Spring turns to Summer

 So it's been awhile since I updated my blog! Sorry! A lot has happened since April, so I apologize if this update becomes a novel.

         May started out pretty normal. I was preparing for my upcoming birthday on the 12th. The closer it got, the more bummed I became. I knew that living 1000 miles away from friends, family, and the only city I've ever known wasn't going to be easy when it came to special events and holidays. So on the 10th, I was going back and forth between cleaning and checking emails, facebook, etc. I decided to Skype my mom with no answer. I called her cell where she proceeded to tell me that she and my sister were looking for a place to eat breakfast. I really didn't think anything of it even though I don't know the last time we or they have ever gone out for breakfast! She said she would call back in a couple of hours and we would all Skype.
Two hours later, I get a phone call from my mom asking if I was ready, but while talking to her, I notice outside my kitchen window, a strange car parked in the driveway with a lady talking on the phone that resembled who else but my mom. When I put two and two together, I opened the front door to see mom and Karen standing there! Wow! Greatest birthday gift ever!!

The visit was short, but sweet. We had a great time. The weather not very cooperative for the couple of days that they were here, but it really didn't matter. It gave me the recharge that I needed.


         June was a pretty busy month for us. Early in the month, it was Grandma and Grandpa Jones' turn to come for a visit. This was also a short visit, but we were glad that we got the opportunity to spend time with family. We spent a lot time at the house. We grilled out, watched TV, chit chatted, and just had a good time. We also went to the park a couple of times. I was happy that Ava got the chance to have so much family interaction in a months time. And thanks to video phone calls, she can recognize the people she sees in the videos when she sees them in person. Technology is a wonderful thing!

The following weekend was Father's Day. We decided to do some exploring. Kyle, Ava, Debbie, and I piled into the car and drove to 11 Mile Canyon. It's about an hour west of us. They have camp sites and fishing. The scenery is really pretty, so I took some great pictures. We had lunch in Woodland Park at a little Mexican restaurant in town. Following lunch, we stopped by Cave of the Winds to take some pictures. Cave of the Winds is a hop, skip and a jump from Manitou. When we got home, we were all absolutely spent.
While winding down, I hopped on my computer, and read from a local news station that 11 Mile Canyon was evacuated due to a wildfire maybe an hour after we left from there. Turned out it was arson, and 11 Mile was just the beginning of many wildfires to come. (Picture below is taken from Cave of the Winds).

          Woodland Park (roughly 10-15 miles west of Manitou) had 10 small arson fires during that next week. Being that the entire state was so dry due to the lack of snow from last winter, everybody was on edge. Who knew when this arsonist would strike again. And the bigger question was where next? Saturday the 24th, we decided to go do some mall shopping. Mainly to just get out of the house for a little while. When we got into the car and started heading home around 1:00pm, we noticed a very large plume of smoke toward our area. When we got closer to the house, we could tell that it was on the other side of the highway, but a little too close for our liking. We immediately turned on the TV where the news was already covering the story.
We watched all day to see when the fire was going to be put out, which way it was moving, etc. However by  around 8:00pm, it was growing and growing with no signs of stopping. The news warned the residents of Manitou Springs that there was a slight possibility of evacuation. Kyle and I were certain that this was not going to happen, so we didn't even pre-pack. We really thought that the highway was going to save us.
We went to sleep as usual around 10:00pm. I think I finally fell asleep by about 11:00pm. The next thing we knew, the phone was ringing at 1:30am. It was Cousin Debbie telling us that the entire town was on mandatory evacuation. My heart sank and the feeling of illness came over me. Luckily we had a couple of hours to get our things together. Besides two adults, a toddler, a dog, and a cat, how do you determine what item is more important than the other when you know you only have a space no bigger than what a Toyota 4Runner will hold? Let me tell you, it isn't easy. I'm sure Kyle and I were secretly thinking about how to strap things to the roof like on that Ikea commercial with the Volkswagon Bug trying to go under a bridge with a mound of furniture. Ha!
We were on the road by 4:30am. Since all of the evacuees from earlier in the day had all of the hotels in Colorado Springs booked, we started heading north toward Denver. We went to a hotel just outside of Co. Sprgs., and one of the staff told Kyle that everything was booked between there and Denver. When we arrived in Denver, we were able to get one of the last rooms at the second La Quinta we came to. By 8:00pm that evening, evacuations were lifted for Manitou, so we waited until the next morning to go home. We unpacked and resumed normal life. Kyle was unable to go back to work as his office was part of the evacuation area. By Wednesday, we thought all was well until the winds started to shift back toward us. When the shopping center just a mile from us got evacuated, we wasted no time. We started to pack. Again! 
This time we were ready! Luckily nothing happened, and the fire was kept at bay. Kyle was back to work by Friday.
As of yesterday, July 11th, the fire has been 100% contained. 364 homes were destroyed making it the worst fire catastrophe in Co. history. The cause is still unknown, but arson is suspected.
 (Pictures below are of day 1 taken from downtown Manitou, and from the back of our house on our deck).

So far the first half of July has been calm. The 4th of July holiday was spent hanging around the house and grilling up some grub just the three of us. It was a lazy day, and that's how we wanted it to be. We are hoping for a quiet second half of July. 

Spring Has Sprung!

