Loredo Family Memories

So, I lied...

2011-10-21T19:15:00.000-07:00

I said I would update more but here I am, over a month since my last posting and finally updating you on what's going on with our life. I promise I have good intentions. At night once Layla takes a bath, does her homework, and falls asleep for the night I am always telling myself how tonight will be THE night that I am going to blog. It never happens. I have been falling asleep with Layla almost every night, at 7:30. I am a party animal, right? But when I say we are busy, I mean we are busy! We haven't even been down stairs to watch TV in weeks. It's sad and we're very rarely home. I fantasize about calling in sick one day and doing nothing but staying in bed and sleeping. Oh how nice that would be. I work 8-5, Monday through Friday and obviously Layla goes to school. She has cheerleading on Monday nights, Girl Scouts on Wednesday, and Gymnastics on Saturday. Not to mention all the extra practices that these activities hold. For example, last night Layla had a "team bonding practice" for her cheer team. They all carved pumpkins and ate pizza which was super fun but we didn't get home until 9pm (okay, we did stop by a friend's house on the way home to talk and play a bit too) which is over 12 hours of being away from home. See what I mean? Busy, busy.

Let me start at the end of September. We went to an Air Show at Ft. Carson with our wonderful, wonderful friends. We had such a good time and the weather was perfect to work on my tan. When we first walked in the kids were given a scavenger hunt card, they had to walk around and look for certain booths and get stamps. They had a lot of fun running around getting all of their stamps and they looked so cute while doing it too. It was lots of fun watching all the airplanes do tricks in the air and having to cover our ears when the F16 flew by. Layla and Payton didn't watch much of the show. They were too busy putting a whole bottle of sunscreen on themselves and even their toes and bottom of their feet. You never know when the bottom of your feet are going to get burned. By the time we left the girls were covered and so greasy. I don't think that much sunscreen is even healthy! It was hilarious watching them though, they are so funny. Layla also took the time to teach her cheers to the girls. In fact, we ended up watching them most of the time, they were very entertaining. We made it a day at the air field, it was so much fun! On October 9th we went to the WWE RAW World Tour at the World Arena. Oh my gosh, we had the BEST time ever. Ed is the only thing that could have made it even better. Actually, he was emailing me the whole time saying how jealous he was that Layla and I were there and he wasn't. Ever since Layla was a baby, Ed and her would watch WWE. Layla's "favorite guy" is John Cena and she was determined to meet him while we were there. The day, the minute the tickets went on sale I had called and got the best seats I could. Ringside, almost front row seats. They were awesome! When the wrestlers would come out we would run to the very front to see them as close as possible. Thanks to my awesome friend Nicholle for making Layla a super cute tutu, she totally stood out. No one looked like her, everyone was commenting on her outfit and how cute she looked. We watched some awesome fights but we were just sitting and waiting for the main event. John Cena vs. Alberto Del Rio. Alberto Del Rio and Ricardo came out first and as soon as they saw Layla standing in the front row, they started making fun of her (and in case you don't watch wrestling, they are the bad guys). Ricardo pointed at Layla and kicked his leg like he was going to kick my Princess. They both started laughing at her and pointing and then left. We were most definitely hoping they lost! The fight lasted quite awhile but the very end is what made the entire show. John Cena came up and shook Layla's hand and Evan Bourne gave her a high five! Layla's face just lit up when John Cena came up to her, such a dream come true for the little Princess. What an amazing day we had, it was so, so much fun! When they come back to Colorado, we'll be at the show rooting on John Cena for sure! While Layla and I were enjoying ourselves at the World Arena, Ed was climbing to the top of a mountain to see Alexander the Great's castle. Did you know he had a castle in Afghanistan? Because I didn't, I had to Google it. "According to local officials here, the fortress was built more than 2,000 years ago by legendary conqueror and Greek military leader, Alexander the Great during his push to India. Since then, nearly every military force has used it, including the British, the Russians, the Taliban, and now American and Afghan National Army soldiers." Crazy, right? Anyway, Ed climbing a mountain was good for me, it meant I finally got some pictures of him! Last weekend Layla and I headed to Happy Apple farm to pick some pumpkins. I had to take the day off because it was Columbus Day and Layla didn't have school so we made the best of our extra day off. Pumpkins! It was a perfect day to go, there was no one there and we had our pick of the patch! Of course my little girl doesn't care about finding the perfect, large, round pumpkin. No. Instead we ended up with about 20 "baby" pumpkins. It was a fun day though and definitely worth the trip. And lastly, on Wednesday Layla had "dress like a book character" day at school. At first I couldn't think of what she could be, most of the books we read have to do with animals. Then it hit me, two perfect characters that Layla acts like on a daily basis. Pinkalicious and Fancy Nancy. I asked her to pick one of those two and Pinkalicious it was. We threw together a pretty, pink outfit, put her hair in pigtails with a crown, and found a wand. Taa Daa! Pinkalicious! Oh and I saved the BEST news for last. Thursday I got an email from the FRG with a letter from CPT Johnson in it, here's the best part: "As some of you heard from LTC Stevenson at the Battalion Video Teleconference last night, we will be part of the overall draw down slated for Afghanistan. The President of the United States has ordered 10,000 Soldier, Sailors, Marines and Airmen out of Afghanistan before the New Year. Havoc Company is looking to have about 70% of the company return home to Fort Carson. We are looking to leave Afghanistan at the end of December." That slashes our deployment in HALF! This kind of stuff never, ever happens to us. I am amazed and still cannot believe it. This may be the best Christmas we've ever had!

Coronado Day 3 & 4

2011-09-09T20:36:00.000-07:00

Another beautiful day in Coronado! I think Ed needs to get stationed near the beach some where, looking at these pictures makes me crave the sun and the water. These last two days we went to the beach, went to the beach, and went to the beach. Other than eating, our time was consumed with long walks on the beach (seriously), jumping over waves, collecting seashells and sand dollars, making sand castles and soaking up the sun. We had even more fun than I thought we would, I can't even imagine having a better time than what we did. I woke up on Monday super sad, knowing we had to fly back to Colorado Springs. I like Colorado but it is no California and I knew that once we made it back home I would be homesick. We didn't fly out until around 5pm so we still had plenty of time to hit the beach one more time. It was actually good timing we chose to leave on Monday, it was the one day where it was completely cloudy and even started to rain while we were on our walk. Regardless of the weather, we had a great morning walk knowing it was our last. Thank you, Mom, Dad, Glen, and the kiddos for an amazing trip! I cannot wait until the next one. We had such a great time and we are so lucky we were able to spend that time together. Miss you guys so much!

Coronado Day 2

2011-09-09T19:36:00.001-07:00

Ahhh... I cannot tell you how good it feels to wake up in California with my family all around me. This mini vacation is just what I needed. I have been so stressed out and so busy, busy, busy that I needed a few days to just be lazy and do nothing. I think it did Layla and I so much good. As soon as we ate breakfast it was time to go down to the beach. We picked a great weekend to go, the weather was perfect. The air was cool and chilly but when the sun came out it warmed everything up! We had a blast walking around, collecting seashells and just watching the kids play!Of course we were getting hungry so we made Grandpa and Uncle Glen come bring us food. Burger King for all! After we ate and hung out some more the girls decided they wanted to go to the swimming pool. So off we went! Jaydan was tired and about fell asleep in the chair next to mine while I enjoyed watching the girls play in the water while drinking a Pina Colada. Mmmm... Talk about relaxing. We stayed at the pool for a few hours and after we were done with that it was time to go back up stairs to clean up and get ready for dinner. The hotel gave us these lanyards with the kid's names on them and they were to go around to all the stores in the hotel and collect stickers. At the very end of the scavenger hunt, if they collected all the stickers they got a little prize. It was super fun for the kids to do and was the perfect before dinner activity. Aren't these two adorable? They were like this the entire trip, holding hands and playing together. For dinner we ate at the Sheerwater, an amazing seafood restaurant at the hotel with an amazing view. The food was SO good there, I cannot say enough good things about it. When the hostess sat us down she even gave the kids a little thing of trail mix so they wouldn't get hungry waiting. Although I must say our waiter was a bit odd but when Glen asked what room the ghost was in (room 3512) he made up for it by telling us. The kid's meals looked super good too, Chloe and Jaydan got pizza and Layla got a hotdog and french fries. The adult meals won though, they were so delicious. My mom had Shrimp, Pancetta & Penne Pasta (rock shrimp, wild mushrooms, spinach, brandy lobster sauce), Glen had Wild Pacific Sea Bass in lobster sauce and I couldn't make up my mind so I just got two appetizers, Lobster Mac & Cheese (brandy truffle cream, pancetta) and Blue Crab Cake. I ended up eating all of mine and then stole half of my Mom's. Oh my gosh, it was so good! I can still taste it now. We had such a good dinner and we sat there and drank wine and talked and laughed the entire time. Memories. We must have been in a goofy mood because after dinner we went ghost hunting. We had the room number and knew exactly which part of the hotel she (yes, she) is rumored to be in. "Kate was a young woman who checked into the hotel over Thanksgiving weekend under an alias, stayed a few nights, and killed herself on the steps of the hotel leading to the ocean." We tried to find her last summer too with no luck and unfortunately this time we didn't find her either. But, we had a blast searching for her. Glen is deathly afraid of heights so being on the 5th floor, next to an open staircase proved to be a bit of a challenge. So what do you do when you can't find a ghost? Plank, duh. After that it was time for bed, we had a very busy day... sleep tight.

Coronado Day 1

2011-09-09T05:10:00.000-07:00

I have been planning this trip for months, counting down the days until I was back in beautiful California. We've traveled and been to so many places over the years but California is still my favorite place to be and the most beautiful state I have ever been to. It's like no other! I was also super excited for this trip because even though Layla has been on about 20 airplanes before, this will be the first one she really remembers and she was super excited about it. We charged our iPods, packed our suitcases, and headed out about 4:45 Friday morning to Colorado Springs airport. Since we had to be up so early to fly out it was nice we flew out of Colorado Springs since it's only about 10 minutes away from our house. We were both so exhausted but also so excited. Layla loved being on the airplane and couldn't wait to have her toes in the sand. From Colorado Springs to LAX it was only 1 hour 56 minutes in air. As we were approaching LA and getting low enough where we could see all the lights from the city I got teary eyed. I was home. It's amazing how home can make you feel, it's like I didn't have a worry in the world and all I felt was happiness. We had a layover at LAX for about 2 hours, longer than the plane ride over but it was just long enough to walk around, find our gate and get some McDonald's for breakfast. Then we hopped on one of the scariest planes I have ever been on. LAX to Carlsbad airport (which I didn't even know existed until I bought our plane tickets) is only 22 minutes in air which automatically equals a tiny, scary plane. But hey, $100 less for flying into Carlsbad instead of San Diego worked fine for us! We landed at 11:30am at Bermuda Dunes airpot, wait, I mean Carlsbad. Ha. For those of you from the desert you'll get my reference. Carlsbad airport was so small, we were the biggest plane there and that's not saying much as we flew over in this dinky little thing. Layla and I stepped off the airplane and there were my parents, basically right at the bottom of our plane, waving and excited to see us. Layla ran to Grandma and Grandpa and gave them the biggest hugs ever! HOME! As soon as we stepped off the plane we were in go mode. I only had 4 days to do everything I wanted to do and it started now. Off to Old Town San Diego for some of the best.Mexican.food.EVER! Homemade tortillas and Chili Verde in San Diego, what could be better?! Layla got a kids quesadilla but she ended up getting a tortilla and pilling it full of beans and rice and eating it like a burrito. Silly girl. As soon as lunch was over, Coronado was calling my name. Beach, sand, ocean, love! That's one good thing about being in the Army and moving a lot, you really get to appreciate home. "There's no place like home" sure rings true more and more every day for me. Even though we're not actually from Coronado, I remember going there 2, 3, 4 times a summer and just being in California, anywhere in California, feels like home. There was no time to run up to our room and change. It was more like park and run to the water! Let me just take a moment to say that I have such an amazing husband. I was missing him more than ever while we were there. He would have loved to take Layla to the beach and jump over waves with her. I almost felt guilty being there, knowing that he is miserable and Layla and I were having the time of our lives. Sure enough, he knows how to make me smile. We check into our hotel and walk into the room to find the most beautiful bouquet of flowers I have ever seen. No joke, they were gorgeous. And on the bed was a Winnie the Pooh stuffed animal for Layla. He makes my heart smile. Time for the clothes to come off and the swimsuit to be put on! Layla just couldn't stand being at the beach in her clothes. We went up to the room for a whopping 5 minutes to change and back down we went. That is one of the best things about Hotel Del Coronado, beach front rooms so we can come and go to the room as we please without ever having to drive anywhere. Beautiful Hotel Del Coronado. Can I go back yet?! Sigh. As if flowers weren't enough we get a knock on our door in the evening. My mom went to answer it, I didn't think anything of it. There was a little old man, obviously from the hotel, holding out a plate for "Lorado". Chocolate covered strawberries from my love. That's it, he wins best husband of the year award! That evening after we had ate dinner and relaxed at the hotel for a bit we went to watch Finding Nemo on the beach. Last year we did a movie at the pool. This totally blew the pool movie out of the water. Who wouldn't want to dig your toes in the sand and have beautiful Hotel Del as your back drop while enjoying a movie? It was so much fun and such a cute movie to show right on the beach like that. Just another reason to love this hotel. Not only was there a movie going on at the beach but there were also S'mores! A dozen fire pits all lined the shore and the kids were given a skewer and a bag (or two or three, however many you wanted) of ingredients to make a S'more. Fun and yummy! Just as we were on the way back up to the hotel, guess who showed up? Uncle Glen, Chloe and Jaydan! We had been waiting ALL day to see these 3. Layla has missed her cousins so much. It had been a year, down to the day, since she last saw them. It was definitely time for a reunion. Can't you tell they are all related? They all look so similar to me, maybe it's the eyes, she actually looks like she could be their sister. Or I could just be thinking that because I know they're cousins. Totally got off my point here, Layla was extremely happy to see them (and seeing Uncle Glen was ok too). It made her trip! We had to take them back down to S'more cooking so they could have a belly full of sugar before bed, because, you know, that won't keep them up all night at all! Phew! And that was just the first day, I have 3 more days to tell you all about. Stay tuned!

