Three weeks later...

Hello again! I realize I have not posted in a very long time. There are two reasons.

Reason #1: We had a terrible internet connection.
Reason #2: Not a whole lot of blog worthy things have happened.

Now, both of these things have changed thus providing something to write about.

Reason #1 addendum: We got a new internet provider! See, what happened was that we were trying to keep our internet company from North Carolina for simplicity purposes but...that didn't really work out. Here is a synopsis:

Internet guy: Hi, how can I help you?
Raleigh Rachel: Yes, I want to know if you provide service in Aurora, Colorado or if we need to find a new provider once we've moved.
Internet guy: Oh yes! It looks like we DO have service in that area.
Raleigh Rachel: Hooray! That is the best news I've ever heard.

Fast forward a few weeks when we've arrived in CO.

Internet guy: Hi, how can I help you?
Colorado Rachel: Yes, I'd like to set up our internet at our new address.
Internet guy: Oh. It looks like we don't provide service to that area.
Colorado Rachel: ...

Ok so then we decided to try it anyway and see if we could get service because we were very happy with what we pay monthly. So, for the past three weeks we have struggled to get an internet signal here and then *ta da!* we got a flier in the mail for $19.99/mo internet. So we switched today and it is glorious.


Reason #2 addendum: I began a Mary Kay business! You already knew that....but that's been a very exciting and busy thing. I had my first appointment on Friday. I dressed up cute, set out hors d'oeuvres, set out my samples, set out my gift sets. It was beautiful. However, the two girls who were scheduled to come never came. So I cried. Then I went upstairs to see if my neighbor wanted to come down and use the products because they were going to go to waste.

Rachel: Hi, do you want to come down and use the products because they are just going to go to waste?
Neighbor: Yes! I'll be right down.

She never came.

And then it took me about 7 hours before I was willing to un-setup. So that was a tough first day I would say! I have some more appointments scheduled for next week - let's hope they follow through!

Here are some pictures also to give you an idea of the kind of Mary Kay explosion that happens as a new consultant.

 Before:

 After:

Yes. It has been so fun organizing all of that merchandise!

Lastly, there have been requests for pictures of our apartment. So here are a couple more.

This is where I make food. 

This is where we eat food. Grover too.

This is where I sit blogging. And play piano. And Ryan plays guitar. And drown a bit in boxes.

Ok guys. That's all for now. That was long.

Red Rocks - our first hike in CO

This past Saturday we went for a hike at Red Rocks which is one of the more popular hiking areas in Colorado (for those of you who didn't already know that). We had a ton of fun and we were POOPED by the end. Here are some pictures from it.

Is it cloudy? Is it sunny? It couldn't really make up it's mind.

I would hope the Rattlesnake Area would be closed...

Isn't it amazing how the rocks come out of the ground at the exact same angle?! I think it is..

Ok so if you look closely, you can see big boulders resting on top of the rock. How did they get there?!

Sitting in the rock with Booger.

Picture Update!

So we've almost completed our first week in CO and so far I've seen all seasons of weather. Saturday was 70 and sunny. Sunday it snowed. The rest of this week has been off and on sun with or without rain. I like it though. The cold isn't bitter at all and the sun is WARM here. It can be 40 degrees but if the sun is out you have to shed your hoodie pretty quick.

I've been busy with running errands all week while Ryan has worked. Still not sure what I'll do for work...

So on the road I was only able to use Ryan's cell phone to update the blog and I wasn't patient enough to upload pictures that way. But here you go.

Day 1: North Carolina to Kentucky
This is the truck in the Raleigh col-de-sac ready to pull out at 7:30am Wednesday morning! If you look closely, you can see that the tire straps are in fact on and "secure". Refer back to Day 1's post if you don't understand why that is significant. :) Also note the weather. Wet and cold to send us off.

This is right before we pulled away...Grover looks a little worried. But he settled right in.

When we were driving through the mountains of West Virginia, there was some serious fog. The top picture is looking out the side window. The bottom picture is of our visibility driving.

 

Also, in West Virginia, we saw many things that supported the stereotype of backwoods people with minimal teeth and questionable hygeine. We took this picture to represent the white trash essence that was West Virgina. Now, to be fair, this picture could have probably been taken somewhere in rural NC just as easily. :)

Now throughout the trip, Grover assumed one of three positions at any given moment.

#1: Sleeping on someone's lap.

