Adventures in Fort Collins

Well, we made it! It was a fairly uneventful move out here. I think everything made it though there are still many boxes sitting in the basement that need to be unpacked. And along with the old, a new item made its way out here with us. Chris got a new car in Nebraska- a Honda Pilot. It's a pretty sweet ride I must say. And best of all, he can fit all the kids in the car but it still is nowhere as convenient as the minivan for getting kids in and out. We've spent the good part of the last week getting things unpacked and setting up the house. We have decided to rent out here for at least a year and the house we are renting is really great! We actually didn't see the inside of the house before we signed the lease but I must say was got really lucky. I'll try and get some pictures up of the house once things are in order. The kids seem to be taking to the new house and Fort Collins really well. The neighborhood is filled with kids and the town has great parks. We went to Fossil Creek park this morning and it was pretty incredible. I snapped this picture of Long's Peak as we walked up to the park.

The play equipment was so cool but definitely different than what we are used to. All equipment was made from recycled materials and there were lots of places to climb ropes and I swear they had something that looked like a snowboard. And of course the huge wooly mammoth in the middle was a surprise.

And I put Nolan in a swing for the first time and it was so cute! He giggled and smiled the whole time, except for when I got my camera out to try and capture his happiness. Look at those chubby arms, so cute!

I still am amazed at how many people I see riding their bikes out here. I can't wait to get back on my bike and start exploring the city via two wheels. The weather has been pretty warm, in the upper 90's but without humidity it is much more bearable than North Carolina 90 degree days. And most afternoons a thunderstorm rolls in to help cool things down. So one week in, I'd say we are pretty happy with our new town. And this week I'm home with all three kids by myself so if you don't notice any new posts on here by next week you'd be wise to assume that I have indeed gone crazy. 

Way more than corn fields

While the movers were busy driving to Florida, Texas, and then to Colorado, we were busy enjoying a week at Grandma's house. Its funny, many may think that there isn't anything to do in Nebraska but it seems that each time I come back there is never enough time to do everything we want to. But here are a few highlights from our trip:

A quick trip to the Henry Doorly Zoo

Elizabeth loved the giraffes

The meltdown over popcorn begins

Loved catching up with old college friends and meeting their new little ones!

I want to go fast!

Boat ride on Wagner's lake

This is fun!

Roasting marshmallows in Grandma's backyard

A serious face cleaning 

Just in case you were wondering if Nolan was present. He was and he was as cute as ever!

Taming the whales in the pool

And how can you argue with Nebraska, where a boy's dream of driving a tractor comes true

Father's Day 2011

Poor Chris, as if Father's Day doesn't already get the shaft compared to Mother's Day but this year Father's Day fell on our moving weekend. I didn't totally forget to plan a few surprises for Chris but poor guy had to start off the morning of Father's Day by taking Conner and Elizabeth to breakfast. And some may say that seems like a perfect Father's Day outing but obviously those people have never taken my kids out to eat by themselves. I did manage to snap a picture of Daddy with his three sweeties before the movers packed up my camera.

And just as the movers were finishing loading up the van, I brought out Chris' gift- a new bike! Chris quickly jumped on the bike and road around the block before it was time to pack it up. But I'm hoping he will get to ride it much more out here in Colorado.

Moving Day (err, weekend)!

Sooner then we thought, moving weekend was upon us. Seriously, I can't believe how fast June went after so many sleepless nights stressing out about this whole picking up the house and moving cross country thing. But early Saturday morning this beauty rolled up to our house and the time had officially arrived.

And before you accuse me of being a secret hoarder, this truck wasn't for just our house. The movers had already moved two families from Fort Collins to the Northeast when they arrived at our house and they still had one lady's apartment on the van (which they were going to deliver to Florida). And then they were also going to put another family in Texas on the van. But our house (plus minivan) did take up about 60% of the van. The kids had fun watching the moving men pack everything up and made sure to get a front row seat for the show.

The whole weekend was pretty bittersweet. Saying goodbye to our awesome neighbors was so hard. I just hope we can be so lucky to find another set of neighbors as great in Colorado. I know we will especially miss the Brown family. This family was so caring and always let our kids come over and play or let us come hang out when our house was being shown. And sweet little Olivia- she cried and cried when we left which only made me cry more!

The kids with Mama and Olivia Brown

But, in the end we know this move is a really good thing for us. Chris has a great job and we are so excited to live in such a great town. Fort Collins boasts great public schools, bike trails galore, and some really fantastic beer. People there are seriously outdoorsy and active- which hopefully will rub off on us. And eco-friendly is an understatement- in this town green really is the new black. And so our North Carolina chapter has come to an end but stay tuned for more on our new adventures in Colorado!

So long house- we'll miss you! But please have someone buy you soon!

Loved these birch trees in the front yard

The split in this tree is the perfect frame for cute fishy faces

I think this might be our first picture with all the kids and the dogs!

Ode to oatmeal

Oatmeal is delicious, oatmeal is good
Try it this morning, really you should

Oatmeal has suddenly become all that much more delicious to me because of a simple little addition- peanut butter! And really, I probably love peanut butter more than oatmeal so it only makes sense that I marry the two together. But I wish I could take credit for coming up with this combination but I can't. See my friend recently sent me the link to this blog, and this woman is the queen of making all sorts of delicious oatmeal variations, almost all with some sort of nut butter added. And this woman lives in Fort Collins! I've already tried to befriend her but I guess I came off as a creepy stalker because I haven't heard back from her. Would showing up at her favorite bar/restaurant in hopes of running into her be too much? Hee, hee, hee....

Tasty nuts

Thought I would share this little trick I've been using lately to take my nuts to the next level. And if you have the mind of a 6th grader like me, I'll give you a second to get your mind out of the gutter. Currently almonds are my nuts of choice but I imagine this would work well with pecans and pistachios too.

Bragg's roasted almonds:
Raw almonds (or your nut of choice, just be sure they are unroasted and unsalted, huge bags of these sold at Costco and Sam's)
Bragg's liquid aminos (in the spray bottle)
Sea salt

Preheat oven to 350F. Take your nuts and spread them out on a cookie sheet. Spray the Bragg's all over those nuts, being sure that each nut gets a little. Lightly salt. Put nuts in preheated oven and cook for 8-10 minutes, until lightly browned. Let nuts cool completely before storing. Enjoy your nuts! And yes, I'm still giggling because I wrote nuts so many times.

P.S.- Don't worry Meg, I'm bringing home a bag of these for you to try.

3 months

A few highlights of this month:

• lots of smiles, and giggles when tickled
• rolling over from tummy to back
• lots of coo's
• sleeping about 7-8 hours straight per night