Wrapping Up

Many of you were probably left wondering why the Silva's weren't around much over our last three weeks in Colorado. Considering this whole process happened pretty quickly, it seemed that we already had a lot planned and a lot on our summer list of things to do that just could not be overlooked. So like any sane family, in the midst of some serious house cleaning and packing, we took as much time as we could out of our busy lives to have some fun. Here's where we spent our time in the month of July.

July 4th didn't really go off with a bang since there were no fireworks, but we did celebrate with some great friends. We didn't go see any of the fireworks in the area. Next year is sure to be different in Kansas!

As planned, we still celebrated my parents 50th Wedding Anniversary in Crested Butte. I still have to blog about our time there. Great memories! But here are a few pictures from our trip. It amazes me to know so many native Coloradans that have not been to Crested Butte. Put this on your bucket list people! It's one of the most beautiful places I have ever been.

This is a picture of the boys at the base of Lost Lake. I can't even count how many times I have been to this lake. The air is peaceful, the water is calm and the view is breath taking. So neat to share this experience with my boys!

The hike up to the beaver dam was short and uneventful. I really think the kids could have spent hours at this spot. I know they get tired of the "when I was a kid" stories but I think this time they believed me when I said this one of my favorite places in the whole entire world.

We were blessed to see a double rainbow over Mt. Crested Butte. In all my years visiting, I have never seen anything like this. Double rainbows are supposed to bring good luck. Guess the fact that 22 people (for the most part) got along in one house over a 3 day time period was about all the luck we could ask for. :-)

As much as I hate horse back riding, the view was enough to make up for my dislike of riding. You just can't help but stare in wonder at all the amazing mountains in this area. We rode up part of Snodgrass Mountain. We saw a small deer, lots of bear prints and some amazing wildflowers.

The boys really enjoyed playing at Slate Creek too. Again, put this on your bucket list. This is an easy flowing river with skipping rocks to the hearts content. You will bring home a bucketful of rocks because your kids will just think they are all so amazing. Be prepared for the cold water and the wet clothes.

This was what my kids waited for all summer. We kept promising them that if they could just give us three solid days to get the house ready to put on the market, we would take them to Elitch's. We had a great time. I think it lived up to their expectations.

Colin was drenched from the water ride. Ironically, he wanted to go again and again. Thanks Aunt Roxanne for riding with the boys when mom and dad wouldn't.

Cam looking a bit like a drowned rat. His goal was to get as wet as possible. We had to ring out his clothes. Pretty sure he accomplished his goal.

Baseball practice doesn't stop just because you are moving. Colin's team was counting on him so he finished out the season with his team. A lot of his team mates were in his class at school so this last practice was a little tough on all of us.

What better way to spend an evening than with a Christmas squirrel and a Forest Owl. Saying goodbye to some very good friends (and maybe future daughter-in-laws if we play our cards right). I think I might even miss these two cutie pies more than Colin and Cam.

The last baseball game of the season. Colin played a rock star game. He made all three outs in the third inning. Caught a fly ball and then tagged the return runner out at second. Then fielded the next ball for an out at first base. Rock star!

Who knew this lake even existed?! Cam went to a birthday party the last weekend that we were in town. It was a private lake in a small neighborhood. We spent nearly 6 hours out there. The fish were calm enough to catch with your hands!

Spending our last day in Colorado with great friends. One last trip to the zoo. Smiles all around!

Yes, these two look like they could be twins. Two peas in a pod and I tell you these two together mean trouble!

Pictures not added: Water World - we had a great day there too but I was too scared to get out my camera for fear of all the water splashing and screaming going on.

Up next, our adventures in KC! You will be surprised at all of the things we have already done. Or, if you know me well, you won't be surprised at all!

Goodbye....

As we settle in here in KC, I am feeling a little homesick for Colorado. We have several weeks yet to wait until we are in our new house. Each day I wonder how we will ever make this new house our "home". We still don't quite feel like Kansans even though we are both from Kansas and at this point, we have lived more years in Kansas than we have in Colorado. So, here is my "Ode to Our Home in Colorado".

