Denver Trip

City Park

Alice, Marty, Helena, Mary, and Bennett

Marty, Chris, and Bennett

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The week after Easter we went to Denver.  The trip was multi-purposeful, and we had a great time.  I loved being back in Denver and experiencing it with my kids!  We got family pictures taken, Bennett's smash cake pictures, Bennett baptized, my in-laws came into town for the occasion, Chris and I had a date night out to one of our favorite Denver restaurants, we had play dates with Grayson and Dahlia, and we even shopped for a house!

We drove up the Wednesday after Easter, I found a really nice townhome on HomeAway.com and got everything unloaded, which took forever.  Thankfully the house had a lot of baby proofing items since Bennett started walking the beginning of April.  I had made a menu and grocery list prior to the trip so I went to the store to stalk up on everything.  I also stop by my friend Andrea's house and met her daughter Dahlia for the first time and picked up some toys and books that she graciously let us borrow while we were in town.  We got Tokyo Joe's for dinner and got the kids town for the night.
Thursday morning we went down to City Park for pictures.  There was a breeze that made it a little cool, but we got some great pictures!  We got lunch at Cafe Rio, then got the kids down for a nap while Chris and I did some house shopping.  That evening I planned a special date night for Chris and I to Guard and Grace, probably our most favorite restaurant downtown.  It was amazing.  Friday we met Andrea, Grayson, and Dahlia at Monkey Bizness to play around.  All the kids had a blast!  Grayson and Helena played so well together.  It was so nice to just hangout.  Friday afternoon Chris's Mom, Dad, and sister came into town.  I made dinner at the house and we all just hung out.  Sunday morning we went to church and Bennett got baptized.  It was amazing to be back with my church family.  Seeing Pastor Ken and the whole church was just a feeling of being home.  Seeing Bennett be baptized was such a blessing.  Pastor Ken made mention what we talked about while he was guiding us before he married us.  He remembered me mentioned that if Chris and I had kids I would bring them back here for him to baptize.  I was so impressed that he remembered something that I had mentioned almost 5 years ago!  After church everyone came back to the house where I had an amazing cinnamon french toast cooking in the crockpot.  The house was a very happy chaos with Grayson and Helena running around, and Dahlia and Bennett trying to keep up!  My cousin Cheryl came down from Fort Collins, and our amazing babysitter Chendra was also in attendance for Bennett's big day!  That afternoon Chris and I did some more house shopping.  Early Monday morning I drove Chris to the airport for him to fly back to Northern California.  Monday morning we had another playdate with Grayson and Dahlia at a local park.  Both kids loved the park!  Then we drove back to Albuquerque.
The trip was full!  I wish I had taken more pictures!  It was so great for my in-laws to make the drive to meet us there and I'm so thankful for my mom who did so much!  ...she watched the kids and so much more!

My Birthday Weekend

 I am so blessed!  My parents watched Helena and Bennett for 3 whole nights so I could travel to Northern California to see Chris for my birthday weekend!  It was a really nice getaway.  I've been full of anxiety lately and stressed out about what the future holds and not knowing.  With Chris only home 3 days a week that doesn't give us a lot of time because we have the kids etc..., and having him all to myself for 3 full days was so nice.  We were able to just focus on each other which is something you take for-granted pre-kids. 
I flew out on my actual birthday Thursday January 19th into Sacramento and on the way to Napa we drove through Fairfield (the town he works in) and he showed me the hotel he stays in and the hospital he works at.  Then we made the hour trip to Napa.  We got checked into The White House Inn (the cute bed and breakfast we stayed in) and walked the half mile to our first night out.  We ate and this amazing sushi place called Eikos.  The sushi was so good and so fresh!  It had been more than a year since we had had good sushi, and this place didn't disappoint.  The atmosphere was fun and the drinks were strong, so we had a great time.  We got a cab ride home.

The next day we went on the Napa Valley Wine Train.  The whole experience was meant to reflect something out of the 1920's which I loved, and it was so relaxing.  We sat in the "Vista Dome" which is the car that has windows curved all the way up the train, so you truly get a panoramic view of Napa Valley.  We were welcomed with some champagne and I got the Sweet Wine Flight that I had throughout my 4 course meal: appetizer, salad, entree, and dessert!  We were on the train from about 11:30am to almost 3pm, and it was so nice.  We saw an amazing rainbow and winery upon winery.

After the wine train we walked over to a place called The Oxbow Market.  Think of a small mall but with food.  We did a casual walk through and enjoyed all the of the sights, but we were so stuffed from our fancy lunch that we ended up just sitting and talking and eventually calling a cab to give us a ride back to the inn.
Once we got back we did a little bit of exploring before the weather turned nasty and we briskly walked back to our room.  We just hung out while it rained, and later found a place for dinner.

