Our Colorado Trip - Valentine's Weekend 2009

Jeff and I had President's Day off work, so we decided to take a 3 day mini-vacation to Colorado.

Our first views of the Rocky Mountains headed west out of Denver.




We settled on Winter Park Resort. They had alot of options as far as outdoor activities so they were a winner in our book! We pulled into Denver friday night and met Michael and Tanja at the Embassy Suites. They had just finished enjoying the happy hour there, so we sat around and chatted and I fell asleep....being the pregnant one. Early in the morning we hit the road for Winter Park.


Michael and Tanja started with ski lessons and an afternoon on the slopes and Jeff and I went for a SnowCat tour. That was a fun way to see the top of the mountain and surrounding areas without having to take a lift up and ski down.

Michael and Tanja skiing.

Our Snow Cat. It was heated inside..... :-)


That night was Valentines Dinner at Tabernash Tavern. They had filled the ceiling with balloons and ribbons, it was kinda fun! They had really good food and we ate WAY too much.

Tanja and Michael at dinner. The picture of Jeff and I doesn't have all the balloons behind us.



We stayed at a lovely little Bed and Breakfast called the Wild Horse Inn, in Fraser, Colorado. It was a log cabin home with about 6 rooms and 2 or 3 cabins for rent on the property. They had a bottomless cookie jar and wine available in the evenings. Breakfast was yummy too. There was a resident pit bull named Jengo. He waits under the table for lost breakfast items.



Sunday was our busy day. When we woke up we found a fresh dusting of about 3 inches of snow all over everything. It just glistened inthe sunlight and on the mountains. It was very pretty. We started early with snow tubing at Fraser Hill. We got some good speed going down that hill! The best part.....being pulled UP the hill via the lift. That's the way to go!


Oh...I know, that hill doesn't look very intimidating, but it was fantastic!! It's much bigger than it looks.


After tubing we went out for some mexican lunch and then we headed for dogsledding. This was our favorite part of the whole weekend! We show up to four sleds lined up side by side and all the rigging lying straight out infront of the sleds. As soon as they take the first dog from the pens they all start barking and hollering and squealing and doing this really excited "dance" to bring attention to themselves to get picked to go for a run! It was unreal to hear over a hundred dogs doing this! We ended up taking 40 dogs out for the 4 sleds. They couldn't WAIT to start pulling. As soon as they were connected, they start yanking away! When Michael and Tanja's sled was ready to go, they took off like a rollercoaster...you know..one of those magnetic ones....one that just takes off like a rocket! And they were gone! It was about a 45 minute trail ride with stops for the dogs to take a breather every 10-15 minutes. It's also very funny to watch a dog try to poop while running! It was a fantastic experience. I recommend if you get the opportunity to do it....DO IT!







That night we went out for a horse drawn sleigh ride. A big ol open sleigh pulled by 2 Belgian Draft Horses. Those horses were gigantic! We headed out just before sunset.




On our way out you could see Venus shining in the sky like a BIG BRIGHT star. I'm not so sure it will show in the blog.



It was a cold ride and so they provided blankets for everyone to snuggle up with. While we were out we saw a young moose and it's momma just off the trail. It was starting to get dark, so you have to look closely in the picture to see it.



After our ride, we met in a dining hall where we were served dinner by "cowboys". Steak, baked potato, baked beans and apple cobbler. YUMMY!! Complete with cowboy coffee. It was very good!



On Monday we decided to go tubing again since we had such a good time the first time around. The only problem is that this time it was 3 degrees when we left the Bed and Breakfast! Again, a fun time was had by all!

On the way to Denver to take Michael and Tanja to the airport, we decided to stop at the Coors Brewery and take a tour. It's not so fun for me to watch everyone else drink, but I don't want anyone holding back because of me....that makes me the designated driver! We pulled into this little town called Golden. That's where the brewery is located. We needed to have some lunch, so we stopped at this Pizza and Pasta place. They served the BIGGEST slices of pizza EVER!! There will be a photo attached!





