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. :)

Driving up Pikes Peak

First off, I need to apologize about the lack of blogging. But, alas, it is summer and I am not home near as much as I am in the school year. Plus, we move in a little over a month, so we're trying to do as much as we can before we head to Texas. So, I will try to at least post our weekly field trips and more if I can.

Last week we decided to make the drive up to Pikes Peak as our weekly field trip. Evan, the girls and I had taken the Cog Railway up to the top 2 years ago in July, but we'd never driven. Evan took the day off and we went with Rachel and her kiddos and Kim, Chris and their Kayleigh. We met at Kim's house around 10:00AM and headed off.

It was one of the best days I've ever had.

The lovely thing about driving to the top was there were lots of stops along the way. One of them was the Crystal Reservoir.
We stopped halfway up to have a picnic lunch.
And to climb some trees.

As we climbed higher up, the road became more steep (as did the drop offs to the side).
We were quite excited to get to the summit. And, because we didn't take the train, we had lots of time to explore.

Of course, we had to eat some of the world famous donuts from the restaurant at the summit.



Julia checking the map while standing on the train tracks.



On the way down, we stopped at the Bottomless Pit. I won't lie, I did not leave the car for this stop. I had no interest in looking down a bottomless pit due to my immense fear of heights.
I did venture out to climb around Devil's Playground. There was a lot of snow to play in.



I am so glad we were able to have this experience. The entire day was fabulous.

A beach in Colorado?!

Yep. It's a man made one, but still! We went to the beach!!!

For our field trip last week, we ventured out to the Aurora Reservoir.

It was lovely. So lovely.

The water was cold, but the kids didn't seem to mind too much.

Julia kept telling me how much fun she was having. I really hope she remember bits and pieces of the things we do in Colorado.




The kids begged to go back and we promised we would before the summer ends.

Virtual Coffee

Good morning!!! Holy cow it is gorgeous outside here today!!! No humidity and the high today is 83 and it's already 70. Perfect.

Of course, I still need my coffee to get me going this morning, so I'm glad you stopped by for some Virtual Coffee.

If you were really coming to my house for coffee this morning...you'd notice that I have two dogs at my house. No, they aren't new to our family, we're just watching them for some friends of ours. They'll be with us till Friday--a full week. Now, if you know me, you know I am by no means a dog person. These two little guys (a daschund and a yorkie) are so sweet and well behaved that I have done nothing but enjoy having them in our house.

Well, except that these two guys:
have been hiding out because they are pretty furious that we dared to bring in dogs to the house. Roosevelt has bitten the bullet and ventured upstairs to still go frolic outside and try to get attention while the dogs are sleeping, but Figaro is in full-on protest. And I miss seeing our cats lying around the house and demanding to be petted. I guess this also means they're not going to be thrilled to meet my sister's pets when we live with her while we wait for our house to be available in Texas. Sigh.

Have you heard about the wild fires in Arizona and New Mexico? Yeah, they're pretty terrible. We've seen a lot of their smoke and some days it's so thick in the air that the mountain's completely covered by smoke. But, all the haze has made interesting sunsets.

So, what have you been doing lately? Do you have kids home for summer break? Are you melting in a puddle of sweat wherever you are? We've been doing a lot of outside things--swimming in our new blow up pool, going to parks and playing at friends' houses. I do enjoy the schedule of summer.
Well, it has been lovely having you over for coffee, but I must go and begin my day. I will see you next week, though!