Colorado 2012: We Know How to Chill…

Though it’s a little heartbreaking to put up any more pictures from our wonderful Colorado trip, knowing that all of this could be burned to the ground by this weekend, I’m determined to journal our time and focus on the positive. Relaxation is positive!

After a full, tiring morning at Garden of the Gods, we decided to stay in town post-nap to give the girls (and us!) a break. We did the same thing on Sunday! That morning, we spent a little time at the awesome community play ground that’s down the road from the house. The weather was a dream. Ahhh..

During nap time, the four grown-ups took the stroll up the hill behind the house (with monitors in tow! its that close, phew!) to catch the amazing views of Pikes Peak:

Some silliness ensued:

And I realized that I shouldn’t be 100% confident in my ability to use the fancy camera’s self-timer (but p.s., my mom calls that “her rock”):

It is my hope and greatest prayer that the wildfires spare my parents neighborhood. I’m reminded of the priceless nature of the space and serenity that is gifted to us up there, and being in that small meadow atop the backyard hill is truly majestic. You can instantly understand why the words to “America the Beautiful” were penned upon the peak of that amazing area. Ahhh…

Post-nap brought us a trip fueled by curiosity to the Dinosaur Resource Center in town (though I balked at the $12 per person – including kids – admission price, so we just visited the statutes out front:

Then it was time to walk right next door to one of mine and Jonathan’s most favorite Woodland Park hot spots (there are many!) – the town’s newest brewery, Bierwerks. It is the coolest little place!

You can see why the girls were okay with going (think orange dreamsicle in a glass):

And no surprise why the boys wanted to visit…again:

We all had a lovely time relaxing in the amazing weather, listening to music, having a little Wisconsin cheese snack, and spending time together:

Check out these ladies’ sweet dance moves. So You Think You Can Dance better watch themselves! Double threat – dancing AND acting (you know I’ll toss in singing soon…):

We had some happy vacationers after that restful but enjoyable day in Woodland Park:

By the time our glasses were empty, it was time to head home for another home-cooked meal and bedtime preparation. Good sleep was imperative because tomorrow was a big day…going to see SANTA at the NORTH POLE!!!

Smiling on my drive home – alone - ahhh…

I rarely drive alone (as in, without Bridget), so the slim chance brings a welcome opportunity to sing at full capacity to some of my favorite tunes. I discovered this fond gem and wanted to write down the lyrics to remember them. I think they’re just perfect.

The Riddle

There was a man back in '95
Whose heart ran out of summers
But before he died, I asked him
Wait, what's the sense in life
Come over me, Come over me
He said,
Son why you got to sing that tune
Catch a Dylan song or some eclipse of the moon
Let an angel swing and make you swoon
Then you will see... You will see
Then he said,
Here's a riddle for you
Find the Answer
There's a reason for the world
You and I...
Picked up my kid from school today
Did you learn anything cause in the world today
You can't live in a castle far away
Now talk to me, come talk to me
He said,
Dad I'm big but we're smaller than small
In the scheme of things, well we're nothing at all
Still every mother's child sings a lonely song
So play with me, come play with me
And Hey Dad
Here's a riddle for you
Find the Answer
There's a reason for the world
You and I...
I said,
Son for all I've told you
When you get right down to the
Reason for the world...
Who am I?
There are secrets that we still have left to find
There have been mysteries from the beginning of time
There are answers we're not wise enough to see
He said... You’re looking for a clue I Love You free...
The batter swings and the summer flies
As I look into my angel's eyes
A song plays on while the moon is high over me
Something comes over me
I guess we're big and I guess we're small
If you think about it man you know we got it all
Cause we're all we got on this bouncing ball
And I love you free
I love you freely
Here's a riddle for you
Find the Answer
There's a reason for the world
You and I...

Definitely a poem that makes me feel pretty lucky.

Love you, Bridget!

Colorado 2012: McCauley Madness!

We enjoyed our few hours as a family before our friends arrived in town. Since it was a Friday morning, we knew we had to get out to the Farmers Market. Its adorable! Thank goodness it was open til 1am because we didn’t roll out of bed until after 10. LOVE that I am blessed with a sleeper. Its one of the few things she and I have in common!

Aren’t hippies fun?!

Seeing all the dogs that everyone brings along just makes me want Penny to be with us! She’d be a real hit, but I don’t know if any furry friend could be as cute at this duo we found. Double trouble!

B and I loved this fun street performer’s antics, so she got a change to give her first tip! We did this quite a few times ‘cause it was just that fun.

And though she’s super picky and never actually ate it, she loved carrying around “her cherry”. Love us some samples from the farmers! She even considered sharing her cherry with the friendly, fuzzy alpacas…but then didn’t .

At the end of our morning, we stopped by the pond and skipped some rocks. So much fun in one square block of town.

A few hours later (after a primo nap!), we heard the door open…ABBY! Not a single picture came out without at least one of them being blurry. Way too much screaming, running and jumping to be had. So cute!

 

The next morning, we had a yummy breakfast and headed right out to the Garden of the Gods. One of my favorite attractions! First, we stopped by the visitors center and learned about area wildlife: GRRR…

Then, a great opportunity for our first (and maybe ONLY) group photo. It was nearly 90 degrees that afternoon, so we were HOT.

Next, we were off on the first hike of the trip. Again, it was HOT and we had two toddlers with zero strollers. We weren’t going far…for sure! But it was a lovely time.

Understandably after a full day of traveling the day before, Abby was pretty tired. So we drove ourselves down to the Trading Post. One of the best tourist shopping places in the city and a lovely lunch spot!

 

Julie and I always laugh about how different Bridget and Abby can be. Its not a surprise, but Julie and I are pretty different ourselves (what’s great, though, is how similar are spouses are! we always say: julie is the jonathan, anna is the ryan…its SO true). Regardless, where B is a great napper but doesn’t sleep well in the car – Abby rarely naps but will be asleep before the ignition starts in the car. That being said, it was no surprise to see she was asleep after our 5 minute drive to lunch. What was shocking, however, is how long she stayed asleep. Through our entire lunch, only to wake when the thought of panning for gold came up. Perfect timing!

Bridget didn’t seem to mind some chill time by the pond:

BBut soon enough it was time to find some gold! This is some of the best $5 you can ever spend:

We did it!

Thanks, Daddies, for doing all the work!

Hmmm…looks like someone else was getting tired, too! Guess it was time to head home for a nap…

Fun times together! We headed back through the mountain pass to our comfy cottage and enjoyed a home cooked meal before hitting the hay before 10pm. We’re so old!!! The next day brought a full day exploring Woodland Park in hopes that both girls would be some much needed R&R before starting the week with a bang on Monday – Santa’s Workshop!!