Royal Gorge

When we got back from MO, Larry and Diane decided to stay a few more days. While they where here we all went and rode the train through the Royal Gorge.



the train going through the gorge



the bridge that goes across the gorge


rafters going down the river


Larry and Diane


Larry and his mom


Larry and I

Trip to Missouri

Two weeks ago while Larry was on leave we went to Missouri to visit his brother, Chris, and his nephew, Avery. His parents drove up from Phoenix in the RV and picked us up here in Colorado and then we headed out. After a 15 hour drive in the RV we finally made it there where we meet up with my parents who drove in the night before. We park the RV at this really nice RV park. We were not sitting on top of other RVs and it was right by the river, which was cool. So while we were there we celebrated Avery's birthday. Larry and Diane (in-laws) bought Avery a skateboard. It was really funny to watch a 5 year old ride a skateboard. Also while we were there we went tubing down the river, which was a lot of fun.



Avery learning how to skateboard....



Tubing down the river....


Avery napping with Papa Larry

It has been awhile since I wrote anything but then again nothing new has really happened. Larry has been working longer hours to prepare for his deployment so it has been quiet around the house. School is out for the summer so I am all done working until next school year, which is okay with me that way I can spend what time I can with Larry. We did just celebrate our 3 year anniversary. It is hard to believe it has already been that long. Anyhow, we went to a Rockies game for our anniversary. They lost but it was a lot of fun and the weather was actually nice.

CO Rockies vs SD Padres

Disney World

Back before Christmas we found out that the guys were going to be getting time off in March and that it was probably the last leave time that they would have before they got deployed. It must have been fate because right about that time we got an email from the MWR that said that Disney World was giving active duty military free 5 day park hopper tickets and that dependents got theirs at a reduced price (more than 1/2 off). Some friends of our decided that they were going to go and asked if we wanted to go with them, and as you can guess we said yes. We found a nice hotel that was not on the resort but then as we were researching things about the resort we decided to stay on the resort because of all the extra benefits. Also while making the reservations we found out along with discounts on the tickets they were also giving discounts on the hotels. We got there on a Sunday afternoon, and after sitting at the airport for almost an hour we finally got to the resort. The hotel we stayed at was call Port Orleans-Riverside, it was a beautiful hotel. As you might guess by the name it resembled riverside New Orleans. The restaurants had mostly southern food and the atmosphere was southern. The hotel sits on the river that runs through the resort and you could ride the boat from the hotel to what is called Downtown Disney. That first evening we took the boat to Downtown Disney and walked around. We also had dinner down there at an Irish Pub. After we got back to the hotel we decided to go to the Magic Kingdom, they were having magic hours which means the park was open late exclusively for guesses staying on the resort. We walked around the park and road a few rides like Thunder Mountain and Space Mountain. At about 1a.m. we decided to head back to the hotel, we were meeting Tom, Karen, and the girls that next morning back at Magic Kingdom.



That next morning at Magic Kingdom we met our first characters. It is really kind of funny because all growing up my parents called me Pooh and Larry was called Tigger.



That day we walked all over Magic Kingdom. One of the may placed we stopped for a Kodak moment was the Swiss Family Robinson Tree House. This tree house has be the largest and coolest one either one of has ever been in.



We also walked around Toontown where I got these photos of Mickey and Minnie's houses. Mickey had a garden in his back yard where he was growing pumpkins shaped like his head. Pluto's doghouse was also in the backyard. Minnie's house was full of pic of Mickey and her friends.



This is a picture of Main Street in Magic Kingdom at about 5p.m. In this picture there is a group people retiring the flag for the day.



While at the Magic Kingdom Emma got turned into a princess at the Bippity Boppity Boutique. She chose Jasmin as you might have guessed by her outfit. Presley was to young to have it done to her but she was a good sport about it.



