Stuecker Family

Taos Ski School

The girls are learning to be "Better Shredders" at the Taos Ski School. They loved it! John and I had fun walking around in the snow with Shadow, but next week we will be on the slopes!

I have a sneaking suspicion that Katie will end up on a snowboard...

I agree with Sarah - being fitted for ski boots is NO FUN!

Happy New Year

After the holiday rush, we escaped to the mountains for some down time. We went sledding and played games. I was sad to miss the Rose Parade (no TV) but it was so nice to have the family time.

Meet Spuds. We went to Watermelon Ranch - a no-kill animal shelter - on Friday. Spuds had been waiting there for us since my birthday! We met lots of dogs and Spuds was the obvious choice. He is a year and a half, chipped, trained, immunized and as sweet as can be. Katie loves "Spuds", but the rest of us are trying out new names. I like Phantom because his white mask makes him look like the Phantom of the Opera. John calls him DogDog because he looks like two dogs in one. The girls have suggested Frankenstein, Lincoln Bark and Shadow. We'll see.....

RoboGrillin'

We were so thankful to celebrate the 4th Thanksgiving Lunch as a RoboFamily. The conference room doubles as a banquet room when necessary.

Grillmasta J

When was the last time you had a Coke Float? Delish!

Katie's Birthday

We celebrated Katie's Birthday at Hinkle Family Fun Center. It wasn't too crowded at 10am and we got to ride the bumber cars over and over and over.

Katie loves Pumpkin Pie and chose that over cake for her birthday dessert. Of course, we had ice cream for breakfast - a Stuecker Family Tradition.

New Addition

We have a new living space!

Back to School

Monday was Katie's first day of Kindergarten! The school is very small and there is one class per grade, so she was familiar with the teacher and classroom from when Sarah was in Kindergarten. But still, it can be nerve wracking to walk into a classroom full of new faces. She was very comfortable and seems to have made friends easily. Sarah was excited about being able to see her friends every day. I am so proud of them both and it makes me happy that they love school. The girls and I had a fun summer together but we were all ready to get back into a daily routine.

This is our new kitchen table that John made. It is mounted to the wall and really frees up the other side of the kitchen for a desk/calendar area on the opposing wall. All in good time.

Peaches

Our tree FINALLY produced peaches this year. All told, it was about 2 dozen. We have a small garden, but I enjoy picking a few tomatoes for the salad or a peach for breakfast. We made peach ice cream on Sunday. Yum-O!

Ironman 70.3 Boulder

Hi Everyone! We went to Boulder this past weekend for John's 1/2 Ironman. That's a 1.2mile swim, 56 mile bike and 13.1 mile run. The heat ate his lunch, and for as much of a family man as John is, I believe the stress from making this a "family vacation" reared it's ugly head. Did I mention it was HOT??? Sarah's little body could not handle spending all day in the heat and she came home and spent the next 2 days laid out from a fever that topped out at 105. Or perhaps it was something she caught at the pit stop from HELL on the way there. There was a line for the bathroom and we heard a little voice from within saying....."Daddy, I have diarrhea!" Gross.