Annual St. George Trip!

Every December, Brian and I meet our good friends, Mike & Marnae Fisher, in St. George. The guys play in the annual winter golf tournament at Sunbrook Golf Course and the girls shop, hit the spa and just take it easy! It's a trip we've done for about 8 years now and we look forward to it every year. Last year, our guys won the tournament... this year, they tied for 2nd place. They always have a great time and end up doing quite well. They won about $300 in the pro shop and another $280 each in cash.... not bad for 2 days on the course!! Great job guys!












While the guys played 63 holes of golf in 3 days, Marnae and I had much more exciting things to do!!! We hit the outlet mall, then the regular mall and even found an annual sale at the awesome store "Christensen's". We always have a great time hanging out and we both got a lot of our Christmas shopping done! We saw movies, played some cards and ate at the "Pizza Factory"!!! YUM!! Since there isn't a "Pizza Factory" in Colorado, we ALWAYS have to get our fill while we are there.

Brian and I visited with Grandpa Griffin while we were there. He is such a great man and we look forward to our visit with him each year we are in St. George. We watched the Jazz game with him and caught up on all the family "news"! Grandps looks great and we loved catching up with him.























Thanks, Mike & Marnae, for another great trip! We are already excited about next year!

Great News!

After much anticipation, my parents FINALLY got their mission call! They have been called to serve in the Boston Mass. Welfare Volunteer/Employment Resource Center mission. They report to the MTC in Provo on Feb. 1 and will serve for 18 months. They are stoked, to say the least! They toured Boston a few years ago and absolutely loved it! My Dad is a big history buff and of course, Boston is FULL of great history. My Mom, well..... she is just glad to stay in the U.S! She was already having nightmares of living in a tent, eating bugs and getting sick! So Mom, rest easy.... you're going to be fine and YES.... you CAN be the "Senior Companion"!! I mean, Dad says that's the way it's been for 41+ years so why change things now?!

I know my parents are going to be amazing missionaries and they will touch the lives of many. We will miss them dearly but we know they are prepared and doing the right thing. They are humbled and excited to serve this mission for our church. It is a great sacrifice for them but I know they will be blessed for their service.

WE LOVE YOU MOM & DAD!!

Ok everyone.... so I found this new website and I am in LOVE with it! Way cute stuff.... so fun to browse! They are also doing an awesome handbag giveaway and for those of you who know me.... I have a handbag fetish!!! YIKES! So check out their website- you will LOVE it! Browse away and enjoy! Loves!

Trick or Treat!

We had a great time at Halloween this year.... We went to "Trunk or Treat" at our church on Friday night where we ate dinner, had a costume parade, played games and decorated cookies. It was a lot of fun and the kids loved the idea of wearing their costumes again!




Paden decided to be a WHS Cheerleader for the Trunk or Treat.... how scary that my high school cheerleading skirt fits my 13 year old son! Whoa.... how times (and my hips!) have changed!!! He and his friends, Sam and James (the mimes) and Kaiden (Santa Claus) and Jason (the "Cereal Killer") had a lot of fun at the church party!




For Halloween night, Paden and his friend Justin dressed up as "Bert & Ernie" from Sesame Street. Here is ANOTHER scary thought..... when I suggested the costumes, both the boys had NO idea who "Bert & Ernie" were!!! AHHHH!! I am getting soooo old!


Grif decided to be a "Sumo Wrestler".... if only he could gain weight that easily!!! He looked pretty cool in his inflatable suit!! He invited his best friend Brett to Trunk or Treat and I think they ended up spending most of the entire weekend with each other, either at our house or theirs! Brett is just another member of our family... we love having him around!

Bos decided to be a "Motorcycle Dude" this year. He, too, had a great time both at Trunk or Treat and Halloween night. The party just keeps on going for him because tomorrow at preschool, they are having their Halloween party so he will get to dress up yet again and eat more junk.... and I'll have the dental bills to prove it~ YIPPEEEE!!!


I LOVE Halloween but try as I may, I can NOT get my hubby to dress up with me! I even got him a WAY toned-down costume this year.... a hippie shirt and matching headband.... no big deal right??? But no!! He was too cool to join in the fun so, once again, I was the only one making a fool of myself! Oh well.... what else is new!!??

Hope you all had a great Halloween!!

Can you say "SnOw DaY" ??!!!

Ok, so it's 2 days before Halloween and we got dumped on!!! There is already 22 inches and it's STILL snowing! Today is the second day the schools have been cancelled. That is rare to have two days in a row here in Colorado! It started snowing Tuesday night about 5 pm and it is now Thursday at noon and it hasn't stopped! Meteorologists say we should have 30 + inches by tomorrow morning. Wow!



The boys have been out with their friends building snow forts, sledding and enjoying their time off of school. It is weird to think that the day after tomorrow, we will be dressing up and going "trick or treating"! It is supposed to quit snowing by Friday, but I'm sure Saturday will still be cold, even if it is dry. This is typical Colorado weather.... 3 feet of snow this week, probably back into the 60's by next week! Yah-freakin'-haw!!

