My First

I went to my first football game. Not only was it my first but my first Green Bay Packers game too. It was a preseason game so I am guessing it was not as exciting as it would have been if it was a regular game but it was still a cool experience. We drove a little over an hour to the stadium in Denver to watch them play the Broncos.

Luke in front of Invesco Field.

We went to the game without tickets, planning on to buy some off the street since general admission was 40 bucks per seat and we, or should I say I, was not willing to pay that much for a plastic folding chair. We did end up spending $40 per ticket but they were seats in the season ticket area which cost $70 each. So we did end up getting a good deal but it was a little nerve wrecking handing over $80 cash to some random guy and getting two pieces of paper in return.
The Broncos display was pretty cool to watch. They had the bronco on the left that blew up and then flames that shot out, we could feel the heat all the way back from where we were sitting.
I must say that physically being at the game is way more intense and exciting than watching it on TV. Now I understand a little more why Luke spends the amount he does on attending the Packers/Vikings game in Wisconsin.
The stadium was almost totally full if you can see here in the back ground (you may be able to double click on the picture and it will blow up) how full it is. And yes, Green Bay did win which made it even better for the rude broncos fan that was sitting next to us!

I'm a Proud Cheesey Auntie

One of the main reasons I went to Minnesota was to be there for my 8 year old nephew Oliver at his triathlon. He participated in one of the largest kids triathlons in the world and I am so so so proud of him, he was so great. It was not only a huge personal accomplishment but he did this to raise money for kids who have cancer. Yeah, totally hits the heart :) My sister Donna and her hubby Bryan were such great supporters. They were all about it and were there for him every second of the way. Their excitement for him and what he was about to do was so awesome!
So there were kids EVERYWHERE and they had their age written on one leg and the name of a sick child who they were doing this for on the other, very touching.

This does not show it well at all but it started from boys and girls age 7 all the way to boys and girls age 17. There was a huge line, about 5 kids wide, all the way weaving up and down the hill, and all in orange swim caps. I think Bryan said that there were about 600 kids total.


This pic is Donna, Bryan, Oliver, and Albert who was being such a trooper. He fell off a playground set from 10 feet high. SCARY. My sister had to drive him to the emergency room, his head was cut so bad that she thought he was bleeding from his ear but thankfully he wasn't. She told me that after she had left with Albert, Oliver got his brother Henry and the other family's kids that they were at the playground with, in a group and had them all say a prayer that Albert was ok, what a good and caring big brother they have. It is so funny though because that is totally something that Donna would have done when we were that age.
So as I was standing and waiting in for the race to start I finally actually realized HOW MANY kids there were with all their orange caps.

Oliver played it cool and aware. It looked like he kept checking out where he was in line. We were all waiting to see how the first part was going to go, the swimming, since he was only 3 days into his swimming lessons and the water that they had to swim in was pretty darn deep for a kid who was just learning to swim.
The anticipation kept building for him...
...and he was off!
He did not turn back, no matter how deep it got he kept going
and going even though it was up to his chin (he had not willingly gone in water that deep before) so it was a pretty big deal.

He finally turned the corner and was making his way to the track to run to his bike.
Oh, and the smile on his face when he got out of the water. You could totally tell that he was so proud of himself that he made it through the swimming part of it.
So he ran to his bike station where he changed the Grandparents were waiting for him on the hill with signs.
And he was off for the bike portion of it.
Mean while, Henry was hanging out with only one shoe and sock on. When Oliver was swimming, Henry wanted to play in the sand and had started to take his shoes and socks off but only got half way through before he was scooped up and running to meet Oliver at the bike hill. So Bryan had his one shoe and sock on the other side of the parking lot, it was pretty darn funny and I still find my self laughing when I see this picture. He did such a good job of staying by us and not wandering since there were so many people.

Their little bike stations with towels to wipe the sand off their feet, shoes, and helmets.
He made it back really fast. It was so cute, every time he would be passing us you could see his huge eyes scanning the people and as soon as he saw one of us he would get the biggest smile.
Okay, this was one of the highlights for me. He had just dropped his bike off and began the running portion of it. They had a water stand at the beginning of it and he was running all the way up the hill with his coke cup of water. This is when it got pretty dramatic, as he was running he took his last sip and chucked the cup like a pro, wiped his brow, and hauled it out of there! I probably did not do the best job putting it in to words but it was totally priceless, and made him seem so grown up!
I love this picture. The finish line, he was picture perfect, big smile and hands out catching all the high fives that were waiting for him! After he finished he received a metal that I am sure has found a special place to hang.
I think it was definitely a growing opportunity for them as a family, Donna just could not believe that he did this all on his own. It was so cool to see the love and pride that Donna and Bryan had for him, that he made it through it and did it for the sick kids.

