I know it's been a long time since I have updated. Here is a quick update and please make sure you watch the video below of Carter practicing his name. He is doing so well and has come a really long way!
We have survived the first month without Scott. He loves it in Honduras and takes pleasure in telling us how nice the weather is. Although, me being a human incubator...70 degree weather doesn't really thrill me. I personally like the cool and sometimes cold weather that we are having here!
Things are going well with the pregnancy and Carter is anxiously awaiting the arrival so he can be a big brother! He talks to her often and even mananged to tell his teacher that we are having a girl.
Carter attends "chool" as he calls it 5 days a week and receives speech 2 times a week. He absolutely loves it and it is a punishment to stay home. It takes us a while on Saturdays to convince him there is no school. He bring art work home daily and yesterday participated in the Christmas program....He is no longer a "little boy" and he will tell you that. I did record the program too, but it was with the actual video camera and not just the regular camera so as soon as I figure out how to transfer it I will do so!
I hope this short but sweet update turns into many more....I will be making it my New Years Resolution! So we shall see!
Friday, December 12, 2008
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Potty Training
Since carter will be three on December 1st and the baby will be here in Feburary, Scott and I decided that Carter should start potty training so we don't have two kids in diapers....
So, we started to really train last Saturday and he went all day Saturday with no accidents in his big boy pants and even woke up dry after nap time and bed time all weekend. On Sunday, he had a minor accident. He got busy playing and it just sort of happened. He laughed about it, so I had to tell him that accidents happen and its ok when they do, but they aren't funny. He caught on quickly and really didnt like the feeling of wet pants.
Then came Monday. I pondered all weekend as to what to do with him on Monday because he did fine all weekend at home, but I didnt know how he would do in a group of kids at daycare. We decided the only way he would learn is to send him in big boy pants and not revert back to the pull ups.
I nervously dropped him off at daycare and told them that he did have two changes of clothes and a pull up in his locker if they wanted to put it on him at nap time. His teacher said they would try it and see what happened. He made it all day with a little accident at nap time. She said he sat up and it just started coming. But he made it the whole day with no pull up and just one change of clothes!
We are completely out of diapers nows and use about just a few pull ups....sometimes he says he has to go potty just to watch me get up or to get out of doing other things! Smart child even figured out that if he tells us he has to go potty during church we take him out! It sure didn't take him long to figure that one out!
This Friday, when Scott gets home we take off for the cities...I am thinking I am not quite brave enough to chance the 4 hour trip in big boy pants, so I am thinking he will need a pull up but we will see how the rest of the week goes! He is really excited to get to see Grandma Marilynn and her kitties or "diddies" as Carter says. Those poor cats get such a hard time from Carter!
I will be blogging more and more as time allows for more and Scott leaves for Hondouras. We are hoping to celebrate all of our birthdays together before he goes! We go to Sioux Falls on the 14th of October to find out if this baby is a boy or a girl! Hopefully, he or she cooperates! We will be letting everyone know the sex so check back around that time!
So, we started to really train last Saturday and he went all day Saturday with no accidents in his big boy pants and even woke up dry after nap time and bed time all weekend. On Sunday, he had a minor accident. He got busy playing and it just sort of happened. He laughed about it, so I had to tell him that accidents happen and its ok when they do, but they aren't funny. He caught on quickly and really didnt like the feeling of wet pants.
Then came Monday. I pondered all weekend as to what to do with him on Monday because he did fine all weekend at home, but I didnt know how he would do in a group of kids at daycare. We decided the only way he would learn is to send him in big boy pants and not revert back to the pull ups.
I nervously dropped him off at daycare and told them that he did have two changes of clothes and a pull up in his locker if they wanted to put it on him at nap time. His teacher said they would try it and see what happened. He made it all day with a little accident at nap time. She said he sat up and it just started coming. But he made it the whole day with no pull up and just one change of clothes!
We are completely out of diapers nows and use about just a few pull ups....sometimes he says he has to go potty just to watch me get up or to get out of doing other things! Smart child even figured out that if he tells us he has to go potty during church we take him out! It sure didn't take him long to figure that one out!
This Friday, when Scott gets home we take off for the cities...I am thinking I am not quite brave enough to chance the 4 hour trip in big boy pants, so I am thinking he will need a pull up but we will see how the rest of the week goes! He is really excited to get to see Grandma Marilynn and her kitties or "diddies" as Carter says. Those poor cats get such a hard time from Carter!
