Cryslers Are Tripping: 2015, July 5th through July 14th Following the Wedding and the drive to NM

The Morning after the Wedding ~ Saying Goodbye

Breakfast the day after!

And a good time was had by all!!

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Very early on Saturday Morning John and I took

Mr. and Mrs. Waltrip

to the airport for their trip to IRELAND!

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Then Oz, Lexie, Drusie and I took our for a drive into the
Grand Monument National Park

Dinosaur fossils from the Monument

Lexie and Drusie overlooking Mesa County Valley

Oz excavating a dinosaur

Letter to friends describing this wedding week:

The wedding trip was so great. I can't believe it's already come and gone... so fast and it was over. I enjoyed every bit of it, except for the drive out to Colorado ( we drove North via Chicago and never again will we drive that route). Awful. We came back by way of the southern route 40 (stopping at parts of old Rt 66, which was such fun). We came back that way because we visited John's Sister and Brother in law in Santa Fe (they moved from Denver to Santa Fe in May) and then visited our friends, Diana and Roger in Albuquerque, both visits for 3 days. Loved our time in Santa Fe...visited Georgia O'keeffe's home in Albiquiu and the Ghost Ranch. Oh So Beautiful. So many great photographs that I downloaded them on to the LapTop and then deleted them from my Camera.... then a few days later, the laptop failed... a booting issue, now that we are home, John can solve. So frustrating ..... and to make matters worse, the morning we left Santa Fe, the car developed an issue and once we limped into Albuquerque, we had to take the car to the VW dealership to be repaired, so instead of a few hours visit with Diana, it turned into 3 great days. They were wonderful... we had meals out and went to the movies, toured the area and just enjoyed our time with them. Needless to say, once we were on our way again John was a happy camper!

The wedding week in Grand Junction and on the Grand Mesa was unbelievable.

When we arrived, Amanda and Amelia both were so busy at work and not able to take time off until Thursday... I felt so bad that Amanda couldn't enjoy the few days before her wedding, but finally and thankfully, I was there and able help. Amelia had a list of things a mile long that needed to be taken care ie: things picked up and paid for . But the best part was that Lexie ( my brand new fabulous 12 year old BONUS granddaughter ) still needed shoes for the wedding. I was the luckiest person in the world on Tuesday... She spent the whole day with me shopping and running errands. Man, what an amazing kid she is! And so darn sweet! I absolutely love her and we had so much fun.

Our friends Jan, Terry, Louise & Pete all came from Maine to attend the wedding ( also Jaime and Pat came from Pittsburg ! Love you guys) . Lou and Peter have a condo in Denver and were in Denver for their grandson's 1st birthday. Jan and Terry stayed a few days with them and they all visited parts of the Rockies before and after the wedding, so it was perfect. Jan and Lou were all so fabulous- really indispensable!. Did you see the photo I posted on FB of Jan and Louse finishing the Bouquets? Such creativity!! Amanda wanted Lavender in her bouquet. When Amelia and I went to the Lavender farm in March, we saw a bunch of Lavender sitting on the counter in a vase- perfect size for the bridesmaid's bouquets. So Amanda decided on all Lavender and we ordered those and a large one for Amanda's with added Pink Lavender and Rosemary. Also the boutonnieres & wrist corsages. The only issue was that the owner had never made bouquets for a wedding. So she prepared them all up to the point of adding the ribbon. I also bought really pretty 'pearl' wrist bands. Lou and Jan finished them and they were so beautiful They both said that they had a ball doing it and wouldn't have missed it for the world. We are so grateful to them. And then as we were all getting dressed, they made sure the Lodge was set up for the reception. Priceless!!! We were all about to get dressed when the centerpieces and wedding flowers arrived. My goodness they were absolutely BEAUTIFUL! And Lou & Jan made the lodge perfect with the placement of everything. Which meant Amelia (who was the Wedding coordinator) and I could relax and enjoy our time getting ready with Amanda and the other bridesmaids. That's also when we had our photos taken before the wedding with Amanda. The photo of Amanda, Amelia and I taken at that time is really funny because I was standing on a rock and starting to fall... ended up holding on to Amanda very tightly... wonder if that is a metaphor? Makes me teary eyed now just thinking of that time. It was perfect. I keep saying that, but it really was.

The wedding itself had some many personal touches. Jan's daughter, Jaime, who Amanda has known since the DAY she was born, gave a little talk and read a speech - had all of us laughing and crying. Bradley, my nephew, read Dr. Seuss's "Oh, the places you'll go!' He has such a commanding voice.. We call it the Sheldon Voice... No one could have read it better. Then, Amanda, Lee, Lexie and Oz (10 years old), performed the sand ceremony, combining the two families with different colored sand representing each one of them. So very touching.

All the wedding photos that I took, and that Bradley took using my camera, had been

downloaded also and deleted from the camera in Santa Fe... and I can't get to them until the Laptop is fixed, but luckily I had emailed a few to Amanda, including the Black and White one I took that is her Profile Photo. ( We have yet to get the photos from the Professional Photographer as she was sick soon after the wedding. Should be soon.)

One of my favorite photos is of my favorites of Amanda under the trees (which unfortunately when blown up is a little fuzzy-hopefully the one the photographer took is clear), one with all the bridesmaids and the B&W favorite of them after they were married.

On Sunday after the wedding we took Lee and Amanda to the Airport, we then had Lexie and Oz for the day. It was awesome. Drusie & I and the kids ended up taking a drive up on the National Monument, which is one of the three mountain ranges that surround Grand Junction. As we were driving in the car, from the backseat, Oz, who is 10, asked; " Susan? Can I call you G'Ma?" My heart absolutely burst! It was so sweet. Naturally I said " Absolutely, I would love that". So from then on both of them called me G'Ma all day. I loved it. Guess that's now my name! And it is his gift to me forever! The week couldn't have ended any better! (And they call John G'Pa.)

So we are finally home now ~ Our carpenter will be starting to put in the new windows and the new Living room door in Mid August and I'll be meeting with the Kitchen designer about my kitchen in a few weeks. I have so many letters and Thanks you's to write, so I have made a commitment to myself to get at least 2 written a day( I guess my average is now up with this combined letter .

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7/8/16 ~ Driving to New Mexico

Our favorite little restaurant in Saguache, Colorado,
Saguache 4th Street Diner & Bakery!
Gateway to the San Luis, between the Sangre Cristo range to the east and the San Juan Mountains to the west! Yumm lunch stop on our way to Santa Fe.
Love the local ambiance!
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7/9/16 ~ Santa fe

~~~ Museums and Santa Fe building and doors ~~~