My Mom is the BEST!!!

So last week was our nine year anniversary, and Jer and I wanted to get out of town, actually Jer did. I told him that I wanted to just sit in my house without any kids in it. He wanted to go to Durango to get his hat blocked (a cowboy thing.) So I asked my Mom if she would come over for a few days. I love my Mom coming but it always makes me ultra stressed because I think of my Mom as Super Woman. While growing up my Mom ran a fabric store, raised 5 kids the last two twins, always had a clean house, grew a garden, canned, made beautiful decorations for her house, and then decorated her house (I make decor and then forget to put it out.) Severed others, and always fulfilled her church obligations. So I wanted to make sure that when she got to my house she didn't have to worry about much. She has her own house to clean, she doesn't need to clean mine. Plus I wanted her to have plenty of time to play with the kids, I love the way she plays with my kids, she is always down on the floor with them. Thursday night my Mom got to our house and Jer dragged me away. I would have stayed and talked to my Mom all night if he would have let me. So we drove to Ouray and spent the night and then bright and early the next morning we got in the Jeep and headed for Durango. I say bright and early, because you would think that if we didn't have the kids we would sleep in, but we both woke up at 4:30 in the morning, now that's crazy. When we went outside it was beautiful, it had snowed on the mountains, and it had that fresh rain smell in town. The clouds where hovering low, and the sunlight was trying to break through. Awesome! I took a picture, but of course it didn't turn out the way that it really looked and I put the camera in the backseat of the Jeep where I didn't pull it out again until the last of our trip when I saw some great bucks in a field between Norwood and Redvale. We spent the day in Durango, and got a room at the Strater Hotel, that is the same place we stayed on our one year anniversary (ahhh, how special). When we got to Durango we couldn't find the hat shop, that Jer wanted to go to, but I was finally able to find a brochure for it and we went. The lady acted totally put out that we wanted the hat blocked, and told Jer to come back on Monday. I was sitting by the front door near a little sign that read "Open Tuesday -Saturday", is that like telling someone that you will do something on the 32nd of the month? Any way Jer did talk her into cleaning his hat, but was really disappointed. We ate dinner a restaurant called the Ore House (sounds better when Parker says it). Then we just walked the main drag in Durango, they use to have a lot more cowboy stores, now it is more yuppieish. So Jer was disappointed by that too, Oh well we still had fun. Saturday morning we actually slept in a little, and then went and ate breakfast at the hotel. Finished our shopping in Durango, and were off to Silverton. Jer and I were reading "Host" by Stephanie Meyers, and got to a place that I couldn't put the book down, until I was very sick. Then I couldn't even look at the pretty scenery. We got to Silverton, and it was just a little chilly, but perfect after the hot summer. We shopped around, and I found the perfect red stone necklace, and of course it was on sale so I bought it. Jer found a knife he liked, but has much better taste then I do so I couldn't afford it. Then we at lunch at a salon called Grumpy's. Jer and I were seated right next to the piano that was playing rag time music. We weren't really fond of sitting that close to the piano, but then the worst part was that people kept coming up and videotaping and taking pictures of the piano player, which meant Jer and I would try to lean out of the picture. But mostly we just got our picture taken a lot with food coming out of our mouths. There was also a beautifully carved bar, and then a little white arrow pasted way up high. I asked the waitress and she said that rumor had it that Bat Masterson a lawman, back in the day had reportedly shot a hole in the decorative wood. She didn't know what he was shooting at, but an interesting story. It made Jer and I think of my Dad at Nathan's wedding when he kept showing everyone his fancy belt buckle and declaring himself Bat Masterson. Then it was on to Ouray, this time I didn't read because I didn't want to be sick, I wanted to watch all of the pretty drive. We walked downtown and looked at all of the pretty scenery, and then drove to Ridgway and over the Dallas Divide. So Pretty!!! Then through Norwood, Redvale, Naturita, Paradox (Oh how I miss Paradox, and Ms Beth Brown), La Sal (wow it has grown), and then on to Moab to pick up the kids. The kids were wild crazy and my Mom and Dad were worn out. Jer and I were happy to see then and then happy that they fell asleep shortly out of Moab on the way to GJ. I don't care where we move too as long as we get to take the drive over the Dallas Divide and then drive on the Million Dollar Highway from Oury to Silverton, every once in a while. The best part was to get back home and still have a clean house. Then on Monday I sat down with my sewing things to fix a stuffed horse of Parker's, and Payton told me that Mom had already yarned that together. Thanks Mom for watching the kids and helping me finish my projects.