Winter is Finally Here:(

We have had such a mild winter here this year that I think Tucson has gotten more snow than us so far. I think this week has changed all that though and gave us a sharp reminder that yes, we do live in Colorado and yes, it is February.  We will get into all of that in a minute.

I had a nice long 4 day weekend and on Monday, mom and I spent the afternoon at Monster Mini Golf.  It is a really cool indoor, glow in the dark mini golf place.  We had an awesome time.  We thought for sure we were going to have a 5 day weekend with a snow day on Tuesday but dang it, we didn't even get a delay.  What we did get was 6" of snow.  I was incredibly disappointed I had to go to school and spent the morning taking it out on mom.  It was a day she was happy to drop me off at school!   The snow was really pretty and we did got a picture of a lone coyote wandering around the open space behind our house.   

I was in a better mood when we got home in the afternoon so mom and I got some snow painting in and besides being bitterly cold, we had fun and made some cool designs.

The rest of the week was pretty quiet but dad and I had a fabulous weekend!  Mom was in a class to learn how to stick needles into people to make them feel better (I don't get it either) on Friday, Saturday and Sunday so it was some intense, quality father/daughter time.
On Friday, we went out to dinner and headed to Target to buy another Skylander.
On Saturday, dad and I were going non-stop from sun up to sun down.  We started the morning at Snooze for breakfast and then headed to the Natural History Museum to see the mammoth exhibit.

 (We took this picture in front of the Sonoran Desert diorama for old time's sake)
After that, we headed to Dave and Buster's where I managed to win yet another gigantic snake.  I picked a red one this time.  It goes fabulous with my green one.  We finally got home and everyone collapsed into bed.

Sunday was a quiet day inside watching the blizzard blow in.  We did manage to get in a little sledding but the wind was blowing so much that it got snow in our eyes and we had to turn around.  I think we ended up getting over a foot of snow and it was nice that it was on a Sunday so we could enjoy it.  Mom also didn't mind it so much because it gave her a chance to test out her new Subaru and it was great!  We are still hoping for  snow day on Monday though....

Have a happy, safe week!  Stay warm!

Cautiously Optimistic

Well, here we are- seven days without germs.  We aren't quite sure what to do with ourselves.

We had a pretty good week with it being Valentine's Day and all.  We had a pretty good day-  Dad made me special Valentine's pancakes for breakfast, served on Mom's award winning plate.  We had a party at school and I came home with tons of candy, which had mom really excited too.

I had my Daisy Scout meeting Thursday night and we went swimming.  It was a perfect night for it since it was snowing and sleeting all day.  Nothing better than a good swim on a freezing night.  We came home to a romantic dinner of grilled cheese.  Mom loved it because she didn't have to make it.  The only bummer of the whole day was the fact that both Mom and Dad gave up sweets for Lent, so they just lived vicariously through me.  Dad had the crazy idea of giving both sweets AND beer but mom put the kabash on that one.  That would be just no fun.

Friday night, we went out to dinner but we were home and in our jammies by 6:45 and it was good.  As if that wasn't enough, we all slept in until past 7 Saturday morning.  It was just crazy around here.

After a run for mom, a ride for dad, we headed down to the state history museum.  It is brand new and is pretty cool with lots of technology to play with.

We got to superimpose ourselves onto a yearbook from 1918 and dad ended up as best dressed and mom was class clown.....

 I was voted best farmer- it's in my blood you know

 Mom and I got to drive a Model T

We got home just in time for me to head out to our troop's Cookie Booth Sale.  We parked it in front of King Sooper's and managed to sell 77 boxes of cookies on a Saturday night.

 Our time slot was 6PM to 9PM and we started getting a little slap happy toward the end but we all had a great night.

Sunday was an amazingly lazy day- mom and I literally did not get our of our pajamas until 2 in the afternoon.  (We spent a lot of time in our jammies this weekend but it was on purpose, so that is OK).  We did finally make it out of the house to go swimming and then headed home for dinner and a movie. So all in all, not a very exciting weekend but it was still good- no germs!

Germs Be Gone! Please?

