A Sign of Spring

For Hubby and I it isn't Spring until we attend our first car show. And what a coincidence that our son's car club hosts one of the first car shows of the year. 

A variety of years, makes, models were on display.

To be admired by Young and Old alike.

The Art of Orange and Blue

 Today, in America, is Super Bowl Sunday. The game of all football games (no, not rugby but America's version of football). This year's match-up is between the Seattle Seahawks and the Denver Broncos. 

Being a Colorado girl, I have to cheer for the home team, Denver Broncos. And in honor of the soon to be NFL Champions, I am showcasing the Bronco colors of orange and blue (I know, I have yet to see an orange and blue horse too!)

Go Broncos!

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Denver City and County Building

Mile High Stadium
(Sports Authority Field)

A Dark and Stormy Night

The wind howled from the north driving the sleet before the car as I headed toward Denver. There was only one thing that would get me out on a night like that! Family! But it was SO worth it!

John Wyatt Gripp

7lb. 14oz.

Born 10-4-13   12:02am

Babies and Advertising

A new Baby will soon be welcomed into the Family. The lucky couple is my youngest son and his wife. They were the couple who got married last summer at the Amusement Park. 

Click here to read about that fun, happy wedding!

Baby Wyatt will be joining us in about a month. And to help welcome him, my Daughter and I threw a Baby Shower for the Mom-to-Be.

A staple of every Baby Shower are the games. Some are really corny and others are fun. My Daughter chose some fun ones. There was the 'scavenger hunt in a purse' game and we played 'match the price tag to the baby item', which is not as easy as it sounds if you don't have any smallish children. But the most fun one was about Babies in Advertising (Daughter works for an ad agency). Pictures of Ads containing Babies from the last century were printed out and each person had to guess what product was being advertised. Some of the ads were quite surprising! So I thought I'd share a few with you!

Wildfires Hit Close to Home

Royal Gorge Fire

I'm sure many of you out there have read about or heard of the horrendous wildfires which have occurred here in Colorado. Fortunately the fires are being contained and the weather has turned a bit cooler with a few scattered showers. But the devastation remains. Over 20,000 acres burned, more than 500 homes or structures damaged or destroyed, and two people have died.

Black Forest Fire

Last Thursday, the Black Forest fire was being fanned by winds from the South. This fire is located to the northeast of Colorado Springs and the southeast of Denver. The wind was bringing the smoke into the Denver metro area. It was terrible. The thick haze lowered visibility and was a health hazard. We're all still getting over our irritated throats and watery eyes. But the worst part was seeing the ash in the air. I couldn't help but wonder if the ash that I was seeing was someone's memories or was it someone's dream.

Black Forest Fire

The same day that we were getting the smoke, I received a text notification that there was a wildland fire in the area of our new property. But thanks to the quick response by the local fire crews, it was extinguished in a timely manner. (I had signed up for emergency text alerts for that area through a website named Nixle. Great thing and I recommend that you check out the website!)

Black Forest Fire

Over the weekend, Hubby and I drove to the homestead. We had stopped in Colorado Springs to get a bite to eat when I received a text message about another fire, but this time it was in the subdivision where our place is located. We decided to head that way anyway and see how far we could get before we were turned back. We made it all the way to our place without incident. We later found out that the fire was at the opposite edge of the subdivision from us. Oddly, over the course of four days, four separate fires had started and all were within 25 miles of each other.

Something is telling me that these fires had help. I cannot fathom why a person would do such a thing! If there is someone behind these fires, I do hope they are caught. But the universe has a way of making things right.

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The art of Bonsai

More Photos of the Bonsai trees at the May 2013 exhibit at the Denver Botanic Gardens.

Random Roadtrip ~ Bonsai Exhibit

This week's road-trip is to a Bonsai Exhibit at the Denver Botanic Gardens. My youngest son and I attended this exhibit in May.

My son and I both have a love for the art of Bonsai. We have both tried our hand at growing these miniature trees. It is not easy to replicate the environmental character that is developed by their full size cousins living in the 'Wilds of Nature'.

Many of the trees on exhibit were quite old. And many were unique because they were not the 'normal' species of plant used for Bonsai.

Stay tuned to my Sunday art post which will showcase many of the Bonsai we saw.

Random Roadtrip ~ Butterfly Pavilion

As we sort out things - boxes and boxes of 'stuff' for a humongous yard sale and what to do with ourselves in the coming months, I needed  'filler'  for this blog. So I decided to take everyone on some RANDOM ROAD-TRIPS! 'Cause isn't Summer about road trips?

Remember those trips from your childhood? Everyone piled into the car and the kids always wondering when they'd be there? Anxiously awaiting the next stop so everyone could get out, stretch their legs, explore and take a much needed 'potty break'. Oh, what fun!

Praying Mantis outside Butterfly Pavilion

So to begin, our first road-trip will be to the Butterfly Pavilion in Denver. This road-trip took place the end of March with two of my Grand-daughters.

The Butterfly Pavilion is the first stand-alone invertebrate zoo in the U.S. and it is home to over 5,000 animals. Most of which are bugs and butterflies.

We didn't stay long in the Crawl-A-See-Em, where the bugs are housed. The girls weren't too interested in seeing the creepy-crawlies and they didn't want to hold Rosie, the tarantula. So we moved on to other exhibits. 

The Butterfly Pavilion is home to more than 1,600 live butterflies and over 200 plant species from around the world. They purchase 600-1000 butterfly chrysalids each week from butterfly farms located around the world, contributing over $80,000 annually to sustainable farming operations in endangered ecosystems.

It was so fun to be in the tropical area with the butterflies. Especially on a cool March day. The butterflies were fluttering everywhere and would often land on people. There are double doors for entry into the butterfly exhibit to ensure that no 'hitchhikers' try to escape outside. 

In addition to the bugs and butterflies, there is also a marine animal exhibit where people can touch a starfish, horseshoe crab and other marine invertebrates. And a great play area for the kids.

A half mile nature trail loop is located outside. But we didn't venture down that path, the plants were still dormant and the wind was blowing. Guess we'll have to take another road trip!