Biking on Gold Camp Road

This was our first bike ride of the "spring" season.  It has been so super nice the past 2 days.  Today we decided to go for a longer bike ride and so went to Cheyenne Canyon.  We used to go to the Canyon often when we lived on that side of Colorado Springs.  Now it is a treat to go over and hike, or in this instance, bike.

We (or rather Brian) chose Gold Camp Road.  There was a time when cars were allowed on the road.  Then one of the tunnels caved in, so no thru traffic.  Since the tunnel is blocked, you have to go up a little rocky, steep trail to get to where the road begins again. Brian said, "After we get up this trail, the road will get flatter."

Definition of flat---those of you who went on the 7 Bridges Trail  when Brandon was with us will remember that is what Brian said about that trail.  Point made!   The entire ride was UP going, and DOWN coming back.  It was a fun time though.  There is still snow in some areas, but it is melting quickly.

 At one point we came upon another tunnel, which was open.  The tunnel is pretty long and it was quite cool inside.  After we went through the tunnel we biked just a bit further and then turned around.  We went 5 miles before coming back, so had a 10 mile ride. 

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View of down town Colorado Springs

                                                 View of what Brian thinks is Stone Mountain

Vocabulary words for the day:
Saddle sore, quad -burn, and noodle-leg.  I experienced everyone of these at some point.  Overall it was a great day. Hope more of these rides are in our spring and summer plans.

Belated Birthday Fun

Yesterday the Halls came up to have a belated birthday celebration with Brian.  They met us at Old Chicago for pizza, their treat.  It was a cold, somewhat snowy day, so I did not know if they would actually get to come.  There was not much snow, but there was some ice and fog. 

The Halls did make it here and back home with no major problems.

Bethany is fast changing.  Every time we see her she has grown more and is doing and saying more.  She is fast leaving the baby days behind and becoming a little girl. Her hair was in pig tails, and she was cute as a button.  At first when we met at the restaurant, Bethany was not too sure about us.  In theory, we are fine.  She knows who we are in pictures, but interaction with the "real deal" is very different.  By the time we left the restaurant, she was warmed up and ready to hang out.  Bethany did not want to part company when we each went to our cars.

The Halls came over our house for about an hour and let Bethany play and work off some energy before getting back into the car to go home. She had eaten a lot of pizza, cheesy bread, a swig or 2 of Dr. Pepper, and a Dove chocolate given to her by Granddad.  So she was pretty wired.  Her all time favorite thing to do was go up and down the stairs.  Next favorite was Cindy chasing her. Bethany is starting to repeat a lot of words.  We asked her to repeat several of the names of family members.  She could repeat each one, like Holly, Tammy, Maddy, Aaron, etc, but she would whisper them instead of saying the aloud.  Very cute!  By the time it was time to go home, we were good buddies again.  Bethany did not want to go home, or I should say go home without us going with her.  We said our good-byes and will be ready to meet up again in a couple of weeks.  Can't wait.  Next time I will have my camera to get a few good shots to share.  So will leave you with a picture that Cindy sent a while back of Bethany in pigtails.

 

Happy 57th!

Today is Brian's 57th birthday.  We celebrated on Friday and Sunday since I knew I would not have time to prepare a special meal, dessert, or get the gift. 

Friday we went to Staples and Brian picked out a Kindle Fire.  I had given him a choice of an e tablet or camcorder.  After weighing the pros and cons, he decided on an e-tablet.  Then after researching and looking at sales, he decided on the Kindle Fire.  Thank you Fletcher's and Tam for your contribution to that gift.

For a special dinner on Sunday, he chose chicken fried steak.  I also fixed homemade fries, and experimented with fixing collard greens.  Then for dessert we had sour cream coffee cake pound cake.  The cake sort of fell out of the pan in 2 pieces, which was not cool.  Surprisingly, the cake sort of glued itself back together since it was still warm.  The taste was good, so that is what matters.  Sunday afternoon we went to Sonic for a drink treat.  Super Bowl was that evening, but not the highlight of the day.  Jan called that evening.

Today we have not done anything really special, except to have more cake and coffee.  Every call, card, and gift were appreciated. 

NEED A LIFE

READING EVERYONE'S BLOGS MAKES ME THINK, "YOU REALLY NEED A LIFE".  THERE WAS A TIME WHEN I COULD HAVE WRITTEN SOME INTERESTING BLOGS.  THAT WAS OVER 30 YEARS AGO.  CHILDREN DEFINITELY MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN ACTIVITY AND SUBJECT MATTER FOR WRITING.

NOW I LIVE VICARIOUSLY THROUGH BLOGS. I AM THANKFUL I CAN BE SO IN TOUCH EVERY SINGLE DAY.  TECHNOLOGY HAS MADE IT EASY TO SEE PICTURES AND GET INSTANT INFORMATION.

MY LIFE BASICALLY CONSISTS OF WORK, EAT, AND SLEEP.  EACH WEEK GOES BY AND MOSTLY I DO THE SAME THINGS OVER AND OVER.  I AM SURE MOST PEOPLE DO; THEY JUST HAVE LITTLE ADDITIONS AND VARIETY TO THEIR DAY BECAUSE OF MEETING THE NEEDS OF THEIR CHILDREN.

I PROBABLY NEED TO SET SOME GOALS OF THINGS TO ACCOMPLISH OUTSIDE OF WHAT I DO EACH DAY.  THAT IS WHAT I AM GOING TO SHOOT FOR AT PRESENT.   BUT UNTIL THAT HAPPENS...........  THANK ALL OF YOU BLOGGERS THAT ADD TO MY LIFE BY LETTING ME READ ABOUT YOURS.