Hello, Colorado!

The day had arrived.

I woke up realizing there was no turning back (not that I didn't already know it). Our house was sold. Rick had a new job. There was a house in Colorado waiting for us. This was it.

Our flight was late in the morning on Labor day. We had just enough time to eat breakfast, get the girls ready, and pack up without feeling rushed.

My parents drove us to the airport in two cars since we couldn't all fit in one. Rick rode with my Dad in his car and I rode with the girls in my mom's car.

Since we had several bags, plus two car seats (and two energetic girls), we decided to indulge ourselves and use the skycap. My attempts to hold back the tears were unsuccessful as we were unloading our bags, shuffling through boarding passes, and corralling the girls. I hate crying in public. I especially hate crying in front of strangers. Gwen, on the other hand, had already made a friend. A cute little girl named Hannah was in line in front of us and they were talking, giggling, and dancing around like they had been friends for years.

After saying our final goodbyes to my parents, I wiped away the tears and tried to focus on getting though the skycap. Soon I was talking to the mother of Gwen's new friend. Her name was Lindsey and they were also flying to Colorado. Gwen and Hannah were overjoyed to learn they would be on the same flight!

We got through security smoothly and had plenty of time before the flight. We passed the time (and got the wiggles out) in the children's play area.

Gwen's friend Hannah soon showed up at the play area and they had fun spending running around. I also got to talk to Lindsey more and enjoyed getting to know her a little.

Lindsey was very empathetic to my situation. Her husband plays for a major league baseball team, so they have moved over 30 times. During baseball season, she and her family live in whatever city her husband plays for. They also go with him to spring training. During this time Lindsey homeschools the kids. (She has an older son and also a baby girl close to Fiona's age) On the off-season, they live in their hometown in Colorado.

She definitely understood how I felt....going to a city I've never lived in....living for several weeks without my husband. Really, I've just had a taste of what her life has been like for the past 10 years. I felt bad all the complaing I've done for the past two months.

Lindsey and I exchanged phone numbers and she promised to have the girls and me over to play. Since the season was wrapping up, they will be in Colorado until the 2011 spring training. I was excited to already have a friend and we hadn't even gotten on the plane yet! Now let's just hope that her hubby gets traded to the Rockies so they can stay in Colorado for a while.

While waiting for our flight to board, Gwen and Hannah found each other and continued to play. As they talked they discovered that they have the same middle name. From that time forward, Hannah was known as "Hannah with the middle name Rose." So cute.

On the plane, Gwen begged me to sit next to Hannah. We settled on sitting across the aisle from each other.

Fiona was having as much fun as Gwen was. This was her first flight and she was very interested in everything. She loved looking out the window with Gwen.

Eventually the novelty of flying wore off and Fiona started showing signs that she was beyond ready for a nap. The whole back of the plane had already had the pleasure of hearing Lindsey's baby cry for 10 minutes while she rocked her to sleep. Next it was our turn to cause a ruckus. Finally Fiona stopped fighting me and feel asleep. She slept for a good hour on my shoulder. I was so grateful that she was getting some much-needed rest. Notice my new friend Lindsey in the background...

Gwen is old enough now that flying with her is easy. She loved watching a movie and having a special drink...

After we landed we landed the typical chaos following a flight began....baggage claim, hauling luggage around, riding in a smelly, 90 degree van to the off-site park-and-fly that seems decades away from the airport.

We finally got to Rick's car and squeezed (or should I say jammed?) all of our luggage into Rick's tiny Civic. My car was still en route, so we were going to be a one car family for a while.

We arrived at the hotel (the Hyatt Place at Denver Tech Center) and were so glad to sit down and rest for a while. Our room was awesome and every 20 minutes I talked about what an amazing deal we got it for on hotwire.com. I'm a sucker for a good deal.

I loved that there was a couch (actually, it was a huge sectional) that was separated by a little half wall from the sleeping area. We pushed Fiona's crib up against the couch, so when she was in bed, she would be able to see us on the other side. Out of sight, out of mind is definitely true in Fiona's case.

After we got settled, we decided to drive down to the house. We weren't closing till the next day, but Rick was dying to show it to us and we were dying to see it.

We couldn't go in, but we peeked in windows and looked over the fence. It seemed cute and I couldn't wait to actually go inside the next day. The neighborhood seemed really nice too!

Afterwards we went to the local park and then had dinner and Noodles and Company.

Back at the hotel, Rick took Gwen for a quick swim and then it was off to bed. The next day was closing day, so we needed a good nights rest. Not that I could sleep...