Arrived

Sorry, I know I had some people concerned because i didn’t post that I had arrived. I did post it on Twitter, so if you want to follow me over there you’ll get some more minute by minute details of this craziness.

We did finally arrive at the house yesterday. I won’t post any pictures yet because my brother wants the rest of the family to see it in person for themselves first, and they won’t arrive until tomorrow.

There were a couple of glitches along the way. We met Joey and Colt at the airport, but the vehicle reservation we had got jacked up so we paid an exorbitant fee to just get a vehicle for 24 hours to get us from Durango to the house here in Ouray. The boys are actually on their way to return it to a nearby city right now. With the luggage unloaded we can use one vehicle at least if we don’t all go anywhere until my parent’s come tomorrow with an additional vehicle. I think it’s all a ploy to force us to spend time together, personally.

The pass from Durango to Ouray is notorious for sharp curves with 5000 foot drop-offs and no guardrails. I was a bit worried about that. I’m not a fan of heights and tend to hold my breath until we make it over high bridges. I was pretty sure I couldn’t hold my breath for 40 miles though.

When we headed out through Durango into the countryside, the scenery suddenly became magical – everything was coated in white. It honestly looked like we had somehow driven onto the North Pole. It snowed pretty heavily all the way to Silverton – about halfway from Durango to Ouray.

Just before Silverton, my brother driving ahead of us pulled into a rest stop and my 12 year old niece got out of the car. It was snowing hard and everything was covered with a layer of snow. After several long minutes with no return by my niece, my brother gets out and motions that he will be right back.

So we wait . . . and wait. Finally, I ask Joey to back up so I can see what’s going on. Only then do I see my brother frantically waving his arms. They had both gotten stuck in about 4 feet of snow! That’s true Texans who don’t have experience with snow right there.

But everyone survived and we were able to leave.

We’ve spent our time so far trying to make the house feel like a home for the next week. Grocery shopping, cooking, unpacking . . . tomorrow will be Christmas decorating and present wrapping.

I do have to say I’m a bit beat. Weston isn’t adjusting to the new environment and routine well, and to be honest, neither is mommy. I don’t know why I need routine so badly but I sure do. This is killing me. So my personal goal for tomorrow is to do my best to establish a routine that we follow as much as possible for the rest of the time we are here.

More pictures tomorrow once the rest of the crew arrives. For now here’s the best shot we’ve taken.

Goodnight!