I'm dreaming of a white.... Easter?!?

Okay, so first I want to thank Annie for justifying my using precious studying time for blogging. I really wanted to! Also, were it not for the Goelz bringing me cinnamon rolls for dessert tonight, I would be far more motivated to be exercising rather than writing. That being said, I have really been wanting to blog about my trip to Colorado and don't foresee an opening in my hectic schedule for the next month so.... oh well!
The trip began and the ungodly hour of 5 am last Mon. Xiana and I went to the airport and spent the next 15 hours traveling. Larissa also got to spend a long day in the car and at doctor visits, but not as long :) Xiana did great on both planes, as usual, and we were there. Our first couple of nights we laid low. We played a lot of games (one of my all time favorite past times) and hung out at the home front. The weather was beautiful and we took the kids to the park and they played their hearts out. Xiana quickly learned to love calling for the kids when Larissa needed them. "Andre," she would call, and excitedly Xiana would shake her arms in the air wildly as she ran down the hallway exclaiming, "adew adew adew." She was a little mama the entire week with her motherly duties of rounding children and calling them when needed. She was so excited to be with her cousins and immediately began saying their names. Bath time had never been so fun as it was with cousins and bubbles!

The bubbles are also delicious!

Conner had no intentions of joining in the fun, but he couldn't resist!

Last year when we visited, Xiana was still petrified of men and would hardly let Nathan come near her. I can see that we have come a long way since this visit she repeatedly called him daddy just like her cousins. We attempted to go bowling one day, but it was closed which was just as well because we had a nice time visiting some of Larissa's friends. Xiana and I also got to tag along on play group day where we met with other home schoolers at YMCA and played in the gym. I don't know how she does it, but Larissa always manages to find the most eclectic, remarkable group of friends. They are all so different, but intelligent and dynamic in their own ways. Another night we went to work out with her trainer and I proceeded to be sore for the next several days. It was an excellent work out. On Friday we went to Taos. It was only about an hour and a half away from Alamosa so we went on a day trip. Our first stop was the pueblos. It was really interesting and beautiful, but after working on a paper last semester about how Americans exploit the spirituality of Native American tribes and convert them into tourist expositions, I couldn't help but think of the rich culture that was being pillaged by capitalism. Still, it was really incredible and seemed to be legitimate housing and ways of life for the residents.

Here are some of the pueblos
Eating delicious fried bread
yummy!

chillies hanging everywhere

teepee or as I later learned tipi

This is a real oven. They are all over and they genuinely use them.

After leaving the pueblos we went to lunch and then to this amazing toy store. This is the type of toy store corporate America has erased across the nation. I am a little surprised such a store can exist anymore. It was magical! There is this amazing structure outside that kids can play on for free! Additionally, the owners have scooters and various gadgets to ride around and chimes, xylophones and drums to play spread across the grounds. The inside is just as remarkable as the outside with more authentic toys and a water fountain with butterflies hanging around. As we sat there we overheard a lot of conversations from supposed parents only to discover that they were actually nannies. Taos is funny in that it is one of those places where people are really rich, but live environmentally savvy lives. You know, the kind of people who can afford to be hippies in our modern age; the kind who use recycled materials for houses, have gone completely green, and spend a fortune on designer clothing that helps support the environment. It was really quite the experience. I went in and bought a toy bottle for Xiana (she's not spoiled, she just really needed a bottle to feed her babies) and the owner informed me that the next day would be free crafts for two hours. Honestly, how does this place exist?! It was a truly memorable place. It made me think of You've Got Mail and the magical little book store that Meg Ryan owns which was a legacy left to her by her mother and grandmother. I hope this place survives, but I have a sneaking suspicion that it will be just fine. They seemed to have A LOT of support.

This is one half of the outside

And this is the top half of the other side
I may be small, but X is for Xiana and xylophone
The beat of my own drum

Music time!

This was fun for me to crawl through!

Yay! I did it!

Once you got through to the top of this jungle gym, you got to go down a really fast slide These hammocks bounce and so does the ground beneath them

Did I mention this was free?!

Then, Saturday night we dyed Easter eggs and Xiana got to do all of 2 before I decided she wasn't quite big enough for the egg dying ritual and put her to bed which is why she isn't present in these pics. She went to bed with one blue hand, and one yellow hand.

Easter morning was hectic because Larissa and her family were speaking in church and had other duties to do for the day. As a result, she asked the Easter bunny to come during church instead of in the night with which he cordially complied. So we got ready for church, took some pictures, went to church and they gave WONDERFUL talks and had an inspiring primary program. The Easter bunny came during Sunday school and what did it do the entire day?! Snow! It snowed so much I can't think of very many Christmases that have been whiter than this Easter was. It was beautiful and as we did not have to travel, it was perfect!
You can't tell, but it is still coming down hard!

Larissa bought the girls matching Easter dresses and they looked too darling for words!

Here we all are before church

I am so grateful that we got to be with my sister for Easter. I don't know what I would have planned for Xiana alone. She had so much fun with her cousins looking for Easter eggs and it was so thoughtful of Larissa to go out of her way to get Xiana an Easter basket (including bubble bath) and a dress. When the kids went on the hunt Xiana found one egg, sat down, ate all the candy out of that egg, and didn't look for another one. She was perfectly content to have her one egg. Her cousins were so sweet to share with her offereing her so much candy it's amazing she didn't turn into a giant blueberry like Verooka.

here she is with her one egg

Nicole and her basket of loot

Her cousins have supplied her with new eggs so that she doesn't even have to move. Also, notice the sweet bunny she got.
Larissa's delicious and beautiful jello dish

We spent all of five minutes outside

But the kids spent the rest of the day, and I mean the rest of the day outdoors.

The next day was the end of my relaxing and enjoyable trip. We went to the zoo in Colorado Springs before they took me to the airport where Xiana cried, or by some definitions screamed for the first time on a plane. She must have missed her cousins immensely!
It was fun, but the kids were exhausted. As Larissa said, zoos aren't really the most kid friendly places. Ironic right?! But true. Still, this was the perfect size zoo for us on our last day of vacation.

A week later Xiana pointed to their family picture on my fridge and said, "Bandon" I assured her that she was right and then she proceeded throughout the day to point to and name each of her cousins. How nice that she knows them and remembers them and got to have such a pleasant experience this spring break. I had an excellent time as well. Still, I have to admit that because I am hoping to get a job in this small Colorado town, I viewed the town with new eyes. I kept thinking, 'could I really live here?' After all, it snowed on Easter! But the truth is, no matter where we end up, I can live there. I am confident that Xiana and I will move exactly where we should. And I will never complain about having my sister and her family right there to play games, hang out, and round up the chillins before bed. I wouldn't want Xiana to forget her mother hen duties.

And finally, to conclude this record breaking blog entry. Tonight I asked Xiana to go in her room and get her jammies and bring them to me. I will admit I didn't think she would be able to as they are in a drawer in her room and I didn't know if she knew where. Within a minute she came to me with jammies in hand, gave them to me and laid down in front of me anticipating her bed time get up. How cute! Also, the other day I asked her what she wanted to wear to school and she thoughtfully said, "ummm, I no no."