Oh my dear Lord- can we please be done with the illnesses?  I think in our last post, we knocked on wood because we were finally feeling better after two weeks of the flu.  Well.  That was a bit premature.  We actually did feel better for a week and had a decent week.  I had swim lessons, Girl Scouts and then we headed out Friday night for our weekly Family Night Out.  Everything was going well, we had plans for an actual adventure on Saturday and everything.  Then mom had to go and ruin everything.  She went to bed Friday night feeling a little weird and woke up Saturday with a full blown stomach virus.  It was one of those that leaves you laying on the bathroom floor begging for the good Lord to take you away right now.  (He didn't, fortunately).  She was quarantined to her room so Dad and I spent the day running ice chips up to her, holding our breath and not touching anything.  Mom was better Sunday which is a good thing because she had to work!  Yeah!  So it was another Daddy/Daughter day.  Oh yeah, it was Superbowl Sunday and we watched that but, eh, it was just ok.  So, mom continued her slow recovery during the week and just as she was hitting full stride, Dad got sick.  Again.  He has been banished to the guest room.  Again.  On the positive side, it wasn't the stomach thing mom had, just a cold.  And on another positive side, I seem to have missed out on all of it.  But we learned our lesson and are not knocking on any wood.

We a little snow storm on Monday night and woke up to the most beautiful scene Tuesday morning.  It was the heavy, wet snow that sticks to everything.  The sky was brilliant blue and the mountains were pure white- just gorgeous.  And the best part?  The roads were clear so we could really enjoy it.

We made it to Friday and even though Dad still wasn't on his A game, we headed to Dave and Buster's because it was my night to pick our restaurant.  It was a mighty good choice because I won a ton of tickets which means I got another really cool prize!  I managed to get a giant snake to go with my giant Scooby!  The snake was much easier to get into the car but that doesn't make her any less cool......

On Saturday, we spent the day disinfecting the house.  Since we had either been working or sick for the past 5 weeks, things were pretty germy.  We all worked hard and I'm sure we are much healthier for it.  After that, we hit Costco and the grocery store.  It was another stellar day.  Mom did venture out Saturday night for a mom's night out with some friends and that was pretty awesome for her.  Dad and I stayed home and went to bed early.

Sunday, mom and I made Valentine's cake pops or cake blobs as we like to call them.  In the end, it doesn't matter what they look like, only what they taste like.  And they tasted good!

In the afternoon, mom and I went to a friend's house for a jewelry party and now we are watching "Journey to the Center of the Earth".  For the 5th time.  I LOVE THIS MOVIE!!

A little side note-  at my last Daisy meeting, we went to a "paint your own" pottery studio.  Mom decided she wanted to join the fun and painted the plate below.  We went to pick up our creations today and much to mom's amazement, her plate was selected to be featured in the Artist Showcase Gallery on their Facebook page!  She got a $10 gift certificate for the honor.  She is going to give up physical therapy now to focus solely on her artistic career.  Honestly though, can you imagine how bad the competition must have been for her to win?  Whatever.  It made her week.

So, here's hoping that you have an Artist Showcase Gallery kind of week!  Enjoy!

On The Upswing

So, I think we can safely say that we are all finally healthy (knock on wood).  Dad is no longer banished to the guest room to sleep because he has stopped coughing up a lung and he has returned to riding.  I am well rested enough that I am no longer grumpy.  And mom is just happy to have everyone feeling better.

Our week was pretty low keyed but Friday mom and I went to our first ever Girl Scout Cookie Rally.  It was pretty danged awesome- it was a big dance party and my Daisy troop spent the evening busting out our most cool dance moves and getting amped up to sell cookies.  It went until 8 but mom and her two mom volunteers were ready to call it a night at 7:30.

Even though everyone was feeling better, our weekend was kind of lame.  Well, mom and dad's weekend was lame.  Mine kind of rocked.  Dad's team at work is having major issues so he to go into work on Saturday.  Mom and I had a lazy morning and then headed down to the zoo for a few hours. It was another great visit with all kinds of fun animal stuff.  We got to watch the orangutans and gorillas get their afternoon snack, we got to talk to the zoo keepers for the elephants and tapirs.  We learned about how the zoo keepers had to do "mouth to snout" breathing to save a new born tapir, then we got to feed the lorikeets.  That was really cool except there were so many people in there with us that the birds were too full to eat much.  

