I have a new computer!!!

Well, I managed to pick up a nasty virus, or some other crazy thing that all but slaughtered my computer, but I'm back up and running with a new computer.  This one is a Mac though, so there's a learning curve to using it.  Since last posting though, I've been up to see my oldest friend, Angie.  We were both nannies way back when and have managed to keep in touch, and even name kids after eachother (middle names).  It was a totally last minute trip, but she graciously allowed me to come "get away" and spend time hanging out with her and her girls and even her husband, Jason.  We cooked, recovered chairs, and scrapbooked (well, I would have except my computer died.)  We went and saw zebras, elk, deer, bears, and buffalo that chewed on her Odyssey.  We thrifted (woohoo!) and she even planned a girl's night out with her friends that have somehow become my friends through Ang and the internet.  We even hit Ikea on our way back to Seattle's airport.  Mainly, we just hung out, laughed, and had so much fun talking about everything under the sun.  

And now, since Bo is getting ready to leave for Hawaii and California for 10 days, he decided to take a day off work.  We went up to Steamboat Springs.  It's too late in the year for summer activities, but too early for winter sports, so we really didn't have a whole lot to do.  It was a nice trip up there though, and we walked around the old downtown.  The kids are always happy to spend the night in a hotel, especially Annie and Ellie.  The next day (today) we went to Fish Creek Falls, a 280 ft. waterfall.  There was a dusting of snow on the northfacing mountains and the birch trees were a brilliant yellow.  It was stunning.  We then took a different route home that looked more like Arizona than anything we'd seen so far in Colorado...very pretty, and then stopped for lunch in Vail.  We decided to get off the highway and took the Loveland Pass, which peaks at over 12,000 feet and over looks a 14,000 mountaintop.  At the peak, we got out of the car so the girls could play in some of the little patches of snow.  It was freezing, and Annie, our little GRITS girl, or Girl Raised In The South was sooooo cold.  It didn't seem to bother Ellie at all.  We're back home now, though, so it's back to normal....laundry, school, grocery shopping.  I'll try to add some pictures tomorrow, after I figure out how to put my new pictures into my new photo program.