The Calderwood Adventures Continue!

Our first day in Colorado we went with the family up to Ourey, an old mining town that is known as the "Little Switzerland" of the west. It was magnificent to see huge mountains on either side of you with steep valleys. I'm just amazed that back in the day people got up in these mountains to mine. Talk about dangerous. We were able to go on a short hike to some waterfalls and then spent the rest of the afternoon enjoying some natural hotsprings at the foot of the mountains. Ella LOVED the hot springs. It was the biggest bath tub she'd ever been in... me too come to think of it.

The photo below was taken right after our short hike with Grandma and Granpa and their three grandkids. Notice Granpa's shirt (Grandpa rocks). Very clever!

This is Shaun and I at the base of the waterfalls in Ourey

Another day Shaun's brother-in-law watched Ella so we were able to go up to Telluride, a ski resort area just an hour and a half from Montrose. There's a free gondala there that will take you up one side of the mountain and down the other to enjoy the views, shopping, and dining on the other side. The photo below is a view up the mountain on the gondala. And this is a view of the town below taken near the top.
And THIS, this is the view once your on the other side of the mountain... AMAZING! Some people's homes were built right into the side of the mountain so this is their view every day. Can you imagine?
After some fun days of sightseeing, the remainder of our time was spent visiting with everyone. I know Shaun hates being so far away from every one, but I think we got some quality visiting in, even though it took me and Ella a couple of days to adjust to the West Coast time.

This photo is of Haley and her soon to be husband, Jason. I hope we didn't scare him!

And the best part of the visit was Ella getting to know her "Annie". They spent a lot of good time together, and Steph"annie" was such a great hostess.
Ashlee and Bill also helped a lot with Ella. I like this family help thing. I think I've said this before, but I could use a nannie. I could even pay up to 20$/week:) Any takers?

Stephanie's dogs were great sports because they let Ella pull their ears and tackle them almost 100% of the time. The good news was both Ella and the dogs were drooling so it was like an instant connection:)

And what would a visit over the rivers and through the woods be without grandma? Ella loves her Grandma C and hopes to see her again real soon!
Thanks Steph, Ash, and Bill for a great visit! And thanks to Heidi, Paul, Maddie, Haley, Jason, grandma and grandpa for making the visit to see Miss Ella (us too, but really we know it's all about Ella).

Calderwood Family Photos

We had a great time visiting Shaun's sister, Stephanie, in Colorado this week! We were so glad that the rest of his family was also able to come to Colorado for the weekend so we could get some family photos. I cannot take any credit for these. This is all the work of Shaun's younger sister, Haley, who works in a photography studio. The pictures are great I think and so I've posted them for everyone to see what a wonderful family I've married into. I'll post more soon about the details of our trip!

Summer Lovin'

Well, time to be a little more upbeat after what was a downer of a last post. But thank you to all who commented for your kind words. It meant a lot to hear from friends and family. Now let's change gears and talk about what a fun August we Calderwoods are having.

