It makes me so happy to see these pictures of us together as a family last summer. We only had a few days with Jason in Colorado before he had to fly back to Arizona. But we made the best of those days with a trip up to the mountains and lots of other fun.
If you've never been to the Rocky Mountains, you can't imagine how beautiful it is to be surrounded by these amazing, majestic peaks. It's truly incredible.
Can you see the mountain goats in the picture above? They blend in quite well.
Here we are at the top of Mt. Evans. I think we may have been crazy for dragging 6 kids to the top of a 14,000 ft mountain, but they loved it.
The fun ended when Matthew started suffering from altitude sickness and I had to race down the mountain in our ginormous van. There's a few inches of gravel next to the road and then a steep drop that leads to certain death. I'm sure my dad was scared for his life, but we obviously made it down safely.
Jason and I spent an afternoon in Boulder with my dad and his wife. We enjoyed a picnic lunch on the grass in the shade of the tall trees with a beautiful view of the mountains and horses running in an open field. 
See that stone? That's what's stuck in my mouth right now. Ok, well maybe I'm exaggerating just a bit... but it feels like that!In fact, today I woke up to a fever and marked swelling. Great. An infection. Just what I need! So off I went to the ER where the doctor concluded that (surprise!) I have salivary gland stones and a resulting infection from the blockage of the duct. I didn't need a medical degree to figure that out.
What stinks is that I'm so isolated from the military here that I can't see a surgeon fast enough. The ER doctor referred me to an ENT but that ENT doesn't accept Tricare. He wouldn't treat me in the ER other than handing me prescriptions for antibiotics and pain killers.
Right now I'm heading an hour away to the closest in-network ENT. Hopefully he can get these stupid things out before I just curl up in the corner and cry.
Have I mentioned that my dad is coming? I'm thrilled to see him again before we move back to Georgia! Hoping for a good update later after my appointment....
