Sonic, Happy Hour, and Colorado Rainstorms

This afternoon I drove over to Paula's. Our goal was to walk over to Chapel Hills Mall with the girls, to finish some random shopping, since Paula's apartment is across the street from the mall. So we put Lexi in the stroller and Paula had Carissa in the pack strapped to her front. I had on my terrific new walking shoes (Ryka's...they are great!) and we were ready to go! As we walked out the door, we noticed the clouds had started to roll in, but it was still warm and sunny, so we were fine. We first went to Burlington Coat Factory and then over to Old Navy so Paula could exchange a shirt. This was a routine Lexi apparently new very well, because she knew that if you continued through Sears and out the other side of the mall, a reward was waiting across the street...Sonic! And it was Happy Hour, which meant 1/2 price drinks and slushes. So we decided we would follow Lexi's wishes and treat ourselves to a slush at Sonic. We weren't in the mall longer than about 45 min., but if you live here in Colorado, you know that the weather can change within seconds. So when we left the mall on the other side, the clouds were ominous and threatening. No sooner had we reached Sonic and ordered our slushes, than it began to pour. Instead of being warm and sunny, we were now in the midst of a large thunder and rain storm. The temperature has now dropped approximately 20 degrees, Lexi is shivering, and Carissa is getting cold with only a light onesie on. Her eyes are getting bigger and bigger with each loud thunder clap, and we are outside Sonic with no vehicle except the stroller, because my van is back at Paula's apartment. Paula took the new Old Navy shirt out of the bag and put it on Carissa to keep her legs and arms warm, and we decided that someone had to go back and get the van. Since Paula knew the quickest way back through the mall, and could run faster than me, we decided she should go. Since she had only flip flops on, we traded shoes and I gave her my keys and umbrella (which didn't help much), and she went running through the heavy rain back through the mall to her apartment on the other side. She grabbed jackets for everyone and Carissa's car seat, and then got my van and came to rescue us. We got everyone bundled up and buckled in the van, drove back to the aparment, and of course, the rain stopped. My wonderful Ryka's are now sopped, so they need to dry out before I can go walking again and Paula's new shirt has to be washed before she can wear it, as Carissa spit up all over it. So ends our afternoon at the mall and Sonic. As I was backing out of the parking spot at Paula's, I backed into the post and crunched up the side of my van. Stay tuned for the next blog post...

Is this really July?

It is currently 55 degrees and falling. I have had a jacket on all day and I just have a difficult time believing this is the end of July. Granted, I'm not complaining. . . this is Colorado and I know it will warm up again at any moment. But this weather is crazy. Shortly after we arrived home this afternoon, the furnace came on. Can you believe it? We have had more rain this summer than most people can remember. These are some pictures we took on the trip up to Woodland Park today while we were doing our route. We were actually going through the clouds.

Visit from Phillip

Last week our nephew, Phillip, visited from Arizona. After spending several hours in the airport in Phoenix due to plane problems, he finally arrived here in Colorado Springs about 11 pm on Saturday, the 18th and visited until last Friday. I'm sure he must have been bored most of the time, with two old people, but we tried to at least do a few things, so he get a feel for Colorado. The weather definitely cooperated for him...most days the weather was fairly cool with a few showers in the afternoon, with the exception of just a couple of warmer days. I hope he appreciated our wonderful summer weather before returning to the unbearable Arizona summer heat. On Tuesday, the overcast weather was perfect for a visit to Garden of the Gods and Helen Hunt Falls. We enjoyed the dinner and show at the Flying W on Wednesday, even though we ate inside because of the gentle rain that began to fall shortly before the dinner bell rang. We love having friends and relatives come to visit so they can see why we love Colorado so much. We feel it is truly our little bit of heaven on earth.

Garden of the Gods

Helen Hunt Falls

Flying W Ranch

For Paula. . . Daisies!!

Our daisies are in full bloom, so I took these pictures for Paula since I knew how much she loved daisies. Paula, I will cut a boquet for you next time we're together. Enjoy!

Bruce's Birthday and Hiking at Red Rock Open Space

So today was Bruce's birthday and after we finished our magazine route, we went for a hike at Red Rock Open Space. This is an area just west of the Springs off of Hwy. 24 as you're headed towards Woodland Park. We've been wanting to do this for awhile, so today seemed like a good day. It was beautiful. Today was a little warm, in the 80's, but still nice with a gentle breeze. The scenery was beautiful, and there were wild flowers of all kinds. We just went on an easy trail and we hiked about 3 miles, which was good for me since I haven't hiked in awhile.

Birthday Boy

Scenery at Red Rocks Open Space

Canada geese swimming in pond

Bruce in front of typical red rock formation

More rock formations

Bear track...bears, mountain lions, raccoons, deer and other animals live in the area

Red Rock Open Space with Garden of the Gods in the background

Some typical wildflowers...

Garden Update

Our garden is coming right along. We are especially pleased with how well our tomatoes are doing. This is the first year I have planted them from seeds indoors, and then we transplanted them outside about a month ago, and they have gotten so huge already. They should start putting on blossoms anytime. Our beans, lettuce, spaghetti squash, and cucumbers are all doing well also. We are still eating strawberries from our amazing crop of berry plants. Our raspberries are thriving nicely, but won't produce anything until next year. All the rain we've had so far this summer has definitely helped.

4th of July

Now if you think that was wierd, so was our 4th of July. We had temperatures in the 50's and no fireworks because it rained most of the day. We did BBQ, but ate inside because it was too cold to eat outside on the patio. How strange is that? It is a far cry from our 115 degree 4th of July's in Glendale.