I'm Here, But I'm Not

I say that because today you can find me over at The Nelson Diaries doing my first ever guest blog.  

I was pretty boring and just introduced myself and stuff.  

But anyways...  today I head to Denver to the rheumatologist.

Fingers, toes, arms, legs 

(and everything crossed that CAN cross )

in hopes that nothing more serious than the rheumatoid arthritis is going on.

Ugh, this is NOT going to be fun!

So head over to Shalyn's blog, and then come back here and check out the pictures below of the INFAMOUS MANITOU INCLINE! 

(dun dun dunnnnnnn!)

and then find me on PINTEREST because it is the bomb.com

***

If you think THIS looks like a long way up then let me tell you that the summit you see is a FALSE summit,
you still have a good 20 minutes of climbing to do once you reach that point!  

Bella did the first portion of the Incline until it got WAY too steep!

husband at the top!  way to go babe.

Bella and I making our way back down....but look how far we went!

taking the "bail out", lower portion of Barr trail back to the bottom!!

great views!

YIKES!

yes husband, your have big guns. I get it. :)

this is the look of exhaustion and dehydration!  

As a reward we went and got ourselves some chik-fil-a sweet tea because climbing
1 mile at a 45 degree angle is TOUGH STUFF!!!

Tweet

Flying W Ranch & How I Almost Killed Bella Yesterday

Before I show you the last of the pictures from my families visit, I have to tell you what an awful dog mom I am.  So, as you all know Bella had her surgery Monday to get spayed.  They gave her some pain meds, but Tuesday morning she was becoming increasingly uncomfortable and whimpering a lot.  I called the vet who told me to come in to pick up some additional pain meds for her.  On the way out the door the lady said to give her "one every 8 hours".  I popped one in her mouth and went off to meet husband for lunch.    And then, about 45 minutes later as I was showing him the bottle I read that it said give ONE FOURTH of a pill every 8 hours. I immediately started freaking out, called the vet who informed me the dose could be fatal. And that is when I started bawling and rushed her back to the vet. They got her to vomit but a lot of it had already dissolved into her system.  Poor Baby looked like she was on the edge of death leaving the vet, I mean, I am sure vomiting felt REALLY great a day after getting her stomach wall cut through and to top it off the vet said she was probably seeing things and hallucinating.  SO, I felt and feel awful.  I am a bad dog mom and I almost killed poor baby Bella.  Fortunately, she is back to her normal self this morning, but I still feel bad!  Ugh, anyways....  I wanted to show you a few pictures from our

authentic

ranch style

C O W B OY

Chuck Wagon Supper!

{MENU}
BBQ Beef
Baked Potato
Chunky Applesauce
Baked Beans
Spice Cake
Tea, Lemonade, Coffee

Before the dinner bell was rung, we walked around the little cowboy town, complete with mining tunnel, train, blacksmith shop and drugstore.  We also saw some real Native Americans doing a few dances for us, I have a video of one, a Hoop Dance that was actually very impressive!  Pictures! ----->

you would think they were seven years old.... haha

MIL & FIL

back in the old West!

most hilarious face EVER.

husband looking at me like I am crazy for doing my Indian Wa-wa-wa-wa!

HOW. 

native american- cheyenne tribe

This man was from the Navajo tribe

AND THE AWESOME HOOP DANCE!

Until then, you can find & follow me on
PINTEREST
that way I can find & follow you back!
This site is SO addicting!
(also, if you need an invite, shoot me your e-mail address so I can invite you to join!  
ashley@adventuresofnewlyweds.com)

Tweet

Colorado Fun... {Royal Gorge}

So much has been going on, so I have been neglecting my little blog.  And I have an inbox full of comments to reply to, which I will be working on today since little Bella is recovering and we are going to have a low-key stay at home day. Thanks for your patience, as I am still re-capping my in-laws visit here.  Today I want to show you pictures from our trip to the royal gorge.  I already told you about the dumbest thing I have ever done while we were there, so today I want to show you what went down before that craziness!

