Ramblings of a First Grade Teacher.....

I have started another blog that chronicles the life of a first grade teacher. Most of it will be teacher stuff but some will also be things I deal with in my life. (yes I do have one!) :)

I will leave this blog mostly for Stephen to update.

milestone!

I walked yesterday with the help of a cane. I felt so independent! It was so much less cumbersome than the walker that I have been using. I have to say that I am still getting some funny looks, but oh well. I am so over it! I also walked up the stairs last night for the first time since July 2nd!! wooohoo! One step closer to "normal"!!!! :)

catching up.....

Alot has happened since June 30th, my last post! On July 2nd, I had foot surgery. The doctor detached my achilles, took off 2 heel spurs, lengthened my achilles, and then reattached it. Here it is September and I am still not walking. I am finally on my way to walking again thank goodness. It has been a long process and one that is truly teaching me patience!! I am on a medical leave of absence from teaching until the end of the month. Our lives have not been the same since that July 2nd morning. I hope "normal" returns to our lives very soon!!! :)

our trip

this is the 2nd time i am attempting this....the first time something happened and i lost all that i had typed....

Sunday, June 13th: Seattle! Ate at Fox Sports Grill and then rode a ferry

Monday, June 14th: Our anniversary! busy day! 1. fun tour of Seattle 2. Pike Place Market and lunch at Athenos 3. Space Needle 4. dinner at Cheesecake Factory (for free! lights went out and they didn't make us pay)

Tuesday, June 15th: Cruise Day!

Wednesday, June 16th: Fun day at sea

Thursday, June 17th: Tracy Arm Fjord (very beautiful!!)

Friday, June 18th: LAND!! Skagway, Alaska; rode train (White Pass); Liarsville, Salmon Bake, Red Onion Saloon (formerly a brothel!)

Saturday, June 19th: Juneau, Alaska: Whale Watching! saw orcas, humpbacks, porpoises, sea lions

Sunday, June 20th: Ketchikan, Alaska: Lumberjack show, shopping; the ship left 4 people in Ketchikan!!

Monday, June 21st: Victoria, B.C. took a double decker bus tour of city

Tuesday, June 22nd: Disembark at 8:30, hand out in airport all day and leave Sea-Tac at 5:40! Get home around 1 am

This trip was a BLAST!! Everyone needs to go to Alaska!!!

Colorado, Day 4

Stephen drug me all over the place today!! :) But, I am feeling so much better so it was a fun day!! First, we went to IHOP to eat breakfast. Then, we headed to the Olympic Training Center. It was really cool there. We got to see some training going on. I just wish we could have seen a little more, but it was still awesome.

Then, we ate lunch at a restaurant that was an old airplane. We actually got to eat inside the plane. pretty cool!!!

Then, we headed to Garden of the Gods. It is truly beautiful there. We got some pretty neat photos there.

Then we headed to the Air Force Academy. The chapel there is beautiful.

At this point, i was pretty tired so we rested a while. Then, we went to eat at Old Chicago Pizza. I have to say that I am stuffed already on this trip. When I get home, I don't want to see a restaurant for a while!! :)

To end the evening, we went BOWLING!!!! :) Stephen beat me pretty bad, I won't say just how bad it was! :)

Tomorrow we are going to Denver and Boulder.

I am missing my sippi!!!

Colorado, Day 3

We woke up at 6 am. We got ready and then headed out to Pikes Peak Cog Railway Depot. We made a pit stop at McDonalds to eat a quick breakfast. (I ate hot cakes for the first time in my life!! Not too bad...) On the way, we saw a fox. It was in a populated area, very weird. Stephen said, "Look at that dog!" I said, "That's not a dog, that is a FOX!!" :) We arrived there way early but I was glad. The road going up to the depot was a little treacherous, but we made it ok because I rented an all wheel drive! When we got our tickets, the lady told us that we had the best seats in the house, front row!! We could see everything. The only disappointing thing was that we wouldn't be able to go all the way to the summit. So, instead of 14,000 feet of altitude, we only did 12,000. (blessing in disguise, you'll see why soon!) We did the gift shop thing, bought that shirt, then the time came to board the train. I was excited and nervous all at the same time!! We started the trip. It was absolutely beautiful!! I never really got scared until we got about 12,000 feet, I looked over my shoulder behind me, and realized you could see a very long way, and it was way down there!! However, at about 9,000 feet, I started feeling the effects of altitude sickness. I got a very bad headache, dizzy, nauseated, the whole 9 yards.......I was very ready to get back to the car....

So, when we finally get back to the car, we go to the downtown Manitou Springs area. It is a very cute, quaint little town. I had really been looking forward to doing some shopping. We went in a few shops. Then we ate at a dive called "The Keg"..Stephen and I were the only 2 not drinking, pretty funny! :) The food was overpriced but you would expect that. I had a cheese quesadilla and it was $10. Stephen ate a buffalo burger and it was cheaper than the quesadilla. LOL!

At this point, I told Stephen I had taken all I could take. We went back to Col. Springs to the hotel and I took a 3 hour nap. I guess I needed it. I have been drinking so much water and I am feeling better now.

We ate dinner at Famous Daves. I love that place. We haven't had it since Florence.

So, that's about it for today! Tomorrow we are going to the Garden of the Gods, Air Force Academy, US Olympic Center. I have spotted some very cool Vancouver merchandise and I am "itching" to get my hands on it!! :) I told Stephen I had to go there first, before everything's gone. Yeah, like a day will make a difference, huh? Sooooooooo.....check back tomorrow. I am only getting on the internet once in the evening b/c I am cheap and didn't want to pay $10 a day for internet in the room. :)

We're having a blast!! This was a much needed vacation for both of us!

Spring Break 2010!! Colorado!!

We arrived in Colorado Springs at 4:00 mountain time. The time change actually worked to our advantage because we haven't "felt" the time change yet. We won't until we go back home. Anyway, we went to the hotel, checked in, and then went to dinner at Zio's. We had to wait 1 1/2 hours, so I knew it better be good. :) It was!

Today, we woke up and had room service for breakfast (first time ever!), and it was pretty good. Then, we headed out for Canon City to ride the Royal Gorge train. It started snowing right before we got there. It is so cold!! We got there in plenty of time, so we waited around. The train left at 12:45. We ate lunch on the train. We even ventured out into the open car for a bit, froze to death, but got some pretty good pictures. We got back about 2:45 and then drove back to Col. Springs.

We rested for a little bit, then we went for dinner. We went to the Mason Jar. It was really good, very good chicken fried steak. I even ate blackberry cobbler. Needless to say, thank goodness for stretchy pants!! :)

This evening, we are just chilling at the hotel. Tomorrow is the Pikes Peak Cog railway. I am super excited about going!!

check back tomorrow for updates!!!