Well...(updated)

I am a little relieved to say that I gained 3 lbs. this week. I know that sounds crazy...you have no idea! I ate, and ate, and ate, and didn't exercise regularly. I ran 3 times while I was on vacation...walked quite a bit throughout our trip, but not every day walks like I would have if I were home. I was really looking for a 5 to 7 lb. gain. Seriously...not kidding! I actually took my scales with me. I think before we got to Aunt Vicki's I was actually down a couple more lbs. However, that quickly changed and I let my guard completely down. I actually did probably gain 5, but according to my last weigh-in at Weight Watchers it was 3lbs. Looks like I'm headed to my 20 lbs. goal again. That stinks! Oh well, as long as I don't gain all 20 back I'll be happy with that. Here's to next week!

Mom weighed in today (Wed.) and gained 1.6 lbs. We're not doing so hot here lately...any suggestions...motivation...would be great!

A huge thank you...

goes out to Royse's Plumbing...thanks to Mike and Derek and the rest of the crew we have AIR CONDITIONING!!! You have no idea how grateful we are. Originally they weren't going to be able to get us taken care of until Thursday...however, someone was looking out for us and they were able to get the system picked up and put in today...pretty quick action! THANK YOU!!

Also, thanks to Larry and Debbie and my parents as well. We stayed at both places over the weekend to get some relief from the heat. It's nice to know we're always welcome to stay there at any time.

Home Sweet Home!

Actually...it's not all that sweet. We are glad to be home, however, home hasn't been all that welcoming. I knew we had it way too good. Luck has been on our side the whole way. Our luck has changed.

So yesterday our AC in the Durango took a crap, we came home to an AC that was struck by lightning. It was 87 degrees in the house...and we had it set at 80...so we knew immediately something was wrong. So far, everything else is looking good. Thank goodness for wonderful neighbors...our yard, flowers, fish, and cat are doing great...even though Pepper deserves so much less than that. He had a "moment" while we were away. Does anyone have a good home for a cat? Oh, and I have had Maddox at the doc today. He has strep...so at least we can get that under control now...what's next? Hopefully nothing. It looks like we'll be staying at a bed and breakfast for a night or two (or 3 or 6) unless we decide to tackle the heat. It's sounding like it may be Thursday before we can get a new one put in. Which will it be...we hear there are two great places close by...Dorn Bed and Breakfast...or the Kocher Farms. We may have to try each one out.

Glad to be home...still unpacking if anyone's interested?

Day 13 - Are we there yet?

We ended up leaving Colby, Kansas around 11:00am as we thought we would. We had planned on driving as far as we could...possibly home. Those thoughts were quickly shattered as soon as we stopped for gas and a potty break around 1:30pm. We had our first real feel of the hot, humid, sauna-like air that we had been hearing so much about from everyone back home. It seems we chose a good week to be gone. When we got back into the Durango to continue our journey home we noticed that the only air coming out of the vents was HOT. Larry tried everything he could from inside to figure out what was wrong...we pulled over about 3 miles later and something smelled hot...it was obviously something to do with the AC...it was done, gone, we were able to "enjoy" that heat the rest of the day. What a dilemma...I thought we should pull over and find someone, somewhere to take a look at it and determine whether it was something that could be easily fixed. Larry thought we should just drive and drive and drive til we got home. He was dripping with sweat...it was nice!

We drove until we got to the Missouri border and then I started hearing talk of stopping. Larry had decided that maybe it wouldn't be such a bad idea to give the boys a break. They were troopers through the whole heat issue. We had the windows open...making it loud. We couldn't really listen to the dvd player without blaring it over the wind noise. However after a while we got used to it and made it work. We didn't hear a peep out of either of the boys until we stopped at 6:30. It could have been due to the fact that you couldn't hear what they were saying anyway. Maybe they just gave up on talking. We must have two of the best boys when it comes to traveling. I don't use "best" to describe them very often...so you have to know they were awesome for us today...of all days! When we stopped in Columbia, Missouri this evening Maddox finally asked Gavin why he was wet...he just noticed he was hot! Actually I'm not sure that Maddox is back to his old self yet. His little cheeks were red...from sweat...from fever...not sure! Either way he hung in there.

This evening we hung out at the hotel and swam again. Just think at this time tomorrow night we should be in our own bed. Ahhh! Anybody want to help unpack! We've had a memorable vacation for sure, but are ready to see our family and friends soon!

Day 12 - Denver Zoo...Time with family

I didn't get to posting last night...we drove until about 12:30am after leaving Larry's Grandma's. We thought we might try to drive through the night...possibly. The one thing I did forget to bring this trip was my glasses though...and after wearing my contacts all day I knew that the chances of me being able to see very well were pretty slim. We made it to Colby, Kansas last night. I tried to sleep...and I did for about an hour and a half. I was sitting in the back with the boys. Gavin was all over the place...legs...arms...head. Maddox was out sound...he started running a slight temp. yesterday evening. He slept through supper and just wasn't himself. We thought he may just be tired, but were pretty sure there was something else going on. We decided we wouldn't really be gaining anything by trying to drive all night. So, we pulled into Colby. The first 2 hotels we stopped at were full...that's never happened to us. So, we finally got a room and the boys were wide awake.

