Punk Rocker Nostalgia

I have been really nostalgic as we have approached Halloween. It's probably due to the move across the country, marriage, being an full-grown adult- all of the above.
I LOVED halloween when I was a kid, as I am sure you did too! I remember my grandparents' homemade black cat body-suits. I found them yesterday in a box in our basement and pressed my face against the cat costume; I swore I could still smell my Pawpaw's Obsession cologne. I remember one Halloween, the golf cart speeding down the street at about 60 mph with my Pawpaw dressed in the annual black cat costume and one giant gorilla passenger (one of Leah's friends). Hilarious sight to see! I realized after my grandparents passed away, that my holiday traditions were now up to me and my siblings. That I would define traditions for my children one day, the memories would be up to us!
I dressed as a punk rocker, like, 3 years in a row. I just wanted a reason to use that colored hair spray in a can. Maybe it was Bon Jovi's influence or maybe it was a silly attempt for this chubby kid to be cool and grown up like her sister. There was one year I had a homemade clown costume with facepaint, round red nose, clown collar, black leotard and turquoise pants. Sound cute huh? Well, for some reason my mom stuffed my turquoise pants with cotton to make them look oversized- except they were just lumpy and made this cute clown look like she was smuggling candy. I suppose these are the memories that gave me the confidence as I grew up.
Confidence. That is something I have been pondering as this "holiday" has been approaching. I always hear conflicting spiritual opinions about halloween. But when I think back- I think about the confidence it takes for a little bitty kid to walk up to an unknown door, ring the doorbell and say "trick or treat." I suppose confidence is gained in many other ways, but for me, I think about how excited I was to get off the school bus and put on my costume. When I have children, I want them to have these memories, even if they are terrible homemade costumes that leave behind photos to haunt them the rest of their adult lives. I can't wait to hear my doorbell tonight and give candy to little excited kiddos!

rental truck and deer horns...

Please pardon my lack of blogging, as we have just now gotten settled and internet connected in our new home. Yes, we are living in an incredible beautiful city, Colorado Springs. Please allow me to catch you up...

Daniel receives emails frequently about job openings in his field of radiation oncology. He had been working as a regional administrator in the greater DC area and did quite a bit of traveling. Soon after we married, we began praying in June and asking for the Lord to direct our decisions for where we would call "home." For some reason we felt that West Virginia was not going to be that place. Fast forward to August and Daniel learned of a few positions- one in Alabama, one in Florida and one in Colorado Springs. His gorgeous blue eyes lit up when he talked about Colorado. As much as I would love to be closer to family, I have desperately wanted adventure. I suppose meeting, dating, marrying and moving to WV to be with Daniel was quite an adventure to say the least- and NOW to Colorado. Is this really MY LIFE?

Daniel has always wanted to live "out west" and I encouraged him to apply. He applied, got a rejection email and then got an interesting phone call explaining the other guy had fallen through. After 2 phone interviews, a skype interview and a trip out on Labor Day- HERE WE ARE! He accepted the Director of Radiation Oncology position at Memorial Health (which is a huge title for a guy his age).

We sold his Ford Explorer and found a new home for his dogs- Jackson and Bella (they got a serious upgrade to 120 acres in WV!) His last day of work in West Virginia was September 28th and we packed the truck that night and drove away (with huge help from our "WV family"- Tim and Marsha Eggleston- they are truck-packing-beasts!)

We found a house to rent online, traveled 2100 miles in a Budget Rental Truck (towing my car behind us) from WV to Mississippi to Colorado! We had very little to pack in West Virginia and majority of furniture and all of our wedding gifts were in storage in MS. PS- driving a rental truck through WINDY Kansas was no joke!

So many of you have been wanting pictures of our house and such. Please keep in mind, the walls in this rental house as of right now are Beige. If you know me at all, you know I AM NOT BEIGE. I can't wait to paint, we just got permission!
But I was quick to get pictures hung on walls (if you have ever read Captivating, you understand this) along with my chic deer skull that my brother-in-law so proudly gave to me. (he said "I never thought I would see the day that you wanted a deer skull" haha)I am really embracing this "western" thing....We even live on a street named "Sundance Kid" and Butch Cassidy is one street over... ha!

Right now, we are living in NE Colorado Springs where there is a lot of development, but hope to eventually get on the west side of town where it is a little more green!
This is the view of PIKES PEAK from our BEDROOM! We got a dusting of snow the first Saturday we were here!

Some very boring shots. More later...