Green Mountain Falls

This is where my momma and my uncles and aunt and cousins and siblings and I all remember spending childhood vacations.  My great-grandfather, Roy, had a cabin in this area and when we were little this is where we would come to spend our summers.  Although, its been a long time since I've stayed in his cabin, I will never forget the mesmerizing hummingbirds fluttering outside the windows.  Alas, our trip was too last minute to get a good deal on a cabin in Green Mountain Falls!  But we stayed in a town close enough to it that we were able to visit twice in the few days that we spent there. 

My mom has an old photo of this gazebo in her home.

Diego recognized it immediately when we got home... he was ready to go back to the park in that picture!  They loved it there!  What wasn't to love?  It's beautiful, has plenty of great play equipment, and smells of Colorado mountains.

And of course, more opportunities to throw rocks.

The afternoon before we left, mom and I got out alone for a couple of hours to do some shopping in Manitou Springs.

And she found this by Bill Duryea. 

She resisted buying the large print and stuck with a couple of greeting cards to frame instead.  But aren't the colors beautiful?  In fact, I was enchanted by many of his works. The lines and the brilliant colors he uses are gorgeous... worth the money if you have it to spend.  Check out his work here.

Rocks

Do you remember a few weeks ago when I was noting whining how everyone in the world was going to Colorado this summer except me? Ahem. Yes? Well, it appears that wasn't too true.  My parents and husband had pity on me.  My parents said, "We'd take you!"  And Jesse said, "Please do!  I can't take the incessant crying anymore!"  So, I said, "Fine! and I'm taking the kids with me!"  Well, that's not exactly how it happened, but more or less...

So, we took off last week for a long weekend.  It was my intention to continue to blog while I was away and surprise everyone with beautiful photos of Colorado all of a sudden.  But that didn't happen.  And really, who was I kidding? 

Would I really rather look at this?

Or this? Exactly.

I'll share more in the next few days.  But I today I thought I'd share my kids' favorite two things to do in Colorado.  Favorite meaning they'd do it all day long, everyday, if they could.

Climbing rocks.

And throwing rocks into the water.

Climbing rocks.

Throwing rocks.

Climbing rocks.
(I tried my best not to freak out as I watched Diego quickly outpace my dad up this mountain.)

Throwing rocks.

Climbing rocks.
(Okay, maybe it wasn't every one's favorite activity- even if it was only a whole 2 feet off the ground.)

But definitely everyone enjoyed throwing rocks.

Has it really been 7 years?

I've been gone... to Colorado!  I'll explain more tomorrow, but today I've got something more important to talk about:

Him

The father of my children.

He's the one who makes me laugh.

Who works hard at so many different things to provide for his family.

The guy who (fortunately) got past calling this a shirt before I met him.

And who still makes me smile 7 years after we said I do.

"Hang my locket around your neck,

wear my ring on your finger.

Love is invincible facing danger and death.

Passion laughs at the terrors of hell.

The fire of love stops at nothing—

it sweeps everything before it.

Flood waters can't drown love,

torrents of rain can't put it out.

Love can't be bought, love can't be sold—

it's not to be found in the marketplace."

- Song of Solomon 8:6-7 (The Message)

Happy Anniversary, Jesse.  I love you!

(And Happy 51st to Mami and Papi and 36th to Momma and Daddy!) 

Campside Cookout Invitations

Yea!  All the invitations for Diego's birthday party are complete! (Now to finish delivering them.) I mentioned last Friday that Diego is having a Camping Themed party all because of a S'mores cupcake recipe I found. It sounds so yummy and summery to me- I can't wait!

Today I thought I'd share the invite details with you:  Here's the supplies I needed:

scissors, twine, and a hole punch

(all things I've picked up at estate sales for super cheap this year)

cellophane wrappers, bamboo skewers, and tea lights

(all things that can be found at Target)

card stock tags

matchboxes with party information

(location and RSVP # are on the backside... sorry only a few are privy this information)

and of course, homemade marshmallows, graham crackers, and Hershey's bars.

First, I wrapped the graham crackers and marshmallows in a cellophane bag together.

Then, I threw this into another cellophane bag with a candle, a matchbox, chocolates, and bamboo skewer.  After that, I tied the top and added a tag to the front.

They looked so cute gathered together in a basket.

And Diego enjoyed handing out quite a few of them the other day at our Fourth of July get together.

Hope you have a Happy Wednesday!

Our 4th of July Weekend (Continued)

Yesterday, Diego, Eliana and I continued our weekend with a day trip.  We headed out with some fabulous ladies.  Our original plan to go to a daylily farm got squashed by the rain. 

First we headed up to Carriage Crossing for lunch. 

Even though I have heard about this place and their pies  for years, I had never had an opportunity to make it out there.  The pies were good.  I think the favorite one at our table ended up being a tollhouse chocolate chip cookie pie.  (Is there ever a time when chocolate isn't good?)  As the name kinda suggests, the restaurant is in the middle of Amish/Mennonite country-- I was good and resisted taking pictures of little girls in sweet bonnets. 

I stuck to Eliana coloring at the table. Cute, but no bonnet.

After we were done, we decided to head out to Hutchinson.  (To be honest, except to visit a friend once or twice and to go to the state fair, I hadn't ever even thought of going to Hutchinson.)  This might have been a terrific trip if it hadn't been a Monday... especially a Monday after a holiday.  But as it was, we passed many antique stores with locked doors.  And most of the restarants in the downtown strip were closed too.  Including the coffee shop.  One gal at one of two antique shops that were open suggested we go to Dairy Queen- uh, not exactly what we had hoped for on our girls trip. But what we did find open was fun!

This store was a pleasant surprise. 

I would have never thought it would have been so much fun.  On top of produce at very reasonable prices, they had all sorts of candies and old-fashioned toys.  (I will need to remember this place when I start to think about stocking stuffers.) 

While I was there, I found the perfect child's plate for Elisabeth's baby... I couldn't resist.

Between airplane rides...

Laughing around the table...

And enjoying the nice weather outside, it was a lovely day!

Thank you, ladies, for your gift of time!

Our 4th of July Weekend (So Far)

Because the 5th is still a day off and part of the holiday, too.  Right?  So far our weekend has included:

Making Strawberry Freezer Jam and Sandplum Jelly.

Baking a Cherry Pie... that couldn't wait for me to take pictures before it was eaten.

Running through blue smoke.

Shooting "fireworks" with Grandpa.

Eating pretzel sticks dipped in white chocolate and patriotic sprinkles.

Shooting confetti poppers (with our hand over the opening)... good going.  (Diego survived- his mother is still recovering from a minor heart attack.)

Eating more pretzel sticks dipped in white chocolate and patriotic sprinkles (with Uncle Paul).

Hope your weekend (thus far) has been just as much fun and hopefully a little less dangerous.

You're Killing Me, Smalls! (And Friday Favorites)

Shortly after Jesse and I got married, I realized my husband had no idea what S'mores were.  Our conversation went a lot like this one from The Sandlot.



You'd think that this would be an impossibility for someone who grew up in the US.  But apparently, it's not.  So, we ended up going to the grocery store and then breaking out the candles- we were living in an apartment back then.  Needless to say, Jesse loved them and there's been no going back since. 

Remember this book? 

There's a recipe for S'mores cupcakes in it... and this recipe is giving me inspiration for a whole theme for Diego's impending birthday party.  I'll soon be sharing some more planning details next week, but for right now, I thought I'd show you what direction I'm headed with my Friday Favorites treasury.  Hope you're having a Happy Friday!