Mountain Living

Hubby and I love living in the mountains... the good, the bad, the ugly... the beautiful, the inconvenient, the isolated, and the excitement.

Our main line to all civilization out here is Interstate 70.  It is a main interstate... but its also like our Main Steet connecting towns.  We cannot get to church, the doctor, friends' houses, or different work obligations without traveling on or along I-70.

If we want to travel any great distance to a big city, I-70 is our most direct route.

 

But, mountain living has its adventures, and I-70 has been closed through Glenwood Canyon for nearly a week due, first to large boulders crashing onto the interstate... and then due to a rock slide caused by said boulders.

Its a little fun to sort of closed off from the world... for the time being -- to know that if we needed to go to Denver, or Eagle, we would have to drive a four hour detour.  But, we're also very fortunate that we live in a day an age of planes and trains in that our grocery stores are not running out of food and our mail can still be delivered.  Once upon a time, when a rockslide closed the canyon, all resources and lines of communication stopped until the canyon could be open again.

Praise God that no one was hurt in the rock slides, and prayers for safety for the road crews working to restore the interstate to working order as soon as possible. 

Daily photos:

When your twins take over your side of the bed...

... but they look so adorable!

 

Special Cousins

Last week, my cousin and her husband, Elizabeth and Tommy came to visit and meet our twins.  The last time I saw Elizabeth was about six weeks after Tracey Ann was born and it was wonderful to see them again.

Elizabeth is the closet thing I have to a sibling with whom I grew up... and we have certainly gone our separate ways in life -- she and Tommy own an equestrian business in New York and Florida with no children yet, and Hubby and I are in education in Colorado with three children.

We know where each other came from.  We know the family dynamics in which we each were raised.  We remember each other through childhood, adolescence, college, and beyond.  In a nutshell, we go way back.

It means so much to us that they came all the way out to Rifle to meet our two new babies... and that they were the first of any extended family besides our parents to make the trip.  It was great to see them.

 With twins it really is hard to take pictures when company is or is not here... so most of the pictures from when they were here are pictures Elizabeth took...

They came with presents from themselves and from Elizabeth's parents for all the kids including the headband Tracey Ann was wearing and the white bears (the red dress was a present from Aunt Elizabeth and Uncle Tommy from Christmas).

 

 

 Here were the pictures when she came to meet Tracey Ann:

Daily picture:

Happiness while enjoying a pink Valentine's Day cupcake

 

Mastitis...

I have been taken out of commission for the past few days... completely out of commission by an evil illness called Mastitis.

 

I. have. been. miserable.

Also, I've been thinking about this blog and wanting to maintain posting but also realizing my new responsibilities... and truthfully, I am realizing how little of the last six weeks I remember.

So, when I am not able to do a thoughtful post (aka probably the majority of the time), I will post a daily photo.  I will try to take a daily photo, and then post a daily photo.  This will, hopefully help me remember what I'm doing these days and what life is like during this time of transition.

Daily photo:

Oh, and Happy Valentine's Day.  

Apparently today is Valentine's Day.