Michael with the huge pizza slice!


Here's some pictures from the Coors Brewery Tour. We think the Anheuser Busch Brewery Tour beats this one hands down.








This picture I took for you mom!

Oh by the way....

In case you haven't read any previous posts.... I'm pregnant! I'm due July 26th. This child will be born in Lincoln, Nebraska. I never thought I'd have a child born in Nebraska. We found out just before Thanksgiving. We have one ultrasound picture at 7 weeks. We are due for another ultrasound where it will actually look like a human at the end of February! I'm really looking forward to it.

In case you are wondering, No, we aren't finding out the sex, and no, we're not sharing names. However, we are having difficulties coming up with and agreeing on boys names, so if you have any ideas, we are welcoming them!


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The Great Trailer Debacle.

We've been keeping our trailer on hand since we've moved here. We had to get the motorcycle here somehow. We kept it in our garage until the first snow and then we moved my car into the garage and the trailer came out of the garage and went into a parking spot that was far away from the building where no one usually parks. I've seen one car parked next to it ONE time. Well, it had been out there since probably late October sometime. Jeff and I were pretty good about driving by it and looking to see that it was still there. It had a lock on it, so no one could just drive off with it unless they cut the lock.

Well....good things don't last. We left our apartment yesterday headed to the Blockbuster and OH MY GOD!!! The trailer's gone! Screechey tires.....put it in reverse....low and behold....the trailer is gone! We stop, stare..... in disbelief. What in the world.... I had an eerie sense of calm...like there's no way it was stolen. That was weird to me. Well we go to the Blockbuster and wander through the aisles like 2 lost souls because our thoughts are on the trailer, not picking out a movie. Well we get back to the apartment and start to ponder our options. Do we call the police?? Is it stolen or towed? Where are there impound lots in Lincoln?? If we call the police about it will they give us greif about it not being registered here, and so on. Well Jeff decided to call the non-emergency number. They didn't have it on record as THEM towing it away. She gave us another number to call and fortunately they answered....it was an impound lot ALL THE WAY ACROSS TOWN! They were open 24 hours! AND.....drumroll please.....they have our trailer!!! Our property manager had it towed over there....what a terd. Apparently we never saw the bright orange sticker on it saying it would be towed away. Nice.

Well $199 later and we have our trailer back and it's in the garage and my car is in the parking lot. Go figure this happened last night.... my car is in the lot and it snowed today. What crap.

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More snow.

I'm getting tired of it, but it is pretty.

And as I'm trying this, I look outside and I'll be damned...it snowed again... it was 60 degrees yesterday!


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Jeff and Kim do the RODEO........yee haw!

So, some kind of professional rodeo came to town, so we figured "when in the midwest..." so we bought tickets! We had a really good time! It smelled especially stinky in the arena, but it was cool! Okay, so did you know that there is a such thing a Rodeo Queens? Not fairies dressed in drag, but rodeo ladies who wear a crown...sorta? Me neither! I'll attach a photo. You must see for yourself.

*** So here's the rodeo queens. Look closely and you can see the "crowns" on their hats!! ***




**** This one didn't land well. I give him a 4.2 on his dismounting skills. ****


So these crazies think it's a good idea to tie up these horses man parts and see how long they can stay on the horse or bull before he bucks the cowboy off. Some ride with no saddle.... I'm sorry, but being bucked around and slammed into a bucking bull with NO SADDLE....maybe that's the bulls way of giving the cowboys some of their own medicine.



**** This little guy didn't stand a chance with these 2 big meanies chasing him around. ****

Back to good ol' Virginia!

Again, telling family in person. We made a trip out to Virginia for a 4 day weekend. We took a Friday off work and Jeff and I both had MLK day off (monday), so that worked out nicely. We flew into Norfolk at around 7pm. Jill and Dustin were there too with my mom and dad to meet us at the airport. That was nice. I didn't expect to see them. On the way home we stopped to eat at Spring Garden, a yummy little chinese place. The General Tso's chicken was YUMMY!