Afghanistan makes my husband do crazy things!

2011-08-26T05:21:00.000-07:00

But then again, if you were trapped there for a year, wouldn't you go a little crazy too? I got an email this morning entitled "Mental Health" with a few pictures of my hunk of a husband. The body of the email went like this "Ma'am, I am referring your husband to Mental Health for reasons that are self explanatory in the photo's." What might these pictures look like, you ask? Well, here they are. I haven't seen my wonderful husband in over 2.5 months and when I finally get some pictures, these are what I see. I guess they're typical when you marry the goofiest guy you've ever met! What else would I expect from him? At least they left a big smile on my face!

2 Months

2011-08-11T17:36:00.000-07:00

2 months down, 10 months to go... or 62 days down, 303 to go. Yes, I have a countdown going on. In fact at my work I have a little white board I update every single day. Monday will be the best because when I go in, I'll get to change it to 299 days and we'll officially be out of the 300's. It's the little things that matter these days. Some days I sit back and think about how fast these 2 months went by and the next 10 should (cross my fingers) fly by just as fast. Other days I think, my God, it seems like 6 months should have gone by now, not 2! Regardless of the days, months, and weeks that go by, we miss Ed more and more every day. Layla and I have been keeping very busy though. When Ed first left, we couldn't sit still for a second. If we did, Layla would end up thinking about how much she missed Ed and start crying and just not be her perfect, happy little self. Things are a bit different now, we talk about Daddy all the time and the things we miss about him and that we can't wait until he gets home but we do it in a happy way rather than sit here, cry, and be depressed about it. We know he will come home to us, it's just a matter of time and we cannot wait until that time comes. Thinking about it gives me butterflies!

I promise that I am going to start updating my blog more regularly. It's been two months since my last posting and we have done SO much over the summer. It has actually been a really good summer for us, we've done and experienced many different things. I will say that the one good thing about Ed being gone is that Layla and I always get so close. We always are, don't get me wrong, but the bond that her and I share because it's just the two of us is amazing. She is my little best friend and we do everything together. We don't have any family here so it is literally just the two of us. I guess that could be construed into a bad thing but I look at it as a positive and know I will treasure this time the two of us had together when she is older.

The day after Ed left Layla and I went to the circus at the World Arena. We had a great time and it was the perfect way to get our mind off of Ed leaving. We really needed it! We ate lots of junk food and Layla just loved the elephants and meeting the clowns. Before the show started they had everyone from the circus on the floor and we were able to go meet them and watch an elephant paint a picture. It was a really fun time. I know circuses can get a bad rep but we really enjoyed it and will most likely go again in the future when they come back. We bought season passes to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. It is a great zoo and only about 20 minutes away. I figure even if we wanted to go there after school one day we could. But definitely on the weekends we'll be there lots to feed the giraffes. That's the good thing about having the season pass, if we want to go just for an hour to feed the animals and then go home, we can. Layla loves going too, we always have such a great time there. In fact, we're going to go this weekend too. Got to get in some good zoo time before it starts getting cold over here (so not looking forward to that). We spent 4th of July with our great friends the Achee family. We had a great big feast and went to Iron Horse to watch all the pretty fireworks. Made me miss Ed a lot hanging out with them, they're our weekend buddies for sure, we're always together and now we're missing a part of our little group. Layla and Payton get along so well, they are so cute together and do the funniest things. They put on some great shows for us! Ed and I celebrated our 7 year wedding anniversary on July 10th. I am going to be cheesy for a moment, so try not to gag but I love how he can make me feel special all the way from across the world. He sent me a huge love bug cookie bouquet and tulips (he's good, he knows my favorite flowers!) to the house and I got a dozen roses sent to work too. I felt so special having all that sent to me. He's so great! I feel so lucky to be married to my best friend. He supports me in everything I do and is always there for me and I literally tell him everything, I can't imagine being married to anyone else! He's the best! We were able to webcam that day too, perfect way to spend our anniversary if we have to be apart for it. Layla and I celebrated Christmas in July by going to the North Pole! It's this great little amusement park located on the slopes of Pikes Peak. I had wanted to take Layla last year over Christmas but just never had a chance. One of my co workers had said it was better to go now during the summer when all the rides are open and it's nice outside, it gets too cold during the winter and the snow makes all the rides shut down. Makes complete sense. So we went to check it out and I haven't seen Layla have that much fun for awhile. She absolutely loved it. And where did I get such a brave little girl? She made me go on all these scary high, horribly fast, sickeningly spinning rides. I about died, but no, she wanted to go on them over and over and over again. I couldn't believe it, she has never wanted to go on them before. So I sucked it up and tried not to puke on just about every single one of them. Thank you, Layla. My best friend Jessica came to visit! Her inlaws live up in Denver so they were headed up that way but stopped and stayed with us for the weekend before heading up. I cannot even tell you how good it was to see her and Ana (and I guess Andy too). It has been a year and to see someone from back home like that really lifted my spirits. We had such a great time. Layla and Ana acted as if no time had passed and went right back into best friend mode. We went to Garden of the Gods and got poured on, went to Fargo's and had yummy pizza, played super fun games, and laughed till our bellies hurt, stayed up late laughing and talking about nothing and everything, went shopping, and went to an awesome little indoor water play area in Denver. We definitely squeezed as much in as possible but it was well worth it. And of course I saved the best for last! My parents came and stayed with us for a week! They left on Monday and I cannot even describe how much it hurts to see them leave. The week they were here was definitely the best week we've had since Ed left. We had so much fun and shared so many laughs and made tons of memories that we'll never forget. We went fishing and Layla caught her first fish, well, actually 7 fish. She did so good! She loved casting and reeling in her little pink Barbie fishing pole. We watched movies, went shopping, hung around the house doing nothing but talking, went to the Melting Pot and got so full we about died, etc. etc. etc. Gosh, we had the best time ever. I am so lucky to have such amazing parents and Layla is lucky to have them as her grandparents. They are so amazing with her, spoiling her rotten with attention and presents! It went by way too quick but I am so thankful for the time we had together. Couldn't have asked for a better trip! Now they must come back again and SOON! While my parents were here Layla started Kindergarten! She had her first day on Thursday the 4th. Seemed a bit early to me but hey, she had to start sometime. She is going to a Charter school where she has to wear uniforms and I am so thankful for that! Even for Pre K she would fight with me every single morning about what she wanted to wear... she's 5, can you imagine how high school is going to be? Lord, help us! She had such a great first day and was so excited to go back the next day. She is a little smarty pants and doing amazing with her numbers and letters. Mommy and Daddy could not be more proud of her! And if Ed couldn't be here to see her on her first day, the next best thing was Grandma and Grandpa. I am so thankful they were here to share such a special day with my little princess. Wednesday is full dress day, meaning she has to wear her dressy uniform. How flippin' cute is this? I just want to squeeze her! So there is our last two months in a nutshell. September we're off to San Diego for a few days, October we have front row, ringside tickets to WWE's RAW World Tour, and November my love comes home for 2 weeks! Many good things to come and I cannot wait. I hope August hurries and flies right on by, I cannot wait for the beach! Much needed.

Saying goodbye for a year

2011-06-11T17:52:00.000-07:00

Ugh, I don't even know where to begin, we've had such an emotionally draining day today. Ed is on his way to Afghanistan as I type and Layla and I are beyond heartbroken. A year just seems so long. I know I've done this twice already but it doesn't get any easier, not to mention this will be my first time completely on my own, not in California with my loved ones. I do think this year will be a great bonding time for Layla and I, we'll get to experience so much together which will bring us even closer than we already are. I just know how close Ed and Layla are and it'll be hard on both of them having to be away from each other, they truly are best friends. I just hope and pray that Ed will come home to us safe and sound. Let the worrying begin!

I woke up this morning with a massive knot in my stomach, not ready to say goodbye to my love for a year. I have been dreading this day for months now and I cannot believe it was finally time. We woke up and finished helping Ed pack and get his last few things ready to go then headed out to his company where we waited for him to get his weapon and just hanging out until it was time for them to get locked down. Even though we were just sitting in the sun all day with nothing to do, it was so nice being able to hang out with Ed those last few hours. I will cherish those last moments together. Ed took forever to get his weapon, he didn't want to have to wait in a long line to get it so he was waiting until the last minute. Layla is so funny, she told him "Daddy, do you want to get dead? No? Then go get your weapon!" It's amazing what this little girl has been exposed to in her short life, she knows exactly where Daddy is going and what he's doing. It's cute and sad all at the same time, makes me feel bad for her. It was so so so hard saying goodbye, it gets harder every time. I can't even put into words how much we are going to miss Ed, I just hope this year goes by super fast and he's back in my arms in no time!

OpLove Photos

2011-06-10T08:50:00.001-07:00

Since Ed is on his way to Afghanistan pretty soon I really, really wanted some updated family pictures. As morbid as it sounds, you never know what's going to happen in the year they're gone. If something happens, I want pictures I can look back on and thank goodness for Operation: Love Reunited. Operation: Love Reunited is a non-profit, fully volunteer organization that offers professional photography sessions to military families and members who are getting ready to deploy, who are currently deployed, or those who are coming home. A good friend of mine had her pictures taken by an amazing photographer she found through the OpLove website and as soon as I saw the pictures, I fell in love. I had to call immediately and cross my fingers she could fit us in on such short notice. Brittany is a sweet heart and told us she was available to shoot asap. I was so happy! A few days later we were at a park shooting amazing photos. We had such a great experience with her and I will definitely be going back for more. We got our picture CD today and I am absolutely in love, these will definitely be memories to hold onto while Ed is gone. THANK YOU B.Lee Photography for everything, you don't know how much I will cherish these pictures.

I wish I could share ALL of the pictures but these are my favorites! And my absolute FAVORITE picture! This is going on a canvas in my house. I'm in love with it!

A day in Denver

2011-06-04T20:42:00.000-07:00

One last mini trip to Denver before Ed takes off for a year. We love exploring and taking full advantage of all the places the Army sends us which right now is Colorado. We've had fun ice skating at the 16th Street Mall in December and just last month had a great time at the Aquarium. Today's adventure brought us to Denver for some RC racing! This was Ed's last RC race to take place in before he leaves so we were there! We got up to Denver bright and early in the morning, a little too early, so we decided to explore some. We found lots of chu-chu trains and guys working on them. Layla loved watching them!After killing a few minutes it was time for Ed to do some practice laps and then time for the race to begin! This darn race lasted ALL day long! I always laugh because I swear up and down that I hate going to Ed's RC races but then when it's time for him to actually race I get so into it. Layla and I cheer and I get so mad when he messes up. I guess that's the competitiveness coming out in me, I want him to WIN every single time!During the middle of the race, when Ed wasn't on the track, Layla and I snuck away and headed to Hammond's Candy Factory which only ended up being about 5 minutes away from where Ed was racing. They have free tours going every 15 minutes and we were just in time to go on one. We had so much fun! It was like Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory! Tons of taffy and tons of candy canes. We got to see how candy canes were made (all by hand!) and how to stretch taffy to get it in the right shape. Plus we got TONS of free samples. We were definitely on a sugar high when we got back to Ed! Fun times in Denver once again! I love my little family and the adventures we go on!

A nice summer day!

2011-05-30T20:43:00.000-07:00

One of the things I miss so much about Germany is their awesome festivals. They always have the best games, food, shopping and activities. Now that I am in Colorado and I hear about festivals, I am all about going and checking them out, hoping they will be half as good as the ones in Germany. This weekend in Old Town Colorado were Territory Days so I made Ed go with me to check it out. It was ok, yes, just ok. Nothing like the ones I am used to and miss so much but it was definitely worth checking out. Layla's favorite part hands down was mining for gold. Her and Ed had so much fun. They got a little jar and filled it up with tons of colored rocks they found. No gold but pretty colored rocks are even better anyway! My favorite part was definitely the food. We got some amazing chili cheese covered fries, they were to die for. If you haven't realized by now, I am a total junk food lover. Anything fattening and covered in grease is my best friend and these chili cheese fries fit the bill. YUM! After Territory Days it was time to hit up Cave of the Winds. I had signed up to be a Secret Shopper so we got free tickets to get in which is probably the only reason we ended up going anyway. Free is good. We went on the Discovery Tour which the website describes as "On our most popular tour, you’ll wind your way through nearly a mile of Colorado caverns, including the Majestic Hall, the Bridal Chamber and the Temple of Silence. You’ll duck under Fat Man’s Misery, marvel at geological formations like the Giant’s Bleeding Heart, and experience total cave darkness. Join us on a Discovery Tour to explore the wonders of the underground – at the top of a mountain!" We've been to caves in Texas and Germany and I'm not going to lie, this cave was the least impressive of the bunch. Still a neat attraction to visit but I won't be going back again. Layla and Ed found more mining too, this time for gems! Like I said, it was neat to see once and the view from up top on the mountain was breathtaking. Once we got home and realized the weather was still awesome it was time for some Slip N' Slide in the backyard. Ed and Layla rocked it too! We had a great day exploring Colorado Springs, taking total advantage of where we live, don't want to regret not seeing things while we're here.

Aquarium & Butterfly Pavilion

2011-05-22T20:44:00.000-07:00

I have been wanting to check out the Denver Aquarium since we got here and today we finally had the chance. I wanted to make sure and go before Ed left us so that he could have some fun with us! Our good friends have season passes and offered to let us use them, or try to use them anyway. We didn't know if they would work but turns out they did! Not only were we able to get in for free but with the season passes you're able to do a lot more fun activities for free like games, face painting, and feeding the sting rays. We were very grateful that the let us use them. We stayed at the Aquarium for a few hours, looking at all the amazing fish and sea creatures. They even had mermaids there! I thought Layla would have been more excited to see them since she calls herself a mermaid but she was being shy. We had such a great time, it was definitely worth the drive up to Denver to check it out! Since we were in the Denver area and still had a good chunk of the day left I suggested we head on over to the Butterfly Pavilion. When googling about things to do in Denver one day, I ran across the Butterfly Pavilion and since Layla was learning about caterpillars and butterflies in class that week, it was the perfect time to go. We have been to a few other places like this, one being in Luxembourg and they are always a hit. Layla loves seeing and illegally touching all the butterflies. It's always fun to try and get them to land on your hand. Ed was a sweating mess in the humid room and Layla's cheeks started to turn bright red but we still had a really good time. The butterflies were just beautiful and we even got some to land on us! Layla loved it, it was so worth hitting that up on our way home. We'll definitely be making a trip back up that way for some more fish and butterfly fun this summer!

