Washington

Cory and I ended our summer travel with a trip to Washington over Labor Day weekend. This was the first time I had been to the northwest and I really fell in love with it. I mean, it was JUST like Twilight…what’s not to love?

We spent three days crabbing with our family in Sequim, a truly picturesque ocean town. In between crabbing we found some time for other things, like reading, wine tasting and…okay, I’ll be honest. 90% of our time was spent sitting around and eating crab. 

It was an AWESOME vacation that encompassed everything I think a good vacation should: relaxation, new experiences and plenty of quality time with people I love. 

We then spent Labor Day in Seattle, which was cool, but way more 90’s grunge than I expected.

If we’re friends on Facebook, watch for my WA Album – coming this weekend!

A weekend with Grandma

My Grandma Terrie and I have always had a special bond. We just seem to connect and “get” each other. This past weekend she came to visit us in Fort Collins and we had such a good time.

We took her to The Crown Pub for dinner on Thursday night and went out for breakfast and shopping on Friday morning. Later that day we had delicious salads on the patio at Austin’s before going for mani pedis at She She, ending the night with homemade pasta & going to see the movie, The Family.

On Saturday we breakfasted at Snooze and drove up to Red Feather. We sampled beer at Fortober Fest and shopped for the grandkids. That evening we tasted cheese at The Welsh Rabbit and grabbed tapas at Jay’s Bistro.

More than all of the fun things we did though, it was so nice to spend quality time with someone we love so much.

Sometimes I feel a little lost in the world. Like, who am I? What am I doing here? Does any of it really matter? And then I get to spend a weekend re-connecting with my grandma and am reminded where and who I come from. I tend to make life way more complicated than it needs to be and I realize that some things are just really simple.

I have love and I am loved. And there’s nothing more important than that.

So thanks, Grandma, for reminding me of this simple truth this weekend. Love you!

Friday Favs

Happy Friday Everyone! Here are my favorite five things this week:

1. Yoga

I went back to hot yoga this week for the first time since we moved to CO, and I had completely forgotten how wonderful it makes my body feel. 

2. Being able to spend time with my dad & Terrie when they visited Fort Collins this week. 

3. This Quote. 

Too often we focus on the negatives in life: what we are lacking, our flaws, the mean things people have said. This week I’ve made it a point to let those things go & focus on the positive side: all of the good qualities in myself & others, the way things are going right and appreciating what I have, knowing that I could have it much worse. This has made all the difference!

4. Finding my “hair home” in Fort Collins! 

Third times a charm, apparently, as this was the third stylist I’ve tried before finding a good fit. My friend, Erin, has been going to Europa, an Aveda salon & I finally gave it a try. Needless to say, I am very pleased!

5. Running

That’s right, next week we are back at it again, beginning to prep for our second half marathon in October. I learned my lesson about overtraining last time, and decided to go with a super simple 12 week training program that I stumbled upon in SELF magazine this summer. Bonus – it’s the same one Ellie Goulding used this year & she rocks!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Orlando

We packed a lot into our time in Orlando last week. If you’ve visited you know that there is just so much to do (all at a price, of course). So in order to keep this post to an acceptable length, here is Orlando in Instagram photos.

View from our room at the Animal Kingdom Resort. Giraffes right outside – so cool!

A walk on The Boardwalk (Disney Resort).

Watching Game One of the NBA Finals at the ESPN bar. My uncle & Cory out front.

A full day at Islands of Adventure & Universal. We even got Cory to ride ALL of the roller coasters – WIN!

And we ended the trip with some fruity drinks, a dip in the pool & a soak in the hot tub.

Until next time, Florida!

Ft. Lauderdale & Hollywood

After visiting my MIL in Sarasota, we rented a car (nicknamed The Mazdarati) and drove To Ft. Lauderdale to pick up my sister from the airport. We had a quick lunch at Bubba Gumps and hit the beach before heading to my cousin’s high school graduation party. 

It was really nice to walk into McKenzie’s party & be greeted by the smiling faces of our family. When you’re with the people that have known you since birth, it just feels right, and moving away from Kansas has made me appreciate our family that much more.

