Zoo

It was military appreciation day so it cost a whopping $4.25 for both Wyatt and I to go to the zoo. We met our friends AJ (Auntie Jeanette) and Avery. There's a new skilift type ride to the top of the zoo with great views over The Springs. Wyatt liked it more than the animals and talked me into going on it twice! We fed the giraffes and budgies (as pictured. He was quite serious on the merry-go-round and would wave to me for a split second and then go back to holding on for dear life. One of the hippos was resting in the water and came up to breathe and took Wyatt by surprise. He was very startled but enthralled, waiting for it to happen again. Very Cute! I think his favs were the monkeys and the elephant.

Thumbs Up

I love the one of him with his thumbs up. He does that a lot to me. Taryn got him doing it while she was out this summer. Any time he is trying to tell me things are good he just does thumbs up. In this case, I was asking him if he was ready to go the Zoo! He cracks me up!

Wyatt Looks Like Me Too

A lot people tell me Wyatt looks just like Eric. I have always thought that he is a really nice combination of the two of us. You can see here that he has my nose, mouth and cheeks. Our eye shape is even pretty similar.

Well Fed Chipmunk

This little guy approached us as we rested at the lake. Another hiker gave us some sunflower seeds to share with him. He was SO cute! I KNOW! We shouldn't have fed him, but who could resist?!

Boulder, Estes Park and Rocky Mountain N.P.

Jeanette, her mother-in-law, Mary, and I went up to the mountains for the weekend. We stayed in a little, 2 bedroom cabin in Estes Park. We stopped in Boulder to get some fresh fruit and cheese at the Farmer's Market and then walked around a festival in the Pearl St. Mall, before having lunch on the grass.

In the evenings we drank wine and put together a Fall themed puzzle while we talked. We saw a lot of Elk! We even got to see two males clashing their antlers together and pushing each other around. The scenery was spectacular in the park. The weekend was exactly what I had hoped it would be - good company, beautiful scenery, lovely weather and the perfect way to get our minds off of the deployment.

Large male elk at the cabins, with breathtaking mountain scenery in background.

Wyatt and I after a hike.

Lake at the end of our hike.

Colorado Sunflowers

Silly balloon hat.

Amazing tundra up at the pass in Rocky Mountain N.P.

I Did It! I completed the Race For The Cure 5k

Me Before the Race

The whole team. 2 ran 5k, 2 walked 5k and 2 did the family 1k with their kids.

Janelle and me at the finish line.

Me - Happy I survived the run.

View of the course - there were 1000s there.


Our team raised $365 for Breast Cancer Awareness. It was a tough run for me because there were quite a few hills and the first 1 mile was one big hill! I wasn't last though! LOL I got up at 6:30am and it was 50 degrees outside and I wondered to myself what the heck I was doing. But I went, I conquered. YAY!

Thoughts After the Republican Convention

First of all, I have to say the Republican Website is much better than the Democratic website as far getting information and viewing missed speeches. Kudos to them. :-)

Palin: She has a strong presence and portrays herself as a capable, knowledgable woman who is ready to take on the job of V.P. and any critics. She was an excellent speaker.
The Bushes: I really thought that President Bush did a good job of supporting McCain, but also letting the American people know that McCain is not a carbon of himself. Surely, the advisors did their job and convinced him that his endorsement wouldn't mean much to a country that has a low opinion of him.
McCain: His message was clear - he's not just Republican, he's an American and he's not afraid to cross party lines on issues to get get the right thing done. "Straight Talk" rather than polictics.

So where does that leave me? Still undecided until the debates, but leaning towards McCain. Points I am interested in getting more clarification on:

1.) Health care: (not education as McCain said) is the #1 issue of this centuary for Americans. So many people are unable to afford medical care for themselves and their families. Universal healthcare (Democratic proposal) would bring healthcare to all citizens. It would be government run and no, you wouldn't have much of a choice as to who you saw BUT do you think the people that can't afford a Dr care that they don't get to hand pick who they seE? McCain referred to the lack of choice when he briefly spoke about healthcare as if it was important. I think its makes him look like he's missing the point! It is the main issue that has me on the fence right now.

2.) Pro Life: I am pro-choice, so what does it mean when we elect a pro-lifer?

3.) Military issues: McCain's camp is very proud of how he voted in favor of the surge in Iraq. My family is suffering through a 15 month deployment. The army is overextended and our soldiers are tired. Of course, being in the Army means surviving deployments BUT - 15 month deployments? No! 12 month deployments with only 12 months stateside in between? No! I have come to the realization that it doesn't matter who gets into office, my husband will continue to deploy on a regular basis for the rest of his career. Soooo...who is going to properly compensate the soldiers and their families for the burden they carry? I am talking tax cuts, better pay, better bonuses for extended tours of duty, dental and vision being covered under health insurance, better housing! No one has really mentioned this, but I am pretty sure that Obama wouldn't increase any of those benefits for us...

Republican Convention Day 2

I loved it. Fred Thompson's speech was amazing. Leiberman's speech was also important, since he is a Democrat.

The tribute they paid to the most recent Medal of Honor recipient, Michael Monsoor, was really moving. If you missed it, I've embedded it below. ROGER THAT!

Congratulations To Eric!

He'll tell you that its no big deal, but I wanted everyone to know that he was accepted to go to Instructor Pilot School when he gets home from deployment. I am so incredibly proud of him.

Its nice to have a little piece to the puzzle! So now we know: Eric comes home in December, we'll start trying to get pregnant in January, we'll move to Riley, and we'll go to Rucker for 3 months in June - which brings us to September. If we're successful getting pregnant straight away, we'll be expecting a baby in Oct/Nov. Its a rough plan! Also, we don't know if Eric will go back to C-Troop as an IP (Instructor Pilot) or if he'll go to another Troop (we have 6 in our squadron). It would mean a lot to Eric to go back to C-Troop since those are the guys he was deployed with. I don't really care, as I have made friends that will remain friends, regardless of our Troop. Just another thing to wait and see. :-)