Our Labor Day Weekend Part 1

Some of the things I am enjoying about being in the Air Force--besides free health insurance, getting paid to move around the country and seeing Evan in his blues on Mondays--is that Evan gets all federal holidays off and usually an extra day for fun! He got to walk with us to school on Friday and then came with me to my Mom's Walking Club. It was nice to have him participate in our week day.

To celebrate this fine Labor Day Weekend, we left Saturday morning for Estes Park. I'd been there before with Elisabeth in August of 2006 when we were visiting Terra while she lived in Ft. Collins. The girls did very well in the car.

Julia slept for part of the way. She is super fat!!!
Once we got to the part of the highway that actually curves and twists into the mountain, Evan became the happiest person alive. Here he is thoroughly enjoying his driving experience.
Estes Lake.
Holy crap, it took us half an hour to find a freaking parking spot once we got to Estes. We were STARVING and Elisabeth made sure to tell us about every 5 minutes about how we hadn't parked yet. Apparently, we were not the only ones who decided to get away for the weekend. They also were having a Labor Day art fair in the middle of town to add to all the parking fiasco.

We finally parked and started walking the main street looking for food.


Elisabeth posed here 3 years ago and remembered how she'd posed. :)
We ate a pizza place Terra had taken us last time. It is delicious and the ingredients are all fresh and it's just heavenly. You also get to sign your name on the wall.

Julia demanding Evan share his ice cream.
Super mad when the ice cream was declared all gone.
While driving to our hotel, we happened upon a herd of elk. They were grazing in someone's yard. And not obeying common traffic laws.


When we got to the hotel, both girls went absolutely crazy. Julia kept playing in the ginormous closet and walking circles around the room like a caged zoo animal.
Ebeth immediately started jumping on the beds.

We went miniature golfing after dinner. Julia enjoyed the game from her backpack seat.


Then Ebeth and Evan rode the go-karts and Julia was sat down to watch.


More of our Labor Day fun to come later....

Julia's Room!!! (finally)

Although the Californian fires are devastating, they are leaving us some lovely sunsets with their smoke that has been hanging out over Pike's Peak. I went to go for a walk the other night and was rewarded with that sunset.

We are quite excited because it's Labor Day weekend coming up and we're going on a little trip to Estes Park! We're only staying one night, but it's so nice to get away. We're going to visit the Rocky Mountain National Park, shop the shops, dine at the fine restaurants, swim in the heated swimming pool and jump on the hotel beds. :)

Here's Julia reading to Figaro. This is a daily occurrence.
And here is Julia trying to bother Elisabeth. Also a daily occurrence.




Last weekend, I got to escape the land of Stay At Home Mom, and go out with my mom's group. We took a cup cake decorating class. It wasn't anything I hadn't already learned in the Kitchen of Jana, but it was fun nonetheless. My favorites were the sunflower cupcakes. They were well received and quickly eaten when I brought them home.


Here's a random picture of the cats. They decided to nap on my gym bag as soon as I got home.


And here's Julia in her belly shirt. Mind you, it was not supposed to be a belly shirt, but when you've got it, flaunt it!!!


Last weekend we finally got around to painting Julia's room. Stinking thing needed two coats though, so instead of a one day project, it turned into two. I was quite grumpy about this. But, it's done!!!!!
Here's what you see when you walk in.
I bought the glider off of Craig's List for $35! I am so proud of that bargain! We still haven't found a dresser, so we've converted her changing table into one for the time being by using baskets. Most of the pictures are from Elisabeth's nursery. They work perfectly with the room!!
The growth chart Aunt Kyle bought her!
The growth chart came with stickers for the wall. Julia watched me put them up and LOVED them. Maybe she'll quietly stare at them in the mornings and let us sleep longer...

She loves the room. She likes to point to the things on the wall and actually can play in there now. Roosevelt likes it too, of course (as you can see).

Feeling Bloggy

Not too much has been happening since the last time that I blogged, but I just downloaded around 100 pictures, and really wanted to share some of them. Hope you all don't mind. ;)

Next week Elisabeth starts her acting class and soccer. She is completely psyched about both of them. She got a jersey for her soccer team, and she insists on wearing it every time she wants to practice. Swim lessons start the week after, so we're going to be super busy until the end of October!

