Denver Aquarium

One of the other things we did while Jana and Keith were visiting us in June, was go to the Denver Aquarium. My lovely friend Rachel and I had planned on taking a trip to the aquarium as one of our summer field trips and it turned out the best day to go was on Julia's birthday.

I must warn you that we are kind of spoiled by Chicago's Shedd Aquarium. It is enormous and you could easily spend an entire day there and not see everything. It is one of my favorite places in Chicago. Not that the Denver aquarium wasn't nice, but it was kind of pricey for not being near as large as I'd expected it to be for a big city. (So definitely try to find coupons and deals before going.) Rachel had one of her kids, the little girl she babysits and 3 of her siblings with her. We had Jana and Keith with us, so we were able to all get in at a group rate (10+ people), which helped out the price.

The aquarium starts off with local fresh fish that live in the Colorado river. Then you "follow" the river to the ocean.




I've never seen a starfish hug something before. Well, except in Finding Nemo.

Um, there were tigers at the aquarium...yeah, it was odd...
Unfortunately, my camera died in the middle of this field trip. I was very irritated with myself about that. Overall, it was the perfect amount of time for a short field trip. We ate lunch at the restaurant they have in the basement of the aquarium and the food was pretty good, but the fish exhibit in the middle of the restaurant was gorgeous. Julia had a lot of fun, and since it was her birthday, I am thankful. If we were still living in Colorado, I wouldn't be making a second trip to this aquarium, but am glad that we did check it out.

A little bit of catch up.

I realized that, due to my all day being pregnant sickness throughout June, I neglected to tell you about some of the things we did before we moved to Texas. So, since my camera cord is packed in some warehouse and I can't download my pictures until I unpack it (dude, I am so mad that I forgot that thing!!), you will just have to enjoy some Colorado pictures until I can share Texas with you.

Evan's parents came to visit us in June. They surprised the girls by showing up to see Elisabeth's dance recital and stayed through Julia's birthday. While they were here, Jana found this place to visit:

Rock Ledge Ranch is located in The Garden of the Gods and I hadn't even heard of it before!!!

As they explain so nicely on their website:

The Rock Ledge Ranch Historic Site is an educational, non-profit living history farm and museum that depicts life in the Pikes Peak region in four time periods: American Indian area in 1775; 1860’s Galloway Homestead; 1880’s Chambers Home and Ranch; 1907 Edwardian Country Estate.

The girls loved it. Elisabeth was most interested in the volunteers dressed up in the time period of the house they were representing. She asked lots of questions and watched the demonstrations in awe.


Julia liked being able to touch and explore. She was in love with this "house".

In fact, she didn't want to leave and was most upset when we had to move on, which you can see in the picture below.


Elisabeth wanted to be one of the children who got to dress in the time period and give tours of the houses. I could totally picture her playing that role.








This is definitely a place I'd recommend taking your kids. Both my girls loved it, despite their age differences. There were lots of trails and open spaces to run around, a little grocery that sold nickel candy and sodas, and very interesting demonstrations. I really wish we'd have discovered it sooner because they offer tons of events throughout the year.

Texas

So...I now live in San Antonio.

Well, I now live in my sister's house in San Antonio. We are on the wait list for on base housing, so we have a 1-3 month wait for our own house to live in. I have lots of things in storage that I kind of wish I had access to. Like the cord to load pictures to the computer. So, for now, you will have to just look at my lovely phone pictures.

I could sit here and tell you how much Texas is different from Colorado. I could talk about how freaking hot it is (highs in the triple digits daily and lows in the 80s-90s at night) or how it's kind of like winter here because you can't really go outside during the day, so you're kind of all cooped up in the house. I could lament that there are no beautiful mountains and that I have sweated more in the past 12 days than I have in the past 2 years living in Colorado. But, I'm sure you can imagine that I find Texas doesn't measure up to Colorado without hearing me complain.

