Fort Collins ROCKS!

So yesterday being the fourth of July we went to the lake and rented a twinkie boat, for those of you not familiar with that term you would know it as a pontoon boat. Famously named by my uncle David because it looks like its floating on metal twinkies. You know your all going to call it that now. LOL. Anyway the girls LOVED it! We had the boat for two hours and anchored it for a while and swam in the lake. The water was beautiful and fairly clear for a lake. Then we noshed on typical 4th of July fare here at the house; hotdogs, potato salad, fruit salad (yummy,yummy). We met up with Gina and watched the fireworks at her house that night. She can see the ones from City Park from her side yard and we didn't hear the loud BOOMS that freak out Dakota. The girls had a whole can of glo sticks that we put in their hair and then used to play ring toss with later. We heard fireworks into the wee hours of this morning but yeah, 4th only happens once a year. This morning Aaron started his new job. He seems to like it. I took the girls to the Fort Collins Main Library and they got their first library cards. It was so exciting. The library is fantastic and I can see we'll be spending a lot of time there. I also got my computer back! Yeah!! Happy Day! Thank you Edge Computer Fix-It Guy! Hopefully I will have pictures up by the end of the week. ASU class started today, last actual "class" then a practicum and I'll be a Master! Whoot-whoot! Can't wait to get my hoodie!!!

The Move and Move In... Part Two

The next day we set off for Colorado Springs. The girls did so well in the car the previous day that we didn’t leave until after breakfast. (Residence Inn by Marriott has free breakfast, how does one pass that up??) The drive between Santa Fe and Colorado Springs is FLAT and BORING and about six hours. We stopped at the same rest stop that Aaron and I did for a break. The girls loved the grass and the trees. They got to play with their ladybug kite again as well as bubbles and their brand new soccer ball. (Ugh, soccer.) The hotel in Colorado Springs was AWESOME except for the fire alarm going off at five in the morning. Gosh, talk about panic. Alexia is terrified of fire (as Argelia and Laura know very well. LOL) and started crying when she realized what it was. She kept saying “I wanna get out of here.” (Yeah, me too.) Anyway by the time we all found shoes the alarm had stopped and we went back to bed. (Front desk said it wasn’t a fire and they were trying to figure out what it was. She spent the rest of the night between Aaron and me. We found out at breakfast that it was a lose air valve. Weird.


We did get to meet Aaron’s cousin Dru for dinner at a great Chinese place. He’s freshly back from Afganistan and looks great. He is headed for South Carolina for drill sergeant school in a few weeks. Hopefully we might see him over the holiday weekend too; he’s living in Colorado Springs. Dru came to the hotel with us to swim in the pool. The girls thought it was awesome because it had an indoor pool. (A mineral pool none the less, they use salt water instead of chlorine.) Then out to the “hot pool”. The hot tub was outside. Funny we froze getting in and out but it was great after six hours of driving.

The next day we drove into Loveland to pick up keys to the house. Yeah!! Then on to unpack the two cars, twenty six foot Uhaul and trailer. I had called our new ward here in Fort Collins and they were fantastic enough to ask for help and we had TONS of help that night. Brother O’Neal was here around 2:30 with his four sons (all scout age) and then a guy named Jason (didn’t catch his last name unfortunately) and within an hour the elders showed up. It was AWESOME! We had everything unpacked by around 4:30. Then Elder Drysdale decided to “help” Alexia pull her loose tooth. OMgosh it was comical. He didn’t get it out but now she can’t wait until Sunday to show him the “hole” when I got it out the next day.

The Elders Quorum president showed up around 5:30 and assisted us with moving in the last two items; couches and then called everyone else to tell them we were finished and didn’t have to come. Devon and his wife (again didn’t catch the last name) brought us dinner! (again from the ward) I’m going to love this ward a lot. Aaron and his dad were so impressed and grateful for all the help from them.

I also met a counselor from the relief society; she’s a teacher too, for gifted and talented kids. She’s nice and I can’t wait to talk to her more.

So that’s the move. . . .

The next day consisted of unpacking and putting together furniture and stuff. The following day we had to go out and buy a few things. A stand for the tv, a few fans (the house doesn’t have a/c, okay with me because it tops out around 90 with 10% humidity) and a few lamps because there isn’t much overhead lighting. I really like the layout of our new house. I’m going to video it and give you a tour as soon as my computer is back from the shop. (Typing this on hubby’s)

ASU class starts on Tuesday, last one and then a practicum and I’ll be a MASTER!! Coming back to AZ for graduation if I can manage it. Looked at a few jobs online last night but I know principals are out until around July 13 (according to the janitors and they ARE one of the best sources of information along with the secretary. LOL but so true.)

More to come later I think this post is long enough.

The girls love it here. They like being able to play outside and ride bikes after dinner. They like sleeping with the windows open and having almost the whole basement as a playroom. (or wait are those things me???) :-)

The Move and Move In. . .

Okay so the move went smoothly but my computer is having overheating issues so there weren't any posts along the way. So here we go. We arrived in Santa Fe without any issues. The girls did really well in the car and slept from about Saint Johns to Gallup. We stopped at a McDonalds for lunch with a playland so that they had lots of time out of the car. Then we got to the hotel in Santa Fe about six o'clock their time. Not bad time. We did stop at a rest stop to fly kites for about an hour too. We got there too late to hit the outlets so I ended up shopping at Ross while Aaron and Grandpa took the girls swimming. Just my luck I found a fabulous bathing suit. Of all the places, Ross is now my new favorite store. Anyway losing my suitcase ended up costing about $250 dollars because all I had was the stinky clothes from packing the Uhaul. My suitcase ended up being about two feet from the cab wedged inbetween about sixteen boxes. Nice. Worth it to just buy new clothes I guess. We would have had to unload the ENTIRE Uhaul to find it. Santa Fe was having a wildfire so after a dip in the hot tub Aaron and I went out to a tall hill to watch the flames. You could see actual flames. I tried to take a picture with several settings on my camera but none of them worked. :-(

THE MOVE---Day 1

I can't believe how much stuff we have. It took a 26 foot Uhaul plus a trailer and our two cars. Our parents keep asking if we want stuff like pasta salad and granola bars for the trip and we have NO where to put it. (Nope, not even a granola bar. LOL) The first day was exhausting and running out of room didn't help either. Then we went to Nana's for dinner. (Thats what the girls call my mom.) It was awesome to not have to worry about dinner after spending 12 hours packing and cleaning. It was great to have so many friends and neighbors come over to help us pack up the truck and so many friends to help us pack boxes before hand. yeah, yeah. It was tough to leave mom, the girls were crying and saying how much they are going to miss her. Me, too. I know we'll be back before too long. October isn't that far away and it won't be over 100 in Arizona. :-) We stopped at the Target on the way out of Fountain Hills since I accidentally packed my suitcase in the BACK of the Uhaul yesterday. OOops! Going shopping in Santa Fe hope there are outlets there!

Being Positive

Yeah, so things aren't so very great at the moment. Job--education cuts, crazy standards and changing. . . I've decided some things just aren't worth worrying over. I love my family. I love my job. . .most of the time and I've decided not to waste my time with things that aren't worth it . . . like report cards for my second graders. Just kidding.