Train Ride

We got to take a ride on this cool train on October 15th. We rode the famous train ride from Durango, CO to Silverton, CO. It was about a 3 1/2 hour train ride there and about 4 hours back from. It was a wonderful way to spend the day! And it was absolutely gorgeous that day!I thought of my Grandpa Stalder while we were riding the train. He loved trains, he had a collection of model trains with a train track. He would pull it out every so often and we would watch him drive the trains around the track. 
We sure miss him, but we are grateful for the memories we treasure of him.

The row of train cars. All of them were pretty old train cars. I think from the early 1900's or even earlier.

Dave bought a mug that allowed you to get as many refills of soda or hot chocolate on the train as you wanted. 

Us!
(I should have used this as our Christmas card picture, but I forgot we took this. Typical.)

Look at how beautiful the day was! 
We even spotted a hot air balloon out and about.

I like him.

You can see the two engines pulling the train cars. They are run off of coal. We got covered with coal ashes while we sat in the observation car.

I'm not sure what happened to the other engine, but here is one of them.

I absolutely love fall, especially fall in the mountains!

Don't you think mountains are amazing?

We made it to Silverton!

We ate at the BBQ place Thee Pitt's Again. 
It was so good!

Look at the size of these onions rings?! 
They were huge and probably some of the best onions rings we have ever had.

I am so glad Dave and I were able to ride on this train ride. 
It was a very neat experience.
If you ever make it out to Durango or Silverton you should definitely take a ride on the train. 

Hello from Durango

Well hello to all you who still check up on this blog from time to time!

We don't have internet at our new home, so I haven't been good at doing anything on the internet lately. Dave called over 5 different internet providers and none of them could provide service to us. Awesome. So that is why I am blogging from the airport. Thank goodness for free WIFI. 

I'll try to give a recap of what we have been up to. 

We have been in Durango now since middle of July for Dave, and middle of August for me. 

Those are called mountains, and I have missed them dearly!! 

"That there is an RV. It's a good looking vehicle ain't it? But don't you go falling in love with it now, cause we're taking it with us when we leave here next month....." or next year. :)

The furball will still be here to greet you.

We drove/flew home to see these two love birds get hitched on August 11th. Congrats Lindsey and Brian!!

These two goofballs, stole my camera.

We also celebrated this man's 62nd birthday! 

Dad, you are by far one of my favorite people.

Saw some beautiful scenery on the drive home.

We went and enjoyed the local Bar D's dinner and show. 

Ah, so so pretty.

I have much more to blog about, like our trip to Disneyland for Mom's birthday, my trip to Hawaii with Meg, and the food we have been cooking. I will have to save those for another day. I just wanted to give you and update on what the Harwards have been up to. 

Until next time!

Busy, Busy, Busy and A Whole Bunch of Pictures

Has it really been a month since I've blogged?!

So disappointed in myself, I promise you (those that still follow my blog) I truly have good intentions. 

Well, this past month has been a whirlwind to say the least!

Dave finally started his job at the Durango Airport, he has made a total of 4 driving trips just to Durango. Only one was round trip. He is liking his job at the tiny airport. He says living in a 5th wheel trailer is "OK". Living in a trailer has made me realize how much we have to be grateful for, and how much we have been blessed with.

I was hoping my time in Lubbock was going to be a little more laid back, but due to the short staff at work I worked A LOT! 

I thank my friends the Glovers for letting me stay with them. And putting up with me coming in sometimes at 3 in the morning after work.

I was able to get time in to visit some people, not everyone that I was hoping to get to see before I left. For those I missed I am truly sorry, I will be back to visit!

Here are some pictures of what's been going on in our lives over the past couple months.

We ran in our Stake's Fun Run over Memorial weekend.

Dave's parents came to visit. They spent Memorial weekend and Bonnie's birthday with us. It was great to have them come out and see what Lubbock is like.

We did a lot of sitting on the back deck to watch those beautiful West Texas sunsets.

Beautiful!!

I want this on a wall in my house someday!

We drove to Colorful Colorado to check out Durango. Cosmo wasn't too impressed with the state.

Went home to Utah for our friends, Nick and Alya Elliott's wedding.

Dave and Adolyn

I went to the 4th of July parade with my good friends the Bradshaws.

We went to the Glovers for a 4th of July BBQ and fireworks.

Mr. Blue Eyes

This picture turned out fuzzy, but I was able to visit Ray and his horse in training Reno. I am going to miss this kind man who was so willing to teach us more about horses and horsemanship.

I got to enjoy one more girls night!! Thank you Mindy for hosting it, I will miss you ladies!!