Debbie Downer with the New Jobs???

So I am back at Chili's and bartending at the club on base, booooo. Well it could be worse, I know I should be happy that I am employed but I am sooo tired of this type of work. These jobs are serving their purpose until I find a "real" job.
So I applied at chili's and they saw my experience and were so thrilled that they threw me on the schedule right away without any of the orientation or anything (I told them I was available 20-25 hrs/week). My first day and first shift was on a Saturday and was a double....what? Yeah that is what I said and it gets better. My schedule was/is Saturday double, Sunday double, Monday they had me scheduled but I told them I would not work, Tuesday double, Wednesday double, and then bartending Thurs and Friday at the club on base. I have been trying to work on my resume so I can find a real job but I have no time AHHHH.
Luke was called up last night (sat) and told that they were low manned and had to go to the field sun early am till wed. He was not sure what to expect but I guess now he knows. He made and brought two sandwiches and a couple granola bars to last him until wed unless they get some relief. I guess he is sleeping in a truck or something. I don't think he can say too much about what he is doing but what the &#@*? My poor baby is seriously roughing it and I can't stand the thought that he does not have a pillow to sleep on, it just crushes me knowing that I am sleeping in our warm cozy bed and he is........who the hell knows where. I know this was kind of a bummer post but just thought y'all might be interested in what we are doing with our time right now! I have a very positive and happy post for the next blog to make up for this one : )

Some Concerts and a Calf Ride

Don't know how many of you have heard of Cheyenne Frontier Days but it is one of the biggest rodeos. It is some pretty serious stuff, so Luke and I being the newbies in town decided to attend. We volunteered the first night to sell beer at the Kelly Pickler and some other guy concert. Then a couple days later Luke and I went to see Sugarland and Tracey Lawrence. It was a ton of fun and they both put on a great show! I made Luke take me to the rodeo there one of the days. He is such a good hubby, I told him that I can not live in Cheyenne and not go to the rodeo. That is like living in MN and never going to the Mall of America.
Check out these belt buckles that the winners won, they are ridiculously huge!

And yes, the Cavanaugh came out in me. Had to dress the part right?
About a week later I left to go visit my friend Noel in San Antonio. We drove to Houston and saw John Meyer in concert. He sounded Awesome, better in concert than on his CD which almost never happens. However, do you see how shiny we already are here in the picture. The concert was outside. We dressed up all cute in dresses and ended up in a big sweaty mess by the end. I kid you not I could feel sweat running down the back of my legs, it was pretty disgusting but totally worth it!
And yes, that is John Meyer with no shirt on! Bonus for us.
He does make some very weird faces when he sings though?
I left there on a Tuesday and was planning on driving to MN that next day but the weather had different plans for me. I got stuck at the San Antonio airport for half of the day because of the hurricane that was there at the time. Then as we were finally getting close to Denver it was hailing so we had to circle in the air for about an hour and did not land into Denver until 730 then I had an hour and twenty min drive home to Cheyenne. Yeah, looonnngg day. But I made it safe. I drove to MN 13 hrs straight through and it was not as bad as I thought. It actually went very fast. The next morning I had an appointment to get an eye job, yes lasik and I Love it!!! I see better than 20/20 now. Technology just amazes me.

I spent a few days at my sisters house and got to go to swimming lessons with my nephews. It totally brought back memories. They did awesome, these are pics of them jumping in. A little dark.
So every now and then it would get real quiet at my sisters and Albert would not be anywhere in sight. Every time this happened I would check his room and he would just be standing there staring at this fish tank thing it was way cute.
Henry let me give him a Mohawk. Can you tell I just can not get enough of my nephews.
This is me and my future sister in law Kate. We were walking out of the bar and spotted this little calf mannequin so what else would two Cavanaughs do...hop on and ride it!