I will be blogging more and more as time allows for more and Scott leaves for Hondouras. We are hoping to celebrate all of our birthdays together before he goes! We go to Sioux Falls on the 14th of October to find out if this baby is a boy or a girl! Hopefully, he or she cooperates! We will be letting everyone know the sex so check back around that time!
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Some good news
Both Carter and I are back in South Dakota. Carter arrived about 3 weeks ago and I got here about a week ago. Carter is back in daycare and loves it! He is even picking up some new words...along with learning how to throw temper tantrums! He ran up to a DVD in a store and pointed at winnie the pooh and said plain as day "POOH" then he went to another DVD and pointed at bob the builder and said clearly "BOB". He also decided to tell us that gum is "HOT". Since then he repeats these words clearly. We are slowing progressing in the speech area, but I guess slow is better than not at all. He is up to about 15 clear words! We look forward to seeing all of you before Scott leaves for Hondoures!
Monday, August 4, 2008
Carter Bear Huntin"
Carter learned to call bears on our vacation. In the car, he didn't have his bear caller so he improvised!
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Carter and his new words
Monday was pretty uneventful as we were all looking forward to just relaxing after the trip. We watched a movie on Monday night and Carter played pretty much the whole day. It was funny to see how much he really missed his toys!
Tuesday morning we got up and got ready to go to soccer and then take Marilynn to the airport in Denver. We enjoyed watching Carter play and then lunch at the Olive Garden before taking her to the airport.
We got home from Denver and Carter and I went to the library to get a book I had requested. Carter loves the library because it means he gets to borrow at least one video. Today he got two and he has already enjoyed them! There was a farmer's market going on downtown so we came home and got Scott and headed down there. We got a bag of sweet corn, two cantelope and two loaves of bread that were amazing! Both Scott and I decided we could have just eaten that for supper!
Back to the title of this post: Carter has started to say a few more words and he is trying even harded to say words. He gets frusterated because its like they are right at the tip of his tounge but they just won't come out. He has however learned two new words: "yuck"and "up". And he has started to put words together. His favorite is "mama, I'm brr" and "up geez" which means "up please". He is trying really hard and we just keep encouraging him. I will keep you posted as he progresses but this is pretty exciting to us!
Tuesday morning we got up and got ready to go to soccer and then take Marilynn to the airport in Denver. We enjoyed watching Carter play and then lunch at the Olive Garden before taking her to the airport.
We got home from Denver and Carter and I went to the library to get a book I had requested. Carter loves the library because it means he gets to borrow at least one video. Today he got two and he has already enjoyed them! There was a farmer's market going on downtown so we came home and got Scott and headed down there. We got a bag of sweet corn, two cantelope and two loaves of bread that were amazing! Both Scott and I decided we could have just eaten that for supper!
Back to the title of this post: Carter has started to say a few more words and he is trying even harded to say words. He gets frusterated because its like they are right at the tip of his tounge but they just won't come out. He has however learned two new words: "yuck"and "up". And he has started to put words together. His favorite is "mama, I'm brr" and "up geez" which means "up please". He is trying really hard and we just keep encouraging him. I will keep you posted as he progresses but this is pretty exciting to us!
Day 5 and home
Day 5 (27JUL2008)
When we got to the hotel the night prior, we were looking though some of the magazines and brochures for the area and realized there was an arts and crafts fair going on in the park. We decided to cut out the scenic byway (and more mountain passes) and get going a little later and go to the art fair.
We actually got to sort of sleep in and get going leisurely. We loaded up the van to head to the art fair only to find it was 2 blocks from the hotel! They had lots of neat stuff at the fair and Carter really enjoyed playing in the park. After an hour of shopping it was back on the road to the Great Sand Dunes.
The Dunes were amazing! We had no idea they would be what they were. I think we were all expecting just some sand hills that you could climb up, on or whatever and take some sand and head home. It was that, but much more. There was a stream of sorts that flowed before the dunes actually started and there were people sun bathing in the mud, playing ball, just sitting and playing, and doing all sorts of fun things. Scott decided he wanted to see if he could find the source of the stream so he and Marilynn went walking up the river.
