Weekend fun

Well we had a fun weekend....Friday night Chandler came over for a sleepover, we had a tea party and Cheetah girls...fabulous! Saturday EB and I had a day shopping and hanging out by ourselves while the boys worked in the basement some more. The basment is coming along really nicely. The painting/lighting is finished and the flooring is almost done as well.

Sunday we went to Deer Creek Canyon to hike. It was a great hike and the kids kept up really well. I'm so glad they like hiking, it's easy to do here with the gorgeous backdrop everywhere you look. After an hour and a half up and out we noticed some rain heading our way so we turned back. Not long after we got home EB came in from playing outside with some friends and said "There's a funnel cloud outside!" I looked out the back door and sho' nuff...there is a freakin' tornado right there!!! You couldn't tell how close it was, but it looked close...it can be decieving here b/c the sky is so big, you can see weather miles away. So I flipped on the news and no doubt, that tornado (one of I think 3) was right in Parker. Here is a video of the one that was closest to us.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2knTNIl020U&feature=related

As summer winds down...

This morning was the first clear one we've had in a few days. I missed it, as it's generally sunny and clear here. While we headed to school I was really in awe at the change in the mountains since the cool weekend. They gots lots more snow! It's brilliant against the blue sky. I didn't imagine enjoying the mountains without snow as much as I have. I am going to be a bit sad when it's too cold to go hiking. But on the other hand I'm really excited about the fall and seeing it all change....and we can always get some snowshoes to strap on and explore on foot!

MBJ is really enjoying Kindie. He is making friends as each day goes by and is really excited about heading to school each morning. Cute statement for the day:

MBJ: "how many days are in a week?"
Me: "7...so how many days are in 2 weeks?"
MBJ: "Seconteen"

:D

Change in Direction

After much debate on what to do in the bathroom now as opposed to down the road, we've decided we have more to think about....so we are starting in the basement. We are ripping out the carpet and puting down wood laminate. And painting. We need some new lighting solutions as well...It will be groovy when we're finished, so I'm excited about getting into it. It's cold and rainy here, so inside projects are good for this weekend.

Friday morning

If anyone wants to send us a care package and include Sturkey's lite salad dressing and/or Skyline or Dixie chili, we would be thrilled :D I really miss that salad dressing, it's my fave.

Yesterday after I dropped the kids off at school I hit the Cherry Creek Trail and joined many other CO bikers to enjoy the gorgeous weather while getting in a workout. I got a bit lost and ended up riding for about an hour and a half. I saw creeks and horses and snakes and prairie dogs and bunnies galore. Today is chilly and rainy, they are calling for snow in the mountains. Hard to believe it was over 100 a week or two ago!!

We are embarking on project 16016 Sequoia this weekend. Well, we already painted the kids rooms, so technically we have already begun, but we start doing demo and remodel this weekend...in our master bath. We're going to start with the floor. It is currently carpet. It is ew and needs to be all done. I'll take pics!!

Visitors!

I love that Dad, Lish, and Liz have already been here for a visit. We had a great time exploring and enjoying the outdoors here. Today they have all gone home and we miss them tons, but always look forward to our next visits. I am so excited to share this Colorado adventure with our family and friends, so come on out people!! Here are a few pictures from the week. We went fishing and exploring in Estes Park. The next day we went hiking at Red Rocks and Dinosaur Ridge. Phenomenal!!

Back to school!!

Last week the kids went back to school. LM started his adventures in Kindergarden. He was really eager for school and had a great start. He really likes BigK and his teacher and is making new friends. Yay!! EB is really liking grade 4 too. Her teacher is terrific (as well as LM's) and they are learning so many new things here. Geography has suddenly become super interesting. Here they learn Spanish from K, so they are both really excited about that. I am so happy that we have landed ourselves in a school that is academically challenging and a really fun place to be. And one of the best things about our walk to/from school is the time we get to chat about school and whatnot in general without any distractions...of course except the view of the Rockies from our neighborhood :D

Trip to Garden of the Gods

Lizzie is here!! There is so much we all want to see and do, I didn't know where to begin. So we picked Garden of the Gods down in Colorado Springs. Oh My Gawsh. It is truly gorgeous. There are incredible rock formations unlike anything I've ever seen. Next time I go I want to go to the visitor's center to learn more about the history. We took Sunny with us, so we didn't do the indoor stuff. But my gosh, it was one incredible sight after another each way you turned. I'd like to do ride horseback through the trails also. I can see how it got it's name...truly a little piece of heaven on earth.