what's in a name...

Wow!  It is super stressful to choose a name for another human being.  There are so many things you need to think about...


~ does the first name flow with the last name?


~ will my child get made fun of for their name?


~ what will his/her initials be?


~ should we use a family name?


~ is it important to have a certain ethnic origin?


~ how popular is the chosen name?


~ does the name have an 's' on the end?  if so, it will not work. (everyone pronounces Groettum incorrectly like this: gro-tum, which rhymes with scrotum...think about it)


~ do we know someone with that name?


~ what could possible nicknames be?


~ what about middle names?


Obviously, there is no little thing in picking a name for a future child as we have found out.  After searching online, researching in a name book, and vetoing each other's selections, we now have a comprehensive list for both a boy and a girl.  


Now the hard part will be to narrow it down...I think we will wait to do that after our appointment on June 29th when we find out what Gizmo's gender is!  Wish us luck!  


Hopefully, we won't leave Gizmo thinking this...

camping...

Andy and I LOVE camping and basically anything that involves being outdoors.  That is why when we didn't get out camping once last year, it really made us sad.  It also made us determined to get out this year as much as our schedules allowed.  

Now, our first camping adventure is upon us and I can hardly stand my excitement.  Everything is packed and ready to go.  I love thinking that this will be Gizmo's first camping trip and that there will be many more to come.  

CLARIFICATION: I want to clarify something now, we are not backpacking campers by any means.  We are definitely car campers and bring all of our comforts from home with us to the outdoors.  We used to have ambitions to be backpackers and travel lightly, but then we had way too much fun at REI getting all of the gadgets that are available for camping that make it like your home, but in the outdoors.  We have our technology, a kitchen sink, a table top grill, super thick thermarests, and a tub full of essentials.  


With that in mind...

We headed up to Turquoise Lake, which is right outside of Leadville (about 2 hours from Denver).  There are many campsites on this lake, but we chose May Queen, which was a good combination of tent and RV campers, had super friendly campground hosts fresh on to retirement, and breathtaking views.  

  
Our first night, we settled in and immediately started a fire.  We read books and talked by the flames and then headed in for a good night's rest.  

The next morning, we started that fire right up because it was quite chilly.  We lounged around, made some eats and read some more.  

This trip was definitely about relaxing and unwinding for us.  We didn't plan any hikes or day trips.  We were happy to be together out in nature and be lazy.  I am pretty sure we succeeded with this goal...

We even managed to catch some snapshots of the growing bump (Gizmo's the size of an avocado)!

As it was time to leave on Sunday and head back to Denver, we were wishing we could stay longer (if only the campground had a shower, of course).  But, it only made us anticipate our next camping adventure.  

There are so many little things in camping for us...being in touch with nature, fresh air, quiet, losing track of time and not caring, quality time with each other, a chance to be dirty, opportunities to communicate openly...and the list could go on.  Ultimately, we leave feeling better than when we arrived and we are filled with an appreciation for where we live with an abundance of amazing getaways at our doorstep.  

   

16 weeks...

This is what 16 weeks looks like...

This week, my new obsessions are...

designing the nursery

researching what to register for

thinking about if Gizmo is a boy or girl

reading the Fifty Shades series

continuing the endless search for the perfect name

being lazy in the morning

eating LOTS of snacks and sometimes two dinners

looking forward to our first camping trip of the season

These are the little things that make me smile currently!

shout out to all the mommas...

Andy and I have made a fabulous life out in Denver.  It has not been an easy journey, but what kind of journey is easy?!  We have jobs that we both love, we have a beautiful house, we have tons of recreation opportunities at our fingertips, and, best of all, we have made some great friends that have become like family.  


Since we started this journey, there have been many that came before us.  I am super blessed to be surrounded by amazing females who are also pregnant and most live in Denver.  It is insane, actually!  It's like we all made a pregnancy pact or something (I promise that we didn't)!  


When I stop and think about it, I always smile and here's why...  


Pregnancy is kind of scary, at least for me.  Don't get me wrong, it is exciting, but there are some weird things that happen and Google has definitely become my best friend.  But, how cool is it that I have all of these great women that I trust to call on?!  They are WAY better than Google and always tell it like it is and make me feel at ease.  I am so thankful that I get to go through this with so many other women that I admire.  


The great thing is, I feel like they are all my guardian angels.  They are going through everything ahead of me, so I get to reap from their experience and knowledge.  They get to pave the way and I get to follow.  


After our experience last fall and winter, I have come to terms that this is the time that I was meant to be pregnant.  I wasn't meant to lead the way.  The universe knew that I would need support around me to make it through this journey.  


Here is a look at the beautiful ladies that I am privileged to go through this journey with in order of their due dates...