Ella is the apple of our eye! We just can't get enough of her fun little personality. This month I'm discovering my little girl is quite the determined, aggressive little bugger. She is a girl who knows what she wants, whether that be her bottle or her little friend, Pete, and she stops at nothing until she gets it. I think we have our work cut out for us.
Just today Shaun and I took Ella hiking to the White Oak waterfalls (I'm working backwards again because as I've said, I have no idea how to post pictures in any other order). She did great on her first hike. She spent the two and a half mile hike down to the falls looking all around, but snuggled up to Shaun on the trek back up and fell asleep in her carrier. It was the sweetest thing to see as she nestled against his chest.
Ella and I also went on a girls road trip (another first) to see our friends Kristin, Katie, and Becca. We visited Kristin who now lives outside of Phillie in New Jersey. It was wonderful seeing my girlfriends, and a nice getaway before I go back to school full time. The highlights included a day at the shore, a day in Phillie, and going to see Mama Mia. Just a mere four years ago we had seen the play in London and we were so excited to be reunited and watching the movie version. We danced in our seats and had to restrain ourselves from actually standing and dancing like we had done at the live show. Probably much appreciated by others in the audience. Anyway, we really had a great time. I love those girls!
Here we are at the Jersey shore. This was Ella's first time at the ocean and she got so excited when she saw the water. She started screaming (in a good way) and trying to leap out of my arms. What a cute kid!
Katie and Becca at the Liberty Bell in Phillie.
As for Ella, it's never too early to start sightseeing. She did a great job in Phillie. It probably helped that there were four adults to help instead of just one or two. I really need a nanny:)
Ella LOVED the girls, and she enjoyed a lot of quality time with Katie. Katie's just not allowed to do the "tugboat" sound when she's feeding Ella as it makes her break down in tears.
The other highlight of the trip was Ella getting to spend some time with Pete, her betrothed. Though if we weren't careful watching them Ella would roll on top of him and try to kiss him. I told you, I have an aggressive little girl. When we came in and saw her on Pete she looked up at us and made a face as if to say "Oh no, they caught me!" I think Miss Ella might be a bit like her daddy:)

Speaking of daddy's, here they are at the lake. We took this trip right before we headed to Phillie. This was also a wonderful trip, relaxing and fun, with my sister and her two kids, as well as my mom and dad. I loved this picture of Shaun and Ella out on the deck at the lake.
Ella loved her aunt Janet and is missing her kisses. We had good times together listening to ABBA on the boat.
And Thomas and Lauren, or as I lovingly refer to them, Tamika and Lakeesha, had a great time swimming in the lake. We stayed up late playing scrabble and enjoyed teasing each other throughout their entire visit. If you're reading this Thomas and Lauren, just remember, "Shanika say haay baby!"
My dad enjoyed the lake with us too. He really enjoyed playing with Ella on the boat, and even hopped in the water a bit with us.

So all in all, it's been an amazing couple of weeks. There were other events too, like spending more time with Veeda, Brendan, and Mei. They just left to go back home yesterday, and we're going to miss having them around. Veeda and I have been friends for so long she's like a sister too. I'm glad she got to spend the last week of their trip out here at our house so we could visit more.

I guess if I look back on the last couple of weeks, and the summer as a whole, I'd have to say it's been a time of great reunions. Reunions with family, high school friends, college friends, and grad-school friends. I feel so blessed to have so many wonderful and loving friends and family members. We're looking forward to our trip to Colorado in just a couple of weeks to see Shaun's family, and we were glad we got to see my other sister, Michelle, and her family, at the beginning of the summer. It's been a busy summer, but a summer of lovin'. I'm sad it's ending all too soon, but I'm trying to be optimistic that this year will be a good one, even if it is hard with Shaun in school and me working full time. I think good things are in store, and I'm grateful for all of the rich memories we've already created in Ella's short six months of life! I want all of the best for her, and it gives me a sense of excitement as I think about all of the great things life holds in store for her!

Why are things not as they appear?

Today Ella and I spent the day with some of my old high school friends. We really enjoyed catching up with one another and hearing about what everyone had been up to for the last ten years... TEN YEARS! How old am I? I realized as we talked how hard life had been for some of my friends who I thought would never have misfortune come upon them. We were young and all of us had similar dreams of being loved and having families, traveling, and doing great things with our lives. To think that any one of them would be hurting emotionally, or have struggled with illness, or financial difficulty... these things were unfathomable as a teenager. But as we talked I realized how human all of us are, and suseptible to all of the realities life sometimes brings. I think something about today has me needing to destress, and Ella screaming the last third of the drive home might have added to this need, but it's not the sole reason. I'm sad that human nature lends itself to selfishness, and that some people can be controlling and manipulative to their own families... that women I know, women that I respect, have been in such situations. I'm frustrated with myself for not taking a more active stand when I see people being mistreated. Why don't I stand up for what's right? And why don't I stand up for myself sometimes? I let work walk all over me, and sometimes I bend over backwards to accomodate others when I really can barely take care of my own needs. I don't know, maybe it's because I'm afraid if I don't then I'll be a selfish person too.

