You should really write that down... : It's hard to say goodbye, and it's hard to say hello.

It is official. I am no longer a Minnesota "resident." As truly sad as that is, I'm excited to see what Colorado has to offer.

Random side note: I've noticed that I'm sometimes overbearingly prideful in regards to being a Minnesotan. I find myself thinking I'm "cool" because I have a Minnesota license plate amongst mostly Colorado license plates. I also feel more inclined to wear my MSU, Mankato apparel when strolling around town. Yes, I know that's ridiculous; however, someone's "gotta represent," right? :-) Oh, and don't even get me started on Caribou Coffee; that topic deserves its own post.

Anyways, the journey began Friday morning (8-31). My parents and I made it to Kearney, Nebraska where we spent the night at a Holiday Inn Express. By the way, If you're looking for a reasonably priced hotel that has an awesome continental breakfast, I would recommend a Holiday Inn Express. We hit the road early once again on Saturday and eventually passed the Mountain Time Zone mark. After traveling through some very barren land in southwestern Nebraska and the eastern parts of Colorado, we made it to Fort Collins (or FoCO so I've been told)!

We arrived at my town home around roughly 2:30 p.m. and began unloading the fully packed trailer that my dad drove. Luckily, my dad and Matt were both able to haul in the heavy things quite easily. However, my box spring had to actually be lifted up and over the loft in the living room because it wouldn't fit up the stairs! It was quite an interesting scene.

The remainder of the weekend we spent acquainting ourselves (well, mostly me, I suppose) with Fort Collins. My parents and I got a tour of Intel, compliments of Matthew and visited the Horse Tooth Reservoir which had some lovely views. After locating Putnam Elementary (the school I'm working at), we spent some time in Old Town strolling around the different stores. By the way, Disney Land's Main Street, USA was inspired by Old Town in Fort Collins! Here's a link to the article: A Tale of Two Main Streets

We even enjoyed some delicious gelato. It was my dad's and Matt's first time trying gelato, and I don't think they were disappointed!

Later that evening we visited Blessed John Paul XXIII University Parish which serves as part of the Newman Center for CSU. The mass was amazing, and I definitely think Matt and I will be partaking in marriage preparation classes there soon! The rest of the weekend was enjoyable, but somewhat sad. I wasn't too keen on my parents leaving, but I'm starting to come around to this new chapter in my life. I'm guessing you've heard this song before, but I think it fits my situation right now: Home by Phil Phillips

And, here are some pictures of my new room! I was lucky enough to get the master bedroom with a door to a shared bathroom! The only catch - I don't get an actual parking spot in the town home parking lot; however, I've been parking my car on the side of a road that is close to my house, and that works just fine!