Goodbye playroom that looks so ridiculously clean. We spent many hours playing in here but you never looked quite like this. The wii, the Legos, the race tracks, the forts, the crafts. 

Goodbye family room. This room holds so many wonderful memories. We celebrated Colin's 3rd birthday here just shortly after we moved to Erie. Easter mornings were filled with delighted boys digging through their candy baskets. Santa came down that chimney six years in a row despite the fact that my boys were sometimes obnoxious. Although the furniture changed a bit over the years, this is the room where I rocked my sweet boys, bandaged their cuts, checked their fevers and nursed a broken arm, two sets of stitches and one set of staples. This is the family room where we had 312 Friday Family Fun Nights. So many wonderful memories of family gathering for holidays or just for no reason at all. This is the room I will miss the most.

Goodbye Breakfast Nook. You served us well. We prayed over our meals, watched the birds and did our homework in this room. Many mornings we were able to wave good morning to our neighbors in our pajamas and bath robes. We replaced the screen on that well used sliding door once and probably should have replaced it again from wear before we moved. Birthday cakes were celebrated on this table. Colin had years 3-8. Cam had years 2-6. I won't share mine or Steve's but let's just say we aged a bit.

Goodbye Formal Family room. I can't really say that I will miss you except for the fact that you were the only clean room in the house most days.

Goodbye Kitchen. While I did not love you, I did spend a lot of time here. My new appliances were wonderful and the old appliances were never missed. However, I didn't have a lot of time to enjoy the newness. We were just on the verge of remodeling the kitchen and it would have looked amazing when we were finished. In this kitchen there were countless loaves of banana bread and pumpkin bread prepared. It only took me about 2 years to perfect the high altitude recipes. I was so proud of myself. This is the room were everyone gathered during a party. If I remember correctly, our record was 37 people in the house for a gathering. You served us well. Again, not since the day we moved in has the kitchen looked this clean. But clean or messy, the great memories are still the same. This is where the streamers were hung for Birthdays. This is where the cookies were baked for school parties and where many sets of dirt covered hands were washed before dinner.

Colin's room. I know. Hard to recognize. I remember when he was 3 years old and taking naps in this room. I would lay down with him (only for a minute) and fall sound asleep in his bed with him. Trains and legos were built here. Many nights I slept on his floor when he was sick or scared. Many nights of Steve reading bedtime stories and saying prayers. I used to go into Colin's room when I needed to feel peace. Even in all of its clutter, his room just felt peaceful to me. This room calmed me. I think it calmed him too.

Cam's room went through a serious transformation from his nursery to his big kid room. Gone are his sweet Noah's Ark animals. Gone are the hints of pastel colors. This room was Cam through and through. We started with a crib in this room. Cam was just 15 months old when we moved into this house. I still remember crying when we took out the crib and rocking chair from this room. My sweet baby Cam. No longer a baby but he still lets me rock him once in awhile. This room was filled with trinkets, change and a zillion things in between.

Steve spent two entire weeks painting these Batman Lego characters on Cam's walls. Cam has requested a rain forest and Arctic theme in his next room. Good luck Steve.

Goodbye Bedroom. Isn't it ironic that although I wanted this lovely reading chair in my bedroom the entire time we lived in this house, it was only placed there for staging the house for selling? We had a computer desk in this bay window the entire time we lived there. But doesn't this chair look great? I would have loved to sit with my coffee and read each morning. It never happened but it sure looks inviting now.

Ah, the basement. The glorious basement. This was supposed to be the space where we all hung out, watched movies, played board games, held poker nights....Instead it was the place that was wwwaaayyy cold in the summer time and served as a wonderful guest area for anyone to come and stay overnight. It served its purpose well enough even if we didn't use it everyday. It was an awesome space and probably sold our house for us.

