Estes Park

I meant to post this before now but with finals for 2nd quarter last week, I just plain ran out of time. My mom and dad took the three of us to Estes Park last weekend. for some fresh mountain air. We spent three days admiring Estes and all the tourists....well not really admiring the tourists but you know what I mean. The town was pretty full.

We drove to the top of Rocky Mountain National Park on Friday and saw some gorgeous bull elk. They were just munching away on the grass and not minding all the cars that had literally stopped on the highway to see them. It was pretty amazing. I've never seen elk that close before! Not ones that were alive anyway! Later Friday afternoon, my dad and I took the kids mini-golfing. They had never been before and we had so much fun! Leo got a hole-in-one at every hole....of course his idea of golfing was to pick up the ball and drop it in the hole at the other end....and Shannyn was getting the hang of it towards the end of the day. Actually, I don't know who was having more fun; the kids or my dad.

Saturday we took the aerial tramway to the top of a mountain...Prospect mountain I think. The views from up there were stunning. The kids had a ball feeding peanuts to the ground squirrels and climbing rocks. Some of those squirrels were so fat and their cheeks were full of nuts too. That didn't stop them though. They kept coming back for more! It rained Saturday afternoon and I caught this picture of a brilliant rainbow near our campground. The picture really doesn't do it justice.

All in all, it was a fun trip. We were only about an hour away from home, but it was still nice to get out of town for a few days.

All I Want for Labor Day?

Is my 2 front teeth!! Shannyn lost her two bottom teeth and the tooth fairy was very generous. She was so excited the next morning when she looked under her pillow and found a whole dollar in the baggie where her tooth was. I am expecting more loose teeth to follow over the next few months. We'll keep you posted!!!

I've got the best friends

Leo and I went to Marcy and James' house last night for a get together with some friends from New Mexico that we haven't seen in quite a while. Shannyn is camping with my mom and dad in case you were wondering. Anyway Marcy spilled the beans and told me that the group of them were going to buy me a massage table for my graduation gift! I am so excited and feel so lucky to have such fantastic friends! Marcy told me to start looking at tables and figure out which one I want. I can't wait!!!!!!!!

Viva Las Vegas!

So I spent this past weekend in Las Vegas with my brother and his new fiancee. He had a time share thing where they give you a "free" weekend in a condo and all you have to do is attend a meeting where they try to sell you a time share. We had a blast though!

We got up around 3:30 am on Friday to get to the airport by 5:00am for a super early 6:10 flight. We got to the hotel/condo around 8am Vegas time but couldn't get into our room until 4. It was a real pain too 'cause the hotel advertised itself as being "on the strip" but in reality it was about five miles south of Mandalay Bay which is the end of what people think of as the strip. True, it was still on Las Vegas Boulevard but I would hardly say it was on the strip. Anyway the hotel did have a shuttle that dropped off at Ceasar's but it didn't leave the hotel until 10. So our choices were to hang out in the lobby for 2 hours or take a cab into town. We chose the latter. After a fantastic breakfast of crepes at Paris, we walked to the Flamingo, where I took some pictures for Jim and Carrie's wedding invitations, and walked through the Forum Shops before catching a shuttle back to the hotel. We finally got into a room around 3:30pm and promptly crashed for 4 hours. When we finally got up again, we went back to Paris for an all you can eat sushi dinner, a ride on the Manhattan Express roller coaster at NYNY and a look at the lights.

So Saturday we went to bed around 2am and got up and going again about 10am. We spent the day on Fremont street and played some black jack and a bingo game from hell. We barely had time to look at our cards and mark the numbers being called before the next one was called. I don't even think we had a chance to figure out what pattern we were looking for before someone called bingo. It was stressful but we got some good laughs out of it. After the obligatory buffet dinner, we watched the Fremont light show and headed to the Stratosphere. We went to the top of the tower and rode one of the rides up there that was kind of like a roller coaster but just dropped you down the side of the tower then pivoted and rolled you back. After the ride, we were enjoying the view and my brother officially proposed to Carrie. He did the whole thing where he got down on one knee and asked her to marry him. I got pictures!!!!!! Some of the people around them were even clapping for them. It was very cool!

We were all too excited to sleep after that so we took a cab from our hotel to a locals casino even farther south of us. We ate a really good breakfast at 2am and played more blackjack until 3:30 or so. Sunday morning, Carrie and I went to have hot stone massages while Jimmy went to his time-share meeting thingy. We all met up for lunch and went to the M&M store and walked through the Luxor before having to head back to the hotel and off to the airport. We got into Denver around 11:30pm and I got home at about 2:30. Needless to say, I didn't make it to class on Monday.

It's taken me three days to be able to stop long enough and process what all we did while we were out there. The only thing I could remember at first was all the walking and the blister I got from my flip flops. But we had so much fun and I hope we can make it out there again next year....only not in July......and I will be wearing sneakers.

for those of you....

...who thought I fell off the face of the earth....I didn't.

I can't believe I haven't updated this in almost a year. I honestly don't know why! But since my mom and dad have added a link to my blog on their blog (that I know the family reads) I figured a quick update is the least I could do.

So let's see...where to begin......

I don't even remember what I did toward the end of last year, except for the noisy Christmas spent at Mom and Dad's place in Tucson (you can read all about that on their blog) but since then, I have been quite busy.

In January, I started back into school by taking a CNA (certified nurses aide) course. It was five weeks of class time and one week of clinicals in a nursing home. I'm glad I got a scholarship to pay for it all because I realized that I really don't want to be a CNA. It's hard and very rewarding work and I admire those that do it but it just wasn't my cup of tea.

