After The Rain Comes The Rainbow

I love rainstorms in the mountains - the dark skies, the cool breeze, the bright lightning (as long as it doesn't strike our house!), the thunder echoing off the mountains, and most of all, the gorgeous rainbows!

We had one of "those" thunderstorms last evening! It included all of the above!

The rainbow made a complete arch, high above Pikes Peak - so the pictures are taken from opposite sides of the rainbow! And yes, it was a double rainbow although the second arch behind the main one was pretty light - nonetheless, it was gorgeous!

Location - Location - Location

I think our property must be the PERFECT birthing grounds............

As we pulled up our driveway after our day trip, Glenn saw a deer bedded down just a few yards off the gravel - he parked the car up by the garage and I grabbed the camera that was in the car and walked down close to where the deer was sitting - I thought maybe it was Heidi and her 4 fawns - no such luck - it was just her and she gave me the evil eye when I got close to her so I turned around and headed into the house.

Fast forward a couple of hours - I have bacon/cream cheese stuffed mushrooms in the oven (yum!) and I glance out the window and see a deer walking so I yelled at Glenn (who was in the office on the computer) to peek out that window to make sure there weren't any little fawns with that deer - he said there weren't any with the deer that was walking but the deer that was bedded down was licking something like crazy and he thought it was a newborn fawn! I grabbed the camera, he ran and got the binoculars and we stood at the office window and watched a newly born fawn try to get up on his wobbly legs! Oh my, it was so cute!! Mama licked and licked him and Glenn and I took turns with the binoculars - she and the baby were only about 20 or 25 yards away but of course she was bedded down in a brushy patch and there was a tree kind of blocking our view!!

I told Glenn that usually does' have twins so we needed to watch and see if another one would be born - about that time the doe stands up and Glenn sees the 2nd fawn born and drop to the ground - darn it, I had the tree in the way at that time so didn't see the actual fawn being born - oh no, I got to watch the afterbirth - yikes!! We stood at that window for at least another 45 minutes watching mama lick her 2nd newborn and then watch him try to stand up! It took the 2nd fawn quite a while before he was able to stand on his own - and he was just as cute as the first one!

Did I take pictures?? Of course I did - did they turn out through the window? - of course they didn't! You'll just have to take my word that the twins (Freckles and Speckles) are just as cute as the quads and I'll be watching nightly for at least ONE of these families so I can FINALLY get some pictures!

Day Trippin' Through Colorado

Glenn and I decided to take a day trip on Sunday - we were up bright and early and left the house by 7:30 - first stop was breakfast at The Village Inn in Colorado Springs!

They had my favorite breakfast item - strawberry crepes! I was excited! I was even more excited when I found out they came with bacon and hash browns! Usually the crepes come all by themselves and it's not like I need MORE to eat - it's just that I need a little bit of protein in the morning so I usually have to order a side of bacon too! But this was perfect - and oh man, were they good!! Crepes in the summer are even better than usual because of the sweet berries! We left there full and happy!

Our next stop was in Florence for coffee to go - it was a cute little place called Flumps! Unfortunately the coffee was really lousy - oh well, can't win them all!! We drove by the Florence State Penitentiary - this houses most of the really bad criminals and terrorists including the Ok. city bomber, the Unabomber and the Atlanta Olympics bomber - YIKES!! Kind of gave me a creepy feeling as we drove past!

Next we headed to a town we had never been to before - Westcliffe - and I fell in love with it! It sits up against the Sangre de Cristo Mountains and has the cutest shops and restaurants!! Of course we were both still too full to eat lunch there but we parked the car and walked around a little bit - couldn't resist taking a photo of Paul Bunyan and the cute carved bench!

Then it was off to Bishop's Castle - I had been here years ago with a friend but wanted to show it to Glenn - it's being built by an eccentric, radical guy who is very outspoken about his political outlook on life and he's been building this castle by himself for probably the last 15 years or so!! A lot more had been done this time than before - especially the steps to the top! Yes, Glenn and I crawled our way to the top on these welded steps with no handrails most of the way! We did NOT, I repeat NOT, climb to the highest turret but the one beside it - if you look close enough at the one picture where you see all the wire at the top, you can see people up there! It was pretty scarey since the top portion was not stationary and it moved when you walked around! Quite an amazing place!!

Around the corner from that was San Isabel - we ate lunch at the lodge and took a walk down by the pretty lake and watched people fishing and gliding along the lake in canoes - it looked peaceful and relaxing!

Before we knew it, it was time to head back home to OUR mountains with some great photos on the camera and memories of a delightful day!

Kids Say The Darnedest Things!

