margaret brown

i took mamsis to the molly brown house. ('unsinkable' molly brown that survived the titanic sinking) we had a different tour guide than when i was there with trink, so i learned more information about molly brown. her name was actually margaret, but it was changed to molly for the musical because it rhymed better.
the next day steve and dad went shooting, and mamsis and i went shopping. mom got a new watch from the fossil outlet. then we picked up some groceries for our delicious dinner: steak with blue cheese sauce, twice baked potatoes, fresh asparagus, and trifle for dessert.
mamsis and dad left thurday afternoon, and i was sad to see them go, but i'll see them next week.

back to work

yesterday i had to go back to work. after a week off it was hard to remember the door codes, but i managed. and everyone was happy to see me (i think). and in a few more days, i'll be in indiana!

donut a-hole

monday we made reservations to ride the cog rail to the summit of pike's peak. the website said that all reservations needed to come thirty minutes early to get their tickets. there were a lot of people in front of us, so it took a while for our tickets. the ladies told us that they could get us better seats if we sat in a row across the car. it turned out that we were sitting in the jump seats. but that was okay, because at the top of the peak there were world famous donuts. (water doesn't boil at 14,000 feet, but oil does). the conductor pointed out trees, old watering stations, animals (marmots) , and rock formations. it took about an hour and a half to reach the top, but josh and i had to get up a twice so the conductor could throw the switch.
finally at the top, we went in for the delicious donuts, but were sadly disappointed to learn the the fryer was broken. mom was very upset about this. instead we were going to get some hot chocolate, and there were fries in the food court. (apparently you can't use fry oil to cook donuts, and a new heating element can't be sent up on a train car). so we walked around in the wind and cold, and tried to get mom close to the edge. during the trip down, mamsis was still complaining about the seats and the lack of donuts. but, as usual, bitching paid off and she got us a small refund for our trouble.

fon don't

saturday morning we went shopping at sheplers. (sadly the same last name doesn't qualify me for a discount) we got some nice shirts and a pair of dress pants for daddy. hopefully he'll post a fashion show online. then we went to savory spice shop. mamsis and i went a little crazy but only came home with smoked paprika, dried lemon and orange peel, dried and candied ginger, whole nutmeg, dried shallots, vanilla beans, and an assortment of dried mushrooms. then mamsis and i went grocery shopping and got some low carb/no carb foods and did some meal planning.
sunday was father's day. after breakfast dad went shooting with steve (a pharmacist i used to work with) at an indoor range. they shot for about 90 minutes and then they set up another play date to sight in steve's rifle later in the week. for dinner i made reservations for 7:30 at a fondue restaurant. we got there a little early, and so we waited outside for them to call us. at 7:40 we went back in to see if our table was ready and we were told it was going to be just a little longer. when we finally did get seated, we had to wait 25 minutes for our salads, and even though dad asked for no cucumbers, there were some on his salad. so we waited for a fresh salad for dad. the food was really good and we had delicious turtle dessert fondue. but the evening was a little spoiled by the service.

a day at the park

mom and dad flew in last night, and they arrived a little late, but without too much ado. so as usual, this morning we got up early, packed a lunch, and headed to the mountains. mamsis was reluctant to get out of the car, but we were able to coax her out a few times. mom and i climbed up aluvial fan falls.
we drove further up the mountain and mom spotted some elk on the side of the road. this surprised me since she refused to look out over the edge. when we were coming back down, we stopped to take some pictures of elk, but i was even more excited when i realized that they were long horn sheep. (i've never see any in the park before) there was also a giant herd of elk, bulls, cows, and very cute babies.
after the park, we went to the celestial tea factory. the machines were actually working today, so we donned our hairnets, (some men wore beard nets) and went on the tour. the machines seal the tea in the bags, fold the boxes, close up the inside and the box, wrap them in cellophane, and box them up for shipping. it was a very full and tiring day, so tomorrow we will be sleeping in and maybe doing a little shopping.

Happy birthday Josh

Today is josh's birthday. i rewarded him with a visit from my parents and told him to vacuum the floors. he already got his new digital camera before we left for england, his parent's gift last weekend, and accidentally opened his prezzie from mamsis (two years of cusine at home!), so all he gets today is a smooch, some peanut butter frozen delight and to be another year older.

i'm like the wind, i'm everywhere

sunday morning of mike's trip we drove to the springs and went into the cave of the winds. joel's wife carrie mentioned that the lantern tour was supposed to be fun, so we went on it. the caves were discovered by kids in the late 1800s and then turned into a tourist spot by two men. unfortunately, their friendship ended in embezzlement, bankruptcy and death. this is a picture of all the business cards that visitors used to leave. the cave operators would know when to change advertising based on where the cards came from. we got to crawl through rock tunnels and see some interesting rock formations: a butter churn, dirty sheep, and a giant's runny nose. i'm trying to get mamsis to go in the caves with me, but in the larger part of the cave.
we also went to a bug and astronaut museum. this was listed as a 'must see'. sadly, the bug museum was just cases of mounted insects and the astronaut museum was space posters and star wars models. so at least we know not to take anyone else there.

fun city

after the mountains we went to fun city, and let me tell you, it was fun.

there was the giant slide like columbian park used to have. but we slid down on carpet pieces instead of burlap sacks. that's an airborne josh on the left.

and go karts

and bumper boats with squirt guns.

step and breathe

josh's cousin mike flew out last friday night for the weekend so saturday morning we got up early, packed a lunch and drove to the mountains. the drive up there was pretty uneventful. first we drove to the fan falls and mike and josh climbed some rocks to feel the cool mist. the trail we usually take up to the mountain was closed, probably due to snow. but we hiked up to chasm falls.

i didn't realize how far it was up to the falls, it felt a lot longer when we couldn't breath the thin air. but it was nice to hike there rather that drive. josh and mike played around the waterfall, and they were lucky that neither one fell in. we drove further up the mountain to the top and hiked up some other mountains. any time i felt out of breath i tried to follow nigel thornberry's advice. the snow was so deep that they had to post warning signs for the visitors to stay off the slopes.

sorry to disappoint

for those few that check my blog everyday, i'm sorry that i haven't been posting for a while. it seems nothing of interest is happening here. josh's cousin mike came out for the weekend so i will be posting about that probably tomorrow. instead of posting, i did laundry (still to be folded), emptied the dishwasher, made a grocery list, watched 'just visiting' and 'school for scoundrels', figured out garbled taglines with mamsis, took pup for a walk, and got to watch the season 5 premier of footballers wives! i know that show is trashy, but i like it anyway. i know, i do have an exciting life.