Arrival to the Springs!

We left Memphis and headed west, travelling with Mom (who arrived in Memphis driving our 2nd car, and then journeyed with us the rest of the way) through Arkansas and Oklahoma and Kansas on Day 1. A brief overnight in Wichita (at a pool with a hotel of course), then on through Kansas and into eastern Colorado. Gradually our elevation rose as we crossed the plains, until we saw the Rockies in the distance; suddenly the miles went by quickly and the mountains loomed up in front of us, and then we arrived in our new town - at 6,000 ft!! Anyone thirsty and light-headed and squinting in the bright sun? Yep, this will take some getting used to. But, wow, it's amazing to walk out in the morning and greet the mountains! "There's Pike's Peak!" Gemma likes to announce whenever we see it.

The road trip went very well, and the kids ended up doing great, sleeping and singing and eating and playing without too much protesting, though there were definitely rough moments. It helped to stop at rest areas and stretch our legs and eat a picnic lunch; and it helped that Gemma had a little LeapFrog 'my first laptop', as well as other little wrapped presents to open throughout the day (a tradition taken from the Gieser side). She spent countless hours playing the Leapfrog games and music. Winner! Timo was his generally amiable self, dozing and snacking and playing. (He did have some major throw-up during our overnight in Wichita due to too many goldfish crackers, but he slept well and was fine afterwards. He hasn't eaten them since.)

We arrived in Colorado Springs on Wed 31st July, quite fried and frazzled and very relieved - and extremely happy to be staying the first five nights with our friends Don and Cyd Storrs (friends from BFA days). Unfortunately life was busy and we didn't take any pictures while at their house! But we were so grateful to start off our time in this town by being with friends. Their house is just a couple of miles from our new (rental) house, so initially we were able to unload the moving truck and get beds set up before we started to sleep at our place. That was a huge help, with the little kids to consider. Plus, Gemma and Timo were in love with Scampi, the Storrs' dog.

The day after we arrived, we drove over to the house to walk through and get acclimated and consider how we would set things up once we unloaded the moving truck. Admittedly, we didn't bring that much furniture - but we ended up having a lot of success at yard sales and on craigslist the first days in town, so all of that furniture was brought over to the house before we officially moved in, too.

Welcome! Here's the place! ...a little yard in front, with a tree and a tiny front porch. And a double garage! Awesome, and extremely important with the crazy weather around here. We've already been through two hailstorms and see why it is critical to have your car in the garage during storms. Not to mention - this is the first single-family house we have lived in (in 12 years of marriage), and the first time we have had a garage - wow!

A view of the back patio, and the side rocky area. We are adjusting to the popular use of rocks for landscaping (instead of grass) around here. Some people have their entire yards (front and back) landscaped with rocks. Hmm. Less to water, which is key in this arid place. In fact the kids enjoy the rocks. Gemma immediately chose one area that she calls her "rock bed", and Timo has taken to grabbing two rocks and banging them together. And sucking on them to see how they taste.

We have since gotten a patio table, 4 chairs, and an umbrella. It is SO, so wonderful to have a backyard!!!! With a shady place to play and eat meals!!! As as stay-at-home mom, the backyard has been a huge bonus already. Things getting crazy in the afternoon? Time to prepare supper? No problem. Kids, go play outside! 

More pictures of the backyard coming soon.
 

here's Timo crawling around the living room (and into the door that leads to the master bedroom)

First order of business: weeding! Lots of that to do in our yard, since we are responsible for it as the renters. We've also had to get a lawnmower. (Fortunately we got a decent push-mower for $10 at a yard sale.)
 

On our first Sunday, we took a Sabbath from unpacking and shopping and generally feeling stressed out, and went over to Garden of the Gods for a stroll and picnic lunch. Beautiful! (And thus began Gemma's fascination with rattlesnacks, when she saw a caution sign about them. The first book she wanted to get at the library - once we got our new cards - was one on rattlesnakes; and her new favorite game is pretending to be a rattlesnake, crawling around the living room and taking bites out of people and furniture. That is, when she can squeeze in this game between all her ballet dancing!)

Unpacking and setting up house, continued... It was amazing to stay at the Storrs' house until we were a bit more settled, and it was truly amazing beyond amazing that Mom/Jaja was with us to help!! (Thanks, Dad, for letting her stay so long!)
 

Our first meal, on the eve of our first night sleeping at the house

Hmm, now where did I put the peeler?

Happy Timo, happy to bang and play with whatever he can find.

"Jaja, first I'm going to comb your hair."

On route to Colorado: stopover in Memphis!

Hurray, we are on our way, and Memphis is ON the way!