I've lost 10.8 pounds as of this past Monday. I am rather excited about this. I can really tell a difference in my clothes. I'm hoping to need to buy some new, smaller clothes around my birthday. We'll see, though. I've started taking a spin class at the Y and it is totally kicking my butt! I've only gone 2 weeks, but I love it. It's so challenging and I hate knowing I can't do all the exercises for as long as the instructor tells us. I'm sure in a couple of months I'll be up to par, but it's going to be a slow process. I did get a bike seat pad to put on the bike when I go, however. My bottom really hurts after an hour! I'm still walking 2-4 miles a day and am looking for a good time to add in a pilates class. Julia's doing well when I drop her off at the day care part, which is reassuring. And, Evan said Saturdays can be our family exercise at the Y day, so it's nice that he's being supportive.

Evan had his first trial this week. I think I will not like trial weeks because Evan comes home so LATE! He was a bit nervous, but ended up doing just fine with his speaking and whatnot. And, now that he knows how the whole process is done from start to finish, he's not as nervous about having more trials.

Okay, picture time!!!

This is how Ebeth was watching TV over the weekend! Ha!
This is how Julia chose to eat lunch.
Elisabeth took this picture of the cats. :)



Elisabeth had 2 days off this week so that teachers could give the students literacy tests. They'll do this at the beginning, middle and end of the year. Ebeth went into school on Monday for half an hour and read with her teacher. When she was done, Mrs. B came out and told me that Elisabeth is reading at a 1st grade, 5-7 month level, which is what the teachers are hoping all first graders will achieve by the end of the school year. She said that Elisabeth is definitely one of her strongest readers and thinks that Elisabeth could easily be reading at a 3rd grade, 2-3 month level by the end of first grade. Elisabeth was beaming when Mrs. B told me all of this.

Since she had a couple of days off, we went to the park to play one afternoon. Here's Julia enjoying her swing.

Look at how excited Julia is that Elisabeth is pushing her!!



Julia is a big girl and can walk the playground solo now.
She also climbs the equipment on her own.



But, I have to stop her from walking down the slide itself, because I don't think it will end well.

Elisabeth is still the monkey bar queen!
Practicing her soccer before her first official practice next Monday.


Julia falling in love with this dog. The girl loves dogs.

A View From the Top

When Elisabeth woke up this morning, she looked out of the big picture window above our front door and started screaming that she saw a hot-aired balloon! She was so excited that she made me go outside in my pajamas and take a picture. Here it is...
We actually saw two of them, but the other one lowered out of picture range before I could get to it. It was such a happy surprise for her, especially since yesterday the two neighborhood kids that she plays with constantly moved to Pennsylvania last night. She has been so upset over this. She cried Thursday night, saying how she didn't want them to ever move. It was so heart breaking. Elisabeth is just not a crier. She's a pretty tough cookie, and with all the change that has happened this past year for us, she's been such a champ. She met this brother and sister that lived 4 houses down, almost as soon as we moved in and they instantly hit it off. They played together every day all summer. Then they told Elisabeth they'd be moving at the end of August and she's just been dreading it. The girl is 10 and is so sweet to Elisabeth. The brother is 5, and he and Ebeth get into it as if they were the brother and sister. Both are such sweet kids. Friday morning, Elisabeth woke up and said she didn't want to get up, she didn't want to go to school, she just wanted to stay home and play with her friends because it was going to be the last day she'd see them. So, after calling Kyle and seeing if I was right in letting her stay home (which she said I totally was), I called Elisabeth's school to tell them she'd be out for the day and let her play with her friends. They were together until around 7:00 PM when they finally said good-bye and drove off. It's just so hard watching your child's heart break. She's a good girl, my Elisabeth, and when she loves you, she loves you endlessly. We gave the kids our address, phone number and email address, so we can keep in touch. They'll be back next summer, so Elisabeth has already said she can't wait for winter and spring to come. :) We're going to keep her busy this weekend (which, of course, is a 4 day weekend, so we can't even count on going back to school Monday to keep her mind off of missing them). Poor Ebeth. :(


Here's Julia "helping" me organize the kids' books upstairs. She was reading/cooking while helping me out.

Now she's complaining about something.
Here's a tour of our upstairs. I know, I know, it's been a long time coming, but it's just been the slowest area to organize.

