I love this song. It makes me think of my sister. I used to have it on a music box and played it all the time when I was missing her. She does make me happy when skies are grey!
Friday, July 31, 2009
You are My Sunshine
I got a chance to play with some Ranger alcohol inks the other day. I have had a few colors in my stash for quite a while, but just never used them on a card. I bought some earth tone colors at Archiver's the other day and mixed them with some gold mixative and used them on the large circle for this sunshine stamp from Unity's July KOTM. I also used the same colors to die a white flower from Hero Arts. The gold really shimmers in the flower and I love the effect! I also used some gold embossing powder on the corners using this flourish stamp from Unity's May KOTM.
I love this song. It makes me think of my sister. I used to have it on a music box and played it all the time when I was missing her. She does make me happy when skies are grey!
I love this song. It makes me think of my sister. I used to have it on a music box and played it all the time when I was missing her. She does make me happy when skies are grey!
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Cheyenne Mountain Zoo
One of the benefits of living in Colorado, is that we're a lot closer to Jay's family. His mom, brother, sister-in-law and 2 nephews live in Colby, KS, which is about a 3.5 hour drive from our house. A couple of weeks after we moved in and got settled, the family came over for a short weekend visit. They came in on Friday night and I made a nice homemade spaghetti dinner and we walked to the park for the kids (mainly Jason, who is 2) to play and burn off some energy.
Then, on Saturday we went to lunch at Cracker Barrel and then went to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. It was fabulous! All of the exhibits were built in a very natural environment and it is up in the mountains, so we saw lots of wildlife that wasn't part of any exhibit. Also, the view from up there was incredible! We will definitely be going back. We encountered a major thunder storm and had to duck for cover for a while, but that's all part of the experience of nature, right?
Another great spot was discovered to take our visitors.
I don't like crocs (of any kind)
This deer was not part of any exhibits, just visiting, like us.
Jay's brother Eric with his wife Mindy and Jason. Baby Christopher, who was born about a week ago, is still in Mindy's belly in this photo.
These grizzly's were having a major tif. It was incredible to watch them fighting with one another. I wouldn't want to make one of them mad, that's for sure.
Check out that view
Cousins
The wallaby's had their own exhibit, but they were free to roam about and would walk right up to you
Jason got to feed the giraffes, which was the highlight of his day. He absolutely loves animals, but especially giraffes and they have a feeding area at the zoo. Giraffes have very long, ugly tongues, but are so beautiful and they have the most beautiful eyes.
Then, on Saturday we went to lunch at Cracker Barrel and then went to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. It was fabulous! All of the exhibits were built in a very natural environment and it is up in the mountains, so we saw lots of wildlife that wasn't part of any exhibit. Also, the view from up there was incredible! We will definitely be going back. We encountered a major thunder storm and had to duck for cover for a while, but that's all part of the experience of nature, right?
Another great spot was discovered to take our visitors.
I don't like crocs (of any kind)
This deer was not part of any exhibits, just visiting, like us.
Jay's brother Eric with his wife Mindy and Jason. Baby Christopher, who was born about a week ago, is still in Mindy's belly in this photo.
These grizzly's were having a major tif. It was incredible to watch them fighting with one another. I wouldn't want to make one of them mad, that's for sure.
Check out that view
Cousins
The wallaby's had their own exhibit, but they were free to roam about and would walk right up to you
Jason got to feed the giraffes, which was the highlight of his day. He absolutely loves animals, but especially giraffes and they have a feeding area at the zoo. Giraffes have very long, ugly tongues, but are so beautiful and they have the most beautiful eyes.Garden of the gods
Even though we had a million things to do when we got here, we really wanted to do at least a couple of fun things with the girls before they went back to Kansas to spend the rest of the summer with their mom. Jay had to work the first week we were here, while we were staying in temporary housing on the base, so the girls and I went to the mall, went bowling, went to the Ghost Town museum, and did some exploring. The following week, Jay was off and we spent the majority of our time unpacking and getting settled in the house, but we did manage to get out one afternoon and go to the Garden of the gods.
Wow! That's about all I can say. I was there with Jay on my first trip to Colorado Springs in November of 2007 when he brought me here to show me around, but it is so amazing that I think I will be in awe no matter how many times I visit. The girls really enjoyed it as well. It drizzled on us a little bit, but it was actually nice because the temperatures were cooler that day. We did lots of walking and saw some rock climbers and so many beautiful rock formations. I can't wait to bring friends and family here when they come to visit. Hint, hint.
