Part 1 of my weekend blog.....

I will start with a little recap of the past week.  Last Friday (June 11) Heath rented a tiller to break up the super hard dirt in our back yard......for easier shoveling.  It certainly did the trick, however, it started raining that evening and then rained most of the weekend and he actually hasn't even been in the back yard since the tiller episode.  I am hoping it isn't all for nothing today when he starts moving dirt?  But things are looking different and progress is being made!!  I bought my plastic stemless wine glasses and I am ready for some backyard entertaining!!

Yesterday we had a picnic at work, got to close the office at 2:00pm!!  We went to a park and had some great food and sand volleyball.  It was a lot of fun to hang out with my co-workers outside of the office. Unfortunately, I didn't take any photos.....bad me.

Most of the day yesterday, I was feeling a sore throat coming on, yuck.  So, when we got home last night I went to lay down while Heath and Layne finished a project you will see shortly.  I think I fell asleep around 9:00 pm and then woke up around 4 am and couldn't go back to sleep for some time.  I finally did, but Pedro and Baly got me out of bed around 6:30.  I seem to feel better this morning and I am very happy about that because Layne and I have some plans today!!

So, this morning while everyone else in the house is asleep....I made coffee, started the dishwasher, laundry and took some photos. 

Roxy really enjoys the cool mornings and just chillin' in the yard (it is pretty great this morning).

This is the project that Heath has been working on for the last couple evenings (and Layne helped him with it last night).  It is a compost bin and I am so excited it is done!!  We can now recycle leaves and food waste, etc....  Pretty soon we won't even need garbage pick-up, just recycling!!

I think they have a few finishing touches on it, like the rods sticking out and then the top, but all sides come off so when the dirt is ready you can get it out easily!!  Our little garden will be going to the right of this!!

The rose bush looked so pretty this morning.  It was an option to take this out during our yard remodel, but we opted to keep it and I am glad.  Just below this to the right is a circle thing and that is our new dog poo composing project.  We actually have two in the yard and I am very excited about it also.  We aren't really sure about the results yet but will keep at it (or Layne will....he! he!)

Sully was just following me around this morning while I took pictures and watered plans, I think he wanted to play ball!!

So, it is a beautiful morning and the rest of the family is still asleep.  I am having my wonderful coffee and listening to Bob Marley.  Pretty great!

When Layne gets up we are going to the farmer's market and to Old Colorado City to see if we can find a super cool father's day gift.  If we can't, I think we are going to get him a rain barrel!  Not sure how great of a father's day gift that is....but he wants one?

“Life is one big road with lots of signs. So when you riding through the ruts, don't complicate your mind. Flee from hate, mischief and jealousy. Don't bury your thoughts, put your vision to reality . Wake Up and Live!”

~Bob Marley

Enjoy your day.

More kitchen improvements..........

I have begun the large task of painting our crappy cabinets.  Although they look 110 times better, it is hard to see how much better it will look until more is done and we have new appliances and counter tops (which won't be soon).  I am just doing a section at a time, so it will be slow.  We are also adding hardware to doors and drawers.  I am hoping to have over half done by Layne's birthday on the 7th of July??

A hike in June....yes June.

One of our friends at work was wanting to check out a trail.  His parents are coming to visit from Japan and he wanted to take them on a few hikes.  So, several weeks ago it was planned.  It just so happened that it is the coldest weekend of the month.  Maybe for the last couple of months and the next few months.  These pictures were taken today, June 13, 2010.  As you go through and see the white stuff on the ground, you may think I am lying.....I am not.

We are at The Crags.

This is our friend Tak....all geared up.

Layne was allowed to bring a friend.....she brought her boyfriend, Cole.

The beginning of the hike, it was sleeting just a bit.  Here is Heath and Tak.

The further we went, the more covered the trail got.  Sure didn't look like June.

Here I am on the trail.  I have to say, it was really cool to be hiking in June in this weather.

Heath and Tak enjoying a stop and some home-made granola.

At the summit, it was officially really cold and snowing.  But, once again, it was so cool to do this hike.

Group shot at the summit.

By the time we got to the bottom, the sun was out.

Heath and Tak at the end of the trail....my camera was a bit foggy!!

I think that I am starting to realize the things I really love about Colorado and today was one of them.  The surroundings are beautiful and we were able to go through rain, sleet, snow and then blue skies all in one day....all in a matter of a few hours!!

I hope everyone had a great and unique Sunday.  Now, Heath and Layne are changing the oil in the car. :)

Just another weekend

I finally put the finishing touches on the island redo, well....I guess there is one more thing to do and that is to replace the top.  It took me a little longer to get the doors/drawers finished but Saturday morning we got them put on and we are very happy with the results.  Below is the almost finished picture and then the pictures leading up to this point.

We also worked in the back yard most of the weekend.  It was really hot on Saturday and we were working really slow!!  But we got more bricks for the retaining wall, got it all leveled and Heath started putting the rock back.

This photos is before the leveling.

