Colorado! Part 2

Picking up where I left off in Part 1, we arrived exhausted but giddy, and set about exploring our rental house. The rest of that first day was a blur. Over the next day or so, I managed to get groceries (Ouch! expensive in the mountains, and I didn't have the time or energy to go all the way back to Colorado Springs. Still, cheaper than eating out.) We spent most of those first few days just getting settled and exploring our new environment.

Natalie and Rachel love the soft-headed grass growing out in the yard.

Bobby and I road-tested the hiking carrier. After a few adjustments, it's working well for us.

Here's the rest of our tribe, all of us heading down to the two neighborhood lakes.

The two lakes are connected by a narrow stream slithering through the grassy bank. There were several places to cross via rocks or simple board bridges. The kids loved this stream and were pretending to fish in it.

Natalie and Rachel took over the photography, and got some good close-ups.

Ian didn't want to be left out of the photo fun. After grabbing my phone, he took about 43 pictures of the inside of his hand.

They have a gas grill, and this chicken and squash turned out great.

There were bubbles. There will probably be more bubbles.

The 2-acre property includes a great multi-level playscape and a trampoline. I have mixed feelings about trampolines, but the kids are crazy about them.

Day 4 was July 4th, Independence Day here in the U.S. We drove to the nearest town with grocery stores, the charming hamlet of Woodland Park, which happens to be celebrating its 125th anniversary  this year. They were having a festival, the weather was drop-dead gorgeous, the big inflatable slide was free, and a symphony was playing in a big bandstand facing a grassy hill, with Pikes Peak in the background. It was a pretty great place to be.

We parked at an elementary school with this wonderful, open to the public fort-style playground. We let the kids check it out for a while before we all headed over to the festival. They had one of these playgrounds in Ruidoso, NM, too, when we went there in 2013. I bet it's still there.

The girls, having bought themselves some fairy wings for $2 each, waited with Ian and me at the bandstand while Rob went to get the car. We found out, by the way, that it was also the 125th anniversary of basketball, which was invented by James Naismith and first played on a court at Springfield College, Massachusetts. They were having 3-on-3 b-ball games at the festival, and the announcer explained that this had been a festival tradition every year since the invention of the sport. Pretty cool. 

Rachel consoled her tired little bro.

 We came back later for fireworks, which were okay, but not as much fun as the festival. Had we all been less exhausted, we would have gotten more out of the fireworks. All in all, it was a great day and a fun way to kick off our Colorado adventures.

The next day, we checked out the Florissant Fossil Beds, and the following day, the Florissant Public Library. I'll tell you about those in my next post. Au revoir!

Things I'm Enjoying at 9 Months Pregnant

Being 9 months pregnant is no picnic, any mother who remembers will tell you. I say "who remembers", because I know that these days will quickly get blurred into obscurity after the baby arrives. Bringing a baby into the world is such a monumental change, it tends to eclipse what came before it. Yes, even if you've done it all before.

I'd wager that no woman in Texas history has ever been sorry to have a summer baby arrive a little early. It's hot out there. But this post isn't supposed to be about complaining--there are actually some things I'm enjoying at 9 months pregnant, and I feel like that's worth writing about. Here they are, in no particular order:

1. The slow pace. I am not one to naturally take life slowly. It usually takes a force beyond my control to consistently slow me down. In this case, I am physically limited. I can't plan an action-packed day or weekend, because I know I just don't have the stamina to get through it. I can do relatively easy things, slowly. I have to take breaks. I can't take on big projects, or plan vacations (except in the distant future). Lucky for me, I have a very supportive and understanding husband who has adapted to the situation and makes sure I get a break from the kids in the evenings. He's taking them to the YMCA every evening while I read, or go for a short walk, or just relax. Since I've been on maternity leave, I've watched seasons 1-4 of Downton Abbey and read an entire book so far. I'm on my next book now.

