Things about Colorado that I love...

...The Hill Family. Being with them this weekend has been so wonderful. I have laughed so hard watching the kids play together and I love my time with Kristen (and Nate, Tenley, and Tessa of course). When I was in the hospital prior to Brooks, Kristen came and saw me almost everyday. Her husband was out in the woods doing wilderness training for the duration of my hospital stay, and she lived a couple of block away. She would bring Tenley (Brooks' girlfriend) up and they would hang out at the hospital for hours. She has always been a great resource for me as a parent (since she has 4 months on me). One night, Brooks busted his lip pretty good on the tile floor, and he had a good amount of blood in his mouth. Kristen very calmly washed out his mouth, told me it was alright if I wanted to cry, and calmed both of us down. I miss my Kristen when I'm in Texas.

...The snow. It snowed Friday night and again on Sunday. Sunday it snowed a whole lot. We dressed the kids and let them go wild outside. Tenley was all decked out in her Columbia snow gear, and poor Brooks was wearing the only "winter" jacket that he has with some windpants from Children's place, and some yarn mittens from Target. Despite the lack of appropriate gear - Brooks absolutely LOVED the snow. Brooks and Tenley spent the first 5 minutes just eating the snow. And Brooks spent the next 5 minutes picking up snow and throwing it up in the air above his head. He ran back and forth on the sidewalk a little bit, and it wasn't until he starting exploring "stomping" in the snow that he got cold. And then he was done.

...Ski racks. I forgot what it's like to be driving around and seeing ski racks on everyone's cars. It just reminds me of the mountains, and the mountains make me happy. Chad finally took our ski rack off the top of our car...now it's just a regular car in Texas.
...The mountains. They were kind of hidden all weekend with the snow clouds. But I knew they were there.
...Charles Hay. On Friday morning I went up to my old school to visit the teachers and students. It was such a strange feeling being in that building and just being a visitor. I got to see tons of my old kids. One of my students from last year said, "Mrs. Hoffman! It's me - Ethan! Do you remember me?!" So cute! I miss those hallways and everyone who occupies them.
..."Brooks and Tenley sittin' in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G." I miss watching Brooks and Tenley playing together. This is actually the first time that they have been on the "same page" as far as their mobility. There are 4 months inbetween them which has always been just enough so that when Brooks when learn how to do something, Tenley would learn something new and better. For example, once Brooks learned how to crawl, Tenley learned how to walk. Well this time, they were pretty much evenly matched. They were so much fun to watch...probably because they LOVE each other. They were meant to be from the very beginning. This time they had fun finger painting, playing in the snow, running around the house, jumping on the bed, tickling each other, bathing together, screaming together, and dancing together. Okay, so dancing is one thing that Tenley still has on Brooks. She is quite the expert dancer. Take a look for yourself...

I know this picture is slightly blurry...but it is still SO cute!