I'm not sure that "darnedest" is spelled right or if it's even a word! But we'll go with it anyway!

Tuesday night after Jessi and Gary got back from their date, I told Jessi I would like for her to adjust me - we had JUST put Evan to bed in the office. I then decided I wanted to use the bathroom before she adjusted me so I headed in there and Jessi told Glenn to come up and get his adjustment.

Glenn comes up the stairs and sees that I'm in the bathroom and yells QUITE loudly to ME - What the heck are you doing in there????

Evan's little voice comes from the office - I'm TRYING to sleep!

That one was put in my "memory box" of sayings!

Mid-Week Fun!

What fun having Gary and Jessi and the kids come down during the middle of the week! Since Gary is off on Tuesday's and Wednesday's so never gets to come down on the weekends, they decided to take advantage of a mid-week trip to travel to the mountains!

Gary and Jessi actually went on a "date" on Tuesday night while Papa and I babysat! Now I remember why I stayed so skinny while my kids were little! You NEVER sit down and you NEVER get to eat!!

Mackenzie enjoyed her bath in the sink and Evan enjoyed playing carpenter with the hammer and nails that Papa set up for him! We had a great time with all of them and even got some pool playing in on Tuesday night - Jessi showed me up! It must be time for MORE practice!

And I even came home on Wednesday from work to a cooked dinner and homemade cookies - YUM!!! You can come back ANYTIME Jessi and Gary!!

Reflections Of My Dad!

Some Father's Days' are harder than others not having my dad around because I miss him!

And Sundays are sometimes tough too because EVERY Sunday night, Dad and I used to take turns calling each other! I guess we started the practice when Glenn and I moved out of state to AZ. - come Sunday night, we would always talk!

Dad was a talker let me tell you! He could start up a conversation with a perfect stranger and talk for hours with him! Dad just had that gift of gab and he just loved to talk - there was never a lack of conversation when he was around!

One of my favorite things about my dad was his smile and his laughter! Dad was rarely crabby or grouchy - he was just always in a great mood and he loved to laugh!! At times, he would laugh so hard he would cry! And that would make the rest of us laugh too!

I always believed my dad had a good head on his shoulders for business and he was always ready to listen to a new venture and give me his opinion on it - he was there for us when we needed to borrow money and never hesitated to loan it to us - and there was always a smile and a proud feeling when the money was paid back to him, knowing that he had raised a daughter and taught her to pay back all her obligations!

Dad LOVED to travel and I think I got my travel bug from him! I don't think there was ever a summer that we didn't take a vacation! It might have only been up to Lake Okoboji for a fishing trip but I have wonderful memories of the cute cabins we used to rent up there! And then there are the memories of driving to California! My sister Patty and I both recall taking turns during the night, talking to dad to help him stay awake while he drove!

I also recall that dad loved to just "go for a drive". It might just be around the surrounding area to check out the crops or something but it was always fun to do that with him!

I know my dad worked hard being a farmer - he used to milk cows, morning and night, and it was always a challenge to find someone to do that when he had to be out of town or when we were taking a vacation! Dad gave us chores to do too - and instilled in all of us kids a good work ethic and a great sense of responsibility!

Even though dad is gone and has been for several years, the memories haven't faded! Each and every picture that I see Dad in, has a special memory tucked away in my mind that reminds me of all the great times spent with Dad and how lucky I was to have him for a father!

And They're Out To Play!!

I couldn't believe my eyes when I looked out the window yesterday about 6:30 and caught a glimpse of a doe and 1 fawn - I just KNEW this was Heidi and her 4 young ones so I raced into the office, grabbed my camera, and ran down to where the old shed used to stand! Sure enough, there was mama and her fawns!!

At that point, I couldn't tell if there were 3 or 4 fawns with her as the grass is high and the fawns are oh so tiny!! I squatted down and remained still and silent, hoping she wouldn't see me and run off before I had a chance to get some pictures!

About that time, I hear a diesel truck - it's Glenn on the road right below the deer and Mama Heidi looks up and spots me - darn - Glenn rolls up the driveway and of course sees me with the camera in hand so as quietly as he can, crawls out of the truck! He asks me if I've seen all 4 fawns and I tell him I can't guarantee I saw all 4 but for sure 3 of them!!

Heide decides to cross the road then so I'm snapping away, still not seeing all the fawns and she crosses the road with only 2 in tow! So where are the other 2? I started looking around and sure enough, there's one lying in the grass, still as can be and cute as a button - I don't get very close but do get a great photo - now I'm wondering if the 4th one is around so Glenn and I start wandering and pretty soon Glenn spies him, lying by a tree! I take another quick picture and then we get the heck out of there, waiting for Mama to come back across the road and retrieve the other 2!!

