CatchUP: Christmas and Such

As ever, there are a million things to catch up on...here goes.

1) We drove from Atlanta to Grand Junction. We took the southern route to avoid the snow (and overall boringness) of Kansas. Note to everyone crazy enough to make this drive: the southern route rocks compared to the Kansas one. We could have made it in two days but the weather through the passes from Denver to Grand Junction was, in a word, dicey (see pics below). So in Denver we stayed the night complete with a fun get together with some awesome college pals (who I miss).

YOWZA

Memphis Airport stop to see all the FedEx planes

We saw lots of this

And occasionally this

We ate here in CO Springs. One of Chris's (and mine now too!) favorite places from Texas.

Scary part of the drive (in a Nissan Altima)

And getting worse

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Scared faces

Happy we made it. And feeling extremely happy that Chris drove almost the ENTIRE way. How lucky am I?

We sang, we talked, we laughed (a lot). Ever taken a cross country road trip with your best friend? It's a blast.

2) We spent a very fun and relaxing Christmas in Grand Junction. It was so fun to see everyone and just spend some quality time.

Christmas in the Bernal home

Chris and Ryan played dangerous games involving delicate pots and squishy footballs

I bonded with Sox

We met up with extended family for a Christmas Eve mingle

Chris looked so cute on Christmas morning

Got to hang out with these two

Delish Christmas dinner

Smarty husband who got me a beautiful dress

Went shooting for the first time

I hit a bottle!

Great fun my friends, great fun.

3) On the 30th Chris and I moved into our new apartment in Denver with the awesome help of Jim and uncle Joe (thanks guys!). Since then we have:

• Gone downtown 3 times: Once to an Avalanche game. Once to check out the light rail trail for Chris to take to work. Once to see/meet some of Chris's old high school friends.
• Lived through 1 1/2 snow storms. First, while we moved in. Second, right now (hence the 1/2). Haven't been too bad. Its gorgeous after a good snow and unlike Utah, no inversions. Hallelujah. Just snow and then crystal clear skies with zero clouds. PLUS the weather is unnaturally bipolar which means that between said snow storms we have enjoyed several sunny days in the 50s. I can do this.
• Gone to church twice (loving our ward so far). Its only 3 miles by 3 miles! SUCH a tiny ward for outside of Utah.
• Challenged by our bishop to go to the temple every week (we are very excited for the challenge).
• Unpacked a lot (obviously). Organized a lot, reorganized a lot. Its coming together!
• Had so much fun unpacking said stuff. It was like Christmas for me all over again. We haven't had/used/seen our stuff since April. I love our bed!
• Ran to the post office a million times. We've been selling old textbooks on Amazon.
• Went to the mall. Its SO pretty. And massive. We literally live 5 minutes away from everything and anything we would ever need. I love the suburbs.
• Peeked into two pet stores...no one panic. Just looking:)
• Went furniture shopping. We found an awesome couch and table with chairs. They come tomorrow, can't wait!

So far we are really liking it here and enjoying our area a lot. I know, even with the snow. Its a good sign.