Welcome to Granby, Population 1,525

Make that 1,529 now that the FitzSimmons' have arrived on the scene!

Here are a few observations from a newcomer:
- HA! Turns out all the roads are DIRT! Apparently when there is 2 feet of snow in the winter, you don't realize that the roads beneath you are, in fact, dirt. Only the main road is paved.
- There is ONE stoplight! Yes, that's right, we are in a 1-light town! People refer to everything as "in town, before the light" or "in town, right past the light" etc.
- There are about 3 restaurants in town. Our local Mexican Restaurant is also the local Pizza Place and the local Hamburger Joint. Basically, it is a concession stand attached to a tattoo parlor. They sell all the typical concession stand food, but since the owners are Hispanic, they also sell burritos.
- We saw a BEAR driving home the other night. A real life, not-in-a-cage bear, just crossing the street.

Now before you go thinking that the FitzSimmons' have made a big mistake, I should clarify that our town, Granby, is on Highway 40, and is one along a line of several towns, each with stoplights & restaurants. In fact, I believe Winter Park has several stoplights. So, we are not relegated to our mexican/pizza/burger stand for all meals. There are plenty of cute towns and restaurants within 20 minutes of us. And the most beautiful sunsets you have ever seen...

The Adventure Begins... Our Ragtag Crew Limps into Colorado

So we can finally openly talk about the fact that Lance and I just quit our corporate jobs at P&G to start the biggest adventure of our lives! An opportunity came up for us to help Lance's mom manage 100 units at The Inn at SilverCreek in Granby, Colorado. She is in way over her head and desparately needs some help. The management contract is also up in April, 2008 and we are going to put in a bid to run the entire Inn - a 400 room operation with a front desk, restaurant, bar, convention center, etc. So we're terrified but excited at the same time.

So anyway, we were so excited to be on our way. We left on Friday the 13th, but it was Saturday that was our downfall. We made great time on Friday, driving 7 of the 13 hours and even mapquesting an Indian Restaurant in Witchita for a leisurely dinner. We spent the night in Hays, Kansas and left at around 6:30 the next morning. At 7:15 Gwen said she was cold. Lance glanced back at her and BAM!!!!!! Our minivan hit a deer full-on. I have no idea where the thing even went. It was huge, and when we hit it, it just vanished. Smashed in our radiator, but we decided to try and make it to the next town, forgetting we were in Kansas. We finally had to pull over and wait for a tow truck, who drove us up to Grainlfield, Kansas, population 112. Darcy, Gwen and I waited for 6 hours in the back of an auto-repair shop while Lance went back to Hays with the tow truck driver, got us a rental car, etc. The best part was, the only car available for our 4-person/2-dog family was a pickup with an extended cab, so it was quite packed. So our 13 trip took over 20 hours of drive time. Here are a few pics of the journey...


Marley, on my lap in the front seat and trying to nestle into the gas pedal...


Me in the backseat after Marley cut off the circulation to my legs. Piper trying to get comfortable.


The girls, finally resting, after we slipped Dramamine into their fruit snacks. I'm not kidding, we really did that, and you would have done the same, trust me!

Last Few Days in Fayetteville

So we had a blast the last few days in Fayetteville, which made it even harder for us to leave. Here are a few shots of our last few adventures.
1. These first pictures are from a local go-kart/bumper boat/putt-putt place where we went with our friends The Roberts. They happen to have 2 girls the same ages as our two, so we've had a blast hanging out with them non-stop for the past year. Fortunately for us, they moved to Baltimore a week after we moved, which eased the transition a little. Gwen just assumed that everyone she knew was moving since her and Ella were both moving at the same time. She asked where her other friend Annie was moving, and when I replied "Annie's not moving, she's staying in Fayetteville" Gwen answered, "But that's what friends do - they move away." Talk about a tear jerker. But hopefully this will be your last move for a while Gwen!!!

Anyway, here are Gwen, Darcy, Ella and Lily...




Then for a going away party, our P&G friends wanted to do something that represented Colorado, so they had an Ice Skating Party at the local community center. It was hilarious! I don't have many pics from it yet, but here is one of Gwen in her ice skates and her "Arkansas Princess" t-shirt. : )

Farewell Fayetteville Friends!

I am updating this blog for the benefit of my friend Sarah WOOD, who I think might be the only one who actually reads it! I forget sometimes that you actually need to send people the web address if you expect them to read your blog : ) Anyway, I wanted to post some pics and some quick thoughts about our neighbors in Fayetteville, a.k.a "the nicest people on the planet". I don't know if I've ever met such nice and sincere people who just go about their lives trying to be the best people they can be. It is unbelievable. We had a few game nights together, which were fun, and despite only being on the street for 11 months, they all took us out to dinner before we left.

If you are a northerner like me, you'll find this funny. In the south, your business is everyone's business. For example, our entire street knew we were moving within 24 hours of us deciding to move, even though we sold our house without putting it on the market. They elected a representative (our dear friend Heather Walker) to call and ask us if the rumors were true. It was so funny. I sincerely hope we have some Fayetteville visitors in Colorado! It is only a 13 hour drive if you don't hit any deer along the way!!

The Sock Crisis of 2007

So, I almost had a meltdown today at the store. I went to buy some socks for Gwen, since we just bought her some new tennis shoes (which make her look so grown up and athletic, by the way!). No big deal. I go to the "Baby/Toddler" section, where I have always bought her socks in the past, and see that the largest size is 6-10. We just bought Gwen size 11 shoes! Do you know what this means? I had to go to the "Young Girl" section to buy her socks! You have no idea how traumatic it was to go into that "big kid" section for my little baby's socks! First, you're buying socks in the big kid department, and what is next? COLLEGE????

I was sad enough when I bought Gwen's clothes for next summer on sale at the GAP and realized that I will soon be buying her clothes at GAP Kids instead of Baby GAP. But this just put me over the edge...

A few of our Arkansas Favorites

- Gentry Drive-Thru Safari! A law suit waiting to happen, but worth the drive! That is a kangaroo they are petting!

- The Farmer's Market! Such a great and beautiful place to walk around with the family. Gwennie and I have tried for 2 summers to start an herb garden, but have yet to have any luck.
- Gulley Park
- Fayetteville Athletic Club Pool - except it gets a little weird when you are constantly seeing people you work with and you are wearing a bathing suit : )
- The playland at the mall - Darcy went from sitting there like a bump on a log to climbing up all the slides without any help! What a great place in the summer.
- Boston Mountain Grill - "the game restaurant" and Noodles. Two of our local favs.
- Go cart racing and putt putting
- And probably our favorite place - the double cul-de-sac on our street with the girls running around with their friends. Such good memories!

Darcy Says...

Where's the Beach?