Hello CO!

We made it! Our journey began last Monday. Much later in the day then we had hoped for but kind of expected. It is very difficult to clean your way out the door when living with a busy almost 3yr old and a itty bitty clutter maker. The cleaning process wasn't exactly your normal be-back-in-a-little-bit type of cleaning. It was an Oh-My-GOD-who-knows-when-we'll-be-back-and-must-make-it-pretty-so-it-will-sell type of cleaning. I was becoming a little Howard Hughesish and finally had to realize we had done what we could. It sure did look purdy though.

We drove from TN to KY, a bit of IL to MO, a WHOLE LOT OF KS and finally CO. The kids did great and we really only had one moment in KS where both kids were screaming and we couldn't find a hotel. It was the end of day 2, we were all done, done, DONE and the boys let it be known. Much of our trip's success was that we didn't have any crazy unrealistic expectations and tried to plan our day so that we could finish early evening and have somewhat of a "normal" evening routine and time to unwind. Back in the day when we would travel with the doggies, it was all about finding spots to throw the ball around. With the kids it was all about parks and when it too cold to play outside, we ran around a Bass Pro Shop. Mark pointed out that this is the ONLY time that it was actually nice to have both kids in diapers rather than stopping for constant potty breaks. He's actually right. I was kind of wishing I had packed some depends for myself :).

Enough of the road chat. We're here and Mark is officially the "new kid". We went to dinner with Mark's boss and his family Friday night and on Saturday we went to a bbq with some of Mark's crew and their families. There were lots of kids! A friend for everyone. Even Cruz. Mark's boss has a little girl born on the same day as Little C. Of course being the dork that I am, I considered their meeting Cruz's first official date.

We're staying in a condo in Estes Park for a couple weeks and are enjoying being together as a family. I do feel a little guilty that our canine kiddos aren't with us though. I keep seeing spots that I know they will love. We'll just have to make it up to them down the road. At least I know they're having fun and getting spoiled by my Mom and Dad.

As exciting as everything is, I still can't help but worry about our house back in TN. I just have to get it out of my mind and realize that I have no control over what happens. In time, I'm hoping that will get easier. For now, I am doing my best to enjoy the moment. How can you not in such a beautiful place?

Please excuse the crappy phone pics. I'm sure you get the idea................

Bittersweet

Tomorrow we say farewell to our little house in the Smokies. The last several weeks have been chaotic. The trip home warrants it's own post and was a HORRIBLE day. Luckily, I've already scratched most of that trip from my mind. Let's just say it involved Cooper tripping and cutting his lip right as we were getting ready to board our 3.5 hour flight (leg 2 of our 3 leg journey) and I may have forgotten a very important item in St. George: MY KEYS!!! Yep, I left the keys to our jeep and HOUSE. Therefore, I rented a car equipped with car seats (which I had to install with Cruz strapped to me while Coop slept the stroller. Midnight+tired Mommy & kiddos + lots 'o luggage + cold parking garage + installing 2 car seats = NO FUN AT ALL! But we made it and it truly feels like a very long time ago.

Since then, we have been decluttering the house of baby gadgets, cleaning, staging (using all my HGTV tips), interviewing real estate agents and decluttering some more. The to do list kept getting longer and longer until Mark and I decided what gets done, gets done. The rest we just can't worry about. We chose a realtor that we felt would take the best care of our home. Of course selling is priority, but we couldn't help but also want someone that will take good care of things while we're 1500 miles away. We've basically left our biggest investment and all of our treasures and furnishings with a complete stranger. No need to panic, right? Now we just wait for it to SELL. Coop's last words to our realtor: "Thanks George, have fun selling our house" (we may have coached him a little bit on that).

Tomorrow begins our journey out West and I can't help but be a little sad. This is the home that we brought both of our baby boys home from the hospital to. Our first home as a family of 3 (then 4). I will truly miss this house and all of the precious milestones that came with it. Hopefully the house will sell but the memories that were built inside of it are priceless and will last forever. This little gem will always have a special place in our hearts. Thank-you, little House. We'll miss you but REALLY hope you sell.

Love,

Mark, Amy, Cooper, Cruz, Targhee & Kokanee

TTFN

TTFN: In case you were wondering it's an acronym for "Ta Ta For Now". At least that's what all the young whipper snappers tell me. Not so long ago when I FINALLY jumped on the texting train someone texted that phrase to me. I had to google it. I'm so not in the texting know but I am improving.

That's where I'll leave things for now. We are flying back to TN tomorrow. We seem to have ditched The Poopy-Barf fest of 2011 so we're ready to get things rolling back home. It's time to bid adieu to our Smoky Mountain Home in the holler and start our next chapter.

