Turquoise Lake

Leadville - BRRRRRR - no matter what time of the year you go, it's always a lot cooler because of the elevation!  So I always know to pack a little warmer when we head there!

Elevation at Leadville is 10,430 feet!  It is the highest incorporated city in North America - although it's not a city, it's a town!!  But it was a lot busier this year than it was a few years ago when we were there!

We went with friends Dick and Jane and camped once again at Turquoise Lake - there are a lot of camping spots there with several campgrounds so we knew there wouldn't be any problem getting a campsite - WRONG!!!  It seems that just because you go in the middle of the week anymore, doesn't assure that it won't be busy ANYWHERE there is camping - that just seems to be the new norm anymore!!  Since Dick's have a large motor home and we have the 5th wheel, you can't always get in a lot of places!  Luckily the campground host took us to two that were side by side that we both could fit in and it was perfect!

Hooray for campfires!  All the burn bans have went away now - it's nice to be able to enjoy a fire in the evenings!

Looking up around the campfire - check out that BLUE sky!!

Jane and I took a long walk on a trail each morning - the scenery is just gorgeous!

I just may have to do a couple of new canvas prints from the picture above and this one below!

We ate at the Tennessee Pass Cafe the first night - Jane and I had decided we didn't want to cook dinners so ate in town both nights which was a real treat!  We walked around Leadville (which didn't take too long) and had a nice meal outside before the sun went down and it got too cold!!

And next up was the train...................

Early Fall?

Take a peek at this picture.  It was taken over by Buena Vista and the tree was almost completely yellow - even though it looks slightly green in this picture!!  I decided then we could have an early fall!!

We camped in one of our favorite spots - Buffalo Peaks!  It's always fun to ATV that area time and time again!  After we set up, we headed out for a drive - and of course we always head back to see the old bus on one trail and the cabin on another trail!!  The cabin picture always reminds me of Bob, Glenn's hunting partner!!

Unfortunately it did start to rain so we had to head back to the 5th wheel - never a problem for me as I LOVE to just read in there but Glenn tends to get a little bored if he's not outside!  We had a nice spot for views!

The next day was pretty dreary in the morning but it burned off so we headed out on the ATV, dressed warmly as it was cool out with the sun mostly under the clouds!

This was a neat campsite and you can sure tell this rock has been used many times for campfires!  What a perfect spot for one!!

Right after lunchtime it started to sprinkle so we headed back to camp again - and it rained and rained and rained................luckily we'd had a campfire the night before as we sure didn't get to have one this night!

It's always nice to sleep when it rains  but sure makes for a mess outside when everything gets wet!  We had plans to trailer the ATV to the next town and check out some new trails and camping spots but when we got up the next morning, it was still very dreary out and looked like rain for most of the day - so we just packed up a day early and came on home!  We don't get rained out very many times so we can't complain and we'll always take the rain!

Denver Babysitting

It's been on my calendar for almost 10 months - babysitting the Keppy kids while Gary worked and Jessi had a 2 1/2 day seminar!  I headed up Thursday after rush hour for my 3 night stay!

Kenzie had a ride to school the next morning and Evan rides his bike to middle school so after getting them off, Gwyn and I ran a couple of errands (donuts for her, coffee for me!!) and then headed back to the house to play!!

Although she had picked out the donut with the sprinkles on it, she really didn't like it!!

 We had a fun day together and it went well!!  A little panicked when Evan didn't arrive when he was supposed to but he finally showed up - because it was raining hard at his school, him and his friend waited a while to ride their bikes home!!

Saturday we all went to the park - relaxed - and I taught the kids a new game to play (courtesy of Jill) with their Mexican Train dominoes and they loved it!!  We played a LONG time!!

 Jessi would get home late each night but on Saturday, 8/18 she was home in time so we could document our FAVORITE number at the exact time!!  Pretty neat!!

I headed home early Sunday as Jaime and her 2 kids and I had tickets for the Marvelous Wonderettes over in Cripple Creek!!  Gosh was it good!!  4 gals who sang many many songs from the 50's and 60's with cute actions and sayings during those years and we all laughed and enjoyed it immensely!!

Boys Will Be Boys

The boys were so excited to go swimming - Evan hadn't been to the new swimming pool yet and he was impressed!  I took my book and enjoyed reading (somewhat) while they swam!

Parker and Evan are excellent swimmers so they went to the other side of the pool and jumped off the diving board!

I guess I didn't realize how high Evan would jump because out of 3 pictures, this one was the best - I completely missed him one time!

