2nd and 3rd days

Don't worry I'm not going to document everyday that we live here in Colorado. I just don't want my posts to be super long. On Sunday we kept unpacking (it really is never ending) and then drove over to Canon City to see the Royal Gorge Bridge. It's this bridge that is suspended over a river that you can walk or drive across. Of course, being the new touristy residents we are, we didn't realize that it would cost $23 a person to walk across! Insane! We walked to the overlook and took pictures instead.

(Click on the picture to enlarge.) And if you are crazy, you can swing over it.

Don't we have lovely children?! Grandma & Grandpa Calderwood still seem to think so.
On Monday we went for a 10 minute drive over to Garden of the Gods. It's like this mini Moab right on the mountain.
This picture is the backside of "kissing camels".

This is what we'll be doing this summer. Rockclimbing! We were only able to go once while living in Maryland. We have some good friends moving to the Springs in a few weeks that love to rock climb too. Yay!
Tucker is starting young!
So that's about it. There really is tons more I could post about, like the new table we bought (our first piece of furniture since we've been married that we've actually purchased), the details of the house (pictures will come later I promise), how everyone but me has been sick with the flu since moving here (I'm crossing my fingers), how we received a new phone number only to find out that someone else has it too, our A/C doesn't work and it's been 80 degrees, Aubrey has fallen down the stairs 3 times (we really need to buy a gate), we drove to 5 grocery stores with our GPS guiding us before we found one that isn't out of business (what the heck), we've had dinner at a member of the stake presidency's house (good friends parents), we drove to the Denver airport and tried to find the temple, we saw the AirForce Thunderbirds fly overhead and so on!

We are loving Colorado Springs and are happy we've moved here. If you ever want to come visit we'll have plenty to show you! Look for our updated address and phone number email coming soon to your Inbox. If you don't receive one, it's probably because I don't have your email. Just leave me a comment and I'll forward it on to you.

First Day in the Springs

Cody's parents so graciously drove our children and new car from Utah to Colorado on Friday for us. They arrived around 9:30 pm and man, Cody and I were so excited to see them. It had been 8 days without them. That's by far the longest we've been without the kids. Oh and we love our new car as well!
Saturday morning we unpacked some more and then drove to the top of Pikes Peak. For those that don't know, the peak is 14,110 feet high and you can actually drive to the top. We weren't quite prepared for the 18 degree windy weather at the top though!

It is so gorgeous! When we first drove into Colorado Springs I have to admit I wasn't very impressed. The mountains were impressive but I really missed all the trees of Maryland. Each day this place is growing on me though and I love it now. I just had to get used to the desert, mountainous area again.
Saturday also happened to be Cody's dad, Mickey's, birthday, my mom, Susan's, birthday and my sister, Heather's, birthday. We were able to celebrate with Mickey. We bought him a lighter that is in the shape of a rifle. As a hunter, he thought that was pretty neat. Happy Birthday to all 3!

1700 mile journey

We loaded our belongings into our Penske truck last Tuesday (20th). Of course, the only hour it rained that day just happened to be the hour that we had people come over to help us out. Thankfully we had most everything in boxes, so it took less than an hour to get everything loaded. (Thanks to the missionaries and dental students that helped!) Cody and I spent the rest of the afternoon cleaning and moving everything out. Our friends the Shumways invited us over for dinner and then we went back and steam cleaned the rest of the place. We dropped off the cleaner at the Huffs and headed to the Lintons to spend the night. We really couldn't have better friends than the ones we did while in Maryland. We'll miss everyone!
Bright and early Wednesday morning we drove out towing our Subaru behind us. We drove to Louisville, KY our first day and met up with one of Cody's best friends from high school that just happened to graduate from dental school too. We ate at P.F. Changs, went bowling and had dessert. It was fun to be able to spend time with them.
On Thursday morning we left bright and early again ready for our LONG day of driving. We passed through St. Louis,
Independence, Missouri and stopped by the LDS visitors center to learn more about the history there. The picture below is of the Community of Christ temple that is across the street from the center.
While driving through Kansas, we drove straight through a tornado. Quite the scary experience while driving a 22 foot truck towing a car. We pulled off to the side of the road and waiting it out. I've never seen the wind blow so hard or seen so much rain and hail in a short period of time. I tried to take pictures, but my camera wasn't cooperating with me. This picture is after the storm.
This picture is of the storm now behind us.
We stayed in Colby, KS Thursday night and stayed in the same hotel as some tornado seekers. Their front windshield had been blown off and the lady had bruises and bumps all over her from being thrown around by the wind. Crazy profession if you ask me!
We only had about 3/1/2 hours to go Friday morning and arrived in Colorado Springs around noon. We signed our lease, received our keys and came home sweet home.

Pieces By Lisa

Click here for my latest project.

Free At Last!!!

