Small Town Blues

We ripped up our counter tops tonight, because they are installing our new counter tops tomorrow!!

Since our kitchen was a mess I headed to Taco Bell to pick up some dinner. I ordered a chili cheese burrito (AKA chilito) and the guy on the other side informed me that they didn't have chili cheese burritos, then when I got to the window he asked again what I ordered. Then looked at me like I was crazy because he had never heard of such thing. NO chili cheese burritos for me :(

P.S. I don't watch Bachelor Pad (but my sister in law does) but I had the channel on while blogging. I just saw the announcement for the new cast of Dancing with the Stars. Kurt Warner!!! Wow I might just have to start watching again.

Rocky Mountain National Park Day 6

• Back into the park and up and over the mountain to Grand Lake
• Lunch at Grand Lake
• Ashely played on the playground
• Up and over the mountain again to Estes Park
• Jamie basically passed out both times we went above 10,000 ft and came back to once we came back down
• Dinner and smores with Chris' brothers family from Denver (Greg, Lisa, Ben, Emery and Cooper)

Saturday we woke up early and headed home, drove 10 hours and 4 more hours on Sunday. Glad to be back to a normal elevation. My skin is happy to have some humidity, my lungs are happy to have more air and I am happy to have air conditioning.

Estes Park Day 5

• MacGregor Ranch Museum (1873 homestead and still a working ranch)
• Mexican Lunch Yum Yum
• A little shopping for the ladies
  
• More big slide rides and go cart races (this time Chris and Ashley won!)
  

Vacation Day 4

Dave flew home today so we headed towards the Denver airport to drop him off.

• Morning Drive to Golden Colorado (the gateway to the gold)
• Coors Brewery Tour (They really pushed that they were the biggest single site brewery... ha ha maybe because AB is really the #1 brewery. I felt like I was cheating on my home town.)
• Drinking three free samples each (the boys took advantage of my pregnancy and drank mine)
  
• Lunch at Woody's Pizza in Golden
• Drive to the Denver airport
• Bubbles
  
• Putting the kids to bed early because they were driving us all crazy
  

Rocky Mountain National Park Day 3

There is a reason you should do these posts right away... because I have already forgotten what we did

• Back to Rocky Mountain National Park
• Moraine Park Visitors center
  
• Saw a big heard of elk
• Drove Bear Lake Road to Bear Lake and Lone Peak
• Hiked around Bear Lake
  
• Picnic at the Sprague Lake with lots and lots of ducks
• Fall River Visitors center
• Estes Park Hydroplant (built in 1909 by F.O. Stanley for his new Stanley Hotel in town)
  

Estes Park Day 2

Today we stayed away from the high elevations and just stayed in town.

• Rode to the top of the mountain on the Estes Park Aerial Tramway
• The kids (and adults) feed the chipmunks peanuts
• Great view of the city
• We visited the visitors center along the Thompson River
• We ate lunch at the Brewery (yummy Raspberry Beer)
• Rode the big slide (big smiles)
• Rode the go-carts (Grandpa won)
• Shopped in town (visited the local scrapbook store)
• Made smores at the fire pit
• Saw three elk pass thru the backyard

Tomorrow we are headed back into the park.

Rocky Mountain National Park

We arrived yesterday in Estes Park Colorado for a week of vacation with the Cowan family. We are staying at a lovely home right at the edge of Rocky Mountain National Park. The view off the back deck of the house is just awesome, mountains everywhere. The elevation is at 7522 feet alot higher than the 465 feet we are used to in Missouri. The higher altitude does not seem to be bothering me too much other than walking distances or climbing stairs. I just am taking my time and not rushing and it seem to be working great.

We started out the day in Rocky Mountain National Park. We took the Old Fall River Road, a one lane road, up the mountain to the Alpine visitors center. Then we took the Trail Ridge Road back down. At one point we were at the highest point in the park at 12,183 feet. Wow it was absolutely amazing, we were surrounded by mountains. The temperature was nice and cool, about 60-70 degrees. We were so high we were actually above the tree line. We also saw two packs of Elk in the park. I have pictures just not with me right now, but I promise to add some as the week goes on.