We had a full day so it's probably good we stopped to get a good night's sleep. We started the day by meeting Larry's Grandma at her apartment in Lakewood. We went out to breakfast with her and Larry's Aunt Denise and her 4 kids. We haven't met the youngest two. They are 3 and 11 months..the older two we haven't seen since they were 4 and 6. They are now 17 and 19. Breakfast was good, but I was a little pre-occupied by Maddox. He was terrible. He quickly figured out that he had a little shadown. Everything that he did, Jayen did...He was running, rolling, tickling, laughing, having a good ole time. We made a quick trip outside...he did better, but still. He blew his straw wrapper across the room, spilled his water...you name it. He was having a good time...way too much fun for a restaurant.

we then went to the Denver Zoo. It was a nice change. We are huge fans of the St. Louis Zoo. Of all the zoos we've been to, we like it the best. However, Denver's was really enjoyable too. It's nice to see some different animals...the boys had a good time. It was really hot though. We stopped for lots of drinks and to find shade. It ended up cooling off after a while. A storm moved through. We found shelter next to a building while the boys ran through the rain. It wasn't lightning or anything so we let them run wild. Maddox started it and then Gavin and Jayen joined in. The boys were leading Jayen through the big puddles and he was loving it. They were holding hands and running around for about 30 minutes or so. They were soaked. Then, after the rain let up we looked around at a few more animals and then decided to call it quits.

We headed back to Larry's Grandma's and let the boys swim in the pool there. I did a couple loads of laundry while we were there and then we decided to head out to eat at The White Fence Farm...very cool restaurant. We were able to pet some farm animals...feed the goats...and check out everything else there..LOTS of history there. It was a really neat place. There's a story about it...I grabbed a newspaper pamphlet about it, but I haven't read it yet so I'll have to fill you in later on the details. Supper was pretty quiet. Maddox fell asleep on my lap and Gavin and Jayen buddied up. You would have thought all these boys had known each other forever. We headed back to Larry's Grandma's to hang out for a while and then said our good byes. We are very glad we stopped. It was a really nice visit.

This morning Maddox wanted to just watch cartoons while Gavin swam. As Gavin was finishing up swimming Maddox decided he wanted to swim for a bit, so he dipped in for a short swim and we are headed out. It'll probably be about 11:00 by the time we get out of here. We don't really know what our plans are for this evening. If we push it really hard we could make it home, but I'm thinking the boys will probably figure out the plans for us as the day goes on.

Day 11 - Still in Colorado

This morning we enjoyed breakfast on Aunt Vicki again...she sent some leftover bacon and sausage with us and the hotel we stayed at didn't have a continental breakfast, but it did have a microwave and plates...so we were all set. We were searching for something to do in Estes Park that we hadn't really done yet during our vacation. We decided on rafting...as we had suspected the boys weren't old enough. The rivers are wild there...and thought we'd check into it anyway. Sure enough...had to be 7 and weigh 50 lbs. They had the 50 lb. part down, but not the age. So, we looked around at a few of the shops downtown and got some suggestions from the locals on what to do. We were on the hunt for wildlife...and things the kids would enjoy. One lady was very helpful...she suggested packing a lunch and heading up into the Rocky Mountain National Forest to hike...which Gavin has been wanting to "climb" a mountain throughout the trip...so we stopped at a deli and got some sandwiches and drinks and headed that direction. We went to Sprague Lake and walked around the nature walk there...then headed up the hills...to find out that making our own trail wasn't such a good idea. We headed back down to find some actual hiking trails...and off we went. We walked about 2 minutes and the boys were hungry...mostly Maddox. We talked them into walking a little further and Gavin found a perfect spot to eat. There was a huge rock alongside the river just the right size for spreading out our things. So quiet...even the boys were amazed by the sound of the river and the cool air coming off the water. I thought we'd see other people along the trail...we didn't. We saw horse trails...I thought the horseback riding sounded like a cool way to actually get around and see MORE. I enjoyed the hiking...but it was warmer than we were used to...and Maddox isn't a fast walker...he gets easily distracted by pine cones...other trails...THE RIVER...cliffs...you know, that sort of thing. Larry is afraid of horses...I didn't know this. He swore the boys were too young to ride and that they would cause the horses to run out of control...etc. etc...so we didn't ride horses. We were all grouchy today...except Gavin...I don't think he was at all...Larry had his moments...Maddox had his moments...and I did too. Honestly, after it was all said and done we decided that it was the heat...not that it was even that hot, but in comparison to what we were used to...it was. A front blew over and things cooled off...and we were fine. We finished our hiking experience. It was fun...the boys could run, climb, find ants, pick up rocks, sticks, whatever...they were in heaven. It did start to sprinkle as we were done so we drove around the mountains for a while...didn't see any wildlife...just people enjoying their horseback riding...and let me tell you...those horses were SO out of control. I made that comment to Larry...I think that might have been one of his "moments".