Warrior Games

2011-05-18T20:46:00.000-07:00

Ed came home from work telling me about the Warrior Games and that he really wanted to go watch the basketball game. Army vs Marines! I'm not a basketball fan but Ed seemed very adamant about going so of course Layla and I followed. When we got there I was completely amazed. "The 2011 Warrior Games presented by Deloitte hosted 198 wounded, ill and injured men and women from all branches of the Armed Forces. New to the event this year, a team of athletes from Special Operations Command also took part. Seven sports were contested throughout the week, including track & field, archery, shooting, swimming, cycling, sitting volleyball and wheelchair basketball."

I couldn't tear my eyes away the from the game for more than two seconds. These men and women were so inspiring, they are real heros. I was honored to be able to sit in the audience and watch these guys play. They have been through so much and still continue to follow their dreams and do the things they love to do, even with the injuries they have and the difficulties they face every day. Ed's whole company was there to cheer the Army on and ended up winning! GOLD for the Army! I cannot wait until next year to attend the Warrior Games again, if any of you reading are in Colorado Springs I highly suggest coming to a game or two. Seeing their courage will leave you speechless, I promise.

Graduation

2011-05-17T20:48:00.000-07:00

I cannot believe I have a kindergartner! Well, not until the fall but still, she isn't in Pre K anymore! Layla will be going to a real elementary school and she got into James Madison Charter Academy which is what I've been hoping for all along. I am so excited for her to start, I know she is going to do just awesome! For Layla's graduation we let her pick where she wanted to go for dinner and of course she chose Applebee's, never would have guessed that one! After dinner it was off to the theater for the ceremony. We all waited outside the building and Layla got to play with all of her friends, especially McKayla which is her BFF at school. They are so cute playing together, I love watching Layla with her friends. When the doors to the theater opened the parents went to get seats while the kids changed into their cap and gowns. I'm not going to lie, I think the cap and gowns are a little over board for Pre K but it was adorable anyway. They walked out to music and went to their seats on stage. They sang the cutest songs and danced the cutest dances. They even walked across the stage and got a little diploma from their teacher. It was adorable! After the ceremony it was picture taking time and snacks! Layla was super excited to get a cupcake and take pictures with her teachers. She just loves her school and especially Mrs. Helga (Mrs. Helgie as Layla calls her). On the way home we noticed a little fair and it was the perfect time to check it out. Daddy and Layla went on some rides and played some games. I am so thankful Ed was able to be here for such a special day for Layla. He'll be missing all the kindergarten graduation festivities next year so this was nice he was able to be here for her this year. I love my big girl, I cannot believe how old, smart, and beautiful she's getting. Ed and I are so lucky to have such a perfect little princess!

My new hobby

2011-05-14T06:09:00.000-07:00

COUPONING!

I have been watching Extreme Couponing on TLC lately and a thought occurred to me. If they can do it, so can I! It was a total inspiration seeing what they get for free or next to nothing. It's quite amazing really. Two weeks ago after watching that show, I got on the computer and started couponing. You should see my stock pile now! I am not going to go over board like some of those people but if I can save 90% on my grocery bill for things I am going to use anyway then why the heck not? It's been a lot of fun and a nice, cheap hobby. Ed thinks that when he comes home from deployment I am going to have a room filled with random stuff. He may be right. But I'll have a blast finding it all for free! And it'll keep me busy during those nights when Layla is asleep and Ed is away. Every few weeks I am going to make a post on what I got and for how much, just so I can keep up with what I'm buying.

Here is what I have bought over the past couple of weeks. Thank goodness my lunch break is an hour, I do it all then so I don't ruin any of my family time with my two loves.

6 boxes of Zantac for only $1.26! 4 packs of 4 roll Scott Naturals, 3 packs of 3 bar Ivory soap, 4 Powerade Zeros, 1 Tylenol Precise, 2 tubes Colgate toothpaste, 2 bottles Pinesol, 3 packs Mr. Clean magic erasers, 2 Bic Soleil 4 pack razors, and 3 Noxzema 4 pack razors. My grand total today was a whopping $14.43 before tax! 18 rolls of Scotch Magic tape for FREE! 6 bottles Clorox spray and 8 Butterfinger Snackerz for a total of .37 plus .97 sales tax makes my grand total $1.34 for everything! 1 25 pack taquitos, 7 packs Halls cough drops, 2 boxes brownie mix, 1 bottle Dawn Plus, 2 packs Dole fruit crisp, 6 bags Chex Mix, 3 bottles Sunny D, 3 bottles Nivea lotion, 3 bottles relish, 1 Dora toothpaste, 4 bags Boulder chips, and... I think that's it. Paid $16.15 before taxes and saved 88%.4 bottles Clorox, 1 box of Cheez Its, 2 Nivea lip balms, and 16 packs of Wrigley's 5 gum for a total of $6.50!Everything rang up at $43.12 and after coupons I only paid $4.04! Just a quick trip! $2.80 for everything before tax.

I'm alive, I promise

2011-05-06T05:39:00.001-07:00

This past month (over a month, really) have just flown by. I feel like I have no time for anything, let alone blogging. Even taking pictures has come to a dramatic halt and if you know me, you know that's a BIG deal. I am going to play a little catch up with this post as much as I can. I have two rather big pieces of news to share first though. First, Ed is officially deploying. He got his orders last week. We knew he was going to deploy but I always have a glimmer of hope that something will change up until the time he gets his orders. Well, he got them so now I have no hope left, he'll be out of here in a month, heading to Afghanistan for yet another year. I am so ready for deployment #3 to be over with. My second piece of news, we're moving! The lease to our house is up at the end of the month and we were planning on resigning it, until the owners decided they are moving back in. Just great. I just feel like it's bad timing for all of this to happen with Ed leaving so soon. We have SO much to do in such a little amount of time. Thankfully we found a house we love just as much, 700 square feet bigger, and it's only 3 houses down from where we live now. We have been slowly moving in but today Ed and our friend Brian are moving all the big furniture so we should be actually living in the new house by this weekend. Pictures of our new home to come!

Now for some events that have taken place over the past month.

In the beginning of April Ed had an RC race. Layla and I always go with him (well, not to tomorrow's race, I have a yard sale to attend) and cheer him on. I always say how stupid his hobby is, jokingly of course, but when he's the one out there racing I get so into it. Layla has lots of fun too and usually meets a friend or two to play with. This particular race Ed competed in two different events. I am probably going to mess this up but I believe they were electric and nitro. He did AMAZING! He was winning the nitro race by a ton but then something on his car broke that prevented him from racing anymore so he was disqualified. The poor guy was so upset. When it was time to compete in the electric race, he was neck and neck with another guy for first place. One wrong move would have put Ed into second place and what do you know, he crashed his car, putting him in second. He still did really well though, Layla and I were super proud! This next picture makes me smile. Margaux and I had a girl's night one night (Melting Pot, our FAVORITE) and we had Ed watch all 5 kids. When we came home Ed was sleeping on the couch with the 3 girls, it was so sweet. Ed's parents also came to visit! Ed took leave and told them to come up for the two weeks he was off so they could spend some time with Ed and Layla (I had to work the entire time, boo). We picked them up at the Denver airport and Layla was so excited to see them. It had been way too long. We did a lot of fun stuff together too, I just wish my stupid camera battery hadn't died on me while we were doing them. We went to the Manitou Springs Cliff Dwellings. I have always wanted to go, it sounded so neat and it was! These pictures really don't do it justice, it was beautiful and they had tons of cute little gift shops every where that we spent lots of time and money at. While I was at work one day, Ed, his parents, and Layla all went to the zoo. I really need to get season passes to this place. I have a feeling this summer we'll be there A LOT! It's so much fun and just a really good zoo, plus, who doesn't want to feed giraffes? So awesome! With Ed's parents here, that also meant date nights for Ed and I! We went out a couple of times and it was much needed, especially right before a deployment. It's so great to have adult time every now and then. And of course our great friends had to come along too! We had a blast! Ed bought a new car! Well not a new car, an old car he is going to fix up. He's already made a lot of progress on it, it's going to look amazing once it's all finished. Stayed tuned for lots of updates on it, well, once he returns from Afghanistan anyway. I can't forget to mention Easter and what a fun one it was! I had taken all kinds of adorable pictures of Layla painting her Easter eggs and playing in the snow (yes, it was snowing on Easter) but I accidentally deleted all of them. I was sick to my stomach after I made that mistake, ugh! The Easter bunny really loves Layla though, he can't seem to stop buying things for her basket! Layla loved searching around the house for all of her eggs but had even more fun finding her basket and tearing it apart. After Easter bunny activities were complete, Ed, Layla, and I headed to the movies to watch Rio. It was such a cute movie, we really enjoyed it. And later that night our friends the Achee's came over for some dinner and egg hunting. Not just your normal eggs, however, they were the ones filled with confetti. The kids collected as many as they could and then started chasing each other around the garage (remember, it was snowing outside) breaking them on each other and our heads. They had so much fun, it was fun watching them.

And... I think that's about it. I am sure I am missing a lot of small things to share but those are the main events! I am going to do my best to keep up with this darn blog more once we are settled in our new house. Until then, our heads are going to be spinning with stress so be patient. I hope everyone had a happy April and are starting off May just as good.

Disney on Ice: Princess Classics

2011-03-20T17:47:00.000-07:00

I have been wanting to take Layla to Disney on Ice since she was a baby. Unfortunately, it wasn't available in the middle of no where in Germany where we lived and in California it was at least a 1.5-2 hour drive to the nearest show. It just never worked out for us to be able to go... until now! Here in Colorado Springs we have the World Arena (which is only a 15 minute drive from our house!) which is the premier sports and entertainment venue in the Pikes Peak region. As soon as I heard that Disney on Ice was going to be here, I was ecstatic! Then I heard it was Disney on Ice Princess Classics and I was even MORE excited, how perfect for my little Princess! I couldn't wait to take Layla! Tickets went on pre sale about a month ago and I ordered ours the minute we were able to. Three VIP tickets were printed and waiting for us for over a month before we were actually able to go but today was THE day! Let me just say, Disney didn't disappoint, it was amazing and I already want to see another one! I ordered Layla a custom Ariel (her favorite Princess) outfit to wear and she looked gorgeous, as always. She's such a little diva and can pull off anything. She was so excited to see Ariel in person!We got to the World Arena about 45 minutes early so we could find our seats, grab some food, and buy Layla a souvenir or two. I think we bought one of everything! It was part of the experience though, as least that's what I am using as my excuse. Our VIP tickets were well worth the money. We were on the floor, 3rd row from the front of the ice rink. I couldn't stop telling Ed what great seats we had! The show was about 2 hours long. The first hour was a mixture of all the Princesses and their music. Belle, Ariel, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, Mulan, Jasmine... and the second hour was just Cinderella. The fairy Godmother even flew above our heads, it was magical. To deal with all the Princess madness of the day, Ed needed a couple of beers. Hey, whatever works!We had such a great time! I am so happy we were able to enjoy this together as a family, just the three of us. Couldn't have had a better time!

A Chuck E. Cheese Celebration

2011-03-06T19:55:00.000-08:00

Nothing can even compare to Layla's birthday party last year, so why even try? This year since we weren't in California with all of our friends and family we decided to just ask her what she wanted to do for her birthday. We gave her some ideas but ultimately she decided on Chuck E. Cheese and was so excited to go for the last month. Every time we would drive past it she would get all excited and say "I'm going there for my birthday!" Well today was finally the day. We decided to head out on Sunday morning, as soon as it opened to avoid the rush and madness that occurs later in the afternoon. We had such a great time, as usual. I don't even want to say how much money was spent on tokens, it was a little ridiculous but it was our baby's 5th birthday so we had to go all out. Plus, we decided the money being spent today was nothing compared to last year so that made us give in more than we would have.

The Achee's met us there to help Layla celebrate her birthday too, we're very lucky to have such great friends here, Layla was so excited when she saw them walk in. We spent a couple hours at Chuck E. Cheese, playing games and eating pizza. By that time, more and more people were starting to come and we were running out of tokens so it was time to leave. The birthday girl had almost 2,000 tickets to spend so we were at the prize counter for what seemed like forever trying to pick out junky toys. She wanted to spend all her tickets on 50 and 100 ticket items but I talked her into getting a bigger prize first before she started with the little things. Thank goodness she agreed, it saved us lots of time. While Layla didn't have a huge party like last year's event, we still had a great time (and spent plenty of money). I think her 5th birthday was a success. I still cannot believe my baby girl is 5 years old (going on 12, I swear)! I love you little Princess!

It's the Birthday Girl!!!

2011-03-02T21:06:00.000-08:00

I know, I know I say this every year when Layla has another birthday but seriously, I just cannot believe she is 5 years old! Where has the time gone? It's amazing how much smarter and more beautiful Layla has gotten in just a year. She is 5 going on 14 with that attitude of hers but she is such a sweetie too. Only child syndrome at it's best! This past year she has had so, so many changes with Daddy coming and going, us moving to Colorado, starting a new school, me going back to work, etc. but it has molded her into this perfect little princess that she is. So proud of her and everything she has accomplished this past year. 4 years was so much fun but I am totally looking forward to 5 and all the things it has to offer, including kindergarten.

This morning Ed and I woke up super early and blew up a whole bunch of balloons to put in Layla's room while she was sleeping. I wanted her to wake up and be surprised and excited, knowing that it was her birthday. It worked out wonderfully! She was so surprised and had such a big smile on her face. Being tired all day was totally worth it. I took her to school that day with her 22 goodie bags in hand for her class mates. They aren't allowed to bring cupcakes to school these days (such a bummer) so goodie bags it was! Then around lunch time Daddy came and picked her up. They came to my work, picked me up, and we all had lunch together at McDonald's, requested by Layla of course. After they dropped me back off at work, Ed and Layla went to the mall. Build A Bear, Macy's and Claire's were the stops they made and came home with lots of fun new stuff. Spoiled rotten birthday girl! She wanted steak for dinner so that's what she got and then it was time to open presents and eat some birthday cake (or a cake made out of cupcakes). She has been wanting an iPod so bad so Ed and I broke down and got her a 32G iPod complete with a Hello Kitty screen protector and pink skin. She LOVES it. This weekend we're headed to Chuck E. Cheese to celebrate her birthday some more. Out of every where we listed to go, she chose Chuck E. Cheese. Can't say no to the birthday girl! We had a great day celebrating, it's amazing to think back 5 years ago and remember what we were doing. Seems like such a long time ago. Happy birthday little Princess, cannot believe you're 5 years old today!

