Exploring Boulder

We had a nice slow start to the day. Then we checked out of our hotel and went to set up camp for the next five nights. After setting up the tent we drove to Boulder. First we had lunch at Walnut Brewery. Then we walked around Pearl Street Mall, along the creek path and then we headed over to Chautauqua Park. We also drove up a very scenic road- Flagstaff Mountain. When we got back to the campground Owen went birding while Laurel set up the air mattress and sleeping bags. These two are at such a helpful age- whether it is setting up the tent, looking up directions on the iPad or getting the tent all ready for sleeping, it is so nice to have the help. Just as we all started to settle down Owen got stung by a wasp. It happened so fast- all of a sudden all these wasps were around him- luckily only one actually stung him and he toughed it out pretty well. Later we met up with friends at a park and a traveling ice cream bar- kind of like Cherry's in Denville but it travels around like an ice cream truck. So everyone meets up at a park, gets some ice cream and then plays until dark. Then we came back to the campground and took a very long walk to the bathrooms to clean up for the night. On our walk back we saw the biggest bullfrog I have ever seen- not quite as big as the statue below but almost! After a long, busy day we were all set for a good night's sleep but it did not quite turn out that way- the wind started to whip up and for about two hours I was scared either we were going to take off or the tent was going to collapse. So I am writing this entry on way too little sleep!

We made it!

After a short 200 mile drive that lasted about 3.5 hours, we arrived in Longmont! We first walked around downtown and got an early lunch at the Pumphouse Brewery. Then we started scoping out some of the places we had found as possible rentals. As luck would have it, the first place turned out to be just what we needed. It is a little small- two bedroom and two bathroom- but it is right where we hope to buy someday which means we can keep l&o in the same school even after we buy. Laurel and Owen seem to be warming up a little now that they can picture where we will be living. They are especially excited about the fresh cookies that are at the rec area every afternoon when they get off the bus.
We drove around to the other possible homes but we all agreed the first place was best so we went back to give our deposit. So now we have the rest of the week to walk around and see Boulder, Rocky Mountain National Park and get to know Longmont better. The only thing missing is daddy- cant wait to have him part of CO!
Btw- just bought an app that lets me add photos.... Hopefully u can see the cool camper from yesterday! More photos and updates tomorrow.

Day 3

Happy Birthday Ben! This was our longest day (650 miles) but Laurel and Owen once again came shining through with perfect behavior... And I am not just saying that... You all know that I am honest and would tell you how it really is! We left Marion, Iowa at 7:20 in the morning. It is a good thing we got an early start because we did not get to Ogallala, NE until 11 hours later! So here are some thoughts about today: My two favorite road sights for today were the HUGE tires that were on an top of an 18 wheeler flatbed. These tires were scary big. To contrast big with small, we saw the cutest camper being hauled by a motorcycle. It looked like a place for smurfs to camp in. If the photo came out I will add later. We stopped at a Cracker Barrel as a little break. I told L&O that I would give them each ten dollars for an activity for the car. Laurel chose a mind bender book and Owen choose a yo-yo. They had never been to a Cracker Barrel before and they had fun looking at everything and stretching our legs a little. This was the first time we came across 75MPH signs. Unfortunately so much of Rt80 in NE is being paved, much of the time we had to go 55 or slower.... But the newly paved sections were nice. The most common Gas station for this stretch was called Kum and Go. I just could not bring myself to go there and always held out for a familiar BP even if I still am mad at them for the oil spill in the gulf. Well I know this is not very interesting or well written but hopefully now that the hard part of the drive is over I can focus on better blog updates! So excited to arrive in Longmont by lunch today!

7/8 Day 2

We left Ohio at 7:45 but we also gained an hour as we entered the next time zone. It was a pretty uneventful driving day. We stopped for lunch t at Wendy's in Illinois. After driving 450 miles we arrived at Rene and Duda's house north of Cedar Rapids, Iowa. It was a wonderful visits complete with plenty of trampoline time, walks and bike rides on the beautiful paths and parks and a tasty BBQ, complete with fresh Iowa corn.

