Colorado Trip!

We finally made our week-long trip to Colorado, with the intent of preparing as much as we could for our (hopefully) move at the end of the year.

We left early Saturday morning and 11 hours later reached Denver! Poor Paul had a cold, so Sunday he was on bedrest before his interview Monday. He 'aced' the Excel test and was asked how soon he could work. Paul said January and they said no problem, we just contact them again in December! He was offered an Astronomy class at the College here in Vegas, so we plan to stay until December so he can gain some experience.

Alec did some weeding in the backyard, whilst we waited and ran across the street to pet some of the horses.Monday night my friend Jane had us over for dinner and Alec kept hugging their daughter (Alyssa) and lying back. So, they ended up on the floor.Tuesday we met up with my buddies from high school and their children at a park.

Afterwards, we celebrated Freddy's birthday (Sabrena's fiancee).Then, we hit a park in Thornton, just the 3 of us.Wednesday we visited my 'adopted' grandparents in Ft Collins.Afterwards we hung out at a park, until we could visit Hahn, Kadie & baby Henry.Then we had dinner at Mike & Brittney's. Alec & Kaitlin played really well, until they got tired & cranky.Thursday we were all exhausted (and sick), so we rested at Sabrena's and met up with Shiela for a late lunch.Friday we went to check out Highlands Ranch, a suburb in southeastern Denver we're considering moving to. Our friends, the Bucks, live there, so we hung out at their home in the morning (and grilled them about why they chose to live there). Alec and Joseph kept sneaking upstairs to get into the sink in the master bathroom.After lunch with them and Shannon, they took us to one of their rec centers and got us some great maps and info.We spent the rest of the day driving through neighborhoods and seeing which areas we like. If Paul gets a job near southern Denver, HR is definitely our first choice!

We had a great time visiting as many people as we could and most importantly, lining things up so we can (hopefully) move at the end of the year!

Update: Front Range College in Colorado called Paul on Monday to see if he was available to teach Astronomy this Spring! :) Not sure if the locations will work out, but it's a great opportunity.

UTAH

I surprised Paul with a weekend away to Cedar City Utah. I planned 3 hikes for Saturday morning, then 'Henry V' for Saturday evening. The best part was...Paul didn't know where he was driving to or what we'd be doing!! I'm good with secrets, but not surprises, so I was pretty thrilled with my self.Friday night we went out to dinner and wandered the historic buildings on Main Street. I made Paul pose before a statue, then we headed back to our suite to relax.

Saturday morning, we managed to hit all 3 trails, plus a quick stop at Navajo Lake.Cedar Breaks was the most spectacular sight and the hike involved some sheer drops. Bristlecone Pines-the oldest living organisms on the planet, these were around whilst the Egyptians were building the pyramids!On the way back into town I wanted to see the 'Old Rock Church', so we rinsed the mud off our shoes and headed in. It was built in the 1930s using local material. A few hours' rest at the hotel, then we got dressed up, had some yummy Chinese, before arriving at the Shakespeare Festival. The outdoor building was a nice re-creation of The Globe and the performance was great! The guy playing Henry put all the others to shame, he was awesome!

Santa Monica Pier & Malibu Beach

Enjoying the carousel with daddy:

Pretending to swim in the mural with Uncle Kevie, daddy & mommy. Alec thought this was hilarious.

So, this needs a bit of explaining. Alec loves the shark, Bruce, on Finding Nemo. He goes around saying (in a deep voice), 'Hello, I Bruce!' So, I got in on film next to a shark painting.

Alec enjoying the view of LA from his great-grandma's backyard. This is his 'smile' still.

Saturday morning we found a quiet little beach in Malibu.

At first Alec was afraid of the loud waves and held on to his daddy's hand.

Paul kept trying to bury Alec in the sand and Alec kept kicking the sand about and giggling. It was awfully cute.

Self-photo of Paul and I:

After 2 hours, Alec was running towards the waves and having a grand time.

Afterwards Alec demanded to use the potty. He had regressed for a week (after several weeks of being potty trained), so we were a little apprehensive about the trip-"Should we put him in a diaper for the drive?"

We're so proud of him! The whole trip he'd warn us if he needed to go and give us plenty of time to pull the car off the highway and even slept through 'Harry Potter 6' in Paul's arms with no diaper!! Several weeks of no accidents and dry diapers after naps, I think my little man is potty trained!

Yet he still hates fireworks...

Enjoying a barbecue at Auntie Kari & Uncle Ben's with Nana.I made a red, white & blue trifle for Paul!

Swimming with daddy is always fun!

Alec LOVES the showers for some odd reason. He kept running over there and squirting himself.

Later in the evening we went to my cousin's to do some sparklers and fireworks. The loud noises and flashing lights frightened Alec, he kept wanting to go inside, so we gave up and went outside to watch some of the big fireworks go off around Vegas. Vegas does do the 4th well. Fireworks were going off in all directions, it was beautiful, though scary to Alec.

Kelsey, attempting to keep Alec from smacking himself in the face with the sparkler. We were so happy she came to visit us!

Swimming=Sunburn

Alec and I go swimming on Friday's at my sister's. This last Friday was pretty sunny and I didn't apply enough lotion to my shoulders. I'm currently pink and horrid as they come, but I got enough on Alec at least, he only had two small spots.

Alec's buddy, Cannon, from nursery was able to come. They are SO cute together.