Layla's 5th Birthday Interview

2011-02-27T15:41:00.000-08:00

You may remember Layla's 4th Birthday Interview from last year. I thought the idea was so cute that I would start doing it every year, just to remember the things she liked at that age. It always makes me laugh, the things she comes up with to say. She definitely has her Daddy's sense of humor. So without further ado, here is Layla's 5th Birthday Interview!

-- How old are you turning?

5. I like Silky and Doggie though, write that.

-- What will be the best thng about being 5?

Eating cake and cupcakes.

Layla, you can't say the same thing as last year. What else will be the best thing about being 5?

I like going poop.

-- Who is your best friend?

Daddy, Silky, Doggie, Mom, Boots, and Fatty.

-- What is your favorite toy?

My bear puzzle.

-- What is your favorite thing to do?

Watching TV, iCarly and Spongebob, and going to sleep.

Why is going to sleep your favorite thing?

Because I go to sleep fast and it's so fun and comfy.

-- What do you want to be when you grow up?

Tangled.

So does that mean you want to be a Princess?

Yes! I want to be a beautiful princess like Ariel.

-- What is your favorite thing to eat?

French fries and chicken nuggets from McDonald's.

-- What makes you really happy?

Being at homie because I like watching TV and relaxing on the couch. And my feet, legs, and butt sweat so I like taking my pants off.

-- What's your favorite show on TV?

Spongebob.

-- Who is your favorite singer?

Justine Bieber, Jonas Brothers, and Big Time Rush. Oh, and iCarly too.

-- What's your favorite thing at school?

Play on the swings.

-- What's your favorite color?

Pink and purple.

-- What do you want for your birthday?

An iPad.

I thought you wanted an iPod, not an iPad, you said the iPad was too big.

Ya, I did want an iPod but I changed my mind. Now I want an iPad.

-- Okay, I think that's it, is there anything else you want to tell me?

Yes. Um. I like playing with Boots and Fatty and Little Grey. Little Grey is cute. I like playing the dancing game. Um. I like watching iCarly. Daddy look at Gibby (as she is watching iCarly). Um, and I like waking Boots up when he's sleeping because every time he wakes up he says "I want to sleep"! I like playing dress up and I like when Brynn and Payton come over here and play dress up with me. I love playing with my little fridge.

Cripple Creek

2011-02-20T17:32:00.000-08:00

A few days ago Ed came home and told me he had heard about an Ice Festival up in Cripple Creek. Cripple creek is about 60 miles away so the perfect distance for a day trip to check out another part of Colorado. What Ed failed to tell me up front is that Cripple Creek is a huge gambling town, there are tons of casinos up there so I quickly learned the real reason why he wanted to go up there. The drive up was beautiful, it went through the mountains which were still partially covered in snow.It didn't take much longer than an hour to get to where the Ice Festival was. We parked and hopped out ready to see some sculptures. When I was researching this festival, this is what caught my eye: World renowned ice sculptors use chainsaws and assorted tools to create larger than life "Story Time" where ice carvers incorporate their interpretation of classic literature into art. Let me just say, it didn't disappointment. The ice sculptures were so neat, it's amazing what these people can do with a chainsaw and a block of ice. They had Dr. Seuss's One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish, Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, and so much more! There was even a slide made out of ice and an ice maze for the kids to go through. We met our very good friends, the Achee's there too. Layla has so much fun with their kids, they just love each other. Of course there was a 45 minute stretch where someone (cough, Ed, cough) went missing. He some how ended up in a casino, gee, I wonder how that happened? He picked the casino with the best name... The Brass Ass. His new favorite casino which he came out of winning $100 (thank you craps tables). It started to get a bit cloudy and windy so we decided to head out back home. On the way home we had to stop at our favorite German brewery, BierWerks and we are so glad we did. It is so yummy! The beer, the creme soda, the food, everything. The kids had so much fun at their kid table, lots of pretzels and the brewery's homemade orange creme soda while we had a great time with our meat/cheese platter and beer. It didn't disappoint. After the brewery we all decided to hang out afterwards too. Off to the Achee's house for some drinking, games, dancing, and hanging out. Margaux and I went to get some refreshments and somehow came back with a box of wine (7 bottles) while the guys enjoyed their beer. We had such a great time with them, as usual. This morning after Ed and I slept on the best air mattress ever (it even had a headboard!) we woke up to these two sweeties playing together. How cute are they?!

Just in time for Valentine's

2011-02-14T21:26:00.000-08:00

I got a call at 5:30am on Saturday telling me to cancel our credit and debit cards. Turns out Ed's wallet was stolen and whoever had stolen it had used over $1,000! Our bank is awesome about reimbursement so I wasn't even worried about the money, I was worried about how Ed would get home with no ID! He was supposed to be home by 10am but he had to go sweet talk his way onto the airplane which took him a little longer. TSA had to interview him for over an hour, he had to file a police report, etc. but they did let him on the plane, just later than expected. He got home around 3pm and Layla was one happy little girl (okay, okay, I was one happy little girl too)! As soon as we saw his smiling face, Layla ran up to him and gave him the biggest hug ever! She has really missed her Daddy. As soon as we got his luggage we went straight to the movie theater, got as much junk food as we could carry, and watched Gnomeo and Juliet in 3D. We had such a good day with Daddy being back home!Yesterday was spent getting ready for Valentine's Day. We went to Hallmark and we each picked out cards for one another. 6 cards and $25 later, we each had two cards. It was so much fun picking out the perfect ones, Layla did a good job too. I got one with a button and Ed got a Mickey Mouse one. When we exchanged them with each other we were all laughing, it was so much fun! Layla got her 22 Valentine's cards ready for school. She picked out Hello Kitty and Rapunzel, she even wrote her name on all of them all by herself. Of course we had to bake. What's Valentine's Day without baking? Layla and I made sugar cookies with pink frosting and sprinkles. Mmmm... they were so good! My little taste tester was a very good sharer. Let's not forget about the wrestling match! There were sledge hammers and trash cans and chairs... but Layla was victorious and came out winning the belt while chanting "Layla's #1, Layla's #1." And of course today... Happy Valentine's Day! Layla woke up to her presents. Two night gowns, Toy Story Xbox game, and a little mini gift basket from Bath and Body Works. I wish the three of us could have spent the day together but I had to work so Layla went to school. Ed met me for lunch and we went to a great BBQ place, it was so nice spending time with just him for a change. Layla and I are so happy to have Ed back with us, we missed him so much. Layla is nothing but smiles and is attached to her Daddy's hip.

Rosette hair clips

2011-01-30T20:54:00.000-08:00

I'm addicted to Etsy. Seriously. I love it. They have the cutest handmade clothes and accessories, I could spend hundreds of dollars on there. Lately I've been noticing these cute fabric rosette hair clips that look kind of vintage. Layla has worn big, huge hair bows and headbands since the day she was born and to be honest with you, I'm getting tired of that look. I know it's "the" thing for little girls to wear but now that Layla is getting older I want something different. I'm just over the trendiness of huge flowers and bows. So after looking at these adorable rosettes I decided that I was going to make some. They didn't look too hard to make and if I could make them myself I could do whatever colors I wanted so they would match Layla's wardrobe. Layla and I woke up this morning and headed to JoAnn's to get all the fabric and embellishments that I would need to make them.

Layla had a great time helping me pick everything out and getting the colors she wanted. After gathering up fabric, craft glue, rhinestones, pearls, clips, and feathers it was time to go home and get crafty! I made a hand full of them today and I am so pleased with how they turned out. They're adorable and so easy to make! Layla was so excited with every one that she helped make/decorate, she wouldn't take them out of her hair all day. I'm excited to try even more fabrics and different designs with the clips but for now I'm happy with the ones I made.

Thank goodness it's Friday!

2011-01-28T21:09:00.000-08:00

This week went by so slow. Layla started preK on Monday and, well, let's just say she hasn't made it easy on me. She has made it very clear that she does not like school and that she wants to stay home with me because she misses me when she's at school. Could she break my heart anymore? She has a very hard time when I drop her off in the morning but after a few minutes her teacher says she is fine. When I go pick her up later in the day she is always playing with the other kids and has a big smile on her face so I know she has fun while she's there. I guess it's just drop off that's a problem. Even when I go to wake her up in the morning and tell her it's time to get ready for school, the first thing she does is start crying and tells me no. I know she'll get used to it and start liking it more and more every week but for right now it's hard for the both of us. The best part of my day this whole week has been going to pick her up in the afternoon. She is always so happy to see me and she talks and talks about her day, what they did, what she ate, etc. I just love that she's growing up into this little lady!

I still haven't gotten a very good school picture of her since she cries everyday so this is as good as it gets, for now. This is my precious Layla on her first day of preK!

A week with Grandma

2011-01-21T10:08:00.000-08:00

As soon as we found out that Ed would be gone for a couple of months my Mom and I went into planning for her to come visit and keep us company for a week. She decided to come right in the middle of Ed being gone so it would break up our time without him. We had such an amazing time. I just dropped her off at the airport an hour ago and I am already missing her. It's so nice to have her here but when it's time for her to leave, it's just awful and so hard to say goodbye. Layla got spoiled the entire week she was here, Grandma just can't say no to anything that little girl wants/does. We had a blast going out, showing Grandma around town, and even just hanging out at home, talking and playing. We got to go out to dinner, went to the movies and saw Gulliver's Travels, went shopping, went to gymnastics, played lots of board games, and wore matching PJ's the entire time she was here! We had a blast with Photo Booth... we could not stop laughing. We were seriously on the ground, cracking up! Just looking at the pictures makes me laugh all over again. Layla and I loved Garden of the Gods so much the first time we went that we just had to take Grandma and show her how gorgeous it is. It was even more beautiful this time around as there was still some snow on the ground. We hiked around and climbed some rocks and just had a great time! We even went to the zoo when it was only 35 degrees outside! My Mom isn't used to the cold weather, in California it is in the 80's and 90's right now but she loved it. Layla showed Grandma how to feed the giraffes and birds which was the best part, as usual. Our favorite animal this time around was the Meerkats, they were so funny. There was one little stretch of sunlight in their enclosure and all of them were standing on their hind legs trying to get the most of it. All of us were dying laughing, they looked so funny! Layla made Grandma go bowling too! My Mom hasn't gone bowling since I was Layla's age and we had to force her to go with us and actually bowl! But she did! The first time I won, by a lot but the second time she made a come back and I completely sucked and she won. Even though she really wasn't interested at first, we had a great time! And to top off our great week together, my Mom was totally my lucky charm. Guess who has a job (well, pending my background check which will come back fine)? ME! I am going to be doing all the admin/reception work for a big insurance company's call center. I am so excited to start! We even went and signed Layla up for school so my Mom got to see where she'll be during the week. I wish I could go on and on about our week together, it was truly amazing and I'm so glad Layla and I got that time to spend with Grandma. We are so close and it hurts so much when she has to leave but it's totally worth it for the amazing time we get together. I love you so much, Mom, thank you for EVERYTHING!!!

What we've been up to the first part January

2011-01-13T21:37:00.000-08:00

Hello 2011! I'm not too sure how excited I am for this year to come. Knowing that Ed is deploying in May/June for a year makes me kind of dread 2011. I'm sure that there will be lots of good things to come this year as well but just knowing that Ed won't be here for them makes me sad. I guess I'll just have to see how everything plays out, who knows, maybe some good, unexpected things will happen for us that'll make the year even better. Here's hoping! We rang in the New Year the best way possible, with great friends. It was a very low key New Years but also very fun and one we'll never forget. Drinking and dancing! What more could you ask for?Ed left on the 2nd for a couple of months for some school in Texarkana which is on the border of Texas and Arkansas, sounds like a wonderful place, right? The first day Ed was there he called to tell me what an awful place it was, I could have guessed that just by the name. Every night before Layla goes to bed he calls to tell her goodnight. We always read Layla 2 books before bed so I put him on speaker phone so he could read with us. There are some books we know very well so he already knows them by memory, we tend to pick those to read when he is on speaker phone with us. Layla thinks it's so funny that he reads to her even when he isn't physically here with us. We even make him talk to Boots! It's amazing how much fun we can have by pretending my phone is actually Daddy!My friend Heather and I took our kiddos to explore Focus on the Family. In case you haven't heard of Focus on the family, it is a global Christian ministry dedicated to helping families thrive. Through their radio broadcasts, websites, simulcasts, conferences, interactive forums, magazines, books, counseling and much more, Focus on the Family equips parents, children and spouses to thrive in an ever-changing, ever-more-complicated world. They have the cutest playrooms too which are totally free to explore and let the kids play in. For the older kids they even have a mock radio station where they can record their own shows and take a copy of it home. It's so cool! And of course we had to hit up the old fashioned Soda Shoppe for some nachos and ice cream. It was a super fun day. And last but not least, we got our first BIG snow storm of the winter. It was only a few inches but plenty for Layla to play in and enough to make me not want to drive anywhere. Layla and I stayed in the house and I made homemade chicken soup for dinner, it was a perfect winter day.

