Mud and more mud...

Last week, my kiddos played outside a lot. I watched as they bathed and frolicked in the mud and thought about how fun it was doing that when I was a kid myself. I savored each moment they painted themselves (and hair) with mud. Times like this won't last long. After they finished playing, I rinsed them off with the water hose (brrrr) and then had them run inside into an awaiting warm soapy bathtub.



He was actually posing as a zombie until I made him smile.

Left Out

My kiddo has been having some issues lately...he just doesn't fit in with his friends. He is 'into' cowboy and military stuff and his friends...aren't. He has been acting out. When I spoke with him this evening, he described how he felt. He said it felt like everybody (his friends) were in a pile of awesomeness and he was in a pile of poop. He has some friends who just don't listen to him (and/or interrupt) and sometimes, his eyes water at school and it really embarrasses him. Wanting to be one of the cool kids has always been every kid's desire, I guess. Third grade is difficult and being in the same school with the same kids for years makes certain changes impossible. I'm going to put him in some other activities that involve other kids. He needs more positive outlets and to be away from negative influences. Just feels sad to see your kiddo feel so sad and left out. Here's to a new beginning...

I took this picture a couple of days ago at a birthday party while waiting for his brother to finish jumping on the bounce thing. I thought to myself at the time (before realizing that my kiddo actually felt left out with his friends at school etc) that he seemed out of place. Or maybe he was just dreaming of being a cowboy. :)

My Colorado Trip

A few months ago, my friend and her family moved to Colorado. I had some miles built up from my airline credit card so I decided to take a few days to go visit her. She is still new to the area and I thought it'd be great time to hang out while her kiddos were at school. I went last week and had an awesome time! I love being able to go visit my friends. I used to go see my other friend J who lived in CA or NY/NJ and I'd go about every other year. I miss seeing her too and I decided to just go for it...go see a friend and get away.

I loved seeing the landscape while up in the air. It was just so beautiful!


One thing I realized within minutes of landing there...was that Colorado is full of 'Christmas trees.' I am severely allergic to those kinds of trees and it has been getting worse over the last several years. For years, we had a noble fir for Christmas and now, we can only have artificial trees because of my instant allergic reaction to the real kinds. I spent my few days there sneezing, having itchy and watery eyes, blowing my nose, and having tiny swollen eyes! I need to make sure my weekly allergy injections contain that stuff to help be around those kinds of trees! I took a picture of the backyard of my friend's house.

While I was there, I visited the Garden of the Gods. It was absolutely gorgeous!!! (This is me and my friend T.)


Some other pics from there...






And my favorite with the snow topped mountains in the background -


We went to a mall one afternoon and look! There is a fireplace in the food court! (I've never seen that before!)


We were going to go up to Pike's Peak but we didn't have enough time...Instead we stopped and took a picture of a stream near Iron Springs.



We also visited the Capitol Building in Denver. I just loved the trees and the changing colors! There are some maple trees around here that change colors but for most of the trees, it seems they are evergreens and we(in the SE near the coast) don't have that changing of the colors like other states do. I just loved the yellow leaves in these trees right outside the Capitol!


We went on a tour while walking around the Capitol. I learned that Katharine Lee Bates wrote "America the Beautiful" song after she went up to Pike's Peak in Colorado and saw the beautiful landscape. This tapestry hangs in the Capitol and has many important and influential people in Colorado's history. The tour guide had lots of interesting information and it was a joy to be able to hear about another state like that (as opposed to reading from books or watching tv.)


We were also able to explore the rooms that the Colorado senate and representatives use. I noticed the extremely small seats (for people decades ago were measurable smaller than the current population) as well as the ashtrays on each seat. The stained glass windows were amazing and the tour guide discussed each person in each window and their significance.


I felt guilty for not having my family with me...the older I get, the more I want them with me to visit cool places. I used to be able to just ...go... and not feel (too) guilty but rather enjoy the time away from everything at home. I don't know if it's the difference between going when I was younger as opposed to being older, or whether I just want to enjoy it all with them. Nevertheless, I had an absolutely great time and can't wait to go again (hopefully, after I have better allergy medicine with me!)