Hayley Schneider - June 21st

Dana Tucker - August 7th

Martha Krueger - August 17th

Heather Vanderwal - September 3rd

Libby Bishop - September 22nd

Lori Nelson - November 18th

The other thing that is amazing about this experience is that we will always have this support around us.  It doesn't end after the pregnancy.  We will always have these amazing couples around us to go through parenthood with.  We will be VERY busy with birthday parties and our children will grow up together.  So, that means that the support that we feel will also transfer to them.  They are being born into an instant support network.  


I get goosebumps each time I think about this and even as I write these words.


It's no little thing to go through pregnancy and begin the journey of parenthood.  It does make it so much better to go through it with these amazing women by my side to ask questions of, calm my nerves, make sure things are normal, laugh about the crazy things that happen to your body, and think forward to the future together.


Thank you ladies for being my guardian angels as we embark on this journey together!  You all mean the world to me and more!  

rolling thunder...

I am really proud to be the daughter of my father.  For many reasons that I won't go into now, but for one specific reason that I want to tell you all about today.  

My dad has always been into motorcycles.  He started his passion with Harley Davidsons and when I was a little girl he swore he would never ride anything else.  I went on my first motorcycle road trip when I was in high school with him and Kelley and we road around Lake Superior.  It was terrible.  There was wind, it was cold, and it rained every day of the trip.  I wasn't able to enjoy any of the scenery because I was extremely cold and bored out of my mind.  I think even my dad was miserable on this trip, but it is definitely an experience I will always remember because I was able to appreciate his passion, even if I didn't in the moment.    


He even had his bike custom painted and has been in numerous periodicals for it.  Check it out for yourself!  What a stud!

Eventually, he evolved from Harleys to Indians and he and Kelley owned many vintage Indian bikes, one of them even included an old police bike with a side car.  Now that was my kind of riding!  


Eventually, even this passion evolved into a dream to build his own bike.  I will never be able to explain what exactly this bike is and be able to do it justice, but I can tell you that it was built my my dad's own two hands with his dear friend, Sharky.  I can also tell you that it is made from all original, vintage Indian parts.       

Right now, he is embarking on an amazing journey from California to Washington D.C. with his friend, Kiwi, to honor POW's and MIA's from the U.S. military from all conflicts at an event called Rolling Thunder.  

More about this in a minute, but I have to pause here and tell you another thing I love about my dad that he has always tried to instill in me as well...that is to not care what other people think of you.  He truly lives this way in everything he does and is not afraid to do and wear what he likes.  So, if you ever get the chance to meet my hero, he will be wearing a ripped, sleeveless T-shirt and his "happy shorts", which are made out of cotton with a tie dye design.  You will also eventually look down and see his toes and notice that they are always painted.  This journey deserved the best and here is the latest design adorned on my dads peds!

Ok, back to Rolling Thunder.  My dad has been looking forward to this event and journey for a very long time.  He left sunny California and has been slowly making his way across the country with his mate, Kiwi.  They meet interesting people at every gas or food stop, stay in cheap hotels, ask locals for restaurant recommendations, sometimes get lost, take back roads, and the best part is that they blog every day about their adventures.  

I read many blogs, but this has been my favorite to read recently.  One of the reasons is that I am used to talking to my dad every day and haven't been able to with this trip, so it makes me feel him as I read his words each morning.  I can picture each experience and often laugh out loud at how he describes things or the situations they get themselves into.  

There was one day that I was almost brought to tears as I read this blog and I felt an overwhelming proud feeling for who my dad is.  It finally hit me how important this trip is to him and the symbolism behind what he is doing.  I guess you could say that I had an "aha" moment.  I highly encourage you to read his words from that day and if you are as moved as I was, follow their entire journey because each day has been filled with more stories just like this one (Note: My dad's posts are all titled with their total mileage and his friend, Kiwi's posts will usually say the town and then his name in the title).  

It is hard to explain or put into words how my dad's journey has also affected me except to say that I was and am proud of my dad.  I think it is a little and special thing to be able to say that you are proud of your parents.  So many times people are embarrassed of their parents and I, of course, have those moments just like everyone else.  But, right now, I am beaming with pride in who my dad is and what he stands for.  It is even more special to me that some day my child will know him and be able to look up to him just like I do.  He/She will be able to hear these same stories and be overwhelmed with pride that Greg Johnson is their grandfather (PePe).  I love you dad and am so proud to be your daughter!  

showering with love...

We had the great pleasure of hosting our dear friends Hayley and Kyle Schneider's baby shower in Denver.  We did not do it alone though, and had the amazing creative help of our friend, Michaela.  This was the first shower of any kind for all three of us, so the planning process was definitely that...a process... as we worked through everything that needed to be done and thought of ways to make it special for the Schneiders and their new little girl.  