2010 Highlights

2010-12-31T20:26:00.000-08:00

January: Layla and I had a blast staying at home, crafting, and finding fun things to do. I enjoy every second with my baby girl!February: It's fair season! It had been years since I had gone to the Date Festival and Layla had never been before. We went a couple of times, once with my Mom and once with my best friend, Jessica and her daughter Ana. Great food and great fun!March: Daddy's home from Afghanistan! And got to help plan and partake in Layla's BIG 4th carnival birthday bash. I am still amazed by her party and how it turned out, it was amazing and one that none of us will ever forget. She had a petting zoo, a pony, a bounce house, a clown, popcorn machine, sweet bar, hot dog stand, etc. I planned for months for her big day and it couldn't have turned out more perfect. April: Before Ed left back to Germany we were able to go to Magic Mountain. We had such a good time, it was just what we needed!I also got to go to Stage Coach with my best friend, Desirae, for her birthday. All I can say is MEMORIES! May: Layla and I went on a Mother's Day trip with my best friend, Desirae and her son Logan to San Diego for a couple of days. We got to enjoy the beach, the food, went to Sea World, and even took a horse carriage ride right on the beach. We had a blast, it was a great way to spend Mother's day with the people I love. June: Layla graduated from preschool! She is getting so big, smart, and beautiful. It amazes me what a little lady she is turning into.And... Layla and I also got to spend a week at the beach. It was our final beach trip with Jessica and Ana, as well as my family. A couple days with Jessica and Ana at one hotel and a few days at another hotel with my mom, brother, and his two kids. Such a fun week!July: My brother and I were able to take one last trip to Las Vegas before I moved to Colorado. We had an amazing suite with a handwritten note, champagne, and chocolate covered strawberries waiting for us when we arrived. We had an amazing time and even got to see Rihanna and Kei$ha in concert. Such a great trip!August: Daddy is officially home with us after finishing up in Germany! We got to go to the beach and have fun in California before moving in September. This was my favorite month! Ed is home with us for good!September: We have a new home in Colorado! We made the 17 hour drive and made it safe and sound to our new home. We LOVE it here! I can't say enough great things about it. We took our first Colorado trip too. We went to Fort Collins so Ed could check out the New Belgium Brewing Company. We had a great day trip... this was just the beginning.October: This was a super busy, fun month. We went to the zoo which we absolutely loved! Who knew feeding giraffes would be so much fun?We had to drive to Dallas, Texas to pick up our car so we drove down a little further to Austin to visit with my Uncle Rick and his two awesome kids. They were amazing tour guides and showed us around Austin. We had a blast and it was so nice to see them after so long.We took a trip to Garden of the Gods. Breathtaking! It is just gorgeous there. The pictures don't do it justice.And of course Halloween! Finally a Halloween with Ed again. Layla was a beautiful kitty cat and had a blast going door to door collecting candy.November: Layla started gymnastics. She's such a STAR! She amazes me at what she accomplishes so quickly.December: We took a trip to Denver with our great friends, Margaux and Bryan and their kids. We had a blast, checking out the capitol building and ice skating. We couldn't have had a better trip!CHRISTMAS! What more can I say about that one? It was a relaxing day, just the 3 of us and I couldn't have asked for more.

Merry Christmas

2010-12-25T20:40:00.000-08:00

Today's the day, it's Christmas!!! I think I get even more excited than Layla, I just love Christmas so much, it's definitely my favorite holiday. Before bed last night Ed and Layla got cookies and milk ready for Santa and Ed even helped her write a note to him. He wrote while Layla talked: "Dear Santa, hope you like my Christmas tree. Hope you smell the cookies. Thank you for my gifts. Hope you like your milk. Hope you like Christmas. Hope you like our elf Steve. Hope you like the name with two s's. And hope you like our house. Hope you miss me for Christmas time and I love you. Love, Layla." It took Santa quite awhile to unload all his presents for Layla. She must have been a VERY god girl this year! We even got a rare glimpse of Santa Clause, he was stealing from our pantry while dropping off Layla's presents! Last year I had sent Ed a recordable book, The Night Before Christmas, had him read it and then send it back to Layla so he could read to her on Christmas Eve. Last night before bed she picked it out to read. It was so nice to have all 3 of us in bed listening to it this year. We tucked Layla into bed and then went down stairs to watch a movie. I went to check on Layla a bit later and I found her standing up at the foot of her bed. When I asked her what she was doing, she was so sweet. "I heard Santa's sleigh bells on the roof! He's here!" I couldn't help but laugh, it was adorable. She had been waiting up, listening for bells so she could run to the window and look outside.

I don't think I got much sleep last night, I was so excited for Layla to come into our room and wake us up. She slept until her usual time, around 7:15am and she came in and said "Mom, it's Christmas, Santa was here!" So we all ran down stairs and Layla started ripping through her presents. It took her about an hour and a half to open them all! I think Layla's favorite present was her Go Go Dog, she was so excited to see that Santa had brought it. The aftermath! Tons of wrapping paper, tons of toys... where do we begin? Layla played the entire day with all her new toys. They were scattered every where on the living room floor. Tons and tons of little pieces being stepped on all day, but it was all worth it, she was so happy! We had a great day! Thank you Santa, Grandma and Grandpa, Uncle Glen, Great Grandma, Nina Jeannette, Grandma and Grandpa, Achee family, Auntie, Lori, Patty, Uncle Johnny, and Uncle Bobby for making our day extra special with presents for Layla.

Christmas Eve

2010-12-24T12:57:00.001-08:00

Only one day left, I can't believe it's already time for Christmas! It's amazing how much you prepare for Christmas, it takes months of planning all for the big day when Santa comes to visit us. We're having a great lazy day today. The kind where we're in PJ's all day, laying around watching Christmas movies, eating junk food. This is what Christmas is all about! Giving kisses just because... Making cookies for when Santa comes down our chimney tonight. Being thankful for friends and family for filling up our Christmas tree even before Santa pays us a visit. I don't know where he is going to fit all his presents. Every year we let Layla choose one present to open on Christmas Eve. Usually it is done right before she goes to bed but this year *I* couldn't wait so she opened one right before lunch instead. She picked a present from my mom and dad and was thrilled when she opened it! It was the Holiday 2010 Barbie that Layla has been begging for ever since she saw it at Target (don't mind the lack of clothes, like I said, we're being lazy today). I am so thankful to have Ed home with us this Christmas. We were missing him so much last year and next year we'll be missing him yet again. I'm so lucky to have such a great husband and Layla really does have one of the best daddies around. These are the moments that make everything worth it, the memories we'll never forget.

Christmas Ball

2010-12-17T16:09:00.000-08:00

Last night was Ed's unit Christmas Ball and we had SO much fun. The Achee's watched Layla for us, they had a little slumber party and she had a blast with them. It was so nice not having to worry about picking her up at the daycare by midnight. Actually, the last ball we went to was when Layla was only 9 months old, in 2006! That year we left her with the CDC and it was hell. Poor thing cried the entire time we were gone and I knew it would be awhile before we ever tried doing that again. The ball was from 5pm-midnight and we got there a little after 5pm. Turns out Ed forgot something so we had to run home super quick which didn't start the night off very smooth but everything worked out perfectly after that and we couldn't have had a better time. The first couple of hours at the ball is dinner, a slide show, special guest speakers, and then the company's all contribute to the grog. After the grog is complete, dancing and drinking begin! P.S. If you didn't notice, I am totally rocking my Senior Prom dress! Oh ya! LOL Now, this is where things get a little fuzzy. We decided to leave with some friends and hit up a few bars before going home but by this point I had already had way too much to drink. Just thinking about the night cracks me up, we had a BLAST and it was so nice to be able to get out, just the two of us, who knows when we'll actually get to do that again. Oh, and when we left the bar and started walking back to our car, it started snowing! It was so pretty and I was super excited, as you can see!

Success!!!

2010-12-15T11:40:00.000-08:00

In Santa pictures, that is. This is the FIRST year that Layla has been excited to see Santa and take a picture with him. She was *almost* there last year but instead of sitting on his lap to take a picture, she stood next to him and held his hand. The years before that, forget it. She was the typical can't sit still, screaming kid when she saw him. Not this year! We got to the mall and as soon as she saw him she ran up to him, gave him a hug, and told him she wanted snap body Polly Pockets and a Go Go dog (Santa already has both of those for her). Then they took this adorable picture together!

Our Christmas Cards

2010-12-15T02:30:00.000-08:00

Exploring Denver

2010-12-13T23:06:00.000-08:00

Wow, what a great day we had! We headed to Denver early this morning to check out 16th Street Mall and Skyline Park for some ice skating. Denver is only about an hour away from us, depending on traffic, and there is just so much to do up there. The next Denver trip I want to take is to go to the Aquarium out there, I hear it's a really good one. Anyway, we followed the Achees up to Denver and got there around 11:30am where we headed up to 16th Street Mall to look around. First, let me just say what amazing weather we're having this winter. When we first moved here, everyone that lives here kept telling us "oh, just wait until winter, you're not going to know what to do!" Well, we've been through a few Germany winters and have been able to deal with those so I think we can get through a Colorado winter or two, especially when the winters are 60 degrees! That's right, the high yesterday was 67 degrees, that's like a California winter. I can totally do 67 degrees! We had the kids all bundled up but when we got out of the car and started walking around, all their jackets came off. It was even too warm to wear a jacket! We definitely picked the perfect day to walk around Denver, it was just beautiful. Secondly, 16th Street Mall reminded me of Germany so much, specifically Mainz. It was this gorgeous outdoor mall with entertainers in the middle of the street, random, tiny food carts every where, buses/shuttles coming and going, tons and tons of stores, and beautiful Christmas decorations every where. I was actually telling Margaux how it reminded me of Germany and 5 minutes later I hear Ed telling Bryan the same exact thing. At the very end of the mall was the capitol building. I'm so glad Margaux is like me and likes to explore this kind of stuff. Bryan and Ed have no choice when we gang up on them! LOL... To get through to the capitol building we had to walk through a bus station (or so we thought) and as soon as we walked in, we wish we hadn't. There were homeless people everywhere and well, it was exactly what you think of when you hear the words bus station in Denver. The guys all had to use the restroom and they all came out cracking up! Apparently there were no doors on the bathrooms and as soon as they walked in, they saw a homeless man sitting on one of the toilets, pushing pretty hard. Not only that, but there was another homeless man in there grunting and making all kinds of weird noises. I think that was a highlight of their trip. LOL

To the Capitol building we go! The main reason for our stop was to take a picture on the "mile high" step in front of the capitol. I had actually never heard of this before so Margaux had to fill me in. From Wikipedia "The official elevation of Denver is measured outside the west entrance to the building, where the fifteenth step is engraved with the words "One Mile Above Sea Level." From this step, at 5,280 feet (1,609 m), the sun can be seen setting behind the Rocky Mountains." After our photography session on the mile high steps, we headed inside. I always love going and exploring this kind of stuff, the building was just beautiful. We spent quite awhile in there, going to each level and looking around. Ed found a neat phone booth where everyone had to take pictures in, of course. It was a lot of fun! Next up we headed to Skyline Park for some outdoor ice skating. Everyone went and got their skates and I decided to sit this one out and be the photographer. I have only been ice skating once, when I was really young, when there was an ice skating rink in the Palm Desert mall. Needless to say, I have NO idea how to ice skate. Actually, neither does Ed but I made him go with Layla anyway. Margaux and Bryan (and their kiddos!) were naturals on the ice and my two, well, let's just say they held on to the side the entire time. Layla had a BLAST though. I thought she would get on the ice, get scared, and get off, but that's not what happened. She did get scared as soon as she got on but she loved holding on to the edge and skating around like that. Margaux and Bryan took her out into the middle a few times too and really enjoyed it. I was just proud of her for staying in the rink the entire time we were there and she has been telling me ever since that she wants to do it again. After watching everyone else ice skate while I drank my hot apple cider (YUM!) I decided that I really should try it. I need to be able to say I went ice skating in Denver, ya know? As soon as I put my ice skates on and stood up, I knew this was going to be a disaster. I couldn't even balance on the darn things while I was outside of the rink! How was I going to ICE skate? Nope, no ice skating for me, it was more like "holding onto the railing for dear life" skating. Ed actually got brave and started skating around without holding on but as soon as he got good, I accidentally (yes, accidentally, I swear I didn't mean to) threw one of those things you hold onto when you're learning how to skate right in front of him. He recovered though and teased me about it the rest of the day. Apparently that was the "pivotal moment in his skating career" and I ruined it so he'll never be a hockey player now. We skated for about 2 hours and then went to pick up Bryan's brother, CJ, for dinner. He was in Denver for business so it worked out perfect. We went to this place called Jack n' Grill and it was so yummy! I made Ed get the "You better be hungry" burger so I could take a picture of him and this huge burger. And if you watch Man vs. Food like we do, you will remember the giant 7 lb. breakfast burrito that he attempted to eat, well this was the place he ate it at. I thought that was cool and wanted Ed to do that but he wouldn't! Boo! Layla and I shared Chimichangas and they were soooo yummy. After dinner it was time to head home. We had such a great day! I knew as soon as we got in the car Layla would knock out, and she did. She was such a tired little thing. I was surprised Ed didn't fall asleep too, that's the most he's been out since he got his surgery so I wasn't sure how he'd do but he stayed awake with me the whole way home. Denver was definitely a great place to visit, we had a great time!

No more glasses for Ed!

2010-12-12T07:48:00.000-08:00

That's right, no more glasses for Ed. He had his eye surgery on Thursday and everything is going great! I was a nervous wreck sitting at the hospital, waiting for him to come out of surgery. The surgery itself only takes about 7 minutes but there were about 10 other guys that were having the same thing done as Ed and of course Ed had to be last on the list. I kept seeing the other guys coming out, wearing their sunglasses, and leaving. I was terrified that something had gone wrong, because I am a worry wart like that. 2 hours later, Ed came out with a big smile on his face. So typical of him! Layla and I gave him a big hug and then I started asking a million questions. Did it hurt? Can you see? Did you pass out? Was it scary? Explain!!! LOL

He said it didn't hurt at all and everything was very quick and went super smooth. He felt a little pressure but no pain, it was just kind of awkward. His right eye needed 14 seconds with the laser and his left only needed 9 seconds. As soon as he came out of surgery we came home and I put him to bed where he slept 4 hours, woke up for 2 to eat dinner and hang out, and then had a 12 hour night sleep. It did him SO much good sleeping like that. The next day he had a doctor's appointment to make sure he was doing ok and sure enough, since he rested so much the first day the doctor was impressed at how well he was doing. Today is Sunday and he still hasn't had much pain. He describes it like when you go swimming in the pool for a week and have an eyelash in your eye. Mix those two together and that's what he feels. He has 4 different eye drops he has to put in his eyes about every half an hour so his poor little eyes are all crusty. I have to keep helping him get rid of all the sleepy sand.