Other things to remember (to make my future scrapbooking easy)

• Ashley pinching her hand in the closet door (major drama)
  
• Kaitlin throwing up at the Alpine visitors center (probably from altitude sickness)
• Jamie suffering real bad from altitude sickness (tingling arms, quick pulse, dizziness)
  
• "the book says the only cure is to go down!"
• Me freaking out about the drops off the side of the road (I guess the park service does not believe in guard rails)
  
• Chris' new love of photography
• Lots of prairie dogs
• Seeing a pack of elk minutes from the house
• Seeing two deer out the front windows
• Picnic lunch at Irene Lake on the continental divide
• Ashley throwing up after Kaitlin feed her a vitamin
  

The New House

We are here and doing good. I had lots of help last Saturday with unpacking boxes. We got our bedroom, Ashley's bedroom and the kitchen all unpacked. Then on Sunday I worked on my office. We can eat, sleep and work so the rest can stay in boxes! I have not unpacked anything since Sunday, my pain in the butt problem showed up this weekend (thank you third trimester) and I am on strike. The claw foot tub is getting lots of use. It is so nice to run a warm bath at the end of the day and relax.

Things that suck about a bigger house (so far)

• The stairs... oh the stairs. Being pregnant probably does not help this.
• Putting away laundry sucks, so much more space to cover (plus stairs)

Benefits

• I can do laundry after Ashley has gone to bed

Not much but I am sure I will add to them later. I haven't even begun to think about cleaning.

Rush Hour Traffic

I experienced rush hour traffic in our new small town yesterday. Well let me say this.... you can't even call it traffic, because there was none. Nope, nada, non-existant. I heard the traffic report on the radio as I was headed into town for a doctors appointment and luck had it there was a "fender bender" on the road I was actually driving. I drove past said fender bender going 60 mph. LOVE IT!

Moving on up

The other big news on the homefront.... We are packing it up and moving to Dave's hometown, just outside of Springfield, MO. To be exact the movers start packing boxes on this Wednesday and deliver to our new home Friday.

Am I excited? Yes and No. We are getting a much bigger house and a lot more land for a great deal (2nd foreclosure) but I need to get there to be excited. The past two months have been constant packing of boxes, first to stage our house for selling and now to save money with moving. Boy do we have lots of stuff. I have given so much away (at least five trips to Goodwill) and thrown so much away but there is still lots of stuff. But we are getting close to having our house all packed up.

The next two weeks are going to be crazy busy so wish me lots of luck! Oh and if you know anyone who wants to buy a house in Ballwin... send them my way.

Pregnancy update

Today I am at the doctors office for a three hour Glucose test. What better time to update the ol blog. Keep your fingers crossed that I pass and don't have gestational diabetes.

I am am twenty eight weeks and am feeling full. My belly just seems so tight, it is all out front. I kinda wish it was going out to the sides to just make a little more room in there, but I am sure that is to come.

Heartburn has definitely set in, ugh it might be the worst part. You really can't enjoy a meal unless I've had my Zantac 75. The "pain in the butt problem" is there too, but nothing major yet and it's not painfull yet. TMI... I know :)

Ashley is sooo cute, she always want to know what the baby is saying. She will push on my belly and ask, so I am channeling my inner child and coming up with lots of tidbits from the inside. She also bugs Dave daily to tell her if it is a boy or girl. She promises she can keep the secret. So far he hasn't told anyone. Ashley has names all picked out; Hannah for a girl (she doesn't get that it is our new nieces name) and always something weird for a boy (cookey, mankey, keeky) because she really really really wants it to be a girl.

Dave and I haven't even started to bounce names back and forth. We still have time right?

Overall ready for it to be done, and I know I still have a ways to go.