We had more than one planning session and quickly realized that with it being a couples shower, Michaela and I could not do it alone and needed a male's perspective and input, hence our desperate call to Andy for any and all future planning sessions.  

It was awesome to see all of our hard work come into reality and I, for one, enjoyed every minute of the event as I watched how happy  Kyle and Hayley were to celebrate with all of their close friends.  It turned out to be a laid back, no nonsense, enough man and enough woman kind of event and I think everyone left with an idea of what is ahead for the little Schneiderette as she joins us in the very near future.  

See for yourself...

The lovely dessert was made by the one and only Michaela using the William & Sonoma cupcake mix.  They were delicious!  

The theme of the shower was children's literature and we wanted to be able to give the little Schneiderette a jump start to her first library.  We all know that Readers are Leaders!  Andy gets all of the credit for the party favors (which he definitely thought was a crazy concept).  Each guest was able to take home a little wine or whiskey bottle to enjoy!

We all got to place our bets as to when the little princess would grace us with her presence.  Some were very strategic with their guesses and some were just plain mean (betting baby would come on the day of Hayley's brother's wedding or very late into July with her due date on June 21st)!

We had plenty of libations and eats for everyone throughout the event.

The boys had some bonding time around the fire and smoking some stogies!

The girls made their own fun with some Midwest cornhole and good old-fashioned gossip!

Overall, it was a fabulous event and although we were exhausted afterwards, it was worth every moment and penny spent to make one of our favorite couple's happy and to welcome their new miracle into this world.  We are so thankful to have such wonderful people to call our friends and that is a little thing that makes every day in Denver worth it for us!

moms' weekend...

Last weekend, we had the pleasure of hosting my mom and my Grandma in Denver.  We started Thursday by celebrating their arrival and also my mom's birthday.  We went to the Blue Bonnet for a little Mexican feast and then enjoyed a fire on our patio.  

Friday brought more of the same.  We made a nice dinner in and played some cards (Wizard is our game of choice).  We made it an early evening since both Andy and I were under the weather and Andy had his soccer championships the next morning bright and early.  

Saturday brought celebration from Andy and his school.  They ended a fabulous season with not one, but four city championships (7th A, 7th B, 8th A, and 8th B).  This is a huge deal and has not happened for many years.  He was beyond excited.  

Meanwhile, the ladies and I went to the mall to get our shopping on.  We all had some luck and I even purchased my first maternity outfit (and got lucky as it was on sale)!  It doesn't quite fit yet, but I know it will soon and can't wait to wear it!

Saturday night, we had one of the highlights of the weekend.  Andy and I have been dying to go to the new restaurant, Linger, in Denver for a long time.  Every time that I have tried to make reservations, it is impossible to get in unless you want to eat at 9pm, or on a weeknight.  So, I bit the bullet and made reservations a month ago for this special night.  I figured it would be a great way to experience the new eatery while among family visitors.  

From the moment we walked in, Linger did not disappoint.  The ambiance, decor, our waitress was all A.M.A.Z.I.N.G!  The food is out of this world and I don't even know where to begin to describe it while also doing it justice.  We were all overwhelmed and a little intimidated by the menu, but decided to order a variety of dishes and give everything a try.  To our surprise, it was some of the best food any of us have ever eaten.  We would all highly recommend this place for locals and visitors alike.  

Sunday brought much celebration as we had two mothers and one mother-to-be in the house.  Andy was feeling severely under the weather, so just us ladies headed out on the town.  We started in Cherry Creek at Crepes & Crepes for some crepes (obviously).  They were delicious!  Then, we ventured out on the road to check out Estes Park.  As we made our way up the mountain, it was looking like rain, but nothing had happened yet.  Just as we pulled in to our first stop, the weather rolled in and it started to pour and hail.  So, we just peeked around the Stanley Hotel for a bit and then headed back down the mountain.    

The main event was our next stop, which was Ciatono Winery.  The main reason for this stop was because my Grandma confessed that she had never been to a wine tasting.  Well, we couldn't have that, so we checked that off her bucket list right away!

My mom and I had already been here, but it was just as enjoyable the second time around.  As you enter, there is a beautiful pond with cabins to your right and the wine tasting room to your left.  We settled in at a table in the tasting room and snacked on some awesome cheese, salami, and crackers as we enjoyed the libations.  My Grandma was quite a dare devil and tried all 5 whites and most of the reds.  She even found some new ones that she liked!  We took some time and roamed around the serene property and have already begun planning next year's Mother's Day right at this spot! 

It is such a privilege for me to have these two beautiful women in my life.  They have been a large part of shaping who I am today and also the kind of mother I hope be in the near future.  There is no little thing about what these women have done for me and the continued support and love they show me every day.  I look up to them and admire what they have both accomplished.  I only hope when our little Groettum arrives, I can spend my life showing him/her the same amount of love that these women have showed me.