The Last of the Fall Colors ~

 Seems im getting wayyyyy behind on blog posts :(  Dont mind me while i try to get  caught up! :)

 Lots of girl scout activities took place the last few weeks...so stay tuned for those photos as well!

 In the meantime, enjoy these gorgeous shots of the canyon colors before they all blew away!

oh...and a shot of the locals too :)

Fezes Are Cool!

 Time for our annual Halloween photo shoot!  If you arent familiar with the show Doctor Who, then this costume wont make any sense to you...but my little Whovian wanted to be the 11th Doctor (Matt Smith)...her favorite!  So here she is...fez and all!  Geronimo....

Happy Halloween...Bring on the Candy!

Dinosaur Ridge and Casa Bonita ~

 National Fossil Day was October 11th at Dinosaur Ridge and also Girl Scout Day, so naturally, we had to go check it out!  Justin was able to come with us this time, so that was fun!  First stop...visiting Mr. Bones!  The girls love Mr. Bones, and he's the highlight of their trip!

 There were over a dozen booths set up for the girls to learn and explore...they learned about erosion...

 panned for gold and gems...

 painted fossils...

 sifted through rocks to find fossils and teeth...

 explored the museum of dinosaurs...

 

then ventured back outside for more booth fun!

Then it was time to take the shuttle up the hill to check out the dinosaur bones and footprints...

 this booth taught the girls about earthquakes...

and how Red Rocks Ampitheater came to be!

 This is one of my favorite spots...lots of dinosaur footprints...

 What a great time we had!  A big thanks goes out to my drivers...Brian, Angie and Justin!  Without your support these adventures wouldn't be possible!

I hope the girls had as much fun as i did!  We LOVE dinosaurs!!!  Did you know the state fossil of Colorado is the Stegasaurus, and the first Stegasaurus was found in Colorado!  Cool Stuff!

Next Stop...Casa Bonita!

 

I worked it out ahead of time that the girls that rode in our car would spend the night at our place...that way we could take our time at the gift shop at dinosaur ridge at the end of the day, and if we wanted to go to pizza somewhere or stop in town on the way home, we could.  Well, Justin and i had a thought...since we were so close to that end of town, why not stop at Casa Bonitas!  We didnt say anything, but just pulled into the parking lot as a surprise.  Well, as it turns out, Jordyn was the only one who recognized where we were...Nicole and Rehna had never been there, so they had no idea what they were in for, and Jordyn couldnt wait to get them inside!  :)

The girls quickly ate their dinner, then headed off to explore the restaurant!  If you've never been to Casa Bonitas, its quite a treat, and a tradition in our family!  Every year when we came out to visit as kids, we always looked forward to our adventure at Casa Bonitas.  There's even an entire episode devoted to it on South Park :)

We dined right above the Sopaipilla stand, with a pretty nice view!  After dinner, it was time to check out Black Barts Cave...

and of course the cliff divers and water shows...

And of course, the gift shop!  I have never been here during October, and they had all kinds of really cool Halloween decorations about!

We even timed it perfectly to enjoy the puppet show!

And what trip to Casa Bonitas would be complete without an old-timey photo!  Look at our cute little thieves!

Exhausted but filled with memories, we headed home!  Two hours was a looooong drive home after all that, but it was totally worth it!  Jordyn fell asleep in the car right before we got home, while Rehna and Nicole were still wide awake!  When we pulled in, Jordyn headed up to her room and went to bed.  I asked her, "dont you want to sleep in the living room with your friends?"...She said, "No...goodnight!"  She was so wiped out!  :) Rehna and Nicole stayed up for another hour before i finally made them shut out the lights...but im pretty sure they were ready for bed too!

What a great day!

End of Season Cocktails ~

At the end of every summer season at Archer's, Connie has a little get-together to celebrate the end of the season and have some laughs with her staff.  The guys, Marc Anthony and Cowboy, were leaving first thing in the morning, so we decided to do cocktails to say goodbye.  We had lots of laughs...and way too many cocktails, but a good time was had by all!  Safe travels guys, and see you next season!