This is the girls' play area. I put up pictures from Elisabeth's room in DeKalb to help keep the kid area feel going.
This is the office/guest room side. We got the futon from one of Evan's co-workers who was moving to DC and didn't need it anymore. Yes, the tv sits on the ground, but Ebeth is the only one who uses it right now, and she loves laying down to watch tv.
This is the area Julia was helping me organize. We're putting the radio on top of the bookcase so we can use it even if we're downstairs (via remote). It's still a work in progress, but Elisabeth LOVES the loft area. It's kind of her space to chill and get away from us (mainly, Julia).
This is the girls' bathroom. It is rubber ducky themed. I've had a lot of this stuff since college when I really wanted a rubber duck bathroom. Since we only had one bathroom in DeKalb, and Evan isn't exactly a fan of the motif, I waited until we had two bathrooms and used it for the girls. They both love it. :)
Their sink.
We STILL haven't finished Julia's room. Poor baby. But, as soon as we do, I'll post pictures. I'd like to get it done by the end of this month...so next week!!

And here's a couple every day pics for you. This is Julia loving on the cats. They are so patiently tolerant of her. She's much more gentle with them then she was before. She greets them every morning with a excited, "Hi, Cat!".
The girls eating breakfast. There's Julia's canned smile for the camera face!

It's supposed to be super hot this week. Bleh. Evan has his first trial on Wednesday, so he's been ever so busy in the office and coming home later then normal. He's going to feel very relieved once his trial's over. Elisabeth has two days off next week (due to assessments of the students), so we'll be visiting some parks and going to the Y for a while. Now that our dining room is not the catch-all place anymore, I think I'm going to set up my scrapbooking station and finish some projects. We're all so glamorous, aren't we?

Ooh, and, my parents have booked train tickets to come and visit us in October!!!! They're coming the last week of the month and are staying through Halloween! Elisabeth is very excited, especially since my dad has never been here before. It'll be nice to have family around again.

And the new epidemic in our home is....

Hand foot mouth disease!!!! Hooray! And guess which kid has it---that's right, it's Julia!

So, here's how this story goes. I recently started going to the YMCA to take spinning classes (which are totally kicking my butt and SUCH a good workout!) and Julia has been very happily going to the kid center. Our first day was this past Monday. That night she seemed to be teething again and had a slight fever. On Tuesday, Evan notices she has a cancer sore. She is crying non stop and not happy with anything we try to appease her with. She doesn't sleep well Tuesday night whatsoever. On Wednesday, she has a couple more cancer sores and is just crying out in pain like she's bitten her tongue or something. I was reading another mommy blog when she mentioned her son had Hand Foot Mouth disease. I just stared at the screen and thought, "ah, crap. Julia totally has that." I go over and look, and sure enough, she has a blister on the bottom of each foot and one on her right palm. I call the doctor's office and the nurse tells me that is definitely what Julia has and that there's not much I can do except keep giving her tylenol and some mylanta to coat her mouth and throat. She could have this for 7-10 days.

Seriously? Could I catch a break please? This child catches EVERYTHING. I mean, you may recall earlier posts of me saying she had such things as pneumonia and the GI virus. We are so gonna get swine flu. I am giving that kid the flu shot as soon as they stinking let us. I may even camp outside the doctor's office. So, anyway, we're just trudging through, trying to make her as comfortable as possible. Hopefully, Elisabeth won't get it.

Yesterday was the girls' and my 3 month anniversary of living in Colorado!!! That sounds like such a short amount of time, but it feels like we've been here forever. I can finally get around places without using the Garmin all the time. I have gotten involved in several groups and am slowly creating a group of friends out here. But, the best part is being with Evan again. Being away from him seemed like such a long time ago, but I know when we were going through it it felt like freaking eternity (see previous blogs before May 19).

I know some of you are so sad that this post has no pictures, and for that I apologize. I have not had a chance to load any on the computer, so you'll just have to wait. I'm making you practice your patience skills. I'm so helpful.

It's nothing but non stop action here, I tell you!

Now that school is in full swing, I find that our routine has gotten much more productive and less willy nilly. Elisabeth has to be at school by 8:15, and we walk to and from school every day (unless it rains or the weather's terrible, which hasn't happened in the two weeks of school so far!). Julia LOVES walking Elisabeth to school. They usually hold hands, which is so adorable. We've been meeting up with Elisabeth's new friend who lives the next street over. She's in Elisabeth's class and is so cute. They really get along, which is good since Elisabeth's little friends that live 4 houses down are moving next weekend to Pennsylvania. :( Elisabeth is very sad about this.