Evan has started his first full week at his new job. While he is adjusting to his new job and his new co-workers, the girls and I have been slowly getting to know this HUGE city. To travel around San Antonio, there are only interstates. It's pretty big and running errands is not just a quick jaunt down the road. I've gotten to know a new grocery store (H.E.B.) and registered Ebeth for school and the girls for dance classes. We're getting our library cards today, which we're excited about.

The nice thing about being forced to move to new cities and states is that you can act like a tourist while you're living there. We have visited The Alamo and walked around downtown San Antonio for a bit. There is a Riverwalk that everyone is always talking about, but being pregnant and sweating makes me kind of grumpy, so we're going to explore that more when it decides not to be over 100 degrees everyday. We've heard we need to check out Sea World's water park and go to Six Flags Fiesta. I've already decided we need a membership to the zoo. I don't think we'll be bored often.

Living with my sister was a super easy transition. She has plenty of room for us and since she and her husband both work full time, the girls and I are able to just hang out and do our own thing without feeling like we're imposing. My sister has 2 cats and 2 dogs, so our cats have had to learn to adjust. I've been taking over the cooking of the meals (for those of you who know Terra, you are well aware that the kitchen is not her favorite place to be) and we've been splitting groceries and cleaning. The girls LOVE being with Terra because she likes to do their hair and paint their nails (things that I never think about).

So, even though we all miss being home in Colorado (Julia calls it our "real" house, which is heartbreaking), we're doing ok being in Texas.

Plus,I super want to buy cowboy boots and they sell them everywhere here, even at WalMart!

Virtual Coffee

Hi. I know, it's been ages since we've had our virtual coffee chats. But, I'm feeling up to having a sip today with you...if you can forgive me my absence.

You see, a lot has been going on around these parts and I haven't been able to focus at all.

We move to Texas in 9 days. We're packing up what we need for the car and to stay at my sister's house until we have a house of our own. I've been trying to tie up loose ends and spending time with those we love very much here, but it's been hard because most days I'm lounging on the couch trying to focus on not vomiting because...

I am pregnant. Yep! We found out early in June. So, I am exhausted and feel bleh most days all day long. I haven't been able to enjoy cooking because smells are really bothering me, so Virginia Cooks has been sorely neglected as well as this blog. We're expecting this new addition around the middle of February, which is awesome since it means I won't be super pregnant in the terrible heat of Texas.

But, today hasn't been too bad. I felt well enough to walk at the Y for 30 minutes and was able to eat lunch. I'm starting to feel kind of queasy now, so I'd better go and find a spot on the couch to concentrate on not being sick.

I have missed you though. I promise to try to get around to these here parts more soon. Thanks for stopping by for some coffee...even though I only drank iced water because coffee is not appetizing to me AT ALL right now.

My Julia is 3.

This past Thursday, my Julia turned 3 years old.

She's still my Julia, but she's just a little bit older.
It's kind of hard to think about how fast time goes. Remember when she used to have this little haircut?:

Evan's parents came to visit us for a week and were able to celebrate Julia's birthday with us. Jana made an Edible Pink Baby out of marshmallow fondant for the top of Julia's birthday cake.

We had some friends over to celebrate the day before her birthday. There was out door playing and lots of bubbles.
We grilled out hamburgers and hotdogs.


And played a lovely game of pin the tail on the donkey. One of the kids informed me they hadn't played that game in YEARS!!
When it was time to open gifts, Julia was shy but polite. She played with her hair in between presents.
One of her favorite gifts was a new pet. A fish she promptly named Fink. She is most proud to have her own pet.
We sang Happy Birthday to her and she shyly enjoyed the song.
But, she needed my help when it came time to blow out the candles.
On the her actual birthday, Julia opened up presents from us and her Nina and Papa. We got her a t-ball set.

And a very big present that Elisabeth helped me pick out and bring home...
A pirate ship playhouse. She LOVED it!!! I found it at a garage sale in perfect condition.

We then spent the day in Denver at the Aquarium which was loads of fun for the girls. It was a lovely birthday and Julia was so happy to turn 3...because now she can finally chew gum just like Elisabeth. :)