My aunt, uncle & cousin moved down to FL a couple of years ago and we were so happy to finally visit the place that they love & call home. We all ended up playing Wii Bowling at their place into the night. 

The next day we woke up & drove to Hollywood, FL to celebrate my other cousin, Desi’s 21st birthday. She is one of the sweetest people I know & it was so fun to celebrate her…and the fact that she can FINALLY go out with us. : )

Silly Sister. 

This pretty much sums up the couple of days…happy…and exhausting. : ) 

We all slept good that night.

Life After Masectomy

For those of you following my mom’s progress, here is the latest update. 

Surgery went well. 

Recovery didn’t go as well as expected, as my mom was more in pain than she had anticiapted, but a masectomy is a pretty big deal. She took two weeks off of work after the surgery & I was able to visit her during that time. She had four tubes in for drainage purposes, and those were a bit uncomfortable, but she was a trooper. 

Occasionally she went a little stir-crazy and got out of the house, but those outings were very brief because they took a lot out of her. 

After two weeks the doctors took two of her tubs out & gave her the okay to head back to work, which proved more exhausting than she expected, as well. Luckily, she works for an awesome couple (and has been working for them most of my life) & they were very supportive of her working half days, every other day, so as not to put too much stress on her.

Two weeks later the doctors were able to take out her last two tubes, which was a relief for her because they were a major source of her pain. The spacers that she has in her chest now are uncomfortable, so she is looking forward to those being replaced by implants this spring.

I personally think she just can’t wait to have new, perky boobs to show off.
(If you know my mom –  you clearly know I am just kidding. Kind of.)

As for further recovery, we were hoping to find out yesterday if she would need radiation or chemotherapy. Unfortunately, the tests came back mixed & we have to wait another two weeks to find out if we’re “in the clear.”

One thing I must mention, before I go, is how strongly my mom has felt God in this whole process. It’s the one thing she has been saying over & over & it has been amazing to see her calmness with her diagnosis & surgery. She has truly been the anchor keeping our familly together.

Thank you all so much for the prayers, food & support that you’ve given my family and please keep her in your prayers for another couple of weeks, while we wait to find out further treatment.

Big Sky Country

We visit Montana about once a year to spend time w/Cory’s family. His grandmother lives there so we all fly in from various parts of the country, currently: Hawaii, Colorado & Florida.

This time was a bit different than usual for us, for a couple of reasons.

1. Living in CO now, we had to hire a pet sitter to stay with our pups while we were away, instead of just dropping them off w/family. We paid $220 for 4 nights & 5 days, which included an overnight stay each night, walks & mid-day potty breaks. So worth it, in my opinion.

2. For the first time, maybe ever, I packed a carry-on bag. + $50 in our pockets!

3. We had to pay for long-term parking at DIA. – $50, so the carry on kind of evened out. I felt very adult driving ourselves to the airport & leaving our car parked in long term. Living no more than 10 minutes away from the Wichita airport my whole life, we had always relied on family to drop us up & pick us up.

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As always, it was a peaceful getaway, with little internet connection or cell service. I was able to read Silver Linings Playbook, which I highly recommend, get 8 hours of sleep every night & spend some QT with my husband & in-laws.

Some highlights of our trip were:

Literally waking up to this, right outside our cabin window.

Reading by the fire. 

More gorgeous views. Montana in the winter is breathtaking. 

Celebrating Grandma’s 81st birthday with the whole family. 

We stayed at Rich Ranch this visit, which I would highly recommend. It’s the perfect place to retreat to for a quiet, long winter weekend, which is just what we had.

A Mom Update

As many of you know, my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer in November. If you didn’t know,  you can read about it here. 

Since the confirmation of the diagnosis, she’s been to a couple more doctor’s appointments & scheduled her first surgery to remove the tumors, all while debating what type of surgery to select. For those new to breast cancer like we are, it was surprising to find that there are quite a few surgical options & choices to make. 

