's plans changed several times throughout the year.  Still, they were able to get a small group together and were determined to get married this year.  We had a great time as we celebrated their union as husband and wife.  Brooke and I will be celebrating 7 years of our own marriage in about 2 months!

Mika has no fear!  Look at her just jumping off the balance beam into the foam pit at gymnastics.

Mika loves when her older cousin comes over to play and there is nothing better than reading books with her cousin.  

Mika's school has this really cool climbing wall they get to play on and she sure loves to climb.  Future American Ninja Warrior contestant, this kid!

Mika and Mom enjoying some time reading in the nursery.  It's nice and warm in there with the sunshine coming through the window.  Mika keeps telling us she can't wait to hopefully have a little brother or sister some day.

Mika has discovered donuts and they are yummy!  She even got to go on a date with Mom to the donut shop.

The snow tends to still hit pretty hard in March and, when it does, Mika is ready for her Dad to take her sledding.  I always have to pull her on the sled back up the hill and she just gets to sit there and relax.  🤣

We went to the "Colors" exhibit at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science.  It was pretty cool.  It talked about all the different colors you see in nature and gave different examples of each.  Lots of interactive exhibits for Mika, too.

We thought it was pretty neat that Mika's school celebrated Holi.  They celebrated with a festival of colors and asked the children to wear white that day, to throw colored powder on each other, if they would like to participate.  Really awesome for Mika to learn more about her Indian heritage.  

The Park and Recreation District nearby put on a really nice Easter Egg hunt for the kids, the day before Easter.  There were hundreds of kids there and thousands of eggs were picked up within seconds after that whistle blew for them to start.  LOL.  Mika did great and was really excited about Easter this year.  How cute is her bunny sweater?!

We did an Easter egg hunt in our yard and Mika sure got her clothes dirty hunting for more eggs.  🤣

Brooke's family came over for Easter brunch and we had a great day with everybody.  And yes, the Easter bunny came and brought Mika lots of good stuff, too!