Wyoming

This is the Mitchell Corn Palace. The outside was cool but we were pretty disappointed with the inside. After seeing the ice hotel in Alaska where EVERYTHING is made from ice, right down to the drinking glasses, we decided that this tourist attraction would probably never see us again. It was on our way from MN to WY. The outside is all made from corn cobs but the inside is just a normal building without any corn, just facts. It was pretty cool that they could come up with such a thing but I thought the inside could use some creativity too.
This is the extent of our fun corn palace trip....Luke with one of those mannequin guys.
My parents friends the Morley's live in South Dakota on the river. They were nice enough to let us drop in and spend the night since they live at the half way point between Minneapolis and Cheyenne. This picture does not to a very good job showing their amazing house. It is beautiful and up on a hill overlooking the river. They have a waterfall in their side yard so when you are sitting out on the deck it sounds like it is the river. Not only did we get to stay in their beautiful home they cooked us a great buffalo steak dinner. Amazing is all we could say.
And of course we had to drive through the badlands in South Dakota
They always amaze me. It was a perfect day too.

Yeah!!!! I finally got to see Mount Rushmore!
Okay here is the deal. My family and I went on a trip to see this when we were much younger. We got there and it was so foggy we could not see a thing so we tried the next day and guess what....foggy again. It was kind of a bummer, I remember standing at the bottom of it and trying to picture what it would look like. Now I know!!!
Days after searching for a home we settled on the first one we went into. It was so discouraging. We lived in a hotel for a week in hopes that we would find a house in our price range that was not a total dump or south of the tracks. The first night we were here we just drove around and looked at houses that sounded nice but when we pulled up to 98% of them they were total dumps, a few were in junky trailer parks, and and one was an actual trailer. Here I thought I was being a good wife and found one that said it also had a spacious workshop. I called on it and the landlord said we could stop by anytime the next day since she lived right next door so I was pretty excited that Luke would like it since he would have his own man area. Work shop my butt, it was a plywood shed that was nailed to a trailer. I instantly had visions of the stereotypical trailer park trash and what Luke and I could turn into. And my imagination went crazy and that is when we curbed the idea of living south of the tracks. So then we were looking at houses in other areas of the town and had just as good of luck. Two of them had no dishwashers in the kitchens, one the bathtub was a nice graphite color but I am pretty sure that was only because it was old as Colonel Sanders (it used to be white) and last but not least we went in to the basement of one that was a possibility until we saw that there was moldy dog crap in the basement. Wonder how long that had been there? So we decided to settle on the apartment with no garage. I have not taken decent pictures of it yet but this is pretty much it. Two bedrooms, one bath, a couple ok size hall closets, tiny bedroom closets, a dinky laundry room, and not much of an entry way, BUT IT'S CLEAN : ) and after seeing those other crap holes we were more than happy to hand over the check and call this home.
Talk about random....So Luke and I were driving around town here in Cheyenne and have come across small fenced in areas with a TON of goats crammed in them? Finally we asked our old neighbors in Alaska since they used to live here and they said that it is pretty common, it is free food for the goats. Weird huh!

Luke's Birthday. I surprised him and scooped him a dish of ice cream in a plastic bowl and stuck a Asian spice scented votive candle on it since our household goods had not been shipped yet. I am so creative! He was holding back giggles... seriously, who puts a scented votive candle on ice cream?

Random photo. He is so handsome ;-)
Then we decided to celebrate our birthdays the right way...with Dairy Queen. The guy there looked at me very weird when I gave him my request for what to write on the cake. It reads "Happy Birthday Lukey Poo and Erma.
Oh, that tiny area behind us is our dining room, Ha Ha.

Then we flew out to Missouri to pick up my Honda. We stopped at our friends house Mark and Allison, they used to live right next to us up in AK. It was good to see them, we had SO much fun.
Then they busted out the slip and slide. This is Mark heading down.
I just thought y'all should know that right after this picture I could not stand just watching any more. I put on a suit and flew down it, well, not flew but kind of skidded down. It was like rubbing sandpaper all over since their yard is not dirt but sand. It kind of burned, I just looked at it as a great exfoliating opportunity! The best was right right after this, Mark came up to me with mud piled in his hands and covered me. We ended up face painting with the mud. I was so upset that I did not get a picture! Luke had it in his pocket, passed out!

On our way back to Cheyenne we drove through Kansas. For those of you who know me well I grew up watching the Wizard of Oz every day, sometimes multiple times a day. We stopped at the OZ house but they were closing so we were unable to take the tour, Totally Bummed : ( I did get a picture with the tin man though. Hopefully I get to make it there someday again.