On July 26th we headed out from Durham with a packed car and lots of road trip supplies, and after a long day we made it to the Brinks' house in Memphis. What a great way to celebrate along the way with this big move!

One morning we visited the Memphis Botanic Garden, which has an amazing 'family garden' called "My Big Backyard", with tons of interesting spaces to play and explore. I think we could have happily camped out there for a week - it helped that the weather was so pleasant and not too hot during our entire visit.

Gemma loves hula hoops

That evening Noah grilled up some delicious bruschetta pizza. (Thanks to Katie for the bruschetta and pizza dough! They're a good team.)
 

Elsie and Gemma enjoying a treat of chocolate pudding. I think they actually look like cousins in this picture!!

Meanwhile the boys helped with dishes.

Another morning - another chance to play! This time at the Shelby Farms "Woodland Discovery playground". I think this ranks as one of the coolest playgrounds ever. And off go Elsie and Gemma!
 

the girls riding in a nest swing

Since we had just seen the Brinks up in Wheaton last month, it was really neat to see how the cousins enjoyed being together again, and particularly how well Elsie and Gemma are learning to play together. (Not without screaming moments, of course...) The winning shared activity was Legos!! Isn't there scientific research on Legos and brain development in children? Oh yes. I'm so glad Gemma has reached this age!
 

David looking particularly happy after half-tackling his sister

Meanwhile, Timo hung out at the musical table.

Oh hey, we even managed to get a photo of all 8 of us! With all adults smiling and no kids crying!
 

The attempt to get a photo of the kids sitting on the 'photo op' couch. (yes, both Gemma and Elsie had just undressed, so Katie drapped a little towel on their laps. Yes, the parents were wildly clapping and singing to get these smiles. And yes, Jim took about 20 photos.)

Thank you, thank you, Brink family, for a great time together!!

Good-bye to Durham

A little bit more looking back - 

It's the last week of July: the moving truck is packed; lots of stuff has been sold on craigslist as we continue to downsize; we've moved out of the basement apartment and are staying our final days with Dad & Mom Hawkins...time for one final date (coffee and a croissant in downtown Durham - just the two of us) before we depart. 

Naturally, we had to go rub the Bull's nose and take a picture in front of 'Major', an iconic piece of the "Bull City", the name for Durham originally taken from Bull Durham Tobacco company.

Below, selecting a few delicious items from Loaf, one of my favorite newer bakeries downtown. They have a huge brick oven in the bakery that you can observe. And the most amazing gougère (peppery cheese puffs) - and they even sell Nanaimo bars!! Of course we got one of each of those, plus some yummy flatbreads to share with everyone else back at 1406. Fun fact: did you know we had homemade (by Mom) Nanaimo bars at our wedding reception in 2001?

 

Another catch-up - water fun!!

 Warning: lots of bare skin in this post!

Durham finally got some hot, humid days towards the end of July, so the cousins did enjoy some water fun together (while moms sipped iced tea on the sidelines). One afternoon, Rachel let Asher and Gemma use the water hose to cool down. It was hilarious!

Asher had the hose - and very good aim! Much to Gemma's delight.

On another humid morning, we took a trip to the Museum of Life & Science "one last time" to see our favorite exhibits and say good-bye before the move. We already miss this museum A LOT. Gemma asks almost daily, "And are we going to find a new museum in Colorado?"

One of the most amazing & creative exhibits is the outdoor exhibit on mist. There are small sprinklers that come up out of the ground and spray a fine mist, and kids can run through them freely. It's like a child's dream come true!

We didn't capture it very well on camera (it was crowded inside), but Gemma of course wanted to see the astronauts and lunar exhibits one more time. It was because of this exhibit that she has become fascinated by astronauts and the moon and planets. Here she is with Jim in front of the lunar module (an authentic lunar lander prototype used in Apollo 15 preparations - so cool!).

Another favorite place in Durham is Duke Gardens, so we took a farewell trip one morning along with a picnic. (See, isn't it great, all the family stuff we can do when Jim isn't working?! What a terrific way to close out our months of "what is next???"). The Gardens are extensive and we could happily spend years there, learning all the plants and seeing them change throughout the seasons. Being summer, there were plenty of beautiful flowers blooming (but, being summer, it was hard to photograph them in the bright sun) on this visit.

Jim & Gemma crossing over a little creek

One more photo - and it's Timo, who has learned how to pull up in the crib! And anything else he can grab! (I think it is quite apt that the "Ethiopia, 13 months of Sunshine" poster is behind Timo, as we prepare shortly to move to "Colorful Colorado, 300 days of Sunshine a Year".)