Carter didn't have much to play with because we were not expecting this at all, but he made do with what he had! We buried his crocs in the wet sand and he pretended they were boats and floated them down the mini stream. He also laid down in the stream and buried his legs as well as my feet. It was so much fun and the best part was, it is only 2 1/2 hours from our house. We do plan to try to go back one more time before we move, this time with shovels and pails for Carter to play.
After that, it was time to head for home! All in all it was a great trip...we are just sorry we didnt explore any of this long before we are moving! We got home around 7pm and ordered pizza and relaxed!
When we got to the hotel the night prior, we were looking though some of the magazines and brochures for the area and realized there was an arts and crafts fair going on in the park. We decided to cut out the scenic byway (and more mountain passes) and get going a little later and go to the art fair.
We actually got to sort of sleep in and get going leisurely. We loaded up the van to head to the art fair only to find it was 2 blocks from the hotel! They had lots of neat stuff at the fair and Carter really enjoyed playing in the park. After an hour of shopping it was back on the road to the Great Sand Dunes.
The Dunes were amazing! We had no idea they would be what they were. I think we were all expecting just some sand hills that you could climb up, on or whatever and take some sand and head home. It was that, but much more. There was a stream of sorts that flowed before the dunes actually started and there were people sun bathing in the mud, playing ball, just sitting and playing, and doing all sorts of fun things. Scott decided he wanted to see if he could find the source of the stream so he and Marilynn went walking up the river.
Carter didn't have much to play with because we were not expecting this at all, but he made do with what he had! We buried his crocs in the wet sand and he pretended they were boats and floated them down the mini stream. He also laid down in the stream and buried his legs as well as my feet. It was so much fun and the best part was, it is only 2 1/2 hours from our house. We do plan to try to go back one more time before we move, this time with shovels and pails for Carter to play.
After that, it was time to head for home! All in all it was a great trip...we are just sorry we didnt explore any of this long before we are moving! We got home around 7pm and ordered pizza and relaxed!
Day 4
Day 4 (26JUL2008)
Day four started out with breakfast and then a trek to Mesa Verde. We got there earlier than expected due to the rearranged itinerary. We thought because of this we would be to Gunnison early and would have a nice evening relaxing. This was not the case at all! Mesa Verde was neat, but the trek up the mountain took longer than we thought it would. We thought it would just kind of be along side the road, but instead it was many miles back and in a valley.
After Mesa Verde it was onto Durango...yet another kink in Scott's itinerary. There we found an arts and Crafts fair and plenty of cute little shops to visit. After eating at a cute little chicken place we went to Cold Stone for ice cream. After that we decided it was getting hot and we had seen enough of Durango. Now it was on to Ouray, but along the way we went though Silverton and decided we should stop and see what kind of shopping they had. They really didnt have much for shopping but they did have a good brewery that Scott and Marilynn enjoyed. After that and some more white-knuckle driving though more mountain passes, it was on the road to Ouray.
Carter decided to entertain us with some bear calling. He would use his Native American flute and blow as hard and loud as he could and then cup his mouth and hollar "dares" "dares". Then he decided he needed to wear my sunglasses, upside down and use his laser from a happy meal to laser the bears. It was hysterically funny and I was able to get a video of it!
There was lots of shopping there and we could have spent more time there, but getting there around 6pm on a Saturday night didn't leave us many options for open stores, and you guessed it, it started to pour. At that point, we called it a day and headed for Gunnison. In between Montrose and Gunnison we counted 37 deer along the road. Some were in herds, others just in groups of two or three. The mountain were definately white-knuckle driving, but it was nerve-wrecking to not really know what those deer might do!
We got to Gunnison and crawled right into bed after what we thought would be our short day, 10:00pm was definately bedtime! The next the plans were the Great Sand Dunes and then home!
Day four started out with breakfast and then a trek to Mesa Verde. We got there earlier than expected due to the rearranged itinerary. We thought because of this we would be to Gunnison early and would have a nice evening relaxing. This was not the case at all! Mesa Verde was neat, but the trek up the mountain took longer than we thought it would. We thought it would just kind of be along side the road, but instead it was many miles back and in a valley.
After Mesa Verde it was onto Durango...yet another kink in Scott's itinerary. There we found an arts and Crafts fair and plenty of cute little shops to visit. After eating at a cute little chicken place we went to Cold Stone for ice cream. After that we decided it was getting hot and we had seen enough of Durango. Now it was on to Ouray, but along the way we went though Silverton and decided we should stop and see what kind of shopping they had. They really didnt have much for shopping but they did have a good brewery that Scott and Marilynn enjoyed. After that and some more white-knuckle driving though more mountain passes, it was on the road to Ouray.