The basement would not be complete without the bar. Behind those cabinets there are about 14 bottles of liquor..none of them full. Enough said.

Goodbye backyard. Although small, you were mighty. You took a beating from my two boys and anyone else that trampled on your grounds. Often there were four children and at least one dog running back and forth. Many dinners were served out here. Many beers were consumed out here. Many smores were made out here. Many laughs were heard out here. Although I could not grow a garden worth a darn in the yard because of all of the trees, I still loved this back yard. The boys had outgrown the space but when you have great neighbors that share their yard too, it became all the space we needed.

Goodbye Cottonwood trees. You won't be missed at all. We do have trees in our new yard. However, they are not Cottonwood trees. They are not close to the house and there will not be nearly as many leaves to rake this fall. Yippee!

And the most difficult of all....goodbye neighbors. That gate between the fences....we had to fix three times in the five years that it was used. We installed it a year after we moved in. That trampoline was a magnificent signal that someone was outside and ready to play. When those blinds opened in the morning I knew I could tell my kids, "The Lee's are awake. Let's give them a few minutes to get up and around before we bombard them with a phone call for a play date". Many beers were shared over this fence. Many stories were shared in laughter and love. Tears were cried. Hugs were given. Celebrations were cheered. I get more homesick looking at this house than I do looking at my own. Knowing the character of people that live here...we know those friends will be unmatched.

 Goodbye blue house on the corner with the trees and the playhouse in the back yard across from the dirt ball fields (that's how we would describe our house to anyone that needed directions to our place). Goodbye block parties in Wiggett. Goodbye Santa that comes by on the firetruck each Christmas. Goodbye Halloween nights that surpassed all others. Goodbye impromptu walks with neighbors and play dates with friends. Goodbye Erie. You will be missed.

Sanibel Island

Ahhh, Sanibel Island. I've said it before and I'll say it again. I think I love you. Going to Sanibel Island over our trip to Disney World was a bit of a stretch. It took some scheduling, some maneuvering and a lot of planning. We flew into Orlando to go to Disney and flew out of Ft. Meyers since it was much closer to Sanibel. We had to chose a hotel, rent a car and find the island. I have to tell you, all the extra planning was worth it.

Our drive to Sanibel was uneventful but longer than we had expected. We drove through a lot of small Florida towns. I wish I would have been able to take pictures of all of the semi trucks filled with oranges. We drove past several orange groves. I wanted to hop off the highway, roll down the windows and take in the sweet smell. But, I didn't. As I said, the drive took a little longer than expected. But once we saw that bridge, we knew we were there. What a beautiful view of the ocean. What a beautiful island. They advertise their sand as "white sugar sand". No lie my friends. White. Sugar. Sand. We loved it so much we brought some home. Yes, I am that person that stuffs shells and sand into my carry on luggage. Again, sorry if I hit you in the head with that luggage. It was heavy.

Sanibel Island (at least at the end of May) is far from "touristy". We had the beach to ourselves when we woke up the first morning. Of course, we were out on the beach by 7:30am. But oh what fun! We walked, we swam, we shelled. Oh my, the shells! If you went out into the water just where the waves were rolling in, you could pick up amazing shells with your toes. That was the prime picking spot. We found whole clams, conch (pronounced conk), tiger stripe shells, buttercup shells....you learn all these names when you spend 3 hours in a shell shop. Of course, there were all kinds of shells on the beach too. But if you wanted to "prime" shells, you had to dig with your toes. Small price to pay for some great souvenirs.

Before we left Orlando, we stopped at a Ron Jon shop and bought the boys (all three of them) skim boards. All three boys had a blast on those boards. The technique was a little tough for Cam. The board was a bit heavy for him to throw. He couldn't quite throw and run at the same time. Colin picked it up a little quicker. He was able to make a few good runs at the board and skim across the water. And then there's Steve. He is talented at every sport he tries. That guy amazes me. I can barely stand on my own two feet when I walk and chew gum. He can skim across the water and turn a 360. No experience. Just determination. Pretty amazing.

