Day 6 and 7...Wyoming and South Dakota

Well, this should be a funny post for those of you waiting to hear about bad/funny things. I think there’s a reason people like Colorado…it’s a wonderful state and the people are so friendly. We were bummed leaving the state, I guess we should have listened to our guts and stayed there! Our trip to Custer, SD went well in the RV. The kids did fantastic. The drive was extremely boring, we were impressed at the nothingness. We made it to Custer about 7pm last night and pulled into our campsite, and spent about 2 hours trying to level the dang thing (I’ll try to keep this blog clean…although some of you can imagine my normal verbage during times like these ;) ). It’s hot. We’re sweaty. The kids are strapped into their car seats screaming because we had to keep driving the RV back and forth. At a little after 10pm last night we called it quits and slept a little crooked, and very wobbly (the RV was leaning and we had it jacked up quite high to be somewhat level). This morning the kiddos woke up, which woke us up and we got ready and tried to head out to do some sightseeing. We thought we’d check our Crazy Horse…well we forgot the stroller, the broken stroller (one of the wheels popped off in Colorado), and we could see it kind of from the road, so we said screw it and headed back into town to try to find something else to do. So we ended up coming back to camp and asked to switch locations and luckily we were able to switch and the RV is now perfectly level and much less wobbly. Woohoo! So we then headed into town, in our absolutely fine vehicle (a 2 door grand am that is beyond dirty and musty smelling) and ate some lunch at a nice café. The food was great, so we’re hoping now that things are looking up. We walked around town for a while to check it out. The kids were getting a big crabby so we decided to head back to camp. We got back, got Mason down for nap (which took a while….again), and Brian headed back up to the car rental place to try and get a mini-van. Hopefully. We shall see what we end up with now. We’re hoping to go to Bear Country in the morning and we wanted a vehicle so the kids could actually see the animals (you drive through this road with all these animals). We are planning on going to Mount Rushmore tonight and then a nice dinner..once again…hopefully. We shall see, and I hope to keep blogging…the internet here is pretty sporadic, although our phone service does work, so that’s nice. I better go, this blog is pretty big and covered a good day and a half. I’ll hopefully be blogging again later with some fun pictures of Mount Rushmore or anything else we might try to take on for our adventure!

Day 5 - continued....(if you're catching up, make sure to scroll down)

This afternoon was quite chaotic. Poor Brian ended up getting a bad migraine and ended up getting sick. He's feeling better now (thank goodness). The kids were nuts, Mason wouldn't nap, it poured and poured rain, and it was really loud on our rooftop. Not the best timing with nap time. The BBQ with the Darling's was at 4, and we left here about 5:20ish. Anywho, we made it and it was nice. We talked with family and said our good-bye's (most of the family is leaving tomorrow). After the BBQ, we took Brian's cousin Russ and his wife Melissa to a go-kart place and then to their place they're staying at, then they came up to our place to enjoy a fire (our first fire since we've been here...kind of sad because it's our last night). We saw a deer (finally some bigger wildlife than chipmunks and birds), had a good time at the go-kart place. Brian had hoped Evan would have joined him in the go-kart, but Evan was too afraid. Go figure. Brian had fun anyways racing against Russ and Melissa. Then Brian and I took the kids down a huge slide and they loved it. A lady at the bottom told me Mason smiled the entire time down...and he had a fit when it was done! I think he wanted to go again...but walking up those dang stairs is tough when there's less oxygen. At least for me it was! Then Russ and Melissa came up to our place and hung out for the evening. The kids really enjoyed their company and we had a very nice time out by the fire. Except for when Russ accidentally hit the wrong button on the car keys and the alarm went off...at 10:30pm. It's quiet time at 10, and this place is pretty strict considering it's all young families...we felt terrible, but it was kind of funny. Hopefully the neighbors will think so too....we shall see. ;) Well, we take off for Custer, SD tomorrow morning, so wish us luck. I think it's about a 6 hour drive or so, so it shouldn't be too bad. We're hoping to take our time. I hope to have internet again there so I can continue blogging. We've been pretty lucky here with our great camp spot and internet...so we hope our luck will continue with great camp spots and internet! We've had a wonderful time in Colorado, and I'm sure we'll have a great time in Custer as well. Good night and love ya'all!

