Andersons Visit; Anderson Farms

The Andersons came to visit and we packed their long weekend with lots of activities.  They swam in the pool, went to see the kids' new favorite parks, checked out Isaac's school, and enjoyed some QT with Caitlin while Luz and Bill spent the morning at the DMV getting their CO licenses.  For the big activities, we took a trip to Georgetown to take the historic Georgetown Loop train to SilverPlume and back.  It is an old steam train that goes across huge trestles between the mountains, beautiful views for the adults and a fun train ride for the kids.  It was pretty cold out, so our first class seats in the heated car were very much appreciated!   

you can see the bridge the train goes over in the background

For our second adventure, we went to Anderson Farms to pick pumpkins.  The kids loved the tractor ride where the bulls are trained like puppies to come up to the tractor and let the kids pet them for treats.  Kind of insane to let animals that big so close to kids, but they were actually quite docile.  The tractor stopped long enough for the kids to pick the biggest pumpkin in the field and convince Bill to carry it back for them.  After the tractor ride, Caitlin loved feeding the other animals and Isaac loved pulling her in the wagon.

The kids had a blast with their Grandparents and were very sad when they left.  We were ALL spoiled rotten during their visit with delicious home-cooked meals and lots of stuff getting crossed off our list, and we can't wait for the next visit!

Caitlin had fun showing off her Curious George app on the itouch

More outdoor fun -- we attempted to take the kids on a hike through Estes Park, but they got "tired" of walking after about a quarter of a mile of us carrying them.  We still have some work to do convincing them that the views are worth the walking...

With that in mind, we took advantage of a child-free morning when the kids spent the night at Grandma Gerri's to take a real hike.  The Royal Arches trail in Chautauqua was about 5 miles with a lot of vertical climbing, but the views from the top were amazing and worth the effort.

Colorado Fun & Papa Rich's Visit

In our attempt to experience (and expose the kids to) the Colorado culture, we jumped at the opportunity to see the Colorado Rockies in a luxury box with the option to walk out onto the field for the fireworks afterward courtesy of a law firm that does business with DaVita.  The kids had a blast eating all they could eat chicken fingers, pizza, popcorn, running between the suites, and trying out their new Rockies swag for the first 5 innings.  Unfortunately, they began to break down soon after, and given that it was a work event, I wasn't willing to risk meltdowns for the fireworks, so we left before the fireworks.  Still a fun event nevertheless.

Continuing the fun, Grandma took the (4 year old and above) grandkids to the circus.  Isaac had a blast experience his first circus with his cousins, laughing at the clowns and marvelling at the fact that they could race so many motorbikes in a cage. 

We had a fun visit with Bill's cousin Alex who joined us and Grandma Gerri in taking the kids to Day Out With Thomas in Golden, Colorado.  They loved Thomas just as much as when they saw him in Baltimore, but the open-air trainride around the mountains of Golden was significantly more enjoyable for us.  The Colorado Train museum also had lots of great trains that the kids loved climbing around.

Alex bought the kids their own conductors' hats :)

 Last but not least, we had a great visit with Papa Rich who came to check out our new house and spend Rosh Hashana with us.  The kids had a great time showing him their new park, playing baseball, and swimming with him in their pool and we all had a wonderful family dinner at Jen's house to celebrate the Jewish New Year.

Aunt Jen sitting at the kids' table :)

Isaac and Arielle trying to blow the Shofar

 

Settling in, Goodbye Cesi :(, Hello Luz :)

We have slowly but surely made Colorado our home, and we are all settling in happily.  We are doing lots of exploring on the weekends and really enjoying the beautiful Fall weather.  The kids are loving their space and getting more adventurous in the outdoors.  Bill and I are slowly filling the space with furniture, hanging pictures, and finding replacements for our favorite DC spots.  So far we have found a great pizza/ice cream joint and a breakfast place that will honor Isaac's request for chocolate chips AND bananas in his pancakes.  But it wasn't until we were able to convince a Chinese place to deliver to our house (not an easy feat) that we felt like we were home.

Isaac scoping the snow in the distance on the mountains at Rocky Mountain National Park with his binoculars

Caitlin "hiking" at Chautauqua Park

Isaac and Caitlin chasing a bunny rabbit at the park (much preferred to the fuzzy creatures we found in DC!!)

