pushing the panic button.

i must warn you...there is a lot of emotion running through this post, my bloggies. and maybe a little snarkiness here & there, but it's only honesty. and i would assume that everyone we've invited to read through the ups & downs of our lives, would be supportive of that. so, the truth behind my absence from the blog world is due to the fact that i have been helping to pack up {our} lives, again. we went ahead & pushed the panic button in colorado. mike's job, once again, turned to haitus. and since i am convinced that every job application or resume i send out goes immediately to a giant black hole the second i hit 'submit'...well...you can probably guess that i'm still a job market skeptic.

we have been graciously taken in by my parents back in holstein. honestly, i love that they are opening up their home with welcome arms, but it's still a little strange, as a 28 year-old, to live with your parents...with your baby...again. i am truly trying my best to make the best of this opportunity. and i have to be grateful for this opportunity. i think of people that would not have this option. so, surrounded by support {and the unnecessary draining drama of a small town}, i am encouraged to try & get back on my feet. and truthfully, when i first sat down to publish this post, i don't think i had let reality set in yet. so, i stepped back for a couple of days...& now i am ready to report.

michael & i have put most of our belongings in storage out in colorado. for numerous reasons...one: we know we want to head back west, eventually, & don't know how long our stay in holstein will be. could be shorter, could be longer. we're going to see how jobs & everything goes. two: the mountain passes this time of year can be very unpredictable. so heading east with a giant moving truck again, just didn't seem like an extra dose of craziness we wanted to deal with. and three: our dear friends, paul & sonya, whom we have now abandoned in colorado, will be getting married the twenty-first of may this year. and we promise we will be out there for that! i am supposed to photograph it for heavens sakes! yes! we will be there. i would never want to miss that opportunity. it's going to be a very exciting wedding to see & shoot!

last week, my brother flew into aspen. we planned to have someone ride with oliver & i...just for good measure. and he was such a great help! more on those details later...haha! mike needed to stay back to close some loose ends & get the place cleared out {aside from what i could help doing while still there}, cleaned up & packed into storage. i can confidently say that today, he left this morning! delayed more than once, yesterday due to a blizzard in the rockies, he is on his way back to the midwest! we'll be staying with my parents until we can establish jobs & find a place of our own here {rent/own...we don't know}. this holstein venture is so up in the air. we thank everyone who has given us leads on jobs! it's been relieving to me, that i have already established a start as well {more on that later too}. but that is our news in a nutshell. i'm sure more will unfold in the next couple weeks! stay tuned...again.

our last photo in our colorado home, right before oliver, taylor & i took off.

pay no attention to the mass chaos in the background =)

our last couple of weeks, we tried to spend all of our time taking in our surroundings that would soon be in the past. it was honestly hard to take it in without our souls hurting a bit. but i'm glad we took the time to capture the moments, so we can look back at them & remember how much we loved this area & adventure.

oliver, taylor & i took off on saturday...& survived the 13 hour, straight through, drive. well...of course there were some setbacks. like when we were just leaving the mountains & heading into denver. we heard that all too familiar sound {to me} coming from the backseat...a major upchuck moment by oliver! major. taylor received a good dose of birth control as he witnessed his nephew spew his entire breakfast out of his mouth. poor little guy. he was a little upset while it was occuring...well who wouldn't be?! and while i searched for a place to pull over so we could assess & fix the situation, he sat there with the saddest face on i have ever seen. he just looked so disappointed. and miserable. but, after a quick stop in a strip mall, i had him scrubbed down, re-clothed and happy as a clam again. the stench, however, was less than appealing. oh, but after about two more hours, it went away. only to be masked by the first "bm" oliver has ever done on a road trip. i knew that i jinxed myself, when i boasted earlier that day to taylor how he has never done that! once again, taylor took another dose of birth control & helped me through it...what a good uncle! we had a very successful trip from there on out. we arrived in holstein between 11-1130 late saturday night. and thus, began our new holstein adventure.

