Denver Aquarium

... Aiden's Dragon ...

... Feeding the Stingray...

[ Lauren took all the pics of the animals, she did a great job!]

Garden of the Gods

Spending July 4th with Cousins
Garden of the Gods Park, Colorado Springs, Colorado
~ Taking a Rest ~

~ Aiden Loves to climb ~
~ Brigg ~

~ Aiden ~

~ Lauren ~

~ Kenzie ~

~ Kissing Camel Rock ~

Cog Railroad

... we rode the Cog Railroad which leaves from Manitou Springs and goes to the top of Pikes Peak Mountain ...

... being the Texans that we are, and being the middle of JUNE, we jumped right on the train without thinking twice ... the ride up was beautiful ... you could see the entire city of Colorado Springs ... you can probably see several cities, Pikes Peak is over 14,000 feet ...

... you can see how impressed Kenzie was by all the beauty surrounding her ...

... HOWEVER, the HIGHER up the mountain we got...the COLDER it got ...

... yes, that is snow ...

... in JUNE! ...

... pretty soon that was all we saw out our window ...

... until we got to the TOP ...

... where it was 19 degrees! and we were in shorts and short sleeves...

... needless to say, we bought a couple of sweatshirts and a jacket...

it was an AWESOME ride, but next time we will know better....I'm sure people knew we were from Texas...all I have to say is at least none of us were in flip flops! : )

Rampart Range Reservoir

This is Rampart Range Reservoir, about 15 minutes further up the mountain ~ it is about a mile from the dam down to Nichols Reservoir, which makes it a nice little walk...

...Aiden loves to climb the hills and rocks...

... and B has to pick up every pine cone and rock along the way...

... and yes, that's Pikes Peak in the background

...with all the snow...

in the middle of June! ...

Mackenzie's FAVORITE thing about Colorado

...upon moving up here Kenzie announced she didn't like it here... it's 'TOO FORRESTY'...

... there are too many trees ...
... however, there are also lots of these [rocks] ... ... and we see lots of these [animals] ...
... but mostly LOTS and LOTS of these ...

Spring in Colorado

Over Spring Break we went to visit Lonnie in Colorado. We were able to do a little house hunting, check-out the town some more and take a trip to the local zoo. If you have ever been to Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado Springs, you know that it aptly boasts to be 'the nation's only mountain zoo.' It is literally built on the side of the mountain. I don't know if there is any flat terrain in the entire park.

I think this is the most eventful zoo trip we have ever had~

we saw a baby giraffe that was only three weeks old...

peacocks up close and personal...

Brigg danced with the porcupine...

and this lion got up from his nap, came over to the window, and literally snapped at the kids through the glass. Brigg was the only kiddo brave enough to stay 'plastered' to the window with the big kitty 6 inches from his face!

We also taught the kids about the wildlife to avoid in their new backyard....although Brigg didn't seem very afraid ~ HAPPY SPRING!

Taking a New Job

Lonnie accepted a job in Woodland Park, Colorado this week. He had previously declined the job because the timing just didn't feel right and now we know why. Long story short, there were some unforseen changes which have recently taken place and have luckily worked in our favor. It has turned out to be a better deal than we imagined. The proposal has been pitched to the hospital, they accepted the deal and we are just waiting for contracts in the mail.

Lonnie starts work March 1st. The kids and I will stay here in Lubbock until school is out and hopefully sell this house by then!

We are excited......[some of us A LOT more than others], but I think we will have to invest in winter gear!