Summer!

Ready or not......

Summer Motto

A year after we moved in, we decided to build a little something for the kids. A little club house, a few swings, a slide and sandbox. What kid wouldn't love it? A few months later they tied a rope to a tree limb  and completely forgot about it all.

I thought, "Really?  A rope tied to a tree?" But it was the favorite yard toy not only for my kids, but any visitors who came over.

Then tragedy struck and our neighbor trimmed his trees...even the branches that hung clear over in our yard...even the one that had a beloved rope dangling from it's branches.

We were sad.


It had been a year since the tree trimming and we finally got desperate enough to make the death climb to the only other tree branch that would work for a rope swing. That was two months ago and it is still their "new" favorite play spot to play.

School's out and I think the rope swing should be our summer motto. Well thought out, simple, fun, and cheap.

Gusty Winds Likely, and other signs

Heading south on I-25 past Pueblo there is a warning sign.



Gusty Winds Likely

Such an optimistic sign, it always makes me chuckle. Although, last Monday it would have been wise for us to heed the warning.

We've been waiting all year to head back to the sand dunes, last year was so much fun. Last year I planned carefully when we would go. Last year I watched the weather forecasts for the perfect day, not to hot, not too cold, not too windy, and late enough in the year that the creek would be flowing. Last year we had so much fun. In fact the only thing wrong with last year was Phil didn't come with us.

This year we planned to go on a day Phil could come...and that was about all we planned. On the 2 1/2 hour drive there as the wind was knocking us around on the road and motorcycles and campers were pulling over to get out of the wind, we could hardly contain our excitement of playing around in the sand. We pull into the parking lot and see that the few other people there wrapped up in windbreakers and jackets. Okay, so we might be a little cold, but we did all bring long sleeve shirts...once we get hiking, we'd be fine. We hadn't stopped at the visitors center, so we missed the warning signs for winds gusting up to 70 miles per hour, but we caught on pretty quick as we walked out to the dunes and the blowing sand stung our legs and faces. In hopes of finding refuge from the wind in the dunes we ran. Funny thing about sand dunes, they are the byproduct of conflicting winds and we were caught in the middle of the conflict.....

no, conflict doesn't seem to quiet capture the moment....

more like swirling vortex of terror.

Sand was coming from every direction. It was in our ears and nose and mouth if you dared to speak. A big gust came along and Phil lost his hat. Austin ran to get it and got caught in some serious cross winds. Phil ran to get Austin and lost his shoe. I grabbed Soni, Bingham and Eve and started back for the car. We found a little shelter behind a dune, so I left them and went back for Austin, who was huddled at the bottom of a dune waiting for Phil to find his shoe. Austin said he had never been so scared in his life. Phil gave up on finding his shoe and joined us. By that time the winds had shifted again and our safe dune was no longer safe, so we made another dash for the car. It was painful. I've never been so happy to see the mini van in my life.

Now for the good part.....the kids were still excited to be there. I was a little surprised. These same kids that can have a complete melt down if they don't get the right fork at dinner time, chalked it all up as a family adventure. So we went to the visitors center (and noticed the high wind warning signs) which turned out to be pretty interesting and we spent a good hour there. Then we drove up to Zapata Falls, something that we didn't ever take time for before because we spent all our time at the dunes. It was a half mile hike up to the falls and Phil was crazy brave enough to make the hike with no shoes.

Once you reach the creek you have to hike about 20 yards in the icy water to see the falls. It was really amazing and VERY cold.

We stayed and played  a little in the creek for a while and just relaxed in the sun out of the wind.

By the time we hiked back to the van Phil's feet were pretty sore, and he declined my invitation for a piggy back ride...I think after all these years he still underestimates me. It was a great little hike and we all appreciated his foot sacrifice so we could play a little more.

The view from the falls. That's the sand dunes at the base of the mountain covered in, um...blowing sand.

Back at the van, Austin helped me dig up and load a few choice rocks for our yard... he's got a good eye for what I like and is willing to put a little muscle into making it happen. Rock thievery, just another fun family tradition.

On the way home we saw another sign that seemed to capture the spirit of the day, and it made me smile.

More than "likely"...this one is for sure.