Okay, got some time while they are sleeping. Here we go:
Closing on the house and moving
So, we closed on the 29th of May. We had our final inspection the day before and all seemed well. They mentioned a leak near the fireplace, but they said they would take a look at it, etc, etc, but at this point, I was pretty sure that they weren't going to do anything. Which was right. It's leaking near the flashing I think and nothing has come about, so we're going to have to fix it soon.
Anyway, we go and signed all the paperwork, we met the homeowners at the signing and we got our keys. We went straight to the house for a little bit because Laura's parents were watching the kids during this time. We got some stuff ready and they came over. We thought we had the entire next month to move and paint and get everything done, right? Nope. Time goes by faster in these cases. We got like 2 rooms painted and moved so little, ha. Most of it went to the garage, as well, so we still had to rummage through and bring them in one by one. Fast forward 2 months and we're still unpacking. We don't have too much left, I suspect we'll be done, hopefully, in the next month. There's probably like 20 or so boxes in the garage and a lot of that is random garage stuff once I get my desk put back together in the garage. The best decision about this move, though, was paying for 3 (4?) hours of moving help. We had them do all the furniture and heavy stuff...namely the armoire. That armoire, man. Anyway, I think not moving all those heavy things helped. It was about $200 and I think that was a bit much for the time, but, you pay for convenience, I guess.
So, again, we're slowly getting everything in its place. We need to get a few more big items like the new couch, some bookshelves, etc.
Backpacking with Chris
This took place a couple of weeks after we got the house, so it really cut into moving time even though I literally went for a weekend. Anyway, I flew out Thursday real late and the next morning we set off for the campsite. We were planning on going to our usual spot but once we got there, we found out that all the May rains flooded that area, so we had to choose a campsite a couple of miles farther. I was already on the fence about backpacking because I'm not in shape by any means and I didn't really exercise for this trip but choosing the farther camp made me worry for real in my head. It was about 6-7 miles I think and it might have been fine if it was our usual trail as well, but we had to use a different trail that was much more difficult than the other. the elevation gain was like 4000 feet versus about 1000, so.
We decided to get a couple last minute things at the market and headed up there. We put on our packs, which weighed 28 lbs for me and 30 for him - not proportionately correct, but whatever. He kept insisting that it's the same weight, so it's equal. Right. After the pack was on, I was already feeling it after the first few hundred feet. This was just past the trail head and we were actually trying to find the trail because it wasn't marked, but judging from being on the trail on the walk back, I think we were just blind somehow. So, we were already going pretty slow in the first 10 minutes and it started off with a huge climb. The climb took maybe 30-45 minutes. Wasn't long but it felt so tiring. Then we descended probably more than we climbed, which we said was going to be a bitch on the way back. At the bottom of this ridge was a river. So far it was like 1.5 hours. We then started up another ridge, then down again. Another hour, hour and a half go by. At this point, I was feeling all right. I took a lot of rests, basically stopped for a minute or two every 15 minutes? I had to keep my legs rested because this was a lot more climbing that I imagined. Still, I was surprised I was doing well. Chris was even saying it was hard for him. I think we were on par with each other and I was at an altitude disadvantage.
We took a longer rest after the 2nd ridge and then started on the 3rd. This was the longest and took like 2 hours to get to the top. I was looking at the GPS on the tablet here and there and tracking how far we had left to go. The map said the camp site was close, but it was off by a little bit, so it was demoralizing. After another hour, we finally find the camp site after having to cross a river without shoes. I tried to make a bridge, but that didn't work. The water was freezing too. We chose our site and of course there was no one at either of the 2 sites. We got some water, got the fire going, and ate. I was pretty tired. We talked a bit about random stuff and discussed whether to head back the next day or not because we were already bored and we didn't know what we would be doing all day the next day. We decided to head back the next day. Through the night it was fine. The weather was getting cold as the evening approached and I remember seeing the low to be like 30s, so I was prepared. It was really weird, though, because halfway through, I was sweating, so I took my jacket off. In the morning, it was REALLY warm outside, like, warmer than the night before. Strange because the morning is supposed to be the coldest time. We didn't even make a fire because it was already warm, almost hot even. We ate breakfast, which was pretty good. I was looking forward to the Mountain House meals, but it wasn't as satisfying as when Laura and I went with them. Dunno why.
Anyway, we left around 9 and got back around 1p to the car, I think. It was maybe an hour faster on the way back and I was feeling really good the first hour or two then I started to get tired. That super descent at the very start, which now became a straight-up climb was definitely the hardest part of the walk. We never saw anyone except when we first started on the first day. They passed us at the start and went another route. The weather was perfect as well. No rain or anything until just before we reached the car on the way back. Dunno if I'll do that trail again, but it was good to know that I was able to do it.
We ate at McDonald's in Estes Park and went home. We took it easy that day. The next day I was pretty sore and now I was worrying that I wouldn't be able to help move the coming weekend. It all went fine, though. I was pretty much back to normal by then.
Colorado Trip
I was dreading this the moment we decided to go and at the time we hadn't decided whether or not we would be flying or driving. In retrospect, I'm not sure which would have been worse. I think flying would have been easier, I guess. The only thing different would have been the drive there, which we did over 2 days both times. I guess we would have been paying way more, but...oh well. The drive wasn't really that bad. A couple of times the kids were just sick of being in the car and had some fits, but overall, it was fine. The stay at the hotels were fine, too. A couple of times we all stayed in the same room and that went surprisingly well.
Connor wore the kilt during the wedding and it was a big hit. He danced A LOT during the wedding reception as well. He even met and danced with another little girl. It was cute. The wedding went fine and I got some good shots, but I was just tired of watching the kids by the end of the entire trip. We hung out with Chris and Alicia for a couple of days and met my sister and Mom as well.
Seems like I wrote very little on the Colorado trip...dunno why. Maybe I'm tired of writing or something. The kids are about to wake up as well. Really, there wasn't much to report except watching the kids and Laura doing wedding stuff.
I did have a really awkward time at the rehearsal dinner because I sat at the table with some Japanese friends of Matt's and I sometimes talked in Japanese and sometimes in English, and most of the time, everyone was just quiet. Just really awkward. I wish Laura had been there, but she was watching the kids. I was going to sit at other tables but it got full. I think Laura there would have had a better time overall. The slideshow was easy to set up and I just took a few pictures, which Laura could have done. Oh well.
Well, I better mentally prepare myself for them waking up. She has been HORRIBLE with any type of sleeping the last few weeks. The last couple of days, though, she has been doing pretty good if I just put her down and let her cry it out. By 10-15 minutes, she's sleeping. She wakes up a couple of times during the nap, but goes back down again. I wish we could do that during the night, but Laura insists on keeping her in our room. Connor was in his own room by this age, I'm pretty sure. I don't remember going to get him to feed once a night and putting him back, but then again, I don't remember much from his early months.
Okay, I'm off. Laura's parents are coming down tomorrow so they can watch the kids on Friday so we can go get dinner and possibly a movie for our anniversary. We haven't gone to dinner just us since our last anniversary, I think! Maybe not that far back, but pretty sure. We have to get the house ready, as well.
See ya.
