Fly Me to the Moon

This past weekend we took my little brother, who like my husband, loves anything airplanes or engineering related, to the Virginia Air and Space Museum

For a small fee of $10.50 (military rate)/person we were able to enjoy airplane and space exhibits! We saw exhibits about the Wright Brothers, WWII planes and Airforce planes from the past and present. We learned about how wind tunnels work and have changed through the years as well as how planes actually fly. Space exploration was one of the major themes at this museum too. We learned about exploring the moon's surface with robots and got first hand experience about what a space mission to Mars would be like. Let me just say, that would be a LONG time in SPACE! 

There were many hands-on exhibits that I even enjoyed because lets be honest, airplanes and space aren't my first choice topic of conversation. We took vision and reaction time tests to see if we could become pilots and we were able to fly a few flight simulations in a jet plane, airliner and a lunar landing module. My brother really enjoyed sitting in the cockpit of the DC-9 as well as trying his hand at flying the Boeing 717 flight simulation within the DC-9's first class cabin.  I personally enjoyed flying the jet simulator. I'm really great at barrel rolls!

At the end of our time there, my brother and I decided to ride the Max Flight simulator. 

Without hesitation, he wanted to be the pilot so I became the gunner. (We were able to switch during our three minute adventure). This was such a cool ride! Paul and I couldn't stop laughing as we turned upside down and right side up, spinning until we couldn't stand it. I even did the same ride a second time with my husband because I wanted to see how it would feel like to fly with him being an actual pilot. He was successful in making me sick but also another three minutes of laughter that wouldn't stop. 

Such a great way to spend an afternoon with some airplane enthusiasts! 

Till Next Time! 

Laura

Happy Half Birthday Allie!

My baby girl is 6 months old today! 

I can't believe how fast time has flown! 

4 days old

Our  "little blueberry" has grown to our "little one"

She has grown so much these past 6 months and it's so amazing how many things she learns to do each day!

She loves to play with her many toys, these include her exersaucer, jumperoo and play mat. 

Her favorites though are my wallet that she loves to hold and chew on while we're at the store as well as a set of ribbons of different lengths and sizes. She also thinks mom and dad are fun toys too. She loves being swung around, balanced on top of my knees, or being lifted or bounced up and down.

She's such a little talker, babbling about everything. She loves to talk to herself while we are in the car. She is starting to mimic sounds such as "Hahh" and "Mmm" and "aahh". My favorite moment with her talking has been when my mom said hi to her and she said "Haaah" back with a great big smile! 

She loves people. She always smiles at everyone she sees especially when she recognizes her mom and dad.   She loves her grandparents, aunts and uncles and anyone that wants to hold her, ha!

She is discovering many new things and these new things have to go directly into her mouth! She likes to hold and bat at new discoveries with her hands. About few weeks ago she learned how to switch toys back and forth between hands. She is always practicing putting her pacifier back in her mouth, though most of the time it's upside down or sideways. We have also had to start clearing anything from her arms reach while at a dinner table. Ohh and she has recently found her toes too. It's so cute when she sucks on them.

She has started to not only recognize our voices but she has started to recognize the cat and dogs. She watches them while she plays or eats and grabs for the cat's tail any chance she gets. She also loves kisses from the dogs. She has learned how to give kisses as well! Although, they are definitely wet open mouthed kisses!

As of yesterday she started sitting on her own for a short amount of time. She still loves when I hold her while she sits. She still needs to sense that that I'm right there behind her in case she falls.

I love how I can tell if she likes a new food or not. She not only smiles when she likes a new food but she says "mmm mmm mmm" while she eats the new food. She really does this with pears! It's also funny when she smiles while trying to eat because the food comes right back out. I just love how happy she is.

She loves the water; boating, bath time and now swimming! Last week my brother and I took her to the pool for the first time. She loved splashing the water and looking at her feet. She even stuck her face in the water for a brief second a few times. I didn't like this very much, definitely scared me but she would quickly pick her head back up with her eyes closed and shake the water off her face! She also loved when I spun her around in a circle. Too cute!

I'm excited to see what the next 6 months are going to be like!

Till Next Time!

Laura

Mom and Baby Exercise Part 2

Kiss the Baby Push-Ups

Here's an exercise that Allie really enjoys!

Place your baby underneath you while you do push-ups, kissing your baby each time you lower to the floor. 

To make this exercise harder you can:

•  Extend one leg up in the air as you do the push-ups
• Make sure to squeeze your gluts to work the backside
• Bring this extended leg up to your chest after you lower your body to the ground to work more core, make sure to squeeze those abs, alternate legs each rep
• Do a triceps push up
• Keep your arms close to your body as you lower to the floor
• Grab two heavy weights ~8-10 pounds and do a push up while holding the weights
• Do a one arm row after each push-up to work your back

(Move your baby for this last variation, you wouldn't want to hit him/her with the weight!)

To make this exercise easier you can:

•    Place your knees on the ground

Till Next Time!

Laura

Mount Democrat: Not A Walk in the Park

Mount Democrat is located in Colorado's Mosquito Mountain Range. 

It's one of Colorado's many "14ers" meaning that it's elevation is 14,000 plus feet. 

This was my third time climbing a mountain so I was excited for the challenge. 

Part 1: It's EARLY!

We left bright and early around 5:45 and arrived at the trail head at 6:30. It's best to start as early as possible because of how fast clouds and weather can build up. You don't want to be on top of a mountain in a bad storm! We also made sure we had plenty of water, warm hats, gloves and coats as well as plenty of snacks such as apples, bananas, pb and j sandwiches and granola bars. 