Day 5 - Rocky Mountain National Park

Today we ventured into Rocky Mountain National Park and headed to Bear Lake. We were told it was a kid friendly and stroller friendly place to go, and it sure was! It was absolutely gorgeous, but very busy! Evan and Mason enjoyed watching the ducks and chipmunks. The lake has a very nice walk path that goes around the whole thing - I think the total walk was about a mile. It felt good to finally do something *Colorado-ish*. We drove around for a bit and tried to see another location we were told was gorgeous, but we ran out of time with the kids and scheduling stuff - we're headed to a BBQ tonight with the Darling family - at least who's left of the Darling family still here in Colorado! The views here are amazing, we're a little bummed we leave tomorrow morning for Custer, South Dakota; but hopefully that'll be fun too! We hope you're all doing well!

Day 4 - Reception in Colorado

The reception was held at Historic Crag's Lodge in Estes Park and it was beautiful! We had a lot of fun! The food was good, but there wasn't any kid friendly foods which made for an interesting evening. Evan and Mason did not want to sit through dinner and it was really difficult trying to keep them quiet during toast time. Brian had to take Mason out of the room because he just screamed. Oh well. It was great to sit around and talk with some family...when we had a chance! The dance was great, they have a friend in Denver who is a DJ and he did some great mixes with music. Toward the end of the evening Evan finally wanted to dance. Brian and I even got to sneak in a date night - Grandma and Grandpa offered to come and watch our kiddos so we could go out with the cousins after the reception, and we went to a bar called Lonigan's Saloon. It was really fun - thank you Grandma and Grandpa! They hung out in our RV while the kids slept and watched the movie "Bruce Almighty". Check out our pics of the reception below - enjoy!

Day 4 - morning in Colorado/Jellystone :)

We started out the day with breakfast once again in the pavilion - wonderful french toast (tomorrow's pancakes). Then we saw Yogi raise the flag again. After that, we headed into town to buy Brian a belt. We forgot to pack his belt. Woops. We ate at Ed's Cantina, a great little mexican-ish place that was on the River Walk (see pic below), it was a gorgeous view. We came back to camp, gave the kids a shower and put them down for nap (Evan didn't nap, but he rested), and I worked on laundry. The reception was tonight, so it was a bit chaotic getting ready to go to that. It's really difficult to dress up fancy in an RV. So we headed to the reception, and that blog will be later with more pics...it's late and I'm tired. Enjoy the pics! Love you all!

Day 3 - continued...

So to continue with our day 3, Evan and Daddy enjoyed some mini golf this morning. Following mini golf, Daddy, Evan and Mommy enjoyed crafts time in the pavilion (Mason was napping and our RV is right across from the pavilion). It was a lot of fun! Mason woke up, he took about a 4 hour nap, and we headed to Estes Park (finally!!!). It is an awesome town! We had a blast! We ran into family and found some relatives staying at Misty Mountain Lodge, so we hung out for a bit and chatted. Then we walked into town and had a wonderful time. The town is REALLY busy, there’s a rodeo in town – yeehaw!! Once again, the people are super friendly and very smiley. It’s so great. Well, we’ll continue our voyage tomorrow, and tomorrow is the reason we came here – the wedding reception for Jim and Tina Darling (Brian’s cousin and his cousin’s new bride). We’re very excited and having a great time, the kids are really enjoying their time here as well as we are! Although we are exhausted, this mountain air really takes a lot out of us! Good night and we’ll talk soon!

Day 3 - Colorado morning

Hello everyone! I hope you've enjoyed our blogs so far. Well, today the kids didn't give us a break in the morning like yesterday - they woke up about 6am. Daddy went out and took care of them (bless his soul!), and they enjoyed breakfast together about 7am. We just hung out this morning enjoying the Yogi-ness of our campground, and found our first wildlife (see pic below :)). We were able to rent a car, a gorgeous dodge mini-van (hey, it's wheels!) and we plan on going to town this afternoon when Mason wakes up from nap. I think we're going to try and hook up with Brian's family tonight for dinner. We've yet to check out Estes Park and I'm so excited to go into town tonight. I'm sure I'll be posting pics of town later. The people here are absolutely fantastic, they are SOO friendly and helpful! There was a family we met this morning from Illinois that offered to take our picture in front of Yogi - see pic below - and they told us a few places we must go. We're excited for our upcoming adventures! We're already running out of time, I hope we can get it all in! Well, I guess as much as we can with a 3 and 1 year old...they're really being great troopers! Well that should be about enough rambling for now....check out our blog later, I'll try to blog again tonight. Our internet isn't working in our RV, so we have to go to the pavillion...but it's right across the street - so not too difficult. ;)