I know it's probably hard to follow all of this as it's rather cryptic. I think this blog entry is really more for me than anything... a little venting session perhaps. I've been told I need to have a stronger back bone sometimes, but maybe my fear is that if I do that, I'll disregard how others are feeling altogether and find myself at the opposite end of the spectrum, consumed only with my own needs and wants, and unwilling to listen to others. That side of the spectrum is certainly not a side I want to find myself on, and yet I believe a few people have found themselves there that I used to admire and look up to. I'm sad that I've lost my respect for some people. I'm sad that others have been mistreated and have been on the receiving end of their selfishness. I'm sad that I am not strong enough to change any of it!

I guess you never know where life will lead people. The only thing you can do is be a good person, and treat others with love and respect. You never know who is going to need you, even if you don't have a back bone!

July in review

Okay, so I know July is not officially over, but one has to take advantage of time to blog when one's baby is napping. I was just downloading our photos from this month and thought it best to do a review of the month in photos. After all, it has been a very busy month, full of lots of new adventures for us and our little girl. I'm not so technically savvy, so we'll work backwards in time, mostly because I don't know how to rearrange my pictures to work from the beginning to the end of the month.


My sister, Janet, and her two children Lauren and Thomas are in town right now. We've had a lot of fun visiting with them, and yesterday I was able to take Thomas and Janet into Washington D.C. Luckily, Nana and Lauren stuck around to watch Ella at home. I don't think she would have been as into the walking and museums as we were. After a day of sightseeing, we met up with the rest of the family for dinner and really enjoyed our time together.
Thomas in front of the capital. He's great fun, even if he did call my daughter Peanut Earl.


In mid-July, we were able to take some of our friends with us to Smith Mountain Lake. Mug (nickname), who just turned two, loved the boat!

Chris and Melissa also joined us. This was their second time coming with us to the lake and hopefully it wont be the last. They are so much fun to be with, easy going and entertaining.
Ella enjoyed the water too. It seemed to calm her down and even put her to sleep. I guess she liked the rocking, and the sun wore her out. And of course she looks fantastic sporting her sun glasses and rosy cheeks!
Another fun adventure that was a first for Ella as well as me was the National Zoo. Although it was pretty hot so we stayed indoors as much as we could, which meant we saw the spiders and the snakes instead of the monkeys and the elephants. We'll definitely have to try that trip again when it's about twenty degrees cooler, and Ella can remember it! But we enjoyed being with my friend and her family. They were celebrating their daughter's birthday. I think you can see the beads of sweat on all of us in this photo.

The adventures aren't over yet. We'll be going back to the lake and to a family reunion next weekend. It will be Ella's first time meeting great aunts and uncles, and is sure to be a fun event! We'll keep you posted with photos and updates.

Alphabet Soup MeMe

Alphabet Soup Meme
A. Attached or Single?Married. It's hard to believe it will have been four years this October! Yeah for married life:>

B. Best Friend? Oooh, I love best friends. Considering I had ten (that's right, TEN) bridesmaids. I'd say they all count (Veeda, Grace, Tamy, Jeni, Marilyn, Kristin, Becca, Katie, and Heather), and then tack on my sisters and mom.

C. Cake or pie? Hmm, lately I've found myself craving apple pie a la mode. But I have to admit, that's more for the crust than the apple filling, so I'd have to say my final answer is cake. Moist and delicious, but not so nutritious. Make mine chocolate and put some sort of yummy filling in it and I'm sold!

D. Day of choice? Let's see, prior to married life my favorite day was Thursdays because that's when I'd see all of my friends at institute. Now... now I'd say my favorite day is any day Ella sleeps in and I don't have to work.