So inbetween cooking dinner and eating it, we keep one eye out the dining room window, watching for the mom to come back - and she doesn't!! And then I start to worry that she's NOT going to come back and get them and it's getting colder outside and then darker and darker! Glenn and I basically stand at the windows for the next 2 hours, watching for her to come back - I felt bad, thinking I might have scared her away and she might NEVER come back for the 2 little ones! After it got so dark that we couldn't see any more, we went down and watched a LONG movie!

Glenn went out with the flashlight about 11:30 to check and see if the little ones were still lying there - it didn't take him long outside and I just knew he was going to tell me they were still there and I was going to go to bed feeling awful! But he didn't - he smiled and said Mama Heidi was there lying in the grass with them!! A HUGE sigh of relief!!

I'm excited that she is bringing the fawns out and I hope to get pictures of her with all 4 in tow - but for now you'll have to settle for separate pictures of Salty, Pepper, Sugar and Cinnamon!! (By the way, Cinnamon now looks JUST like the other 3 so he probably had just been born when I saw him out the window Friday morning!)

My, Oh, My..............

I was SO excited to write this blog this morning that I planned it out in my head as I was driving to work! With coffee in hand, I even had to call Jessi (she's ALWAYS up at that time of the morning!!) and tell her about my morning because it was one of those times you just HAVE to share it with someone!

Anyway, here's what happened - when I wake up in the morning, the first thing I do is look out the window (it's right next to my side of the bed and it's a large window) to see if there's any wildlife standing out there - a lot of times there is a deer or two or three standing out on the road or over by the trees! This morning I saw one - it was between our house and the neighbors so a little distance away - and as bleary eyed as I was this morning, I had a hard time focusing on what I was seeing! I couldn't see the deer's head and finally realized it was turned to the side, underneath her legs - strange - and then I realized what I was looking at - a little, tiny fawn walked out from under his mom's legs!! I don't think I've EVER seen a fawn that tiny!

I turned to Glenn and told him there was a little one there and turned back to the window, and guess what, another little fawn emerged from under his mother's legs! Twin fawns are not unusual, but I was still extremely excited to see them! So I'm standing there watching and then I couldn't believe my eyes, another little one walked out - this one was dark colored, kind of a cinnamon color and I couldn't see any little white spots on him - it was then I decided he had just been born and was probably all wet!! (Note, I of course don't know that they had all just been born but chances are they probably were early that morning!)

I told Glenn I was going to throw some clothes and shoes on and grab the camera and TRY to get some pictures - as I was dressing, he told me they were walking up towards the woods - darn - I ran outside in the early morning dawn, trying to be quiet on the gravel so I could get a little closer and lo and behold, there were not 3 fawns - no, there were FOUR of them - quads!!! I have NEVER heard of this before!! They were the cutest, tiniest things following their mama into the trees and I snapped and snapped pictures before they disappeared!

So where are the pictures? - they didn't turn out - it was just too far away and too dark to capture them - my camera is just a simple one with no special lenses or anything!

Just the day before I had commented to Glenn that when I walked out on the deck, there were 2 deer bedded down below the house - and one was all sprawled out - usually they don't do that - and my first thought was "this doe is going to have her fawns right there" but of course that didn't happen and she got up and moved away!! The next night, Glenn spotted probably the same doe, all bedded down in our trees - so I believe this is the same doe that delivered the 4 little fawns! And I'm hoping that she will bring them around so I can capture them in pictures - wouldn't that be awesome???? But mama does are known for keeping their little ones hidden from sight for a LONG time!

I've already named the fawns: Salty, Pepper, Sugar and Cinnamon - and mama is named Heidi!

My morning was blessed, seeing these tiny little fawns and their mother - and I'll be wearing a smile all day, knowing that getting up early to exercise, was WELL worth this priceless moment!

And A Few More.....

Just a few more pictures of the weekend!

A 3 Event Weekend!

Sometimes when we get back from spending a weekend in Denver, I feel like I need a day to recuperate! We jam pack more things in one weekend than anyone I know!

The weather cooperated all weekend - it was nice and sunny - perfect weather for a perfect weekend! And what did we do??? Lots of fun and crazy things!!

1) RAYNA'S dance recital - this year Rayna did Pom Poms - of course she was the cutest and the best one in her class! She even received a special award for being "Most Dedicated" in her class!

2) JAIME and I did some serious planning for our Disneyworld trip in November - we sat at the computer for over 2 hours, checking out menus and deciding which restaurants to make advance reservations at!