When we got home (with leftovers) we sat around the dining room table and played a few games of cards. It came to a point between games where I think we were looking for something else to do. Mom said "What do you all want to play now?" I said "I've got something.... Jeff and I are having a baby!" You could hear a pin drop in the room! There were 4 blank stares. Then I think my mom realized what I said and said "You mean you're pregnant!!??" I was like "yeah". My dad just kept staring...he was rather quiet for a few minutes. I think he still sees me as a kid! He warmed up to the idea....I don't think he likes surprises! So the topic turned from games to my pregnancy much to the men's dismay....sorry guys! Jill had already texted everyone she knows within the next few minutes!




While we were in town our friends Ben and Jessica wanted to meet up with us for some lunch or dinner or something. So the next day (Saturday) we drove up to their house to meet them and their 15 month old for a lunch date at Red Robin. While we were all gathered around our meal we told them too. They were really excited. Jessica decided she needed to throw a shower for me. We knew we were traveling back to Virginia in May because Jill and Dustin were both graduating within 5 days of each other AND Jeff will happen to be there for court week for those 5 days...HOW CONVENIENT!! So we will squeeze a shower in there too. I'm looking forward to a week of doing nothing. Of course at that point I'll be 7 months pregnant, so doing nothing will be right up my alley.

I'm looking forward to heading back home again. Even though we did alot of sitting around I liked it!

Our trip back to Lincoln wasn't very smooth. We didn't leave Norfolk in time because they thought that the plane was leaking hydraulic fluid, turns out it was just de-icing fluid (doh!). So we boarded and left late obviously. We managed to get into Detriot on time somehow. Too bad because we ended up having a 4 hour delay. We didn't leave Detroit until 11pm... 2 hours AFTER we should have LANDED in Omaha. So we decided to pig out because obviously I was hungry! We were looking for a restaurant with a booth....we couldn't find one in the whole airport that was available...yes we looked on the other concourses too. We had lots of time to spare so we thought we'd find a booth and eat and make some phone calls to friends now that all of our family knew. Well, no booth, so we ended up at a mexican place and ordered us some big ol nachos. I think I went through 3 cups of soda....not good to be on a plane shortly after! A little while later we decided to go on a search for some dessert. We ended up at some bar which served 2 desserts....chocolate cake and carrot cake. Jeff got the carrot and I got the chocolate...and we sat there for an hour and ate cake. It was kinda fun. We finally were able to board our plane which was delayed from Pennsylvania (nothing good happens in pennsylvania). We got into Omaha around 1am. Somehow I was awake in the car on the way back. I got 4 hours of sleep and went into work before 7 am. What a drag.

Visit to Minnesota

As I was saying earlier, we wanted to tell our families in person that we were expecting a child. A few weeks after Christmas we drive up to Minnesota to visit Jeff's dad and Kris. Michael and Tanja had gotten in the day before, so they were there waiting for us to get in too.

We left Lincoln at around 4am to get there before noon, since Jeff's dad was working a half day. We got in a little after 10 and freshened up a little. Jeff's dad got home not too long after we did. Kris was working a whole day. We sat around for a little while and decided to meet Kris closer to her work for some dinner. Jeff and I thought this would be a good time to announce to them we were having a baby. We went out to eat at a neat little Bar-b-cue place that had some really good food. I told Jeff to go ahead and spill the beans whenever he felt it was appropriate. So once our food came, I got the foot kick under the table, and out it came. "Hey Kim's pregnant, can you pass the bar-b-cue sauce?" I think Kris was a little to far down the table to hear the first part, so she went for the sauce to pass it down, and Jeff's dad had this look on his face and said "what did you say?" Jeff said "Can you pass the sauce?" His dad: "No, the part before that..." Anyway, the point was made and they were very excited. Jeff's dad was so excited to be a granddad that he shared the news with our waitress!