This guy was insane! He climbed this rock with absolutely no equipment, and wearing crocks. We all held our breath watching him climb up and then held our breath again watching him try to get down. Fortunately, he made it all in one piece but I had my phone in hand ready to call 911 just in case.
This couple brought their entire wedding party up to take photos. What a great idea!
That's my crazy family
Yours truly
Aren't they cute?
Don't look down
I thought this little bird was so magnificent. My mother probably knows what kind of bird it is. I have no clue, I just think it's pretty and that's enough for me.
Wow! That's about all I can say. I was there with Jay on my first trip to Colorado Springs in November of 2007 when he brought me here to show me around, but it is so amazing that I think I will be in awe no matter how many times I visit. The girls really enjoyed it as well. It drizzled on us a little bit, but it was actually nice because the temperatures were cooler that day. We did lots of walking and saw some rock climbers and so many beautiful rock formations. I can't wait to bring friends and family here when they come to visit. Hint, hint.
This guy was insane! He climbed this rock with absolutely no equipment, and wearing crocks. We all held our breath watching him climb up and then held our breath again watching him try to get down. Fortunately, he made it all in one piece but I had my phone in hand ready to call 911 just in case.
This couple brought their entire wedding party up to take photos. What a great idea!
That's my crazy family
Yours truly
Aren't they cute?
Don't look down
I thought this little bird was so magnificent. My mother probably knows what kind of bird it is. I have no clue, I just think it's pretty and that's enough for me.
Home Sweet Home
We all love our house! Jay actually picked out the place on his own, during a trip back when we were still living in CO. I know he felt a tremendous amount of pressure picking out a house with the the girls and I, but I must say he did great! We are up in the Northern part of Colorado Springs, very close to Black Forest. As a result, we are set apart from the city and are at a higher elevation. It's just gorgeous up here.
The neighborhood is fabulous! During our first week we had several neighbors come over and introduce themselves, and one family came over with some homemade chocolate chip cookies, along with a note with their address and phone number, should we need anything. How sweet! Even though we are set out a bit from the city, we have a couple of local shopping centers with a King Sooper's (grocery store), gas station, Walmart, Kohl's, Home Depot, Staples, Petsmart, several restaurants, and a couple of other miscellaneous shops. Oh, and let's not omit - It's a Grind, where they have the greatest coffee since the coffee shop at First Christian Church!
The house is extremely spacious with lots of great storage. It's a pain in the tush to clean, because it's so massive, but it's worth it. I just can't expect to clean the house from top to bottom in one day. So, I space it out over a few days and it gets done.
I just love it. Jay did such a wonderful job.
The front of the house. This was taken before we actually moved in, but I haven't thought to go out and take another photo, so here it is.
The master bedroom. Sorry for the remote on the bed.
More of the master
Love the walk-in closet!
The rest of the closet in the master bedroom. Someone has a lot of shoes......
Master bathroom - this tub has already gotten a lot of use! I took a snapshot of the rest of the bathroom but for some reason it didn't upload and Blogger isn't letting me arrange photos once I upload them these days. Sorry about that! Behind the tub on the left is the water closet. To the left of the counter is the shower, with the closet on the left of the shower and the counter has double sinks and a nice, big mirror.
My office/craft room. I am LOVING having my own space for crafting!
I have found some really cute decorations around town. I got those adorable hat boxes at Hobby Lobby and the shelf and canvas drawers at Target, along with the Eiffel Tower.
I got all of the accessories at Hobby Lobby, with the exception of the clock, which was a gift from a dear friend at Surfware.
Hope was all scratched up, so I was only able to purchase Faith and Love, but if you've got faith and love, don't you automatically have hope?
This area is to the left of my desk. I purposely put the crafting table in the middle of the room, because I didn't want to face the wall and I want to be able to pop a DVD into my computer and watch while I'm working.
Jay's office/man cave
Airplanes, diplomas....the usual
The girls' bathroom
Full view of the girls' bathroom
The girl's bedroom. Their room faces Jay's office and my office
The girls' close has some built in shelving and drawers, which come in handy
Girls' room
Desk, drawers
Guest bathroom in the basement
Guest bathroom in the basement - second view
Guest bedroom in the basement
Second view of the guest bedroom in the basement
Main room in the basement
Storage room in the basement. The landlords left this shelving for us and we are making very good use of it.
