Wapati (Elk) Hunt

Darrin and our friend, Rowdy spent the last week in the mountains hunting elk. The two of them would hunt in the morning and at night, then spend the day fishing. Although they didn't bring anything home from the mountains they had a great time.

SUMMER '09

I know you're all excited about my quarterly posting. We have had a very busy summer. With Taytum here we have been going lots of places, visiting lots of friends and family, and having lots of fun.

We started our summer, laying sod in our front yard. It only took one day, but it was a lot of work. We pulled out all the weeds, laid some new dirt, and then laid the sod. Our back yard is still a mess but at least the portion of our yard most people see looks pretty good.

After getting our yard done, we celebrated Darrin's 30th birthday. I attempted to have a surprise party for him. However, I just can't keep a secret from my husband:) Actually, its not that sweet. Darrin wanted to know who I was talking to on the phone and I told him it was my sister, but then Darrin said no it sounded like a guy. I didn't know what to say to get me out of the lie, so I told him the truth. After telling him that we were having a party for him, he was disappointed it wasn't going to be a surprise. I blame him for pushing the issue.
The next big event for us this summer was me running a half-marathon. I have been wanting to run a half for a while, and finally I committed to training for it and actually doing it this summer. I was good for most of the half, until about mile 12. My legs seemed to be on fire the last mile. I took me about 2 hours and 14 minutes. Although it was painful, I am really proud of myself for completing it. Here's a picture at the end of the race. Oh course Darrin didn't run it but he was there for me at the end of the race, cheering me on. Thanks babe!

At the height of white-water rafting season, Hans and Jessica came to visit. We had planned on rafting the Royal Gorge but the day we were scheduled to go the river was too high. We were disappointed but we ended up doing another run and having tons of fun.

At the first part of July, my family had a quasi-family reunion. Darrin and I had to work during the week, so we flew to Salt Lake for the weekend. It was a crazy trip. On the way there our flight was grounded due to thunderstorms for about 3 hours. We were suppose to arrive at 8PM but we didn't end up getting in until 12:30AM. On our way home we got caught in traffic for about 2 hours.

However, spending time with my family was awesome. It was fun for Taytum to see her cousins and play with them for a couple days. Taytum especially loved playing with Baby Billy and Baby Eric. It was the first time she had seen her new cousins and she was so good with them. I wish I had taken more pictures but at the time our trip was so short that I wasn't really worried about taking pictures.

Taytum and Baby Billy

For most of the summer, Darrin had night classes on Tuesday and Thursdays. While Darrin was at school Taytum and I would have "girls nights." We would do all the girly things we love to do, while Darrin was gone. One night we decided to get all dressed up and go out for dinner. Taytum wanted to go to the restaurant where the server wears lipstick (Carino's). We had a great time and enjoyed wonderful food.

The last week of July, Darrin's family came to visit. It was awesome to be able to show them all of the Denver/Colorado Springs tourist sites. We went to a Rockies game, the Air Force Academy, Elitch Gardens, Pikes Peak, Buckskin Joes Western Town, the Royal Gorge, and the Olympic Training Center. At night we loved playing Wii, mostly bowling and tennis, as a family. Here are the pictures of their trip:

View from Pikes Peak

Its cold this high in elevation

Mom, Dad, Pam, and Taytum

In August, Taytum and I made a trip to Omaha to see Uncle Brian, Aunt Jen and the boys. It was fun for Taytum to see Ben, Jake and Josh. The four of them seem to have a very special relationship. Once again it was a very busy weekend. You would think that after the last trip to see the family, I would have learned my lesson that a weekend is really short. Overall it was a great trip and I'm really glad we took the time to see the Cochran family.

As the summer comes to a close, Darrin and I are looking forward to the autumn season. We hope everone knows there is always an open invitation for visitors. Also remember, if you want an update and the blog is old you can always call. Hopefully we will hear from all of you soon.

Spring Break '09

This past week Taytum came to visit. It was really fun to have her here and I really hope she had a good time. She flew in last Sunday. Darrin and I took her out for hibachi, which we thought she would think was fun. She was a little scared of the big fire, but for the most part she seemed to enjoy it. She also tried sushi for the first time. I thought for sure she would hate it, but actually she really like it. She especially liked the Unagi (eel). I told her that is what Ursula's friends look like cooked. Darrin took off Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday from work. I took off Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. However, due to the spring snow storm, Darrin ended up with Thursday and Friday off anyway. That allowed us two more days to spend as a family.

