An Odd October

This month was not my favorite. At the beginning of October Eric was sent on a mid-week TDY (military talk for business trip). This is not uncommon. In fact, Eric has gone on numerous TDY's, all of which Brody and I would drive a mere 2 hours south for and spend the duration of Eric's TDY at my parent's house. While on one hand, it was awesome to spend this time with my family, on the other hand it has made adjusting to Eric's business trips a tad bit more difficult now that we live in Colorado and I can't just go home whenever he leaves. (Well, I guess I COULD, but I need to get used to this, right?) Needless to say, I was not looking forward to Eric's TDY in early October. Sleeping alone in a 3 bedroom, 3 bathroom house all by my lonesome and over 1,000 miles from my closest family member just doesn't register very high on my "fun radar".

Eric, knowing I was feeling apprehensive about him leaving, left me this creative surprise:



A TDY Survival Kit

Cant forget the roses by the bath tub. Sigh...



Surprisingly, the TDY was cake. Cake compared to the 2.5 weeks of night shifts that took up the rest of the month. You see, Eric works in Air Force Space Command as a satellite analyst.  Being that he works with GPS satellites, he has to support new launches every now and again.  Certain orbits require the crew to come in and work at night since that is when the satellite is in view of ground stations that allow the crew to communicate with it.  The new satellite that launched this October had this particular orbit, which is why Eric had to go in at night this month. Hopefully the next launch will not be for a very long time, but because of the satellites he supports, I am able to navigate to Starbuck's when in uncharted territory.  So.....I guess it's ok.

While navigation is great, this crazy schedule took a toll on me! I couldn't sleep and ended up with a nasty cold. Boo.

It also took a toll on Brody who was completely confused as to why Dad was leaving in the evening, not home all night, and then sleeping all day. He became super protective of the house and then began acting like a spoiled kid who wasn't getting enough attention. He lashed out in very interesting ways. First, he tore apart the book I was reading for my book club (luckily, with the help of Scotch tape, the Library did not charge me for it). He also chewed through our locked trash can while we were on a shopping excursion in Denver. All of these actions are not normal for our sweet Brody!



Bad, Brody!



Towards the end of Eric's night shifts we truly think Brody was undergoing a case of depression! Yes, folk it is possible! Coincidentally, the minute Eric's night shifts ended, so did Brody's depression.

Tomorrow is Halloween and the FINAL day of October. Thank God!

November is going to rock.

Glenwood Springs

Over Labor Day we decided to take advantage of the four day weekend and go on a family vacation. On our move from California, we drove through the cute little town of Glenwood Springs and knew we had to go back for a visit soon! When my parents drove my car out they actually stayed in Glenwood Springs and loved it! Mostly because of the historic and dog friendly Hotel Colorado!

Hotel Colorado was built in 1893 and mainly served the wealthy and society's elite. Many Presidents have visited the hotel including William Howard Taft and Theodore Roosevelt. In fact, according to legend, the Hotel Colorado is where the teddy bear received its birth! Today the hotel is considered one of America's Most Presidential Getaways.

The hotel is truly a magical place. I joked with Eric that I felt like there were fairies in the bushes and pixie dust floating all around me! The aura that emerged between the twinkle lights, the charming downtown, the beautiful garden and lively entertainment was enchanting. It felt like a mountain fantasy land!

The drive to Glenwood was amazing and the vacation really started off there! The road went through all of Colorado's beautiful ski resorts- Copper, Vail, and Breckenridge to name a few. Every turn seemed to offer something more beautiful than the last!

Shortly after arriving in Glenwood we ate dinner at Baron's in the courtyard of the Hotel Colorado. The Chef of that restaurant used to be Oprah's chef!

Our entertainment for the evening was a comedy, song, and dance at the Glenwood Vaudeville Revue! It completely fit the theme for the weekend (staying at an old historic hotel and all) and took us back 100 years to something Theodore Roosevelt himself may have enjoyed! The Vaudeville Revue was hilarious and had us doubled over in laughter. The next time we go back to Glenwood we will be going back to the Vaudeville Revue! After the show we walked back to our hotel and I was so excited to finally have a view of the hotel in the dark! I. LOVE. twinkle. lights! We enjoyed a couple of beers in the courtyard and Brody (and his new friends) joined us.

The next day we hiked to Hanging Lake. So beautiful!

After our morning hike the hot springs were calling our names.

We spent the afternoon soaking our bones in the natural pools before heading back to the hotel for a much needed nap. This was then followed by beers in the courtyard and dinner at (no exaggeration) the BEST restaurant I have EVER eaten at! It is called Pullman's and it was absolutely exquisite! 

We then mosied our way on over to Doc Holiday Bar before returning back to our Brody Boy at the hotel. 

Hotel management loved our pup so much! They let us take him off leash in the lobby and he loved every second of it!

The next morning it was time to head home, but the vacation was far from over! On our way home we stopped for lunch in Frisco and for some shopping in Breckenridge!

It turns out Breckenridge was having some great Labor Day sales so I scored on a new snowboarding helmet, new goggles, and a neck gator for next season! Seeing the slopes and being in a ski town got Eric and I so antsy for snow season! We cannot wait to put our new gear and our snowboarding passes to use!

Finally, we had one last stop to make on our journey home and that was none other than Fairplay, CO just so Eric could get this picture:

Gotta love South Park :)

Tour de California!

One of our favorite things about moving around with the military is the opportunity it gives us to explore a whole new corner of the world.  For instance, although Edwards AFB in the Mojave Desert is extremely desolate and not exactly the most idyllic of locations in the world to live, many of the places just 2-5 hours away are some of our favorite in the world! For the families who live there, that have never been to California before, it has so much to offer!

Although living at Edwards did not necessarily allow us to see many new places, as our time in California began to diminish we became progressively more aware of our desire to take advantage of the plethora of paradises California embodies. Not until we move back to California one day will these places ever be as accessible for us to enjoy! Which is why we had to make one last road trip up the California Coast before we PCS'd to Colorado this past summer!

Eric actually planned this whole trip himself which makes it all the more impressive. We had agreed that before we moved we needed to take a trip up the coast and he used my 27th birthday as his opportunity to surprise me with one amazing vacation.

It went a little something like this:

Eric kicked off our road trip by plopping an itinerary in my lap. I was filled with excitement when I read that our first stop would be Paso Robles wine country! We stayed at the cutest little bed and breakfast in Templeton. And even cuter were the innkeepers! Upon arriving they opened a bottle of red and laid out a spread of cheese and crackers for us to enjoy as they explained the surrounding area and gave us their local recommendations.

Two thumbs up for AJ Sprurs in downtown Templeton. Complimentary after dinner drinks make us happy and it was in walking distance for our B&B!

I had packed an array of adorable outfits for our trip up the coast. Of course, I never wore any of these adorable outfits because my husband had the grand idea that we should bicycle from winery to winery. Alas, looking cute and bicycling do not go together. We pedalled 15 miles up and down rolling hills, panting and sweating, laughing and smiling in the shining sun and cool wind. It was so much fun! I didn't care that I was a sweaty disheveled mess. The workout was an added bonus!

We stopped for lunch at Farmstand 46

After two nights in wine country we took our road trip up the California Coast through beautiful Big Sur, CA! So picturesque!

We ended up in Monterey for dinner and shopping! Then continued on to the sleepy coastal fishing town of Moss Landing. It was pure relaxation and beautiful scenery.

Not a bad way to start off my 27th year, right? I'm only glad I could get this post in before I turn 28! ;)