We made it!

 Although the packing was tedious, the goodbyes were tearful, and the drive was long, everything pushing us forward on this move to Woodland Park, CO has worked out better than we could have ever hoped.

The day before we left, Mary watched the kids, while we spent the entire day cleaning the house and packing up the moving truck. To. The. Brim. Literally, nothing else could have been shoved in there. The next morning, D-day, we met with the buyers, signed all the closing paperwork and hit the road. Easy peasey! We drove, stopped, repeat. The kids played with the multitudes of activities that I had pre-made and little toys and games that I had dug out of forgotten bins and from the backs of their closets. Both the kids and dogs were very well behaved. The first night we made it to Clayton, NM and by the next afternoon we were at our "new house."

What do you do when you don't have a kitchen table? Eat a little McDonald's on a box.

Last night in our old house

Is that the garage floor?!



I think we can put one more thing right there...

Goodbye 609 Thrush!

On the road again!

Wow. There is NOTHING out here.

Getting better.

Now that's some landscaping

Woodland Park, CO- City Above The Clouds

Ahhh, the house. It is a very unique house, definitely a rental. I think it may have started it's life as a 1 bedroom house with an office, living room, kitchen, dining room, loft and 2 bathrooms. It also has a sunroom and gardening area/greenhouse. Then, I think, they built on an in-law suite above the garage, adding on a large living area, bathroom and smaller bedroom. The large living area was actually marketed as a master suite with a closet, which it has, but it is filled with a large water heater and furnace. Hmmm... So, although the kids have a huge closet in their small bedroom, we have had to make do with a teeny tiny linen closet and some new cube storage units (think Ikea-like). This house really has it's plusses though  (& some serious potential) - a beautiful view of the mountains from the dining room; super awesome solar heat with a sunshade that automatically goes up and down to regulate the temperature in the house; a cool yard which is very attractive to the local mule deer; an awesome loft that the kids have adopted as their playroom; and a garage that I can actually PARK IN. That last one may have made the entire move worth it.

We have met the neighbors, Cecilia & Joe, and they are super-friendly and helpful. We have met some of their friends (a pre-k teacher with a hunter/fisher/handyman husband and a Michigander with her 8 yr old son who goes to Wade's school). Wade has started school and loves it- on his 2nd day, he actually had a field trip to a Space Museum in the Springs and hasn't stopped talking about it since. We have hiked in the National Forest just down the road and have eaten at many of the local (fabulous) restaurants here in town. Mark has made buddies at the Kitchen and Homebrew store and at the gun shop. We have geared up for ice fishing and thanks to our neighbor's fishing friend, have someone to point us where to go.

View from my kitchen table, mountains in the distance

The kids playroom/loft

There was snow when we arrived. It quickly melted, much to Wade's disappointment

Sunroom/artroom

Our little herd of 6 mule deer

Our daily drive into Woodland Park



Hard to see, but the blue and black stellar jays are beautiful

You might be wondering how we've been able to do all these things so quickly. Well, let me tell you a little story... On our 4th day at the new house, Wade was playing in the sunroom on the lower level when he came running over to me screeching that his socks were wet. After investigating this somewhat gross mystery, I discovered something drastically more gross. The bathroom and bathtub were filled with a grayish murky water and the carpet was sopping wet. Mark called the property manager, who called a service guy to come look at it, and lo and behold, our sewer had backed up. Yes, there was actually *solid waste* floating in our basement... After the drain was snaked, nothing could actually be done about the waste without the homeowner's permission. So... after FOUR DAYS of sending companies out to do bids, they finally had someone come in and rip up the damaged carpet, treat the concrete floor, and put out industrial (ie loud) dehumidifiers. Two days later, the smell came back, and they came out to remove the damaged drywall. The next day, they removed the dehumidifiers and now we are just waiting for the homeowners to come visit (from CA) and decided what they'd like to do about the little flooring issue. We are excited to meet them.

So, that is how we spent 4 days outside of our new home exploring the town of Woodland Park and the surrounding areas.




Here's the flooring situation. This is just one side. There is a whole other room on the other side that looks like this too. Plus a jack and jill bathroom (right side) and a laundry area (left side).

At the Donut Mill- where the donuts are bigger than my face!

Mine too!

Chipita Park. Possibly the strangest town I've ever seen.

Hiking in the National Forest





Does your Walmart have a livestock section?

Who'd of thunk it?!

Love this place! But we're not sure how they make any money. Every time we are there, they barely charge us anything and upgrade our drinks...

Plus you can buy an eighth in the Springs for $25.00

 The house we will deal with for a year, it could be worse. But one thing has truly been confirmed- we absolutely LOVE Woodland Park and are positive that we were meant to be here. We love the outdoors, the wildlife, the weather (no, it's not freezing!), the people, the feeling you get from the town... The list could just go on and on. Let me just say, the pictures don't even come close to doing it justice!