Random Fun at the Black Bear Cabin ~

 Its school spirit week for the last week of school and Jordyn is very excited...but not as excited as she was on Tuesday, when they celebrated her birthday!  Her birthday is in July, so the last week of school they celebrate the summer birthday kids, and Jordyn's big day was on Tuesday!  :)  I sent her to school with a delicious Butterfinger Cake, to which i received many kudos!  I actually got the recipe from Plain Chickens blog, which has all kinds of great recipes, so check it out when you get the chance!  As for the cake...i dont even like cake and i thought it was super tasty!  Happy Unbirthday Sweetheart!

 Today was dress up as your favorite literary character, so here is my little one fashioned as Pinkalicious.  Any excuse to wear a crown and fancy dress to school is cool with her!  As i dropped her off, i saw a few other characters...Cinderella, Huck Finn, Spiderman and i do believe i saw a leather clad biker and an angry bird!   :)  Her school is always doing something fun!

 Meanwhile back at the cabin, there was a stare down...but not between me and the deer...

 

It was between the deer and the cats!  The cats were spying on these deer, and naturally they thought they were in stealth mode (even with the white fur and black spots), but the deer spotted them (no pun intended), and stared at the cats for what seemed like an eternity!  One of them even tried to get a closer look...but any time they got a little too close, the cats took a few steps back.  It was really fun to watch...but hard to capture on film, because Jordyn kept spooking the deer!  doh!  Anyways, only a few more days till summer break!  Hurray!

Butterfinger Cake

1 box yellow cake mix, plus ingredients to make the cake,

1 can sweetened condensed milk, 

1 jar caramel ice cream topping,

1 (8oz) tub Cool-Whip,

4 regular sized Butterfinger candy bars, crushed.

Bake cake in a 9X13 inch pan according to directions on package.

While cake is baking, mix milk and caramel topping until well blended.  When the cake is done and while its still hot, poke holes in it with a fork or straw.  Pour milk mixture over the cake. (i only used a little over half of this mixutre, but you can add the whole thing if you like)  Allow cake to cool completely.  Sprinkle two candy bars over cake.  Spread Cool Whip over the top, then sprinkle the remaining candy bars on top.  Chill.
Tip:  freeze the candy bars first, and crush them right in the wrapper.

We LOVE Mexican Food ~

We absolutely LOVE Mexican food!  I make it for breakfast, lunch and dinner often, so i was thrilled when i found this recipe on allrecipes.com!  I can remember sending my sister cans of refried beans and other Mexican food products when she lived in New York, where it was almost impossible to find.  Shipping a box filled with canned beans was rather expensive, so i wish i had had this recipe back then!  Anyways, for those of you that cant find a lot of good Mexican food in your area, or just love to make food in your crock pot...give this a try....these beans are awesome!  :)   Some changes i make...i use a box of low sodium chicken broth (about 4 cups) in place of some of the water...i also add paprika and chili powder and cut the salt to about 2 teaspoons instead of 5....the recipe calls for 3 cups of pinto beans, but a bag usually has about 4 cups in it, so i dump the whole bag in and adjust the spices accordingly....and for a little extra flavor, i add about a half a small bag of precooked bacon pieces.  This is a healthy (if you dont add the bacon) and delicious recipe...Enjoy!  :)

Denver Museum of Nature and Science ~

 Now that ive had a day and a half to recover, i can post about our fabulous trip to the Museum!  This is Justins favorite museum, so he took the day off of work to come with us.  The entire school went, so they rode on the bus (including Jordyn, which was a big treat for her), and we followed along in our car.  We went as chaperones, so we got a great deal on the museum/planetarium/IMAX combo...only $8.50 each for Justin and i...Jordyn, of course, got in free :)

 We split up into groups...Preschool, Kindergarten and 1st grades together, and the 2-5th grades were in the other group. (Naturally we hung out with the little ones)  The first stop on our journey was the IMAX theatre, where we saw Flying Monsters in 3D.  It was all about the evolution of pterosaurs and how they took flight.  It was amazing!  Its been ages since i saw an IMAX movie, and this one was incredible!  Everyone loved it!