Carter decided to entertain us with some bear calling. He would use his Native American flute and blow as hard and loud as he could and then cup his mouth and hollar "dares" "dares". Then he decided he needed to wear my sunglasses, upside down and use his laser from a happy meal to laser the bears. It was hysterically funny and I was able to get a video of it!
There was lots of shopping there and we could have spent more time there, but getting there around 6pm on a Saturday night didn't leave us many options for open stores, and you guessed it, it started to pour. At that point, we called it a day and headed for Gunnison. In between Montrose and Gunnison we counted 37 deer along the road. Some were in herds, others just in groups of two or three. The mountain were definately white-knuckle driving, but it was nerve-wrecking to not really know what those deer might do!
We got to Gunnison and crawled right into bed after what we thought would be our short day, 10:00pm was definately bedtime! The next the plans were the Great Sand Dunes and then home!
Day 3
Day 3: (25JUL2008)
Again, we got up bright and early and headed for the Grand Canyon right after breakfast. Scotts itinerary had us headed straight for the Grand Canyon but little did we know we were going right by four corners, which we were slated to do the next morning. After a quick decision to just get it over with that day we turned around and headed back the 500 feet and did a quick 1/2 hour stop.
Carter really enjoyed goofing around on the emblem for the four corners. The Native American shops were interesting and Carter got lucky enough to get an arrow made out of pine. After that it was on to the Grand Canyon.
We arrived there around 2:30pm and headed right for the gift shop before making our way back out of the canyon. There Carter got a Native American flute, magnetic rocks, an egg filled with goo around a spider that he decided to name "Legs". He thanked Grandma for the 20 dollars and was happy to know he actually still had some left to spend.
After finishing our shopping we got back in the van to go and see what the Grand Canyon had to offer. A few miles from the store there was a baby elk right along side the road grazing. We snapped a few pictures and Carter was wowed. We got to the first look out point and again, Scott was too scared to look and was even more scared that Carter was going to go over the edge. It was my job to watch Carter and take pictures...good thing Grandma was there to help. After snapping a few pictures it was on to the next lookout. At that one, the lightening started to strike off in the distance which made Scott panic even more. We didnt spend long in that site before moving on. Between the next two points we saw a much larger elk grazing a little futher out in the field. Marilynn got out of the van and followed it back into the woods to get a good picture. She wasnt alone...many people had the same idea that she did.
After the elk sighting, it started to pour. Scott pulled into the next lookout but noone wanted to get out of the van so we continued to drive. Towards the end of the Grand Canyon road it stopped raining so we decided to do the very last point. I was going to change Carter's diaper and get him ready for the trip back to Cortez and then just let him run for a little bit but he had much different plans in mind. After changing his diaper he headed right for the watch tower. I guess he wasn't quite done checking out the Canyon. After that it was back in the van and back to Cortez. The ride back consisted of a herd of goats and sheep that had gotten loose and were running around on the road and a severe rain and lightening storm that produced a double rainbow. Other than that, it was pretty uneventful!
Back at the hotel it was bedtime, but we were very thankful we decided to do the Four Corner stop so we didnt have to drive the 45 miles one way the next morning!
Again, we got up bright and early and headed for the Grand Canyon right after breakfast. Scotts itinerary had us headed straight for the Grand Canyon but little did we know we were going right by four corners, which we were slated to do the next morning. After a quick decision to just get it over with that day we turned around and headed back the 500 feet and did a quick 1/2 hour stop.
Carter really enjoyed goofing around on the emblem for the four corners. The Native American shops were interesting and Carter got lucky enough to get an arrow made out of pine. After that it was on to the Grand Canyon.
We arrived there around 2:30pm and headed right for the gift shop before making our way back out of the canyon. There Carter got a Native American flute, magnetic rocks, an egg filled with goo around a spider that he decided to name "Legs". He thanked Grandma for the 20 dollars and was happy to know he actually still had some left to spend.
