Colorado

A perfect Colorado summer evening

5 y e a r s

As I waited for the plane to taxi into the Kansas City airport, my stomach dropped as my phone dinged to let me know I had a voicemail.  I quickly dialed and listened as someone in the HR department asked if I would call them back as soon as possible.

2009 : My first Florida picture from my hotel room the night before my interview

I was returning from an interview and knew that this was "the call".  I had either gotten the job or hadn't.  

As I scurried off the plane, I scanned the busy airport for a quiet place to make my phone call.  I stepped aside as my shaky fingers dialed the number.  

After the required formalities, Josh from HR got to the point.  They wanted to hire me for the position.  I couldn't believe it!  It had been a whirlwind.  I had applied to the position, the next day had a phone interview, and here I was only hours gone from the actual interview and they were offering me the job. Was it meant to be?

Christmas 2010 : The first time wearing my winter coat!

I blurted out a yes as fast I could.  Yes, I would take the job.

After I hung up, the reality struck.  What in the world had I just done?  My current job at a museum in Denver was coming to an end.  I needed a job, but Florida?  It was possibly the furthest place I could move from my Colorado home.  Bobby and I had talked about the "what if" but suddenly I worried maybe he wouldn't come with me.  I mean, we had been dating for almost 5 years, but still how could I ask him to move across the country for me to the foreign land of Florida.  

2011 : petting a panther

While waiting for my connecting flight back to Denver, I made the calls to Bobby and my family.  Everyone was overjoyed for me, but I could tell that they were also very sad.  I was moving away.

The next month was busy.  Packing, finding a place to live, getting work things in order, and starting to say our goodbyes.  

The night before my mom, Bobby and I embarked on our 3 day journey to the southern tip of the United States, we had dinner with Bobby's family and spent the rest of the evening with mine.  I could barely look at my sisters as we hugged goodbye.  We slept on the floor of my older sister's living room that night, but we didn't really sleep.  We both had butterflies in our stomach and tears in our eyes.  I remember though, feeling some peace as I realized I wasn't doing this alone--that Bobby would be my side. 

2012: I got married!

I often look back at the journey and can't believe that I did it.  I survived it.  

I jumped full force into my new job and loved it.  It took awhile longer for Bobby to adjust and find his niche, but he did.  The first few months our GPS was a life saver.  We learned which grocery store was better than others and that I would never have straight hair again :) .  

My mom always says that Colorado will always be my home and she is right.  Its where our family is and many of our close friends.  But Florida is our home too.  We are making a life here and after 5 years it feels like our space-- our own tiny world. 

2013: Weeki Wachee Springs

Florida will always be the place where I grew up.  In 5 years, a lot has changed and I still continue to grow, but looking back at my first few weeks here compared to now, I am different.  Good different!

Aurelia: A sweet addition to the family

Remember this? My first blog post!  I started this blog as a ways to document this journey and I love looking back at my posts to see how far I've come amidst the ups and downs.  I love looking back at major life choices and knowing that I made the right one.  I can see how it all fits together like a puzzle and that sometimes it only makes sense looking back years later. 

Life is good here in Florida and I look forward to the next 5 years!

2014: Miami

Hello & Good-bye

A quick little update

July and August have been a whirlwind!  I've been playing catchup with my life and just when I am starting to feel caught up I am off again.

Here's what we've been up to the past week or so.

We spent an amazing week at home and in Michigan with my family and friends. 

{  My sister wrote up our road trip to Michigan here, here, and here!  }

Back in Colorado we spent our days lounging at my parent's house, enjoying the "cooler" summer weather, watching lightning storms at night, chasing around my niece, catching up with my Aunt and sister-in-law, seeing friends, playing piano and violin duets with my brother-in-law, and eating Mexican food (yum!).  

Our second evening home was spent at my friend's wedding.  It was a lovely night in downtown Denver filled with lots love and laughter (and a little rain)!  

Now that we are home, I am off again for a work trip, traveling to northern Florida and then to the jazzy town of New Orleans!  

