2014: page eighty-nine

Harvest Fellowship Church - 21st Anniversary Celebration

Eating, fellowshipping, singing, sharing stories. A good time was had by all as we celebrated what God has done in the last 21 years and looking forward to what is to come.

 

All the hard work from yesterday paid off. :)

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Scanning pictures into the computer
Uploading more pictures from discs
Creating a slideshow
Putting together a playlist
Printing programs
Setting up chairs & tables
Decorating
Baking 3 cakes
Etc., etc. etc.

Yep, I spent pretty much all of today doing stuff and getting ready for our big church party tomorrow. Wahoo! Since we were in Denver all week, much of what needed to be done was saved for today. Although, I'll be the first to admit that I am quite the procrastinator and I imagine things would have looked similar even if we had not been out of town. :)

Ryan was helping his sister and her family move, so thankfully, Grandma Kathy took B for most of the day. Then my parents came to town to help watch B the rest of the day, so I was able to get it all accomplished. Whew!

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Our drive home didn't go as smoothly as our drive out, but that's ok. A little bad weather and a lot of traffic made it a slower go. The 25ish miles from Idaho Springs to the Eisenhower Tunnel took over an hour. :( Once we made it past the tunnel, things got better. Although, it felt like we were fighting traffic the whole way. Definitely, not a relaxing drive. We made it home safely, though. :)

Pulling into our driveway is always refreshing for me! Home sweet home!

On another note, I had a pretty vividly real dream last night that was rather frightening for me. I'm not sure I really want to talk about it. Even bringing it up to Ryan this afternoon was difficult. Dreaming such a dream made me re-evaluate some things, so at least there's that silver lining. And I thank God that it was just a dream!

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So, the weather didn't cooperate with us going to the zoo today, however, that didn't stop us from going somewhere - the Downtown Aquarium!

Sarah and her girls picked B and I up from our hotel and we headed north. The aquarium was so much fun! The only downside was that it is spring break and so it was crowded. Nonetheless, we all enjoyed seeing the fish, sea creatures, and even mermaids. Yep, they had a mermaid show, which the girls loved. :)

B with Abby (holding B), Isabelle, and Marin. Her new friends!

Abby was sweet enough to take B up on the bridge.

The otters would come up to the glass and do flips off of it. So fun to watch.

After the aquarium, we headed back down towards the hotel and stopped for lunch at Chick-Fil-A. Sarah's girls took B and they played in the play area, while Sarah and I enjoyed some girl time of our own. It's fun to have a new friend, even though she lives far away.

In the evening, we met up with Beth, my first Colorado roommate. We haven't seen each other in almost 8 years! Her and her husband recently moved back from England and have settled in the Denver area. Great to see her and catch up!

Today is the last day of our Denver trip, as we are heading home tomorrow. When we set out on Monday, I had no idea how fun and full this trip would be! Seeing friends that I have known for a long time and meeting new friends made this a fabulous trip! I look forward to the next time Ryan has to come out for work. :)

Look Who's 2!

I can't believe that my baby girl is TWO YEARS OLD (as of a few weeks ago)! Time flies by so quickly!

A Few of Her Favorites:

• Food: Cheeseburgers are by far her favorite food. She could eat them for every meal I think. Followed by mac n cheese, peaches, chocolate chips, and ice cream.
• Songs: Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, Happy Birthday to You, and just about any song really
• TV Show: Bubble Guppies and Peppa Pig

On her actual birthday, excited to eat a cheeseburger.

She Loves To:

• Sing
• Dance
• Jump
• Play with her cousins
• Go outside to play
• Swing
• Play in the dirt
• Go to church

Her vocabulary is amazing for her age. She knows hundreds of words and can put sentences together really well. Listening to her talk and the funny random things she says is so much fun to listen to.

She can count to 13 except she always skips over the number 5.

My Favorite Things She Says:

• God everywhere
• That tickles (instead of laughing when you tickle her, sometimes she just says this)
• Momma, where are you?
• What happened?

Statistics

• Weight: 25 lbs 3 oz (25th percentile)
• Height: 33.5 inches (45th percentile)

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Someone enjoyed the bed...she was content to lay there all morning if I would have let her. :)

 

Another day at the mall - thankfully, our hotel is within walking distance so we can get out of the hotel and have somewhere fun to go.

