January 22 & 23, 2012

Denver, Colorado to Houston, Texas

1-35 South

1,122 miles / 18 hours

The car was packed and we were on the road by 7:30 a.m. The weather was unbelievable! The winds were at least 60 miles per hour and it was snowing on and off for the first couple of hours. An hour or so  into the drive, we stopped for gas and breakfast. I only wish we would have recorded David putting the gas in the car and myself walking into McDonalds...and by walking I mean being completely blown around the parking lot. I have never experienced such strong winds before, so strong that I thought I was going to fall over. 

About 2 hours later, with the weather behind us, we crossed the state line into Kansas.

And just like 2 weeks ago, there was a lunch stop, a couple movies, IPad games, naps, a few bathroom breaks and then we arrived in Oklahoma.

We decided that we would stay over night in Norman, Oklahoma. (A little over 2 hours from the state line). I highly doubt you'll ever visit Norman, but if you do, I promise you won't be disappointed. Tons of restaurants and tons of hotels. We totally lucked out. 

By the end of the night, I was feeling pretty bad. I had caught a cold earlier in the week and it seemed to be in full swing by the time we checked into the hotel. I owe my husband big time for driving all day and then taking care of Grace, while I was pretty much passed out in bed. It had been a long day for all us.

We woke up Monday morning, with only 7 hours to go until we would arrive in Houston.  However, it took us forever to get there. Lots of bathroom breaks for Grace, longer lunch stop than planned, and rush hour traffic when we finally got into Houston.

Grace had been singing away and coloring for awhile and then it got quiet. 

She basically passed out in the middle of coloring, shortly before pulling up to our new house.

We were all thrilled to arrive in Houston around 5:00 and even more thrilled when we saw how beautiful our new home was. Grace made herself right at home in no time.

January 19, 201

Gracie's First Hair Cut

Denver, CO

Gracie's first haircut was very exciting (and maybe a little tearful for me, but not Grace). She'd been looking forward to it for a few days and finally it was time. She climbed up into the chair like a pro. The only time she got a little nervous was when Natalie, the hair stylist, draped her with the black cape (black is NOT her favorite color).  She relaxed quickly after Natalie started talking about Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and quoting the cartoon. 

The final look...

My baby girl is growing up!

January 13, 2012

Visitors Park II
Uncle Seany

Denver, CO

We were all very excited for the arrival of Uncle Seany, but I'm pretty sure Gracie was the most excited. Sean stayed with us over the summer and they had a lot of bonding time and she has missed him a lot since then. However, the buddies were back together again!

He came to see Bring It On, but of course we all know what he spent the rest of his time in Denver doing...playing and snuggling with Gracie!

Sean took this picture while were out at breakfast. Definitely, one of my favorites!

January 12, 2012

Visitors Part I
Gma

Denver, CO

For Christmas, Grandma Beth gave Gracie the book Goodnight Denver...

Sort of like a tour guide for children. We've been reading it just about everyday and picking out the places we want to visit while we're in Denver.
 In the book it says, "Good afternoon Denver International Airport, where the roof looks like mountains." 

Gracie was very excited when we took her to the mountainous airport
  and even more excited when she saw Gma! We had been eagerly awaiting her arrival!

Beth spent a few days with her brother who also lives in Denver and then she moved in us.
As soon as GMa moved into our place, we were on the go. We went to the Butterfly Pavilion...

and the Denver Museum of Nature and Science.









Both museums were awesome. If you ask Grace which one she liked better she'll say the Butterfly Pavilion, because of the zip line. She wanted to do the zip line again and again. She keeps asking if we can go back...maybe some day.
We had a wonderful visit with Gma and were sad to see her go.
We can't wait for her to come out to see us again (and maybe GRon too!)

January 10, 2012

Brooks Towers
Denver, CO


We LOVE LOVE LOVE our Denver House! .









And check out our view!



GORGEOUS!

The theatre is only a few blocks away, so we get to see David a lot more than we did in the other cities. And there are tons of restaurants and shops all within walking distance.
We couldn't be happier in Denver!

January 8 & 9, 2012

San Francisco, California to Denver, Colorado

I-80 East

1268 miles / 20 hours

At 6:00 a.m. on January 8th (David's 41st birthday) we began packing up our car for the road trip ahead. And just like in a sitcom, Dave thought I had the keys to the apartment & I thought he had the keys...so needless to say we locked ourselves out of the apartment (with our child sound asleep inside the apartment) at 6:30 am. Our friend Joey, who shared the locked door with us, kindly opened one eye long enough to answer his phone, open the locked door and return to his apartment laughing to himself. Anyway, we were finally on the road at 7 a.m. After about 4 hours of driving we were welcomed into Nevada. We're not sure if it was the stress of the ride, the hankering to gamble in Reno or the blinding sun, but David met his enemy, a migraine. 

He was down for the count for a few hours, so Gracie and Daddy napped while I quietly hummed the entire show of RENT to myself.  

And enjoyed the scenery (or lack there of). 

Six hours later, a lunch stop, 2 movies, IPad games, naps, the migraine passing and a few bathroom breaks we arrived in Utah.

By now David had driven and so had I, so we put Gracie to the test. 

Kidding. We had 2 hours left until we reached our stop over for the night, Salt Lake City. The last hour is always the toughest for some reason. Everyone started losing their minds. David opened his birthday presents and searched for my missing cell phone (of course it was trapped under piles of pillows, blankets, toys, books etc), I entertained with more solo singing, the DVD player died and Gracie enjoyed blinding the driver (me) with a flashlight, all the while we kept asking, "Are we there yet?" 

The next morning we woke up refreshed, had an awesome breakfast at the hotel and headed back on the road. Only 8 hours until our destination. 

We left Salt Lake City at about 9:30 a.m., enjoyed more beautiful scenery,   

and were greeted in Wyoming about an hour later.

Six hours later, a lunch stop, more movies, more bathroom breaks, more IPad games, more naps, more losing of our minds,

& we were finally in Colorado!

and about a little over an hour later we were home. Well we were in Denver, our new home!

Christmas...5,858 miles

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