 Our next stop, was the planetarium, where there was a fun presentation with Big Bird and Elmo.  I was hoping for a more informative presentation, but it was just right for the kiddos, and they all seemed to really enjoy it so that was great.  Next it was time for lunch!

 With the long drive, and two "sitting" exhibits, we decided it would be good for the kids to run around a bit, so we all went outside to (quoting Ms Bev), "get the wiggles and jiggles out! "  It was a beautiful day, a little too hot for my pasty skin, but everyone else seemed to enjoy it  :)  My cousin Christy and i posed with this statue over 20 years ago, so Jordyn and i decided to take our picture with the giant grizzly bear too.  Ill have to dig out the old photos to compare them :)

 Next stop, the Lizards and Snake exhibit!  This special exhibit has more than 60 live snakes and lizards from 5 continents,  and there were all kinds of interactive booths to learn about them as well.  Naturally the kids had a blast!  Heres a shot of Jordyn and i checking out a water monitor lizard.

 

We had a little bit of time left, so after the snake exhibit, we all journeyed over to the Dinosaur exhibit.

 I could have spent hours in here, but since we were pressed for time, i snapped a few photos so i could read about the displays later.  We will definitely have to come back again soon!

 The best part of driving our own car, we could stay longer to see more stuff....so when the school bus left, Jordyn stayed with us and we continued on our adventure.  Besides, how could we miss out on the Gems and Minerals, Dioramas, Gift shop and Egyptian Mummies!

Jordyn really liked this part of the museum, and who wouldnt...canopic jars, hieroglyphs, mummies, and when she started asking questions about this papyrus, the museum docent told her the entire story.  She was awesome, and had both of us completely entranced!  In fact, Jordyn and i were discussing this story on the way to school the next day...looks like i may have a future Egyptologist on my hands.

 But Jordyns absolute favorite moment was when she fed the sabertooth tiger some coins and he growled at her.  She fed him lots of coins and laughed when he growled again and again!  Justin recalled the fun he had as a kid, feeding the sabertooth tiger, so that tigers been around forever.  I wonder how many coins he's collected over the decades?

 After enjoying an extra two hours at the museum, it was time to head home...but first we had to get past these vicious wolves...Run Jordyn Run!!!

 uh oh...doesnt look like daddys gonna make it...guess im driving home!

When we got to Fort Collins we stopped for dinner at El Burritos, a favorite place of Justins, and an old hang out of his when he was in his 20's.  Nothing tastes better on a hot day than Mexican food washed down with an ice cold beer!  What a fabulous day! 

Some Fun at the Museum Today ~

Spring Swing ~

 Our big fundraiser for the elementary school was last night, and it was a huge success!  Everything was donated...the music, the food, the silent auction items, the quilt for the drawing, and even the location, so it a profitable night.  My cousin Christy even came up to join in on the fun!

 Normally we have it at the school, but this year we decided to have it at the Red Feather fire station...

 that gave us more room to spread out and set up lots of tables filled with goodies for bidding!  I donated a few framed photographs, which was exciting for me, and they did well, so perhaps next year ill do a few more.

 CR 74E played music for the evening and the kids LOVED it!  They danced and laughed and then danced some more!  Having a band play music at our silent auction was also a first, so it really drew a good crowd.

 And dont forget the kids table...there were all kinds of popular kids toys, and the kids could buy raffle tickets for 50 cents and place their tickets in the bag of the item they wanted.  The barbie was a big ticket item...and amazingly enough, Jordyn won her, so she was quite thrilled with the kids table!

 Here they are looking rather serious as they draw on the last kids item for the night...just look at all those hopeful faces...but no worries, for those that didnt win, there was a cry box to chose an item from.  :)

 

It was a very successful evening, and even though i didnt win the quilt, i did come home with a beautiful new scarf, and of course, some great memories!

