7.05.2010

I'm not ready to call it yet but it's not looking good for Utah.

I debated bringing books to read on this road trip.  I usually don't get around to reading much in the car, but this is a nearly 10 hour each way drive and surely I'll have time.  I ended up shoving a couple of books in the back seat and of course never cracked them open.  No matter how long of a drive it is, if it's through these mountains every moment I'm looking out the window I feel like I'm missing something awesome.  And I am. I feel so lucky to be living in this part of the country. 
All weekend Colorado was teasing me about Utah.  Colorado, a lovely state for sure, started by showing me how she is just as aesthetically pleasing as Utah.  It's true, the Rockies are amazing, but I had to remind Colorado that I've driven through her eastern half, her kinda boring looks like Nebraska half.  So what Colorado?  I have awesome hiking trails in my back yard too and I don't do any winter sports anymore so I don't care about your ski hills.
We stayed our first night in Denver where I know some awesome people that I got to meet up with.  Colorado was all look at me, filled with your friends already, don't you love me more than Utah now?
I'm not sure why Colorado has this grudge against Utah.
Anyway yes, Colorado you have a point, but I have friends in Utah that I'd miss if I was in Colorado so again it's a draw.
My friends and I got a beer at Chipotle and sat on their patio to catch up.  We didn't order any food because it was late and we'd already eaten, and then Chipotle closed before we had finished but didn't care than we stayed.  Colorado gave me a knowing look.  Utah law says you can't order alcohol without ordering food first unless you are at a bar.  I'm sure there are some nice bars in the state, but the ones I've seen in Ogden don't look like my style.  OK Friday night gives one point to Colorado but only one because how hard is it to order an appetizer right?
The next day was my aunts birthday party and it was lovely.  Josephine charmed everyone with her stories and dancing and fell in love with one of her older cousins by the end of the night.
Finally, Sunday we headed for home by driving though the tiny town of Leadville because we had lived there 15 years ago and it's always fun to travel through time.  We had lunch in the cute town of Basalt and the people that owned the cafe we stopped at had a three year old boy, Jack, that was their PR person.  He sat with us while we waited for our food and played with Josephine, it was cute.  Colorado gave me a wink.
We got back home around 8:30 last night, got some tacos and drove around to look for a place to watch the fireworks.  We eventually found the leftover signs the city put out yesterday to keep people out of the cemetery because it's a fireworks drop zone.  OK, Utah, minus 100 points for you.  Independence day cannot be shared with the more important Sunday holiday, church. 
I don't have the means to pick up and move right now, but if I did...

7.01.2010

sometimes i want a fast-forward button

I get it, really, Joey is learning something important. 
Her brain is so busy working on whatever it's working on that she is having a hard time remembering words and paying attention when I'm talking. 
It is frustrating for me to have to repeat everything a million times and then watch to see if she is actually doing what I asked her to do...but it must be one hundred times worse for her to spend 10 seconds trying to remember that it's called a fork right after I handed one to her and said "here's your fork".