March = Winter

Sometimes I think all of Colorado's winter falls during the month of March. I suppose we should consider ourselves blessed winter doesn't last for 6 months like it does in some places. But man, this March has been brutal. It's been blizzard, warm, repeat-- all month. In the last week, we've had 3 days with warm spring temps and 3 days with snowfall measured in feet. We've got another one on the way tonight.
Between Dave working til midnight or later and my spending the last half of this week in the 'Springs for work, we are glad it is finally Friday. We're also pumped that my family is arriving tonight. Our girls should be sufficiently entertained for the next few weeks with Meeko here! Maybe they won't even notice we're gone?

Another nice day!

I just LOVE the nice weather we have been having. Dave and I booked out of work early (well, "early" is 5 pm) and took the girls up the Platte for some hiking. Belle and I went 3 miles and Dave and Sequoia ran a bit farther. We wanted to get out before the next snow storm arrives (tomorrow). That's Coloardo in the spring for ya! We're counting the days til our 3rd furry friend (Meeko) arrives. Going to be a zoo in this house, but we love that!

Roadshow!

Dave and I spent our Sunday on the road.... heading to the roadshow! We travelled down to Colorado Springs to see 7 bands for $10 (seriously, what a deal eh?) We enjoyed listening to Sidewalk Prophets, Remedy Drive, Fee, Francesca Battistelli, David Crowder*Band, and MercyMe. While we got a kick out of the crowds reaction to Family Force 5, both Dave and I's ears were ringing something fierce after their hard rock stage busting antics. It was an absolutely wonderful concert-- you could feel God's presence and it was AWESOME. There really is no better worship leader than Bart from MercyMe! Their collection of fans' loved ones' photos during "I Can Only Imagine" brought tears to my ears. What a way to deliver the heartfelt message of that song. We had a great time!

Wine and Cheese!

Between lounging around (what a concept for a Saturday, phew!), sorting through old piles of papers and boxing up books, going for a long walk, and doing some last minute NZ/Australia planning, our Saturday was pretty full. We capped the evening off by tasting wine and cheese at Cat's house. It was good to see everyone again (it's been awhile-- we've been anti-social). Seems as though everyone's kids grow a couple feet each time we see them. It was really a nice and productive Saturday which sure beats the hours stuck in a cube from past weekends.

Is it officially spring?

You know it's spring in Colorado when it goes from 70 degrees to a near-blizzard in less than a day. Even though Friday was the last day of winter, we were reminded that spring can still be brutal here in the front range. We were greeted with nearly a foot of snow on Friday, but welcomed in spring with clear-blue skies and temps high enough to melt the snow off all the roads and sidewalks. Last night was supposed to be GNO at Scrapmania and as I packed the car to head out, the roads in our area were pretty clear. By the time I hit 470, I quickly realized it was one giant sheet of ice. Traffic wasn't moving much faster than 5 mph, so I exited and decided to take a parallel street to 'mania. Unfortunately, Highlands Ranch failed miserably to keep their roads in decent shape. As I made my way to the stoplight off Santa Fe, I decided to take the right-left turn lane thinking if it gets slick, I'd rather be on the outside of the turn. Boy am I glad I picked this lane-- the car just after me took the far left turn lane and couldn't stop. He completely rear-ended the car next to me. Two more witnessed accidents later and I decided it was just not worth it (by the way, don't ever by a Kia Sorento for their 4wd). I knew the snow was forecasted to keep coming meanwhile the temperatures to keep dropping. I knew it would only be worse at 11 pm trying to go home. I turned around and headed home. 1.5 hours later, I made it home safely. What a waste of time, but am I lucky to be okay! Ironically (what gets me) is that all the roads in rural Roxborough were plowed and cleared despite having a good chunk more snow than Highlands Ranch. I was extremely disappointed with their inability to clear the roads during rush hour.

So dog gone cute!

I just love our girls. They are just so dog gone cute! We had a rip in our bed sheets that I had to sew earlier this week and Dave was in charge of re-making the bed with the repaired sheets. Look at Dave's little helpers-- aren't they just seriously cute?


Yesterday, Dave had to work really late but the weather was just too nice (71-sunny) to not walk the dogs. I usually don't like walking both at the same time because Sequoia's enough trouble for one person and if you pair her with Belle, it's got disaster written all over it. Well, I tried out the little leash-coupler thinking it was going to end in utter failure, but it didn't! They walked together side-by-side like little angels. Sequoia pulled for the first block (as she always does), but calmed down and was satisfied just being a few inches in front of Belle. It worked out extremely well! Here are some pictures from our few mile walk together.

I just gotta say: I LOVE THESE GIRLS!

Time for a change!

