Out with the Old and in with the New

Our first home

Well with the beginning of the year brought big changes for the Kolson family and the very first thing that happened was the selling of our first home.  I won't get into the long (very long) and terrible details but when we got back from Poland in June we decided that it was time to sell our home and look for something bigger.  We bought our first home in 2007 right before we got married and it was perfect.  It was a 3 bedroom house very close to my mom and both of Jonathan's parents as well which was great since they were all so close and would come to see Connor often.  Well in 2007 it was just Jonathan and I, shortly after we got married we adopted 2 dogs and already came with 2 cats.  Chris moved in at the end of 2007 and Connor was born in 2010.  Our perfect little home for 2 suddenly became too small for 3 adults, 4 animals and a baby.  We (sadly) got rid of the cats and since we couldn't get rid of Chris (and we tried, ha ha just kidding) and Connor, we decided that it was time to move to a bigger home.

So we are now currently in this home which has so far been perfect for us.  We have gone from 3 bedrooms to a 4 bedroom with a loft and it is just perfect.  This is the only picture I have right now since we are still moving in but we just love being here.  We are about 10 minutes away from Colette now and within walking distance to Jonathan's cousins, aunt and uncle.  We are finding that more and more people actually live up here.  I am saddened by the fact that I'm not so close to my mom anymore and that Jonathan's parents are farther away now, but mom watches Connor during the week while we work and Connor spends Wednesday nights with Andrew and Jola, and Gina usually comes by every week so we still get to see everyone which is nice.  Moving can be dramatic, especially when you have to do it in a hurry.  I'm so thankful that I can work from home part time for this house is now a whopping 51 mi (82km) one way from my work.  Jonathan was tired of our old house so he was very excited to move.  The flu hit us really hard last weekend so hopefully this weekend, we will be all moved in and we can start having people over, and I can post more pictures of the house.

Happy New Year!!

Christmas 2011

What the heck is THAT?

So Christmas finally got here and I was SO EXCITED!  Last year for Christmas Connor was only 3 months so he didn't get to really get involved but this year he could at least start to get involved. So on Christmas morning we all got up, got the tree on and presents ready, made our way into the room to get Happy up, brought him out here and. . .he wanted nothing to do with it.  He just stared at us like we were crazy or something.  He spent a good 15 minutes standing by the door, practically crying.  I had to convince him to come over and helped him unwrap some gifts, once he saw what was under the wrapping, Christmas was a hit!

Formula 1 car, MY FAVORITE!!

So after Christmas at our house, we headed down the way to my mom's house for the annual Christmas Breakfast at her house.  It is always so good that by the time we get there we are starving!!

Messy messy

After a breakfast that always starts with laughter and good conversation, leads to full tummies and presents.  The kids are always so excited to go to Gammie's house to see what "Santa" has left for them. 

Two little munchkins

Gammie got both Connor and Toni Dyson vacuums that look just like mine.  I'll admit that at first I wasn't so sure if Connor would be into it, but it is FAVORITE gift!  Still to this day he still vacuums all over the house.  Too bad it doesn't pick anything up :)

Toni and her vacuum

Connor and his vacuum "Cheese!!"

Almost all here.  Christmas 2011

So after the morning we went home and began to get ready for Christmas Dinner at our house.  My family has always been very casual about the holiday's and Jonathan's has always been more formal, so its nice to have a mix of both.  Connor got to dawn his first little man suit!!

My handsome man!!

Gina came over and brought alot of wonderful Polish food, we were also joined ny Lidia and Vince as well who also brought wonderful food.  I have grown to love all the Polish food they make and I hope that someday I will be able to make it as good as they do, because it is wonderful!!

The best one we got, Connor just moves too much :)

What a great year this has been! Seems like we did so much in such a short amount of time.  We hope that everyone had a blessed Christmas and New Year, to always remember the true Reason for the Season, enjoy time with family and friends and to start off the new year right.

We love you all!  Merry Christmas and Happy New Year
Jonathan, Courtney & Connor

It's beginning to look alot like Christmas

Connor and the Christmas Tree

I was SO EXCITED for Christmas this year as this will be Connor's first Christmas that he could actually be a part of!  He was such a good little boy as we put up the decorations around the house and playing so nicely with them, there was one Christmas accident where a village person lost his head, but otherwise it was pretty uneventful with regards to breaking things.

My "Polish" Christmas Tree

Mommy says I must still this far away

A few weeks later we all got together at Colette's house to decorate Christmas cookies.  We have been doing this for a few years now and I love doing it. This year my Aunt Pat got to join in on the fun, as did Connor and Toni.  I helped Connor decorate his first cookie, then he ate it right up!

Connor and his first cookie

Aunt Pat, Colette, Courtney & Kathi

Then came Christmas Eve.  This year was a bit bittersweet as my grandmother had passed away in October so this was our first year with out her. We had a small gathering at my dad and step-mom's house and it was just great.  The kids had a great time and were able to hang out with Papa and Grandma, along with Great Grandpa Smith as well! Such fun!

Connor and Great Grandpa Ken

Connor and his new car transport from Papa

It really is more for at Christmas when there are kids around.  What a great time we all had!  The picture below, is what I found Connor doing one morning, he had his pants off and he was running around with Uncle Chris's shoes on.  Silly munchkin :)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving

This year was actually a very simple Thanksgiving as we had only 1 place to go! It was very nice for a change.  We spent Thanksgiving with the Van Horns and my cousins Ansel and Sheryl were so nice to open up their home for everyone.  It was nice outside, a little cloud cover but it was great to still be able to eat outside.  Connor got to play with some cousins he hadn't seen since last year, and over all it was a nice and simple Thanksgiving.

