Back in the Flatlands

We packed up Saturday morning, checked out of the hotel, and went to hang out at the house a little bit more before we needed to return to the airport. With my family, no gathering is complete without a group photo!



In addition, after successfully avoiding their dogs pretty much the entire time, Katie decided she wanted her picture with them. Seemed like an odd request, but we went for it. Angie and Tyson worked hard to keep those excited pups down. Baltic is the terrier mix with Angie, and Ajax is the boxer with Ty.

We had pretty good flights coming back. The second flight had some excitement, though, as one passenger got mouthy with a flight attendant and was promptly arrested when we arrived at the gate. Don't people know better than to do that kind of stuff???

It was a wonderful vacation. We really can't wait to go back and visit over the summer sometime to get out and do more hiking and not worry about Natalie freezing her fingers in the snow. Tyson and Angie were wonderful hosts and tour guides for us. Colin and I loved that the girls were able to see and experience new things that we don't have around here. The girls had a great time, too. It was our longest hotel stay to date as well, so that probably counts for something. :)

Thank you, Ty and Angie!!! We'll be back!!!!!!

Cheyenne Mountain Zoo & Shrine of the Sun

Friday morning we set off for Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. The weather was gorgeous, and the zoo was soon filled with people. They are famous for their giraffe herd, so we spent quite a bit of time feeding those big guys.


As the name says, the zoo is located on Cheyenne Mountain, meaning most of our walking seemed to be up and down hills. The zoo itself is not terribly large, but the terrain can wear you out. Natalie and I got sidetracked in the petting zoo/play area while everyone else forged ahead to see the moose at the highest point in the zoo.

That was OK -- Natalie loved chasing around the chickens, and I had quite a time avoiding the peacock that was stalking me and trying to get into our stroller.

After lunch at the zoo, our group split up due to different naptimes and to-do lists. Natalie was getting sleepy, so Mom came with our family up to the Will Rogers Shrine of the Sun. She sat in the car with a napping Natalie as Colin, Katie, and I hiked to the top.

Yes, even Katie climbed all the stairs to the top of the shrine. We were rewarded for our hard work with breathtaking views of the area. I have way too many pictures, so here is my favorite, looking north, where you can see the mountains going down to the city below.

That excursion wore us out. After some naptime back at the hotel, we eventually went over to Ty and Angie's for turkey and duck soup for supper, and finally, the pie!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I do like to cook, but sometimes it's nice to be at someone else's house and have them do all the work. :)

We started off the morning with a swim in the hotel pool and some time hanging out with my parents. We watched the parade on TV, and after taking my dad on a shopping trip for the Secret Ingredient for his famous mashed potatoes, we went over to the house to hang out with everyone. As we were enjoying appetizers and watching football, the girls finally couldn't resist the temptation to play in the cat tunnels.

At last, dinner was served! We had turkey and duck, stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, rolls, and jell-o. Noticeably absent? Vegetables! (It must run in the family if Ty didn't cook veggies... I had no hand in the meal planning...)

Angie didn't have her pies made ahead of time and waited until after we ate to start baking them. Katie took a turn in rolling out the crust. However, we had to leave before they were done, and they were so late getting out of the oven that no one even ate pie on Thanksgiving!

We had a great Thanksgiving Day -- and we hope you did, too!!!

Cave of the Winds

My parents got into town early Wednesday and were able to join the crew for a trip to Cave of the Winds. Colin and the girls got to meet the bear statue in the parking lot before we went into the visitor's center.

Once inside, there was plenty to look at until our tour departed. Grandpa and Katie had fun meeting another bear!

We also spent time out on the porch that wrapped around the building, high above the surrounding terrain. What a view!

Back inside, the girls had to try on the official coonskin caps before our tour departed.

As far as the tour goes... well, it could've been better. Don't get me wrong, the geology was quite impressive. But Little Miss Natalie was not all that impressed. In fact, she spent most of the tour quite angry that we were making her hold hands and not letting her just run wild throughout the cave as she wished to do. Sorry, girl, but on the tour, you have to follow the guide's rules! I was quite pleased with Katie and how she wasn't scared a bit in the darkness and was interested in seeing everything around her. She stayed with Tyson and my dad through most of it and they had a good time. Mom, Colin, and I passed Natalie back and forth the entire 45 minutes underground, which wore all of us out. Natalie fell asleep about 5 minutes before we came back above ground.