Today, it was just B and I for most of the day. We headed to the mall and then to The Container Store, which is near the mall. I was so excited when I saw this store that I had only ever heard of. :) It's an organizer's dream store and it's probably a good thing that we were on foot without a car. Can't buy much stuff when you have to haul it around in a stroller. Ha! I'm betting Ryan is thankful for that, too. ;)

Eating at Red Robin finished off our morning/afternoon together. Man, I forget how much I like there burgers. And B got her favorite food, a cheeseburger.

That evening, Ryan's boss invited us all over for dinner, where we met his beautiful wife and three sweet girls. B had a blast with the girls and I enjoyed getting to know Sarah. We spent quite a while there, just hanging out and eating the delicious food. Sarah and I took the girls to a local park to play, while Ryan and his two bosses stayed back at the house to talk work, I suppose.

Sarah and I made plans for tomorrow to go to the zoo, if it's warm enough. Looks like tomorrow will be another fun day and B and I have new friends!

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What a wonderful day full of fun and friends - new ones and old ones!

When we got in to town last evening, it dawned on me that my small group leader, Suzanne, from my online Bible study lives in the Denver area. I decided to throw it out there to her that I was in town. I'll be the first to admit that I'm a chicken and was afraid of putting myself out there to be rejected, so I didn't outright ask her if she wanted to meet up. But, thankfully, once she knew I was in town, plans got started to meet up at the mall! Since B and I don't have a vehicle to get around, she was willing to travel the 25-30 minutes in order to meet up. What a blessing it was to meet her and her children!

B and I got there a bit before Suzanne and her kids, so we wandered about a bit. In the middle of the mall, there was a water fountain, which B really enjoyed. She kept wanting to go back to it. Looking for crocodiles was her goal. Ha ha ha! I kept telling her that there weren't any, but she was having fun and kept looking. :)

Once Suzanne and her kids got there the five of us spent a lot of time at the mall eating lunch and just wandering and talking. Her sweet daughter took the lead and we went to some very fun stores, including Build A Bear, American Girl, and the Disney store. B's favorite was the Disney store. She lit up when we walked in and said, "Wow, oh wow!"

Then in the evening Ryan, B and I met up with Christine, one of my closest friends and a roommate when I lived in Colorado. We haven't seen each other in almost 4 years, so it was wonderful to be able to spend some time together. As well, I got to meet her youngest who is 9 months old and she met B for the first time. So much fun to see how our lives have changed and to still be friends! I only wish we had taken a picture. :(

B & M

Me and Suzanne

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Denver here we come!!

Ryan had a last minute business trip to Denver come up and he is bringing B and I with him! Should be a fun week (well, for B and I, anyway), as we get to see a couple of my friends from back in the Fort Collins days. I'm excited!

We left this morning about 8:45 and made our way along Highway 40 to Steamboat Springs, where we stopped for lunch at one of my all time favorite Colorado restaurants, Beau Jo's Pizza. Yum! The best part is that the kid's lunch buffet is free for kids 5 and under. Score!

Arriving at our hotel around 4:00, we rested for a bit and then hit one of my other favorite places to eat, The Cheesecake Factory.

Two great meals in one day, now that's a good day. ;)

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Pretty much all day today (well, after church anyway) was spent getting ready to head to Denver tomorrow. Rushing around trying to get laundry done, clothes packed, toys and road trip entertainment packed, food gathered to take with us, etc. kept me running most of the day. Pretty tiring!

Usually, I get stuff packed further ahead of time, but I didn't even know we were going until about 6:00 on Friday evening. Yesterday, we were busy all day, which left it all for today. But, I am excited about the trip so it makes it all worth it.

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The big news of the day is that Ryan sold his motorcycle. Bittersweet feelings best describe how I am feeling about it and I think it's fair to say that he feels the same way. You see, he decided last fall that he was going to sell his bike in order to get an older Jeep that would take all of us to the mountains, rather than just him.

I can't even begin to describe how I am feeling about this. Such a sacrifice, yet something he decided all on his own. It's not something that I had ever asked him to do. I appreciate beyond what words can express his choice to make time with his family his priority! My heart is touched!

After we finished the sale of the motorcycle, we took a drive to the mountains as a family in the Jeep. Such a beautiful day for a drive with a stop in Neola for some ice cream. :)