Day 2 - Estes Park, Colorado

Today went much better! The kids slept in until 8am, we got up and headed out about 10:30am. We arrived in Estes Park, Colorado at about 4:30pm (mountain time). We stopped twice to get gas, and once in Lyon's, Colorado due to construction. I was able to stay up front for the most part, except to run back quick to get snacks or water cups refilled; which was great due to my nauseating experience yesterday (dramamine has been purchased)! The kids did awesome today, I think they're getting used to this rig. We are staying at Yogi's Jellystone campground and it's so adorable. There's activities for families and for the kids. Tomorrow morning (Friday) we'll be joining the campers at the pavillion (right across the road from our campsite) for an all you can eat french toast breakfast! Yogi raises and lowers the flag every day, Yogi and his friends will be visiting the campsite, there's crafts, the ice cream man will be making an appearance, and then there's a movie in the evening! Friday night is "Lion King"! We are all set up and hoping to rent a car for the weekend from Estes Park. We are 5 miles from Estes Park and the road from here to there is not biker friendly. So far so good! I've attached more pictures from today - enjoy!!!

Day 1 - headed to Nebraska

Well, day 1 was a bit chaotic. We left at 9:21am, 21 minutes later than we wanted to - due to the fact we forgot to get Brian's prescription from Target. Anyways, we arrived at Fort Kearney, Nebraska at about 7:15pm. It was a very long and nauseating day. I discovered that I cannot ride in back with the kids because of motion sickness. They stayed in their car seats pretty well and we stopped a few times to stretch and run around. It was a very long day, and it was very hot. Brian and I feel like we're in a boat when we go to bed...the RV does sway...I swear it does! Ok, it doesn't, but I guess we have some crazy problem with motion stuff. Hopefully that will get better! The kids are being pretty good, as good as could be expected for driving in an RV for 10 hours. Well, that's about it for now - check out our pictures!

mmmm....donuts!

Update :)

I am going to be trying to blog again...it's been a while ;)

I'll need some time to regain my thoughts...we've been very busy. We are going on a vacation and I am going to try and blog daily and post pictures. I will do my best and I will email everyone my blog info. Hopefully I can figure it out and it'll work!

Have a great day!

11 Years

For the past 11 years, I have spent my life with my soulmate. 11 years ago today marks the anniversary of us becoming an official couple. I remember those first feelings of being together like they were yesterday. The excitement, the butterflies, the anxiety of living every day with anticipation of what's going to happen next. 11 years later, here we are. Happily married in a wonderful home with 2 beautiful and healthy children.

I was just 15 when we met. He was 16. It's so fun to look back and remember those times. I remember the first time we "met", the first time we held hands, the first time we kissed. I remember when he asked me "out". I remember falling crazy in love. I remember when he would be "on his way" to pick me up, I would sit at my window in my bedroom and watch for his car to turn down our street and pull into our driveway. I remember watching him walk up to our front door and I would greet him, always with a smile and he would shine a smile in return. I remember going on dates, hanging out at my parents house, him leaving at 12:47am every night to make 1am curfew. I remember being in school together, he would always walk me to class and meet me in the halls afterwards. I remember his graduation and how sad I was when he was going to be gone and starting college. I remember my graduation and how excited I was to have more freedom to see him. I remember the night he asked me to marry him. I remember all the times we spent together in his dorm and his apartment at college. I remember his college graduation and how proud I was of him, and how I still am proud of him. I remember our wedding day. I remember when we moved into our house in Cottage Grove. I remember the day we had Evan and the day we had Mason. I remember this morning when there was a ring at my door, and it was 4 dozen roses. He remembers too.