We headed into town to check out a place that everyone had mentioned to us that is great for kids. It was...we rode go-karts, bumper boats, bumper cars, played mini-golf and enjoyed the nice afternoon. We then said goodbye to Estes Park and headed to Lakewood to see Larry's Grandma. We are really glad we took our slight detour. We saw more mountains, but it was a different kind of mountains...the rockies are different. We were just surrounded by rock on our drive in and out of town. Amazing! On the way into traffic was crazy busy on I-25 headed into Denver...not sure why...it was about 7:00 when we got close to there. So, we took a little different route and grabbed some supper and headed to find a hotel close to Grandma Utley's. The boys didn't swim tonight...early to bed...long day!

Tomorrow's plans...meeting Grandma Utley and Aunt Denise and her kids...going out for breakfast and heading to the zoo.

Good night!

Day 10 - Estes Park, Colorado

This was not in our plans for today...or this vacation at all...but hey, isn't that what vacations are all about. We left Aunt Vicki's around 11:00 this morning and headed for Lakewood, Colorado to see Larry's Grandma. We planned on it being around a 6 to 7 hour drive which is probably how long it would have been. We were on the road for 7 hours today only we took a slight detour. We kept hearing about Estes Park throughout a couple different conversations and could see the Rocky Mountains off from a distance as we were traveling down I-25...and thought about heading to the mountains again...indecisive...we've seen mountains already...but these are different mountains...this is vacation...it'll make us at least a day behind...I'll miss my 5K on Saturday...we'll probably never drive this way again anytime soon...we're not ready to come home yet...Kim said it was worth it...you get the idea! So, here we are in Estes Park...it's not as far as we thought it was out of the way...only about 22 miles of winding roads, rocky scenery, waterfalls, fast flowing rivers...vs. the 92 miles we thought it was due to a map-reading error by BOTH of us. We had a late start this morning so us being us made it into the hotel later than we wanted, but it's all good. We were ready for some more vacationing after our trip today. It went EXCELLENT! I was afraid that the ride home would be absolutely terrible since it went so well on the way out and we have done at least 12 more hours of driving since we arrived at Aunt Vicki's. The boys were better than we could have imagined. Gavin and I had a competition to see who could find the most antelope along the way. We played for at least 2 hours...seriously...who needs video games, or a dvd player when you have wildlife. We found over 100...we didn't start counting right away and after we hit 100 we decided to call it quits. We also saw a couple herds of buffalo around Cheyenne, Wyoming.

We ate at a Mexican Restaurant for supper called Casa Grande...it looked like a little hole in the wall type place, but what we didn't realize was that it was right along the river and once you made it inside it was actually really nice and had a great view of the river from the side windows...very deceiving! We made it to our hotel around 9pm and swam until 10pm. The boys were out in a flash tonight. The hotel we're staying at is nicer than I would've imagined for the price. The plan for tomorrow is to do some things here and then head to Lakewood later in the evening. What we do depends on the weather tomorrow. We can already feel a change in the weather. We slowly watched our temp. gauge on the Durango rise as we drove further East. When we left Evanston it said 58 degrees this morning and it was actually nice...the sun was shining down which gave us a warm feeling. Today before we made our way up into the mountains it read 82 degrees...and when we made it up into Estes Park it was 70 degrees. We saw a lot of men trout fishing out in the river...the boys got a kick out of them wearing their waders. They'd like to try it...too bad the waters would carry them away in a heartbeat.

On our way home...these are some of the comments I heard.

Gavin: I don't really want to leave Wyoming...
Larry: You know, we could just head to "The property" and nobody would ever find us...ever! (it's somewhat along our way home)
Gavin (later in the day): I wish we could have mountains in Illinois
Gavin: Can we come back in December...when there's snow everywhere?
Gavin: You know, I'm really not ready to go home yet...are you guys?
Maddox: Why do we have to go to Illinois...it's going to take a LONG time.

Maddox didn't have as much to say about it as Gavin did, but he's having the same feeling as the rest of us. You know how sometimes when you're away from home you have a feeling of wanting to get back into a routine and be home in your own bed...and just be home...we don't have that...not at all...I guess that means that Aunt Vicki and Kim are way too good to us and have completely spoiled us.

Enough of my ramblings for the night...good night to all...the fireplace is making me warm and cozy and ready for some zzzzz's.