My goal: to enjoy some chicory coffee and beignets.   

Smile

//niece LOVE//

A favorite moment from my trip home a few weeks ago!

For Now...

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I am enjoying every minute.

Winter Bliss

I woke this morning to a drizzle and a sea of grey clouds covering the Florida sunshine while my family reported snow and more snow back in Colorado.  I have to admit, its been nice to feel the humidity and warmth on my skin since we've been back from our trip home.  Each night Bobby and I would huddle under the massive pile of quilts on the bed, shivering and trying to remember how to live again in a "normal" winter.  

Everyone laughs and makes fun of us (especially Bobby who grew up in the mountains) for our thin blood and quick adjustment to warmer weather.  

I forgot that the toilette seat is always freezing cold when you sit down and that you have to wear socks 24 hours a day.  I forgot that my lips get chapped and I can drink hot chocolate in the middle of the day.  I forgot that you have to warm up your car at least 5 minutes before getting in and that wearing ballet flats is asking for a slip and fall.  I forgot that my teeth can chatter and my skin can withstand the hottest setting on the shower.  I forgot that when its a high of 45 degrees people will be outside in shorts!

But I also forgot what it felt like to wake up and see a fresh layer of snow on the ground and hear how quiet and hushed the world is.  I forgot that with the right angle of light your backyard becomes a sea of diamonds and the snow can capture little moments with frozen footprints.

On Christmas morning my internal clock was still adjusted to Florida time and I got up at the ungodly hour of 4:45 am.  I snuck upstairs, turned on the Christmas tree lights and stared outside the window for a long time.  As my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I looked out across the snowy fields with the tall shadows of the mountains behind them.  I was thankful to be home, even if I did end up freezing to death.

:)

My sister made this wonderful video today and I wished for just a few minutes I was with them, playing in the glittering, sparkling snow.  But then again, I am secretly glad that when I get chilly I can just turn off my ceiling fan.

Christmas

Song: The First Noel by W.G. Snuffy Walden

Coyote

On the 7th night of our trip I awoke to my sister at the door of the guest room with an urgency in her voice.  My little niece had caught the flu sometime during the night and my sister needed some reinforcements.  After waking my mom to find the extra towels and trying to comfort my niece, I sleepily headed back to bed.  After awhile, when her crying had stopped, I could hear another cry in the dark distance.  This time, not of a sick baby, but of the somewhat sad and echoing cry of the coyotes.  

Full Winter Moon Coyote

Thomas Hubbard

Looks like our friend stopped

Outside your bedroom window last night and

Just stood still in the new snow

For a while, enit?

The way one set of his tracks

Outsizes the others…

You know his feet were

Same size in all the tracks,

So he must have stayed

Long enough on that spot

So more snow melted

Under his paws

Maybe he was trying to

Make up a tale to

Whisper in your ear, or

Maybe he listened to your dreams

To ease his lonesome feeling

Maybe he climbed inside a dream and

Hid behind a lush memory, intending to

Play some kind of a trick, but then

Thought better of it.

Or…maybe he was the one

Dreaming, and you…

Do you suppose he only stopped

To admire the snow?

Snow.

Soon we will be home.  Enjoying our Christmas holiday with the ones we love the most and hopefully enjoying some cold weather and snow!

Snowy foothills in my hometown, 2012

I am counting down the days until we are heading to the airport and get to leave this balmy hot weather behind.  I am looking forward to lots of snuggle time with my niece and nephew, hugs and kisses from my parents, play time with my sisters and brother-in-laws, exploring my parent's new home, visiting with friends and Bobby's family.  I can't wait to lay by the fireplace, feel my cheeks turning pink, wear scarves and mittens, and hopefully watch the quiet snow fall from the sky.  

Ahh..nothing like a Colorado Christmas to lift the spirits!

Snow Dreams

Back home it looks a little like this

Its not unusual for my hometown to get its first snow in October.  Sometimes it was as earlier, but usually it was near or on Halloween which would leave us with two options:

1) Wear our winter coat over our costume or

2) Wear our winter coat under our costume.