I love him. I love being with him. I love knowing that he's my husband and the father to our children. I love knowing that we can spend each and every day together in the comfort of each other's company. I love knowing that I get to sleep next to him every night. I love the excitement, the butterflies and the anxiety of living every day in anticipation of what's going to happen next. He is my soulmate, my best friend and my husband.

I want to send a special thank you to my cousin for setting us up when I was 15. She's the one responsible for making me the happy person I am today. Thank you!!! :)

Crazy Cat

The weirdest thing happened earlier today. Zoe and Tucker, our cats, were running around playing and spying on each other...you know, they typical pounce and paw at each other attacks cats do. Well, they were in the kitchen, Tucker was under the highchair and Zoe was standing next to the dining room table. All of a sudden, her back arched, in a playful manner, and she slid across the floor. Literally slid, it was almost like someone was dragging her forward. Then she took off and Tucker took off after her. It was very creepy and I have no idea how she accomplished sliding like that. She slid for about a foot. So weird. Maybe she has magical powers...

King of the Throne

We are now 9 days and no accidents with Evan! It has been so wonderful! Go Evan!!!

One thing that cracks us up though, is that he is now obsessed with going poo. Every time he needs to use the bathroom, he states "Evan try to poop too", and he does. Ok, keep in mind that he uses the bathroom about 10 + times a day. Is this normal??? I don't know. But he normally does poo every time. It's amazing how much he can go, I don't really understand the whole concept of pooping approximately 10 times a day. How can that little almost 3 year old body do that? I guess we'll have to change his nickname from Monkey to Sir-Poops-Alot.

Update on weight - I am now down a little over 25 pounds! Woohoo!!! Now I just have to keep losing and keep it off! I'm going to be a part of 2 weddings next year, February and May, so I really need to lose this weight! Actually, I went bridesmaid dress shopping on Saturday and I bought a dress in the size that I need to get too - now if that isn't motivation, I don't know what is! It'll fit, I'm not worried, but I really need to bust butt working out since the dress is a strapless dress. It's absolutely gorgeous and I'm so excited about it! Hmmmm, now I need to get through the holidays! Yikes!

Well that's about it for today, nothing else too overly exciting going on. Oh, except that we're having pork chops for dinner tonight.....mmmmmm....pork chops.....

Brian and I went to O'Malley's Irish Pub in Woodbury last night for a great night of Karaoke! Our good friend Dennis is the KJ there and it is a BLAST!!! We drank, well I just had a diet coke - but still, we sang and had a wonderful time! It was so fun to go out together, we need to do that more! It was really weird to go out on a week night, bless you Mom! Fun times, fun times!

Well, we are now 4 days with no accidents! Evan is doing so great with using the toilet now, it's been so worth the effort! Yay Evan!!!

On my weight loss update - I am down 3 pounds from Monday! Woohoo!!! Tracking my points has been difficult, but I can already tell it's getting easier. Seeing that weight loss on the scale really helped motivate me...I think I really needed that! I bought some new jeans a while ago and I cannot wait to get into them! Hopefully it'll be soon.

Well I should sign out now, I'm tired and have laundry going and mommy stuff to do! I wish I could lay down and take a nap for a while! Maybe I could...watching a couple episodes of Caillou wouldn't be that....would it?!?

I think he gets it!

As we've been struggling with potty and poopy training, I think Evan has finally gotten it. It has been such a long and grueling past couple months, but it's so worth it! NO MORE DIAPERS!!! What a money saver! Woohoo!!! HE GETS IT!!!

With Evan expressing his new adventures of being independent, I am now starting to ween Mason. Not totally by choice, which sucks. Although, I feel bad because I enjoy it and I know Mason does too. But I know I will feel good when I'm done...a little bit more freedom for myself! Now when I go to Applebee's I can get my strawberry perfect margarita with dinner which I'm excited about. I figure when I'm done, I'll have nursed him for about 7 months. We tried rice cerael with him a few nights ago, and he hated it. He gagged and gagged. The poor kid. So we thought we'd add flavor to it by adding vegetables....more gagging. I don't quite think he's ready for the whole food experience yet. He's getting closer and closer to crawling, he gets up on all 4's and rocks away. Other than that, he's carpet swimming and he can roll and scoot himself anywhere he wants to be. He's such a happy kid, except for when Brian and I want to go out on a date and he screams for the babysitter.....poor Chad and Amy, Grandma, Scott - and whoever else he has screamed and cried for. I'm sorry. I really am truly sorry. Maybe that'll change once he's exclusively on bottles. We'll see.

