Canyon Colors ~

 Justin has been cooped up at the computer for weeks, so on Friday, Jordyn and i decided to drag him out of the house for an Autumn drive before all the colors are gone!

 We stopped at the Moose Visitor Center, where we enjoyed the interactive displays and the scavenger hunt.

 It took us forever to find this owl...

 Then we continued back down to enjoy the spectacular colors!  Jordyn got a new book, Cowgirl Kate and Cocoa, which she read to us from the backseat....and then we decided to stretch our legs for a bit and pulled off at one of our favorite little spots...

 I think its been a few years since we had been here, so we all had a good time poking around at all the fall leaves and animal prints in the mud.

 Jordyn found this beaver dam...but alas, no beavers :(

 Here is a picturesque little spot...(check out these photos of us here in 2007)

 Then she scored a couple of new bones for her bone collection...

Im so glad we got out for a drive...i think this is one of the prettiest Autumns ive ever seen up here!  Hope you enjoyed our little adventure! 

Pretty in Pink

Catch and Release ~

 Its that time of year again...time to rescue the trout from our pond and move them to the main river for winter...what i like to call our annual, catch and release :) 

 Jordyn and Daddy fish these trout out by hand (or with a net), put them in a bucket of water, then carry them over to the main river to set them free.  There are a lot of them in our pond this year...too many to survive the winter, so it looks like Jordyn and Daddy will be rather busy this weekend. 

 Meanwhile, thanks to my gardening friends, i was able to make this delicious feast!  Christy donated the cherry tomatoes, Eva donated the yellow squash and parsley, and the zucchini is from my garden :)  Thanks for sharing your harvest ladies...dinner was great!

Zoo Fun!

 Sunday we took a trip to the zoo...and what a gorgeous day it was!  Christy, whom i forgot to mention, injured herself at Broomfield Days on a bouncy house slide, had to rent this motorized cart to get around at the zoo...but we are so glad she came!

 We were excited to check out the new elephant exhibit, which is awesome!  It is so spacious and beautifully done...we loved it!  We need to go back and explore more when Christy is more mobile and can move through the crowds with us better :)

 The animals were in rare form on Sunday, and there was a lot of interaction between the animals and the visitors....here is Jordyn having a lovely visit with an East African Crowned Crane.  He kept tapping the glass with his beak... trying to peck at her hat (guess hes not a bronco fan) :)

 This giant fish came over to greet Jordyn as soon as she posed by the glass...maybe it was the colorful shirt?

 And these guys were causing quite a ruckus, so we went over to see what all the commotion was about...

 well, it turns out, they were just doing their morning ritual!  i love being at the zoo early!

  Naturally, we had to hit the merry go round...this time, we rode the polar bears!

Looks like Jordyn finally outgrew the Emperor Penguins...in height only though, as she weighs 50 pounds.  :)

 The Komodo Dragon...one of my favorites here at the Denver Zoo!  She followed Jordyn along her glass enclosure and posed for this photo before sneaking off to bask in the sun!

 My little monkey...she may not have long arms like a monkey, but she can sure climb like one :)

What a fabulous weekend we had...Thanks soooo much for having us Christy...we had a great time!

Broomfield Days ~

 Jordyn had a 3 day weekend, so we headed down to Christy's to enjoy Broomfield Days...and what a blast it was!  "I love a parade"....it was Jordyns first parade, and she LOVED it...as did her cousins, McKenna and Devyn!

 There was a 9/11 tribute, lots of firefighters and policeman, cheerleaders, marching bands, the Denver Nuggets mascot Rocky, bouncing balloons, and lots of other fun stuff....

 But then it was time for some REALLY fun stuff!!!  Bouncy houses, slides, a bouncy maze, pony rides, and a climbing wall......

 being the monkey she is, Jordyn HAD to do the climbing wall...

she quickly climbed all the way to the top...but once up there, she made the mistake of looking down and realized how high up she was, and then she quickly climbed down!  :)  I think it freaked her out a bit...and she didnt know she could just let go when she got to the top to let the rope glide her down.

 Afterwords, we decided to go out for some Mexican food...we can never get enough Mexican food while in town :)

 Jordyn was having such a good time with the girls, we were sad to see them go...but no worries...

 Pirate Aunt Gwen to the rescue!  These two were being total goofballs in the craft store...they were hilarious!  :)

 After a long hot afternoon, we went back to Christy's place to kick it in the shade and play in the sprinklers...gotta love Autumn in Colorado!

Another Canyon Fire ~

We had another fire in the canyon this weekend...this time, just half a mile away from us.  Very scary and very sad!  We had one firefighter get injured, but is doing well now...so glad it wasnt worse!  Hugs out to all our firefighters...you guys ROCK!

An Early Fall?

 The drive to Jordyns school is showing early signs of Fall...its beautiful, but makes me think we are in for a very long snowy winter.  Most of the leaves around here are still pretty green, but its definitely starting to cool off at night!  Its still warm enough to go swimming though, so we enjoyed the river over the weekend.

 We also celebrated Justins 44th birthday...the photos arent the best, but i was using someone elses camera...

 Cousin Christine was up for the weekend...she wanted to get away to the mountains to do some reading for school, so we were happy to have her join us for the birthday festivities.  We enjoyed pumpkin cake and then watched Justins new birthday movie, Hunger Games. 

Happy Birthday Sweetheart!  We love you!!!