After finishing our shopping we got back in the van to go and see what the Grand Canyon had to offer. A few miles from the store there was a baby elk right along side the road grazing. We snapped a few pictures and Carter was wowed. We got to the first look out point and again, Scott was too scared to look and was even more scared that Carter was going to go over the edge. It was my job to watch Carter and take pictures...good thing Grandma was there to help. After snapping a few pictures it was on to the next lookout. At that one, the lightening started to strike off in the distance which made Scott panic even more. We didnt spend long in that site before moving on. Between the next two points we saw a much larger elk grazing a little futher out in the field. Marilynn got out of the van and followed it back into the woods to get a good picture. She wasnt alone...many people had the same idea that she did.
After the elk sighting, it started to pour. Scott pulled into the next lookout but noone wanted to get out of the van so we continued to drive. Towards the end of the Grand Canyon road it stopped raining so we decided to do the very last point. I was going to change Carter's diaper and get him ready for the trip back to Cortez and then just let him run for a little bit but he had much different plans in mind. After changing his diaper he headed right for the watch tower. I guess he wasn't quite done checking out the Canyon. After that it was back in the van and back to Cortez. The ride back consisted of a herd of goats and sheep that had gotten loose and were running around on the road and a severe rain and lightening storm that produced a double rainbow. Other than that, it was pretty uneventful!
Back at the hotel it was bedtime, but we were very thankful we decided to do the Four Corner stop so we didnt have to drive the 45 miles one way the next morning!
Trying to catch up
We are back home from our vacation to the southwest part of Colorado and beyond. Unfortunately, my plan to update this site every night didn't go as planned. There was no internet due to a storm that rolled through right before we got to the second nights hotel room and the third night it was back up but extremely slow. And I am not going to lie...the fourth night I was too exhausted to try to remember everything! After a day of rest, I am going to do my best to remember everything!
Day 2: (24JUL2008)
We got up bright and early and left Montrose after eating breakfast. We headed into Telluride via the San Juan Skyway. Telluride was not at all what we expected and we were slightly disappointed. Even though we were disappointed, it was Carters favorite stop. He got to ride the gondolas up and down the mountain side five times. When we first got on, I was holding on pretty tightly to Carter and he soon warned me to let go. He wanted nothing to do with anyone who wanted to hold onto him. We saw a deer sitting right under the gondolas and we also stopped mid way up 20 plus feet in the air. Scott, who is scared to death of heights (yep, he hangs out of helicopters, but is scared of any other heights) leaned over to the middle and turned white. It was a good thing Carter was there to calm his fears as he grabbed his hand and held on to it!
We ran in the pouring rain through Telluride as well. Appearantly they get rain storms every afternoon for about an hour. It just happened to be the hour we were wanting to find somewhere to eat! After eating at a cute little bar type restaurant it was back on the road to Cortez, Colorado to rest up for the next days journey. Carter had a tough time leaving the gondolas behind and kept signing that he wanted "more" "vroom vroom". The ride to Cortez was pretty uneventful and we rested well for the trip to the Grand Canyon but not before having root beer floats in the hotel room!
Day 2: (24JUL2008)
We got up bright and early and left Montrose after eating breakfast. We headed into Telluride via the San Juan Skyway. Telluride was not at all what we expected and we were slightly disappointed. Even though we were disappointed, it was Carters favorite stop. He got to ride the gondolas up and down the mountain side five times. When we first got on, I was holding on pretty tightly to Carter and he soon warned me to let go. He wanted nothing to do with anyone who wanted to hold onto him. We saw a deer sitting right under the gondolas and we also stopped mid way up 20 plus feet in the air. Scott, who is scared to death of heights (yep, he hangs out of helicopters, but is scared of any other heights) leaned over to the middle and turned white. It was a good thing Carter was there to calm his fears as he grabbed his hand and held on to it!
We ran in the pouring rain through Telluride as well. Appearantly they get rain storms every afternoon for about an hour. It just happened to be the hour we were wanting to find somewhere to eat! After eating at a cute little bar type restaurant it was back on the road to Cortez, Colorado to rest up for the next days journey. Carter had a tough time leaving the gondolas behind and kept signing that he wanted "more" "vroom vroom". The ride to Cortez was pretty uneventful and we rested well for the trip to the Grand Canyon but not before having root beer floats in the hotel room!
Saturday, July 26, 2008
So much for a good thought
I had the best of intentions for posting a blog every night of our trip. The second night of our trip, there was a big storm that rolled through and knocked internet out to the hotel and the next night the internet was too slow to do anything. I will try to update it and put all of our picutres on it...We've had a really good time and can't wait to tell you!