Anyway, once we've said bye to Elisabeth, waved and squealed at all the school buses we pass, and walk up the 95 degree incline up hill back to our house, Julia and I discuss what we're going to do for the day. Julia insists we fit in a nap somewhere in the morning and afternoon, and I am happy to oblige. Julia isn't thrilled if I mention going on more than two places for errands, so we have to decide where we're going on what days of the week by what has top priority. We clean up the GINORMOUS mess that Julia makes at breakfast and do some cleaning. Julia loves laundry, so we try to do that once a day. When she naps, I try to do things that aren't Julia friendly, like going to the basement or cooking something for lunch and dinner. We always go to our Mom's Walking Club on Friday mornings for our 3.4 mile walk. This past Friday we did it in the rain, and Julia didn't whine once about getting wet!!! At 3:00, we head down hill to fetch Elisabeth and then it's back home for some last minute cleaning and cooking of dinner before Evan gets home.

I'm still job hunting. I had one interview, but really wasn't impressed with the school and how much of my time it would take up. So, I'm waiting to hear back from a couple other places or it's back to the drawing board. Now that Julia is walking (and she is walking EVERYWHERE) and perfecting her scurrying too), she is much more tolerable. She can follow me around and is content to do circles around the house like a caged zoo animal. Sure, she still grunts all the time when she's unhappy, but now she's saying "please" and "thank you" in sign language and says "Yeah!" to most questions, so that is also making her more enjoyable. I just miss co-workers and the job atmosphere, but am adjusting to this "stay at home mom" thing.

We got to meet Elisabeth's teacher and she is fantastic! Elisabeth loves going to school and her teacher has said that Elisabeth is so sweet and friendly to the other students (which we know...she's an awesome kid!). She has music, p.e., technology, spanish and art as her enrichment classes. Her music teacher also puts on a school musical every year, so guess who's dying to act? Overall, she happily wakes up and is eager for school every day.

As some of you may have heard, Evan climbed Pike's Peak on Friday with his co-workers. Evan wasn't really that excited about going up, but was as prepared as he could be for someone who'd never climbed a mountain before. He said he should have eaten a bigger breakfast and skipped the coffee, because he didn't feel too well the first part of the climb. After eating more and getting some water in him, he started to feel better. Then it started raining. Followed by sleet. And then snow. Needless to say, Evan was feeling really crappy by the time he got to the top. He was showing signs of hypothermia and wasn't prepared for the 28 degrees that greeted him at the summit. Thankfully, some of his co-workers had driven at the top to meet the climbers and they were able to get rides home. But, since Evan was incoherent enough to leave his backpack at the top with his car keys, glasses and other things at the top, he had to get a ride home and hope someone had seen his backpack and grabbed it (which they had!). He came home and took a nice, long hot bath and slowly warmed up. He's not thinking about a trip to the top anytime soon, but thinks that if he were more prepared and didn't go on an obviously raining/bad weather day, he could do it again.

So, that's how we're doing. I'm still working on losing my weight, which is going very well. I've lost a total of 7.2 pounds and weigh in again tomorrow. I don't think I'll lose this week, but should maintain. We've joined the Y and the lady who leads my Mom's Walking Club, also teaches spinning classes at the Y, so Julia and I will be venturing there so I can go to her 9:15 classes. I walk 2 miles everyday just taking Elisabeth to and from school and then fit in another 1-2 miles at night after supper. So, I've got that going for me. Evan occassionally asks if I've jogged at all and I just laugh and laugh and laugh...cause, um, no. Maybe some day, but, for now, I'll stick to my brisk walking.

Here's some pics to appease you all.

This is Julia's new "smile!" face. Love it!

This is the only day she's ever slept in past 7:30...on a school day, of course...and after a few times of getting up in the middle of the night due to teething troubles. :(
We are still enjoying the lovely hiking trails around here. This is at Cheyenne Mountain a couple weeks ago. This is the trip that I fell flat on my face when this HUGE (tiny) BOULDER (rock) jumped out in front of me (didn't move at all, I'm just an idiot). This is also the trip that Evan decided that he should see what the inside of a cactus looks like...and proceeded to get lots of cactus pricklies stuck in his fingers. We are so outdoors-y.