So…

We have been to Denver and back.  I can say that the clear, blue Colorado sky is much on my mind today while I sit and look out my dining room windows at the low, cloudy, winter horizon here in the mid-west.

It was quite a whirlwind week.  Here are the highlights:

-We looked at at least 13 homes over 5-6 days and settled on a charming, little home in Littleton.  Ryan and I both liked it instantly and all else paled in comparison.  The owners (we are renting) are wonderful and I think it will be a great situation.

-Ryan reported to his office and worked his normal schedule except “ducking out” a bit early a few days to look at a house or two with me.

-My computer harddrive died and we had to find a Mac store for some repair work.  Actually, not that hard to do in a town like Denver.  I counted at least 5 Mac stores just driving around.  STL has only two.  While I don’t consider myself a “techy” it was frustrating to be without a computer while trying to find rentals, look up maps, and keep my mind straight (Before leaving STL, I had created a spreadsheet listing addresses and pertinent info about many of the homes we were wanting to see.)

-My in-laws came into town to help out where needed – and boy, were they needed.  They helped with the girls of course and were a great support to me as I navigated my way through the various areas of Denver deciding which would be the best part to settle.  Ryan was so bogged down with work that he really had to leave a lot of the leg work up to me.  I was so thankful for the help – and company.  One day, Grandma kept the girls at the hotel to swim while Grandpa and I went to look at a house.  We ended up driving for a couple of hours around Denver.  We had a huge map and two GPS’s going.  I teased about the women’s voices on the GPS’s.  Mine was named, “Norma Never-Lost.” while Grandpa’s was called the grumpy, bossy one for her stern voice.  Actually, I learned a lot about finding my way around Denver this way…

-My girls – while a bit weary at times – trooped along and we made it through the week rather well.  I am not much on buying toys “just because”, but I did take them to Build-A-Bear Workshop one afternoon and they both picked out a silly pink monkey to stuff and dress.  I ask you, what is better than one pink monkey with hearts?  It is two pink monkeys.  I don’t care, really, they were troopers and I was happy to treat them.

Thankfully, they both seem fine about the move.  I think we will have some ups and downs, but I think they will be fine for the most part.  I have learned over time how to read my Ellie Grace and as long as Hannah knows what to expect she does fine.

-We took the girls up to Keystone on Valentine’s Day to ski.  First time for them and only the second time for me.  Ryan skiied alot when he was younger.  He wanted to get the girls started on this new adventure.  They did great overall.  Ellie hung real close to Daddy.  She figured out early on that if she didn’t want to go anywhere to bend her knees and lean forward in her boots.  She assumed that position a lot.  Hannah made it down the bunny hills a couple of times on her own, cried when she fell, and complained about how hard it was to get up.  All par for the course in learning how to ski.  Next time we’ll do ski school, but this was a great adventure and got everyone – especially Ryan, very excited to move close to the mountains.

So, the movers are going to come and do a walk through, and then return in a week or so to pack up our life here in Missouri.  For now the details are swirling, but I know we will all land safely in our lovely new home in Colorado.