7/7 The Journey Begins

The car is packed with all road trip accessories... Playlists, snacks, magazines and an old fashioned map to follow along on. We will be driving Justin's new HondaCRV. After twelve years he traded in his Accord for a new car only to have me take it out to Colorado! The problem is that our Sienna tows the pop-up and I did not quite feel ready to bring the camper all the way out west since I have only ever driven that home from the gas station and that k-turn alone took thirty minutes. (TY JC) Day one stats: Left Denville at 6:19am. I am not kidding when I tell you someone was hungry before we even got on route 80. We made three stops and arrived in Wauseon, OH at about 4pm. We traveled 550 miles and filled up with gas twice. Snacks of choice: Owen-Slim Jim's, Laurel- Sun chips. Both ate bottle caps candy. Activities that kept us busy: Owen watched Men in Black, Laurel read Yikes magazine. We also listened to a lot of music and tried to think of spoof names for fast food restaurants (inspired by mommy's tales of HB's nicknames for places on our VA road trip.) So we came up with Burper King, FatBurper, Taco Hell, Whimpy's and Waffle Mouse. When we arrived at the Best Western it was 103 degrees so we all gladly hopped in the pool for awhile. Then we enjoyed a Mexican Dinner at The Grasshopper. After dinner we watched the documentary titled Happy. It is about just what makes people happy- kind of fits in with this theme of the Robbins Colorado Adventure (we hope!)btw Laurel says hi. All in all it was a perfect first day and L & O both get an A+ for cooperation.

Leap of Faith

These last two weeks have been a whirlwind to say the least. Justin and I went from dreaming about moving to Colorado “someday” to listing the house, buying plane tickets and making this dream a reality. As crazy as it all sounds, this just feels right for our family at this time. Our hope is that Laurel and Owen are at a great age to enjoy more independence with friends and appreciate the best natural playground in the US- Colorado. And even though I must admit the stress level is a little high, I have this feeling that everything is going to work out alright.

So here is a little history: Justin and I have been thinking about where we want to live for awhile. At first we thought about upstate NY or NH but we kept coming back to the Boulder area and decided if we are going to make a change, lets really make it worth our while. In the meantime we researched Longmont, CO and learned that it is somewhat of a hub for software programming jobs. (If you want to see more about our new hometown look here: About Longmont So we started thinking about moving and making a plan. Then one night I was online surfing (Zillow is a dangerous hobby for one looking for a better place to live) and I googled the phrase teaching jobs Colorado. One of the first links brought me to a listing for this opening: LONGMONT HIGH SCHOOL LIBRARIAN!!! I showed it to Justin and asked if I should apply? He said yes…. And the rest is history. Well- not exactly, because in order to get an official offer I need fingerprint clearance and a Colorado Teachers License. While this is hopefully nothing more than a formality, it is not a quick or easy formality so I was faced with a dilemma. Resign from a good paying job with family health benefit and “hope” it all works or stay in Mount Olive and always wonder WHAT IF? Well- for once in my life I decided to take the risky option. Today I gave notice for my job as the Mount Olive High School Librarian. And while it feels scary and stressful and a little bit wreckless- It also feels great because I feel like we are starting a new life in a place that I am really excited about discovering with my family.

So phase one of our adventure begins on Saturday. Laurel and Owen and I will start heading west early on Saturday morning. (Justin needs to stay behind for now for work and to sell the house but he will be joining us soon.) Temporarily this blog will be the Robbins Colorado or Bust Blog. Follow along if you are interested….

Key West Memories

This month we had a most memorable family vacation with Grammy over spring break. On the morning of Justin’s birthday we headed to the airport.

As a surprise for Justin’s 40th, I upgraded him to first class. We landed in Miami around 9 AM and starting driving south. Around 1pm we got our home for the week, named The Family House. Key West was a wonderful vacation destination with lots of water activities and resturants. We enjoyed a walk down Duval Street to Mallory Square where street enteratainers perform as the sun goes down. The next day we took a train ride to see the island and went snorkeling at Fort achery Taylor State Park. The next day we enjoyed a snorkeling trip to the Looe Key National Marine Sanctuary, six miles off the coast. The swells were high and half our boat was sea sick (including Justin and Laurel.) But all bounced back in time to enjoy lunch at No Name Pub. That evening we went on a relaxing sunset cruise. The next day was the highlight of the trip for Laurel and Owen. It was a total tourist package but so well done- It was called FURY's Ultimate Adventure. It included breakfast, lunch, snorkeling, Jet Skiing, Parasailing, Kayaking, Climbing and jumping of an inflatable rock climbing wall.

We filled in down town hanging out at the pool at our house. Some memorable restaurants included Martin’s Tapas Restaurant and Blue Heaven. On the way back to the airport we stopped off at a most beautiful beach, Bahia Honda State Park.