The color of our car.

Today, Olivia insisted that our car is gray. J said it is brown. I say, champagne. I think that this tells us a little something about car colors. It would be too easy to just call it by the actual color. Instead, it has to be some descriptive name...

So I'd like to offer these alternatives.

Napalm.


Cranberry Sauce.


Glacial Melt.


Geothermal Vent.


Kelp/Sesame Seed.

About being a mommy

I'm not sure I've ever felt like a good mommy, but I think I do an ok job. I think I did especially well during the baby phase. The toddler phase was very hard for me, and I say "was" because my big girl is three and change, but I'm not sure the toddler phase is over. We seem to be transitioning into "big kid" land ... until she gets really tired, and then we take huge steps backwards. But I digress.

Yesterday, I witnessed my good friend Heather making dinner for her four kiddos. Well, technically for three of them. One is still a nursling, but eats baby food. She somehow maneuvered her way around the kitchen while they were all underfoot, and made sloppy joes for me, her, and her husband, (yum!) and cheese quesadillas for the kids. It was artistic. I can't DO that!!

I tried it today. I cooked hamburger meat, added all the goodies, and let Olivia help me. It was kind of fun. The finishing touch was the bread that we cut into heart shapes and then put the sloppy joes all over everything. She loved it! (And I cooked dinner without a huge mess and/or disaster. This is a big deal for me!)

I really struggle with figuring out what to fix for dinner when Jason's not home. He is a pretty good cook, and he manages to get dinner on the table all by himself, pretty much every day. And breakfast, and lunch too.

Is there a class I can take? The class that teaches you how to go from being a mommy of a baby into being a mommy of a three-year-old? I think that somebody would be making big bucks if they taught one!

:)

Rocky Mountain National Park

Today we drove Trail Ridge Road! It was beautiful, as usual. Here are some pics from the drive today.




(See the red/rust colored trees? They're all dying because of the Pine Beetle Infestation. It is likely that the ENTIRE forest will be dead in 3-5 years. It is very sad, and there is a lot of controversy surrounding it. Good news is, it will grow back eventually.)

Checking out the stream under the bridge



A view of the valley from the road.


It's hard to tell, but we are VERY high up.


We met some new friends along the way:








Above the treeline - this is alpine tundra, a fragile ecosystem (sorry, the biology teacher in me is coming out!)





See the sticks on the sides of the road? That's so the snowplows can find the road when it's snowy. The road is only open from June - mid October because it is literally at the top of the mountains.


Not that you want to see a picture of cars, but can you tell how amazing the view is? Just a reference point.




Some beautiful flowers...






Christmas in July? No... just snow. Still melting. It may never melt though - that's why part of the range is called the "Never Summer" mountains!




And lastly, I'd like to make a public service announcement.
You know you're an idiot when you do things like this.....




In case you can't quite see (sorry, we were moving when I snapped the pic) there are three cars, all of which have the windows rolled down and teenagers hanging out. Not just hanging out. Sitting on the windowsill of the car.

You may be thinking, oh they're just being kids. No big deal.
The sign at the foot of the pass we were on said something to the effect of, "Stay away from edge. Road may be slippery. Steep grade and sharp turns ahead." Eek. The road was only one way, only as wide as a car. And just after these idiots pulled over onto the wide spot in the road meant for taking pictures, we passed them. And they pulled in behind us as we turned a hairpin curve and were heading up a steep grade. I was sick to my stomach it was such a dropoff, and they were hanging out of the car.

What I especially don't understand is that their parents were driving and allowing this. Eek.

As my Dad so aptly noted earlier today, blogs are "just places where people say stuff they'd never say to your face." Well, Dad, you're probably right. But if I happen to run into the aforementioned people, I'd be happy to tell them that I think they're crazy. Sure, to each his own. Whatever. But you won't find me hanging out my window, and neither will my daughter (at least while I'm driving!!)