Normally, I'd be a blubbering mess having to say goodbye to my parents. Not this time because I know we get to come back in April and start our summer adventure with them. Grandma and Grandpa are lucky enough to spend some quality time with Targhee and Kokanee without us. A big THANK-YOU to them for looking after our canine kiddos while we make this transition. I know the dogs will enjoy a break from a screeching toddler and screaming baby. Finally, they too can spend some time with their Grandma and Grandpa just like the good old days without having to share the love. Plus we can deFUR our house once and for all before we list it.

We'll have limited computer access for the next little while so I'm not sure how often I'll be bloggity blogging. I'll be sure to post updates on some of our big moments as soon as I can...

Spoiler alert: Someone in our family is having a very BIG birthday on St. Patty's/St. Daddy's Day. I'm hoping for lots of rain so he won't be burning at the time and we can celebrate with him. Please make sure to raise a glass (or wear green) in his honor.

"TTFN" it's "TTG " we'll "CUL8R"
(okay, I might have gotten a little carried away with the texting glossary).

Month #7

Little C is 7 Months old............

The McBRAT Diet

TWO scrambled eggs, toast, TWO bananas, THREE granola bars, a cookie and a Happy Meal which consisted of a cheeseburger, apple slices and juice!!!! This is what Coop ate today all before 1:30pm. It's not exactly the BRAT diet (bananas, rice, apples, toast) which is recommended when trying to get your little one's digestive system back up to snuff. I'd like to refer to it as the McBrat diet.

What does any sane Mom do once her kid is starting to show signs of feeling better? Take him back to the place that more than likely caused the illness to begin with. McDonald's. It makes perfect sense don't you think? In my defense, it's rainy today and Cooper was bouncing off the walls this morning. AND I'm still desperately trying to get the poor little bugger around other little buggers. Grandpa jokingly suggested that we don't have to vaccinate any longer. We can continue bringing him to McDonald's and build up all his antibodies. Brilliant!!!

Ride it Out

Does this look like a sick kiddo to you?

Poor little bugger. I jinxed myself with my no more sheet washing comment (I should have known). Coop seemed to be getting better and the afternoon was gorgeous so we took off on a sunset ride. And then it happened....all over again. Coop and I are sharing a bed which is actually a good thing because I was able to be on the scene when everything erupted in the middle of the night. It's truly amazing what a good barf can do for your spirits though. It reminds me of my partying days when I'd be "over served" and feeling horrible. I could puke in a planter and feel like a million bucks again. Sometimes even with an extra spring in my step. That is exactly how Coop was. He woke up from a deep sleep, barfed EVERYWHERE and then curled right back to sleep with a smile on his face. He didn't understand why we needed to change his clothes and the sheets. He looked at me like "geez woman, it's the middle of the night!!! Why must we go through all the trouble of another wardrobe change and strip the bed? There's plenty of time for all that in the morning". Luckily, I'm getting to be a pro at middle-of-the-night-bedding-changes and I can change a boy's jammies like nobody's business. Did I just brag about that? Man, have times changed.

Lesson learned: Don't get cocky when barf is involved. There's no winning. You just have to ride it out...............And so we ride..............

Turbulence

Today was the day that our Winter Wonderland Adventure supposed to come to a close. BUT our original scheduled return flight home was delayed due to some unexpected Turbulence: IN POOR COOP's BELLY. The little guy came down with a horrible stomach flu last Thursday and it has not been pretty. This was really his first bout with a serious stomach bug and he was not amused. It eventually involved a visit to the ER because I had trouble getting him to keep fluids down and the amount of VOMIT (and other stuff) was unbelievable. I was the typical Nervous Nelly Mom that was convinced her kid was dehydrated and worried about flying with him. Let's just say NO ONE would have been our friend on the plane nor would ANYONE have had an enjoyable flight if we would have chosen to fly today. (Imagine the film, Snakes on a Plane but substitute snakes with diarrhea). You get my drift?

So here we stay in sunny St. George. Thanks to our lovely friends at Delta Airlines, this little bout of turbulence ended up being quite costly. At least we get to extend our trip another week! Mark is out of town anyway so why hurry home? We are now on the mend and have learned to appreciate the finer things in life like Gatorade, Popsicles and J-E-L-L-O. I even caved and gave Coop Ramen Noodles which I haven't purchased since my college days. I mixed them with very little of the mystery seasonings they come with and the kid gobbled them up. Now let's just hope we can finish out the day without several wardrobe changes and for the love of God NO MORE SHEET WASHING!

Brand new McDonald's Play Place that opened in St. George. BIG NEWS. It made the front page of the newspaper. More than likely the cause of the stomach flu. Not such a Happy Meal after all.

Time for a haircut.

Ramen Love.

I had to throw in a token Cruz shot.