Road Trip!

So I was planning to blog our journey as we went down the road...well it was much harder to travel with a baby than I thought. I had no time at all really to hardly think. So I now we are on the road home she is asleep and I thought I would blog our journey. Oh pictures will be up as soon as we get home!

Packing for this trip what a lot harder than any other trip we had been on because we were traveling in my parents motorhome for almost 2 weeks, and with the little one I had no idea what to bring. So basically I brought everything I think I may need and maybe a little bit more.

DAY 1 - Our journey started Wednesday night, we packed everything up and we headed to Trinidad. It was sad because this was also the day that I had to say goodbye to my good friend Tamara, she was moving back home. Also Josh had gotten home for his trip the day before and I barely got to see him. He was going to fly down on Thursday to Tampa to hang with his friend Ryan, then we was going to meet up with us when we finally made it there.

DAY 2 - We woke up early Thursday morning, our first stop was the Big Texan in Amarillo. It was the hoe of the 72oz steak ( pictures will come of this). If one manages to eat all of this including a 2 shrimp, baked potato, a house salad and a dinner roll, you get the meal for free. It was so large it was disgusting, however there are crazy people out there who like to try. After we left the Big Texan in Amarillo,TX we made our way down the road. We went through Dallas which was always interesting, mainly because their roads are crazy and it hard to get through in our big motorhome. Once we made it through Dallas we stopped in a place outside of Dallas to eat. It was in Canton, Texas and it was called the Dairy Palace and it was supposed to have "world famous" hamburgers and well to be honest it was full of rude people and the food was just ok. Lets just say we wouldn't go back. We finally made it to Shreveport,LA where we ended for the night.

DAY 3 - We again woke up early and were headed for Pensacola, Fl. One our way we went through Jackson, Mississippi, we stopped at a Krystals to eat. Krystals is like a White Castle, they have those mini hamburgers. They are good, however they serve grits there, and so I gave a little try to Ava and sure enough she loved them. Of course she would like something you only really find in the South. I don't even think they carry them at the stores in CO. We then headed to Biloxi where we took a tour of Jefferson Davis' house. It was very pretty and fun to see. We then moved right on down to Pensacola where we stayed the night.

DAY 4 - We woke up and headed for Homosassa Springs, Fl. It wasn't that far from Pensacola so we just took our time on getting there. We stopped and enjoyed the Gulf and just hung out. However, we didn't get in the Gulf because Josh wanted to be there for Ava's first time. We stayed at a campground right on the water and it was really nice we were able to enjoy a nice sunset on the beach.

DAY 5 - We woke up and went to the wildlife reserve in Homosassa Springs, Fl. It was nice it was more like a zoo type place that was for injured animals. It was good to see that they were taken care of. I almost hit a snake with the stroller and I screamed so loud that park rangers came running because they thought something major had happened obviously these guys run the place because no one else seemed bothered. They just let it be, I think they should of moved it because it was right in the middle of the path and it took me a while to get around it. I just hate snakes. After we left Homosassa we went to Orlando to check in at Fort Wilderness in Disney where we were staying. It was exciting to finally make it to Orlando because we got to finally meet up with Josh! Josh rented a car in Tampa and came to Orlando to pick Ava and I up. We were then headed to Vero Beach to stay with his Grandparents for the night. It was a nice drive down to Vero Beach and we arrived at dinner time. His grandparents ordered us some delicious Chinese food and we were able to just hang out and they got to enjoy some time with Ava. It was their first time seeing her and they were excited! It was nice to just finally hang out and relax.

Day 6 - Ava woke up early and woke everyone up as well. She is so funny in the mornings because she loves to just talk. It is so much fun to wake up with her and listen to all she has to say. However this is just at like 6:30 - 7:00 in the morning. Since everyone was up we decided to go ahead and make breakfast. Carmine made some yummy coffee and then went to Dunkin Donuts for some bagels and donuts! He also made eggs and bacon. We were sure spoiled while we were there! It was some good food too! After breakfast we all just hung out and were lazy Josh and Ava feel asleep on the couch, and his Grandma and I went to look at the jewelry she makes. It was fun looking at all of her creations. I was even lucky enough to get a couple of her pieces. Which, I might add that one of the neckless' has shells on it that were shaped like Mickey Mouse and when we got to Disney World everyone kept asking me where I got it. I told them it was a one of a kind! After we ate lunch his Grandma and I headed to Carters Outlet to get some good deals for Ava. We sure got a lot of cute stuff for cheap! You have to love good deals when you find them! We got back and we decided to take Ava to the beach we wanted to put her toes in for the first time. Lets just say she was not a fan, I think it was the loud noise from the waves that scared her. After we got back they again made more delicious food. This time it was sausage from New York! Let me tell you, you cannot find this anywhere but New York and it was so good. After we were stuffed we had to say goodbye and we headed back to Orlando. We got back tat evening and Josh and I took Ava to Downtown Disney just to hang out and walk around the shops. We didn't stay out late because we were going to get up early to head to Disney!

