Home at last, but lots to see and tell...

Well our trip was cut short due to possible weather complications. So we headed home Sunday in the hopes of not driving at any point on snow covered roads. We were met with success and really quite beautiful driving conditions.

Kaitlyn has done quite a bit of driving this trip in hopes of getting the mandatory 50 hours that is required for her drivers license. She left Colorado with 30 hours and has accumulated about 17 hours on this trip.

Our last visit with Grammie and Papa found the temps dropping and when Papa mentioned a park nearby I decided that since we'd be in the car all the following day that perhaps a stop was in order.
See the cloudy skies? The temps were really dropping at this point and though my kiddo's tend to produce their own weather temps while playing I knew we didn't have much time, as Mom's temp dictates how long they get to play outside!
This is a huge park in Allen, Tx. There are sails placed sporadically through the area. Interesting to see and obviously even when they are at a distance they are fun to play with. Kristina and Kaitlyn attempting a optical illusion. I messed up the shot as I didn't have my glasses on. Sorry girls!














A bit of fun racing down the slide!


We're off! Sunday morning came and I packed everyone up and we were on I-75 by 5:15 Colorado time. A long day ahead of us. We watched movies that Renee and Denise gave the girls and the little ones played with the new toys they received from them. It really helped to pass the long hours in the car. Thank you to Renee and Denise!

I did have Kaitlyn stop along the highway so that I could jump out and "pick cotton" that had blown off the cotton trucks or off the plants themselves. The kiddo's have never touched cotton before and I wanted them to feel the plant and experience it. They were so excited and amazed
to see that it didn't feel like a plant or look like a plant. Then we talked about all the things that they have that ARE cotton.


Home at last and fading fast I took this end of trip picture. I was exhausted and jumped in bed at 8 p.m. I slept until almost 7 a.m. I haven't slept like that in months now.

As I checked through my list of blogs for interesting posts this morning I found Karen's blog to have been filled with a delightful surprise. She posted on a couple of babies who are dear to me. I have never met the family though I almost feel like I know them through Karen. These little ones were born on my Dad's birthday and are having a bit of a rough start as they were born very prematurely. Check out the blog for pictures and a update. Thanks Karen! for the great surprise.

Also Bonnie (my daughter) posted on a delightful way to pass the time if your stuck in the house! Check it out!

Jessica, (my first baby girl), is posting on the terrible weather for Oregon and people's inability to navigate it. Sounds all to familiar.

p.s. Skies look like snow today!

A Day...

Devonia has many interesting items in her house and all of which are apparently kid approved................................ now! From Massaging chairs to a adjustable bed and a new recliner they have all been kid tested by the best! Below you'll find Parker and Jolie's first "ride" in the massage chair.





Once the chair rides were over it was time to get everyone out of the house for some fun in the sun! The last couple of days were not great weather and with another front headed this way it became imperative that these children of mine "Get Out"-side!
















Give a kid or a group of kids a box and the world becomes they're chocolate box. What fun is to be had with a large box, front yard and great weather....



After running a couple of errands we headed over to one of the local parks where Parker immediately banged his ear on something and then having baptised the playground with Croslin pain everyone had a great time playing for a while. Kaitlyn decided that since everyone was leaving and the house would be quiet she would stay at Devonia's and have some quiet time (ie: without brothers and sisters time and cell phone easily accessible)
Time to crash. Believe it or not it is possible to fit 8 people into 2 bedrooms and 1500 sq. ft.
Kristina on the couch in the family room.

Kaitlyn on the couch in the kitchen.

Jolie, Hunter and Parker slept with me.

Olivia slept with Devonia in the master bedroom.

Texas???

Well this week started off cold in Colorado with a wonderfully warm temp of -3*! I dropped the kids off at school on Monday with the temp being -1*. The picture is of my cold cup of coffee that actually produced steam when I took it out to let the dogs out. I was trying to get a pic of the steam rising out of it, but it didn't show up. Oh well...
Wow! I actually finished the socks in time and David mailed them for me. Yes, they are totally different patterns. I really like the idea and will probably make myself some. This picture really is a good picture of the color.
Trip begun we left the house at about 5:30 Wednesday morning. Here we've reach Raton Pass and we're headed down into Raton, NM.
Kristina snapped this picture coming out of the pass. I love the shadow and light of the early morning.
After getting breakfast it was time to let Kaitlyn drive. She did great and no one feared for their life..... until we reached Dalhart, Texas.
Blurry picture, I know. We were on the look out for the camel herd and I wasn't quite ready when we came up on it. If you click on the picture it will pull it up on the entire screen and then you can see the camels... albeit a bit blurry.
We reached Grammie and Papa's at about 8 p.m. through some of the worst fog I've seen in awhile. Thursday morning found 4 reindeer sitting at the breakfast bar eating oatmeal and cereal!
OH! Those aren't reindeer! Its Parker, Olivia, Hunter and Jolie!



Grammie