Christmas In Colorado

This Christmas brought several firsts for the Shearer family. It was Chloe's first Christmas, our first Christmas in Colorado, the first time we spent Christmas with just our family, and the first time I made Christmas dinner. We enjoyed a relaxing day, watching Chloe open presents, trying to get a good Christmas picture in front of the tree (nearly unsuccessful!), eating soup, and watching the snow fall. We missed being with our families, but we were so thankful for the memories we were able to make together. As we spent time opening gifts, we were reminded of the greatest gift we have ever received, Jesus Christ coming to earth to be our Savior. Without His loving sacrifice, our lives would be meaningless.

"Mom, why is my stocking as big as me?"

We got snowshoes for Christmas. We can't wait to use them!

We will definitely get lots of use out of them here!

This was the Christmas tree pic that we decided was "good enough"!

Let It Snow!

It definitely feels like Christmas here in Colorado! We experienced our first big (well big for us!) snowfall this past weekend. I got to try out my driving skills on the snowy/icy streets for the first time since I was in high school. I'll admit it, I was totally driving like a grandma! BUT, I didn't get in a little fender bender like some other person did, whose name starts with A and who also contributes to this blog!

The reality of the move is starting to set in and we are really missing our family, friends, and comfortable life in California. Here's some pictures of Chloe for those of you that are missing her.

Here's a photo of a snow-crusted tree out our front door:

Looks cold here, doesn't it?

Here's Chloe trying out her jumper for the first time. She doesn't get it yet that she's supposed to JUMP!

Core Max Workout by Chloe:

Thanksgiving

We were so blessed to have Andrew's family here with us for Thanksgiving! We had a great time hanging out, playing cards, and eating tons of food. Whenever Grandpa and Grandma Shearer come to visit, there is always enough time for "just one more picture"! Here are some of the highlights of our week:

We went exploring at Garden of the Gods which is only about 20 minutes away from our house. It is a beautiful place to hike and climb around on the rocks. We weren't prepared for how cold it was, but we still had plenty of photo opps!

We had a White Thanksgiving for the first time since we've been married! This is the view from our front door.

It is a tradition in the Slovek family to take a picture of the baby on the turkey platter on their first Thanksgiving.

Chloe finally got to meet her Auntie Em! They were nearly inseparable!

Here is a video of Chloe chatting with her Grandpa:

Matt's Pics

Our friend, Matt Floreen took some pictures of our family before we moved. He is a fabulous photographer! Here is the link to his website: www.mattfloreen.com

These are a few of our favorites:

Bye-Bye California

Here we are, getting settled in and enjoying the cooler fall weather. We miss everyone so much, but we love it here already. We think you would, too! I finally found our memory card reader so now I can post some pictures from our final days in CA and our first days in CO.

Right before we left, Chloe enjoyed her first trip to Disneyland.

Our little lady

We didn't realize how hard it would be to leave until we actually had to say "Goodbye".

"Please don't take me away from my Uncle Neil!"

Chloe and Levi

Arriving in Colorado

This was Chloe's first flight. She was the pilot's favorite passenger:

Our Little Pumpkin

After a long, hard day of packing (and still lots more to do!), I decided that I owe it to myself to take a short break and make our final blog post from California! Chloe continues to get cuter and cuter by the day! It's hard to imagine how life can get any more fun, but somehow every day is more fun than the day before! Chloe is such a blessing in our lives!

Here are some photos taken at Lombardi Ranch a few weekends ago. We changed the format of our pictures, so now you can click on each photo to see the full size image and download it if you want to (that's for you, Grandmas!).










Stay tuned for our next post from "The Springs".

Back By Popular Demand

This post is for those of you out there who have been giving me flack for not updating the blog often enough. Not that I'm into giving excuses or anything, but I would just like to publicly say that taking care of a 2 month old, packing a house, and saying many goodbyes to family and friends has preoccupied my time as of late. You will hopefully see many more updates once we're moved and settled in!

Chloe and I spent a few days with my family while Andrew drove his car out to Colorado. If you are interested in ever taking a road trip to visit the Shearers, it's not actually all that bad of a drive. Andrew, along with his co-worker Paul, made the drive from Santa Clarita to Monument, CO in about 14 hours. However, I must add the disclaimer that Andrew will still not tell me exactly how fast they were going. If you read Andrew's last post, I think you will agree with me that he has the knack for avoiding speeding tickets!

Chloe and Uncle Drew

Chloe and Cousin Gavin at the Pumpkin Patch

I love this face!

Chloe's first real bath was quite the family affair. Here's a video of tub time at Grandma's:

Grandma's unsuccessful attempt to wake Chloe up for her last feeding of the night:

Chloe Shearer vs. the CHP (Guess who won?)

After a lengthy hiatus, I have returned to document more of my favorite daughter's escapades. This time, her thirst for adventure led her into a battle of wills with John Law (aka the California Highway Patrol). Here's a quick summary of the events leading up the fateful clash (interspersed with some pictures of Chloe, which we all know is the real reason you're here).

Abby and I were trying to catch up to the rest of the youth group at church for our annual "church at the beach" Sunday. We were quickly closing in on them compliments of a hill to the west of Simi Valley on the 118 freeway. Naturally, such a hill is a magnet for lawmen looking to fill their quota of speeding tickets. So as we flew down the hill, I noticed a motorcylce cop off on the shoulder and immediately told Abby we were getting pulled over. Sure enough, even as we passed him on the side of the road, he was getting on his bike to pull in behind us and turn on his lights.

The first words I heard as he walked up were, "I clocked you going 82, bro." I explained our predicament but didn't say anything about Chloe in the back seat, just that we were late for youth group in Port Hueneme. He took my license and went back to his bike. Apparently it was at this point that Chloe began exerting her will on the patrolman because when he returned several minutes later, he said, "I'm going to let you off with a warning on the speeding. You've got a lot going on, the new baby and all, so all I'm giving you is a fix-it ticket to get your address fixed on your license."

Needless to say I was ecstatic since I wasn't looking forward to the 17-miles-per-hour-over-the-speed-limit ticket. The rest of the drive was uneventful and we had a great day at the beach.

While there are countless pictures I could post here, several of you have requested some action footage. So without further ado, here are some videos of Chloe in a good mood and smiling and/or making cute noises.