Return to Dance After 10 Years

So ever since I graduated from high school, I have had the urge to dance again. Seriously, for the past 7 years it was painful to think of dancing and really wanting an outlet to dance, but feeling like that stage in my life was over. Anyhow, I totally stepped out of my comfort zone, found a dance studio and went to my first ballet class tonight. It wouldn't matter who the teacher was or what we did, it was so unbelievably fantastic to dance again! Now for those of you who instantly cracked up at the thought of me in a leotard and tights trying to lift my leg in the air....I wore a tank and sweats to ease into it and surprisingly a lot of the technique came back, however the flexibility did not. I'm also going to try a contemporary class, hopefully my old body can keep up.

I realize my posts don't have much 'meat' to them, they're mostly just a means to post pics. so those who are interested (basically grandmas and grandpas) can see Ry grow. Anyways, my good friend from Pittsburgh is here visiting her fam and I'm so happy we've been able to hang out!! Her little girl, Dillon, and Ry are good little buddies and are so cute together. They're 5 weeks apart and have been best buds since the day Dillon was born.

Here's Ry helping me clean the floor, she's pretend spraying the floor with some soap and then wiping it up. I hope she keeps this up, and I'll be putting her to work in no time!

Last Friday we went to a Rockies game, which was really fun. Ry did great for being out so late, and I enjoyed the excuse to eat Red Vines and M&Ms all night.

We also went to Oktoberfest in Denver. I thought this would be similar to the Fall Festival we've gone to in Pittsburgh, but apparently it's an old German tradition that is all about beer. It wasn't a total loss though, the funnel cake Kev and I shared was completely worth the trip.

This week we've been stuck home more because Ry has had some flu bug, and has been getting sick on my carpet, in her carseat, and her crib. Yuck.

Pittsburghers

So just a quick post to express my appreciation to our wonderful friends we made in Pittsburgh. I now realize that our time in Pittsburgh and dental school was so awesome because we had such great friends. I also realize how blessed we were to already have friends and family in Pittsburgh before we even arrived. Now that we're in Denver I know not only is it hard to break out of your shell and meet people, but I'm afraid that our friends from Pittsburgh have set the bar unrealistically high. So to Jeff, Maja, Doug, Christen, Jaclyn, Mike, Jon, Brooke, and all you other wonderful Pittsburghers, we miss and love you! Thanks for your friendships and great memories!

Bee Sting - Poor Rylee

While at the zoo this week we caught the sea lion show, during which Rylee started frantically rubbing her face and screaming and would not stop. It really caught me by surprise and I had no idea what was wrong, but after a few concerned mothers came to make sure everything was ok, Rylee was diagnosed as having been stung by a bee or a wasp. It was soooo sad. She was stung right between her nose and mouth, and it it was like she had no idea what was going on. I'll admit, I shed a few tears for her myself.


Holy Mullet

So I almost always have Ry's hair in pigtails, so I'm not sure if any of you have seen the full on mullet she has. For those of you who have seen Rylee over the summer, it is even worse now. The party in the back is getting longer everyday, while the business up front has made no progress. Here is a pic. of Ry's awesome mullet, and I must say that not many people could be so darn cute with such a raging mullet.

Ry's Crafty Apron

So since I have so much time on my hands and a sewing machine in my closet, I decided I needed a project. This was just a small project, but it is pretty cute. I found the coolest fabric ever and decided to make Ry an apron since she enjoys helping me bake in the kitchen. I seriously want to make some bedding for Ry out of this material, it's that cute. However, if you could see the apron up close, you would probably suggest I hold off on the bedding because my sewing is pretty shotty.

On a baking note, I won the blue ribbon apple pie award during our Ward's Chili cook off and Pie bake off! Not quite as cool as it sounds since there were only like 5 apple pies in the contest.

Camping

We went camping this weekend at Chatfield State Park. Now I admit I expected more from a campground in Colorado (it was like camping in a parking lot with a few trees here and there), but we still had a great time and I love camping food. Kev's cousin and her family joined us from Colorado Springs, and we were so happy to have fun people to hang out with. The next day we went on a 2.5 mile hike and averaged an hour a mile. Although the kids were setting a pretty slow pace, it was a beautiful relaxing hike.

Ry and Sam fell asleep in the backpacks about 10 mins. into the hike

Rylee: 1 Nursery: 0
This Sunday was our first attempt at leaving Rylee in nursery by herself. We'd been hanging out with her in nursery the past couple weeks, and thought she was ready to give it a go on her own....wrong! As I sat listening at the door, I about started crying listening to her panic, frantically saying 'up/down please' (meaning she wanted out). I wanted to bust down the door, hug Ry, and ruin all progress made (which I don't believe any progress was made). I waited it out though, and the meshing of Ry and nursery was unsuccessful, and the nursery worker had to bring a sad sad Ry out to me. Who knows what to do now, hopefully it will just take a little more time.


We got annual passes to the zoo here and it's such a great way to get Rylee out of the house. We've gone first thing in the morning, when there's hardly anybody there, and it's fun for Ry to just meander around. A nice employee at the zoo gave Ry a peacock feather, and that was the highlight of her trip.

One thing I have come to love about Denver are the bike trails. We have a great bike trail right by our apartment, so that is a pretty regular evening activity for us. It goes by this great park that Ry loves, so the pics. are of Ry at the park, and the last one is of her a different evening after our bike ride. She was pretty tired and laid on the floor as soon as she walked in the house. Just to clarify, it was chilly outside so that is why she is wearing a dress, sweatshirt, sweatpants, and slippers.

Meet your new Den Mothers
That's right, Kev and I have been called as Den Mothers in our ward (Kevin insists on being called a Den leader). We're excited to be doing this together. I already have it all worked out, Kev is going to teach the lessons, and I'm going to provide the treats (and then they will like me the best)!



And I saved our most exciting news for last....we are not expecting, but we are going to Pocatello for Thanksgiving!!! I'll be flying in the Saturday before Thanksgiving and Kev will drive that Wednesday. We're so excited to see our families, and I have to say I have somehow managed to go another year without having to prepare a Thankgiving meal!

Rylee's first casualty

Now that I'm posting this, I'm surprised Rylee hasn't caused any serious damage to our stuff until now. This is not as bad as it sounds. Today Ry was playing with my glasses, normally we immediately take those away from her, but she was being cute and just putting them on and grinning. However, as I was doing my hair in our bathroom I heard Kev say from our bedroom "Rylee...no, no, no. Look, you broke mom's glasses." Sure enough, when I looked out she had busted of the ear piece on one side.

What makes this story a little 'funnier' is that just yesterday I went to the DMV to get a Colorado license. After waiting there for 3 hours. (yes 3 hours of me and Ry sitting in the same room waiting for our number to be called) I finally was seen by the DMV employee and we began the process of getting my license. One of the lasts steps was for me to take the eye test. To my horror, when I pressed my face against the greasy head piece, I couldn't make out a single letter (for those of you who drive with me probably aren't surprised, I really should wear my glasses at all times). I forgot to bring my glasses with me, and I couldn't proceed until I passed the eye test. The lady there was really nice, and kept encouraging me to try to make out the letters, otherwise I was left with the option to go home, come back with my glasses, and wait again. Amazingly, and I'm sure this was a blessing, the fourth time I attempted to see the letters they were clear and I passed. I vowed there and then to wear my glasses while driving.

That was a long way to say I just committed to wear my glasses more, they are now broken, and we do not have vision insurance. I might be sporting some taped glasses for the next few years!!