It did rain while we were there. In fact, it rained a lot. There was no lightening, so who cares. We stood in the ocean and played while the rain hit our faces. We swam and shelled for two days until we dropped. On our last day at Sanibel, we had about 7 hours to spend at the beach. The boys lasted 2 hours. They were done. Cooked. Chicken fried. We went back to the hotel, took showers and headed out.

So, I fully and highly recommend Sanibel Island. I fully recommend our hotel. It was modest but had everything we needed. We even had a fridge and microwave. Although there was not a cabana boy to bring drinks down to the water for me, there was a bar. We really didn't have time to sit and sip a drink. It seems that our vacations are more action packed and athletic than most normal families. We don't sit still much. I stopped long enough to take a few pictures but other than that we were playing, swimming and shelling for the entire day and some of the night.

I hope that the pictures speak for themselves. This island made me want to be a beach girl instead of a mountain girl. I loved the heat. I loved the sun. I loved the ocean smell and the beauty of each different shell on the beach. Disclaimer: I did tell Steve that I am now willing to move, but only if we live ON the beach. Not near the beach, not close to the beach, ON the beach. That would make me one happy girl. Here's the strange thing, I hate swimming. I actually don't like water. But I LOVE the beach. I can tolerate swimming in the ocean. The fish and swimmy creatures don't bother me. It's a weird connection; me and the ocean.

Florida Part III

After surviving our first day at Magic Kingdom, we went full speed ahead to Animal Kingdom, Epcot, Hollywood Studios and Downtown Disney (again).

Here are my top 10 things I have learned about our trip to Disney:

1. It does pay to go to Disney in the "off season", however, do not stay at French Quarter Port Orleans. The bus service was terrible. We usually waited at least 45 min. for transportation to any park each morning. It did not matter what park we went to, the busing service was terrible. Also, for some reason, the second time we went to Downtown Disney the bus dropped off all of the Port Orleans Riverside passengers first. This did not make any sense to me as he drove right by our stop to get to the others. This extended our bus trip by a good 30 minutes. If you can afford it, stay at a "deluxe hotel" that offers monorail service. Here we are waiting for a bus, again.

2. If you can take a boat to your destination, do it. We waited 10 minutes for a boat, got there faster than the bus and had a great "tour" of some of the other Disney hotels.

3. Bring ponchos! Any poncho will do. Bright orange, camouflage, pink. Just as long as you don't end up paying out the nose when you get caught in a strong rain. Speaking of rain, the second you *think* it is going to rain, get out the ponchos. The Florida rain comes down hard and fast! We were drenched the first time before we even had our ponchos out of the backpack.

4. Unless your kids are really really into water parks, don't add these on to your tickets. If you have a pool at your hotel your kids will probably be happy enough with that. The water parks don't have much more than Water World here in the Denver area (except for the neat decorations). There is one huge water slide that I would probably never allow my kids to go on anyway. But other than that, a water park is a water park. Plus, my kids would be too exhausted to do a water park and a Disney park all in one day so although we added the water park feature to our ticket, we didn't go to any of them.

5.  If you can swing it and you have enough time, book a trip to Universal. I wish we would have had time go to the Harry Potter area this year at Universal but we just didn't have the time.

6.  If you have a girl and they are interested (or insistent) on getting signatures from all of the princesses, book a character meal. It's pricey but will be well worth the money. You can get all of their signatures at once and then not have to worry about standing in all of the long lines and when the characters are going to take their breaks as you are standing the the long line. Sure enough, you will be the next person in line and they will take a 30 minute break. Book a character meal. You will be glad you did.

7. The Disney Magical Express is hit or miss. Two years ago when we went in early June, we waited an hour for a bus. This year in late May, we didn't wait a second. It's probably worth the price to have them gather your checked luggage and cart it to your hotel for you, but don't be surprised if you have to wait an hour or more for your bus.