The depth of the royal gorge is hard to explain, and even standing there looking at it in real life it is pretty hard to comprehend.  There are so many angles within the canyon that it almost plays tricks with your eyes.   It is only when you focus on a point at the bottom that you get that sick, I'm-going-to-pee-my-pants, stomach in your throat feeling. It is amazing that something like this exists.  And it makes me really want to take my husband to the Grand Canyon because it is like the Royal Gorge on crack, times 1,000.  Like, woahhhh.   

And just a reminder, you can "like" this blog in facebook and the new posts will come up in your newsfeed....a little more convenient than blogger dashboard I think. And I am all about convenience, so follow Adventures of Newlyweds!

Here are some pictures!  Also, countdown to our next move?  T-minus 45 days!

loved these hummingbirds... they were everywhere!

getting ready to walk across!  eeek!

keeping it real.

michigan!

just WOAH WOAH WOAH.  

really?  no fishing from 2,000 feet high? HA

husband takes great pictures, yes?

beautiful...

can you find me and my MIL?  

I wish these pictures did the DROP justice!

aerial tram!

Like I said, these pictures can't even begin to do the sheer magnificence of the gorge justice.  

You just have to BE there to GET IT!  

{Weel At A Glance}

Wednesday: Flying W Ranch Chuckwagon Supper

Thursday: Manitou Incline & guest post over at the Nelson Diaries

Friday: Weekly Feature- Friday's Letters

Aren't you excited to see the rest of the week's posts? 

 I mean, how organized am I this week?

 (toot toot...just sayin') 

 Stay tuned!!

Tweet

Surgery Day...

Bella is home recovering from her surgery this morning.  Poor baby had to have some baby teeth pulled along with the surgery so she is bleeding a little bit from the mouth.  She was so scared when we got to the vet and I felt so bad, I almost cried because she was so sacred.  When she got the sedation shot she hid in my hair and wouldn't look at the vet...it was so cute but so sad!  She had a small reaction to the sedation so I was a little worried but she came through surgery just fine.  Now she is all drugged up and laying on the couch getting lots of kisses and hugs from her mama.  I love my little baby.   (and yes, it seriously WILL be ridiculous when I have "REAL" babies!)   Thanks for understanding why there isn't a regular post today, I have to take care of my beebee!  

Tweet

Friday's Letters {Manitou Incline Edition}

Dear Manitou Incline, you have an incline grade of 45% most of the way  up.  YOU SUCK!  Today we hiked up you.  Only husband made it ALL the way to the top.  I made it about .8 of the 1 mile and just had to call it quits because of baby Bella AND the fact that I was getting so dizzy.  INSANITY! {PICTURES NEXT WEEK!!!!}  Dear Chik-Fil-A Sweet Tea, You were a sweet sweet reward for hiking the Incline and running back down Barr Trail.  Dear Bella, Monday you get surgery!  Oh my heart!  :/   Dear Lake Leelanua/Traverse City, Can't wait to be lakeside or on the boat just lounging around and having a blast this time next month.

Now, after hiking for over an hour and a half, almost dying, showering off a thick layer of dirt and recovering for less than thirty minutes, I am off to work for 7 hours.  Joy of Joys.  NOT!

Happy Weekend Friends!

Tweet

More Family Fun in Colorado...

So husband and I are mulling over doing a few things for 4th of July weekend, because we BOTH have 4 days off.  We have been thinking of driving up to the Rocky Mountain National Park, and maybe trying to head over to Aspen to see Maroon Bells.  A LOT of people have said that it is a great place to visit and that we CAN'T miss it while we are here!  We still do not know if husband's job is ended here in CO July 12th or if we will be extended another month.  Hopefully we will know by today.  We'll see.  On the one hand, I am loving living here in Colorado.  It has been such a great experience, there is so much to do and I really love the hiking.  Husband thinks it can get boring, but I just love being in the outdoors as much as possible.  Hopefully the next place we go offers as much to do outside!

Anyways, I have some more pictures from husband's parents visit.  After going to Pike's Peak we walked around Manitou Springs and then went through Garden of the Gods.  It rained on an off all day and the water on the rocks at GOTG was really cool.  

like father, like son.  Of course, they are splashing each other at the natural mineral spring.