the sun setting on our colorado =)

boys to men.

a couple of weeks ago michael turned 35! yes...daddy turned 35, oliver!!! =)

 sleepy birthday face...

getting ready to snowboard for the day to celebrate!

okay, dad, i'm ready to go too...

michael christened the mountain on his birthday, & thankfully, DID come back in one piece. him & paul spent the day out on snowmass mountain. the girls {sonya} & i, along with the little man, joined them up on the mountain for some lunch. unfortunately, i forgot my camera in the car. sometimes it's hard to remember everything...the baby, the diaper bag, the purse, the sippy, the paci...etc. so forgive me. it was a gorgeous day for riding {i mean, i'm no snow bunny, but it looked great!}. we were able to enjoy our lunch out on the deck patio, so there ya go! i love that you can enjoy the outdoors & not have to freeze your butt off here =) after the guys returned from their last run down, we mingled over at paul & sonya's for a birthday dinner & cake! german chocolate...one of mikey's faves. thanks to sonya for baking...but there were some candles missing ;)

all michael wanted for his birthday was a fishtank & fish {for oliver} =)

so we ventured to petco & found a tank.

and, i swear, we followed all the recommendations for setting it up. we used distilled water and let it filter for 2 days. then, mike & oliver returned to the store to choose fish. and...all the goldfish were sick {not sure how or how they know this} so they were being treated. they must have caught what's been going around. they couldn't get goldfish for another week or so, so they decided on five little tetra. very colorful fish!

but, sadly, despite our efforts of correctly introducing them to their new home, within the first 5 hours of being released...they were all floating. dead. ummmm...so we failed our first pet mission. they returned all five little dead guys to the store & had the water tested by the petco pros. nothing was wrong...so we're really not sure what the heck could have happened. so, now we're a little skeptical on what to choose. oliver, however, just enjoys the tank bubbling away with only plants in it, so i suppose we can wait until the goldfish have overcome their symptoms ;)

then the next weekend, was paul's birthday. so...once again, the guys set out to snowmass mountain for the day. no fresh powder, however, so it was a bit slick. i heard some pretty hilarious stories once they returned. although, physically unharmed, they did came back with some bruised egos, from being heckled by the younger skiiers when they not so gracefully attempted some jumps. haha. again, after their day on the mountain, we joined a crew over at paul & sonya's for some gumbo & refreshments.

okay...so we seriously  need steph's {dillon} cake skills around this area. remember the story i told over oliver's birthday cake & how it turned out completely NOT what i had ordered. well...this was the result of sonya's attempt at the market bakery. a cake with a fisherman & a skiier. she specifically wanted fish & seashells {an ode to their nantucket roots}. and this is what she was greeted with when she picked it up. neither sport of which does paul participate in. we all had a pretty good laugh about it & dug into it anyway =) oliver was a fan, so all turned out just fine.

so that pretty much wraps up our last couple of weekends. it has finally snowed here. and stuck around for longer than a couple of hours. but, the temps have just been too frigid to get oliver out in the snow to explore. if it warms up some, we'll be getting him out for sure! and i must prepare you, bloggies, there will be a lot for me to report on in the next couple of days...some changes coming our way...stay tuned.

i can't skip the party! (doxtad wedding revisited}

okay, so i decided that i couldn't just skip a post of donna & lucas's wedding reception. i know, it's been like a month ago & you've probably already seen most of something like this somewhere by someone...but i decided to post them anyway. it's a snowy day & i had some time to edit. enjoy...it makes me want to be there all over again!

a winter drive.

as simple as that. we took a drive up through the reudi reservoir area yesterday. we found a misplaced animal leg in the middle of the road. a quiet cave. and plenty of snow covering the barely traveled roads. and today, we finally had more snow fall! it always falls short of us in this valley. but, this morning it was nothing but inches of fresh powder. freshened everything up a bit.