Oh the Beauty of Colorado...

My mom and I were able to sneak away to visit my uncle and aunt up in Chimney Rock, Colorado last weekend for about 5 days and we had such a great time! The first day we got there, they took us on a beautiful 20 mile ATV ride up the mountains. When we got to the top, you could see valley after valley of mountain ranges and it was just gorgeous. We were so dirty from the ride but we didn't care because the scenery was breathtaking and the fresh air felt so nice. The next day we headed through Durango into Silverton, Ouray, Telluride, Rico, Dolores, etc and it was amazing. All of the mountains were snow capped and everything was so green...we took lots of pictures! We brought our lunch and ate at a cute little park in Silverton, then we spent some time in Telluride riding the gondola up to Mountain Village and walked around taking in the beauty. It was such a fun day and very relaxing. I was amazed at all of the handcraft beer Colorado has...every town we visited has there own brewery and new beers to try. That was a lot of fun! The next day, my mom and I went into the Pagosa Springs area in the Weminuche Valley to Williams Creek Lake. We have been going up there since I was a kid with all of our uncles, aunts and cousins and have so many wonderful memories there. So we just relaxed at the lake all day and remembered that it was 115 degrees back home. It was so nice to be there, just wished that the rest of my family could have been there too. The next day, we went to First Fork and fished for a few hours...I did catch one fish :) If Houston had been there with me, I'm sure I could have caught more. The only thing that would have made this trip even better was if he had been with us. I can't wait to show him this part of Colorado...it is just absolutely beautiful. One day, I truly hope that we can retire up there on a ranch with horses.

Dinner at Dillon's on Lake Pleasant

We decided to check out Dillon's on Scorpion Bay at Lake Pleasant for dinner the other night. We got there right at sunset and man was it beautiful out. Not too warm outside and the light reflecting off of the water was just gorgeous. Eating dinner right on the water was a perfect ending to a long busy day. Great food in a great location!

Getaway to Sedona

This past weekend, I planned a trip to take Houston to Sedona. We just really needed to getaway from everything and just relax and enjoy each other's company. We left on Saturday night when I got off of work and headed up to our hotel. Once we got there, we went to the Cowboy Saloon in the downtown area of Sedona and had drinks and appetizers. If you've never had cactus fries with prickly pear dipping sauce there before...you have to go because they are unbelievably good! We had a great night on Saturday and continued the relaxing vacation on Sunday with beer tasting at Oak Creek Brewing Co, wine tasting, walking around town, playing pool, eating amazing food and watching the Suns win! I don't know what it is up there but something comes over you and gives you such a feeling of being at peace when you are there. You kind of put all worries aside and take in the cool fresh air and breathtaking scenery. A true sense of contentment comes over you while in Sedona and I absolutely love that about that place. Even though we have been there so many times, every time I see the red rocks...it feels like it's more beautiful than the last time I saw them. We had a great time together and felt rejuvenated to head back home.

Rough Few Days

This past Monday was our 4 week follow up appointment with the Dr's to hear the baby's heartbeat. We had seen it at the last appointment and all was well. During those four weeks I was feeling great and didn't have any signs that would lead me to believe that everything wasn't ok with the baby. To our surprise, the Dr was having a very hard time trying to find the baby's heartbeat. She brought us into another room and tried two other different kinds of ultrasounds. We were then given the news that the baby's heart had stopped beating about 5 days after our last appointment. We thought that we were in the clear because in a few days I would have been 13 weeks along. As you could all imagine we were devastated and it was an emotional day on Tuesday and Wednesday for us but all in all we are doing ok.

I am glad that today is over and my procedure is done, now I feel like we can really get on with things. Our Dr suggested waiting a couple more months before beginning to start trying again. So we are going to definitely plan some sort of trip to get away this summer and just enjoy time with each other. We know that God has a plan for a family for us and that everything happens for a reason. After going through this experience you become so aware of how common this is and how many people we know that have gone through similar situations. We are just extremely grateful that we were even able to get pregnant and without any help; we are hoping and praying that it happens again for us in the near future.

During this difficult time, you truly find out the people who love and care for you. Without family and friends, it would have been much, much harder to get through. It has been amazing the love and support we have received. There is absolutely no doubt that Houston and I both have AMAZING families! That would include all parents, grandparents, godparents, siblings, aunts, uncles and cousins. We are so blessed to have such incredible friends as well...how lucky are we??? Not too many people get both sides of that.

Another very important thing I have been reminded of is how amazing my husband is...there is nothing better than to be loved and adored by the one you love and adore. Time and time again, I'm just reminded of the many reasons why I married him. You could never find a more honest, giving, caring, strong, brilliant, talented man. I am so lucky to be the one that he loves.

Thank you to all of you for the kind words and inspiration. We are going to be just fine and hopefully move on to have many happy and healthy children :)

Godfather Themed Party

We recently went to a 50th birthday party for a good friend of Houston's from the fire department. They did such a great job decorating for this and everyone really got into the spirit by dressing up in mobster and flapper costumes. We had a great time with our friends and missed the ones who weren't able to show up. Happy 50th birthday Gary! Kim, you did a great job planning! I believe the night was a huge success!

Anniversary in DC

Last week, Houston and I made a trip out to Manasas, VA to visit his mom, her husband and his sister. It was a very relaxing vacation and we did a lot of eating! Houston's mother is a great cook and she definitely made sure that we were fed well. We got to go into DC one day to see tons of monuments and museums. The whole area was really beautiful and seeing all of it in person makes you appreciate our military and our country even more. It truly was a humbling experience seeing the names of the thousands of men who sacrificed their lives in war for our freedom. We were very lucky to walk up on a memorial service for all of the 250 living veterans from the Pacific WWII that the HBO mini series is based off. Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks gave speeches at the memorial and it really was moving to watch the veterans be seated. Most were in wheelchairs but some walked themselves. We all wished that we could have walked down there to shack every single one of their hands and thank them for what they did for our country. It was an honor to be present for that special ceremony. I posted a few pics from the trip but mostly from the day we went into DC. From what we heard, we just barely missed Cherry Blossom season. I'm sure it would look amazing during that time of year! Going to the Manasas battlefields was an educational experience too. Creepy almost because everything looks exactly the same as it did in the Civil War. Thank you to Bryan and Sherlyn for being such wonderful hostess'. Your home is absolutely amazing! You guys have done an incredible job with everything. Hopefully next time I am there I can actually drink some wine in the "wine room" and not chocolate milk :) It was great to see you three and to hang out and catch up. I hope it's not too long before we see you guys out in AZ. I know of a really good reason to come out in October...

Zac Brown Band Concert

A few nights ago, Houston and I went to the Zac Brown Band concert. We had a really great time and they were so good live! If you haven't heard of them before, you really should start listening to them, his story is pretty interesting too. Mike and Jen...we had a great time with you guys! As usual :)