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Vacation 2008
This will hopefully be a many part entry. I am hoping that every night I will have the energy to post a blog about our travels across Colorado down to 4 corners and beyond. I am hoping I will get pictures from that day posted and blog a little about our discoveries and adventures! Here goes.....
Day 1 (Wednesday, July 23rd)
Marilynn told Carter she needed to go upstairs and pack her bag to go so Carter followed her up the stairs and pulled his Elmo suitcase out of the closet and packed it with the essentials only a two year old would need. He pack one boot from a stuffed bear (in case he loses a shoe), two empty tins (in case we find some sand), his play razor, comb, and shaving cream brush, (to looke good for the ladies!) his play cellphone (to keep in contact with papa), an airgun arrow (for self defense) and a thomas the train and shaker toy (because every two year old needs a few toys). He packed it up and zipped it up tight and brought it to the top of the steps and was ready to go...proud as a peacock! He also got into the van and into his carseat 1 hour prior to even being ready to leave. Every once in awhile he would let out a hollar to let us know he was still patiently waiting for us!
We left Colorado Springs at 9:40am. Scott had an itinerary all ready for us to follow so after getting on the road only 40 minutes late we were doing well! The plan the first day was to go to Palisade, CO and go to a winery. Grandma Marilynn and I wanted to take the scenic route so right there, that threw a kink into Scott's perfected plans.
We went along CO hwy 24 up through Independence Pass into Aspen and then into Palisade. Before we started to climb up Independence Pass, Marilynn saw 3 mountain goats, so Scott whipped a U-turn in the middle of the road so we could try and see them. We did get to see them on the way back down but by the time we made the turn around they were gone.
Independence Pass is full of switch-backing, hairpin turns on a very narrow road with no gaurdrails with a LONG way to the bottom. I wasn's sure we were going to make it when during the first steep climb Scott started breating heavily and started shaking. He is deathly afraid of heights and obviously he was a little in over his head! He got his fears under control and forged on climbing the 8,000 plus feet to the top which is 12,095 feet. Up there, we took a few pictures by the sign and then Carter woke up to join us for a few too. It was too "brr" (in Carters words) to play in the feet of snow that was still at the top of the mountain. We saw many people playing in the snow and some even sledding! It was amazing to see snow on July, 23rd! If you look really close in one of the pictures of the snow, you can actually see the people out there playing!
After leaving the sleet behind on the top of the mountain, we started the trek down into Aspen. More white knuckle driving from Scott and more hairpin curves but we made it with no U-turns to see Mountain Goats. One picture shows how narrow the road is from the passengers seat...pretty scary! Upon reaching Aspen, we saw the highlight of my day! There on the corner was a delivery car for Domino's that was smaller than the smart car, but only had one wheel in the front! For some reason that struck me as really funny and I wished I had been quick enough to get a picture! I think it struck me as funny because I could just imagine what Graham and Kevin would do if they had access to that vehicle! I guess I could have stolen it and put it in the back of the van...it would have fit! Just kidding about the stealing part! (don't get your hopes up Graham!) Once we got through Aspen it was on to Palisade on the prettiest interstate in the US. The mountains were amazing! I am just sad that we haven't gone though them before this!
We got to Palisade and to the winery, which Scott had allowed 4 hours for! After 4 tastes of wine and 10 minutes later we were back on the road to another winery. But before we could go there we had to stop at a roadside fruit stand to get Carter the peach he was promised for being a good boy in the first winery. As you will be able to tell from the pictures, he enjoyed the peaches (yes, peaches)! After our 1/2 hour stop and hosing down we were on to the next winery. There more wine was tasted and more money spent. After leaving that place we stopped at another roadside fruit stand where Carter picked out some sugar free pear butter all by himself for his Papa. We were getting ready to head for Montrose and check into the Holiday Inn when another winery along the way had its open sign still up. Scott whipped another u-turn and it felt like we were in the race of our lives to get there. Good thing we did, because there we found the best port wine that has ever been made....and so Papa (a port wine lover) got a bottle! After we left that winery Carter decided to use his play cell phone to call papa and tell him about the wine we got him. I posted a picture of him sitting on the sidewalk talking to him!
