Mesa Verde Trip With Ashley

It is tradition for the fourth graders in our area to go on an over night trip to Mesa Verde for their end of the school year field trip. The only way I was letting Ashley go on an overnight trip was to volunteer as a chaperon. I was a little apprehensive about the idea of being on a bus crammed full of loud and rambunctious ten year olds. I had heard horror stories of puking on the bus from parents that had gone in the past so I was very relieved when I was asked to follow the bus in my vehicle with all of the food and supplies and some of the other parents. At the last minute the fourth grade teachers decided to charter a private bus and all of the parents were able to fit on the bus so just me and one other mom drove in my vehicle. Every time we stopped at a rest stop and those bedraggled parents would get off the bus, my road trip partner and I would look at each other and thank our lucky stars that we had a quiet, spacious, air conditioned car all to ourselves!

Mesa Verde is a MUST SEE!! The whole time Ashley and I kept commenting how we wished the rest of our family was here to see such breathtaking views and incredible ancient architecture. The ancient Indians who built these structures were geniuses! We will most definitely be coming back as a family! The picture above is called a Keeva. It was like a church and is still considered sacred ground. The guides were incredible and were so good with the large number of kids and all of the questions they had.








Ashley going underground

All of the openings that look like windows are, in fact, doorways. The average man was the same height as our fourth graders. Me and my fattiness would have towered over those little people!
Ashley's hat that she packed was way too small for her and just sat on top of her head! It annoyed her so bad!

It was incredible to see dwellings made inside of cliffs!

Cliff Palace

She might be a bit handicapped but you gotta love her!

It was so much fun to have one on one time with Ash. She is such a goof (I don't know where she gets it!) and made me laugh!

She insisted on wearing my hat on our second day since she had to suffer such humiliation of wearing her tiny purple one. Lucky for me, Mike had left his hat in the car or I would have been stuck with the goofy purple one...Oh the things you do for your kids!

A blue collared lizard bathing in the sun

What a view!

There were a whole bunch of latters to climb through out the park. One latter was forty feet straight up!!!

This is our half of the fourth graders and some of the parents. One of the dads in the back wore an I♥ Beaver shirt the WHOLE trip...so classy! We had to split up in two groups because the tours were limited to certain numbers of people. We would separate for the different tours and then meet up at the end of the day and go to the museum and then we all spent the night in a gym of a local elementary school in Cortez, CO, which I hope never to repeat again in my life! I don't think the poor teachers got a wink of sleep. A few kids got sick in the night and the splatter of puke could be heard as if it was happening right next to you! Luckily I had packed a flashlight and even luckier, I was not the sucker who had to clean up vomit by flashlight!

This was a tunnel you had to climb through in order to get to Balcony house (I think it was Balcony House but it could have been Cliff Palace.) Now keep in mind that the people that made this tunnel were the size of children so imagine my anxiety at the thought of getting my chubby body through there! I had to take off my backpack and scooch through at an angle and the whole time I wishing for a cube of butter or some crisco to make the job of getting through that tunnel easier!

After our second day at Mesa Verde My driving buddy, Shirley, and I snatched up our kids plus I got verbal permission to take Ashley's bestie, Hanna, home with us. On the way to Mesa Verde we drove into Utah through Monticello and Moab and on the way back we decided to drive through Delores, the San Juan Nat. Forest and Uncompahgre Nat. Forest (where I took the above picture.), Telluride, Montrose, and Delta. I have never been down in that part of Colorado and I am dying to get back down there to do some serious camping! It is beyond breathtaking and so picturesque!!!

If you find yourselves in need of a vacation I highly recommend taking some time to go down to Mesa Verde! I can't wait to go again! Maybe I will chaperon again in a year when Mikie is a fourth grader.

This Is MY Country...It's Here Where My Home And Loved Ones Are Found

Celebrating Independence Day is the epitome of summer time! Spending time with family and friends, grilling everything in sight, patriotism, watermelon, fireworks, freedom, homemade ice cream, and making lasting memories...now that is my definition of summer!

For the first time in four years, Michael had to work so we stayed in town instead of our traditional trip to Frisco for fireworks over Dillon reservoir. For the first time in YEARS my dad finally had the fourth of July off so they came and spent a few days with us. How cool is that! Out of all the places they could have gone they wanted to come and spend the 4th with us!

Our dog was barking like crazy and we discovered this pesky little guy reaching under the dog's kennel trying to get the dog food and he then moved on to our corn. My redneck hubby took care of him permanently from the window of our kids' bedroom in the dark, two stories up! What am I gonna do with guy?! I just knew the cops were going to show up at our door when the loud boom of the gun went off! (they seem to do that quite often when Mike gets insane ideas into his head!) Luckily it was July fourth weekend and it sounded like a firecracker!

We took my mom and dad up to Doc Holliday's grave above Glenwood Springs. Did you know that he was a dentist? It seems ironic that after a life of crime and thievery he died a destitute man.

Mikie the brute hauled Madse up the trail!

What is with my posey little kids? Look at em' posing for the camera!

Cha-cha-cheesy!

Little hammy!

Look out America's Next Top Model! You've got nothing on Mikie!

See what I'm talking about!? silly little posers!

Eeew...I had no idea that Madse was licking that fence....ick, bleck, cucky!!!

Madse robbing from a robber. There was money, playing cards, and cigarettes on Doc Holliday's grave and Madse tried so hard to reach for all of the loose change!

It never fails, take my dad to a historical site and he will spend HOURS reading EVERY marker!

YOO HOO... Dad..eh-hem...Dad, DAD...

SMILE!!!

We learned a lot from what my dad read. A twelve year old girl died by her own hand because she got scolded and decided that nobody liked her her so she drank lye and died a slow and torturous death. Poor thing! Some body should have just taught her that song, "Nobody likes me, everybody hates me, I'm gonna eat some worms!" The outcome would have been less fatal!

Chipmunk May storing grapes!

Tough Mikie hauling May May down the mountain!

It's always a crazy fun time together!!! They are my definition of happiness and I get to be their mom!

Madse is controlling the fireworks like an air bender...really!!! That's what he told me!!!

Little London (my favorite nursery kid) sat by me and kept me entertained through out the whole show! Did you know that she charges $5 for lemonade at her lemonade stand!? I would pay it...look at how adorable she is!

I annoyed Mike with all of my picture taking but everybody knows that watching people watch fireworks is so much funner than actually watching the fireworks!

It has been a few years since our small town has done a fireworks display. They did it on the third of July because it cost them ten thousand dollars less than doing it on the fourth. We watched the show from the cemetery and it was quite a delightful little show!

Grandpa provided us with a spectacular private firework show in our culdesac!

He engineered each firework to go off simultaneously and there were a few close ones too! It must be a boy thing!

Sunday, July fourth, my parents left, we went to church and sang lots of patriotic songs, and then we went to my friend, Erin's bbq. She told me that I didn't need to bring anything but that is like telling me not to breathe so I sliced up some watermelon and when we got there it looked like everyone else had the same idea! Good thing watermelon is so good! That evening I had the opportunity to speak at a baptism. I have been going with the missionaries to teach Karen and it was such an amazing experience to see her accept truth and light into her life and make the choice to be baptised. It was a blessing to witness her conversion and a fitting way to celebrate our nation's birth.