Here's the week in review.

First, Taytum discovered that she loves Cootie. It was a gift from Grandma Cochran. Grandma told Taytum it was her favorite game when she was a kid and Taytum loves it too. She always has to make the pink beetle with all the girly features; girly eyes, lips, nose, and bow.

On Tuesday, Darrin took Taytum to the "Cave of the Winds," a small cave just outside of Colorado Springs. Taytum thought the caves where cool, but after Darrin let her pick out some rocks from the gift shop which she thought was the funniest part of the whole day.


Here's Taytum just outside the cave.

The view of the Rockies from outside the cave.

While Taytum was here she got a package from Grandma and Grandpa Draper. She was so excited about all the candy that they sent. She can hardly wait to eat it.

Taytum with her stuffed animals.

On Wednesday, the family got to go to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. For a small zoo, Darrin and I were really impressed. I have never been this close to a giraffe before.

We bought some crackers to feed the giraffes. I'm not going to lie, I was a little nervous feeding them. Once the giraffe saw you had a cracker, it would stick out its big long tongue. I was afraid I was going to get bit or even worse licked. Yuck.

These zebras look miniature.

Here's the lion.

Taytum standing next to a peacock.

Once again, I have never been this close to a peacock. Especially not one with all its feathers out.

Here's the grizzly bear.

Daddy and Taytum in the Rockies.

Taytum and "Rosie." This is Taytum's talking dog. Grandma Cochran gave her to Taytum as an early birthday present. Taytum loves that Rosie talks to her. Rosie ask for a bone and to brush her coat.

Thanks to the Smiths for providing us with our nightly entertainment. Darrin and I taught Taytum how to play the drums and the guitar on "Guitar Hero". "We Rock!"

The finale of the week, was a surprise for Taytum. We took her to see Disney on Ice. The theme for the show was the Incredibles. Taytum loved the show, but her favorite part was seeing Snow White and Cinderella. Her face just lite up when she saw Cinderella's blue dress.

Here's the best shot I could get of Cinderella in her coach.

Here's Taytum in her Incredibles's mask. It came with wrists bands that give her super-powers.

Taytum in her pre-Easter Easter dress. She loved her new dress, sweater, tights, and shoes with hearts.

Darrin and I really had a great week. We had tons of fun and can't wait to do more fun things with Taytum this summer.

Favorite Passtime

I love my husband, but sometimes he is a big nerd. His new favorite thing to do is to play Halo on the X-Box. He puts his headphones on and chats online with his friends while they try to shoot up things. What a nerd?

Love ya Babe.

Before & After

As many of you know, Darrin and I have been working really hard to get our house together. I have to confess Darrin has been working much harder than me. However, we have finally completed the house. We want to share with everyone Darrin's hard work. As cheesy as it is, we have finally made our house a home.


Before ... welcome to the Mexican Cantina

This is the living room, and the first room you would see when walking into the house.

This is a straight shot from the front door.

This entire room was pink!

Here starts the process ... we did a lot of painting. Darrin would come home from his long commute and paint for the rest of the night. We literally had to paint the entire house.

Darrin painting our bedroom. This wall use to be mauve and Darrin hated it. Needless to say, this was the first wall to get painted.
This is the kitchen and the entry way. The front door is just over to the right outside of the picture.

Me painting in the kitchen.

This is the family room. Most of the walls were a dark tan with the one red wall over the fire place.

This entire room was bright blue.

Finally, the new Draper home!

This is the living room. The entry way into the house. Since this picture was taken we have added a coffee table.

The new family room.

Darrin's been waiting two years for a recliner. He finally talked me into it. He loves it!

We did decide to leave one of the walls in Taytum's bedroom pink. Once we started painting the craziness of the room died down and it didn't look so bright pink. The wall we left pink is just to the left of this picture.

We hope you enjoyed your brief tour of our new house. We are excited about the house and can't wait for all our family and friends to come visit.