You just can't handle how cool I am. Right?
Anyone?  ANYone?   No?  
Hmm.

LOVE this picture of Garden of the Gods as the storm rolls through...

helllllllooooooo uppppppp therrrrrrrreeeeeeeee  hussssssbaaaaaaandddd! 

MIL & FIL.... what a lovely couple :)

HP saving Diane's life....  wow, he is strong!

when you become a Slater, you gain super human strength.  Pretty much...  Diane: NO HANDS!  

husband and I.  Index finger strength. BAM.

kodak moment!

Tweet

It's a HALF Birthday!

Happy HALF BIRTHDAY Baby Bella!

You are 6 months old today!  Time has flown by!  You still love riding in my purse and hate being left alone.   I wish you would stop eating your poop, but I understand that you are still a learning baby.  Next week you get surgery and lose all your girl parts, but that is okay.  You are the sweetest little puppy and we love you very much.  I can't believe you are 6 months old!

***

Also, my cardiologist appointment went well, and my heart was 100% normal!

I still have the rheumatologist next week, but this news was great news to start with!

Thanks for you thoughts and prayers everyone!

Tweet

Pike's Peak Summit & Railway!

Okay, now that I got to share with you the scariest thing I have ever done, it is time to start re-capping the weekend!  My M-I-L & F-I-L arrived late Thursday night, and first thing Friday morning we had them up and off to our first Colorado ADVENTURE!  And an adventure it was for sure!  We took the Cog Railway to the top of Pike's Peak.  We have been staring at this mountain since we moved here so we were so excited to actually make it to the top (14, 130 feet up!)  and see what it was all about.  The idea of being fourteen THOUSAND feet in the air, that's 2.7 miles UP in the air!)  is crazy.  The air gets so thin that they only let us stay at the top for about thirty minutes.  They said that we should drink a lot of water since we were going up to the top so quickly (it was still an hour and a half ride to the top)....    So of course, I started drinking the water as we began our ascent.  Needless to say, about twenty minutes from the top ALL of the liquid I had drank settled in my bladder rendering me in the worst pain of my life.  It was awful, I thought my bladder was going to rupture and poison me.  It was NOT pretty.  I didn't enjoy that last leg of the ride because I was focusing on not peeing my pants.  If its not one thing, it is another with me... at least I am free entertainment, right?  UGH. :)  Here are the pictures of our adventure!

COG Railway!

Waiting to board the train...

We were on the Salida train! 

ready to go...  the windows were plastic that slid up and down so as we went up to colder
climates we could shut it to stay warm!

excited!

Finally our ascent began and we got to see some truly beautiful scenery..

beautiful!

at one point the railway incline was such that the front car
was THREE stories above the car we were in!
You can sort of see how steep it was getting inside!

so pretty...  but THEN it started to get cold as we got higher and higher and higher....

time to push up that plastic windy! brr!

we started to see snow....

and then we entered into the clouds.... crazy to see!

at the top!  14,103 feet high!

such a cool thing to be in the midst of...

don't look down!  It was FREEZING up there...the windchill was 24 degrees!

and just as we were leaving, it started to snow and spit little balls of ice!

husband in the "snow storm"

goodbye summit of pike's peak! Goodbye snow!  I was ready to be back at the bottom where it was warm!

Pike's Peak was a great adventure, husband and I might try and drive to the top since bad weather was rolling through when we were up there and you could only get glimpses of the VERY bottom. Oh yes, and I did find a bathroom at the top so I got to enjoy being there.    

Also, I go to the cardiologist today, so prayers that the doctor sees exactly what is going on are appreciated!  I also should tell you, ---since we are SO CLOSE--- that I went to the dermatologist yesterday for a skin issue on my face.  The derm biopsied it to check for lupus, and took a large chunk out of my forehead.  I am slightly worried about this new possibility of lupus, and I am mentioning it here because I will take as many prayers as possible that this is not the case, and lupus is NOT what I have.

I can handle the rheumatoid arthritis, but the lupus would be just so so awful.  

Thanks in advance my prayer warrior blogger friends!  

Tweet