3) CELEBRATED Father's Day a week early - Glenn got some much-needed leather sandles and a new pair of shorts!

4) ATE a great meal at Jessi and Gary's place on Sat. night - the BEST part was the strawberry shortcake with fresh strawberries and whip cream - YUM!!!

5) GLENN cooked pancakes for everyone on Sunday morning and made "snakes" with eyes for all the grandkids - they loved it!

6) FINALLY we got to go to the reservoir! What a great place to relax in the sun while the kids play in the sand - the water was still cold but it didn't bother them!

7) SHOPPED at Kohl's and bought a new bathing suit!! I think I could write an entire blog on trying on swimsuits and ONLY the women who read this can appreciate what I'm saying! Trying on suit after suit after suit and looking at your pale body in the mirror is NOT on my Top Ten List of Fun Things To Do!

8) MADE the grandkids and kids think I was going crazy when I grabbed an empty paper towel holder and pretended it was my megaphone while I played out being camp director! I yelled instructions to the chef (Papa), to Mrs. Smith (clean-up detail) and to all the grandkids who were campers! They all thought I had lost my mind............ maybe I had!

9) FELT Mackenzie's two new teeth! And also picked up my new picture of her which is already in its' frame on my desk at work!

10) RECEIVED an awesome massage from Brad! I'm sure he needed to practice and what more deserving person than ME to benefit!!

11) SAW Ashley and Shannon, Brad's girls' from Florida who are visiting for the next month! They are 2 beautiful teens!!

12) PLAYED yahtzee with Jessi and Gary (I won!) and actually got to spend some quality time with Gary who is ALWAYS working it seems when we're around!

Picture taking was fun this weekend so I'll post a few here and the rest in another blog as I haven't figured out yet how to post more than 5 at a time!

Demolition Day

It's Friday - the lilacs here at our office are in full bloom and smell SO good - the coffee is delicious as usual - and Glenn is at home doing a project that I've wanted done for the last year and a half - tearing down the ugly shed!

When we moved over to the property almost 2 years ago, the ugly shed was used to store boxes from the garage - and I couldn't wait for the garage to be built so the boxes could go into the garage. And now the time has FINALLY come!

What prompted the demolition of the shed today, is that the homeowners association is having a roll-off from the trash company brought in for the homeowners use over the weekend - since we're heading to Denver after work today, Glenn called and asked if we could dump our trash (actually it's a tad more than "trash") today! The answer was yes, as long as the roll-off arrives today! So I'm crossing my fingers that it's being delivered today so the shed can be dumped this afternoon. Glenn is actually taking a chain-saw to the shed and then trucking the pieces over to the rolloff site!

I can't wait to drive home after work and look up from the road - the ugly shed will be history! And another project crossed off the never-ending list!

Being The Bargain Shopper That I Am........

Wow - did I ever make out at the city-wide garage sale! Check it out - an exersaucer, a riding toy for the boys (not the cheap plastic kind either!), a toy push cart, a Tonka dump truck, 3 sleepers for Mackenzie, 3 tank tops and 3 t-shirts for Evan, 5 paperback books for me, 2 hard cover kids books, and a stand with fireplace tools - all for the price of - are you ready - $20!!!! They need to have those kinds of sales more often!

So after filling my car with all the items, I stopped at my office and cut a bouquet of lilacs for the house - gosh, they smell so good!!

I had a GREAT weekend - my list of things to do wasn't TOO long and inbetween the work I sat in the sun reading a book, had my special coffee out on the deck, did a little scrapbooking, started a new blanket, ate cinnamon rolls on the deck with Glenn, watched 2 movies, and even downloaded some new songs from ITunes and made a new CD!

Patty and Jessi would have been proud of me - I have some awesome dance songs on the CD - a little Ricky Martin, Foreigner, Santana, John Melloncamp - in fact, after I downloaded it, Glenn was sleeping on the couch so I couldn't crank up the stereo - So I headed down to the lower level and put it in the DVD player and gosh, I had forgotten how good music sounded with the surround sound downstairs!! I was just in one of those great moods and couldn't keep my feet still so in between playing pool, I danced!! There's a nice little ceramic tile walkway to the woodstove so I would dance on the tile, and then shoot a few shots on the pool table!! The pool cue stick worked great as a partner, even though the turns were a little tough!! Yes, it felt good to be wild and crazy for a little while!!

Alas, Monday came....................

Cross THIS Project Off The List!