On Saturday we had talked about going into Minneapolis to go to the Mall of America and IKEA. We weren't to successful at IKEA, but we did leave with 2 boxes of their Cinnamon Rolls! So we wandered over to the Mall of America. Same kind of thing there....didn't find any big shopping deals but we did see Perez Hilton doing a book signing! Who knew...some random day in January we'd go to the Mall of America and Perez Hilton would be there...wierd!

New Years is for the lame...

For the lame....(IE: Jeff and Kim). We spent New Years Eve on the couch in our PJ's. Jeff had been sick and got NO sleep the night before, so he was asleep on the couch before 10pm. I was pregnant and exhausted and out a little after 11. So there I was by myself on my couch (Jeff asleep on his couch) watching the ball drop in New York. Fortunately they are an hour ahead of us, so we could go to bed shortly after 11pm.

I was flipping the channels and found that Carson Daly needs to STOP hosting tv shows. He was SOOOO boring. Had no animation in the way he hosted and had no expression in his voice. Where's the cane, I'll yank him off the stage. I also think it's time for Dick Clark to retire. Yes, I think he's a cute old man, and I think it's great that he was able to come back after a stroke and host his Rockin' New Years Eve show, but this year was another story. I could understand almost NOTHING he was saying. This year he was a little too slurry in his speech to understand. I think they should move on to Bob Barker!

Oh! I found a tastey non alocholic champagne! Too bad I can't remember the name of it, nor could I find it in the store last time I went. I'm gonna have to search a little better next time. if you have any suggestions, please let me know!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Christmas 2008

We spent Christmas in St. Louis this year. We got in late on Christmas eve, at about 9pm. We were able to stay until the 28th. It was a short and quick visit.




Jeff and I had decided it would be a good time to tell his family that we were expecting a child! So our plan was to bring the wine and put it on the table with a strategically placed ornament on a bottle of non-alcoholic wine. Well, Jeff's mom was a little distracted with the festivities and we had to MAKE her look at the wine. By this time Jeff had a guilty looking grin on his face and his mom seemed hesitant to take a look at what we brought her! When she did finally decide to look at it, she didn't have her glasses on and a few people standing around her realized what it was and then everyone get all excited. At this point we were only 10 weeks along, so it was still early to tell the news, but we wanted to do it in person. We had 7 week ultrasound photos to share, and they made it up onto the refrigerator. Nichole then took it upon herself to title the photo "Jeff and Kim's Evil Seed". How lovely!

Well, back to Christmas. We stayed with Jeff's mom for the weekend. All the kids opened their family gifts on Christmas Eve and Santa gifts on Christmas morning. It was a present opening frenzy. We did the best thing this year amongst the couples of the family. We drew names. This way we can get one nice thing for another couple instead of trying to figure out what EVERYONE else MIGHT like. This went over well, we may have to do that again next year.

An interesting addition to Christmas day was the tornado sirens that went off mid-day!! I have never heard those in person, but to me it sounded like an air raid! So what do we do?? We walk OUTSIDE to take a look at the skies! All we found were some clouds and all of the neighbors out on their front porches doing the same thing!

We pretty much spent the entire weekend lounging around. Jeff and I got each other pajamas, so we spent alot of time in those. We brought our Nintendo Wii...alot of time was spent playing that...there were alot of sore body parts too! Jeff and Michael and Big Mike played Axis and Allies for a while and then Jeff and Michael and Donnie played Command and Conquer on their computers like some computer nerds! You should have seen them with their headphones on!!

We went to Gramma and Pa's house and ate some fried chicken and cole-slaw and biscuits and green beans and COOKIES COOKIES COOKIES!! We sat around and played games and then there was a marathon of House on tv, which I could only stand one episode of that. So Tanja and I played Yahtzee for a few hours.

Sunday morning rolled around (quickly) and we cooked a big ol breakfast at home. Pancakes, eggs, bacon, hashbrowns and juice and coffee, it was like our home made IHOP. Fantastic!!

Well Jeff and I had to head out for our long 7 hour drive back to Lincoln and back to work the next morning. Christmas was nice but quick this year.