Anyone Still There?

You always hear about second and third kids getting the short end of the stick. They don't ever have childhood pictures and parent's can't remember anything about when they were a baby. We're just trying to make sure it is fair for all of our kids so we've decided we're not going to take pictures of our first child either. You know one less thing for the younger kids to complain about when they get older.

We took our first family roadtrip last week and can I just tell you how amazing Ehren is? That kid took the 10 hour trip (each way) like a champ. In total we had 30 minutes of crying and that is counting all 20 hours. He spent a lot more time like this than anything else.

We were visiting our friends that live out of the country but happened to be in Virginia for a few weeks. Since we saw them last year we have each added a stroller to our lives so it was fun to share that with each other. There was talks of us trying to get to Spain this year while they are living abroad but we'll have to see if work ever lets up for us. Spending a few days with them reminded us how much we miss having them around but just like all our great friendships we will take the time we get.

We jump on a plane in a couple weeks. Flying is totally old hat to this kid so we're not too worried. Rest assured we'll catch you up once we get home from NYC.

Why Not Take A Vacation?

Joshua and I just returned from visiting friends in Colorado.

Yes, we still own a restaurant in Texas.
Yes, we still have one philly that is all alone trying not to be eaten by coyotes.
Yes, we still have 2 mortgages.
Yes we haven't seen our Nashville clients in 2 months.

You don't think that sounds like the perfect time for a vacation?

This trip was planned months before our life exploded and we were left picking shrapnel from our shins so we had no choice but to lose the money or head to the mountains. Honestly, when you think about it "running for the hills" seems like a very practical response to the level of stress we've been dealing with so we just dwelt on that clique and took our already packed Texas bags to Colorado. Luckily our friends lent us a coat when we arrived.

Quick Side Note: When I arrived at the airport I realized I had been to Denver for work before. How ridiculous is it that when planning this trip I never though "oh I've been to Denver" but the second I stepped foot in the airport I knew I had been here before? Ahhh, I miss all the traveling I got to do with my production work.

It was impossible to fully leave the mess behind and enjoy ourselves but we did our best. Denver is beautiful. The lack of humidity makes the cold bearable and it is so sunny it's hard not to be happy.

We had just the right amount of working, hanging with friends, sitting and although our skiing got cut short I don't know if I could have taken another day of walking around in those boots. Hope you all had a great week too.

That is Love

Today we accomplished our list of tasks. Not because we had a reasonable list of tasks but because we had some help. Sam and Jen and their plus ones drove all the way from Houston to visit and help us out. Thanks to them we got a screen door hung and dinner made while Joshua sold 2 of our horses. In return they are getting a 24 hour ranch experience.

Don't they look the part?

LEEDing

In celebration of acing the LEED AP exam, we decided to road trip around the Nashville area in search of bad examples of energy and environmental design.

First up we stopped to document our lovely mass transit system. As you can see from the sign attached to the telephone pole, this is a "bus stop." You might also notice there is no bench, or covering. Needless to say, I've never seen anyone at said stop (other than this motley crue).

Next up we stopped at one of the local recycling centers. I have to say Nashville overall does a pretty good job with recycling, however this center being moved probably means some people won't participate any longer.

Megan the friendly ghost says "boo!"

Ever driven by a totally empty parking lot at night that looks like a football field? Yeah us too. LEED calls this Light Pollution / Energy consumption, we call it our band cover art.

Can you say URBAN SPRAWL? Note the sign: "14th fastest growing" Who puts that they were 14th on a sign? Also I would like to note that we left south Nashville at 9pm and returned back from our trip to the 'burbs after 10pm.

Although we weren't cruising around in a fuel efficient vehicle, we were definitely an HOV. Yay for carpooling and good friends!