Family photo op in Vail

Isaac and Caitlin bravely petting a neighbor's horse that wandered over to our fence

We were SOOO happy when Cesi agreed to spend a couple of weeks with us in Colorado and had the best time with her.  I honestly believe that the move and the transition to Colorado were completely painless because Cesi came and made it so easy for the kids.  We had a great time with Cesi while she was here and had fun showing her around Colorado.  It was her first time travelling on her own and she conquered her fears and came anyway because we asked - and she even made tortillas and beans and rice for the kids (and tried to teach me).  We were blessed to have Cesi in our lives for 3 years and will miss her more than words can say, but completely understood her decision to stay to be with her family.  We helped her find a new (VERY LUCKY) family to work with and they have already reported how much they love her.

After Cesi left, Aunt Ray-Ray came to continue the smooth transition for our lucky kiddos.  She easily slipped back into her previous role as super-nanny and even cooked a big family dinner during naptime! We all had a blast with Rach and are VERY hopeful that she will follow our lead and make the move to Colorado so all of our siblings will be in one place. 

 



During Rach's stay, our new au pair, Luz, arrived from Columbia and we all went to the airport to greet her with signs painted by the kids.  Rach spent a few days with Luz helping her learn the kids' routines and showing her around, which was super-helpful.  Luz is slowly getting adjusted to life in Colorado (note the hat and gloves in the picture below - it's a LOT colder here than in Columbia!) and we are all working hard to make her feel at home. 

Isaac finally started school on October 1st.  It is only for the mornings (it was hard to find a full day program around here, contrary to DC) and it is a very small program in a cute little school with only 3 classrooms.  So far he seems to really like it and is doing great.  In the first week we got these amazing art projects (better than our whole year at Tyler!) and glowing reports from his teachers.  And the best part - you just pull up to the curb and they grab him out of the car - no drop-off drama!

 Finally some cute pictures of fun family hanging times over the last few weeks.


Dinner with Aunt Alli & Uncle Chad

Cousins' sleepover at Aunt Jen's

Wandering around the Louisville Farmer's Market with Aunt Adrienne and Uncle Evan

Impromptu dinner at Noodles with Grandma

Moving to Colorado

After living a very long and happy life in DC (18 years for me, 16 for Bill), we finally decided it was time for a change.  I had been searching for a new job (in DC mainly) and ended up with two great opportunities in Colorado.  It was very hard for us to make the decision to move -- we love DC, love our Capitol Hill house and friends, and enjoy being a few hours drive from family in NJ and NY -- but ultimately decided that we would also love for the kids to grow up with a lot more space to run around and in close proximity to so much family -- in Colorado we could be less than a half hour drive to all of their cousins, almost all of their aunts and uncles, their grandma, great-grandma, and lots of friends.   Once the decision was made, things moved very quickly and we moved in about a month!! We found an amazing house about as far on the opposite side of the spectrum as you could get from our Hill rowhouse, found a great school for Isaac, and hired movers to pack up everything and booked the flight.  While it was hard to say goodbye, we are VERY happy with our decision, and the kids are in heaven.  Here are some pictures from the move and our first few days in CO. 

Bill and I both tried to squeeze in work while coordinating the move - a feat that could not have been accomplished without the help of the Andersons!



We weren't sure if they were going to finish - and it took 3 hours longer than they thought - but they fit it all!



the i-touch makes travelling with the kids a LOT easier

Wilson was so happy we were taking him that he didn't make a peep the whole flight



My mom, Jen and the kids surprised us at the airport with signs and balloons!

ahhh - this is why we moved!!

Caitlin checking out our neighbors from the car window

Isaac needed to get out to take a closer look - this is seriously on our street



the kids made themselves at home very quickly - running naked through the massive open space

 

In about 10 minutes they insisted on going swimming in their new pool

In about 20 minutes they found the tractor in the barn

 

We picked and ate delicious apples from our tree

gorgeous view from our bedroom balcony

We are still unpacking boxes and figuring out where everything is, but the move went smoothly and we are settling in to our new diggs very well!!

More to come...