E. Essential item? Probably my cleaning supplies. I am a fan of cleanliness. My chap stick would be a close second.

G. Gummy bears or worms? Neither really. I'm not such a fan of candies unless they involve chocolate. Twizzlers are an exception.

H. Home town? Why, Warrenton, VA of course. Maybe one of these days I'll actually leave my home town too. Who knows? Though I've always loved this little town, I do look forward to seeing what else the world could hold for our little fam.

I. Favorite indulgence? Sleep, staying up late talking to friends and family, and chocolate. I'm trying to avoid the third these days so I've listed them in order of appearance (or frequency in which they occur)

J. January or July? Seriously, why is this a question? Do people ever choose January? That's such a doldrome month for me. July may be hot, but it's exciting and fun! Though truly my favorite months are December, May, and October! Yeah for Spring, Fall, and Christmas is what I say!

K. Kids? Yes, one little girl who at the ripe age of five months is already very expressive in her personality. Miss Ella has captured my heart and everyone else within a five mile radius... or maybe that's just my opinion.

M. Marriage date? 10/8/04

N. Number of brothers and sisters? two sisters, one brother... I love 'em all. We're all so different, but I enjoy each of them for different reasons. As I have gotten older they have become my closest friends.

O. Oranges or Apples? Tuff to say. Most likely oranges, but it's a mood thing.

P. Phobias? Drowing (not due to lack of being able to swim but because I'm trapped in a vessel and it's filling with water) Needless to say, Titanic was very disturbing to me, not to mention I had to pee through the whole last hour. I thought that movie would never end, and the gushing water noises didn't help any.

Q. Quotes? Eleanor Roosevelt. "No one can make you feel inferior without your permission." and "No one cares how much you know until they know how much you care"

R. Reasons to smile? Ella's belly laugh, cuddling with Shaun, driving with the sunroof down on a glorious day listening to great music (and driving through scenic Virginia), thinking of good times with friends, realizing you have a lot to be grateful for!

S. Season of choice. Fall, Spring, Christmas--though I've come to realize it's more about the preparation for Christmas than the actual day. I love the Season for all it represents, not to mention Christmas music is the best... no, I've never worked retail during the holidays. Plus, who doesn't love decorating Christmas trees while Bing Crosby sings in the background:)

T. Tag 5 people. Umm, whoever wants to go for it!

U. Unknown fact about me? Most people are probably aware of my strategically located scar I obtained upon falling into the dishwasher on a butcher knife at age seven. If you weren't aware, consider yourself educated. Though I will leave the location a secret. After all, strangers read these blogs.

V. Vegetable? Asparagus when cooked just the right way. I also love a really nice crunchy green bean. And squash is quite nice too.

W. Worst habit? Only one, I have so many. Probably that I am a compulsive cleaner. I can't go to bed at night unless my house is in order. This does not always go over well with Shaun. I can be a bit anal.

X. Xray or Ultrasound? Ultrasound. Did I not just have a baby?

Y. Your favorite food? Grace's answer to this question was classic. As for me, my favorite foods are a good fudgey brownie and the typical thanksgiving day foods. I love stuffing, turkey, and cranberry sauce. But I only like the cranberry sauce from the can... just like mom used to make:>

Z. Zodiac sign? Taurus, and yes, I'm stubborn and bull headed. I like getting what I want, and when it's important I don't back down.

Ella celebrates the 4th in style!

We had a really low key 4th. We had plans to join our friends in DC but after thinking it through a little we thought maybe an infant in the middle of D.C. on the 4th wasn't such a hot idea... or maybe it was too hot of an idea... literally. So we spent the 4th with just our little family, driving around trying to watch other people's fireworks. We weren't that successful finding any, but enjoyed talking and reminiscing about the 4th four years ago when we were dating and how much has transpired since that time.

Well, we may not have done that much, but Ella sure looked cute doing it! Gotta love her little fourth outfit! She's such a doll, and now that she's sleeping through the night I'm enjoying her so much more.