Loving where we live!

Grand Junction and Palisade weren't too picturesque during the winter but spring time is a completely different story! Everything is green and blooming and the sky is a beautiful bright blue with white fluffy clouds everywhere! I've never thought of Landscape Photography to be one of my interests or strengths but it is so beautiful here you can't help but notice the scenery and for me that means the potential shots.

Even just driving down the freeway I will notice multiple shots and I find myself wanting to stop along the freeway to get those perfect shots, not a good idea with a 75+ speed limit and two kids in the car! I am particularly obsessed with MT. Garfield! It is a gorgeous peak the protrudes up into the blue sky. I know it sounds crazy but I think it is one of the most beautiful mountains I have seen and it intrigues me.

So today after going to the store the girls fell asleep in the car and I figured it was the perfect time to try to find those perfect shots from the safety of the side roads. Unfortunately being limited to side roads and seldom used over passes changes the composition of those shots but I managed to get a few, though they don't even begin to do Gods work justice!

Journey to Colorado part 2

So I left at our last post at reaching the hotel. Because all of our stuff was on a truck being shipped here we decided to stay in the hotel across from Oxy's office so A) we wouldn't be sleeping in an empty house with no blankets and B) so Craig could just walk across the street in the morning.It worked out great until check out time when I needed to get ALL our luggage, two girls and a cat that wasn't even suppose to be in the hotel, out to the car. Thankfully 2 of our suite cases had wheels so I made the girls pitch in, which they weren't thrilled about! That left me with a wheeled suite case, a bag, a backpack, the cat, jackets and my purse. I was able to hide the cat carrier under my purse and the jackets and the rest I lugged outside. We made it to the car without Emma being seen and I even managed to snap a pic of the girls :)

After getting the girls loaded up we got the keys to our place and then headed over there! The girls were super excited at first but that only lasted a few days, then Aubrey started whining that she wanted to go back to her "old new house" (our last place was always reffered to as the new house) Even now she will start whining that when she's not in a good mood...Anyway back to the first few days. Instead of buying blankets which we already had enough of, we got sleeping bags since we plan on camping this summer, plus I was hoping a cool Buzz or Princess sleeping bag would make bedtime easier. It did not.

Friday night Evvy got sick after dinner, I think she either drank too much chocolate milk or hers was bad because she was better by morning and no one else got sick. Sunday we drove up to Powderhorn and showed the girls snow. Aubrey was so disappointed that there was no snow when we arrived and couldn't wait to go out and play in it...until she realized how could it was! Evvy was asleep when we got there but woke up in time for a few pics, though she wasn't happy to go from a warm cozy carseat to 25* weather.

Our moving truck showed up Monday morning and aside from a few mishaps *ahem droping our brand new dryer or standing on and breaking our garage shelving* everything went well. We also got our cars back, which meant having to return our rental Suburban :'( We didn't even have it for a full week but I'm hooked! If we can somehow manage to afford a suburban when it comes time to trade in our Caliber I would love to have one! Craig on the other hand doesn't feel the same way :(

Anyway I think that's about it...Aubrey still isn't thrilled to be here, Evvy has been clingy and both girls are super cranky and cry anytime I try to go shopping but other than that things are pretty much the same, just a little colder and in a different state :)

...Oh, different state reminds me, Craig is in love with Cabela's. I'm pretty sure he saw all the guns and ammo (which isn't locked up like you'd find it in CA) and it was over! Any chance to go and he is all over it! He even wanted to go to Target with me because it's just a short walk through the mall to Cabela's :)

Journey to Colorado Part 1

Our trip through LAX started off kind of rough, but thankfully that was the only bump we had along the way. I've been waiting on a replacement licence since Nov. and a photo ID is required to fly, though the TSA can approve passengers on a case by case basis. I had no problem getting though just a few weeks ago but this time when we checked our baggage I was listed as a Selectee, which I guess just means you're subject to additional security checks. Craig had to take the girls through security by himself while I waited for someone to give me the OK. Like last time, I had my Sam's club card with a photo and a credit card with my name on it, though I wass asked a lot more questions before they let me go though the metal detector and then I was patted down, and they swiped by belonging to make sure there wasn't any residue on them. Thankfully that went all right, and even though I knew there was no reason I shouldn't be approved I was afraid I wouldn't get through. After all that I was taken to a little room where I got to hold Emma (our cat) while they took her carrier through the ex-ray machine and then we were good to go! The woman that helped me was great and couldn't believe they didn't just let me go through, since I was traveling with my family.

Anyway we got on the plane alright, we didn't have seats together so Craig sat with Aubrey in the front and Evvy, Emma and I were wayyy in the back. Everytime Evvy looked out the window she would tell me there was a shark! She thought the engine was a shark, silly girl! We made it to Salt Lake behind schedule so we had to rush to our connecting flight and just barely made it! By that time it was 8pm and the we were all hungry, so it made for a rough flight! Thankfully it was only a 40 minute flight because the girls were soo cranky! But we made it, got our rental car and checked into the hotel!

We found a place!

After looking at a few places that were alright but weren't perfect for us, we found a place in Palisade that is practically meant for us!! It has 3 large bedrooms 2 baths, wood floors through out the living spaces, a huge gorgeous kitchen with new appliances, and a 2 car garage. While we were hoping for a house (this is a condo), the location is perfect! It will cut at least 20 minutes off of Craig's drive, backs up to a vineyard, and is about a 10 minute walk to a cute little park that has a river running through it!!

Palisade is a little farming town about 15 minutes east of Grand Junction and is full of vineyards. It's out of the main town, yet still close enough to large shopping centers that it won't be a pain if I need to make a quick run to the grocery store. I am super excited to be living there and can't wait to get there and start making this place our home!

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Big Changes!!!!

I know a few of you have heard our big news already but for those who haven't...

We're moving to Colorado!!!

About 2 months ago Craig got a call from an old Oxy co-worker who moved to Grand Junction, Co. He was letting Craig know of a position that would available and wanted to know if he would be interested. Craig figured it would hurt to turn in a resume and within 2 weeks he had an interview scheduled. His interview was on Oct. 28th and within a hour of leaving, he was offered the job and they wanted his answer that day! We, very quickly, prayed and thought about it, discussed the terms and he accepted within the hour!! They wanted him out there as soon as possible and gave him a tentative start date of Dec. 1st!!! We knew he'd have to get through all the HR related stuff, like paperwork, a background check, and the results of a complete physical, but having that early of a start date was definitely nerve-wracking and a little disappointing since we thought would be spending Christmas in CA.

Craig went in for his physical on Nov. 3rd and then had to go back on the 5th for the results of his TB test before they could send out the blood samples. He got the results late yesterday (he passed, of course!) and today he got his start date. Craig and I will be out there from the 21st through the 24th for our house hunting trip and hopefully find a place because He's expected out there by the 8th!!!

I don't think this has fully set in yet. I am super excited yet sad to be leaving our family and friends here in Cali.