I went to my Weight Watchers weigh-in last night (couldn't go to the meeting because I had Mason in toe) and I gained about 2 pounds. Oops. I am now back on track today on the regular points system, no more nursing mom's program (yikes). So I no longer have my 10 extra daily points. I hope I can do this. I am hungry and I am trying so hard. I CAN do this, I just have to be good for a couple days and then I'll get right back on track with no problems. This starting part is the hardest. Ok, enough rambling. More to come later -I'll try and be better about blogging, I usually always have something to share!

Peace out!

I have no idea why I just typed that. Oh well. I suppose.....

We survived Halloween! Yay!!! Only approximately 10 little candy bars made it to my belly, so that's not too bad...at least I think it's not too bad! Trick-or-treating was a blast! Evan got to go with his 2 cousins, and his little brother slept in the stroller most of the time. It was so much fun to watch him actually understanding it this year - going house to house, ringing the door bell, saying trick-or-treat and getting candy. It brought back so many memories of being a kid! I always remember how much fun it was to go out...and cold! The poor kiddos were so cold, I felt so bad! Evan was so cold he could hardly speak. I didn't realize how cold it actually was until we came in and my hands went numb!

Our haunted house was great this year! Brian estimated that we had approximately 225 kids, well I should say people since adults like our haunted house too! Our haunted house keeps growing every year and getting better and better. It was really great this year with our butcher room, coffin, bridge, chainsaw attacks, the scary clown - thank you Scott -, and also thank you to everyone else who participated in our haunting fun - it was wonderful and the costumes were fantastic! Very scary and very fun! It's such a hectic couple days preparing our haunted house that consumes our driveway and garage, but it's so much fun and I love when everyone comes over and we can go trick-or-treating together - mommy's jobs - and hang out back at the house, eating food and candy and letting the kids play! They had a blast!

Happy November! Wow, what?!? I can't believe it's November. How nuts is that. Well I should sign out, I have cookies to bake for a bake sale at church, kids to take care of, cartoons to watch, books to read, cleaning up our leftover Halloween *stuff*, make an attempt at getting a shower in today, changing diapers, taking Evan to the potty, taking care of our dog - whose I'm sure tummy is upset from treats yesterday, try to avoid our leftover Halloween candy, eat healthy today - back on track, do the dishes, organize the toy chest, make the bed, wash Evan's sheets, do more laundry, clean the kitchen...I guess I have my day taken care of! Have a good day and thanks again to everyone who helped with our haunted house and came over! I really enjoy the company!

My Weight Loss Journey

Ugh. My name is Holly Darling, and I am a STRESS EATER. There, I admitted it. I have struggled so much in the past month to succeed with my weight loss. I was on a great roll with my weight creeping down, and it has maintained for a long time, with the exceptional 2-5 pound give or take. Now I feel I need a major motivation to help me through. I know I can lose this weight, my last 25 pounds. It seems it wants to linger on my ass and my brain is helping it stay attached. I feel good, but I know I can feel better. I need to feel better, I am now craving it. I think I need to find a "mommy" time to exercise - which is almost impossible. I know that sounds like an excuse, but seriously, I don't know where my days go. They begin and end so quickly, I need to sit down at the end of the day and literally say "what the hell just happened?"

Maybe I can blame my weight on potty training (he he). I guess I need to find something to blame it on! It has been a huge stress and I cannot wait until it's over. When you have kids, nobody tells you about the fact that they grow up. Yep, you heard it - they GROW UP! And we as parents, yes the parents, have to do potty training - what?!? Can't we ship them off to potty training camp? There's gotta be something out there....maybe....