And then as if our day wasn't exciting enough, we got to see the 7 month old lion cubs.  They were adorable and I could have stayed there all day.

On Sunday, it was mom 's turn to work.  It was a nice, long day of patients and paperwork.  There really isn't a better way to spend a Sunday.
Dad and I made the most of a beautiful day and headed out to the creek behind our house.  We started out by looking for bugs but found a lot of ice instead- which I loved more than bugs.

We wrapped up our week with family movie night and chocolate brownies.  So, it wasn't the most exciting of weeks but we are just happy to be feeling better all around.  I'm sure next weekend will be much better!

Recovery Week

If last week was the week from hell, this week was only the week from purgatory.  A small improvement but still a bit rough.  Dad is making a slow rebound but you know he was really sick when he has to take an entire week off from riding.  He ventured out for a short ride on Saturday and it knocked him out for the rest of the day.  We will be glad to get this particular virus out of the house!

My week was slightly better.  I made it back to school but was pretty tired all week.  I had swimming lessons on Tuesday and it was great because the other two girls weren't there so I had a private lesson.  I started learning the "dolphin kick" and my instructor started me on the butterfly stroke too.  I loved it! I think it made my back muscles really sore though because I spent the next 3 days with the back of my hand against my forward, sighing about how much my back hurt.  Boo-hoo.  Mom did a very thorough assessment (not!) and determined that I would live, so no sympathy there.

Thursday, I had Girl Scouts.  Mom, Ms. Chris and Ms. Young (who was hosting) were all so tired and disorganized that our meeting consisted of 12 girls taking over the basement and acting like wild women for an hour and 15 minutes.  IT WAS AWESOME!

Friday could not come soon enough.  I had the day off but mom had to work a 1/2 day so off to day camp I went.  She picked me up at noon and we went to see the movie Wreck-it Ralph.  I loved it because it was about video games, candy and car racing.  What more could a girl want?  And to make it even better.....my tooth fell out!  My front tooth has been hanging on and hanging on for at least 6 weeks and we thought it would never fall out.  Apparently, I just wasn't taking big enough breaths because that is about all it took for it to finally let go.  We made a quick trip to the bathroom to rinse up and I told everyone within ear shot what had happened.  Everyone was so excited.  Mom was super excited too because it finally got my mind off my back pain and onto my awesome tooth.

After the movie, we headed to my allergy doctor for our annual check in.  It was a really productive visit.  The doctor put a big blob of peanut butter on my arm and watched for reactions.  Since I had none, I am now free to eat where ever I want in the cafeteria and not just at the "nut free" table.  I kind of like the "nut free" table though so who knows.  I go back in a month for another skin test and to start oral challenges- a little nerve wracking but exciting too!

Saturday was quiet but the weather was amazing- 55 degrees and clear blue skies so we headed to the park for awhile and then mom and I met my friend Sophia and her mom at the Wildlife Museum for the afternoon.

Sunday was another beautiful day, so we headed down to a new park near our house to feed the ducks.  Have you ever seen a duck ice skate?  It's pretty funny!

Mom is still loving her Subaru- so much so that I'm tired of hearing about it.  But, it seems she has started a trend.  Ms. Chris, her co Daisy Troop leader was on the hunt for a new car and loved mom's Subaru so much, she went out and bought one for herself.  Our neighbors 3 houses down have a brand new grey one sitting in their garage and our across the street neighbor ( mom thinks the wife might be a bit of a stalker but that is for another post) pulled a brand new white Subaru Outback into their garage.  I knew mom and dad were cool but I didn't realize what trend setters they are!

Have a great week!

The Week From Hell

Well, this has been a stellar week for us!  We were going to spare you all the gory details, but really, where is the fun in that!?

