Colorado State Fair

Today we went to the Colorado State Fair in Pueblo, which so far is the armpit of the state. The fair was bigger than the El Paso County Fair but I don't know if I'd say better. At least they had a faux Petting Zoo (you had to pet them through a cage or fence) and a few animal shows, including Sea Lions (which Olivia loved), monkeys (which we missed) and sharks (who'd have thought?). They had a lot of vendors, which we didn't spend much time browsing, and a lot of food (though it's the first fair we didn't eat our way through). We were only there for about three hours before both kids decided they'd had enough. Not to mention it was getting ready to rain. We had fun, enough for a Sunday afternoon without Daddy and at least we got to be outside for a little while. It'll be nice when Daddy is home again (haven't we already done this enough?) and then he can join in on the fun. LOL.

The Kiddie Rides...

(Cole just wasn't big enough - you had to be 36 inches tall)

(above right: Olivia rode a train with a puppy dog she won picking ducks out of the water. She named the dog Molly. Go figure.)

The Biggest Attraction (just kidding): Rock Rolling Contest

NO JOKE!!

What Gary missed....

(What a hot car!)

Cute kids...

Animals we visited....

(above: Stella and Rose)

Playing Dress Up

Mom is going to LOVE me for this, but I found these two pictures that I took of Mom and Olivia playing dress up before they left. I think Memaw was supposed to be a girl pirate. :)

Days of the Week

Olivia

Here's a video of Olivia singing a song she learned - she knew it last year in Kindergarten, but they must be singing it again. You'll recognize the familiar tune. Too Funny!

**Don't forget to pause the music to the left**

Ride 'Em Cowgirl!

This was Olivia's first therapeutic horseback riding session - she did really well being on a horse that was so big. The horse's name is Savannah and we get to feed her a carrot when we come to ride. I only got one or two pictures. Flashes frighten the horses and it was really dark in the barn area. We get to go once a week for the next 8 weeks and then the next session will start in November. Olivia LOVES it and I think it will be very beneficial for her!

Olivia's picture

Olivia drew this at school after she finished her worksheet. It's a picture of her and her friend, Lilly, (from Maine) playing jump rope. Cole and Lilly's sister, Haley, are turning the rope, there are hula hoops on the ground and there is a ball in the corner that she says they can play with. It is also raining and the gray shading is the jackets they are wearing. Apparently, she misses her friend, Lilly, as much as I miss Lilly's Mommy, Amy. They are really great friends and maybe one day they will be able to come visit us.

Happy Birthday Lilly girl!

Lilly -><-Olivia

Hi Lilly - we wanted to wish you a VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY! We miss you and wish we could have helped you celebrate! Hope you got exactly what you wanted - don't forget to eat some cake and ice cream for us! You're such a big girl now!

Our First Hail Storm!

Olivia's First Day of School in Colorado!

Garden of the Gods

The Garden of the Gods is a nature lovers' best friend, but even though I am totally not the nature enthusiast, even I enjoyed visiting the park. They have many paved and unpaved trails, picnic areas, tours and exhibits, gift shops (yay - christmas gifts!) and you can even rock climb! It really is a great place to visit!

Memaw and Cole

Our own "kissing camels"

The three of us on the balcony of the gift shop

Olivia is sightseeing

Our Indian Princess

The Kissing Camels

Tower of Babel

Majestic - Garden of the Gods from the North side

Again - kissing camels

Hell's Gate

My Friend, Suzie!!

Well, I was an awful friend and neglected to get a picture of one of my very bestest friends, Sue, who came to pick up her Mom and her dog (who drove out with my parents). It was really great to see her and I think we'll see more of each other now that we are nearly 'West Coasters"(or almost - the Rockies are close enough for now). :) But, oddly enough, I managed to get a picture of her dog, Rufus, who loved to bury himself under my couch cushions. Funny dog!!

Our First Visitors!!

Mewaw and Pepaw are HERE!!! Yay! It's SO great to see familiar faces and to have a visit from them! It actually feels a little more like home with them here ... I wish they could stay longer!! This was us at Five Guys - the best burgers in the world!! It started to rain a little so Memaw broke out the umbrellas and I was the only one who was under the roof! Ha!