So about halfway through CNA school, my friend Jennifer told me about a massage therapy school that had a session starting in February. I thought that sounded interesting and said to myself, "sure why not?" So I am happy to say that I am halfway through the year long 1000 hour course and loving every minute of it. This school has opened my eyes up to all kinds of possibilities of careers. I'm thinking about taking advanced classes to become a doula (kind of a midwife) and I definitely want to learn reiki (an Oriental type of therapy that involves energy transfer). I can't wait to work on Mom and Dad when they get back up here to show them all I am learning. I really feel like I am helping people and that I definitely have a knack for this.

The kids are doing great. Getting bigger all the time. Leo is 2 and has started to really get into the whole potty training thing although I have to admit, I'm kind of at a loss when it comes to training him. I just don't have the same equipment, you know? Shannyn is 5 and is so excited to be starting kindergarten this August. I can't believe she's going to school already. I miss my baby but she is growing into such a great girl. I'm looking forward to it though, and I know I am going to cry on that first day.

Well that is a very quick summary of what we've been up to for the last year. I know I've said this before, but I will try to keep this updated as best as I can. And if you don't hear from me for a while, don't worry, I'm still here!

Anniversary greetings

Well today is Bryan and my 8th anniversary. Today went pretty well. I was a little apprehensive about it, but I didn't have any major meltdowns. I did have a couple of family members call and send cards to see how I was doing and let me know that they were thinking of me. I didn't really want a big fuss over today because I don't want anyone to feel sorry for me. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate that everyone is thinking of me and keeping us in their prayers, but I really don't want the pity. I very rarely feel sorry for myself anymore. I have come to accept that this card was dealt to me and my family and that's just the way it is. There are a lot more people out there that have it much worse than I do.

I had the most selfless person I know take care of me today. My best friend Becky took us to the zoo and then she found a babysitter for me and she and her husband, James, took me out to dinner at Outback. It was one of Bryan's favorite places to go out and eat. As the waitress was bringing our dessert out, I saw a man behind her carrying a huge bouquet of red roses. I thought "Oh how sweet, someone is getting flowers!" Little did I know that the roses were for me! They got me a beautiful arrangement of 2 dozen red roses and this small white flower that looked like lace. Becky signed the card like it was from Bryan and told me that ever since he died, she had the feeling that he wanted to give me flowers on our anniversary. I can't believe the great friends I have been blessed with.

I have Bryan's picture from our wedding up by the computer and I swear his expression changes when I need him to understand me or make me laugh. Right now he is smiling that smile that says "I didn't get you anything, I don't know what you're talking about!" Well Bry, you did get me something and you can't deny it anymore. You made sure that my friends remembered us on our anniversary and the happiness we shared and not that I was alone.

Jericho this is for you

So wow I can't believe it's been like 4 months since I wrote on this. And I was trying so hard to keep up with things. So let's see...what have I been up to in the last 4 months.

We went to Tucson in June to visit my mom and dad. The kids first trip on an airplane went really well actually. Shannyn fell asleep on the way down and on the way back. I actually had to wake her up when we landed. Leo was a little squirmy but I just kept feeding him Cheerios and fruit snacks and he was fine. I think they had a really good time. My cousin and her family came out from Virginia so it was like a mini family reunion. We got to go swimming a couple of times and Leo absolutely loved it! He accidentally put his face in the water one time and we all laughed at him so much that he kept on doing it. Shannyn even got the hang of it and was floating around the pool with her arms hooked over one of those noodle things. I am so looking forward to visiting again...only not in June.

I moved out of jewelry at work and back into the office. I do like it better but I am still having some problems convincing them that I can't work a whole lot of weekends. The lady I worked with before in the office moved to Louisiana and the new HR manager seems to want me to do all of the work. Oh well, it's a job right?

So I am still planning on going back to school in the fall but now it's looking like I may be going to the University of Northern Colorado to get my nursing degree. It's not my ideal career path, but it would open up a lot of different opportunities in the future. I was going to get my Surgical Tech degree from the community college, but they have a 3 year wait list and I don't really feel like waiting that long to get back into school.

Oh I almost forgot! I have a new site that you can go to to see pictures of us now! My cousin's husband set me up with a smugmug account. It's like a blog but I can post pictures on there for people to see. Don't go now because it's not quite ready yet, but the address is www.rogerskids.smugmug.com. The address will probably change but I will keep you all posted.

Speaking of the kids, they are doing really good. Shannyn is almost completely potty trained now. She still needs some reminding when she is busy playing but other than that, she is doing really well. Leo is walking and running all over the place. He makes sure I get my exercise. He has about a 5 word vocabulary but still only says "ma ma" when he is upset. He is getting really good at voicing his disgust when Shannyn or I take something he shouldn't have.

I currently am keeping very busy, not only with kids and work, but I have been helping a couple of friends with wedding stuff. I love to do anything crafty and this is helping out friends as well. I also have been very busy in my yard trying to plant flowers and keep them alive. It's kinda hard when the weather is in the upper 90's every day. Oh well, hopefully they will all make it!

I had to give up one of my dogs to the humane society a few weeks ago. To make a long story short, I had a run-in with a neighbor and it was kind of the last straw. I had been trying to find a home for Jack for 4 or 5 months now but I wasn't able to find anyone who would take him. I gave him up and he was adopted after only about a week and a half of being at the shelter. I was just not able to give him the attention and time he needed. We still have Sampson and will have him until he is old and gray. He was Bryan's dog and he reminds me so much of him. He is also very protective of me and the kids and I like having him around for that reason too. He is such a big lovable puppy!

Well I hope all of you out there in cyber space are doing well. Once again, this is the part where I say that I will try to keep up on things....we'll just have to see!
God Bless!