A big ol' Boise goodbye.

The last time I wrote something on here it was an ode to teachers and their dedication to the cause of choosing to make a difference in the lives of millions. I had just entered into my first year of teaching with gusto. Now, there are three days left. Seriously three day.

Just three days with the kiddos that have utterly consumed my life. When people ask me how I feel about the ordeal I am quick to say that I am pretty ecstatic that this school year has come to an end. I cannot wait to have a day, a weekend, even a few hours where I am not constantly worrying about school and about these young people. But I know in a few weeks I will sure be missing them, and I don’t think I will ever see them again. Which makes me sad.

And why won’t I ever see them again? Well, we are moving. We are closing the chapter of our time here in Boise. We have absolutely adored this town. Above everything we have adored the people we’ve met and the friendships we made. We feel so lucky to have known such incredible people here. We hope that those people feel so inclined to visit us in our new town, especially because we know virtually no one. (Just a public plea that our door is always open).

We are trekking over to Denver, Colorado; in fact Brandon is already there. It’s a somewhat bittersweet experience. On one hand we are pretty thrilled to be out of the college life. It was something to see Brandon walk across the stage as he received his Masters degree in Business Administration. He looked all official and just dang cute. Plus, he worked so incredibly hard.

But on the other hand we are really going to miss this place. Just yesterday I went on one of our favorite little hikes, and I left feeling pretty sad. That could be the last time I do it. In fact, whenever I do something I think, “This will probably be the last time I do this in Boise.” It’s quite a depressing thought, and I should probably stop.

These lasts are even making me see weeds in a different light. Never before have I taken so many weed pictures and thought, "Now, that is a breathtaking weed. I must capture it's breathtaking-ness." 

Even now I just finished my dinner picnic style, spreading everything out on my living room floor using a green camp blanket, since all of our stuff is already packed up. I ate foods that I know Brandon would not consider a dinner, but wishing the whole time he was here with me. I even would have thrown in some meat if it meant he could be here instead of there.

Extra points if you can guess what movie I am watching while enjoying this non-Brandon approved dinner.

I think this is all a part of growing up, which I knew would happen someday. We can’t always live in never ever land. And I don't mean to sound so morose, but I've just loved our life here, and I am a little afraid of change. Mostly afraid that things won't live up to these expectations I have. 

But, I am also all about grand adventures, and I think this one might be our grandest yet. Wish us luck with this new chapter, or season (I think season doesn’t sound so dramatic), of our lives. Oh and expect to be hearing from me much more, since I will have a touch more time on my hands ;)

A Colorado Wrap-Up

I have a confession or two. When we first moved to Denver we didn’t like it. We didn’t like the traffic, we didn’t like how big it was, we didn’t like how it was never sunny, and that it never got over 80 degrees. We didn’t like other things, those things being ages 6, 8, and 10 (but that’s a whole other story). We instantly missed Boise. But, Denver has treated us so well. Despite our efforts to be angry at it, we ended up liking it, and now I think we might even miss it when we leave this week. 

Another confession, I am not exactly sure why I have a blog. I am pretty sure that I am the only person that cares about my fun weekend, my husbands rockin’ birthday, and my almost garden. But, I have also never been this good at blogging, so I deserve a big pat on the back (I’m all about extrinsic motivation here). So to those who do peruse the pages of my mindless wanderings and hopefully glean some sort of something, here you go, the end of our Denver adventure written just for you (cough Tenille cough).

Firstly, for those of you who do know me well you know that I love a good birthday. I am 100% convinced that birthday’s are to be celebrated and are to be recognized. Birthdays are that one day a year that is your day. Seriously your day. So it should go your way, and just be out of this world. As I have grown older I have realized that very few people over the age of 10 feel this way. Which deeply saddens me. But don’t think I let that get in the way when I come across a good birthday. Especially when it’s my cute husbands. Even though it was just me, I celebrated the heck out of his day. And he deserved it. And he loved it. And all in all, I am so excited that this boy was born because if not my life would be bleak and just not as great as it is. So, even though this monumental event occurred on the 26^th it needs to be recognized, like all good birthdays do.

Secondly, we knew that if we moved to Denver we had to go to Rocky Mountain National Park. So we did. And I would have kicked myself forever if we had forgone that opportunity because it was B-E-A-utiful! If you haven’t gone there, go. Simple as that. Just take my advice, but be warned because you are a good two miles over sea level, which does take your breath away in more way than one.

Lastly, I know that everyone is dying to see the results of my feeble garden, the one that I’ve been plotting since last summer. The one that I knew would be great and produce, and solve my bland tomato problems. Well, it didn’t. In fact, I gave my tomato plant away yesterday because it seemed too impractical to bring it back to Boise. And it had 8 little tomatoes that were just taking form. Tomatoes  I’ll never get to see, or eat. Out of everything that makes me sad about leaving this place, this is number one. Second it to see Rubio’s go (we are a food centered people). I cared for those plants everyday and spent countless hours watching them grow. It breaks my heart to leave them in untrusted hands, but I couldn’t just let them die, you know? Again, these are just plants, not kids, as Brandon has had to remind me several times. And I do realize that not everyone made it. Thanks to my over pruning and care one little plant couldn't take the pressure and simply gave up. Again, as Brandon has said, they're plants, not children. 

And that’s how it ends. That’s the big wrap up. And off to bigger and better things we go. Wish us luck!

Camping (take two) featuring the delightful town of Moab, Utah.

Remember just not too long ago when I gave you a very helpful and nice list that focuses on some of the major faux paus of camping/campers that I actually got to experience first hand? And it was so sad and pathetic that I am pretty sure all ten of my faithful readers were almost feeling sorry for us while also laughing at our misery. I realized that we needed to redeem ourselves and that we were not going to let that little tent get the better of us.

We chose Moab, Utah to be our area of success and the night before departure (which is I suppose is pretty similar to last time) we booked a two night stay at a cozy KOA campground. Equipped with community bathrooms and everything a KOA can offer (which really isn't much). We decided that cooking and camping wasn't really our thang so I purchased four Chobani yogurts, enough snacks to get us through a natural disaster, and of course some s'more stuff. Then left the good town of Moab to furnish all our other eats. And it did, and oh my goodness that was such a better idea than cooking our own dang food.

Now, I am not going to pretend like we became expert campers over a couple of weeks, because that is a lie. We still had our one mistake or two or three. One being that we left at four in the afternoon for a destination that was six hours away, which after a good two hours in traffic, became an eight-hour drive and a midnight arrival, that I am sure made all of our neighbors very happy. Especially since we did indeed blow up our two twin air mattresses using the inverter in the car, which also included two glaring headlights that illuminated our neighbors tent. To the foreigners from Europe who camped by us, who bought all of their camping gear at the Walmart just for this special trip, we are so very sorry. We American's really are not that rude.

But, it was such a pleasant trip. Aside from the dust storm the next night that had me feeling like I was at the beach due to the extraction of sand from my ears, teeth, and basically everywhere else that I got to complete the next morning.

We visited Arches National Park which is a must see in this lifetime. And I know for most people this is pretty much in the middle of nowhere, but you just gotta go. The way the red red rock hits the brilliant blue sky is kind of magical and leaves you staring breathless for some time. You don't see that everyday folks. And those arches. Geological wonders that you need to see and stand under in person.

As you can see, I chose to camouflage for the entire trip. I also tried to capture as many Brandon staring at the arches in amazement pictures as possible because he just loves that so ;) But being up on those fins and gazing across the horizon at this land of red and rock makes for a "I am never going to forget this" kind of time. Which, I hope I never do.