I just gotta say that I LOVE daylight savings. I love that I finally can have some daylight left when I drive home from work. It means that I can walk the girls farther than just the neighborhood streets. Yesterday, Belle and I went walking a few miles to the area south of Chatfield SP across the street from our house. We snapped a few photos as I was reminded how much I just LOVE our community. Unfortunately, the iPhone can't quite capture how pretty the sunset was. Belle enjoyed the w-a-l-k nonetheless.

Left: view from across the street of the foothills at sunset
Right: our neighborhood viewed from across the street
Center: Belle loves walks more than life itself!

Happy Pi Day!

So in half a decade, we'll have the once every hundred years pleasure of really celebrating Pi day. So what school of thought do you come from? Should we celebrate it in 2015 or 2016?


(My vote: we celebrate 3/14/15 at 9:26 am!)

GEARING up for spring!

We had yet another goregous day here in Colorado. Low 60's and sunny. Air was crisp and it felt great to be outside! Dave and I took the bikes up to the Platte and biked around Chatfield SP. We stopped by the dog park to see if that would be a fun place to take the girls, but I think it would be too risky. It's an off-leash park and it's HUGE, but the "fence" is a 1 foot deep river on one side and nothing on the other side (although it's miles before any main roads or signs of civilation). I think the girls would do fine because there would be enough other dogs to keep them entertained, but I'd be afraid the minute a fox or rabbit went by, they'd be gone for good.
There were tons of bikers, bladers, and walkers out (when is there not in this state though?). Boy, I sure can't wait for spring to arrive!

The Dog IQ Test Revisited

So I'll call this Sequoia's post-secondary exam. Consider her "graduated" from our initial testing, but let's see how smart she really is. Replace the washcloth with a giant dog bed and let's also up the treat to a dog toy. Those who know how food motivated Sequoia is know the impact that had in her passing the original Dog IQ Test. So we'll take food out of the picture this go around.

I placed her cube toy with a few balls inside and hid it under the dog bed. Watch what happens.

Stalag-sights

Our friends, Darren and Leah, from Cape Canaveral, FL took a vacation (although they won't call it that!) to Colorado and spent a few of their days staying with us. We spent one of the days doing the Colorado Springs Tour. Of course that consisted of the USAFA and Garden of the Gods, but we also took the Cave of the Winds tour.

We had glorious weather-- sunny and mid 50s all weekend. Since it didn't rain, Leah and Darren said it didn't count as a vacation.

The Cave of the Winds tour was pretty fun. We spent so much time taking pictures of stalagmites and stalactites that we managed to lose our tour group. It was hilarious trying to figure out where they had gone amongst all the various turns and tunnels. We ended up finding a group only to realize the speaker was NOT our tour guide. Quite funny for sure.

After the cave tour, we made our way to Garden of the Gods. We were running out of day light, but we managed to enjoy a couple hikes before the sunset.

We thought we'd take a silly picture of me doing a handstand with Dave holding me. I didn't realize that I was blocking him in, but it made for a funny picture nonetheless.

We ended the day by taking some funny group shots from the Visitor Center. We snuck past the gates since they had closed because we knew the view couldn't be beat! It's too bad the picture got slightly ruined by our silly antics!

It was fun having them in town and we hope they'll consider visiting (or moving!) here again!

On A Mission!

That's right. I'm on a mission. I must find some girl scout cookies! Somehow with the hectic-life we've led over the past few months, we both completely spaced out buying the ever-important Tagalongs and Samoas.
I've read that this is the last weekend that they are allowed to sell them. I.must.find.some.

Welcome to the world, Colin!

Lisa and Justin's baby boy arrived today! Colin Willis Krom was born at noon today (3/3/2010) weighing in at 7lbs 2oz and measuring 18 inches long. Mom and baby are both healthy. I wish them all of God's blessings as they enjoy their new bundle of joy.

Sunshine!

We have had glorious sunshine all week. Mid-50s and it's like spring has arrived early! I'm absolutely lovin' it. Even if I do only get outside to walk to the cafeteria, there is something about a sunny day that makes you smile. I gotta keep reminding myself that April is one of the snowiest months of the year, so it's not spring yet. Thankfully, we'll be OUT OF THE COUNTRY for most of April!
My family is planning on coming out the week before we leave for Australia and New Zealand to see us and then they will be working from our home and babysitting our girls while we are out! Aren't they the best?! Of course, Meeko will come too. Our girls, for totally opposite reasons, love when Meeko comes! He and Sequoia are practically boyfriend-girlfriend and Belle loves that the playtime focus is off of her for awhile. Not to mention how much she loves being spoiled by Grandma's petting. Sequoia always cries for days after he leaves; it's quite possibly the cutest thing.

I just wanted to say how blessed I feel for great family and wonderful weather!

Meeko and Sequoia exhausted after endless playtime