Here's Jesse making some pb and j sandwiches for the hike!

The challenge at hand!

Part 2: The Start and Below Tree Line!

Here is the start of the trail, as you can see it has been a cold summer so apparently this is what it should have looked like around May. With this being umm... July, this added a new challenge of having to hike through some deep snow. Thank goodness for my waterproof boots!

 First stop: Snack time and Flowers! The forget-me-not flower is such a beautiful wild flower here in Colorado. As you can see it's super tiny too!

This was our first snack break. Jesse and my father in law enjoyed some fruit and I enjoyed my granola bar. Even though I wasn't quite hungry, I knew I needed some carbs and protein for some extra energy. 

Here is also a look back from where we started. You can also see Kite Lake (named after its shape). It's still pretty much still frozen too, ha!

Part 3: Snow and the Start of the Rocks

This is when it started to get more technical. We weren't just hiking up a dirt trail anymore. Instead we had to trudge through foot and knee deep snow and a brief amount of three point climbing up steep rocks. Three point climbing means using your hands AND feet.  

I was just thinking to myself...how in the world are we going to get down this snow faced side.... we ended up having to slide down on our behinds and basically "ski" down. 

 Second stop:  We needed a small rest break. We also took some time to enjoy the views and the sun breaking over the mountain side. I was really starting to feel the lack of oxygen here too. Its crazy how you hike a few 100 feet and your heart is just racing and you are breathing as if you had just sprinted a mile. 

 Part 4: Getting higher

 We had to jump over some snow run off about three times throughout our hike. I really didnt like doing this. I had my cellphone, camera and ipod in my pocket so I REALLY didnt want fall in, ha! 

At the end of our day on the LAST water section  we had to cross I ended up falling in when the snow pack broke from underneath me. VERY SCARY! Don't worry though, my gadgets were okay. It ended up not being that deep either. My leg got pretty soaked though and I about had a heart attack. 

Here is a view of the trail, thankfully we got a small break from climbing up rocks. We also stopped to get our breath back. 

Part 5: In the Saddle

 Now we are about 2/3rds of the way up. It's starting to get windy, colder and more rocky so our hats and gloves became even more essential. The saddle is where we stopped for our lunch break before the trek to the top. This is also where you can start the hike up to Mt. Cameron, Mt. Lincoln and Mt. Bross. 

It's a great way to summit several mountains in one day but you have to start a lot earlier and of course be in that mind-set of doing several summits. This was not in the cards for us today but that was okay with me!

The views were beautiful but it reminded me of how high we were actually getting. As you can see there are more rocks and snow and not so much green anymore. 

The trail up to Mt. Cameron

Almost there!!

 Part 6: Some serious climbing!

 More three point climbing!

This was the section that was the most challenging for me mentally and physically. Not only was it harder to breath but there was a steep drop off the face of the mountain. Rocks can be slippery especially when there are several smaller rocks together. You have to be careful where you put your hands and  feet. Jesse had to keep reminding me to lean into the mountain in case I fell or started to slide. 

We also encountered more snow patches. This particular one I had to punch holes into the snow with my hands and feet in order to keep from sliding down. This also gave myself enough traction to get up the section. 

Part 7: The Summit!

After a false peak (sorry Jesse) and a water break, we finally got a view of the top!

We had to trudge through another snow pack, luckily it wasn't as deep as the others.

 The views were spectacular. The snow covered mountains were so beautiful!

I was so excited to finally reach the top so I decided to run up to the summit!

Finally there after 3 1/2 hours of climbing!!!

Part 8: On top of the world 

It's cold and windy when you get to the top so normally there is only time for a few pictures and a quick snack. I also enjoy calling my parents after I summit. I love telling them I'm on top of a mountain, ha!

It's also crazy how fast the clouds move up here. Weather can move in fast!

 View back towards town

 The "official" top

So proud of us!!

Part 9: Back Down We Go

The decent took about 2 hours. 5 1/2 hours of total hiking. The hike down has its own challenges but goes a lot faster. You really feel it in your quads going downhill. Mine were actually shaking at one point. We also had to maneuver over those rocks and snow again. I prefer sliding down snow than climbing up it. That part was actually kind of fun! Although a wet butt is not, ha!

Here is some weather rolling in on our way down. I told you it moves in fast!

It was such a great morning and I really enjoyed the challenge and hiking the mountain with my husband and father in law. Mountains really make you stop and think about life and yourself. They have a funny way of breaking you down and then building you back up!

Till Next Time!

Laura

Sunday Family Dinner: Red White and Blue Potato Salad

Here is a great homemade potoato salad recipe that my mother in law made for us while we were visiting Colorado for the 4th! 

There are so many great flavors from the potato, egg and fresh veggies!

2 lbs potatoes (red, white and purple "blue")

1/4 cup diced sweet onion

2-3 celery sticks

1 can sliced ripe olives

1/2 green or red pepper

3 hard boiled eggs

2-3 spears of dill pickles

salt and pepper to taste

Dressing:

3/4 cup mayo

1 TBSP mustard

1 tsp dill seed or fresh dill

1/2 TBSP garlic powder or 2-3 garlic gloves

1 tsp parsley

1/8 cup juice from dill pickles

Serves: LOTS!!

Boil potatoes until tender or about 5 minutes less than fully cooked.

Combine sliced potatoes, eggs and veggies in a large bowl then grind fresh salt and pepper to taste on top before adding dressing

Serve immediately or make ahead of time and store covered in the refrigerator

I loved this potato salad and I hope you will too!

Till next time!

Laura