Steve and his parents headed to the cabin this morning to get a head start on a stair rebuild project they are working on. Our youngest daughter and I stayed behind to enjoy a girls day. She suggested that we do lunch at a new restaurant downtown called Milk Market.
It is like an upscale food court, offering all kinds of different food, but all of the restaurants are owned by the same chef. And the food is much better than you would get in an ordinary food court.
We chose to share a poke bowl and an udon curry bowl from two different restaurants.
Then we bought an ice cream and went outside for a stroll.
Even the outdoor space is owned by Milk Market, so food and drinks can be enjoyed outside as well as inside. We had a fabulous lunch and walk before heading up to the cabin to meet up with Steve and his parents.
We arrived in Fort Collins this morning at 9:00 to help our daughter move out of her final college apartment. One of her room mates had already moved out, but the other three all worked together and had a great time packing, hauling and cleaning. Steve and I were the only parents there, and we had a great time with the three girls. We are so excited for all of them as they start the next chapters of their lives. The girls turned in their keys and we all parted ways at 2:30, and the three of us headed back to the Denver area.
When we got back to Denver, Steve's mom had a fun celebration waiting for us. They wanted to celebrate the college graduation of their final grand child, and a very exciting future for her.
Then we all enjoyed a wonderful homemade dinner together. Filet Mignon, grilled corn on the cob, beans and watermelon. It was so nice to spend this time with some of our favorite people.
It's hard to explain how great it feels to be back here, enjoying this special time with our daughter and Steve's parents!
Well, we are back in Lake Havasu, and it is HOT!
We've done a little bit of golfing, but it's almost too hot for that because there is no breeze, and boating is even tough because everything you touch burns you. So mostly we have been enjoying pool time with friends. It's probably our favorite way to spend our time in the heat of summer. But now that we've been home about a week, it is time to head out again.
This time we will be heading back to Colorado to help our youngest daughter move. She graduated in May, and started her "Big Girl" job in June, but she is making a horribly long commute each day, from Fort Collins to the Tech Center in the south part of Denver. It's 2 - 2 1/2 hours each way. She says she doesn't mind it because it will make her appreciate a much shorter commute some day. And we are so thankful that day is now almost here!
Our first day in town, we met our daughter for lunch at a little place called Marcos Coal Fired Pizza down near her work. They have a beautiful patio, which of course we love, so we sat out there and enjoyed a fantastic lunch with her!
Who can resist an Arnold Palmer and a hand-tossed margarita pizza?
When we finished lunch, we headed over to her new apartment building to talk to the management, and since we ended up with a little extra time, we also toured the model so Steve and I could see it. The models are always so perfectly furnished, so it will be really fun to see what two new college graduates can do with the same space.
After our tour, our daughter headed back to work, and we headed out to pick up a trailer that we packed for her about a year and a half ago when we moved away from Colorado. It is full of odds and ends of furniture and housewares that we no longer needed that she was very excited to have. They have been waiting for her at our ex brother-in-laws house all this time.
It was a beautiful day for hooking up a trailer, and our ex brother-in-law said he would be home to help us out.
He has two Anatolian Shepards, which are known as the strongest dogs in the world. We are always very careful to make sure they remember us before we get out of the truck because they are GREAT watch dogs. This is Steve's foot next to Turbos head.
We picked up our trailer and had a fun dinner, then headed back to Denver. The weather got a little crazy on our way back, and washed the mud off of the truck and trailer nicely.
Our daughter will be heading back to Fort Collins tonight to have a fun final night and sleepover with her college roommates. Tomorrow brings another fun adventure!
When we got back from our trip with the kids, Steve and I stayed in Denver for a short time to celebrate Christmas and his mom's birthday, check on the progress Steve's dad had made after his knee replacement (which was great by the way) and spend time with family and friends before heading back home.
Our youngest daughter headed back to college for her final semester, and had a couple of snafoos in the process. After a long discussion, she and her boyfriend of five years decided it would be best to go their separate directions. Although I know this will be a hard transition for both of them, I know that they will both find their way as they transition into life. In addition to this, her car decided to give up on her. We had a lot of discussions about the best option for her, and in the end, she decided that she would prefer to take on the challenge of a new car, rather than take the chance of being stranded again after we returned home (our mechanic said it could be one of 50 things and they all sounded quite expensive). She thought that with her being in Colorado a four-wheel drive car would make her feel a lot safer, and not knowing where she will live after she graduates, or what her commute will look like to her new big-girl job, we all decided that she was right. So off we went to look at cars. She ended up with a small new four-wheel drive (and unfortunately, the debt that goes with it), and we ended up trading in 375,000 miles of used cars. We're happy to have the old cars gone (they have been great cars!), and she is very excited to be owning her first ever new car.
The day after we returned from the trip, our oldest daughter and our son (in-law) headed out for their new home in Washington. Our son (in-law) reported to his new job with the Army on January 4th and our daughter headed back to Colorado Springs to finish the sale of their house, pick up their cat, and return to Washington to start their new lives there. Our daughter will continue to work at her current job for now, but we'll have to see what the future brings since it is a "Denver only" position.
When we got back to Arizona, my main focus was to get the blog caught up from the trip, catch up on work, and enjoy time with friends as time permitted, but in reality, the order of it just didn't work out quite like that.
Of course, work came first, but after that, everything got a little fuzzy. Friends kept calling asking us to join them for a meal, a drink or a game of golf. The side by side club kept planning rides that we just couldn't resist, and once again life got really busy.
Here are a few fun pictures from our trip to the Wing Mine and the Bat Cave with the side by side club.
We made it to the Wing Mine.
Back on the Road!
Lunch Time!
Fun pictures of Mitten rock.
Approaching the Bat Cave.
Hiking In...
Homeward Bound!
We will soon be moving into February with daytime temperatures in the low 80's and night time temperatures in the 50's. It is gorgeous, and we have a lot to do, so I'll say goodbye for now, and catch you again with our next adventure!
