Denver 2017

TRIP REPORT

The first of many family trips with the Harris family has come and gone.  It went pretty much according to plan.  I felt all the feels that I imagined, the hards were has hard as I imagined and the crazy was as crazy wonderful as I imagined.  The only thing that I could not imagine was all of the puke near the end...but hey..that makes for a good story, right?!  I am not sure how to navigate through the trip so maybe I will just add some captions to the pictures and go from there.  

I decided to start out with one of the best pictures from the trip.  For real.

The flights there were not too bad.  We had to wake up SUPER early because they were at 6am but overall things went pretty smoothly.  We were able to all pack in one bag and even brought all of the car seats to cut down on rental costs.  The trip home was a different story.  Cameron puked before the plan even took off!  It was EVERYWHERE.  Almost every part of his body was covered.  He puked on me, Jack, the floor, our bags, coats -- but at least he didn't puke on any other passengers.  He slept the entire ride home and never got sick again!

Exhausted and refusing to give in.

We arrived on Sawyers birthday.  It worked out great because not only were we there to celebrate but he constantly had a stream of presents.

We could not have asked for better weather in the beginning of February.  We were able to play outside every day and rarely needed coats.  It was absolutely wonderful. 

Out celebrating Sawyers Birthday.  We practically had the place to ourselves and the kids had over 1000 tickets

Breakfast shot.  The food we can put down is amazing.

On Thursday Mike and Jess headed to Breckenridge to snowboard.  Originally our plan was to all go and send the kids to ski school but after some sticker shock we realized that I should stay back with the kids while Mike and Jess take the day.  Mike was in heaven.  So grateful that he found energy and felt refreshed after spending hours doing the thing that he loves.  He sent pictures all afternoon and it looked absolutely beautiful there.

 While they were on the mountain the adults headed to Rose Medical to present the Daisy Award to Heather our favorite ICU nurse.  I have been thinking about this day for a few months and I was excited to head back with my dad (WHO IS ALIVE) and thank her for helping guide my family through this terrible ordeal.  It was an honor to read the nomination to her in front of all of the leadership and her colleagues.  Later that afternoon I even received an email from the hospital president thanking us for taking the time to come into the hospital.  I can not say thank you enough to Heather.  I hope she knows what a difference that she made in our lives.

At the Children's Museum 

 Though these trips are H.A.R.D. we are going every year to make sure we keep Erin's memory alive and always have a connection with her children.  As life continues to change and grow and evolve I hope that we can move right along side with them though we are miles and miles away.  The comforting thing is knowing that Jess is doing a wonderful job at keeping Erin's memory alive.  Eloise would tell me stories (clearly he told them to her) and there were pictures and memories all around the house.  It's super, insanely, terribly sad to not have Erin here but grateful that her memory is still carried with us every day.

Jack was stuffy and had a snot nose almost the entire trip.  On the last night he sounded like he was puking in bed after a few long coughs.  At 2am I picked him up and as the hours went on he started actually puking all over me.  Now here is the thing.... It was our last night so I had no clean clothes to change into.  He also wouldn't let me put him down.  It was pretty gross.  We eventually figured out a towel system where he would start puking on me, I would grab a towel and then we would clean up the mess.  Around 6 am he fell back asleep on me for 20 minutes and never puked again.  At first I thought it was all the phlegm but when Cameron puked on the plane I knew it was a small stomach bug.  (I then I puked once we got home -- yuck!!)

Rock climbing at REI.  This store was massive.  It really makes you want to get out and enjoy life.

We are exhausted with LOTS of laundry and we both have a work To-Do list that feels a mile long.  I am so grateful that we make the time and find the money to do these things that are important to the soul.  And so so grateful for my partner in crime who helps navigate these insanely crazy waters.