Going Zippity By

Holy smokes, this summer has just been zipping by! I cannot believe that it's July already. We have been filling our days with work (for me), Boys & Girls Club (for Caitlin) and therapy sessions (for Cara) along with as much fun as we can tolerate. Items have been checked off our Bucket List along with many other fun activities.

One day last week, we decided that the walls of our town were caving in around us and that we need an excursion. So, we took off east to the town of Gunnison, CO. We spent the day at the town park enjoying the wonderful play structures, sunshine and cool breezes. It was nice to go for a very pretty drive and enjoy what another town had to offer. Here is an album of pictures from that day out.

We celebrated the 4th of July with my youngest brother and his wife here in town, as I had to work which made making our annual trek to Ouray a bit impossible. We set in my parents' driveway where we were afforded a wonderful view of the town's brilliant and surprisingly, long last display. Off-key voices could be heard singing the national anthem and "American the Beautiful". Good thing the big booms drowned out our voices or I'm sure birds would have fell from the sky and windows would've broken! Click here to view my Facebook album of pictures.

Soon, both of the girls' birthdays will be upon me! I will have an 8 year-old and a 5 year-old in my house! My goodness, where has the time gone? I'm telling you, don't blink! Caitlin is having her first-ever birthday party in which she's invited her friends. In years past, we have just celebrated with family (there are a lot of July & August birthdays in my family). So, undoubtedly, Caitlin is super excited about this birthday. She has invited 10 of her closest friends and everyone will rendezvous at a local paint-your-own-pottery place to hone their artistic skills and have tie dye cupcakes (if my mom & I can pull this off, I will be super proud of us). Cara's birthday celebration included a trip down to Durango, CO for Day Out with Thomas the Tank Engine. We spent the entire weekend in Durango, not only riding Thomas and taking part in all of the associated activities, but in exploring my alma mater and the beautiful town of Durango. Everyone had a blast and I know that Cara will forever remember seeing Thomas coming chugging into the train station. Click here and here for pictures of our mini vacation. In addition to both girls having their special days, we will also be celebrating with my parents immediately following Caitlin's pottery party. Caitlin has selected a local pizza joint as the destination and Cara has picked out Thomas table top decorations for when we blow out candles and officially mark another birthday for both girls. I hope to do my yearly tribute to both girls in the coming weeks, so be sure to check back.

As the summer continues to tick away, we are hoping to fill it with my fun and togetherness. There are still many items to be crossed off of our Bucket List and many more trips to the local library planned (Caitlin has read over 200 hours so far!) as we help the library send food and livestock to those in countries of need. I have thoroughly enjoyed having more time to spend with my daughters and have treasured all the memories that we have made and will continue to make.