Mason is now 6 MONTHS OLD! I am still breastfeeding him, which I love, plus I get to eat more with my wonderful nursing diet! Maybe I'm eating too much??? Nah. I love my weight watchers nursing diet, who could complain about getting 10 extra points a day!?! It's fantastic! The poor kid has his 6 month appointment on Monday morning - more shots :( I hate shots. I know he needs them and blah blah blah, but it totally sucks to look down at their innocent face, happy one moment and then freaking out the next. Ok, that was a tangaent, but I'm stressed about his appointment.

Holy crap, Halloween is creeping up on us and that means Thanksgiving and Evan's birthday are coming too. Then the Christmas holidays!!! Whoa! What happened to this year? As we get older, does each day go by faster and faster? I know I mention this a lot, but I wish I could have a remote control for life and hit pause once in a while.

I'm going to be 26 in a week. I feel I have accomplished a lot and I feel really good about it. I'll be 26, I'm happily married to my adorable husband - 5 years next June, I have 2 healthy and beautiful kiddos, I get to stay home with my sweethearts, I have a nice home, a car of my own - the SUPER FUV, a yard to play in, a tv to watch, a warm bed to crawl into at night...you get the point. Life is wonderful, and right now I feel like I'm taking it for granted. I need to relax and enjoy these moments before my kids are off to college, or having kids of their own - when they're out of college and married of course!

Maybe I need a break from trying so hard to lose weight. Maybe I need to take time for myself and concentrate on losing this weight so I feel better about myself. Maybe there's a reason that I'm struggling so much with this weight loss. What could that be? I don't know. Maybe someday I'll figure it out. Well, I should sign out now, I have stuff to do.

Now....if only I can find this potty training camp....

Potty Training

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr-
ggggggggggggggggggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!

Ok, I feel better now.

My scatterbrain thoughts

My brain is in so many different directions right now. I sat in bed last night and wrote out 3 1/2 pages of mumble jumble just to get it out. I read it and I sound like an insane person! It's so tough to think straight when there's a lot going on, ya know?

My biggest accomplishment today was that I started the "potty training" with Evan. I may say that it went great. We have a good start and I hope it'll continue. I'm so proud of him! However, I cannot believe how quickly he's growing up right before my eyes. Next year, he'll be starting preschool. Where did the time go?

I look at my little Mason, and he'll be 6 months on the 19th of this month. What?!?!? Seriously, it's going by way too fast and I can hardly remember 5 months ago. Everything's going by so fast, I wish I could slow time down. I think it's really taking a toll on me, mentally and physically. These kids are wearing me out! I love them to pieces, but I feel like I'm beyond the end of my rope as far as my mentality and patience goes!

I'm considering going back to school...cosmetology? Massage Therapy? Court Reporting? There's so many options, but those are my top 3. Although, if I go back to school, what do we do with the kids? I can't take them with to classes. The court reporting program is all online and done at home at your own pace, but it takes 2 years approximately. The cosmetology program is also a long program. I haven't heard yet about the massage therapy program, but I'm hoping to find out soon. I feel like I need to do some soul searching. I keep asking myself, what do I want to be when I grow up? I still don't know. I have always known I wanted to be a Mom, but I'm starting to feel as though I need to do something for myself. We started going back to Church which has been great, and starting this past Sunday, our pastor is doing a 6 week sermon about what our dreams are. God put us on this Earth for a reason, and He gave us all a dream. I still need to figure out what my dream may be.

Among these thoughts, continues my weight loss journey. I am down about 25 pounds from when I started back at Weight Watchers 2 weeks after Mason was born. I still have about 20-25 to go. These past few days, I have been stress eating, which is so ridiculous. I know I'm doing wrong, I'm not helping my body or my health in any way by eating the way I have been, but yet I still put food in my mouth and have the nerve to actually swallow it. I need to find my path again for this weight loss. My journey MUST continue! Tomorrow's a new day and I WILL do well. I am determined to feel good again, to have energy, to feel sexy, to feel happy...who wouldn't want that? I'm craving those feelings more than I'm craving a Butterfinger, which is a good sign. Ok, back on track tomorrow! Look out world, here I come! I have no idea why I just typed that, but whatever.

I need to go to bed, have some more random crazy thoughts, maybe write them down, and then go to sleep and do it all over again tomorrow. I'll write again soon, I've been slacking in my blogging department. Ok, bye.