Coming Up . . .

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A week from Sunday I'm off to college.

It's exciting,

scary,

and all together exhilarating!

Let's see where this takes me!

Listening Easy

I've been changing my music selection as of late.

I've always kept a little jazz on the back shelf,

(I think it's just good taste to do so)

but recently I've been picking out more and more "jazz" & "easy listening."

I'm not going to lie,

I like it,

a lot!

Also:

This movie blew my mind today!

Louie and his band play throughout the whole movie,

Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra have a duet,

and let's just face it:

Who doesn't want to listen to Frank, Louie, or Bing sing on their own any day?

Catching Up: Pike's Peak, Garden of the Gods, & Home

We stayed the night in Colorado Springs.

We woke up Friday morning and went to The Garden of the Gods.

This is the peak from the garden.

Rocks, the picture above shows a rock from a long long time ago (the red one)

and a rock from a super duper long long long time ago (the white one-from an inland sea).

After the garden we found a winery.

Mom and Nora did a little wine tasting while Claire and I enjoyed an Izzy.

Then Claire and Nora relished their ice cream

in the small town at the base of the peak while

mom and I walked to the trailhead and then about three miles on the Barr Tail.

LIZARD!

This is where we stopped hiking,

you can still see the peak in the background.

If we had started sooner in the day we would have gotten further,

but now it's a goal for me!

We slept in Denver and then drove strait through.

Not the original plan . . .

but with the Iowa State Fair we weren't able to find a place to stay the night.

Either way it was quite the adventure!

But. . .

It's good to be home.

White Water Spotted

We went on a white water adventure today!

There are no pictures

because the water and my camera don't enjoy each others company.

=(

Anyway . . .

We had a grand old time!

We went in Brown's Canyon,

it was really cool cause there is really no way to get into the canyon,

other then the river.

Tomorrow is Garden of the Gods and Pike's Peak.

Then to Denver and we're heading back Saturday.

Denver . . . Finally

We're in Denver!

We walked all around Denver,

shopping,

finding cupcakes,

and drinking bubble tea.

This was the fence of a construction area

that some super awesome people decided to make pretty.

A group of crafters transformed the chain-link into a garden of yarn.

We went to the Public Library,

a must see for me!

This is their "Teen Space"

I must brag a little here, and say that the Waupaca teen room is WAY cooler.

Don't believe me?

Check it out Here.

So after a long day on our feet we went out to eat with my cousins,

and Fred (a significant other).

We met up at a place called "Charlie Brown's."

It was just a local place that we could sit outside and talk.

I had a great time,

it was fun to be with this family again,

it's been like five years since the four cousins were all in the same place!

Before we went out to eat we found some cupcakes!

We waited until after supper to divulge,

bad idea

Claire was the only one with room left.

But I think she enjoyed it.

Tomorrow is white water rafting!

I simply can't wait!

On the Move

We woke up this morning and went for a drive/hike in the mountains again.

We were able to walk alone the Colorado River.

BEAUTIFUL!

Then we drove to Boulder,

by way of the Donner Pass.

And we got to chill at the Continental Divide.

When we got into Boulder we walked around downtown

and had supper with my cousin and his wife (Aaron & Erin)

Tomorrow is Denver!

Estes Park

We made it to Colorado today and drove up a mountain near Estes Park.

It had rained so the water was flowing in the mountains.

When we made it to the top of the mountain

we were able to gaze on the valley,

the other mountains,

and the weather

that was building and moving in all directions.

They had a trail that lead from the parking lot to the true top of the summit.

As I walked and couldn't help think of the Rat Pack song "Yes I Can."

The sight was so beautiful I couldn't look away.

The wind was whipping and the air was freezing, but it was well worth it.

We're going to do some hiking tomorrow and then spend the night in Bolder.

Road Trip

I'm out in Nebraska today on the way to Colorado to see my cousins.

It's a girls road trip!

My mom, sister, aunt, and I are all having a grand time pondering the rocks of the West.

We started our trek on Saturday,

drove all the way to the South Dakota/Nebraska boarder.

When we stopped for gas that night we found tons of crickets at the gas station,

they appeared to be basking in the florescent light.

Yesterday we took more time sightseeing on our was through Nebraska.

We found some really cool rock formations at the Toadstool National Park.

This is my mom and her sister in the rocks.

These are footprints of rinos.

This rock looks like Kill Roy

And after all that walking we stopped for some root beer floats, ice cream, and pie.

We also stopped at a buffalo dig but I didn't think to snap a picture. =(

It was really cool to hear the girl talk though, there are over 600 buffalo estimated to be in this really small area and no one knows why they are there for sure.

Finally we say some antelope along the road as we made our way out of town.

Catch up with you tomorrow-in Colorado!

One Big Thanks

Closing night of MAME

I was honored with the Fine Arts Festival Scholarship.

This is the Thank You I made for the board.

I was so flattered they thought of me.