Denver Zoo, 'Outlaw' game, Gay pride festival????

That sums up our Saturday, pretty much....except the Gay pride Festival.


To start out, on Saturday we took off to the Zoo. It was a perfect day...low 80's and sunny....and the zoo was pretty busy. The great thing about this zoo is, it may be really busy, but it doesn't FEEL busy. We never had to wait in line, or in the back row to see an animal. I love this zoo. The animals are up so close to the people. My favorite?? The gorillas, of course. Mitch's favorite? The penguins....which ended up being the ONLY animal that wasn't available to view. That was a bummer. :(








After a few hours at the zoo (my kids are wimps when it comes to hot weather) we headed downtown to check out Denver. We noticed a huge festival going on, and we looked and looked for a parking space, which we couldn't find. We were wondering what the festival was, and Chuck wanted to go really bad. The kids were tired out from the zoo and put up a fuss about walking around in the heat again. So, as we were driving, we noticed a group of people walking to the festival.....dressed head to toe in purple--crazy hair and all--and one of them turned around and their cheeks were hanging out. The cheeks you don't want to see. Then, it dawned on me that it was the gay, lesbian, bisexual, transexual festival. I was laughing so hard. I could just imagine us walking downtown and not knowing what was going on. It would have been a real eye-opener for the kids! :)
That evening we went to the 'Outlaws' game at Invesco Field. Invesco is where the Bronco's play. The 'Outlaws' are Colorado's professional lacrosse team. Tanner is really interested in lacrosse right now, and was entranced at the game. It is a lot like hockey (without the ice), and it was a very exciting game. Tanner loved it---and Mitch loved the food!
That was a very fun day!
On Sunday we stayed home and Chuck worked on the deck. We are now able to walk on it without fear of it collapsing. :) The girls and I painted their rooms. I can't wait to show these colors. My girls like color!
Today is a beautiful day! I'm thinking SWIMMING!!!
Hope everyone is having a good week so far!

Shopping, concert by the lake, seeing friends from home, swimming in a resevoir

I guess when I write it all down, we are keeping ourselves busy. We've had beautiful weather all week. A few clouds that looked like rain, but we never seem to see or feel a drop. No wonder it's so dry here. The nights are very cool. The last two nights our furnace kicked in...unbelievable with how warm it is during the day. Ceiling fans work wonders here, and Chuck bought some for each of the kids' rooms last night.

On Wed. we pretty much sat at home. Nobody was in the mood to do a thing. It was o.k., Alli and I sat and read our books, I looked over recipes, and the kids played computer and guitar hero. It was kind of nice. By evening, though, we were stir-crazy. Every other Wednesday they have free concerts at the lake house here, so we headed that way to see what it was all about. Man, was I amazed and impressed! There were hundreds of people there! Families galore! The bands that played were awesome, and tons of kids were up there dancing. It looked like a big wedding reception--all these little girls dancing together in sun dresses. The parents were spread all over the lawn in chairs and blankets having picnics. There was wine and cheese and full course meals. Needless to say we were NOT prepared. I guess this is such a big deal that you have to get there a couple hours ahead of time to get a seat on the lawn. In the back there were numerous games of soccer and lacrosse, plus football and baseball games that the boys were playing. It was so fun! Here is a picture of the lake house as we walked home that evening:

The nicest part? NO MOSQUITOES!!!!! Not one bug was in sight--I could have stayed there all night. We were forewarned that the next concert will be a doozy. I guess a very popular band in the area is playing, so we were urged to get there EARLY. I can't wait.

So, yesterday (Thursday) I packed the car and headed into Denver to have lunch with Chuck. We then went to find khaki pants and a navy shirt for Allison to wear to work. I had spied a beach while I was driving one day, so the kids and I went to check it out. Remember the creek I told you about that runs through our town? Well, at the bottom of the mountain they made a reservoir from all the creek water. They had a nice beach area, too. The kids there were catching crayfish, but the boys were a little leery about that this time.