Off to Montrose, right on time, but 4 extra stops later! We checked into our hotel room and we are exhausted! I will write more tomorrow night about our ventures into Telluride and then onto Cortez! Enjoy the pictures!
Day 1 (Wednesday, July 23rd)
Marilynn told Carter she needed to go upstairs and pack her bag to go so Carter followed her up the stairs and pulled his Elmo suitcase out of the closet and packed it with the essentials only a two year old would need. He pack one boot from a stuffed bear (in case he loses a shoe), two empty tins (in case we find some sand), his play razor, comb, and shaving cream brush, (to looke good for the ladies!) his play cellphone (to keep in contact with papa), an airgun arrow (for self defense) and a thomas the train and shaker toy (because every two year old needs a few toys). He packed it up and zipped it up tight and brought it to the top of the steps and was ready to go...proud as a peacock! He also got into the van and into his carseat 1 hour prior to even being ready to leave. Every once in awhile he would let out a hollar to let us know he was still patiently waiting for us!
We left Colorado Springs at 9:40am. Scott had an itinerary all ready for us to follow so after getting on the road only 40 minutes late we were doing well! The plan the first day was to go to Palisade, CO and go to a winery. Grandma Marilynn and I wanted to take the scenic route so right there, that threw a kink into Scott's perfected plans.
We went along CO hwy 24 up through Independence Pass into Aspen and then into Palisade. Before we started to climb up Independence Pass, Marilynn saw 3 mountain goats, so Scott whipped a U-turn in the middle of the road so we could try and see them. We did get to see them on the way back down but by the time we made the turn around they were gone.
Independence Pass is full of switch-backing, hairpin turns on a very narrow road with no gaurdrails with a LONG way to the bottom. I wasn's sure we were going to make it when during the first steep climb Scott started breating heavily and started shaking. He is deathly afraid of heights and obviously he was a little in over his head! He got his fears under control and forged on climbing the 8,000 plus feet to the top which is 12,095 feet. Up there, we took a few pictures by the sign and then Carter woke up to join us for a few too. It was too "brr" (in Carters words) to play in the feet of snow that was still at the top of the mountain. We saw many people playing in the snow and some even sledding! It was amazing to see snow on July, 23rd! If you look really close in one of the pictures of the snow, you can actually see the people out there playing!
After leaving the sleet behind on the top of the mountain, we started the trek down into Aspen. More white knuckle driving from Scott and more hairpin curves but we made it with no U-turns to see Mountain Goats. One picture shows how narrow the road is from the passengers seat...pretty scary! Upon reaching Aspen, we saw the highlight of my day! There on the corner was a delivery car for Domino's that was smaller than the smart car, but only had one wheel in the front! For some reason that struck me as really funny and I wished I had been quick enough to get a picture! I think it struck me as funny because I could just imagine what Graham and Kevin would do if they had access to that vehicle! I guess I could have stolen it and put it in the back of the van...it would have fit! Just kidding about the stealing part! (don't get your hopes up Graham!) Once we got through Aspen it was on to Palisade on the prettiest interstate in the US. The mountains were amazing! I am just sad that we haven't gone though them before this!
We got to Palisade and to the winery, which Scott had allowed 4 hours for! After 4 tastes of wine and 10 minutes later we were back on the road to another winery. But before we could go there we had to stop at a roadside fruit stand to get Carter the peach he was promised for being a good boy in the first winery. As you will be able to tell from the pictures, he enjoyed the peaches (yes, peaches)! After our 1/2 hour stop and hosing down we were on to the next winery. There more wine was tasted and more money spent. After leaving that place we stopped at another roadside fruit stand where Carter picked out some sugar free pear butter all by himself for his Papa. We were getting ready to head for Montrose and check into the Holiday Inn when another winery along the way had its open sign still up. Scott whipped another u-turn and it felt like we were in the race of our lives to get there. Good thing we did, because there we found the best port wine that has ever been made....and so Papa (a port wine lover) got a bottle! After we left that winery Carter decided to use his play cell phone to call papa and tell him about the wine we got him. I posted a picture of him sitting on the sidewalk talking to him!
Off to Montrose, right on time, but 4 extra stops later! We checked into our hotel room and we are exhausted! I will write more tomorrow night about our ventures into Telluride and then onto Cortez! Enjoy the pictures!
