HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
(our year in review!)
Well, we started off the year with a huge decision: on January 1st, our offer was accepted on a new home! Way to start the year off!
We had been searching for awhile with a few criteria, and this one met all of them and then some!! Highlights: the RZR fits in the garage while on the trailer, a huge wood/craft shop in the basement, hot tub and playground, and a huge yard for gardening and flowers and for us to have fun in! It has been a fantastic move for us even though it is only three blocks from our old house!! With the bigger yard comes a ton of yard work which we have completely enjoyed as well! But the best part about it is having enough room for company to come and stay. We love that the most!
DISNEYWORLD!!! DISNEYLAND!!!! LEGOLAND!!!
Before the big move however, we had to get one small item of business underway first: a trip to DisneyWorld!! Wahoo! Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, EPCOT and Hollywood Studios! We played from sun up to sundown, running from ride to ride and soaking it all in! What a magical experience to share with our little boy! And, we were lucky enough to have Jadeyn’s cousin Nathan come along with us for his 16th birthday. The boys had a blast together & it made it so us parents could actually go on some rides together! 
Highlights of the trip were the character breakfast & meeting Goofy, Hollywood Tower of Terror! & going on Thunder Mountain Railroad over & over again. Jadeyn got to fight Darth Vader as a little Padawan & battled valiantly. The Star Tours ride was another that we couldn’t get enough of! 
Favorite Jadeyn quote about Disney after Snow White kissed him: When it comes to Princesses , its all about kisses!
Favorite Jadeyn quote about Disney after Snow White kissed him: When it comes to Princesses , its all about kisses!
Yes, we also went to Disneyland this year. Kevin had a conference in California and we just couldn’t resist extending the trip to include Disneyland and Legoland!! Jadeyn felt like he was in heaven surrounded by Legos! He especially loved the massive Star Wars displays. We loved the waterpark and building our own Lego rafts for the lazy river. Our favorite part of Disneyland was the new Carsland and walking right down the streets of Radiator Springs!
Grandma & Grandpa Johnson - Rebecca’s parents visited for a week & we packed in the activities; everything from Jadeyn’s 1st day of school to trails in the mountains. Wonderful week. We enjoyed every moment!
Kindergarten! Jadeyn started Kindergarten this year & enjoys it so much! Learning to read, spell, do math, meet new friends, wrestle in the schoolyard, play in the park after school...these are just a few of his favorite things.
HALLOWEEN Jadeyn was Obi Wan Kenobi. The perfect Jedi Master! He raced around the neighborhood and collected quite a lot of loot!
Jadeyn turned 5 years old this summer and is growing so big!! He celebrated with a Star Wars/Lego themed birthday party. The light sabers made from swim noodles were a hit!
RZR Adventures
We filled our summer with RZR-ing and camping. Highlights are: MOAB RZR Rally—we met up with great friends, hit some spectacular trails and enjoyed the beautiful country. We spend Kevin’s birthday doing Poison Spider! Taylor Park, CO - We were able to do Taylor Park twice this year. We convinced Kevin’s brother Shawn to rent a RZR and spent the weekend bouncing, jumping and splashing. No rain that weekend so we made up for it in some massive river crossing splashes! We once again had a spectacular time at the annual RZR Rally at Taylor Park as well with over 200 RZRs!
Summer Camping & Cousins
We had a blast this summer spending time outdoors. We were even able to go camping with so many of Kevin’s family members & had so much fun watching the whole gang of cousins romp through the campgrounds! Hiking, snowball fights in summer, s’mores, little kid’s heads huddled over a giant anthill, piling into the RZR, moose expeditions, water fights in the hot tub, museums, football days, sleepovers, fireworks….all of these made for amazing memories! Family for Easter, Thanksgiving & Christmas!! We have been so blessed to have such wonderful family on all sides!
South Dakota -Custer State Park, Mt Rushmore, Reptile Gardens, Wind Cave, Jewel Cave. Incredible country, wildlife, blue skies, fun camping times, great history, fun hikes, cathedral spires, hailstorms, wild burros, spelunking, and great memories to last us forever!
Colorado Floods
In September Colorado experienced something unbelievable. The rains came & kept coming & resulted in one of the worst floods in CO history. Longmont ended up being right in the wake of it & our little town suffered greatly, but not nearly as bad as some of the communities in the mountains. We have so much to be grateful for since neither our home nor Kevin’s office were affected (except for being completely inaccessible to each other for quite a few days). Our community really stood together in the recovery process. Several FEMA workers that Kevin saw in his office said that Colorado people were the nicest and most positive people they have worked with in a time of disaster. It makes us proud to be part of this great state.
Grandma Pete- we were honored to have Grandma Pete spend a week with us during Thanksgiving. She is such an incredible lady!
As the new year begins, we look forward to many more adventures,
because, after all, isn’t that what life is all about?!
Love, Kevin, Rebecca & Jadeyn Cottrell
(Dozer & Newt too!)
