Where's Tiger? and Dog vs. Tarantula

Last summer some nasty person dumped three kittens at the end of our street. Two of them decided they liked living under our deck so we fed them, got them their shots and gave them a home. Mercedes, with the help of her neighbor friends named them Tiger and Snowflake. Tiger was the typical "scaredy cat" while Snowflake just wanted to sit in your lap. They roam the hills behind our house and the only time we'd really see Tiger was at dinnertime. Every now and then we'd find a beheaded mouse or a huge grasshopper missing its legs, compliments of the kitty's. But we haven't seen Tiger in a week now. There are many perils in the hills; we had a rattlesnake in our backyard earlier this summer. Neico and I came across a coyote just a few hundred yards from our back door. And the last 2 nights we've come across very large tarantulas. We've also heard of mountain lions snatching peoples pets. Where are you Tiger? (the kitty on the left)


Here's Neico playing with the tarantula. I think Tiger could've taken the tarantula but I'm not so sure about the rattlesnakes or coyotes.

11 Years

When people ask Scott how long we've been married he says "Seven wonderful years." He omits the 3 chemo years. I guess now he can say 8 wonderful years. Our Anniversary was on Thursday (the 20th) which was the first day of school plus soccer practice that night. How did we end up with a 2nd Grader! I'm not one of those sobbing parents; I rejoice on the first day. No more, "I'm bored, there's nothing to do!" I'll give you something to do; go clean the bathroom. Plus I'm a big fan of learning but not so great at teaching.

Mercedes refused to get hot lunch last year and all she would eat in her cold lunch was a butter sandwich or a sour cream quesadilla. I did my best to pack other healthy snacks but she's a hard one to please. The second day of school was pizza day and she was happy to get hot lunch. Hooray!

Since we couldn't celebrate our Anniversary on the actual day we opted for Saturday night. We started the evening with trail running up to Stewart Falls which might have been a little easier if we hadn't already mountain biked 8 miles earlier in the day. We passed a family with 5 children under 6 years on our way up the trail; covered in dirt and a little whining but they seemed to be doing alright. On our way back down we came across them again; this time with lots of crying and obvious frustration from the parents. We offered to help carry children and they gladly accepted. Scott and I carried their 3 and 4 year olds the rest of the trail. They were all so exhausted already and they wouldn't have made it back to their car before dark at the pace they were going. The little boy kept asking to come to our house to see our dog and the girl wanted to know who my favorite princess was. I wondered how may people had passed them with annoyance at their crying children when all they needed was just a little help.

We finished the evening with dinner at Sundance; food always tastes better when you've just worked your body hard. Plus Sundance has fabulous food.

I'll remember this Anniversary!

Colorado Trip

The first day of our trip we spent at Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park. Here's the girls on the gondola you have to take up the mountain just to get to the park itself. The purpose of the trip was for Scott and I to race in the MuddyBuddy but turning it into a family vacation made it that much more fun.



Outside a portion of the caverns. Not as big as Timp Cave but still pretty cool!

The girls loved the coaster. Aspen even fell asleep on it the last ride we did.

As well as the trampoline there was a 4-D theatre, a giant swing that sent you over the canyon, a sluice box where Mercedes panned for precious gems, a climbing wall, a maze, Bull-riding, and a speleo box which Mercedes took home bruise on her forehead from.

The next day we visited the Denver Nature and Science Museum. They had a really cool interactive exhibit called Expedition Health. We now know that Scott's armspan is the same as his height whereas I'm more like a primate with longer arms than my height. Lovely.

See the sign; especially for ages 5 and under. We had too much fun in that room. Aspen looks like shes protesting having her face shoved into the contraption.

The MuddyBuddy was a good time. Six miles of mountain biking and trail running with obstacles and lots of mud.

Me and my partner Julia coming out of the mud pit. Mercedes decided next year she'll do the Mini MuddyBuddy.

We stayed in Estes Park for a night and ran into a herd of about 20 Elk.

When we were in the caverns Aspen kept singing this song over and over with all the actions. I taped it but it was just too dark so here she is doing it on the bed in the room.

The biggest accomplishment of the trip was the end of the Lally (pacifier). I didn't give it to her the first night and she didn't ask; but the next morning she said "Mommy you forgot my LaLa!" I told her the Lally Fairy came to our house and took the lally's to the hospital to give all the babies. She's asked for it a couple of times and then wants to hear the story again but hasn't had any trouble with naps or bedtime!