Lastly, I'd like to leave you with this sentiment. We saw this helmet precariously sitting atop a motorcycle parked next to our car, which belonged to a goofy old bastard who shoved me and my mother out of the way whilst we were trying to get in the car. "Excuse me, girls." He gave us a stupid grin and acted like we were just two fat girls that were in his way. My Dad nearly ran him over in the parking lot. He had to hop to it a bit to get out of the way.
If we all thought like this guy.... we'd need stronger toothpaste.

July 4th!!

What a blast we had yesterday! J and I both agree that it was probably the most fun 4th of July we'd ever had!

After breakfast, we took Olivia fishing. She had been asking to go fishing all week long, so we found a pink barbie fishing rod for her. No hook or anything (Jason said if he wanted an earring he'd get one... but that he'd rather not get hooked by accident!)




Then, after fishing, we ate lunch, and went to the playground. Daddy & Olivia drove the fire truck!

There was also swinging, sliding, and digging with this neat contraption in the sandbox.

When we got home, Olivia had a nap, and Jason and I watched a movie.
When Olivia woke up, it was raining hard. The forecast was not looking good. Miraculously, the clouds drifted away, the rain stopped, and the fun began. We headed over to the area where the 4th of July Celebration was going on.
The first thing Olivia wanted to do was get her face painted. She didn't want a princess, a flower, a butterfly, or anything else that was suggested to her. She wanted to be .... Spider Man. With Sparkles.
The nice lady obliged and said, how about Spider-Girl?


She loved it! We went and found the swingset (her new favorite pastime) and she got a lot of attention from her face mask!


We got to watch the ReMax balloon get ready for take off!








We found out that they were giving free rides in the balloon, so we waited in line. But the closer we got to the front, Olivia said the noise was hurting her ears, and she was scared. So we decided not to go. Plus, they had to close down the rides because it was getting too dark. Bummer! Hopefully we'll get to "ride in the balloon so it can show us the mountains" another time.

We ate some fantastic food - hamburgers, hot dogs, and Brat, and then hung out and watched the fireworks! It was fantastic.
(My hand was too wobbly and the pictures aren't that great, but it's better than nothing at all!)







All in all, we had a great time! I will say, it was the COLDEST 4th of July I'd ever experienced. We could tell that the native Coloradans were prepared - thick coats, gloves, blankets, all the good stuff. We had our little thin sweatshirts. Can you blame us? It's JULY for crying out loud! Back home, we'd be wearing swimsuits or hot pants and a halter top! When we got back to the condo, we were chilled to the bone. So we snuggled up into our pajamas and went to bed! :)

Happy Kiddo

Today was a relaxing day! We decided to have a day in Winter Park, hanging out, shopping, and playing at the playground.

First, we went to eat lunch. Olivia had pizza, Jason and I had salads. They were yummy! It has been overcast all day, and it rained on us a little bit while eating lunch but quickly stopped.



Then we headed to a local coffee shop and had a yummy drink, and Olivia had some ice cream. We just hung out at the little outdoor shopping mall and let Olivia smell the flowers, eat her ice cream, and look at the fountain. Here are a few pics.







We had a really nice time relaxing and enjoying the weather. The flowers are just so pretty up here!







(I had more pictures of flowers, but I totally goofed up the settings on the camera and they didn't come out. Oh well!)

Then we headed over to the playground. Olivia made a new friend! :)





(To be fair, these last pics are not from today, but from the same playground! Shhh! Don't tell!)










We finally had to leave because it was starting to look pretty stormy.
On the way back to the condo, we went over to the local Alco and picked up a couple of things... including red, white & blue nail polish! Mini Mani/Pedi sessions soon ensued, and now we've got....





Overall, a very fun day! Olivia is eating a popsicle (very messy) and is going to be ready for the bath in about.... 30 seconds.

Here's the sky tonight, after the rain. It's beautiful to watch the clouds come over the mountains.