Garden of the Gods

Every time I had visited Colorado in the past, it was to ski, so I've never spent much time exploring outside of ski towns. This past weekend, we took advantage of some GREAT weather we had on Saturday and headed down to Colorado Springs to see Jeff's aunt and uncle who live there.

Colorado Springs is really close to Denver and only about 40 minutes south from the southern part of Denver. We will be living on the northern end, so it will take around an hour and 15 minutes for us to get there, but that is still the closest we've ever lived to family in all our moves.

We headed straight for the Carlton's house when we got there, and spent some time seeing their place and catching up. Jeff's uncle recently retired from the military, and they are working on remodeling parts of their cabin in southern Colorado, so they have a lot going on!

After grabbing some lunch at a great Mexican restaurant, we decided to walk around Old Colorado City. It is a cute area with lots of shops and restaurants and it was a great day to walk around outside. Boone was a little late getting a nap, so after a little chocolate snack, he was a little sleepy.

 

Old Colorado City

 

Getting a treat from Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory

 

Post-treat. You can see the chocolate smudges on his face.

After walking around and window shopping a bit, we decided to head to Garden of the gods. I was amazed to learn that Garden of the gods is a city park, which seems amazing because of how impressive it is! Perfect January day to get our first look at this beautiful place!

Despite how I may have framed these pictures, it was a VERY busy day at the park! There were lots of people, and we couldn't blame them because it was such a beautiful day! We will definitely be back with visitors that come up to see us!

Oh, and on an unrelated note, we HAVE A HOUSE... or a duplex I guess! Either way, we move in February 3 and I can't wait!! We will have been without our things for 2 months by the time we get into our new home! We can't wait to be settled and I'll for sure put up pictures once the dust settles.

We are loving Colorado already! Come visit us!

Jeff, Em + Boone

Daytrippin' to Boulder

We've now been back in Denver for a few weeks now, and we are getting a bit of cabin fever! We still don't officially have a new home, which means we don't have all our stuff, which ultimately means we don't have our skis and ski boots! So... no skiing yet, but we decided to get out and explore a bit anyway! Part of the reason we haven't found a place is that we set a pretty strict budget for our rental home. We feel that there is no reason to spend tons of money renting a place, when on weekends we want to be out in the mountains anyways. This crazy life we live doesn't make sense unless we get to enjoy and explore the new areas we move to, so we decided to do just that!

We had heard that Boulder was just down the road a bit from northern Denver, so we decided to hop on the highway and head out to the home of the University of Colorado-Boulder. I think I officially fell in love with Colorado on our trip out to Boulder. What a town! So neat, and unique, plus it seems like a great college town, and you have the mountains as a backdrop. I don't think it gets much better than that.

We had an appointment to see a house later in the afternoon last Saturday, so we didn't have all day to spend in Boulder. We decided to head to Pearl Street Mall first. We walked along the historic mall area and took in all the shops and restaurants that were along the strip. It is such a neat area and I can imagine that in the summer, that area is filled with all kinds of festivals and farmers markets. Can't wait to go back!

We ended up eating at a tapas restaurant called Tiaco! It isn't actually on the Pearl Street Mall, but just a few blocks over. We stumbled upon it as we were trying to find another restaurant, and decided to give it a try. It was DELICIOUS! We ordered several different kinds of tacos and ate until we were stuffed. After lunch, we found a neat shop with all kinds of antique maps of all over the world. We even found some maps of Missouri from the 1800s. We love things like that for our home, so I can definitely see going back there and making some purchases. After lunch, we drove through the college campus (which seemed really nice!) and drove to take in a view of the Flatirons. I don't know much about the Flatirons, but it seems like a great area to go hiking this spring and summer, so we will definitely be back.

Here are a few pictures of our first day adventure in Colorado. I'm sure it's the first of many.

Too bad Mizzou doesn't play the Buffs anymore!

The guys on Pearl Street. It was a nice day to get out, but a bit windy.

A little history of Pearl Street

Boone outside of the Mont Bell store.

Not a great picture, but the Flatirons are in the middle!

The last crazy month of 2013

I know we are already 8 days into 2014, but it seems like our family had a wild ride at the end of last year. As of today, we've been without a home for a month. That's not to say we haven't had warm, inviting places to lay our heads every night, but it means we've been living out of suitcases, and shlepping those suitcases all over the western and midwestern United States. We seem to always be on the move in December the last few years. I know partly that is because we live far from family and try to take a good chunk of time to see loved ones around the holidays. But, we've also been moving around this time both in 2013 and 2011. So, we haven't had a Christmas tree the last couple of years, or even tried to put out a Christmas card.

I guess the neat thing is that no matter where or what we are doing around Christmas each year, we can always truly embrace the real meaning of Christmas. As we picked up and drove from Calgary to Denver in early December, my thoughts went to Mary and Joseph as they prepared to pick up and head to Bethlehem, just as their baby boy was about to come into the world. How beautiful is it that God saw fit to bring Jesus into the world at a time that didn't seem perfect or logical to any of our modern minds. They literally had no place to rest their heads, but God allowed His Son to enter the world and to begin His plan of redemption according to His timing. So, as I get overwhelmed or frustrated at our current situation, I think the best thing I can do is think that God's plan doesn't make sense to me right now, but it is perfect timing to Him. That is usually easier said than really put into action in my everyday life, but I know it is true.

So, as we traveled and looked for a house and then saw friends and family back in Missouri, we were blessed with so many fun moments. Here are some pictures of our last month of 2013.

Our house all packed up.

Boone climbing the stairs one last time.

Boone's first room all packed up.

Visiting with our friend, the Murphys, in KCMO! Here is their adorable daughter, Hannah. I know it's blurry, but this girl is always on the move, so a clear picture was hard!

And little Jonathan. Jonathan and Boone were due only a few days apart! And same thing about always moving! It was hard to capture a good picture!

Boone had so much fun playing with the Murphys. Somehow we got them all to sit still for just a few seconds!

Hanging out at Grandma and Grandpa Robertson's house.

We got to visit with a dear friend, Kelly and her adorable son, Cooper! Coop and Boone are a little over a week apart!

Magic house with Nana and Papa.

Down the slide with Papa.

The quintessential Magic House picture. I love how Boone's little hairs are standing up!

Hanging out with my grandma at her nursing home. Boone loved to help push her walker. Not sure he was helping or really hindering, but he sure loved it.

Playing on a rocking horse at Grand Sydney's house. We love how lots of the toys at her house are toys that Jeff played with when he was growing up. Can't wait for Christmas at her house next year!

Christmas eve with cousins on my dad's side and grandma.

Boone with his great Aunt Karen.

Christmas morning brunch at the Younkins. Always a fun tradition.

Lunch at my Aunt Dorothy's on Christmas Day.

Boone with Uncle John and Nana. He is looking tired there.

Christmas night we went to Jeff's parents for dinner. We hung out there for several days after. Here is a picture of when we celebrated Jeff's birthday with them. I added in the (old man!) on the cake.

Playing with Grandpa Bruce downstairs!

A visit with Brett before we headed out to Denver! We also got to see the Beatys while we were in Fulton.

Jeff's mom always gets lots of pictures while we are there, so I tend to slack off! I'll have to get some more from her of our visit in Fulton.

So, although we didn't find a home in Denver yet, we have lots to be thankful for. What a blessing to have time to spend with friends and family and to have safety in all our travels. Thankful for 2013 and looking forward to the adventure that 2014 will for sure be.