The next day we went to both Hollywood Studios and Epcot. We spent most of the day at Hollywood Studios though. We got there before the park opened because we went to a character breakfast with the characters from Jojo's Circus and Little Einsteins. The girls had fun for the most part until Presley thought Jojo was trying to take her bacon.



After breakfast we went and walked around, met more characters like Chip and Dale, and we rode rides. My favorite one was the Tower of Terror. I rode it several times. If you don't know about the ride I will give you a hint; it's an elevator that drops. We also rode the new Toy Story ride that is similar to a shooting arcade. Also while at Hollywood Studios we went to the Beauty and the Beast play, that was a lot of fun.



After Hollywood Studios we went to Epcot. We didn't get to do a lot there because the lines were so long and the park was closing soon, but the World Showcase was open late that night so we spent most of our time there. The World Showcase has 11 different countries in it that sell authentic merchandise and food. I bought a margarita in Mexico and didn't finish drinking it until I arrived in Germany were we had dinner. Larry bought beer in 3 different countries and bought a rugbie ball in the UK.



On Wednesday we spent the day at the Animal Kingdom. It reminds me of a really big zoo with rides. We rode several rides like Expedition Everest, where a Yeti tried to attack us, Primeval Whirl, where we went back in time, Dinosaur, where dinos attacked us, and Kilimanjaro Safaris. The safari was a new and different way to look at the different animals. We saw lions, giraffes, elephants, alligators, and more.



We also went on the Kali River Rapids ride which we got soaked on. The Festival of the Lion King was a show that we went to while there that was fun and exciting to watch. We even got to met several characters at the park.



Along with Mickey and Minnie was met Koda from Brother Bear and Terk from Tarzan.



Larry decided that he wanted to be a sorcerer like Mickey. After Animal Kingdom we went back to Hollywood Studios to watch the show Fantasmic. These pictures are from that show.



I just thought that the lights beaming over the sorcerers hat at Hollywood Studios was cool so I had to take a picture.



Are last day at the resort we went back Epcot and the World Showcase. This time we got to go on a few of the rides at Epcot like Test Track. We also walked around World Showcase and got to meet a few more characters like Belle and the Beast, Mushu from Mulan, Aurora, Mary Poppins, Genie, and Dopey. Dopey insinuated that Larry had big ears and that I was crazy.




We had a great time even if my feet didn't. I got to be a big kid and get autograph from Disney characters and spend time with Larry, what else could I have asked for in a vacation.

How much do you love your pets?

So this weekend I had to take Maggie to the vet. This is really not a big deal usually but when I have to take her to the ER vet that's a different story. Of course, the regular vet is not open on the weekend so I had no other choice. Somehow she sliced her ear open ( I am sure it happened while messing around with her brother) and if you have ever had a pet that cut their ear or foot you know that those cuts bleed like no other. Needless to say it was bleeding like crazy but then again she slice her ear from the tip to the base. To add to it she was really upset (more than usual when she is at a vet office) so she tried to eat everyone. I knew she was really upset when she just about took off a friend of ours hand and he didn't even touch her he just opened the car door. So after 3 hours at the ER vets office they decide to keep her overnight because they were so busy that they were not going to be able to stitch her ear for another 4 hours. At least they were nice about that and did not make us wait and they also did not charge us for hospitalization. Even with that you could imagine how much our bill was because they had to completely knock her out because she was being so aggressive. I can't blame her though I would have been bitchy too if I had a cut like she had. The funny part is that I was just giving my sister in-law shit about spending so much at the vet on her cat to fix both his ears. But honestly, what are you going to do. She is my baby and it had to be stitched. I do have to say though, that pet insurance flier I was looking at is sure looking more interesting now.

WOW, it has been awhile

It has been awhile since I have wrote on here, so much has happen since October. I guess I could start with Thanksgiving. My in-laws came in on Wednesday and then my sister in-law came in bright and early on Friday. Therefore, we actually had our big Thanksgiving dinner on Friday afternoon so that she could be there for it. On Saturday we went up to Loveland Ski Resort because Aubrey wanted to learn how to snowboard and my father in-law had not been skiing in like 20 years so we thought it would be fun.