Entry way. The staircase on the right goes up to the bedrooms on the upper level and around the side of the staircase is another staircase with a door in front that goes down to the basement.
Dining room (obviously)
Half-bath on the main floor (also on the main floor are the mud room, family room, kitchen, living room, and dining room)
Back yard
Back yard
Family Room - once again the other photo I took didn't upload and I can't re-arrange photos on Blogger lately. There is a fireplace and another set of shelves on the opposite side of the fireplace and vaulted ceilings and a love seat on the other side of the room. Darn this Blogger!
View from the kitchen window
Kitchen, which I love. There are lots of pull out drawers and the cabinets on the corners on either side of the oven have big lazy Susan's in them where I store Tupperware on one side and spices and sauces and seasonings on the other side. Everything is very easily accessable and there is plenty of counterspace.
View from the living room into the kitchen, with the dining room on the right
I love this big pantry! There are also shelves on both the right and the left
On the counter, to the left of the fridge
The neighborhood is fabulous! During our first week we had several neighbors come over and introduce themselves, and one family came over with some homemade chocolate chip cookies, along with a note with their address and phone number, should we need anything. How sweet! Even though we are set out a bit from the city, we have a couple of local shopping centers with a King Sooper's (grocery store), gas station, Walmart, Kohl's, Home Depot, Staples, Petsmart, several restaurants, and a couple of other miscellaneous shops. Oh, and let's not omit - It's a Grind, where they have the greatest coffee since the coffee shop at First Christian Church!
The house is extremely spacious with lots of great storage. It's a pain in the tush to clean, because it's so massive, but it's worth it. I just can't expect to clean the house from top to bottom in one day. So, I space it out over a few days and it gets done.
I just love it. Jay did such a wonderful job.
The front of the house. This was taken before we actually moved in, but I haven't thought to go out and take another photo, so here it is.
The master bedroom. Sorry for the remote on the bed.
More of the master
Love the walk-in closet!
The rest of the closet in the master bedroom. Someone has a lot of shoes......
Master bathroom - this tub has already gotten a lot of use! I took a snapshot of the rest of the bathroom but for some reason it didn't upload and Blogger isn't letting me arrange photos once I upload them these days. Sorry about that! Behind the tub on the left is the water closet. To the left of the counter is the shower, with the closet on the left of the shower and the counter has double sinks and a nice, big mirror.
My office/craft room. I am LOVING having my own space for crafting!
I have found some really cute decorations around town. I got those adorable hat boxes at Hobby Lobby and the shelf and canvas drawers at Target, along with the Eiffel Tower.
I got all of the accessories at Hobby Lobby, with the exception of the clock, which was a gift from a dear friend at Surfware.
Hope was all scratched up, so I was only able to purchase Faith and Love, but if you've got faith and love, don't you automatically have hope?
This area is to the left of my desk. I purposely put the crafting table in the middle of the room, because I didn't want to face the wall and I want to be able to pop a DVD into my computer and watch while I'm working.
Jay's office/man cave
Airplanes, diplomas....the usual
The girls' bathroom
Full view of the girls' bathroom
The girl's bedroom. Their room faces Jay's office and my office
The girls' close has some built in shelving and drawers, which come in handy
Girls' room
Desk, drawers
Guest bathroom in the basement
Guest bathroom in the basement - second view
Guest bedroom in the basement
Second view of the guest bedroom in the basement
Main room in the basement
Storage room in the basement. The landlords left this shelving for us and we are making very good use of it.
Entry way. The staircase on the right goes up to the bedrooms on the upper level and around the side of the staircase is another staircase with a door in front that goes down to the basement.
Dining room (obviously)
Half-bath on the main floor (also on the main floor are the mud room, family room, kitchen, living room, and dining room)
Back yard
Back yard
Family Room - once again the other photo I took didn't upload and I can't re-arrange photos on Blogger lately. There is a fireplace and another set of shelves on the opposite side of the fireplace and vaulted ceilings and a love seat on the other side of the room. Darn this Blogger!
View from the kitchen window
Kitchen, which I love. There are lots of pull out drawers and the cabinets on the corners on either side of the oven have big lazy Susan's in them where I store Tupperware on one side and spices and sauces and seasonings on the other side. Everything is very easily accessable and there is plenty of counterspace.
View from the living room into the kitchen, with the dining room on the right
I love this big pantry! There are also shelves on both the right and the left
On the counter, to the left of the fridge
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