The Sweetheart City
After leaving Idaho, we set out across the big sky plains of Wyoming, accompanied by what seemed like every long-haul trucker in America. As the speed limits increased the landscaped flattened. After what felt like 20 hours of driving (it was actually only 11 hours), we crossed into Colorado and were greeted by a sunset over Rocky Mountain National Park.
We stopped in Fort Collins to grab dinner and kill some time while my brother and sister in-law, Nick and Lindsey, orchestrated the sometimes-delicate bedtime routine for my two young nephews. Pat and I enjoyed the nostalgic ambiance of the college town, caught the end of the Notre Dame football game and ate some much-needed veggies before driving the final miles to Loveland.
We were warmly and quietly greeted by Nick and Lindsey when we arrived, making sure to keep our enthusiasm to a loud whisper, not to wake the boys. After spending some time catching up, we headed to bed to prepare for a fun filled day with my nephews: Action B (Ben) and Fast Sammy (Sam).
We woke up to the sound of small feet running around and headed upstairs to have breakfast with the boys before they headed off to school for the day. Ben just started kindergarten and Sam started preschool this year (they grow up too fast!?). After learning all about hamsters, syrup and how it relates to dental hygiene, and discussing my “droopy” hair, we headed out to walk Ben to school. During our short walk, Ben grilled Pat about his airplane/spaceship and Sam displayed his unrivaled endurance with an impressive, non-stop toddler jog.
After dropping Ben off we headed back home, and Lindsey and Sam left for preschool. Inspired by Sam’s morning cardio, Pat and I decided to go for a run around the neighborhood. About a quarter mile into the run we realized that we had severely underestimated the impact of 4,982 feet of elevation but pressed on completing a very slow and breathless 3-mile run.
We returned home after our run, caught our breaths, ran a few errands and I caught up on the blog while Pat and Sam took a well-earned nap. We then picked up Ben from his school and kicked off one of the most energy-filled afternoons I have been a part of. We played floor hockey, baseball, Candy Land, hide and seek, and had a pretty epic “sword” fight with some modified pool noodles. We took a brief pause for dinner (delicious homemade burrito bowls) and headed to a nearby park to finish the evening off with a home run derby.
After the boys went to sleep, the “grown-ups” stayed awake to pay a board game called Betrayal at House on the Hill, that ended tragically with all four of our characters being eaten by a tentacle-clad mystery beast.
The next morning, we woke up early to spend some extra time with Nick, Lindsey, and the boys before hitting the road again. Ben demoed his new rollerblades and Sam used his fast shoes to evade bubbles and his older brother.
We walked Ben to school before saying some hard goodbyes and packing up the truck for another day on the road. We are already looking forward to showing Ben and Sam our new home once we get settled in Virginia.
