Ahhhh...

I ordered the camera! It is on it's way. So load me up with all your favorite photo links and blogs. I'll need lots of help figuring it out and taking fanfreakingtastic pictures to prove to Rocket Man it was worth the expense.

Our mountain vacation was great.



It's always nice to change venues with the kids. Even when your new venue has bears and snakes and shit. And ticks. I guess. I didn't actually see any ticks. (Or bears really, but rumor has it they are out there. And the signs on the trash said to be sure to close things up tight to keep away the BEARS.) But snakes ~ yes... we saw a few. Blick.

But truly, other than a few snakes, it was fun. We hung out and watched the Olympics at night and explored the area during the day. There are lots of family type things to do there... pools.

A lake.




This is my favorite view of the lake. (The one looking straight up from the lounge chair.)



This. (No idea what that is called? Kid Sling Shot?)



A mechanical bull.



A climbing wall.



We saw the brightest rainbow ever.



We stopped by Monticello for a little cultural enrichment. There are no pictures of that because I was too exasperated the entire time we were there. It went over well. About as well as the Statue of Liberty trip last month. Meaning, it was pretty terrible.

But as there, we did have one kid who enjoyed it - this time it was mGal. I was proud of her. Standing still and listening and paying attention are not her strengths, but she did all three. She even asked the very erudite (and a little snotty, if I may say so) docent, a question or two. (This was after said docent ejected Little One from the tour. Annoying, but alas, not without good cause.)

We ate at a lot of restaurants, which was definitely a highlight for ME! (Yes, bring me my food... and get all the crap my kids need... and take away these dirty dishes thankyouverymuch. Oh, and some ICE CREAM, please!)



We went on several hikes and saw some gorgeous views. (Rocket Man even started to fall under the impression that we were some sort of Survivor Man Family and tried to take us into the depths of the wilderness. I drew the line at anywhere my cell phone wouldn't work. (Because GEEZ, how did he expect me to Twitter?)





We are definitely city folk. We were amazed at our first wildlife sighting. Some animal that we couldn't even identify. Badger? Hedgehog? Groundhog? Wild boar? Who knows? It was bigger and cuter than a rat, that's about all I could tell you.

We saw a lizardy-thing.



Hawks. Chipmunks. (Love chipmunks! We don't have them where we live.) Deer right off our deck. Raccoons. The aforementioned snakes.

We will definitely not be winning any 4-H competitions, but it was great to get my sidewalk-spoiled kids out onto some dirt paths.





(I will say, however, it was QUITE a challenge to keep that dirt off of the WHITE CARPET in our lovely condo... you know the one we rented from our FRIENDS... the ones I would not be able to face again if we ruined their carpet? I think we did ok though.)

Funny story that is a little random, but you all missed me, right? A few days before we left, my condo-owner friend, J, who is very beautiful and professional and has a big time real job and all, came by to drop off the key and give me specifics on the condo. She was supposed to come at 11am, but finished with a meeting early, so she came at 9:45.

I was in my uniform (meaning pajamas), with my hair pinned up in a ridiculous motif because I was just washing my face, when she knocked at the door.

The kids answered it and there was J, looking AMAZING and professional and, you know, showered and all. And there I was, letting it all hang out in my froggy pajamas that say "TOADLY COOL" (because I am). Ok. Whatever.

I apologized for my appearance and moved on to the business at hand.

Well, I was planning to run Little One to a playdate before J came over (which is why I was actually washing my face at the early hour of 9:45am). She was mad that I was now delayed with talking to J, so she went into my room, got a pair of shorts, a shirt, a necklace and bracelet (?!) and a BRA out of my dresser and came into the dining room and THREW IT ALL AT ME.

Pretty funny, actually.

Except that the BRA landed right on J's pedicured and tastefully shod foot. (Gawd.) She actually had to kick my bra off her foot. (And I bet it wasn't even a clean one at that!)

There was really no dignity left after that. Kids keep you humble, that's for sure. And STILL, J turned over the key to her lovely and wonderfully-appointed condo for us to use. (I'm sure all kinds of thoughts were racing through her head. I know they were racing through mine.)

But, we survived. The condo survived. And, I was tempted to leave a bra hanging in some strategic location, just for laughs, but I refrained.