#2: Lounging.

 

#3: Watching for cows.

 

He was so good on the trip! Wish he was like that every day...

Day 3: Missouri to Kansas

This was the day we got a flat on the car carrier. The mechanic knew not that Ryan was taking his picture. We just hung out at the truck stop for about an hour but still made it to our originally planned destination that night which was nice.

 

We also made our first discovery of little evils in Kansas/Colorado/plains called Goatheads. They are these little spiky "fruits" of a plant and we discovered them because they got stuck in Grover's paw pads and the bottoms of our shoes. They were everywhere in Kansas and we've come across a few here at the apartment. We just have to stay away from really dry, grassy areas where they seem to lurk. Here they are stuck in someone's shoe (I found this picture on Google). Yikes. They are called goatheads because if you orient them just right they look like they have two horns sticking out of the main body..they really do kinda look like goat heads. Very creative.

Day 4: Kansas to Colorado

We finally made it! The weather was gorgeous. You can also see why these states are part of the "Big Sky" club. Since there are very few trees, the sky seems so much bigger because you can see SO far.

Then, on Sunday it snowed. But, like I said, it was a nice snow and it wasn't even that cold!

That is all for now.

Day 4: Kansas to Colorado & Day 5: First full day in CO

Our final day of driving went pretty quick and was uneventful. We got into town about 1pm Mountain time (two hours behind Eastern time) and then a couple hours later several guys came to help us unload the truck. One of their wives, Val, came and helped me stay organized and unpack the kitchen. It turned into a very long and exhausting day/evening while we tried to keep from drowning under all the boxes. Needless to say we were SO tired by the time we got to bed.

Today, we got a lot done and things are starting to shape up in the apartment. Since we are planning to only be here a few months, we are trying to unpack only what we will need or want in that short time. We also made our first outing today: we returned the truck and trailer (hooray!), went to Walmart for groceries and a microwave, and went to Home Depot. Then, we went to church - Ryan has friends who have planted a church here and their service is at 4pm. We were also extremely blessed that a couple from church had brought us dinner to take home! What an amazing favor that was. It was spaghetti with homemade sauce, garlic bread, and caesar salad complete with croutons, parmesan, and dressing. I was so so happy that that meal was provided. I also picked up my first Denver Post for the coupons. There will be no break from couponing!

Tonight was our first time leaving Grover alone since before we left Raleigh. He seemed to handle it just fine and has already chosen his favorite sleep spot and look out point by the patio doors. He also had a blast making new friends yesterday with the people who helped us unload the truck.

In other news, it snowed today! It was less than an inch but it covered the trees and the ground. It's certainly not debilitating to the city here like it is in NC. The show must go on - and it did. No biggie for these mountain people :). It's also amazing how not cold it is when it's cold! It was 30 at one point during the snow and I was shocked when I found out it was actually that cold. So it's true! The cold isn't really cold. Wacky.

Ok so we still dont have internet but when we do I promise pictures. I know some of you are dying for that.

Goodnight!

*Side note: the demographic of people at Walmart here is completely different. They all looked pretty normal. The stereotype of Walmart people perhaps is lost west of the Mississippi. It's kinda nice.

Day 3: Missouri to Kansas

Today was our longest day of driving. We had another exciting time of narrowly escaping Passat tragedy. We stopped for fuel and realized one of the tires on the car trailer was flat. We asked a nearby trucker what he thought and he said we could easily lose control of the trailer with the tire like that. Once again I wonder how long was it like that! Who knows what could have happened had we not stopped for gas. The other amazing thing is that it only took Penske about an hour to find us, replace the tire, and have us on our way. Initially we were told it could take up to 90 minutes for them just to get to us. God really has been showing his grace to us in all of these circumstances that are potentially dangerous/irritating/time consuming. We have been so fortunate and relatively stress free!

Today also was my first time driving through Kansas. I've seen more fields and cows in the past day than my whole life combined. We also saw a bison farm. Grover stayed awake more today than previous days - I think because he is so intrigued by all the fields and there was a constant flow of them today. One funny thing was that he ended up snoozing for a few minutes and at the next big cattle farm he woke up SO fast. I guess his nose can still tell his brain when there is livestock to be seen.

So we drove for about 12 hours today and we are at a sweet new hotel in Colby, KS. We have about four or five more hours tomorrow and then it's home sweet home in CO. Ok bye!