After a couple hours of swimming, the boys showered and changed and we headed home!  I was tired by this time and told the boys I needed an hour to MYSELF to make a cup of coffee and relax!  Ha - of course that didn't happen - minutes after the boys went out to play, Parker came running in saying Evan had fell and hurt his leg!  Yup - he sure did!!  It had rained and the grass was wet - he was trying to put the lizard they had caught the day before on a rock and he slipped and gashed his knee pretty good!!

We got it cleaned up and bandaged and it was rest and relax for Evan after that!!

Later when he felt better, I got Glenn's hats down and told them I was doing a photo shoot!!  The boys had fun posing and would switch hats every so often!!

This is my favorite picture!!  What a crew!

 Tuesday morning it was time to say goodbye to the mountains!!  I dropped Kylan off in Woodland Park and then headed to Denver to drop Evan off - had lunch with Jessi and then drove to Ft. Collins to spend a couple nights!!

It was an awesome time with the boys - until next boys weekend.................

Outdoor Activities With The Boys

I figured I would have to get the boys up on Monday morning as we had to leave by 8:15 but they were up shortly after I got up!  This is what happens when I turn on the TV.

Because there hadn't been a chance for me to take Evan and Kylan on their birthday excursion, it needed to be done during boys weekend.  So I headed out to Cave of the Winds with the 2 older boys and Glenn took Parker fishing.

Luckily I had gotten tickets online for the first tour of the day so it wasn't busy at all - only 8 in our group!

Both boys loved the tour - informative and fun walking through the different rooms!

I also had told them they could do the ropes course - but looking online found if we went early, I could get a discount pass for the boys to do 5 different things - SCORE!!!  They were thrilled!  First up was the ropes course and all I can say is that they really enjoyed it and I would not!!

Next was the climbing wall - how cool is that to see right through it!!

And they they did Geronimo's Leap!!  Here again, just the thought of climbing up these tall green spokes was intimidating!!

They also got to ride the BatOPull - which is basically a zip line across the canyon!  Because they did that first and there was no line, they did it 3 times in a row!!  See, it pays to get up early!!

And lastly, they went into a virtual realty theatre for 3 shows - I chose to just sit outside and wait for them and was glad I did as they said all 3 times were roller coasters!!

Parker had a fun time fishing with Papa and of course caught fish!!

We all met at Subway for lunch!

And then we were off to the pool!!

Celebrating A Legend

While Glenn took care of the boys, I headed over to Cripple Creek to attend the surprise celebration for Hildred Davis.  Hildred has been involved in the 4-H program for 50 years - and I've been blessed to know her since our girls were in 4-H, many years ago!

Through the years, Hildred was not only a club leader and project leader, but she was in charge of the Junior Leaders Club - this club was active when the 3 girls were in jr high and high school and taught them so many outstanding skills that they all still use today!

The "indoor" exhibit hall was dedicated to Hildred at this special celebration! 

The 4-H Foundation (of which I've been a part of for many, many years) also honored Hildred with a beautiful plaque to hang in the hall and one to take home!  We've all been on this board for years and have a great time when we get together!

It was a wonderful time seeing 4-Her's that I hadn't seen in years and catching up with them! 

Boys Weekend

Girls in June - boys in August!!  2 girls - 3 boys!   Would I survive the 3 boys???  ABSOLUTELY!!

Since Jessi's had a picnic to attend in Co. Springs, they ended up bringing the 2 boys from up that way and I met them in the Springs early Saturday evening!

Don't they look cute playing on their electronics?

Kylan was attending a 4-H fund raiser so he didn't get out to the house till mid-afternoon on Sunday!

The deer came around Sunday morning so we were out there with feed for them!  Check out those antlers all in velvet!!

I rode with friends to Cripple Creek to attend a presentation (next blog) so Glenn watched the boys for a couple of hours - they enjoyed knocking down small trees and reinforcing their fort, along with catching a lizard they found!

When I arrived home, Kylan was there so the trio was complete!!  They spent a long time checking out their lizard and making sure it was comfortable in its' habitat!!

They're all required to pick up pine cones for Glenn's wood stove - but it was hit and miss between the rain that day!  They only ended up getting one bag done.............

Then it was off to the kitchen where they all helped make their favorite fruit salad!

They decided they needed back rubs so were all standing in a line when I snapped this picture!

Pool playing with Papa is always fun - Parker didn't know all the ins and outs of it so the boys and Glenn taught him!

And it finally cleared off enough so the boys could get in the hot tub!

They were only allowed so much time on electronics each day so opted to use the hour before their bedtime for most of it!  I had bought Coloradopoly (Monopoly based on Colorado places) and we all played that and had a ball - they love that game!!  And the day went great!!!!