After having lunch out, we made a stop at the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory before heading back to Ty and Angie's house. Oooooh, boy. I wish I could've bought one of everything! It all looked so delicious! But I exercised some restraint and we only left with a few goodies. :)

We spent the rest of the day relaxing at the house. It was a nice time, and I was able to use their facilities to do some of our laundry. What a great thing for the middle of our trip!

Air Force Academy

On Tuesday of our trip, we were joined by Angie's sister and brother-in-law Jessie and Jerome and their daughter Kayla. We started the morning with a trip to the US Air Force Academy visitor's center. They had information on a cadet's life, complete with uniforms and aircraft to look at. We even stopped at the gift shop at the end.



Once outside, they have a large quad area filled with statues of historic planes. This was neat to look at, as well as a great place for Natalie to get out and stretch her legs (she doesn't do well in confined areas with her overabundance of energy).

Across the quad was one of my personal highlights of the trip, the Cadet Chapel. The exterior is made from old airplane parts and really looks beautiful in the bright sunshine.

They actually have 4 chapels, with separate areas for Protestants, Catholics, Jews, and Buddhists, and we explored each one. The stained glass is gorgeous, and the Protestants have one of the largest pipe organs I've ever seen in person. Awesome!!!

After touristing in the morning, again, our afternoon was more low-key, with lunch, naps, and time for the girls to play with our new friend Kayla at Ty and Angie's house. Plus, pizza for supper! Yum!!!

Garden of the Gods

I know I'm way behind on my posts, but this will make it seem like I saved up for our trip!

We flew to Colorado on Sunday 11/22 and made it there without incident. We spent some time at Tyson and Angie's house, then settled into our hotel and later met them for supper at Red Robin. Yum!

Angie had to work on Monday, so Tyson met us at our hotel and we all went to Garden of the Gods. With snow flurries in the air, we weren't sure how the park would be. Answer: FABULOUS!!! First of all, I didn't realize it was free admission. The man who owned the land stipulated that it should be made into a park for all to enjoy, and that was done in 1909. Second, the geology is amazing. It looks different from almost anything else in town and is quite spectacular.

It was a bit chilly that morning, and the rocks were slippery from the melting snow, but the girls had a great time climbing up and down them. Katie is not much of a daredevil, but she would go about anywhere if my brother was with her. :) We walked through the park until Natalie's hands got too cold because she wouldn't stop playing with snow.

After that, it was an attempted trip to Seven Falls, but we got turned around by a park ranger because the roads in the park were too treacherous and he was trying to chase people out so he could close the gate. Oh well. We had a nice lunch out, a nap, and then spent the afternoon and evening with Ty and Angie at their house. What a good first day of being tourists in Colorado Springs!

You Want to Pass It On

Do you remember the song "Pass It On"? You may have sang it in church or youth group. It's what I'm thinking today. "You spread His love to everyone, you want to pass it on."

I saw a request from Jenifer asking her readers to fill shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child in memory of her baby son Luke who died shortly after birth. The girls and I filled one in July as part of our church's drive, but after reading her request the other day, I was moved to fill another one. It is such a simple thing to do to have an impact on a child's life, and I am happy to do it for her.

The girls and I picked out soap, a toothbrush, crayons, note paper, a small coloring/sticker book, a board book about the birth of Jesus, a magna doodle, a Transformer, some Little People animals, and a stuffed Elmo. I hope that when whatever boy, aged 2-4, in whatever country, receives this, he enjoys everything inside and can feel our love and God's love sent to him.

I'll be dropping this off at our local collection center at the YMCA this week and thinking of you and your family, Jenifer. I know we have spent many years out of touch since high school, but I'm praying for you this holiday season. God bless you guys!

Honest Scrap Award!

Goodness sakes, it appears I have more than one reader! My dear cousin Becci at Something Creative has presented me with the Honest Scrap Award, saying, "Hey girl! I'm nominating you for the Honest Scrap Award. You are a great mom & wife and I love how you share that with all of us."

The Rules

• The "Honest Scrap Award" must be shared!
• The recipient has to tell 10 true things about themselves.
• The recipient has to pass this prestigious award along to 10 more bloggers.
• Those 10 bloggers need to be notified they have received this award.
• Those 10 bloggers should link back to the blog from where they received their award.

So... here I go!