So things are going good here with no more glasses! I am making Ed sleep as much as possible, I think he's getting irritated with me but I'm only trying to help, I'm not trying to get rid of him, promise. One day he'll be able to see crystal clear and the next he'll have blurry eyes. He tried on his perscription glasses last night and he said he couldn't see at all with them on! That's a good sign, that means his eyes are getting better. Yay! We have lots of Christmas parties and the ball coming up this week so let's hope his eyes are feeling better by then!

P.S. Here is the picture Ed sent to his mom. He calls her about 3 times a day teasing her that he is blind and telling her I am taking him to the hospital. That's Ed for ya, always joking around.

Festival of Lights

2010-12-04T23:09:00.000-08:00

So fun, so beautiful, and so flippin' COLD! Tonight was the Festival of Lights parade in Colorado Springs and of course we had to go to it. I seriously think I get even more excited about these things then Layla does. Poor Ed has to put up with both of us, always wanting to go to these activities and making him come with us. Good thing I have a great husband who pretends to love these things as much as we do. We met our friends Margaux and Bryan (and their kiddos) at the parade and Layla had a great time running around with the kids, getting in every one's way. She loves them! So glad we're able to get together so much. Like I said, it was cold, very cold. It could have been colder, don't get me wrong. I shouldn't be complaining about 25 degrees BUT when you have two jackets and 3 blankets on and you're still freezing, that means it's way too cold to be outside. Ed guessed that I would freeze, this happens all the time, so he went and bought us hot chocolate to warm us up even more and it did help for a bit. And Ed just CANNOT resist souvenirs, even way over priced glow necklaces for the kids to wear. He's such a good Daddy! The parade was actually pretty long and really good. Layla's favorite part was Santa at the very end, of course. She was so excited to see him! Ed and I liked the float with Olympic Team USA on it, they all ran up to the kids and gave them high 5's. It was really neat. As soon as the parade was over, we booked it to the car while carrying our many blankets and chairs. It was a mad house getting out of there but as soon as we got inside our car and turned up the heat, I was fine. Poor Layla was complaining her toes were so cold they hurt. Poor thing, she ripped off her shoes as soon as she got in the car and put all her blankets on them. We had a great night, so glad we were able to spend it with the Achee family too!

A very long, end of November update...

2010-11-30T07:58:00.000-08:00

I don't even know where to begin. We have been so incredibly busy, I think that always happens around the holidays though. If I'm not at home cleaning or cooking, we are out shopping, going to the movies, getting together with friends, going on a million job interviews, taking Layla to gymnastics, out exploring, RC races, mini golfing, bowling, playing lots of games, etc. etc. etc. It's nice being so busy but I wouldn't mind things slowing down a bit too but looking into the future with December just around the corner, things are going to be busy for at least another month. Ed leaves to Texas in Jan. for a month and a half and my mom is coming to visit during that time. Layla and I can't wait! Plane tickets are so much cheaper from Palm Springs to Colorado Springs rather than Palm Springs to Frankfurt, that means EVERYONE from the desert should come and visit us! Anyway, I thought I would do one big update rather than try and go back and do a new post for each event.

A couple weeks ago we went and saw Megamind. It was SO good! I knew it would be though, the actors in it are some of our faves. Such a hilarious movie. We went to a movie theater clear on the other side of town because we like going to the first showing in the morning (so it doesn't ruin the middle of our day) thinking it wasn't in 3D. Well, when we got there turns out it was a 3D movie. I was worried that Layla wouldn't like wearing the glasses (last time we took her to a 3D movie, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, she hated the glasses) but she did really good and wore them the entire movie without complaining. I think she enjoyed the movie a lot too, which helped a lot. I've been having roughly 2 job interviews a week for awhile now, just waiting for that right job to come along. I want a job so bad, just so I can get into a routine for when Ed leaves and to keep me busy. In the end, either the job doesn't want me or I don't want the job (hours, pay, etc). I have faith that I will find the right job for me. I keep telling myself that if it was meant to be, it would happen, so for now I am just enjoying my time with my princess before I have to put her in school. The other week I had a second job interview for a company that I really like, the pay is perfect, the hours are perfect, everything about it is perfect. I don't officially have the job yet but I did have to consent to a background check and take a drug test so I'm hoping that means good news. Anyway, before I left for my second interview Layla and I awoke to Starbucks in bed and an orchid for good luck. My husband is so sweet, he is excited for me. We try and do something fun every weekend, although hanging out at home is fun too. A couple of weekends ago we went miniature golfing at the Citadel mall. The course is so cool, it's all in black lights and is inside so it's nice and warm. We had a blast and Layla was pretty darn good for it being her first time. The following weekend we decided to go bowling. Layla got a strike all on her own! She did have the bumpers up but the ball didn't even touch the bumpers once and she threw the ball ALL on her own. She is getting so good! I must say, I am getting good too. I actually think this was my all time best scoring game, I got a 159 with 6 strikes and 3 spares. Of course I beat Ed, I won't embarrass him and tell you the score he got. LOL I can't forget to include Thanksgiving in here, we had a fantastic Thanksgiving. Our friends Margaux and Bryan invited us over to their house for dinner. They've become such great friends, it's actually a funny story. We grew up in the same town, went to the same high school, and I am really good friends with Margaux's sister in law, Nicholle. Nicholle is actually the one that introduced us and told us that we were headed to the same post. It's nice to have a friend here that grew up in the same place as us. Margaux is an amazing cook though, she made the best dinner, it was really awesome. So much good food, we ate until we couldn't eat anymore. And just when we thought we were full, it was time for dessert. YUM!After dinner it was time to plan for Black Friday! We had all the ads out on the table, making a list of where/when we wanted to go. It was fun, however, the fun was short lived as we waited in line at Toys R Us for 2 hours, out in the 10 degree cold, and never did get in the store. We gave up and got home at about 1am. It was still funny though and the next day I made Ed and Layla go with me to get some of the deals I wanted, we made out too. This past weekend we went and saw Tangled. OMG, what a great movie! It is seriously up there with my favorites. Layla loved it, of course because it had to do with a princess, but surprisingly, Ed really liked it too. Ed and Layla had a great time playing in the arcade after the movie and Layla is so super excited to see the new Justin Bieber movie when it comes out in Feb. (just great). And of course we can't ignore the fact that it's Christmas time! The day after Thanksgiving we got out all of our tubs of Christmas decorations and started decorating. Layla loves decorating, I think she gets that from me. We had a lot of fun looking through all of our stuff and finding places for it all. Layla loves having her pink Christmas tree in her bedroom and it goes perfect with her princess decor. And... STEVE IS BACK! Last year we started doing the Elf on the Shelf and Layla fell in love with Steve (that's what she named out elf). Well he showed up again and she is having a blast looking for him every morning. Actually, I think she is having extra fun with him this year because Ed is home to play along too and she is getting to explain all about Steve to Daddy. So, that's what we've been up to, along with many other things. We have lots of things planned in the next month too (parade, Santa's Workshop, Ed's eye surgery, a ball, etc) so I will try and update more as things move along. I hope everyone is having a great holiday season.

My poor husband

2010-11-12T14:17:00.000-08:00

Today Ed had a final eye appointment to make sure he is able to get eye surgery on December 9th. Ed is getting Refractive eye surgery and is so excited to think that he won't have to wear glasses again. Actually, he said that the first thing he is going to do after he gets his surgery, is go into a gas station and buy a random pair of sunglasses, knowing he won't have to have a prescription put into them. We had to be at the hospital bright and early this morning for the doctor to dialate Ed's eyes and make sure he is ready to go next month. Ed thought his appointment was at 7am which meant we had to be there by 6:45am which meant we all woke up around 6:15am. However, my confused little husband was wrong and his appointment wasn't actually until 8am so we headed on over to Burger King for some breakfast and coffee before we took him back to the hospital. The doctor told us Ed's appointment would take 3 or so hours so Layla and I basically just dropped him off and came back home until he called to be picked up.

The doctor lied, the appointment only took an hour and just as I got on the phone for an interview at a college, Ed starts calling me, over, and over, and over again. Needless to say, my interview didn't go very good thanks to a blind husband of mine who couldn't read his text letting him know I was having an interview. When Layla and I went to go pick him up, he was wondering around outside, in the snow, with some very cute eye wear. As soon as he got in the car, I knew I should have left him there. When he is sick or has anything happen to him, he 100% relies on me to take care of him which requires him to whine about everything. I felt like I had two children all day today! LOL

Veteran's Day

2010-11-11T07:23:00.000-08:00

Thank you to all the troops, past and present, for the sacrifice they and their families make every single day for our country. As an Army wife with 2 deployments under our belt (and gearing up for #3) I personally know how hard it is to say goodbye to your husband for a year and worry yourself sick every single day that they're at war. It's because of our wonderful military that our country is as great as it is today. I am so proud to be an Army wife and so proud to have a hero as my husband. THANK YOU to all troops and their families, I look up to each and every one of you for your bravery and courage.

As for what the day held for us, we had a great day (as usual, do I ever say we didn't?). Ed woke up bright and early and made a quick trip up to Ft. Collins for a new New Belgium keg. Their seasonal winter beer is out so that's what he decided to get a keg of, 2 below. About a week or so ago Ed went into the garage to his beloved kegerator and when he went to pull the tap, no beer came out. Poor guy came into the house looking all sad and told me to go into the garage with him. He has a Raider light above the kegerator and when I got into the garage he pointed to the light and told me "the light's out, you know what that means!" According to him, when the Raider light is off, there is no more beer in his keg and he has to "shut down". But no fear, he is back up and running now so he is a happy camper yet again. How did we ever live without a kegerator? Oh, he also came home with an adorable New Belgium beanie for me so I was happy too!

Ed got home just in time to go to a local Veteran's Day ceremony with us. It was in Fountain, right down the road from our house. We missed the Veteran's Day parade last weekend for Ed's unit BBQ (why was it last weekend anyway?) so I was happy they at least had a ceremony going on today that we could take Layla to. The ceremony ended early and we still had a good chunk of the day left so we decided to head up to Woodland Park to the Rocky Mountain Dinosaur Resource Center (just a fancy name for a dinosaur museum). It is up in the mountains so as soon as we started driving up we saw snow, guess who that made happy? As soon as we parked the car and got out Layla and Daddy had to run in the snow and start throwing it at each other. Actually, I think that was the highlight of Layla's day. Forget the amazing dinosaurs we saw, it's all about the snow! The dinosaur museum was small but really amazing. There were lots of activities for kids to do while they were there and there was just so much to look at. I don't even think I've ever been to a dinosaur museum, just seen them on TV, so I enjoyed it too. Of course after we were all done Layla had to go shopping in the gift shop, because you know, what good is a museum without going shopping in the gift shop afterwards? She decided to get this tube that she could fill up with whatever dinosaurs she wanted. She's been playing with them ever since! It was funny, when she took them all out she was asking what they were all called and Ed and I just looked at each other like ummm...? He knew way more than I did but I'd put money on it that they weren't all right. LOL We were going to start to head home but when we walked out of the museum, right across the street there was a little German brewery. Ok, you know we had to stop there! It was the cutest thing ever and totally reminded me of Germany. We loved it! Ed tried one of their beers while Layla and I had their home made orange cream soda. It was to die for! While they didn't serve dinner they did have snacks and we had to see how German they really were. Wow, it was like being in Germany all over again. The waitress brought us this platter of bread, cheese, meats, potato salad, and a pretzel. The food was SO GOOD! We really enjoyed it and have already said we'll be making another trip up there one of these days to explore some more and then go back to eat and drink at the brewery. Yum! It was starting to get dark so we headed home after that and ended our day. So nice to have Ed home for a 4 day weekend for a change, we're just crossing our fingers that he doesn't get called in for something dumb (which has been happening way too much lately). I hope everyone enjoyed their Veteran's Day just like we did!

P.S. As soon as we got home from our day out, Layla and boots made their "best friendship" official by wearing matching bracelets. Those two have the best time together! I'm so glad we decided to get her cats.

Our first Colorado snow!

2010-11-09T17:26:00.000-08:00

Actually, I think it was more hail than snow. It was like balls of snow, not snow flakes so I'm not really sure what to call it? I think I will just stick to calling it snow, that's easier although I have heard in this area it's not unusual to get golf ball sized hail during the winter. Now that I am looking forward to seeing (inside the house of course, I hope I'm not outdoors when that hits). So according to local Coloradans we're having a very mild winter so far which I am not upset about in the least. You know me and snow, we don't mix very well.

Today we were out and about when it started getting really stormy looking, we got home just in time to snuggle up on the couch and watch some TV before we heard it starting to come down outside. Layla and I ran to the sliding door, looked outside and saw snow (or hail, whatever) coming down hard! Of course we had to go outside and run around in it, what else would we do? After we got back inside and dried off, Layla made a bed in front of the door so she could just lay down and watch the snow. She has always loved the snow, she missed it so much when we were in California. This was the first time since Germany that she had been back in it. Heaven for this little girl!And since I am updating my blog I thought I would update on Layla's latest gymnastics class where she did 2 back flips on the trampoline all by herself! I am amazed by her, she puts her mind to something and she does it. She also remembered and said, loudly, all the names of certain positions, she was the only one in the class saying everything. The teacher told me after class that she is going to excel and advance really quickly so we'll see. I'm so proud of her!

My little gymnast

2010-11-01T19:05:00.001-07:00

Within the last month or so, Layla has been talking non stop about gymnastics and cheer leading. Since we were in the process of moving I didn't want to start her one place and then move and have her start in a whole new place. Now that we're all settled in here Ed and I decided it was time to enroll her in gymnastics. This morning was her first class and she did so awesome! I swear, the kid is a natural at whatever she does. The teacher even told me after class that for her first time, she was especially good. Layla LOVED it and is so excited to go back next week.