Glenn actually finished the deck around the hot tub over a week ago - I'm just a little slow getting pictures! And since the hot tub was leaking and the motor had to be taken out to see what was wrong (it's a seal that we have YET to find a replacement part), we haven't been in the hot tub for a while so I kind of forgot about taking pictures!! He did an awesome job and it was sure easy to corral the boys as they couldn't jump off of it

Also done before Jill's shower was this awesome gate! Now we can lock the boys on the deck and they can run to their hearts' content because they can't get out! One more project DONE!

Nothing Important!

I haven't written all week and my fingers are itching to type something but there just hasn't been much to write about! I really wanted to get a picture of the completed deck posted but that hasn't happened yet - mainly because I've been busy for the last 3 days after work and when I get home, all I do is collapse!

But today is Friday and that means the weekend is looming in just a few hours! And the most exciting part of the weekend is that I have NO BIG PLANS!!! Yes, to me that's exciting because I just love spending the weekend at home with nothing much planned! I think some time on the deck with the excellent book I'm reading is on the docket, along with some scrapbooking!

Tomorrow is the city-wide garage sale here in Woodland Park - I'm meeting a friend there and we'll go hunting for the bargains!! I always go but have never before actually had a list of things to buy!! This year I have one! I want to get at least one, if not two riding toys for the little boys to ride around on our awesome deck - now they can go the entire length of the front deck, turn the corner and go down the covered porch, and then take a swing around the hot tub!! They'll love it!!

I also decided (after this last weekend having all 4 grandkids there) that I needed an exersaucer for Mackenzie (and the new little one) because unless an actual seat is brought along, I have nothing to put the little ones on and in!!

The next thing on the list I already purchased yesterday from Craigs' List! I had decided that I wanted to get a portable crib - it's a smaller version of a regular crib and it actually folds up pretty flat for storage! I remember my mom had one years and years ago! But they're not easy to find ! So I was looking on Craigs' List and lo and behold there was one in Colorado Springs - I immediately emailed her and told her I wanted it, sight unseen! I made the trip down yesterday after work and the crib is exactly what I was looking for! That made my day!!

The last thing on the list is a new set of fireplace tools for the woodstove - we don't actually need the tools themselves as Glenn has put antler horns on the ends of ours (they're pretty nifty looking!) but the stand where you lean them against is all rusted out and horrible looking! Hopefully there will be one at the sale!

Of course I'm always on the lookout for kids books, books for me and anything else that is cheap and useful! And after the sale, coffee is in order! Weekend - here I come!!

Jill's Baby Shower

Saturday was Jill's baby shower at our house - Jaime, Jessi and Joleen hosted the shower and I just provided the house! We had a nice turnout despite the weather and it's always fun to get together with friends!

Papa got the wonderful job of babysitting - Becca had brought her 3 kids over so Rayna had a playmate which was nice and little Sophie spent her time upstairs with mom as she's just a little over one year old. But Kayden is 3 and along with Evan and Kylan who are both 2, Papa had his hands full! 3 little lively boys who couldn't be outside since it was raining! DARN! No sandbox, no bug catching and no playing with cars on the deck! Despite all that, Papa did an awesome job!

Jessi was in charge of the games and we had fun playing baby pictionary and the "Name Baby Game"! Then it was eating time and opening gifts! Joleen prepared a great supply of yummy food and Becca baked the cupcake centerpiece! It was darling!

I'm sure Jill couldn't wait to get all those wonderful baby presents home and in their proper place in the nursery! Just 6 more weeks and the little one will be here!

Weekend Fun!

I had a houseful this last weekend - Jaime, Jessi and their 4 kids along with Robby and Jill were here so we could all do Jill's baby shower!

Thursday night found me frantically cleaning and child-proofing the house - this does take a while, putting up all the things you don't want the little boys to run off with and actually taking some things into the storage room - it's just easier than saying "no" all the time!

We had a great weekend - the boys loved playing outside when it wasn't raining and Rayna discovered she COULD actually jump rope and spent a lot of time doing just that - but after a while, the thump-thump-thump of the jump rope hitting the wood floor just got to be a little much and we had to move her out to the deck!

Kylan's and Papa's birthday were celebrated - Kylan wasn't much interested in the gift we got him at first - but the next day after we put it together, he really got into the hang of it! His favorite toy though was the "ocean" and he spent a long time just staring at those fish that would go by!

Coffee on the deck was fun - it was a glorious day out and we just enjoyed sitting around the table while Papa was busy swinging the kids! Mackenzie loved being outdoors and I spent a lot of time just walking outside with her. And since Rayna didn't get to do her scavenger hunt during the shower (it rained), her and I did it on Sunday and walked the property at least a couple of times trying to find all the items!

Was I tired by the time they all left on Sunday - exhausted was more like it! But I loved every minute of having them here and am already looking forward to the next time!