Aubrey, Me, and Larry


Larry teaching Aubrey how to snowboard

December went by pretty fast and before we know it we where in Phoenix for Christmas. Larry had 2 weeks off from work so we spent the whole two week down there. It was great because we got to relax and were not running around crazy in a short time. Also, my entire family was down there for my grandparents 50th anniversary. We through a party for them over at my aunt and uncle's house. That was a lot of fun, got to see people I had not seen in awhile.


My siblings and their significant other and me and Larry


Everyone standing around smoking cigars and talking


Larry, Bryan, and Caleb (man Bryan is SHORT)

Anyhow, back to Christmas. Christmas Eve we spent with Larry's family, they have a big get together with all the relatives. Christmas morning we opened presents at Larry's parents house and then we went over to my grandparent's house to open presents form my family. I almost forgot Aubrey' s graduation party. She just graduated form ASU so we through a party. Lastly, on New Years Eve we went to a hockey game. That was great, I love going to hockey games. The Phoenix Coyotes were playing the Colorado Avalanche so that was cool to see our two teams play each other.
Since New Years not much has happened. Larry has been off at a bunch of schools so he was not home for much of January. So I have been keeping busy with work and ripping down wallpaper in the master bathroom. I want to get it all down, repaint, retile the floor and put in a new vanity. It is a slow process though because I swear that the wallpaper is super glued to the walls. It is a pain in the you know what to get off the walls. Other than that not much else is happening so I guess I will sign off for now.

Our Trip to South Dakota

A couple weeks ago we decided to go on a little vacation. Larry and I had not spent a lot of time together this summer do to all the training he has been doing. But I guess that is how it goes when you marry someone in the military and I knew what I was getting into when I married him. Anyhow, back to our trip. We decided to go up to South Dakota. I grew up there so it was not a new adventure but I wanted to show Larry where I was from. He was all for it because he could go play poker in Deadwood, which he did, several times. While we where up there we stayed with my best friends mom, Sharon, Tammy, and her little sister, Kristy. We really did not do to much while we where there. However, we did go play tourist on Saturday after we watched Kristy's softball games. We went up to Keystone, a small little tourist town, then to Mt. Rushmore. I had not been there in like 10 years and Larry has never been. It has changed a lot from the last time I was there. They have a parking garage and a lot of new buildings (gift shops, cafe, displays, theaters). Also the Presidential trail was now open. Walking the trail was actually kind of neat. It goes up to the rock pile that was made by all the work. After Mt. Rushmore we went the long way home and stopped at the new winery in Hill City and did wine tasting. The wine is all made with South Dakota grown grapes and fruit. We bought a couple bottles of one of the wines we tasted. It was made out of raspberries and honey, it tasted like juice. From there we went to Deadwood and they all played at the casinos. I am not into that so I just walked around and looked in all the shops. On Sunday Larry and I went for a drive through Spearfish Canyon. The leaves where all changing colors and it was beautiful. We where going to leave that next morning but that night Larry stayed in Deadwood playing poker until wee hours in the morning so we decided to stay another day. So on Monday Sharon gave Larry a tour of Dakota Arms and then we went and visited my aunt and uncle in Whitewood. I hadn't seen them in a long time, probably not since I moved away and that was in 2002. It was nice to visit with them. That night we went to Rapid City to watch Kristy play softball again. The next morning we packed everything up and headed home. All in all we had a good time. It was great getting to see Sharon, Tammy and Kristy and hanging out with them for the weekend.


Larry riding his horsie in Keystone



Sharon, Larry, and I taking a break in Keystone


Larry and I


Sharon, me, and Tammy



Pictures we took while walking the Presidential trail


These guys where hanging out in the parking lot at Mt. Rushmore