She is usually pretty shy so when we first got there I was worried that she would hide behind my leg and not go to class. She did just the opposite though. She ran to her teacher and did everything she was told, I couldn't believe it. Now that she is 4.5 she is finally opening up and becoming Ms. Independent, which is a nice change. The gymnastics class was an hour long and they had to warm up first. Part of warm ups was doing a bridge, which Layla had never done before, but the teacher guided her at first and TA DA! She did a bridge and held it forever! Now she is doing them all around the house and even trying to teach Daddy how to do one. After that it was trampoline time. They did tuck jumps and toe touches and then were hooked up to bungee cords to do flips and jump even higher. Once again, I was worried she would be scared and not want to do it but she was so excited and loved every minute of it. I went to where her trampoline was and asked her if she was having fun, her reply was "Oh God, yes!" LOL

After the trampolines it was floor exercises and the obstacle course (which the balance beam and bars were on too) and Layla just did so good. I am so proud of her. Ed and I kept tell her after class how good she did and finally she told us "ok, guys, you can stop saying that now!" We were just so proud and so excited, we couldn't help but make a big deal out of it. I didn't get a whole lot of pictures, I didn't want to bug or get her embarrassed but here are a couple. We'll be going back next Monday (and every Monday after that) for as long as Layla wants to go. The teacher also told us that as soon as her skill level increases, she'll let us know when she is ready to go twice a week. So exciting!!!!

Happy Halloween

2010-10-31T23:00:00.000-07:00

What a great Halloween we had! Since Ed wasn't here to enjoy Halloween last year and knowing he'll be gone next year as well, we made sure to make this year extra fun. Ed got a smoke machine, strobe lights, and scary music to put by the front door so he could scare kids. He had a lot of fun handing out candy while Layla and I trick or treated in our neighborhood. We have such amazing neighbors, we are so happy with where we live. This morning Layla woke up to her Halloween presents. Yes, I get her presents for just about every holiday but she's such a good girl and deserves so much! She was very happy with her stuff, especially her witch Barbie (not only is she obsessed with Barbies but she has a new found love for witches as well, thank you Wizard of Oz). We had a great day, relaxing and hanging out around the house waiting for the evening when we could start trick or treating. As soon as Layla woke up, she wanted to put her Halloween costume on so she was a kitty cat all day long today. We had to go to the store for a few things and everyone thought she was the cutest cat they'd ever seen (of course)! Layla was so excited to wear makeup too. I promised her that on Halloween I would do her makeup like a big girl (eyeliner, mascara, sparkles, the works) so she felt extra special. When she went to bed tonight she said she was never going to take it off, I'm sure it'll be on for the next few days. Oh, and of course SHE decided she had to have her hair curled so we did that too! And I made her take pictures with Mommy and Daddy, of course. Although I didn't get a very good one of her and Daddy, thanks a lot Ed! P.S. Don't mind my roots, those are getting done THIS week. Yuck! I had a whole Halloween dinner planned for yesterday but we ended up being so busy that I didn't have time to make it. And with trick or treating tonight, I didn't want to go all out either so I just made a simple Mummy (pigs in a blanket), caramel apple dip (which Ed named ghost skin because of all the marshmallow creme in it), and our special witches brew. We then downed our meal with a bunch of chocolate candy afterwards. Yum! After that (around 6pm) it was time for trick or treating. Layla is such a big girl now, it just amazes me how grown up she's become. This is the first year we've gone trick or treating where I didn't have to walk up to the houses with her. I would stand on the street and she would run up to the door, ring the door bell, say trick or treat in her cute, soft little voice, collect candy, say thank you, and run off to the next house while I trailed behind. Where did the time go? I can't believe she is doing that without ME!Just look at all the candy she got! Someone even gave her this huge bag of Starburst jellybeans. She scored! We let her have like 10 pieces of candy (after all, that's what Halloween is all about, right?) and I was worried she wouldn't be able to go to sleep with all that sugar in her but she knocked out. I hope everyone had a great Halloween night!

Beautiful Colorado

2010-10-30T20:28:00.000-07:00

Ed has been working non stop since he's gotten to his new unit, I mean going to work before Layla and I wake up and coming home after we're asleep. We feel lucky when we're able to spend the weekend together since that's the only time we actually see each other. We're taking extra advantage of these times together also because guess who is deploying again in June? Yup, Ed is gearing up for deployment #3 this coming summer. So bummed since we just got back together but I guess that's just the Army life. Hopefully after this deployment, we'll get him for at least two years before he has to go back. Nothing is for sure but we're crossing our fingers. Anyway, back to our day. Last night Ed told me he had the whole day planned for us. Garden of the Gods in the morning, lunch, shopping, and then the Air Force vs. Utah football game in the evening. He is such a good planner, don't you think?

One of the coolest things we saw today were deers in some one's front yard! I'm sure we looked like the biggest tourists ever, stopping in the middle of the street to take a picture of wild deer in some one's front yard but hey, it was so cool. I basically could have reached out my arm and touched them, they were so close. Growing up in the desert, I'm used to running into snakes and scorpions, not deer! I heard about Garden of the Gods even before we got to Colorado and have been wanting to check it out since we got here so I was super excited we were able to go today. Plus, it's only about 15 minutes away. It was GORGEOUS! These pictures just don't do it justice, the rocks were this beautiful shade of red and the formations were just amazing. Layla had fun collecting rocks and pine cones and putting them in Daddy's pocket (which were bulging at the seams by the time we were all done) and petting the 87536023486 dogs we saw. We spent a couple hours there, just walking around and enjoying the beauty. The weather outside was a perfect 66 degrees and we just had such a great time. After some lunch and shopping at the mall, we headed to the Air Force Academy for a tailgate party before the game. We got there a couple of hours early and I was worried we would be bored waiting for the game to start but because Ed's unit was the guest of honor at the game, they had so many activities set up. It was so much fun! We got our faces painted, Ed and Layla got Air Force tattoos, and Layla got to go Trunk or Treating. Layla rode a horse. We met the cheerleaders and got to take pictures with them (Layla's goal in life at the moment is to become a cheerleader so she was amazed by them)! We met a Falcon, an Ice Cream, and a cow (the Ice Cream is Ed's new best friend, they bonded over being unappreciated). And we cheered on the Air Force while Ed drank his free beer (guess who was super excited about that?). Then it was time for the game to start! We read our ticket wrong and ended up going in through the wrong gate so we had to walk a mile across to find where we were sitting. It was actually pretty neat though because as we were walking to our seats, there was the players tunnel with all the Air Force cadets running out into the field. There were people surrounding them and throwing money down to them so Layla got to throw a dollar over to them too. I wish I would have gotten a picture of it, it was so cool to see. We got to our seats just in time to see the band and cadets performing the Presentation of Colors. Then there was an aircraft that dropped 6 parachuters out onto the field. And lets not forget the 4 F-18's that flew overhead. After that it was finally GAME TIME! It was so much fun to watch a college football game, it was our first. Layla even had a great time cheering for the Air Force. Being there, surrounded by Air Force, really made Ed and I think of my Grandpa, he would have loved to hear all about it. We sat right behind the cadets and the funniest thing was, whenever the team did something really good, they started throwing cheese (you know, individual slices of cheese wrapped in plastic) every where. I mean, at one point all I could see in front of me was orange. It was so funny and Layla kept saying "why are they throwing cheese? I want cheese, I love cheese!" She's so cute! It started getting really cold though so we left after half time. Does anyone want to guess the two things we did as soon as we got home? 1. I googled why the cadets threw cheese, and 2. We went back to hating the Air Force. GO ARMY!

RC Cars... and Pumpkins

2010-10-23T19:33:00.000-07:00

I've been sick all week, ick! One of Ed's soldiers got him sick a couple weeks ago and I could feel my cold coming on, I just didn't know when it would hit. Well, it did, this week! I've been a wreck and haven't been able to get much sleep so all week Layla and I have been cooped up in the house (well, not yesterday, Ed had Organizational Day and we went with him to that). So this morning Ed went to get some RC practice in and asked us to come along with him. We usually don't go with him, for obvious reasons, but we jumped at the chance to get out of the house for a bit and we ended up having a really good time. Ed wanted me to take some pictures of his car for him so I brought my camera, of course, and Layla found one of her cameras (one of my mom's old, broken ones) and we had fun taking pictures. She would take some of me, I would take some of her, and we would both take some of Daddy and his car. Daddy also let Layla drive his car for awhile. She did pretty good too! After RC playing we went home, Ed BBQ'd us some lunch, and then it was time to rake/play in leaves! I love Fall in Colorado (and Germany too!), the trees are such gorgeous shades of yellow and red and the weather is perfect. And then it was PUMPKIN carving time! I think our whole theme to Halloween this year is cats. Layla is going to be a cat, she wants to dress our cats up, and she wanted to carve our pumpkins like cats. I think we can thank Boots and Butterscotch for the sudden cat love. And Layla actually put her hand in the pumpkins this year! It's a miracle! Last year she thought it was so gross and didn't even want to look at the pumpkin guts so she made a huge step this year. Like father, like daughter... for real! Taa - Daa! Our beautiful pumpkins!

So proud!

2010-10-20T20:49:00.000-07:00

Ed got his first publication in R/C Car Magazine! I'm so proud of him! While he was in Afghanistan he started corresponding with the editor of the magazine, Stephen Bess and they became good friends. He asked Ed to write an article about RC life while deployed and it is in December's issue! Ed has been checking the website for weeks now, waiting to see when it would come out and the new issue was on the website today. We clicked on it and the table of contents says "16 Driver’s Stand
Sgt. Ed Loredo shares his incredible perspective on R/C." How exciting is that?! So what do you do when you see you have an article in a magazine that just came out on stands today? You drive all over town looking for it, that's what. And what happens after looking at over 15 stores and you still can't find it? You subscribe to the digital edition so you can see YOUR article in print!

It looks amazing, I am just so proud of Ed. He did such a good job and I'm not going to lie, I'm a little jealous (even though I did help rewrite it AND edit it, but we'll just keep that between us). So here is his article, in full. My husband is awesome, this article is going in a frame on the wall. Ed has a published article! YAY!

Pickle Picking

2010-10-16T21:09:00.000-07:00

Obviously we weren't picking pickles (try saying that 5 times) but that's what Ed told Layla the whole way to the farm. We went to Happy Apple Farm in Penrose, CO which was only about 30 miles away. Layla has been so excited to go to a pumpkin patch, we go every year so as soon as Halloween decorations come out, she knows the farm is coming soon. Now that we have our pumpkins she'll be bugging me about Trick or Treating for the next 2 weeks. We had a good time, although I was a little disappointed in the pumpkin picking. Last year we went to Oak Glen and Yucaipa which were both really green and pretty and had lots of pumpkins to choose from and previous to that we were in Germany where the pumpkin patches were on a sort of "honor" system. There were vines and vines of gorgeous pumpkins and when you were done picking them you put money into a little box. No one was there making you weigh anything or charging outrageous prices per pound (the pumpkin patch in Bischofsheim, Germany was the neatest thing ever!). At Happy Apple the vines were all dead and ugly, there was no green any where, and the pumpkins were very few and far between. In fact, at one point when we were looking for a pumpkin, Ed picked one up and told me "Babe, I don't think this pumpkin patch is legit. This one has a sticker on it that says Pueblo, CO!" Not only was that hilarious but it was TRUE! We had a good laugh about that one. This picture sums up my life perfectly. Ed has always been a goof which is why when I tell him I want to take a picture of him and Layla he automatically points to a pumpkin and gives me this look. Layla is following in his footsteps and half the pictures I get of her now are goofy faces, especially the ones of her and Daddy together. Ed's creating a little goofy monster! And here is my little Chunk and I with our 57 lbs. of pumpkins! I think we got some good ones, Ed better be ready to carve them because everyone knows I'm not a huge help when it comes to carving. All in all we had a really good time even though I was slightly disappointed. We went for pumpkins and that's what we got so ultimately that's all that matters. Layla was a happy little girl and is so anxious to carve them with her Daddy!

Texas

2010-10-11T08:08:00.000-07:00

I don't even know where to start with this post, the last few days have been so, so busy. Since Ed PCS'd from Germany and we had a car there, we had to have it shipped to us in Colorado. Turns out Colorado doesn't have a port to send it to and the closest one was in Lake Dallas, Texas which isn't close at all. We had to drive roughly 10 hours to get there, you would think the Army would try and find a way to get these things done closer to your duty station. That's the logical thing to do anyway and we all know the Army doesn't do things like that. So Thursday Ed had a detail in the morning that he couldn't get out of so we didn't end up leaving Fountain until around noon. I drove the first half, until I got a speeding ticket. At that point I was over Texas and we had just gotten there. Then I made Ed take over and just as I was dosing off to sleep, I heard him curse under his breath. Speeding ticket #2! What state in their right mind only has a speeding limit of 70 mph (65 mph at night)? Don't even get me started on the drivers in Texas, I mean WOW! It really made me miss California drivers, now they know how to drive! The tickets didn't even upset us though, they actually made us laugh. 1) because we thought we'd get one driving from California to Colorado and never did, and 2) because both tickets were for going the exact same speed, 84 mph. Although Ed got his at night so he was technically speeding more than I was. So we got to Lake Dallas around midnight, got to our hotel and knocked out. We were so exhausted from driving all day. Layla was such an angel too, never complained once during the whole trip. She loves hotels so she was super excited when we stopped for the night. As soon as we got into our room, she ran to the bathroom, gathered up all the mini soaps, and tucked them safely into our suitcase so she could take them home. We had a great night sleep, ate our free breakfast, and headed out to get our car the next morning which only ended up being .5 miles away from our hotel. Ed and I made guesses at how long it would actually take until we were done, he said around an hour and I said 2 hours. We couldn't believe how fast it ended up taking, like 20 minutes and we were out of there and on our way to Austin to visit my uncle Rick and his two kids, Connor and Ciera. The drive from Dallas to Austin was pure hell. Texas drivers make me want to shoot myself! Since we had two cars to drive, Ed and I kept calling each other to talk about which cars were making us mad so we could give them dirty looks and cut them off. LOL... We try to turn everything into humor, even when our road rage acts up.