Today was graduation for the dental school. Finally! I am done with school forever, and I am free at last! One little ceremony releases me from the evil grips of the dental school and their masochistic desire to watch us suffer, and to try with all their might to prevent us from escaping the dungeon-like atmosphere surrounding the academic experience associated with dental school. Free at last!
The weather was fantastic today and we had the ceremonies at Morgan State University in order to accommodate all the guests. Lisa's mom Susan, and Carson and Marisa flew out to attend with us. Carson was fortunate enough to get away to come and hood me at graduation.
This first picture is of me shaking hands with Dr. Bradbury right before receiving my hood. He is secretly telling me that I'm lucky I got away in one piece, and that if it were up to him I would be coming back for another year. Just kidding, he's a great man that I will miss in the future. In the background Carson is approaching to hood me, and apparently Dr. Reidy fell asleep in her chair. She probably hasn't had a good night's sleep in ages. She's been too busy scheming up different ways that she can fail students in Perio and keep them from graduating!
Here's Carson and Dr. Zeller 'hooding' me, the official coronation of a doctor.

My sweet heart Lisa and I after the ceremony.

The Mormon wives club.

All of my guests at graduation smiling. Marisa, Carson, Me, Lisa, and Susan.

The Mo-mo's as we were called. All the Owings Mills Mormons after graduation. Yes, in case you were wondering, I am the smartest and best looking of the bunch too.

I'm so excited to finally be done with academics and all the hoopla surrounding it. It's about time too. I'm 29 and finally done with school. Ah yeah. No more forever. So, when you call to ask for me on the phone, be sure to ask for Dr. Calderwood!

Night Out

Saturday night Lisa and I went out to dinner at McCormick and Schmick's with our friends the Shumways. (thank you Huffs for watching the kids) It is a really nice seafood restaurant located right on the Inner Harbor. We viewed this outing as an early Mother's Day dinner, and one last hurrah with the Shumways before graduation.


I made reservations for us earlier in the week, and it turned out to be very wise. When we showed up, the place was packed. They didn't have any openings at all for the night. Good for us. When our hostess took us back to our table, I was pumped because we were lucky enough to get the best seat in the house. We were on the edge of the restaurant next to the big windows overlooking the water. It was beautiful as the sun was setting over Baltimore.

I surprised Lisa with her mothers day gift a little early. I gave her some new perfume, by Guess, so that she could wear it out on our date. She loves the smell of it, and thus loves me more. Woo hoo! Brownie points for me.

Well, the food was great, the desert was divine and we really enjoyed the atmosphere there.

After dinner, we walked around the pier and enjoyed the scenery and the boats that were coming and going. It was a great night to be out, and the weather was perfect.

If any of you are looking for a fun, romantic place to go eat in the Baltimore area, I recommend McCormick & Schmick's. It's best enjoyed in the evening as the sun goes down so you can take advantage of the views across the harbor.

Pieces By Lisa

I haven't really had a lot of time to make my "projects" blog exactly the way I want it. But, I just finished another project and thought I'd give everyone the link to it anyway. Check out www.piecesbylisa.blogspot.com. I'll try to post something on my family blog indicating my project blog has been updated for the future.

Is it a bunny?

This car just keeps on tickin. It must be powered with that long-lasting energizer bunny. We've hit a milestone today and I can't believe that in the last 7 years I've put 120,000 miles on this baby! I must drive a lot. I guess driving from Ricks College back and forth to Utah didn't help a lot, and then when I lived in Provo the back and forth to Salt Lake, plus when I taught clogging in Annapolis and Columbia I was putting 120 miles on the car a week just to teach dance.

This car has served me and my family well. It's the first "big" thing that I am proud to say I paid for without help from my parents. There have been plenty of times when I wished it would get hit and be totaled so that we could buy a newer car...but in the end, I am glad it's still around. Plus, who wants to deal with a car wreck?

The Subaru has traveled to all of the New England states and down the coast to South Carolina. It's been driven to Mexico and close to the Canadian border.

Pretty soon I'll get to almost retire from the Subaru. We just bought a new car (pathfinder) and lucky for me, I get to drive it! Cody, the doctor, will have the privilege of traveling in style with our sexy Subaru...until we can afford his Ford power stroke.

Keep on tickin little green car!

Blossom Rain

Yesterday was another gorgeous spring day in Maryland. We went for a family walk to enjoy the weather. Here are a few pictures of the kids airborne. Aubrey likes it a little bit more when I launch her than Tucker does. (as always, you can click on the photo and it will enlarge)

We have some trees by our apartment that have been shedding their pink blossoms recently. Tucker loves it when I take him on a walk past them and toss them in the air. Here is a picture of Lisa and the kids gathering some blossoms up to throw in the air.

After throwing them into the wind, it looks like it is raining blossoms. It's really quite the cool sight. Sorry about Lisa's face being covered in this one.

I would also shake the branches to cause the blossom "rain". The kids absolutely loved this part. They would laugh and laugh while trying to catch the blossoms.

Just one more thing among many that we are going to miss about Maryland.

Guck-A

Probably not the most fascinating post for most of you, but I know the grandparents will love it!

Class of 2008

Wow! I can't believe we actually got this shot! We (the married Mormon's + another great couple) are all in it, minus one family that was out of town (sorry Carters!) A couple reasons why I'm going to miss being in dental school. I have the greatest friends!