We are so thankful for all our wonderful friend and family that God has so blessed us with.  We have a happy home, a beauitful and bright son that I'm not sure what else a family could have asked for.  If you are reading this, we are thankful for you as well and we hope that your Thanksgiving Holiday was just as blessed.

Connor and his cousin Tristian

Happy Halloween

Connor as Yoda, Toni as a Cat



  I will be the first to admit that Halloween had never been my favorite holiday.  I'm not sure if its because I live in a neighborhood with not alot of kids, the greediness of the older kids who don't dress up, come  around with a pillow case and give you the look of "are you kidding me just one piece?" or what, or maybe its because it crashing into my birthday (which is the following day) but Jon and I would either hide in the back of the house watching movies in the dark or we would go over to Colette's house to watch Waylon trick or treat.  I'm going to say that all of that changed this year because we actually went to a neighborhood that everyone was involved and because we got to dress up Connor.



Connor and his first pumpkin

Flash back a few days before when we picked out Connor's first pumpkin.  I was so excited to carve this with him and he wanted nothing to do with it.  I let him have it and he wouldn't even stick his hands in the pumkin.  So Daddy ended up carving the pumpkin while Connor had dinner.   I made some great pumpkin seeds with it though and at least we had a simple yet happy little pumpkin.

Connor giving his pumpkin kisses



Happy Halloween!! 10-31-11



   So a few days later we headed out to the Pickards for the annual Trick or Treating.  It was SO FUN since Connor and Toni were older now and were able to be involved.  Alot of family gets together for this night as not only is it Halloween, but it is Uncle Jake's birthday as well (and they usually throw mine in there as well since it's the follow day :)  Waylon this year went as Jake the Neverland Pirate, Toni was a little kitty cat and Connor was Yoda.  I wanted Connor to be Yoda last year for Halloween but he was only 7 or 8 weeks old so he was still too small. But THIS year...he was PERFECT!!  I couldn't get over how cute my little Yoda was!

What was so funny about Halloween this year, was that Connor was just in awe of Toni and Waylon who were dressed up.  He knew that he knew who they were, but he wasn't sure as they were wearing funny clothes!  Little did he know that he was dressed up too :)

Happy as Yoda

Colette and I took the kids around the neighborhood and I have never expierenced Halloween this way.  In her neighborhood it was a full on family affair.  Everyone was out with their kids right as the sun was setting, nothing scary out, 90% of the kids were under 6, all the houses were lit up and people who didn't have kids sat outside with candy, it was the perfect summer evening.  I just pulled Toni and Connor in the wagon while Colette took Waylon around (Toni and Connor are still to young for candy)  Papa and Grandma were there, so was Grandpa Smith and Aunt Jeannine, it was so good that they came out as well.  We had such a great time just being silly.  Although we don't celebrate the real reason for Halloween, it was nice to be silly with the little ones dressed up so cute.

Papa and his munchkins

In a few short weeks we will be coming up on Thanksgiving!! Aunti Nicole was also here for a short visit this week which was awesome. Connor always loves hanging out with her.  I will put pictures up of her visit once she sends them to me in an email so I can place them on my blog (wink wink)  Until then, enjoy this little video of Connor on Halloween!

Love Jon, Cort & Happy :)

PS - Yes, Connor has had his little hair cut since then so he doesn't have that huge "Puckerman" mohawk coming down the front anymore. It was hard to have to start cutting my little man's hair :)

Schnepfs Farm

Connor at the Pumpkin Patch

***Disclaimer*** Schnepfs Farm is no where near as cool as Young's Farm.  People say I'm biased because that is my family's farm, but it is really just a cold hard fact.  But, since the farm is now in Oregon, Schnepfs will have to do.  The end.

So we took Connor out to his first pumpkin patch this past weekend with his cousin's Waylon, Toni and Kylie.  Let me start out by saying that summer is not over here in Arizona and it was crazy hot out.  I'm pretty sure it is because I am going to be 35 in a few days but man, I can't take this heat like I used to (but no, we are not moving)

The drive out to the farm, was well just that, a drive.  I would say it was the same distance we would have to drive to go to Young's Farm in Dewey.  It took us about a hour and a half to get out there. The kids had a great time.  We got to see a dog show, the bigger kids got to go on some rides and Connor ran in the pumpkin patch, through the mud (as boys do) and took his first merry-go-round ride.  He did pretty good!  I think that Connor and Toni were still a little too young for the farm but next year they should be ready to go! Here are so pictures from the fun day!

Connor loves sitting on Daddy's shoulders

"Help!  I'm lost in the maze!

"Not sure about this horse"

All done - Happy Boy!

Playing with his cousin Toni

Connor always wants to hold hands! So big these kids!

He he he. . .Pumpkins!!

Happy Kolsons!

Can I take them all home!

It is starting to cool off here now in Arizona and next week is a big week!  Halloween is coming and Connor will be dressed as Yoda from Star Wars.  Then we've got birthdays and gatherings and Aunt Nicole is coming to visit from Indiana!!  Boy is she going to spoil Connor :)

Next up! Halloween!!

Let's visit Chase Field

On the field

So this blog will be fairly short, but Jon got invited to tour the baseball park in hopes of us buying season tickets (yeah right!) But we got to go around the park and the best part was we got to hang out in the dug out and on the field!  Here are a few shots from that fun day!

Put me in Gibby!  I'm ready to play baseball!

This is "Big League"

Yeah, give my JJ, I gotta close this game out and get to bed, its passed my bed time

The Diamondbacks did SO WELL this season! It was heartbreaking to see them lose, at the bottom of the 10th inning in game 5 to the Brewers.  Oh well, there is always next year (and the Brewers lost to the Cardinals so that made me happy)

Dbacks in 12!!