3 hours later we finally arrive in Austin to Rick's house. His GORGEOUS house, might I add, and then we went to pick Ciera up at school. The girls had a really good time playing outside together. After Connor got home from school Ed and I decided to take them bowling. We went to a place called Main Event Entertainment which had bowling, a bar (this made Ed happy! LOL), mini golf, games, rock climbing, etc. You name it, they had it. We had such a good time! Connor, Ciera, and Layla were basically tied during our first game. The big competition was between Ed and I. Poor guy thought he may actually have a chance of winning against me, but we all know that wasn't going to happen. Turns out, I'm a pretty good bowler. Here, I'll just show you our score board so you can see who the winner was for yourself. After bowling and dinner we went back to Rick's house and waited up for him to get off work where we talked for the rest of the night before going to sleep. Layla fell in love with Ciera that day which I knew would happen seeing as though Layla thinks she's the same age as she is. Layla even slept in bed with Ciera that night, I couldn't believe it. She never does that in a new place! The next morning we woke up and Rick made us yummy chocolate chip pancakes before we headed out to explore Austin. First up, Inner Space Caverns! Do you see how excited we were to be there?! LOL And we couldn't be in Austin and not go see the capitol building. Our beloved George W. Bush! And Ed has a whole series like this, from all over the world. He likes just the top of his head photographed. We went walking downtown and down one of the alley's Spy Kids 4 was being filmed. Pretty cool. After that we were just going to go home and relax for a bit before dinner but Dave & Busters was calling our name so we all headed there for some gaming fun. Ed and I have never been to one before so we had lots of fun. On the way to dinner was my favorite part of the trip and I am so bummed I didn't get any pictures of it. In the distance I saw lots of black in the sky, it looked like smoke. I kind of kept my eye on it, not thinking much about it. As we got closer to the bridge and the more I looked at it, it looked like big flocks of birds. But as we actually got on top of the bridge and were right next to it, there were thousands of bats flying up from under the bridge. It was amazing! It was so neat to see the bats just pouring out, everyone else thought so too because as soon as we were at the top of the bridge the cars basically came to a stop.

Rick and the kids took us to a restaurant called Rudy's. It was so unique and the food was SO good! They don't even give you plates to eat on, you grab a paper place mat and go to town. The ribs were amazing! Mmmmm... After that we went back to Rick's and went to bed since we had a very long driving day the next day. We had such an amazing time though and I'm so glad we drove the extra few hours to visit with family. So Rick, if you're reading this, THANK YOU for letting us stay at your house and for showing us around. We had a blast! When we were first told that we would have to drive to Texas to pick up our car, I was dreading the trip but I am so glad we took advantage of the opportunity given to us, to see another part of the country we've never seen before.

On the way home, since it took 13 hours we took a lot of little breaks. During one part of Texas we saw tons and tons of cotton fields. Layla and I had fun pointing to them all and talking about what cotton is used for (you can always turn this kind of stuff into a learning opportunity). Ed called me a little while later and said we should stop so Layla could pick some. So we did! Layla loved it (ok, I'm not going to lie, I did too) and for about an hour after, she was getting the cotton and rolling it into a ball and telling me all the things we could use our new cotton balls for (to take off our nail polish mostly). Although we had a great time, it was so nice to get home, relax, and see our kitties. Now that we have our car, there are no more trips in the near future, thank goodness. We can relax knowing that we have everything we need here at home which is a really great feeling.

P.S. I thought people in Texas were supposed to be nice? Everyone we came across was so rude, it made California even look good in comparison. We were so happy to cross over to Colorado and have everyone smiling and actually friendly towards us. Unless we go visit my uncle again (which we definitely want to!!!) I will never go back to Texas. Now watch, mark my words, since I said that, where do you think we'll get stationed next?

Cheyenne Mountain Zoo

2010-10-02T23:10:00.000-07:00

Today was family outing day and we decided to try out the zoo. Going to a new zoo, you never know if it'll be a good one or not so we had other plans in case the zoo didn't work out. As soon as we got there, we instantly loved it! The first exhibit when you walk in is the giraffes and I know what you're thinking, wow, giraffes, joy, BUT you could feed them and pet them! It was so awesome! I've never been to a zoo where you could do that (minus the washing of our beloved Ramir the Rhino but we paid big money for that where as the giraffe stuff we were able to do for free). The giraffes were so friendly and as soon as they saw you had a cracker in your hand, they stuck out their long, black tongues as far as they could and wrapped it around the cracker. It was seriously one of the coolest things ever, Ed and I were more excited about it then Layla (although she loved it too but just not quite as much as us). We had fun looking at all the other exhibits too, although none were as exciting as the giraffes. The bird enclosure was probably our second favorite exhibit, because you could feed the birds (do you see a pattern here? We like feeding things!). For $1 you got a popsicle stick with bird food on the end of it. You hold out the stick and the birds come flocking to you. One landed on Ed's shoulder, as usual, while Layla and I got some landing on our sticks. It was so much fun and kind of hectic, but in a good way just because there were so many dang birds every where. Layla and I went on the carasol. Then Ed decided that all of us would go on the Sky Ride. Never again. I'm not scared of heights but being on a dang ski lift with Layla trying to look over it freaked me out way too much. Plus while we were up there the wind decided to start blowing which I wasn't too crazy about. It was fun but I'm not doing it again, no thanks. We had a really good day though, so happy we decided to check out the zoo. Next time we go I'm just going to buy season passes since the zoo is literally only 5 minutes away. Layla and I will be going there a lot when Ed's at work, I'm sure. Fun, fun, fun!

Our house

2010-09-28T11:19:00.000-07:00

I think it's finally time for some house pictures. There are still things I need to complete each room but who knows when I will find exactly what I am looking for so I figure it's now or never to show everyone our house. So, we'll start with Layla's toy room. When you first walk up the stairs, you see right into this room. In this room I still need to find curtains that I like and of course we're going to finish the chair rail one of these days. To the right of the toy room is Layla's bedroom and her bathroom. In here I still have to get a curtain rod for her curtains, hang a couple of things, finish the chair rail, put another bar in her closet, and Ed has to get a new rail for the closet doors that won't work. Layla's princess bathroom decor is ordered and on it's way. It looks bare now but it'll be adorable when it arrives. Across from Layla's room is Ed and I's bedroom and bathroom. I LOVE this room, it is huge! We even have a little nook which I put a chair in. I am still looking for the perfect end table to put next to it and I am hanging a few pictures above the chair too. Our headboard used to have full mirrors on it but thanks to the movers, those are all broken. So it's empty for now, until we can go get a mirror that fits. And of course we didn't have room in our living room for our DVD shelf but had plenty of room in our bedroom for it, so that is where it sits. And there's our bathroom, nothing exciting, and I need to change those disgusting curtains. They were there when we moved in but I am looking for some sheer brown ones to use instead. Going down the stairs... Layla and I just decorated down stairs for Halloween so some of these things are a bit seasonal and obviously aren't always around. Here is our living room and Ed's new baby, our 60" LED TV. Our living room is pretty small but perfect for the 3 of us, wouldn't need anything bigger than this. And our dining room... And lastly, our kitchen which also has a pantry and a laundry room next to it. And of course we also have a basement and 3 car garage but those are filled with boxes and other randomness which Waste Management is picking up this week. So that's our house. I can't wait for all of you to come visit us! Anytime!

The big race!

2010-09-25T20:36:00.000-07:00

Layla and Ed have been having a great time out in the garage together, racing. He sets up a track and will race his RC car around it while Layla rides her bike. Layla usually wins and when she does she has an interview with a reporter (turns out the reporter is Ed with a paint brush microphone) and talks about how proud she is and that she is doing it all for her fans. It's really funny to watch, she takes it so seriously and since she is so competitive, if she doesn't win, she is not a happy camper.

So today we had an even bigger race than normal. Layla and I in the Corvette VS Ed on the Pocket Rocket (which I bought on sale at Target for only like $40, originally $250. Yay me!). Layla and I were very confident that we could beat Ed. We're a great team and while I was driving Layla was cheering us on. Unfortunately, the Pocket Rocket is made to go very fast while the Corvette, not so much. As soon as the race began, we were already way behind. This is what we were looking at the whole race. But Layla was still happy and laughing the entire time! There he goes, lapping us again. Couldn't he have pretended to let us win? Whew, what a race, that wore us out. Thank goodness the ice cream truck came by, we needed some refreshments. And even though Layla and I lost the big race, we still had a great time out in the beautiful Colorado fresh air. Ahhhh!

Meet Boots and Butterscotch

2010-09-23T19:54:00.000-07:00

I know I've talked about our new kitties a few times on here but I haven't posted very good pictures of them and since they're a part of the family now, I thought I would talk about them for a minute.

Meet Boots. He is a gigantic 5 month old little boy and I am serious when I say gigantic. Butterscotch is only a month or so younger than him and is half his size! I have always wanted a huge, fat cat and now that I have Boots, I have a huge cat but now I must start the process of fattening him up. LOL... He is super playful and lovie though, he always wants to be around me no matter what I'm doing, he even sleeps in bed with us. For being a cat, he's kind of a weirdo though, he LOVES water. As soon as he sees one of us heading for the sink, he runs to make sure he's there to play in the water as soon as we turn the faucet on. Plus, if we leave the toilet seats up, you can almost always find him drinking the toilet water. Gross! Isn't that supposed to be a dog thing? And this is the sweet little Ms. Butterscotch. Ed and I think something must have traumatized her when she was first born. She is so scared of everything. When we first brought her home with us, you couldn't even walk by her without her running away. Slowly she is getting more comfortable around us though, she has even been climbing up on the couch with us and laying next to us which is a huge step for her. Layla always finds a way to grab her and cuddle her though, don't ask me how, she must chase her into a corner. LOL I always knew that cats slept during the day and played at night but these two take it to a whole other level. We only see them a few times a day when they're not sleeping under the bed but let me just tell you, as soon as the sun goes down, those two come out and don't stop playing until we wake up in the morning. I hear them all through out the night (yes, I'm a light sleeper and these don't aren't helping matters) fighting and knocking over DVD's, picture frames, etc. Silly cats! But they are amazing with Layla, even though she tortures them (not on purpose but you know how kids are). We're very happy we adopted these two, we love them so much!

New Belgium

2010-09-18T20:05:00.000-07:00

What a GREAT day we had today, days like this make me that much more grateful that Ed is back with us and we're out of the desert. I love our little family and just having the 3 of us together, it means everything to me. Since Ed got his kegerator the other day he was looking into getting a keg for it and really wanted a New Belgium one (specifically Skinny Dip). He looked everywhere locally and then decided to call the brewery and ask about it there which is in Ft. Collins (about 2.5 hours away). After calling about it and getting excited that he could infact get what he wanted, I suggested that we drive out there today and take a tour of the brewery and make a day out of it. He didn't have any problems with that! He called and got us squeezed in for the tour and some how (which is so typical of Ed) sweet talked his way into getting a 40% employee discount on everything he purchases while there. Awesome news!

We ended up getting to the brewery around 10:30am and our tour started at 11am. Who knew that it would be so freezing outside? 45 degrees and cloudy, brrr! Thank God they had sweaters there to buy, I love my Fat Tire sweater, it'll get lots of use. Anwyay, the tour last 90 minutes and was so interesting. We each got 5 samples of their different beer throughout the tour but I took one for the team and was our DD so Ed got 10 samples. Let's just say by the end of the tour Ed was feeling pretty darn good. We had such a great time! And let's not forget about the full keg (for only $65 thanks to our employee discount)that we came home with. Ed's new favorite, Hoptober. After the brewery tour since Layla was such a good girl (what's new? She's always perfect) we decided to go to Fort Fun which is basically a Chuckie Cheese. We ate pizza, played lots of games, and Layla and Ed raced go carts. Such a great day. I am so happy we are a family again and able to go out and do these fun things together, I can't even explain how it feels.

Oktoberfest

2010-09-17T19:29:00.000-07:00

In Colorado, not Germany. Whomp whomp. We had a good time though. The city of Fountain put on an Oktoberfest style festival at the park with lots of kid rides and bounce houses. Ed, of course, had to jump with Layla on everything while I sat and watched (and took pictures). The food was good, lots of hot dogs and Mexican food but Ed and I were searching for chicken and chocolate covered everything like they have at the real Oktoberfest, we never found any. Maybe we should be in charge of setting up the fest next year, huh? They did have pretzels though that were yummy and lots of German beer that is a must at any German style festival. All in all, it was a neat thing to check out and it gave us something to do for the evening.

American Girl

2010-09-15T19:29:00.000-07:00

Can you take a guess at what I am going to say in this post (SHELBY, this is especially for YOU)? We drove down to Littleton today to buy Ed a kegerator (don't ask) so of course I had to hit up a mall while we were there. The first thing I saw as we pulled up to the mall was a huge American Girl store. I got so excited because I have never actually been inside of one before and I love dolls just as much as Layla does. We dragged poor Ed through the entire store and he saw how much fun we were having so he told Layla she could pick out one doll and one accessory to go with her. Yay, Layla's first American Girl doll! I think this is the beginning of a very expensive hobby. We looked through the store about 20 times, going over every doll while Layla was trying to decide which one she wanted to buy. She finally told the sales lady that she wanted a doll with long black hair and pointed to "the one"! It ended up being one of the dolls that is supposed to look like you, Layla immediately loved her and named her Lilly. After we had the doll all picked out Layla found Julie's birthday goodies and decided she wanted that for her and Lilly to play with. I think I know what Santa is going to bring Layla for Christmas this year, looks like we're having an American Girl Christmas. Yay for dolls!

Our stuff has arrived!

2010-09-13T19:27:00.000-07:00

What a day! The movers came today, twice, and were literally here all day long. Half of our stuff had to be put in over flow which basically just meant that we would get two separate shipments instead of one. Well, they both arrived at the same time so we just decided to get the deliveries over with and have them both come today. It was a very long day but a very productive one! All of our 9,000 lbs. of household goods (minus 9, yes 9 boxes that just disappeared) are now boxed into our new home. I am so not looking forward to starting the unpacking process. It's going to be quite awhile before I get all of this organized and where it should be. Wish me luck!

Painting, painting and more painting

2010-09-12T19:26:00.000-07:00

We're finally done with all of our painting! We really wanted to do the dining room and living room, we even have the paint for it, but we just didn't have time before the movers come which is already tomorrow. We'll save it, obviously, and when we get a spare second some time down the road I'm sure we'll decide to paint then. We have a beautiful burgundy/red color that we used in Grafenwoehr as well and I'm just in love with it but it'll have to wait for now. This whole last week we decided to focus on Layla's two rooms (surprise, surprise, right?) and they turned out so adorable. Now let me just say that even the "after" pictures aren't completely finished. The brown stripe going horizontally across the room will be filled in with a chair rail in the next couple of weeks when Ed has the time to do it. Her room turned out perfect! She loves it and it suits her so well!

Before: During: After: Stay tuned for the official completed room some time in the next couple of weeks.