1. I am a total Midwesterner at heart. People think it must be great to live in Florida, but all I do is sweat a lot and miss the changing of the seasons.
2. Like my nominator Becci, I also have 2 tattoos. I have a monarch butterfly on my lower back that I got when I graduated from college, and red, white and blue stars on my ankle that I got when my brother Tyson received his Army officer commission.
3. I may have been the only person in my family NOT over-the-top scared when Tyson was in Iraq. The Sunday before he left, my pastor preached a sermon on taking all the things that worry you and give them up to God so that He can worry about those and you can focus on the things you can control. So that's what I did, and have learned to do since then, which I think has greatly helped my sanity.
4. I love to run. Although I have never completed a race longer than 7 miles (Bix 7 in Davenport, IA), I have aspirations for a half marathon or maybe even a full some day.
5. I am a complete nerd at heart. In high school, I was in Quiz Bowl and on the math team, and I was involved in different engineering and geological societies in college. One of my favorite shirts has pi (you know, 3.14159...) written out to all known digits, conveniently in the shape of the symbol for Pi. Colin got it for me for Christmas last year.
6. Speaking of Colin, I think that's one of the reasons we are good for each other. Our analytical minds both think in much the same way. I knew this before we started dating since we were friends in college. Granted, we have our problems (like how men don't seem to be good listeners sometimes), but I think the fact that we can set aside our emotions and talk through the issues at hand has really helped us through our relationship.
7. I love Katie and Natalie more than I ever thought I could love two people. Being a parent is so many things, including but not limited to exhausting, maddening, joyous, blessed, wonderful, fabulous, frustrating... They are two very special girls, and Colin and I are thankful every day for them. Having kids has taught me to have more patience than I ever knew existed. I have been quoted as saying, "I pray to God for all kinds of things, and all He ever gives me is more patience!" I guess God knows more than I do what I need to make it through the daily ups and downs of family life.
8. I play clarinet in our church orchestra, a rag-tag volunteer bunch, and was recently grilled by one of the older ladies at church who is convinced I play professionally. Very flattering, but no, she is mistaken. I really enjoy playing with a group, and if I ever had the opportunity for even one concert with a professional group, I'd totally jump on it.
9. I love to cook; I just wish I had more time for it! I never thought I would enjoy making big meals for guests, but I really do, even though it exhausts me as well.
10. My seemingly lifelong obsession with Harry Connick Jr. continues. I haven't mentioned it in quite some time, but do you know I touched him once at his concert? October 12, 1996. It's true. He was wearing leather pants and I wiped his sweat on my friend Ingrid. I've seen him in concert again since then, but nothing compares. If I had to pick one celebrity that I could meet, it would totally be Harry.

OK, Becci, I don't know if I have 10 friends to pass this on to, but I'm gonna try!

Love ya, girl!

Alternate "Holiday"

In my infinite wisdom, I signed up for an air permitting class for today. Veteran's Day. Which is a holiday. So I shouldn't be working. Oops! I was required to coordinate with my manager to select an alternate "holiday", so Patty and I chose yesterday.


It started off as any good holiday should (in my opinion). The girls went to school and I went to the Y to work out. I had an orthodontist appointment to order my lower retainer. Then I came back home and did some bill paying and other accounting before taking off on my big Christmas shopping trip to Toys R Us.


And shop I did! I was loaded with toys and books for the girls, as well as a couple of items for my nephew and friend. Feeling very successful, I got a sandwich on the way home and sat on the floor, eating fries, watching The Young and the Restless, and wrapping gifts. Things were going so well that I called and made an appointment for an eyebrow wax right before I'd need to pick up the girls for Katie's dance class.


Then Natalie's teacher called me after naptime. She was concerned that Natalie seemed to be coughing a lot. This had been nagging poor Natalie for about a week, but she was on a prescription cough syrup from the doctor, so if she didn't have any other symptoms, I didn't know what else to do. Her teacher agreed after talking to me that I didn't need to come early for Natalie, she just wanted me to be aware of the coughing. So I kept on wrapping and stashing stuff in the attic.


An hour later, as I'm frantically trying to finish wrapping before I go to my wax, Miss Tiffany calls again. Natalie was now running a fever and had put herself down for another nap. Oh boy. I knew that didn't sound good at all because usually it takes a lot to get Natalie to sleep, so if she's putting herself down?!?! I looked around the living room where I was still up to my eyeballs in Christmas stuff and started to panic. I ran around like a maniac trying to hide stuff and pack all the girls' bags for dance and a possible trip to the doctor, then sprinted out the door while calling Colin to fill him in on the situation. I picked up the girls, took them with me to the salon, and then we drove over to Colin's office to regroup. Natalie had gone downhill during the day, and it was obvious she needed to see the doctor. We were a little late to make it to the pediatrician, though, so Colin took her to the after-hours pediatrics clinic while I took Katie to dance.


