my new car

Cheyenne Mountain Zoo

I cannot get over how beautiful it is here. Will I ever be able to just glance at the mountains in the distance and not feel my heart swell?

Last weekend, my first weekend in Colorado, Jonathan and I took the kids to the most amazing zoo.


It is funny. Since we have both only ever lived in Virginia, we cannot help comparing every single aspect of life out here to life back there. And we both admitted that we figured any zoo we ever visited would pale in comparison to the National Zoo. I mean, it's the National Zoo. The zoo of our nation. It has panda bears.

But this zoo is better. It's called the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. We went ahead and became members of the zoo upon entering, because we figured we will go there often and after 2 visits, the yearly membership will have paid for itself.

The entire time, I kept thinking, I am so glad we joined the zoo so we can come here any time we want! It is about an hour away, in Colorado Springs. And the zoo is on the mountainside, so you walk up and down and it is so cool and breezy and shady. The day we went, it was 65 degrees. There is a big ski-lift that you can ride up the mountain and look down on the animals. (No, we did not ride up that with Blue and the Lion!) It seems like a rather small zoo, but they have so many animals... And there was so much for the kids to do. There are pony rides, a petting zoo, an antique carousel,


and the kids were able to feed and pet the giraffes.


We had such a great time! The zoo is open year-round so I was thinking we may go there for the Lion's birthday this year, since he loves The Lion King so much and was so excited to see a real lion--ahem, hence, his nickname.

Happy 5th of July

We didn't make it to the fireworks last night.

Lion had an ear infection before we came out to Colorado and he was pretty fussy yesterday so I figured it was back. Since we have only been here a week, I haven't even really looked for a pediatrician yet (slacker) and since it was the fourth of July I knew none of them were open anyway. So Lion and I spent a while in a 24-hour Emergency Clinic yesterday afternoon. And discovered he does indeed have another ear infection.

So we started a new round of antibiotics last night and he went to bed early.

While the Lion and I were out, Jonathan and Blue and Mabel took not one but two long walks, so Blue (and Mabel) also went to bed early.

Jonathan and I stayed up half the night watching a "Jaws" marathon on tv.

thanks a lot, Lion

I realized last night while getting ready for bed that someone had put a Little Einsteins sticker on the back of my skirt. So for who knows how long, I was walking around with a sticker on my butt that said "Mission Completion!"

Cabbage Ramen Noodle Salad

1 package coleslaw mix
4 green onions, sliced
1/2 cup sliced almonds
1 package Ramen noodles, broken into pieces

dressing:
1/2 cup oil
3 tablespoons vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 Ramen noodle seasoning packet

Combine all ingredients, except for the Ramen noodles, and chill for several hours.

Before serving, add the noodles and mix.

Leila's mom made this for our good-bye cookout at George and Leila's and it was so delicious. Very light and refreshing. A nice alternative to the more traditional, heavier potato salads and noodle casseroles and perfect for hot weather. I made a batch today to have with dinner and I can hardly wait! We are going to go to a nearby neighborhood after dinner that supposedly has awesome views of Aurora to watch the big fireworks display. That way, we figure we won't get stuck in traffic when the show is over so we can get the kids to bed. And by "the kids," I mean Jonny and I, because we have been very tired lately!

weather's beautiful, wish you were here

The first thing I have to say about living in Colorado is this: the weather is AMAZING.

When I was still in Virginia, and Jonathan was already here with Mabel, he was warning me over the phone that it was hot here. He kept telling me that everyone he had spoken to complained to him about the heat. To those people, I say "pppfffffffftttt."

It is not hot here. It is gorgeous. The air is so crisp and dry. It may be warm out, but there is a constant, constant breeze. And no mosquitoes. Well, I did manage to find one the other night, because for some reason the stupid things are drawn to me. Maybe because I am so white. I am like a beacon.

But we can sit out on our balcony and it is so cool and breezy. I keep telling Jonathan that it reminds me of being at the beach.

The locals here think it is hot. Lucky fools. There are all these warnings on the news about taking care to drink lots of water and not to overdo it blahblahblah, and I am sitting here thinking, "Are you kidding me?" We went to the zoo last weekend with the kids and since we were about 1000 feet higher in elevation, it was even cooler. It was 65 degrees out! People were walking around in shorts and tank tops and I was wearing jeans and a light jacket. I kept repeating myself to Jonny: "I cannot believe I am wearing a jacket in June!"

a cry in the night

I spent 3 hours on my cell phone today trying to get our stupid internet connection straightened out. Hi. I'm back online at last. But I am way too tired to really sit here and blog. But I wanted to share this little story.

Jonathan woke us both up in the middle of the night the other night, yelling, "Sons of bitches!"

I touched his arm and asked him if he was okay and he grunted that some dudes were breaking into our car. Once I knew he was awake and okay, I burst into giggles. And I couldn't stop. It was just so ... so sudden: "Sons of bitches!" I mean, who says that?!

He didn't find it funny at all. (He does now. "Sons of bitches!" has become a running joke now.) But at the time, he flipped dramatically onto his side, turning his back to me as I lay there gasping and wheezing.

Then he said, in an ominous voice: "I hope you fart."