Monday, July 28, 2008

Ouray, CO. and a Bad Case of PMS





I think I could actually hear all of the guys clicking the x button after reading the title. Well, don't worry fellas, it's not what you think! Last week, we took a trip to Ouray Colorado for a little family reunion. It's been a tradition in my family to go there since I was little. It's a beautiful old mining town with natural hot springs about 12 hours away. While I was excited to go, I wasn't looking forward to driving that far with a 20 month old, so I had Joel book a hotel in Gallup, NM. Let me tell you what. This place was ritzy! They actually had granite beds! I mean, I didn't actually look to see if that's what they were made of, but boy could you feel it. The air conditioner had one of those fancy dancy "nature" relaxing white noise machines built right inside! It didn't sound like anything from nature that I'd ever experienced...but it was New Mexico after all.. Perhaps in NM nature sounds like a big semi truck. So..even in all of the luxory of the "Tra vellod ge" we couldn't get any sleep because Mikayla's allergies kicked up a few notches and she couldn't stop coughing. After a few times (and hours) of driving up and down Gallup's main street we stopped at a 24 hr Walgreen's and I got Zyrtech for kid's, Mucinex for kids, Delsym, Benedryl, throat lozenge lollipop's and honey..I figured one of those oughtta work. So after we gave her Benadryl and finally got her to sleep, we woke up (why we even bothered to try and get more sleep is beyond me) and headed on our way. It was a pretty good drive from then on..even tho the last 20 miles took over an hour..here's why:



(I actually stood up thru the sun roof to get this shot)

Gramma took Mikayla to the Hot Springs and Layla had a blast!

Daddy and Mikayla at the Waterfall


That night Mikayla was up coughing again with a runny nose and puffy eyes. I was about to pack everything up and head home to go see the doctor..or go to the ER (j/k..I'm not that bad)...my baby couldn't breathe and was hacking up a lung!! That's where the bad case of PMS comes in. I am a chronic sufferer of Paranoid Mom Syndrome...I'm not proud of it, but I'd rather be safe than sorry. Luckily my mom and sister were there to tell me that it was just a cold and to give her Benedryl and Mucinex every 4 hours and she would be just fine. And oddly enough..she was! Thanks guys. After that I was able to breathe easier and enjoy the beautiful scenery and the shopping. I couldn't do any of the fun stuff like horse back riding, jeep tours, long hikes, and hot springs because I'm preggers. Ha! If you hadn't read through my insanely long post you wouldn't have gotten my little announcement. Even shopping was a little strenuous. The whole dang town is on a hill and there's no oxygen. I did manage to make it up a small (but steep) trail to a waterfall. It was gorgeous! And Joel and I drove to Telluride to check out the scenery and shops there. Fun, fun.

Here's a picture of my sister, Olivia, and Mikayla playing in the river.

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

Monday, July 7, 2008

A New Tradition





We had a wonderful 4th of July this year! We had some friends over for a barbecue, watched the baseball game, then went to the park a few blocks from my house to see the fireworks (I was a little worried it would be really hot, but was pleasantly surprised when the weather was absolutely beautiful with a nice breeze). We took popsicles and icecream bars with us to the park and laid down on my favorite picnic blanket while the kids ran around in the field before the show. Mikayla loved the fireworks and kept trying to walk towards them...thinking that she would be able to reach right out and grab one. It was so nice and relaxing. We were able to sit back and reflect on what a wonderful country we live in and all the sacrifices that have been made for the life and freedom we have today.