The next day we did a Platypus Tour!  This was so much fun.  There were 8 of us and we went to 4 different wineries.  The whole experience was so nice, and each winery so different.  There are over 500 wineries within the Napa Valley region and our tour guide took us to ones off the beaten path, which was so nice.
By the third winery I was definitely zoning out, but the experience of that one was so cool: the wine was paired with chocolate!  By the fourth stop I couldn't have anymore, but enjoyed the atmosphere.

That night we ate at a steak place called Cole's, which was just ok.  The food was great, but our service was not so great, which definitely took away from the overall experience.
Thankfully overall the kids did great!  We were able to facetime with them in the mornings and Helena was excited to be all over Grandmasita.  Bennett unfortunately didn't sleep well there.  Only took 10-15 minute naps, and got up in the mornings super early.  
I flew out of Oakland, and when I called my mom while I was waiting to board my flight to check on things my mom immediately exclaimed she was so excited for me to be home later that day.
Leaving Chris was hard but I definitely missed my babies, so I was ready to come home.  We stayed in Albuquerque on Monday and I was up with Bennett Tuesday morning from 3am to 6am.  We drove home Tuesday afternoon.  I really don't like that drive.  Since then Bennett as thankfully been sleeping much better.
I wish that the freeness and ease of my vacation followed me home, but being back home immediately brought back my anxiety of not knowing what the future holds, and being a single parent 4 days out of the week.
Sunday nights are super hard on me.
I'm just so thankful for my parents, for taking care of my kids so I could get away for the time that I did.  It really was a great trip, and I love traveling for my birthday.

Labor Day Weekend 2016

Great Grandpa Lenny's dress

 Things here have just been crazy.  I have lots to write about, so let's start with Labor Day.  After going back and forth we decided to take a trip to Carlsbad Caverns over Labor Day.  Chris's Aunt Mary was in Albuquerque visiting a friend and was kind enough to make the 3-hour drive to stay with us for a night and meet baby Bennett.  She brought this beautiful dress that was originally worn by her father 100 years ago!  It's a beautiful dress and looked gorgeous on Helena.

Chris, Aunt Mary, Helena, and Bennett

 Saturday morning we packed up and left for Carlsbad.  We stopped in Cloudcroft, a mountain town about 30 minutes away and on the way to Carlsbad for breakfast at Rebecca's at The Lodge.  Helena enjoyed it and it's so much cooler up there!

 Roadtrippin'!  Helena is now constantly asking to go on a trip.

 My parents met us there and they are always such a big help with Helena and Bennett.

 That night we had a nice dinner out and Helena had a blast with the chocolate dessert!

she loves her chocolate

 The first night was interesting.  Helena was so super excited to be in a different big girl bed.  She laughed and giggled and didn't fall asleep until after 10pm!

 The hike down the caverns was ...interesting.  My dad immediately went ahead of us which was frustrating because I really wanted us to stay together as a family.  Chris wore Helena in the beco carrier on his back and I work Bennett in my ring sling.  About half way down Bennett had a meltdown which resulted in me also having a meltdown.  It wasn't fun.  He was tired and just wouldn't give in to sleep.  Eventually Helena was moved to my dad's back, and Chris just carried Bennett until he finally fell asleep.  It was nerve-wracking and I didn't really get to enjoy the view, but it was an experience.  

 We had to wait almost an hour to catch the elevator back up and I got Bennett to fall back asleep in the ring sling.

Everyone sleep much better the second night, and Helena crashed at around 9 (I think?).  We left the next day (Monday) back for Alamogordo.