So, we left off last Sunday in pretty high spirits from a really great vacation, but if you recall, we weren't quite ready for it to end.  So we added another week to it.  Unfortunately, it was not a fun week.  I went to bed Sunday with a little scratchy throat and woke Monday with a low grade fever.  Since Dad had just been off with me for two weeks, mom pulled sick duty, thinking I would be heading back to school on Tuesday.  No such luck.  I spent the rest of the week at home on the couch with a fever of 102 and a stuffy head.  To make matters worse, dad had to go out of town for work on Wednesday morning and didn't come home until Friday afternoon which means mom DID NOT SET FOOT OUT OF THE HOUSE FOR 5 DAYS.  And to make matters even worser, dad was unbelievable sick when he got home Friday.  He thought for sure he was going to die in his hotel room Thursday night and the cleaning lady would find him dead, wearing all his clothes, with all the blankets  piled on and the heat turned up as high as it would go.  Do you know what you do when you are home for 5 days straight?  It involves a lot of TV, not good TV either (think Honey Boo-Boo) and ends with mom making you watch her wedding video.  Good times in the Goedel house.  So far, mom has dodged the sick bullet (although writing that sentence probably just jinxed her), mainly by keeping a minimum of 50' between her and us and yelling at us to cough/sneeze into our elbows while throwing hand sanitizer in our general direction.  It has not been pretty and mom was very anxious to get back to work this week and treat "healthy" people!

So, we are finally back on the mend and I headed back to school today, mom and dad back to work even though dad probably could have used another day.

On the plus side of things, mom FINALLY got her Subaru!  She had to let it sit in the garage for 5 days because I was too sick to go anywhere.  She did spend some time sitting in it and taking in the "new car smell" or just standing in the garage staring at it.  Another happy reason to go to work on Monday- she finally gets to drive it!  Compared to her X-terra, which she loved, the Subi is kind of complicated with all kinds of buttons and gadgets but we are figuring it out and waiting for the next snow storm to test out our all wheel drive.

So, that's about it for our week.  I hope we have better stuff to report next week.  Stay healthy everyone!

Happy New Year!

Aaahh- so another year has come and gone with many adventures.  We decided to ring in the new year by actually leaving the house AND celebrating with friends.  We even got a teensy bit dressed up.  It was so unlike us and we surprised ourselves by having a good time!

We headed over to my friend Cami's house and I got to play with two of my favorite friends all night long.

Mom broke out the Walker Party Hats at about 11 PM and everyone actually wore them!  Mom was so very happy to see the tradition continue.

We all made it until midnight and watched the ball drop and drank our champagne.  We finally headed home and got to bed around 1AM and mom and dad were miserable the next day.  They didn't drink but, man, when you don't see 1 AM unless you are in the emergency room with me, it makes for a rough next day.

Normally, on New Year's Day, we like to go for a hike and be out in nature because mom thinks it brings good juju to the upcoming year but since it was a high of 20 degrees, we had to find another way to bring good vibes in.  So, we spent the day putting away Christmas decorations, cleaning and finally test driving new cars for mom.  We ended up at the Subaru dealership, test drove a pretty cool 2013 Outback and decided to buy one.  So we went back on Wednesday, signed our life away for the next four years and were hoping to walk away with a new car.  Unfortunately, our sales kid ( he couldn't have been more than 25) couldn't give us a straight answer as to when our car was going to be here.  We were hoping to have pictures to post, but we still don't have a car.  Hopefully, by the next blog post, we will have it.  Otherwise, mom is going unleash her "I'm so disappointed in you" mom speech on the sales kid.  He won't know what hit him.

Mom had to work the rest of the week, so  I had my friend Collin over for a play date on Thursday and then dad and I headed out to the Wildlife Museum on Friday.

On Saturday, it finally got above freezing and was an amazingly gorgeous day with clear blue skies, no wind and bright sun shine.  We decided it was time to head out for our New Year's hike.  It made everyone happy and now we are sure the New Year will be good.

We wrapped up our 17 day vacation on Sunday with a trip to Costco, so it was pretty quiet.  We are all a little bummed to be heading back to the cold, cruel reality of work, but mom and dad's resolution is to play the lottery more.  Then we can be on permanent vacation!
We wish everyone a healthy, happy,  prosperous New Year!