We went up to Manassa, Co to visit the Glover family. Dave went fishing and the only thing he caught was the beaver that was swimming in the lake.

Look at that cute little baby all snuggled in! You sure got a cutie of a kid, Shayla!

Got some delicious homemade Amish donuts in Manassa.

It's so green in Colorado. I have almost forgotten what this color looks like, I am so use to brown and dead.

I love my West Texas sunsets, but this Colorado sunset over the lake is just gorgeous!! You just can't beat scenery like that.

I got to hang out one more time with these two wonderful ladies!

The company I worked for will not be operating the United flights out at the airport any more, so I had to say goodbye to my home away from home and my work family. I didn't get pictures of everyone, it was a very hectic last day for everyone.

Renee, Me and Alex

Me and Kristi

Me and Eric

It has been a busy, busy month/months. Even as we speak, I have yet to make it to Durango. I am sitting in a hotel room in Denver for training for the new job I got with Sky West Airlines. 

I am grateful for the extra time I did get to see some of the wonderful people I have met in Lubbock. Thank you to all of you that fed me, hung out with me, everyone that offered their never ending hospitality, and the Glovers for letting me crash at their house for a month! 

To you all, I am truly, truly grateful and deeply touched to know that so many people care about us. 

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

The Joys Of Moving

Oh how the Hubby and I have not really enjoyed this move.

Don't get us wrong, we are excited about his promotion, moving to the mountains, and exploring Durango.

There was just some things we could have done without.

For example:

1. We would like to find someplace to call home.

2. Finding out the day we were packing up that Dave's start date was no longer the 1st, instead it is now the 15th of July.

3. The Budget moving truck broke down on Dave 10 minutes away from the storage unit he found.

4. Waiting for about 2-3 hours for the tow truck driving to get there and to fix the truck.

5. Getting towed to the storage unit.

6. The tow truck's brakes almost giving out while going up the hill to the storage unit. They had to back, back down the hill with Dave in the Budget truck pushing on the brakes.

7. The guy who owns the storage unit getting his front end loader to tow the Budget truck and the car trailer with the car on it up the hill.

8. Flying standby home, getting put on 2 planes to Denver then being told he would have to get off since they were weight restricted.

9. Finally getting on a plane out of Durango, only to miss every connection possible to get home.

10. Sleeping in the Denver airport with our little dog Cosmo.

Mainly I think Dave could of done without these, since he drove the moving truck up there while I stayed here to work.

There is a lot of blessings that came out of this move too.

1. The Hubby got a promotion.

2. He didn't break down in the middle of New Mexico without any cell phone reception.

3. The nice tow truck driver who brought him a water during the whole ordeal.

4. The nice storage guy owner who was nice enough to use his front end loader to tow the truck up the hill.

5. All the nice people who helped us pack up and unload our moving truck.

6. Sleeping in a hotel in and actual bed for one of the nights in Colorado.

7. Dave finally sold the mountaineer to someone in Cortez, Colorado. (It's been for sale since we moved here a year and a half ago.)

8. ALL the wonderful friends who have fed us, given us encouragement and offered us a place to call home for the time that we don't have one.

9. Being able to fly home without having to pay it. (The joys of standby!!)

10. Being able to work here in Lubbock for 2 more weeks.

Life is an adventure, and it is always entertaining!!

Moving.......yet again.....

This guy got a promotion!! Way to go Dave!

He was offered the position in Billings, Montana and Durango, Colorado.

We spent two long days deciding where we should move to. Both places seemed good places to move to.

We decided that Durango, Colorado was the place for our little family to move to. 

Durango. Is. Gorgeous!!!


Here are a few pictures I found of Durango off the internet.

The train ride to Silverton!

They have snow!!

I hope to be riding these a lot while I am there, maybe I will get one of my own!

We went up this past Sunday and Monday to check out Durango and see if we could find a good place to live. 

No such luck!!

A beautiful place like Durango we knew if would cost more to live there. I don't think we realized how hard it would be to find a place to live. They do have apartment complexes, but they are either full, don't allow pets or we couldn't find a way to get a hold of who was in charge.

We looked at a few places, all extremely small and of course over-priced for what we are willing to pay. 

Lubbock is so cheap! I think I have forgotten that the rest of the world isn't as cheap as Lubbock. 

We are still excited to move here, and know that is were we are suppose to be!

If any one has any tips on housing in Durango, we'd appreciate the help!

Dave is to report to work July 1st. He will move around the 27th of this month. I will be following in August once my station at the Lubbock Airport has closed. My work didn't get their contract renewed so my station is closing down. 

We will love visitors once we are all settled in! Don't be afraid to stop by!