Week in ABQ

my mom taking care of Bennett while I pump

hanging out

at the aquarium

The kiddos and I traveled to ABQ last week.  My good friend Tina and her family traveled to ABQ from Florida to meet her sister-in-laws baby...Bennett and Olivia are a little more than a month apart!  So I took the opportunity to go up and see her and her family.  I was so super anxious about this trip.  Little people need so much stuff!  Overall the kids did great, and thankfully Bennett does wonderfully in the car!  I wish I had taken more pictures.  As I didn't really take any until the last day.
Here's a run down of our week.
Once we arrived on Monday we went to dinner with parents to Padilla's.
Tuesday morning we met my friend Sarah and her daughter Clover at the park for a super short play date!  We then met my friend Emily at Chick-fil-A!  It was "dress like a cow day" and Helena was super entertained.  When the cow came out she wanted to say hi, as it got closer she wanted nothing to do with it.  As it got away again she wanted to give it kisses!  I was super thankful as my mom took over caring for Bennett Monday night, but Tuesday I was still exhausted.  So I took a nap Tuesday afternoon and slept until dinner time!
Wednesday morning we met the Witty family for a good breakfast and Cinnamon Sugar and Spice Cafe, we then all hung out and there vacation rental house.  Max was so good playing with Helena it was precious.  Then Cammie came over with her little one month old Olivia.  The babies slept opposite times!  Wednesday evening all of my aunts came over for a pizza dinner and to meet Bennett.  He slept the whole time, it was his only real nap during this trip.  After about 2 hours I finally woke him up.
Thursday I met my cousin Kari for breakfast at Jimmy's Cafe, we then hung out at her place.  Thursday evening I drove to my family friend Chris' cigar shop for a gathering after his father's funeral.  Chris is my age and he lost his mom, Mary about 5 years ago.  Mary was a good family friend, and she grew up with my mom and all of her sisters in Santa Fe. His dad, David suddenly passed away the week before and it was important to me to pay my respects since I was in town.  I obviously didn't want to take the kids to the funeral, but I was happy to go see Chris afterwards give him a hug and tell him how sorry I am.
Friday morning my parents joined us for a fun adventure to the Albuquerque Aquarium.  Helena loved saying over and over "go see more fishies".  She loved that fishies were everywhere, and now askes daily to go see the fishies!
After the aquarium we headed back home.
Overall the trip was great.  By the end both kids were pretty cranky, I think from just being on the go non-stop and constantly leaving the house.

Two Trips

Over Christmas my childhood friend Michelle offered to throw me a Baby Sprinkle.  So we picked out a date and made it official, for the end of February.  Then I figured if I was going to make the drive to Albuquerque, I may as well take advantage of the airport in town, and fly somewhere.  Denver was the easiest choice.  So we made it a girls trip and packed up me, my mom, and Helena and headed to Denver.  My main motivation was to see Andrea and Grayson.
So last Tuesday Helena and I drove to Albuquerque.  I got to have a nice late lunch/early dinner with my cousin Kari.  It was great to see her.  Then Wednesday we flew to Denver.  Helena did really good on the flight.  We had difficulty with the car seat at the car rental that was a mess, but finally got it installed.  We stopped by Andrea's and picked up a pack 'n play they so graciously let us borrow.  We then went to a fire station to get the car seat installed correctly, and the firemen were super nice and they let Helena and my mom go back and look at the shiny new fire truck!  We then went downtown to have dinner with a couple of old co-workers.  It was fantastic going to a non-chain restaurant and enjoy good food and good company!  I loved it.  I knew I missed the food options but actually being there made me jealous that there are all of these options right at other people's finger tips.  Helena did really great.  It was a little rocky once we got to the hotel, because she knew she wasn't in her element.  And I had prepared for a not so smooth night.  We set up the pack 'n play, gave her a bath, and made sure she was super tired when I put her down.  She did wake up in the 11 o'clock hour (and she did the same the next 2 nights a well).  Thankfully each time she did wake up she just needed to be comforted, and then she would go back down and sleep the rest of the night.  The next day we had breakfast at Cracker Barrel then met up with Andrea and Grayson at the Broomfield Rec Center for some swimming!  Lately Helena has been "swimming" during her bath, laying on her belly and making bubbles.  It's so much fun, so I was excited to take her to a pool!  After the pool we got ready and went up to the play area in the rec center.  The play area is an area where Andrea and I used to take Helena and Grayson when there were just itty bitty crawlers, and to see them now is so amazing!  After the rec center we had lunch at Mad Greens, and I dropped off Helena and my mom at the hotel, for Helena to take a nap.  I then went to go see Erin for an eye-brow wax.  We then went to Flatirons Mall for Helena to play at the play area and for dinner at the Village Tavern.  It was a good day.  Friday we got up early and met Chendra for breakfast at the Huckleberry Tea House.  Chendra was Helena's babysitter, and I really wanted them to see each other.  After breakfast I went to Dance Jam at the gym!!!  Man oh man, I miss that place, those people, that energy, so much!  It was a blast.  After the gym we went back Andrea's house to drop off the pack 'n play and hang out with Grayson a little bit longer before heading to the airport.
Overall it was a great trip.  It was short, although I did that on purpose because I was really only willing to sacrifice two bad nights of sleep.  Plus it was a good farewell trip, as I honestly don't know when I'll be back to Denver.  It was a great opportunity to take while Helena is free to travel and plus I know that traveling with one child is easier than what it will be with two children.
I miss Denver and what it has to offer, but I've met some great people in Alamogordo, and this is where my life is (for now).  I truly pray that one day we'll be back in some sort of metropolitan city, and I know that I won't take it for granted.

  Saturday was a beautiful little Sprinkle thrown by my wonderful friend Michelle.  It was a really nice get together, and I'm so thankful for all of those who came.  Baby Boy Sweat got some great stuff!  And I'm finally feeling a little more prepared for this little dude.
Planning for two trips was crazy, and a lot more stressful than I had anticipated.  But I'm so happy I did it and that I took the opportunity to go.