Afterward, I took the kids home, and Allison and I got ready to meet with a couple of her friends that were here on vacation with one of their families. It was so nice to see them, even though it's only been a week since we last saw them in Minnesota. We giggled the whole time. I think it was the highlight of Allison's week.

Alli, Shelly, Jeremiah (Shelly's cousin), Shea

This weekend we are thinking about checking out a Strawberry Festival in Glenwood Springs (thank you for the idea Shelly!). Check back for pictures!

We have arrived....

We are officially Coloradans!! Let's just say that the last week is something that I never want to experience again in this lifetime. Not only was it physically exhausting, but so overwhemlingly draining emotionally. I can handle the physical stuff, that passes, but the emotional pain just lingers on and on and on....Even though I feel like I should go get my heart examined due to all the strain of the physical labor.
This place we call home now is beautiful. Definetely God's country (although isn't it ALL God's country??). My favorite part are the sunsets over the rockies. It's just breathtaking--sometimes causing me to slow waaaaayyyyy down on the interstate. We have also had the EXTREME pleasure of watching the evening herd of elk that occupy our backyard to bed down for the night. Chuck woke yesterday morning to see 12 or so sleeping not 10 feet from our back door. There were 5 or so babies with them. People say that we will get immune to them, that we won't even notice them after a while; but I can't imagine. They are so amazing to watch--and their calls are so unique. We all thought it was birds, then we realized it's the elk! Along with the elk we have seen fox and deer, and also a very strange bird that looks more purple than blue. It wasn't a blue-jay, either. I'll have to investigate that.
After we unloaded our u-haul trucks (yes, I said TRUCKS) by ourselves, we then had to go to Chuck's apartment and pack him up and move him also. That was on Friday. Saturday came along and I told Chuck that I just couldn't imagine unpacking one more box, so we headed downtown for a parade. It was our town's Rodeo Days--everything focused on the rodeo. It was fun, but, like the kids said, it will be a lot more fun next year when we have friends.
So, the next day, on Father's Day we packed a lunch and headed to a park where we ate and went on a 4-5 mile hike along Bear Creek. It was beautiful. No offense to my kids, but my favorite part was when I drifted behind them and was able to really take in the beauty and peacefullness of the mountains, and to watch them explore everything on the path.
When Monday rolled around I think everyone was a little sad, including myself. I think reality is sinking in, that we're not just here on vacation. Chuck headed back to work and the kids and I are left to explore this new state, and all it has to offer, on our own. Not that I haven't done that before, and I find myself getting more brave by the day. We got info. on all the sports camps today and will be deciding what sports to start this summer.
Allison got a job yesterday at Walmart. I'm so excited and proud of her. She is making some awesome change for a first job. I'm hoping this will help her meet some friends, too. All she can talk about is getting that first paycheck and buying a plane ticket back home. She had to take a drug test, too, yesterday. That was very interesting.
We went and picked up paint samples yesterday, too. Ashley, again, has a dramatic paint color in mind.....extremely dark purple. Her vision sounds beautiful, but I'm afraid that her room is too small for all that she wants to do. I'm going to try my darndest to make it something that she loves. Allison picked a blue again, which I love. The boys want a snow-boarding mural on their wall, so I'm painting their room tan. I have been looking at colors for my kitchen/eating area. I think I've found two colors I really like, and I've decided I'm going to paint my kitchen cabinets too. They are in horrible shape, but I think a coat or two of paint will really help them out--and my eyes as well. I can't decide between white or a cream color (which I would put a chocolate glaze over). Our appliances are white, so I'm not sure if cream would look right. Any suggestions anyone??
Otherwise, the house will take some getting used to. It is a fixer-upper, that is for sure. We don't quite fit, and are having some storage issues at the moment. I open up a box and have no idea where to put the stuff inside. I need to get my creative juices flowing. I wish we had an Ikea close by.
Every day that passes will make this feel more like home. I have excitement over all this beauty around me, and the great shopping close by, and all the fantastic resteraunts just calling my name. But I also long for the familiarity of home, the bbq's with friends, the boating on the lake, the hugs from my family.

I do have to say....I haven't been bitten by one mosquito!