Carter's latest doctors appointment
Carter saw his developmental pediatrician to get the results back from his MRI and EEG. According to him, there is no "clinical" or "physical" reason Carter does not talk but yet has an intelligence level that is off the charts. He would like to see Carter go to the Mayo clinic for some research and also wants to have him repeat the EEG in a year as there was some slowing but for a 2 year old its acceptable. So we will see what the Mayo Clinic has to offer and then repeat the EEG to see if the slowing has changed. I will keep you posted!
My camera has been located!
While putting things away for our last trip (a few weeks later) Scott located my camera in a bag of snacks. How it got there we are not sure, but we found it and so now I can post pictures!
Scott, Carter and I traveled back to South Dakota for the 4th of July weekend. We spent time with Papa and Grandma and Uncle Graham, G-pa and Nana and later Pander, Tracy, Haley, and Xander came up. On the 4th, we headed down to Canton to see Grandma and Julie, and Great Grandma! We enjoyed fireworks south of Canton and then enjoyed lighting our own on the 5th back at Papa and Grandmas house.
Carter enjoyed his time back in South Dakota and as always it went too fast! We will be headin back sometime in September or October to stay while Scott does a tour in Hondures.
Scott, Carter and I traveled back to South Dakota for the 4th of July weekend. We spent time with Papa and Grandma and Uncle Graham, G-pa and Nana and later Pander, Tracy, Haley, and Xander came up. On the 4th, we headed down to Canton to see Grandma and Julie, and Great Grandma! We enjoyed fireworks south of Canton and then enjoyed lighting our own on the 5th back at Papa and Grandmas house.
Carter enjoyed his time back in South Dakota and as always it went too fast! We will be headin back sometime in September or October to stay while Scott does a tour in Hondures.
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
MIssing in Action!
I had every intention of updating this blog site but then my camera went MIA. I know its around here somewhere but where is the question! I will be updating as soon as I find it!
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Carter and his Jump-o-lene
Since Scott has been gone most of the month of June, he was feeling a little guilty so he told Carter he could get a treat. Scott was thinking some matchbox cars but obviously Carter had something else in mind! I am sad to say though that it is going back to the store because it was deflated this morning when we woke up. I am sure he will pick something different out which really wont hurt my feelings because this thing litterally took up the whole living room!
Carter and Ellie
Carter and Ellie have become buddies even more than they were before. Scott and Ellie's dad were deployed together but they lived on post until about 3 weeks ago when they moved into the neighborhood just south of ours! Its about a 2 minute bike ride to their house and Carter thinks that is great! Ellie spent the night at our house on Monday night and went to soccer practice with us Tuesday. They baked cookies, put on a puppet show for me and hung out and watched movies. After soccer we went to McDonalds with a little boy and his mom from soccer. It was nice to be able to have an hour to just sit and chat as Ellie is really old enough to "watch" the boys in the play area. She is coming over again tomorrow and we are going the park and then she will spend the night again as its her parents anniversary and her dad called me and asked if she could spend the night! Its actually easier for me to have her around than not because she keeps Carter so entertained! I am sure I will have pictures of the park playdate with the other kids unless we get rained out!
One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish
Carter had his first fishing experience last Saturday. We got up bright and early and made it on post by 6:30am to meet the bus and have breakfast with the group. Since Carter was too little to ride the bus I had to drive him to the lake. We got there and each family (group) had there own boat with a fisherman ready to help them. Right away I told the guy that I didn't much about fishing (not entirely a lie) so he wouldn't expect much from me, which turned out to be good since Carter seemed to REALLY like the edge of the boat! I spent most of the time holding on to his life jacket so he could feel the water. I told the guy that we definately werent going for quality but rather quantity in the hopes of keeping Carter occupied. Total we ended up catching about 15 fish. All in all Carter had a great time even though we were one of the first boats back to shore! After a pizza lunch and raffle prizes we headed home around 3pm. Carter got his own fishing pole, tackle box full of lures, two big bags of different lures, a t-shirt, 2 caps, and two big bags full of goodies. It was a long but fun day and Carter took a 3 hour nap so I got some rest too!
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
New website
Welcome to our new site! It is my hope that I will eventually switch completely over to this site...it seems easier to use and will accomodate videos as well! I think the other one will stay as it even when I cancel my subscription...there just wont be more added too it! Enjoy our new site!
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Sunday, April 20, 2008
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