Our Drive Home Last Night ~

 The highway up our canyon opened up last night around 7pm, which was nice since Jordyn and i were in town and really didnt want to go the long way home.  Here are some shots of what remains of the fire...keep in mind, i was driving the car while i took these, so they arent the best.

The fire is about 45% contained right now, and it rained all night, so hopefully that helped a bit too!  The best part though....no homes or lives were destroyed!  Firefighters RULE!!!!

Hewlett Gulch Fire ~

 This fire started on Monday afternoon.  Our volunteer firefighters, who were first on scene, battled this fire for hours while reinforcements arrived by the droves to help.  Thankfully we are 20 miles west of this fire, which seems to keep traveling east.  It was most likely human caused, though it is still under investigation.  We were hoping for some rain yesterday to help extinguish the fire, but instead we had a fairly dry day with lots of winds.  The good news is, that besides getting rid of a lot of dead wood and beetle kill pine, the fire has not injured any people or burned any structures....however, it still seems to be going strong and is only 5% contained at this time.

 I took this shot of the fire from the Manhattan road this morning while taking Jordyn to school.  Fingers crossed that everyone remains safe and no homes are destroyed!  Meanwhile, we had a nice visit with some friends last night,  Kathryn and her daughter Megan.  They said it was chaos driving up here yesterday with all the cars pulled over trying to get photos, and that the smoke was visible from town....but they safely made it up here and brought pizza to boot!  :)  Happy Birthday Megan...hope you guys enjoyed the mountain excitement while you were up here, and have a safe drive home!   Thanks to all our firefighters for keeping us safe...we appreciate all of your long hours and hard work!

Moms Day ~

  I forgot to post this photo from Moms Day at Jordyn's school last week...and since we didnt take any photos on Mothers Day, this one will take its place :)  We had a fun day at her school...we made jewelry (note the lovely "mom" bracelet and "jordyn and mom" necklace im wearing), and we also planted this cute little flower in my new handmade mug.  They served a fancy sorbet punch with cream puffs, and then we played on the playground with the kiddos.  A nice "moms day" indeed!
  I also forgot to mention something cute Justin said the other day after game fest.  Several of the moms were commenting how Justin was just like a little kid, playing all the activities, and running all around with Jordyn...well, i told him about that and his response was , "hey, I only have about 3 or 4 more years of this before she's told old and too cool to play with her nerdy dad at game fest, so im gonna enjoy it while i can!"  How true!  Im sooo glad i took a lot of photos!  Hugs and Happy Mother's Day~

GAME FEST~

Game Fest was on Thursday...a first for Jordyn and i, and it was a blast!  All three mountain schools participate, so its quite a turn out...especially since last years was canceled due to weather.  But not this time...the weather was awesome!

I had no idea what to expect at game fest...my school never did anything quite like this, but it was awesome!

Lots of games and activities...

laughter and fun...

water fights and good times...

oh...and money too!  Thats right, our kids rocked the Healthy Kids Club "schools on the move" contest and won $1500.00 bucks!  Go Red Feather Lakes, Livermore and Stove Prairie!!!

Then it was back to the fun...

And here is my bragging moment...Jordyn took first place in the Kindergartner girls race...she took second in the next heat...and then in the 440, she took 4th place among kindergarten boys and girls...way to go peanut!

And in every race the K-1 girls ran in, a "Cowgirl" placed 1st thru 4th!  Clearly soccer has its benefits!  :)  Way to go Cowgirls!  All in all...a most excellent day!  I cant wait till next year!

More Soccer Fun ~

 Here are a few random photos from last weekends game...Christy took these photos...thanks Christy, i love em!  It was Nicole's turn to spend the weekend with Leo, so here are the girls after the game posing with Leo :)

 They played really well this weekend, passing, dribbling, playing their positions, and basically doing all the stuff we covered in practice...so it was a lot more enjoyable to watch than last weekends game!  The fact that they won was a bonus...we were just thrilled they all played so well!  They are now 3 and 3...not a bad season so far, and they are having fun, so thats the best part.  That, and having Great Grandma Anita and her Godmother Christy come to her game!  Gooooo Cowgirls!!!