Once we all made it back home, Natalie had been diagnosed with an upper respiratory infection. They took a chest x-ray (which she despised) to rule out pneumonia. She had an antibiotic, plus an additional prescription for the nebulizer to alternate with the one we already had from our pediatrician, PLUS orders to continue on that cough syrup and Tylenol as needed. Poor baby. But once that fever broke, Natalie slept like a log last night, which is what she really needed to help get her back on her feet. Colin stayed home with her today as I attended my seminar, and she really is much improved. We'll see how things go overnight and whether or not she needs to stay home another day.


So, my holiday started off well and ended up crazy. My seminar was an information-filled snoozer, but maybe I would've been more awake if I hadn't been so stressed and exhausted from yesterday! We'll survive. Let's hope the rest of us stay well after Natalie's illness.

New Washing Machine!

Over the past couple months, our washing machine has been slowly taking a turn (spin?) for the worst. Actually, spinning is the problem. It sometimes decides it doesn't want to do the final spin, leaving the clothes still drenched when its cycle is complete. With the problem becoming more and more frequent, I decided enough was enough! We've had this washer for 6 years, our first major purchase (along with the dryer) right before our wedding. Colin's already made one repair to it this year, and I am more than happy to part with this thing if it's not doing its job. Our dryer is perfectly fine, but I am ready to kick that washer to the curb.

Yesterday Colin and I went and bought a new washer, and it was delivered today. Hooray! We got a GE high-efficiency front loader and it rocks. So quiet, and tumbles the clothes so well that my drying cycle is also much faster. I've heard I'll have to do a good job of keeping the washer clean and dry as front-loaders have a tendency to grow mold, but I'm willing to do it.

Pumpkin Run

Today I completed the Pumpkin Run 5K, sponsored by our local YMCA and our neighborhood association. It was a blessedly cool morning and I got off to a quick start. Too quick, I thought to myself as I passed the 1-mile marker and glanced at my watch. I slowed up a bit and saved my energy for a good kick at the end. Can't get that competitive spirit out of me -- I always need to finish strong! But I was pretty happy with my time -- 29:11 is pretty good for my slow self these days.

Colin and the girls came to support me. The race started and ended at the Y, and the girls played on the playground until Colin herded them to the finish line to cheer me on at the end. It was fun to have them there! They had a free pancake breakfast afterward, but we had to skip out on that due to a pull-up malfunction with Miss Natalie. Oh well, maybe next time, right?

New Look for the Living Room

When we took the whole family to IKEA a couple months ago, Colin and I really had our eye on some living room furniture. After much discussion, we finally found the time to go back and get it! On Sunday, Colin's parents stayed with the girls as he and I went to IKEA and purchased a TV unit, 2 bookshelves, and 2 end tables from the Markor series. Fully assembled now, they are gorgeous in our living room!

Now I just have to start filling those shelves. :)

And thank heavens for IKEA flat packing and our new minivan. We were able to shove this all in the back with no problems!

Invisalign -- Winding Down

Today I had my latest Invisalign checkup at my dentist. We have determined that my bottom teeth are done -- hooray!!! However, my top teeth still need a case refinement, so we took impressions on the top so I can have a few more Invisalign trays made. I was hoping I'd be done because 23 trays is a loooooong time. At the same time, the top is not exactly how I want it to look, and since I've paid for it, I'm going to take the time I need to get it right.

I went through the Invisalign treatment with my general dentist, but I'm going to go to an orthodontist for my retainers. When I started, I had a great relationship with my dentist and was happy that I could have the convenience of sticking with him for this orthodontic treatment. I didn't want to have to add an orthodontist to my list of places to go/people to see. However, throughout the course of the Invisalign treatment, some issues have popped up between the dentist's office staff and myself. At this point, I will stay for my case refinements, but I'd rather go somewhere else for retention. I'll also be looking for a new general dentist to visit for my cleanings. It's too bad it has to end this way, but that's how it goes sometimes.

So, still waiting for additional Invisalign trays on the top, and going to an orthodontist for my bottom retainer a week from today. Wish me luck!