No Training Wheels!

Cubbie learned how to ride his bike without training wheels right after we got back from our trip to Colorado. And he's only 3! He obviously inherited his daddy's bike riding skills!

Now if he could just learn to use the brakes...

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So I've Decided to Quit Drinking Coffee...

My hubby and I have decided to quit drinking coffee. Here are a few of my reasons:

1. I'm tired of being jittery all the time.

2. Save $8.99 a week on the ground Starbucks coffee we were buying to brew at home.

3. Um, well, lets just say I've noticed I need to start whitening my teeth.

4. Tired of paying almost $2 for a simple cup of small (oh sorry) TALL coffee!
5. Too many trips to the bathroom.

6. I want to feel normal. I was getting to the point where I NEEDED my coffee and not just in the morning. I've never been addicted to anything but it sure started feeling that way.

I tried going cold turkey in the past but the headaches were too intense. So, we decided to wean ourselves. The first week, we cut back to just one small cup of coffee in the morning. The second week, we only had a half cup of coffee in the morning. Yesterday, we stopped totally. Also, we are not drinking ANY caffeinated beverages. We want to cut out caffeine all together. I bought some decaf tea just to get me by until I don't feel a need for something warm to drink in the morning. 

I'll keep you posted. So far, so good. Yesterday I only had a mild headache in the afternoon that went away after I ate dinner. I think it really helps to have someone else going through it at the same time. When I feel like I want to cave (like every afternoon when I'm tired), I remember that I promised DH I would do it with him.

Now I'm NOT saying there's anything wrong with drinking coffee. But for me, I just want my body back to normal without any stimulants affecting me. I'm already hyper enough! :-)

Kindness in an Asian Cucumber

My t-shirt was damp with sweat under my ballistic vest.

My contacts were dried out, making the headache pounding in my head even worse.

And I still had two hours left in my shift.

It was one of those nights.

I was crabby, tired, and really didn’t feel like having to talk or deal with anyone.

I pulled up to one of the public housing hi-rises to do a walk-through.

As my headlights crossed the entryway, I saw an elderly Hmong woman, multicolored skirt flowing in the slight breeze, pushing a grocery cart full of produce. She probably had just come from her garden plot somewhere other than here. As I tapped on my squad laptop, putting myself out at that location, I saw the Hmong woman coming towards my passenger side. I rolled down my window and in her wrinkly little hands she held a large melon or gourd, green tinged. With a big smile, she nodded for me to take it from her outstretched arms that were now reaching into my squad car. I hefted the melon/gourd into my passenger seat and said, “Thank you,” smiling and nodding my head.

I got out of my squad and held the front door of the hi-rise open for her. She said something in Hmong and then made an eating gesture, bringing her hand up to her mouth. I had to laugh to myself. Does she think I don’t know it’s food? I smiled at her and again said, “Thank you” as she padded slowly past me pushing her grocery cart onto the awaiting elevator.

After I walked through the hi-rise, I headed back to my squad car. And there on my passenger seat sat my melon/gourd. I met up with one of my Hmong officers in my unit and told him I had no clue what it was. He said, “Oh very good, it’s an Asian cucumber.”

This simple gesture reminded me that there is good in this world, no matter how bad some people are that we deal with. I felt so special that she gave me her treasured cucumber that she grew with her own fragile hands. I’ve never met her before, never did anything for her, yet she saw my squad car and choose to give it to me. She doesn’t know I have two little boys that will devour it. Or that I was in a crabby mood and needed a little pick me up. She just simply was being kind.

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Mt. Crested Butte, CO

Our last stop before we started heading home was Mt. Crested Butte, elevation 9,898. My DH skied here before we ever met. I look at that mountain and seriously, I just can't imagine our little intermediate runs back home are nothing but little hills compared to this mammoth!

My boys.

There was a free shuttle that ran between the ski resort and the little town of Crested Butte, down in the valley. This was Sprout's first "city bus" ride! He was so excited! It was Cubbie's too.