Heath is getting the dirt all leveled out!

Roxy.....not helping.

Rock getting put back.

The beautiful oriental iris that Joyce brought me two years ago is finally blooming.

We have much more to do in the yard and I am so anxious to have it done or at least to a point we can enjoy it.  I will keep you posted on our progress.

The Cabin.....

As promised, I am filling all of you in on our weekend in the mountains. 

Heath knows a coach that owns a small cabin in the mountains southwest of us....near the Spanish Peaks between Walsenburg and Trinidad.  It is about a 3 hour drive, but to my surprise.....it went very fast and was beautifully scenic.  We passed through several small/quaint towns and it was a very lovely drive.

I didn't take many photos on the way down, but this was an interesting formation of land.  It reminded Heath of a gorilla.

We had some great directions but had some trouble figuring out the correct gate.  We had a combo number and figured, we get the right combo....it will be the right gate.  Well, there are three gates to the property but only one really takes you right to the cabin.  So, after going down the wrong one (and the only gate we could get open) we finally decided we needed help.  We went back to the water treatment plant we had passed coming in and found a helpful guy and who let us use a land line to call the owner of the cabin (we had no cell service at this point).  We also got more specific information about the mountain man who watches over the property, Mr. Butch Quinn.  We were able to locate the correct gate, but could not get the lock to open and that is when we went for help at Butch's house.  We found that this was the right choice because he told us of trees across the trail.  He loaded up his WD-40 and a chainsaw on his 4 wheeler and we were off to finally get to our destination.

On the other side of the gate, it didn't look like much of a trail for a car.  It was and interesting path and Heath really enjoyed putting the Lexus to the hill climbing test.  He was having a ball while Layne sat in the back seat "oh my, I'm not looking" is all she said over and over again.  It was a very bumpy ride of about a mile and a half.  We made three stops to clear out some trees that were blocking the way.

The cabin was a little bigger than we thought, two rooms, a bathroom and a loft.  I am not sure when the family that owns it was last there, so we had to do some sweeping.  We moved a few things around and unpacked.

Layne trying out her bed and Pedro resting a bit.

Sully made himself at home right away.

Baly found her spot on the rug.

We did take a little time to look around and check out our surroundings.  It was really beautiful and remote.

This was the wonderful view from the front porch.

Some other photos of our exploring.

Layne trying to climb a tree, a tree that was a little too small.

This was the spot I enjoyed to go sit at in the morning and drink my coffee!!  You can see behind us how it opens up into this huge valley and there were great rocks to sit on and just listen to nothing.

It was around 6ish when that was all done and time to start cooking.  Butch had told us there was a NO FIRE warning out, so that meant that all cooking would be done on the stove we brought.  We have never used the stove, but it performed wonderfully.  We had some veggie burgers and sauteed veggies for dinner, it was great!! 

After dinner we retired to the front porch, I had brought a conversation starter-type game and Layne asked us questions.  It sparked some interesting talk and made us laugh a lot.  Layne also spilled all the cards.

Just a silly picture of Heath.

Sleeping was OK, we had an air mattress that stayed up most of the night.  I slept better after my short awakening at 6 am.  I think we all got up finally at 9!! 

We made breakfast and coffee and after eating I headed out to my favorite spot and just sat and enjoyed the silence.  We went on a little hike but really just did nothing!!  It is pretty hard to do but enjoyable if the surroundings are right.  Layne enjoyed (I think) some significant time just snuggled up on the lounge chair and reading all morning.

Heath making breakfast....

Layne snuggled up on the porch and reading all morning.

That evening we played a little trivial pursuit (music specific questions) and then headed to bed.  I didn't sleep great and the air mattress was not as good the secong night, but I slept enough.

I do have to mention that I think our dogs probably had the best time.  This was more of a vacation for them!!  They ran and explored and then just slept on the porch all day.....they were so happy.  I was nervous for Pedro's life most of the weekend.  He liked to sneak away but I was so scared a large bird (or something) might just snatch him up for a snack.  He did survive the weekend!!

A few pictures of the dogs and how much they loved the cabin.

Roxy and Pedro resting on the porch.

Monday morning we took our time to eat breakfast, pack up and load the car.  The dogs were a little reluctant to get in the car and Roxy jumped out to go lay back down on the porch.

I am not sure how much Layne enjoyed the weekend and we are all struggling with the beginning of the teen years.  I know that being in a remote cabin with your parents isn't the greatest thing to do, but I hope some day she looks back on it with fond memories.  We will keep trying and keep making her do stupid things that aren't cool!! That is what we are suppose to do.

"Life is not about waiting for the storms to pass ... it's about caring and loving your relatives and friends while you can touch and see them, and they are still among us."

Here is the last of the photos we took on our way out.

This was the only wildlife we saw all weekend....on our way back down the hill.

I think our weekend was good....it is always just so much work to pack everything up when going camping or staying in a rustic cabin.  We probably always take too much also!!  It was really great to get away and relax with nothing to do.  I hope we are able to back again this summer.