2. Sweet moments with my daughters. We are coming upon the end of an era, and the days of just Natalie and Rachel and me feel sweeter for it. I enjoy their laughter, smiles, silly and cuddly moments. I can't read to both of them in my lap anymore, but they've adapted. Things are relatively simple and easy with them right now, and they're nowhere near as high-maintenance as a baby will be. I know that and I treasure it.

3. The scenery. June may be uncomfortably hot and humid in Austin, but it sure is pretty, especially this year. All the Crape Myrtles at my house and around town are bursting with blooms this year. Everything looks lush and vibrant. The "jungle" look is still here--it's not hot or dry enough to chase that away yet. Sure, there are mosquitos, but I can sit on the back porch among the citronella candles and incense and be comfortable enough. The garden is in maintenance mode at this point, both because I'm so far along and because the season is--this is the gardener's respite between busy seasons, except for watering, which hasn't been too demanding yet this year. I get to sit back, relax and enjoy.

4. Nesting. Though it's tiring, nesting is also fun for me. I spent four days last week preparing big-batch crockpot meals, serving them to the family at dinner, and squirreling away the leftovers in the freezer for after baby's arrival. After four days, I was ready for a couple of days of take-out, but it was fun to get into the groove of preparing meals. I have tackled a few small cleaning and organizing projects. I've taken in some baby toys and gear. The bassinet is ready to go. My bag is packed for the birthing center. Doing all of that was exciting, something to focus on while anticipating an exciting change.

5. Sleep. I'm so close to holding this baby in my arms, I can taste it. But the sleepless nights haven't set in yet. I'm still in the stage of sweet anticipation. Okay, I'm not sleeping like a champ--I still wake up at least once a night, and turning over is not comfortable. But I can get back to sleep and get in a reasonable number of hours. When my girls are napping, I can (and do) take at least a power nap. Sleeping in, when I can get away with it, feels great.

Natalie the photographer

I've been blessed with a free iPhone 4, and I think Natalie is as excited about it as I am. She loves to take photos, so I thought I'd share a few. I love to see what she captures.

 I think this was the inside of a white shelf. The close-ups are often the most mysterious.

 Still life of a baby doll on a play dining table. Note "Daddy pirate" drawing on the whiteboard in the background.

 Hi, Mom!

 Playroom shelves... in motion?

 Hi again.

Miscellaneous playroom close-ups.

Day trip

Today was a brave new adventure. The girls and I headed off in grandma's minivan to New Braunfels (an hour south of Austin) with Beth and Piper to visit the McKenna Children's Museum.

In spite of some teething-associated fussiness on Piper's part, and a restaurant meltdown on Natalie's, I think the girls had a great time. They seemed to enjoy each other's company (and lots of snacks, toys and books--thanks Beth!) on the trip down. Rachel was asleep for most of both legs of the trip. On the way back there was a little bit of overtired toddler fussiness, both both toddlers did finally drift off to dreamland.

The museum itself was pretty fabulous, for the most part. At $7.50 per person over 12 months old, it was a little on the pricey end, but well worth it for an occasional day trip. The girls enjoyed having the run of a mock grocery store, ambulance, hospital, science lab, train table, bat cave (including batwing capes--see photos), aquarium, campground, ranch house, newspaper building, bank, rocket ship, mission control and a dark quiet room with interactive art projected on two walls. Their energy fizzled out before we had a chance to experience the art room (paint!) or outdoor water play area, both of which probably would have necessitated another change of clothes anyway.

The exhibits were very toddler-friendly, but also interesting enough to engage, educate and entertain older kids.

My only complaint was that the museum restaurant was poorly laid out (drinks were blocked by the cashier line, for example) and not kid-friendly.

Still, it was a great first roadtrip with friends. We might try Dallas or even Oklahoma City next time--as luck would have it, Beth and I both spent some of our formative years in OKC. Her parents still live just outside of the city. There are some high school friends I could look up and visit. And there's always McGehee's Catfish and Arbuckle Wilderness on the way up.