This town was amazing. Every direction you looked, there were mountains. Several of them were 14ers, meaning over 14,000 feet.

I just couldn't believe all the peaks. I could post another ten pics of mtns, but I'll spare you ;-)

 And now, we have come to the end of our road trip to CO. It was 16 hours each way. The boys actually handled it fairly well, minus the one time Cubbie got sick while we were driving through high elevation and multiple passes near Vail. Poor baby.

So I leave you with some mountain wildflowers. I hope you enjoyed the virtual tour of Colorado!

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Mt. Sneffels

Mt. Sneffels is my favorite "14er" in Colorado! At an elevation of 14,150, it's majestic peak can be seen for miles before you actually get near it. The little town of Ouray, nicknamed the Switzerland of America, sits at the base.

Of all our stops, this was the only place we actually camped. Little did we realize at night it would get down in the 40s!

The temp didn't matter to the boys. They love camping!

Just look at this wild boy! Gotta love biking in the mountains!

The Grand Mesa, CO

Now that the beginning of school posts are done, I can get back to posting about our Colorado road trip! 

This is a little known spot called "The Grand Mesa." It's between Grand Junction and Delta, Colorado. My DH lived in Delta for two years before I met him. The Mesa was his favorite place to back country ski, hike, and mountain bike. It's the largest flat top mountain in the world. At it's peak, the elevation is 11,333!

And yes, it's straight down RIGHT behind him! Crazy man.

The wildflowers were absolutely beautiful. Doesn't this make you want to just lie down in the field? Ok, maybe not. I actually asked DH if I needed to worry about any snakes before I ventured off to take this photo. He laughed at me and said we were too high in elevation to worry about snakes. What do I know, we only have little garter snakes back home!

Cubbie's 1st Day of Preschool!

Do you think he was excited?!?

Yes, not to be left out, Cubbie started preschool yesterday! He was so happy that it was finally his turn. He has the same teachers Sprout had, and they adored him, so I'm hoping they'll love Cubbie just as much.

I just hope they're ready for his precious little personality!

And yes, this post makes it glaringly obvious that I need to change my header picture because...sniffle, sniffle...he's not a baby anymore.

Sprout's 1st Day of Kindergarten!

"Look out Kindergarten, here I come!" 

So yes, I did the obligatory picture in front of the front door.

But honestly, this...

is my favorite! My little man.

DH was trying desperately to pin Sprout's ID tag on his backpack before the bus arrived. Yes, we are newbie parents to this whole school thing. Just look at Sprout's face, so serious, waiting intently for that all important school bus!

And this is our failed attempt at a family shot. Glaring sun + two squirrelly boys = squinty, crabby photo! Oh well, next time.

Overall, Sprout did great! When he got home, he was so excited to tell me about the bucket that held all types of trucks and cars. When asked what his favorite part of the day was, he said, "recess!" But of course! :-)

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Colorado National Monument

The Colorado National Monument is just outside of Grand Junction. It rises from 4,600 feet to almost 7,000 feet. The drive is incredible! Ok, in all honesty, it scared the heck out of me. The road was barely wide enough for two cars, and STRAIGHT DOWN on the passenger side with NO guard rail! Needless to say, DH was ready to kill me by the 10th time I said, "Slow down, get over more!"

More scenery. Isn't this just incredible. God really knew what he was doing!

We didn't expect to find this little cactus up on top of the monument. The boys thought it was pretty cool.

"Me and My Shadow"

This is one of the few times I let the boys more than an arm's distance away. Considering the drop was 2,000 feet off the cliffs, I was basically a nervous wreck.

Lightning had struck the night before, causing this wild fire. I used my zoom lens, so it's actually farther away than it looks.

Another amazing site. Butte-iful! (sorry, couldn't resist :-)

Stay tuned for more! Well, maybe after Sprout's Kindergarten post on Tuesday. Oh, and I found out, his class size is now only 16, they hired another teacher, thank goodness!