Neither were great options.  Either we hid our beautiful costumes or looked the Michelin Man.

My heart and soul are aching for cooler weather and I was slightly jealous to see snowy pictures grace my friend's and family's facebook pages.  This is the time of year I tend to get most homesick, wanting more than anything to snuggle up in blankets on the couch with my sisters, drink hot coco and apple cider, watch the thick snow flakes fall gracefully and silently to the ground, and feel the tingle of cold on my cheeks.  I'd love more than anything to hear the crunch of freshly fallen snow under my feet and see the snow turn into a million diamonds under the golden street lamps.

No matter where I live I will always be a Colorado girl, longing for those first few snow flakes to dance down from the Autumn sky.

The Farm

About a month ago I went back to Colorado for a visit.  My sisters and I headed up north to my parents house for Easter weekend and we spent Saturday at The Farm.  Its a great little working farm in downtown Fort Collins.  My twin sister used to work there during the summers when we were in high school and was a camp counselor for their summer camps.  Just walking down the sidewalks and smelling that ol' familiar "farm-y" air of fresh hay and animals brought back a lot of memories.  I think my wee little niece and nephew enjoyed all of the farm animals, especially San who is learning his animal sounds!

"Pa" and Sanford

The coolest chicken I have ever seen. 

Precious signs of Spring

Auntie part II

So guess what?  I'm going to be an Auntie again!

My twin sister Jessica is having a baby!  What another precious miracle we get to celebrate.  She is due in the hot and sweaty month of July and I couldn't be more excited.  

I got to spend time with my new little nephew Sanford over Christmas. He is an angel and I never knew that I could love someone so much without really even knowing them. I can't wait to meet my next niece or nephew.

Sanford wearing his candy-cane outfit Christmas morning

I sat on the couch Christmas eve and turned to my older sister Elizabeth and said, "You're a mom now".  She replied, "Yeah, its kind of wierd!"

Our lives will never be the same.  Her priority now is her little boy and her family, and soon it will be the same for Jessica.  I watched Elizabeth with Sanford and saw how natural and easy it was for her to be a mom.  She was glowing!  My sisters are mothers and I know that they will be wonderful at it!

While home for Christmas, I helped Jessica and her husband make a baby announcement and if I do say so myself it turned out so cute!

(check out her blog here! :) 

 It is exciting to see the changes that Jessica is going through now.  Everyday it seems like her belly is changing.  

 15 weeks

July will be here before we know it!

 

 

Well Deserved Relaxation

I've been spending my time home doing a whole lot of nothing and it feels wonderful!

Snow

It is supposed to snow today.  I was beginning to get worried that there would be no snow for Santa to land his sleigh on top of our roof.

Being showered with love

Our family friends hosted a beautiful bridal shower for me on Saturday.  I was surrounded by my family and friends and enjoyed good food, fun games, and lots of laughter!

 Bridal Bingo!

 My future family-in-law! Bobby's mom, niece and sister

Bobby made a special appearance in the Newly Wed game!

Bobby and I received some wonderful gifts and lots of gift cards so we can go pick out some new and grown-up things for the kitchen and house.  I'm very excited!

 A new picnic basket for the beach!

My mom made us a beautiful new quilt- Florida colors of course!

My beautiful sisters- even baby Sanford came by for a short visit!

 Caitlin and I

 My lovely friends from college were able to come up from Denver

 Our hostesses!

It was a wonderful way to spend my first official day in Colorado!  

Next step: the wedding!

Colorado Bound

Bobby and I are headed to Colorado tomorrow for two wonderful weeks with family and friends.  I can't wait!

Things I am looking forward to:

1.  Meeting my nephew

2.  Seeing snow on the mountains

3.  Watching the geese skate across the lake

4.  Snuggling with my parents

5.  Snuggling with my sisters

6.  Having my nose turn red from the cold

7. All of our Christmas traditions

!!!

Christmas 2009