Day 7 - We woke up early got ready and headed to Magic Kingdom! We were super excited to take Ava there for her first time. Even though she wont remember we will! We spent half the day here riding rides and just hanging out. We then headed over to Epcot to enjoy some food from around the world. We would all share one dish so we got to try a variety of things. We ended in England where we went to a pub, and in the pub was a pianist and she was hilarious and Ava loved her! We went back early because all of our feet hurt and we were tired.

Day 8 - We started our day at Animal Kingdom, it was a fun place. We did some rides and went on a Safari. Ava liked looking at all the animals. Her face was priceless half the time. She really just stared in awe. After we saw all there was to see at Animal Kingdom we headed to Epcot to eat at this restaurant the Land. It was good food but boy was it expensive! I honestly don't know how large families survive Disney. After the show we went and got a spot to watch the show they have at night. It is a fireworks show and they light up all the different countries. It was really neat!

Day 9 - Since, the crowds are so bad and we didn't want to stand in line for an hour to get our picture with Mickey we decided to wake up and be at the park at 8:00 to beat everyone there. Well, we got there at 8:00 and rushed to Mickeys House. Well, hat part of Magic Kingdom doesn't open until 10:00 so we went had breakfast and took some pictures of the Castle. At like 9:30 we headed back over to Toontown where Mickey's house was, because we headed they will open it early, and like everything else in Disney there was a crowd of people waiting to get it. They opened it soon after we arrived and we went straight to Mickey, we were only like 5 people back so the line wasn't long at all. We were lucky enough to have Minnie in the room with Mickey! She usually isn't in there but she was! Ava had really not a clue of who they were. It was really funny she just looked at them like what it that. It was really cute. We then headed to Hollywood Studios to meet up with my parents and do some of the rides with them. Then they went to Epcot and we went to the Boardwalk to hang out and relax. After we ate we met up with them to do a ride in Epcot, however when we got there it was having issues. So Josh and I decided that it was best to take Ava back since she had had a long day. We went back and crashed.

Day 10 - We left Disney and headed for Panama City to go to the beach for a little bit. However, we made it there that night so we decided to just stay the night here and wake up early and go to the beach for an hour or 2 before heading back. Ava was so tired from the 3 days at Disney that she slept the entire day only waking up to eat. I felt so bad for the little bug, we decided next time we need to take more breaks.

Day 11 - We woke up and went to the beach. Ava actually liked the beach this time, she played in the sand which was later EVERYWHERE! We were even able to take her into the water. We had to get past where the waves were breaking. She kicked and had a lot of fun in the water. She kept licking us, she liked the salty taste it was super cute. After we were done at the beach we started to get back on the road to head home. We stopped for lunch at Crabs in Pensacola and it was a fun place right on the beach, and it was really good too! After we ate we had to make up some time driving. We made it to Alexandria that night.

Day 12 - Well, this is the current day we are on as I a blogging. We are almost to Amarillo where we will spend the rest of the night just hanging out. We will continue on tomorrow getting home in the afternoon. I am so ready to be home, it was a fun adventure but it was sure long!

As soon as we are home and settled in I will post pictures of our crazy road trip to Disney!

Our Week Alone!

Josh left this past Tuesday and boy oh boy do we miss him! It is crazy to think how single parents take care of their children. I have had Ava for almost a week by myself with some help from both the grandparents, but still at that it is very hard. We have stayed extra busy and are very excited for Josh to get home! My sister came home from college and she was able to help watch Ava while I was at work! It was so ice having her around to help me! Then on Friday Gammie Tami ( Josh's Step Mom) took Ava while I was in Law Day all day. That night my parents took her so that I could have some free time and get to sleep in! Saturday we were able to go visit Mindi in Fort Collins and it was so much fun! Ava is going to be a pro shopper by the time she is ready to shop! I got some good deals too! We went to American Eagle and we got shirt for 3.95! I was in shock, I got one of every color ( there were only 3 colors) they are perfect too! After we got done shopping we went to PF Changs and ate some yummy food. They have these dessert shots there and boy oh boy are they good! They are the perfect size too after a good meal and they are only 2 dollars. I got the strawberry cheesecake one and it was pretty delicious! Sunday we woke up and did some cleaning of the house before dad gets home Tuesday! I wanted to make sure everything was perfect so when he comes home we can up pack him and wash all his clothes right away and he can relax! After we were done we planted a few plants ( raspberries and garlic) and tomatoes in my Topsy Turvy which I am really excited about! I just hope it works, I also have one for strawberries!! After we were all done we went to Josh's parents for Sunday night dinner! It was delicious we has smoked pork chops and chicken! Now it is time to get ready for the week ahead! We are leaving Wednesday for 2 weeks in Florida and I can't wait to take a break and get out of here! I will be blogging hopefully each day of our adventure in the motorhome! Josh and I can't wait to take Ava to the beach for her first time and Disney World! Which ought to be interesting because she is starting to recognize people and she will cry when she doesn't know someone! Nonetheless we are really excited for our much needed vacation away!