At one of the doctor’s appointment another lump was found in the same breast. After testing it was confirmed to be malignant as well, which made her surgery choice more clear. She’s opted to have a double mastectomy & her first of three surgeries is tomorrow around noon.  

My sweet sister has taken charge of organizing a “menu plan” for those that would like to help out. Check her Facebook for details. I’ll be back home to visit/help out next week & will keep you all posted on her recovery.

Tonight my sister, mom & her two best friends from high school are having a “cleaning party” to get the house ready for her to come home & rest up in for the next two weeks. Since I couldn’t be there to help clean (darn, I LOVE cleaning), I FaceTimed in & discovered why 45 year olds get a bad reputation when it comes to their technology knowledge.

Me: Mom, you’re upside down.
Mom: What?

Me: YOU’RE UPSIDE DOWN.

Mom: No, I’m not!

Morgan: Mom, we’re upside down.

Mom: Oh.

Please keep my gorgeous Momma in your prayers tonight & tomorrow. My sister & grandma could probably use a prayer too, as they will be helping to take care of her immediately following surgery.

Thank you!

The C Word

Last week my mom found out that she has breast cancer. 

A few weeks before that she went in for her mammogram and a lump was found. She had that lump biopsied & the report came back malignent. Over the weekend we patiently awaited her Tuesday afternoon appointment, in which the specialist would tell her the kind of cancer she has, how aggressive it is & what our next steps would be going forward.

My mom is 45 years old.

So when she told my sister & I last Friday, we were in shock. And we were scared. 

It’s strange how you go through life, not truly realizing how lucky you are. Sure, you know you’re blessed & you may even be really thankful for that, but you do things like turn unfavorable situations into catastrophic problems, because you really think that it’s worth it or that it matters.

It’s like you don’t really begin to live until something like this happens to you. It’s unthinkable that someone you love so dearly could be taken away from you much earlier than you are prepared for. You take for granted life and only when you get news like this do you realize how foolish you’ve been. And you realize that life will never be the same as it was before and that you must treasure each moment.

It’s a bittersweet place to be. You’ve finally woken up, but with a price.

So once you begin living, really living, you put down your cell phone. You hear the kids laugh. You see your sister sitting happily with her husband, off in their own world. You hug your husband tighter. You just notice all of the little things that make your life so great.

By the way, by “you”, I mean me. 

Our family has been lucky up to this point. We’ve had no immediate family members fall ill or pass away, aside from the aging ones. Sure, we’ve had our fair share of drama, but at least everyone had their health. 

So this was a shock to us all. 

I am beyond grateful to say that shock turned into celebration tonight. We got the best news that we could about my mom’s disease. Her cancer is not aggressive, it’s ductile (which means it’s contained & has not spread) and removal and recovery will most likely be fairly easy. 

Thank the Lord!

We still don’t know EXACTLY what is ahead, we have to wait three weeks to receive another blood test result, telling us if the cancer is hereditary (though there is no breast cancer in our family, there is still a 1/16 chance that it’s possible to carry a hereditary gene). Once we know the answer to that, we’ll know what her treatment path will be.

So please keep her in your prayers.

This year is going to be extra special for our family as we have more to be thankful for than we were ever aware of before. 

I hope that you hug your mom extra tight on Turkey Day & look around the table, being in awe of the amazing people you have you in your life, seeing & loving them for who they are, flaws & all. 

That, friends, is my plan. 

Winston is One!

Happy Birthday, Baby Winston!

For his birthday we went on a long, fun walk in the park. You have to look closely to see Winston in this picture (bottom right).

Then we went to Pet Smart & got him a little fleece for his upcoming Colorado residency. Winston wasn’t a big fan of Pet Smart, he pretty much shook the whole time, so I had to hold him. Lesson learned. But he actually doesn’t mind the fleece…I think.

On another note, I saw dog booties. So, I win, Cory. They DO make them.

Then we had a little birthday party, snacks & all!

Below: 

– Upper Left: The party peeps (or pups).

– Upper Right: Natty’s treat.

Lower Left: Leon’s treat (Winston patiently waiting in the background).

Lower Right: Winston’s share!

Happy Saturday!