What We've Been Up To...

I know, I know.  It's been awhile since I last posted.  The last couple of weeks have been a whirlwind of travel and busyness.  Here are some photos we took on our recent trip to DisneyLand for D's 5th birthday (gulp).  Enjoy!

Where did the time go?!?

I cannot believe it is already almost two weeks since my last post.  :(  Yikes!  Guess life has got me busy. 

Here are a few pics from the last two weeks - we spent Christmas at home then the last week of the year traveling over 2000 miles driving from Vegas to northern California, then down the coast to San Diego.  Whew! 

 

 

We got home last night and it may take a week to recover.  This morning, however, both girls were rarin' to get to school - D started preschool today.  This morning, I overheard her asking her sister for advice about meeting kids in a new school.  She wanted to be sure that she did all she could to make friends and thought B would have some good tips.  (are they like 25 already??  so cute!) 

When I went to pick her up, she asked me if we were going to have lunch then come back to school for the afternoon.  She was disappointed to hear she'd have to wait until tomorrow to go back - guess she liked it.  :)  Then, later this afternoon when we got in the car to pick up her sister from school she said, "I'm not so lucky.  B gets to go to school all day long." 

This is a good thing, right?!? 

Our day at the beach

I'm FINALLY getting some shots uploaded from last weekend when we were at the beach. Enjoy! (Makes me want to go back this weekend...) :)

A BIG HUGE THANK YOU to Aunt Keri and Herb for making our stay on the beach possible for Father's Day! :) We had an awesome time!

Home, and thankful

Hello! We're finally back home in Colorado - arrived yesterday evening. What a looooong time we spent on the road! I'm still recovering from the upper respiratory thing that made its way through each of us over the past three weeks (Kyle ended up spending 2 hours at an urgent care in Las Vegas to get antibiotics for what had progressed to a sinus infection) - it's been a long week! All I can say is, I'M SO GLAD TO BE HOME!!

We pushed our journey home back one day because of the spring snow storm we heard about on the news and were expecting slippery roads in Colorado, but instead found dry roads - thanks to the sunshine on Friday. We even stopped in Glenwood Springs and swam in the hot springs outdoor pool in 38 degree weather. Kyle swears by its reported healing properties and tells me the high mineral content of the water in the pools heals upper respiratory infections, cuts in skin, and acne, among other things. I'm not sure I'm convinced in the cure-all properties of mere water, but it ended up being a nice break from the car!

I was a little less than excited to leave 60-70 degree weather to come home to 30-40 degree temps, but sleeping in my own bed was priceless last night. And we were so thankful to drive up to our house to find that our wonderful neighbors took it upon themselves to shovel our driveway and walk to the front door while we were gone. We have the greatest neighbors - what a gift!

So, while I have lots to share about our trip and time in Las Vegas, I'll save that for a day in the near future, because I'm tired and want to just veg out in front of the tv today. :) I'll close with the top ten things I'm thankful for today:

10) Sunshine and melting snow!
9) Returning home safe and relatively healthy
8) My own king size bed that provides plenty of room and comfort
7) Home cooked meals
6) Familiar faces all around and knowing that we were missed (and prayed for!)
5) Having access to my own computer at my own desk in my own room!
4) Three loads of laundry already finished today, and not much more to do
3) Not needing a GPS in my car to find my way around and not having to be in my car for hours today
2) Knowing that those extra pounds I put on during our trip will eventually be worked off with resumed exercise and eating in
1) A full day with absolutely nothing I HAVE to get done!!

Some photos

Hi all! I'm writing from Las Vegas, where it was rainy and VERY windy yesterday... Today, it is supposed to be sunnier, but only about 62 degrees, which is below average, but I'll take it! Here are a few photos we took yesterday while driving through Red Rock National Park, about 1 mile away from the area where we will likely be living. This is Nevada's version of Garden of the Gods, and it felt somewhat familiar, except for the cacti and Joshua trees everywhere!

We were able to attend worship at Faith Lutheran Church (name sound familiar?!?) here in Las Vegas yesterday morning, and saw tons of other young families who are members there - good sign! The service we attended was one of three they have every Sunday, and the childrens' church coordinator told me that she usually has 100 kids in the earlier service and "only" about 60 for the one we attended. But, because it was rainy, lots of people weren't there that normally are... That is such a change from the small church we attend in WP with only about 300 total members!

The pastor's message was about letting God have control and seeing how He provides, because He always provides when He leads us (he used Abraham and Isaac as an example). Later that day, I got a message from a friend and part of what she said was "where God leads, He provides." Another friend texted me and said she's been praying for peace for us while we're here. I feel your prayers, and God is speaking to us. We are feeling His peace, His leading, and His provision. Thank you to all of you back home who are talking to Him on our behalves, we are humbled and so very thankful for you.

The girls are enjoying their time with Aunt Keri (Kyle's sister), and have plans to go with her to Chuck E Cheese tonight. Later today, my mom will be flying into Las Vegas and we'll have some time with her, too. She is coming out to help my aunt (her sister) decorate and furnish the second home she and her husband just bought here. For feeling like we are being sent into the desert all by ourselves, there are sure alot of people we know here, all of a sudden!

I'll try to post some more pictures later. I have some interesting shots to share!! :-D I hope all is well in Colorado, and we are looking forward to coming home at the end of the week. Talk to you all soon!

Well, we're off...

I've neglected my blog this week due to my uncanny ability to think that I can accomplish superhuman amounts of tasks into itty bitty amounts of time. This week, besides working a regular schedule crammed into four days (instead of five, since we're leaving today), spring break beginning on Thursday (both kids were home all day yesterday), parent teacher conferences (Aubrielle is a prize pupil, btw!), and packing for our trip (which isn't done, yet), I've had little time to breathe. And, I'm starting to come down with the virus that has made its way to each of my family members over the past two weeks... But, I digress,

Today is the day. We're packing up and heading out on a road trip to Las Vegas for the next 8 days. It will take us two days to travel there and two back - it's something like 12+ hours from point A to point B, so, in an effort to save Kyle and my sanity (good luck!), we're stopping after about 8 hours in Richfield, UT to stay the night. I'm anxious to be with the kids in Las Vegas, attend the church we've scouted out over the internet, tour schools, see the home where we think we'll be staying (at least until our house in CO sells), and get a general feel for what life is like as a local. I have certain expectations I cannot explain about what I'll learn from this trip that will ease my fear of the unknown. I hope these unknown expectations are met - whatever they are...

Road trips are not my thing. I'd so much rather get on a plane and get the travelling over with - just get there, already. But, our budget didn't allow for plane tickets and a car rental, so we (Kyle) opted for driving there ourselves. He loves road trips. Thinks they're an awesome opportunity to connect with your family and "be" with each other. I know there is great value in that, and something I definitely need to do more of. I'll be studying him.

Stillness does not speak to my gifts and it is something I want to be able to do without feeling like I need to climb the walls. Twelve hours of being strapped down in a confined space ought to curb that, don't you think?!? It's a small step, but I'm going to be intentional about just being today and all week.

Anyway, all that to say, I may be sporadic for the next several days with my posting, but I'll do my best to get some pictures to you all of our travels. Take care, and until next time...

Winter in Colorado

I thought it might be fun to share a couple of videos from this winter. Both of the kids started skiing this year - Aubrielle seems as though she's done it all her life. She's really just about as good as I am (not that that is saying anything!). Denali has a typical three year old attention span about it, but her fearless spirit lends itself to a couple of good runs with her, too. Kyle got video of Bri skiing, and video of the three of us girls ice skating (boy did my feet hurt after that!). Enjoy!