8. Give you kids a budget and once it's spent, that's it. Our kids knew how much they had to spend and priced out the things they wanted. Since we knew you could find most "standard" items in the shops, we had them pick out a few things and then think about it for a few days. If they found it in a shop 2 days later and still wanted it, they bought it.

9. You can take snacks, sandwiches, water bottles....just about anything you want into the parks. If you are on a budget, make some pb & j and bring some cold water bottles. This will save you a little on lunch.

10. Take your cues from your kids. If they are tired, take a break. If they are hungry, stop to eat. If they are just done, go back to the hotel and watch a movie. You spent all that money for a fun family experience. Make the most of it for YOUR family. Not for the family that Disney would like you to think that you have based on their commercials.  

Up next, our trip to San "ahhhh" bel Island.

Florida Part II

After we arrived at our Magical Destination via the Magical Express, we headed off to Downtown Disney. On a Saturday night. During Memorial Day weekend. Bad idea. It was super busy. We could barely make our way through the crowds.  If you are going to go to Downtown Disney, do it on a week night. In my opinion, it will be easier to navigate on a week night. Less locals. As far as shops and eateries at Downtown Disney, we really like Cookes (fish and chips are great!). We also ate at a sandwich shop that makes great smoothies. A little expensive, but everything is expensive at Disney.

Don't forget to browse the Pin Shop, Lego Store and Team Mickey. These were some of our favorite stores in Downtown Disney. If you want sweets, there's Goofy's (candy) store and a lot of ice cream places around too.

The next morning we headed to the Magic Kingdom. No transportation problems. We went right to Space Mountain for a very short 20 minute wait and then to Buzz Lightyear for another short 15 minute wait. Then we cruised to the other side of the park, got fast passes for Big Thunder Railroad while we rode Splash Mountain. In between the two coasters, we had enough time to eat lunch. If your kids are weary and weepy, feed them. A snack probably won't cut it. Get them out of the sun and into a place where they can sit down for a bit.

We did not buy any type of meal plan this trip. Our kids just don't eat enough to make it worth it. We took (in our checked luggage) two sleeves of bagels and a small box of individual Jif Peanut butter cups. Steve eats a bagel and peanut butter every morning for breakfast so for him, add a cup of coffee on our trip and breakfast was served. For the boys, we went down to the cafeteria style restaurant and asked for some cream cheese. Because we had a fridge in our hotel room, we also bought a container of milk from the gift shop and two individual bowls of cereal. Much less expensive than buying breakfast everyday in the hotel restaurant. Also, quite a time saver in the morning. The boys could wake up, have breakfast in bed and watch a little tv and then head out for the day. We weren't against buying them breakfast from the restaurant but our kids are cereal and bagel type kids. We did get them waffles twice on our trip along with chocolate milk to drink.

I also brought a lot of portable snacks. I actually packed apples in our checked luggage too. I put in a few plastic knives so I was able to slice up some cold apples (stored in our fridge) and serve them with the Jif peanut butter. This was a nice treat when we got back to our room each night.

Everyday when we headed out the boys helped me fill up their water bottles with ice. Then we put a little water in them. They had a nice cold drink when they needed it at the park. We also packed a bag of snacks for each day. A safe bet is two snacks per person per day. We never ate that many but had them just in case. In the afternoon the kids had ice cream or a cold snack from one of the vendor carts.

Sunday happened to be our first full day at Disney. Every Sunday at Magic Kingdom they have a 9pm light parade followed by a 10pm fireworks show. We didn't think it would be a problem for our kids to stay up this late since they hadn't caught up to "Florida time" yet but it proved to be too much. Sitting for an hour to save our spot for the Illuminations light parade took the stuffin' out of our kids. Cam fell asleep on Steve's lap and never really woke up for the parade.

When the parade was over, we moved out into the Magic Kingdom street to watch the fireworks. Too much. Cam fell asleep standing up. Colin was very unhappy (tired). It was not that big enough of a deal to any of us to stay and make our kids miserable so we walked on out to the bus station.