Also I wanted to Spotlight Josh!
Even though I don't tell him enough he is a great supporter and father! I never I guess realized how much he did for me until he was gone and I was sad that I never noticed that! But he is great and I can't wait for him to get home so I can thank him for everything he has done for Ava and I! We are proud of him!

Mothers Day!

I love this day! For it remind me just how much my mother means to me! She has been my rock in life and the one I depend on! My mother is a true blessing in my life and I know I wouldn't half the woman I am without her! I hope that I can be that for Ava as she grows! Also today was my first mothers day! It was a great day! Ava got me some delicious perfume and then Josh took me to PF Changs for some yummy lunch! It was just a lucky day! We got an extra lettuce wraps for free and an extra entree! They totally messed up our order for our benefit! It was nice because we were able to snack on it all day! We also got the great wall of chocolate cake! It was so delicious I wish I would have remembered that while I was pregnant! Then for dinner I made Steak, homemade Alfredo, shrimp and salad! I def need to go to the gym after today! But it was such a great day! It makes all the rough times that raising a child brings worth while especially when Ava looks at you and just smiles because she loves you!

Speaking of Ava! We tried sweet potatoes and oatmeal...the video is priceless of her first thoughts! Lets just say she thinks we are super weird for feeding this to her! She is such a little bugger I love it!!

It was such a nice day outside today too!! We were able to get some fun pics of Ava in our nice looking green grass!! Josh is obsessed with his grass! He likes to think of it as Augusta golf course!
Daddy and Ava

Such a big girl!!

Mommy and Ava

Our Family!

Big Smile!!

Just another 5K!

So my mom and I have been doing 5k's around the Springs! We are both trying to get back into shape and I thought it would be a great way for me to loose that baby fat! We are apart of a short serious I think it has 4 5k's and a 10k. I am getting nervous for the 10k in July mainly because I have a bad problem with procrastinating! It seems way easier to think I am going to run everyday than actually doing it! Here are some photos of us at the 5k's!

St. Patty's Day Race


Race for Rachel...I didn't get a pic of my mom and I! But josh and my dad took Ava in the stroller and my mom and I ran it! We all had a lot of fun at this race! It was at the Air Force Academy!


Getting ready to start the second race in the short season...Take 5 in the Garden! It doesn't look cold but it was freezing! The first mile was up hill!


The racers in front of us starting the race up the hill!


It has been a lot of fun doing these with my mom!!

Where has time gone?

It has been a month since I last blogged..life was just super busy!! This is going to be a book because there is a lot that has happened since then!

First, Josh and I were able to go out on a date night to his military banquet. It was nice to have a break from our day to day life! He even got us a hotel room so that we could just enjoy some time together. I only took a couple pictures of the event but none of them were quite worth posting. So you can imagine me in a black dress and him in his dress blues!!

On to more important things! I have decided to take a picture of Ava every month with a teddy bear to see just how much she is growing from month to month. So the next 4 pictures are of her month one to four! I can't believe how big she is getting!! She was born 20 in and 7.5 lbs...her four month stats are in and she is 27 in and 14.5lbs!! She is a growing girl, it goes so fast but I am loving every moment of it!

One Month


Two Months


Three Months


Four Months


Ava's first Easter was so much fun, we got to dress her up for church and then show her off to all of our friends at church. It was like in the movie Dennis the Menace when he looks at all the old ladies and screams "cheek pinchers"...well this is how Ava looked at all the people coming up to say hi to her. She is getting better and better in church. Josh's grandpa came into town to see Ava and hang out with the family for Easter. It was nice and relaxing to spend some time with him and just relax for the weekend.

Family Picture on Easter


Ava was not amused...but the rest of us were



After Easter we had some quite time to ourselves, and then we left for South Dakota. I was a bit nervous for this trip because we were flying and you never know what can happen. We were going there to surprise Josh grandpa for this 75th birthday! OUr flight was delayed 2 hours and it was causing a huge time crunch because we were flying to Minnesota then driving to Watertown, however with his Uncle Kelly's great driving skills we were able to make it there with 30 mins to spare. While we were there his cousin Sammy was able to get Ava to laugh and I have added a video of it. It is pretty darn cute in my opinion, I have never seen her laugh like this before.





Here are some more pictures of our time in South Dakota
She loves plastic kitchen tools


Chillin at Grandpas house


Sitting up like a big girl


Tuckered out!



Well here is a recap of our life the past month. I have some more pictures and videos I want to add of Ava, but this is already like a book so I will try and add them sometime this week.