                  Spring is here again, and it's beautiful in Colorado! It has been unseasonably warm, so we are taking advantage of the gorgeous weather. We get outside as much as possible. Leaves and flowers are already on the trees. It hasn't been so great for Kyle's allergies though. He has to sleep with a humidifier practically pointed towards his nose. I've gotten lucky so far. The temperatures have been averaging 70-75 degrees for a high, and 40's in the low's.

March was a great month for us. Kyle started getting into the groove with his new job, and everything started going back to normal. Mid March, Kyle's mom Barbara came up for a visit for a week. We had a great time! We took a trip to the zoo, went shopping, and spent lots of time playing with Ava. My niece Bridget also celebrated her 12th birthday on March 15th. The time has just gotten away from me! We spent the rest of the month preparing for Ava's second birthday.

           Ava's birthday fell on Easter this year, so we got her an Easter egg cake (courtesy of Cousin Debbie), and the balloons were Elmo. Kind of an odd theme, but she loves Elmo and it was a hit! She enjoyed her Easter egg hunt in the backyard. I filled up plastic eggs with Goldfish crackers. She thought that was great! All in all her birthday was a success. She did not eat her cake though. She wanted nothing to do with it. Same as last year. I guess we'll try again on her 3rd birthday! I wonder where she got her dislike of sweets, because she definitely didn't get it from Kyle or myself!

The day before her birthday, we took Ava to the Denver Aquarium. Our friends Kim and Matt joined us. Ava really enjoyed her visit there. After that, we went to a restaurant called Sam's No. 3. It was featured on Diner's Drive-In's and Dives. The food was good, but the service was not. Matt did not get his Macho Nacho appetizer, and as Kyle put it, "His facial expression looked like a kid whose balloon had just been popped!" Not sure if he went back for his Macho Nachos. Lol!

The rest of April was pretty quiet. Just enjoying the weather and our family time together. May should be a busy one for us. Mother's Day, my birthday, and Memorial Day weekend coming up.

Welcome to 2012!

It thought it was about time to update my post since my last. Not a whole lot has happened in January and February. Starting with the not so great news we received on December 28th, Kyle got a phone call from his employer in Houston letting him know that the company was laying off about 90% of the employees (him included). Terrific!! It was a huge blow for us. Of course I thought it was the end of the world, while Kyle's optimistic self was already looking online for jobs in the Colorado Springs area. With much perseverance, he landed a job with Everest College placing graduating students into new jobs. He started February 22nd. So far he likes it, and one of the major perks of this job is extremely discounted rates for employees to take classes. He was talking about going back to school not long before the layoff, so we both feel that the whole situation was meant to be.

Back up to January 4th. It was Kyle's birthday, and we spent it at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo with Cousin Debbie. It was a great day! It was also Ava's first time at a zoo. It was a little cold, but she really enjoyed it. I'm not too sure what her favorite part was, because she seemed to enjoy everything! Debbie was thoughtful enough to buy us a family pass that is good for a year, so we can take Ava to the zoo any time we want. We are very thankful for Debbie as she has been so good to us since we moved here. Especially Ava. And Ava has taken a strong liking to her as well. I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship!

 
For the rest of January, we pretty much hung around the house a lot. Kyle continually looked for jobs and attended interviews. We went to the park a couple of times as the weather here has been really great! Not a whole lot of snow, and the average temperature has been around 40 degrees. Throw in some sun, and those are great park days in Colorado!

In February, we decided to finish painting the living room, put up wall decor, etc. Valentine's Day was just that. It's just not an important day for us. Kyle started his job, and our everyday lives have resumed. We may have had a little hiccup for a moment there, but we're very happy it's back to normal! I also learned that staying optimistic does help. I was pretty bummed about the job loss, but I turned my attitude around, and let things fall where they may. March should be a good month for us. Kyle's mom is coming for a visit during her spring break (she's a teacher), and I'll be preparing for Ava's second birthday in April! 2012 may have started off rough, but things have really fallen into place! We couldn't ask for anything more right now!

New blog for the new year

Well we've made it through another Christmas! Quite frankly I'm glad it's over, and so is our checking account! We had a busy December, starting with my mom (Mimi) coming for a visit Dec. 7th for three days. We had a great time! Plus it was nice to see a familiar face. We shopped and did some site seeing in the Colorado Springs area. Got lost a couple of times, but that's part of the fun. We also got to play "Christmas Day" and exchange gifts. Ava was happy about that! That girl loves wrapping paper!
The week after Mimi departed, Kyle's parents Mike and Barb came for a visit. We did some more shopping, and visited with Santa at the mall (not very amusing for Ava, but we enjoyed it). It was also haircut time for Ava. Again, not very amusing for her, but we enjoyed it. We also relaxed a bit too. We stuffed ourselves silly at Cousin Debbie's house for an early Christmas dinner, and Ava got to open more gifts. On the 22nd, the night before Mike and Barb left, it snowed about 8 inches. We were a little concerned that they wouldn't make it to the airport, but Debbie got them there on time, and the flight was on schedule.
The next couple of days leading to Christmas, I focused on getting the house clean, while Kyle and Debbie braved the overcrowded stores with all the other last minute shoppers. They made it home without a scratch. Christmas Eve was quiet, while Christmas Day was quite the opposite. Ava tore into her remaining gifts with glee! We enjoyed some Starbucks coffee and cinnamon rolls. Later that evening, we walked to Debbie's house for a delicious Christmas dinner. Cherry cobbler for dessert. I think we all went to bed that night fat and happy!
Today I took the tree and decorations down and put them away for yet another year. Looking forward to 2012!