Ironically, we missed our bus by about 10 seconds and had to wait for the next bus. 5 minutes into our wait, the fireworks started. Although we couldn't see the fireworks that were near to the ground or the drama between Tink and Captain Hook in Cinderella's Castle, we still got to see the fireworks that were high in the air. The kids were delighted and we missed the 2 hour rush that happens after the fireworks.

My recommendation, don't try to do Illuminations and fireworks in the same night. Illuminations was neat but outdated. The parade was not that long and the music is annoying.

They have the fireworks every night at 10pm. It's worth the watch if your kids can stay up that late. But don't try to combine the parade and the fireworks. Too much waiting around for the kids. However, if you stay for the fireworks, be prepared for a rush out to the transportation station and a long wait back to the hotel.

Florida Part I

I have so much to say about our vacation to Florida. This post is going to be divided into several separate blogs. They might not be written in order but they be chalked full of great information. Or at the very least, maybe they will make you smile, dream of your own beach vacation and/or just make you turn off your computer and go to bed.

So here it goes....

First of all I have to say that it was a very bold move to take a week long vacation right after the last day of school. my Type A, Make a List for Everything, Get Things Done in Order personality had to adjust to the Leave It Behind, It Will Still Be There When You Get Back land. It seemed to work out just fine as all the work that I left on my desk two Friday's ago was still there when I got back 8 days later. Darn. The Little Work Fairy didn't come and complete all of my work for me.

Anyhoo, I case you haven't heard, we surprised the boys with a trip to Disney World AND Sanibel Island. You see, we have two boys that never agree on anything. What do you want for dinner...one says pot roast and the other says nachos. What should we do today....one says the zoo the other says swimming. Steve and I have discovered that it is best to just make the decision ourselves. So at the risk of not disappointing anyone with our already over the top surprise, we fit in everyone's hopes and dreams on our family vacation; Disney World and the beach. Well, technically Cam wanted to go to Hawaii but he seemed to do just fine with the lesser alternative of a beach that we picked out for him.

So Saturday morning rolled around and we waiting a little impatiently for the boys to roll out of bed. Seriously, I think that is a first for us. We never wait for them to get out of bed. We are usually telling them to try to sleep longer or asking them why they got up so early. But on Saturday we had planned on leaving around 7:30am. Cam didn't get up until 7:00am.

Once they were both awake, we sat them down on the couch and told them that they needed to get dressed (in their special Disney issued t-shirts) and eat breakfast because we had a trip planned....to Disney World and the beach and we needed to catch a plane in about 2 hours. You might suspect that our kids jumped up and down, hooped and hollered and showed general excitement. Nope. Nada. Colin said "Really?" Cam said. "Today?" That's it. That's all. No over excitement whatsoever. Months of planning. Days of secret packing. Nada. Don't get me wrong, they were happy. But I won't even bother to post the short video that was have of our surprise. It's a total let down to what you see on tv. Those parents must be way cooler than us. 

So, off to the airport we went. With 8 bags and two booster seats. Yes folks, that was the Silva family hitting you in the head as we walked by you with our massive carry on bags. Sorry.

Colin brought his favorite stuffie, Yellow Dog, along for the trip. Yellow Dog and I go way back. He was my stuffie from the age of 6. That dog has been around! Despite telling the boys they could bring 2 stuffies each, we ended up with 7 each.

The flight to Florida was very uneventful. Thank you God. I hate flying. Every time I get on a plane I remember how much I hate flying.

So, we arrived at the Orlando airport without a hitch. Boarded the Magical Express to the Port Orleans French Quarter Resort without a hitch. Checked in without a hitch. I attribute all of this to my mad planning skills but really we were just lucky. Any number of things could have gone wrong but didn't. Magical indeed.

To be continued with our Disney experience and the suggested "do's and dont's of Disney with a 6 and 8 year old.