Wrapping up fall sports

It's that time of year when soccer and football seasons are coming to a close. It's probably a good thing because we got 6" of snow 2 days ago! But this is Colorado, it will be gone by tomorrow! Brian and I watched MANY games these past couple of months! I couldn't ask for a better way to enjoy autumn!




Boston finished up his soccer season last week. He plays 4 on 4 with no goalies- however, he is pretty adamant about not letting the other team score any goals so he was quick to cover! Their team was called the "Rattlesnakes" (????) and they had a great season. It was awesome when Grandma and Grandpa Excell were able to come over and see him score a goal. Great job Bos!



Grif played Dolphin Football this year, for his 4th straight year. He loves football and is getting better each season. He played tight end, wide receiver and cornerback. He had a lot of good tackles, some great catches and even scored a touchdown! He is a great football player and good example to his teammates. He was one of the captains this year and was involved in the coin toss each game. Way to go #46!!!!



Paden played Colorado Elite soccer and absolutely loved it. He is really an awesome soccer player and his team is way fun to watch. He played "Sweeper" and Midfield this year. I think he is the toughest defender on his team. He is quick and can take the ball from anyone! He looks so natural out on the field and is the "mouthpiece" of the team. Always encouraging his teammates and helping them out, he has led his team to a 4-1-1 record. Great season Pade!

Tori's wedding

One of my dear friends, Tori, got married last weekend. It was such a beautiful wedding! She and I met years ago when we were playing basketball against each other in a league. We became good friends and instead of playing AGAINST each other, we soon played on the same teams.... softball, volleyball and basketball. After getting to know each other, we learned that our dads coached against each other for 20 years in Utah. Both of our dads were high school basketball coaches and knew each other! Small world, huh? Anyway, Tori looked absolutely beautiful.... her two children, Brendan (age 13) and Riley (age 10) walked her down the aisle and gave her away.



The wedding was held at a very exclusive golf course called The Sanctuary. The ceremony took place overlooking the 18th green. Both bride and groom are very athletic and really tall! Tori is 6'2" and Matt is 6'10"!! I think it is safe to say they will have TALL children!!

After the ceremony, there was a huge dinner and lots of dancing! Paden was my date that night because Brian and the other 2 boys were down at the cabin hunting. Paden had a great time and even did a little dancing! He is growing up so fast, it won't be long until he is going on REAL dates with REAL girlfriends! AHHH!!




Congratulations Matt & Tori.... we wish you lots of happiness and many years together!

Happy 10th Birthday, Grif!

I can't believe another one of my children is in the double digits!! Grif turned 10 on Sept. 17 . We had a birthday party at Brunswick Zone and invited 8 of his friends to join in the fun! We bowled, played laser tag, ate pizza and played arcade games. We had such a great time! Hope you had an awesome birthday, Griffin. We love you!!

LaBoR DaY wEekEnD iN CaStLe RoCk!

Labor Day weekend is usually reserved for our annual "XL Fling" (which we call our Excell family reunion). This year, however, it was Jessi's turn to plan it and since she just had her new baby & her husband, Lex, has such a crazy residency schedule, we decided NOT to get together this year. I was bummed that we weren't going to get together, but it is SO hard to plan things when everyone's schedule is so different. We will definitely plan for the Fling next year, however.








Fortunately, my parents, Jessi and her kids and Jill decided to come to Castle Rock for the long holiday weekend. We were so glad to have them and had so much fun while they were here. My parents wanted to see the boys play ball, Jessi didn't want to spend yet another holiday weekend ALONE while Lex worked and Jill couldn't stand the thought of NOT being able to see Jessi's new baby BEFORE she got too big!!! She found a CHEAP one-way flight last minute and flew over on Friday, then just rode home with my parents on Tuesday.








We saw a soccer game, a football game, did some shopping at the Outlets AND at the mall, played cards, played a round of golf, ate too much and stayed up WAY too late! You know, all the typical things we crazy Excell girls do when we get together!










Thanks so much to my family for making the effort to come over. We had such a blast and can't wait for your next visit!

Oaklee Dawn Allen

I just had to post about the new addition to the "Excell Fam"..... My sister Jessi and her husband Lex just welcomed their new baby girl last month. She is so adorable and we are so glad she is here safe and sound. Jessi had some trouble with toxemia toward the end of the pregnancy. Her doctor was worried about her high blood pressure so they induced her about 3 weeks early. Oaklee Dawn Allen is her name- (Dawn is my Grandma Griffin's name) and she has a great deal to live up to! I'm sure Grandma picked her out special just for Jess- She is an absolute doll and we are so glad she is in our family.

Paden and I had the opportunity to drive down to Albuquerque for her blessing this past weekend. Her dad gave the most beautiful blessing and reminded her of the importance of the name she bears. It was so sweet-

It's hard to believe in just a few more years, Paden will be able to stand in the circle for things like this.... he's growing up so fast! So here is the oldest grandchild holding the newest and youngest grandchild on the Excell side of the family.... pretty cool!



Ok, Ok... so I was a little drawn to all the pink and the whole idea of a "baby girl".... but I told the boys "Whenever you think you might want a baby sister, just know you can get your 'fix' on this new sweet baby! This Mom has closed down her baby factory!!" =)


Congratulations to the Allen's~ proud big brother Parker and sweet big sister Sydney are thrilled with the new addition!