Summer Odds and Ends

We weren't sure what this summer would look and feel like with Ella gone.  But, here we are already at the end of it (it always goes too fast!), recognizing that it was another good one!  We hosted the best surprise, hiked big, zipped through the redwoods, ate ice cream at Pinecrest, explored Colorado, saw tigers, rode waterslides, got to know 18 month old Annabelle, and won gold medals (well, one of us!).  Here are a few other things that made Summer 2024 good.

   

Lunch with co-workers on the last day of school.

Themed parties!  Ella took the idea from the Friends episode to make a Friends Trivia Contest with her high school friends.  They had to answer random, funny questions about each other.  Then they enjoyed treats from the Central Perk she created, and made their own silly sitcom opening credits video.

Lots of trips to the beach, Boardwalk, Marianne's, Boba tea shop, and book store on Ella's days and nights off!

Growing stuff.  Here are some of our fruits and flowers as babies at the beginning of summer.

Roses before they got crunchy in the heat wave.

Eating delicious things.  Like colorful Summer Charcuterie,

zucchini bread,

and zoodles with this new favorite lemon pesto sauce.

Eight weddings!  This one was a favorite. One of my dearest little students walked her mom (a good friend) down the aisle for an emotional re-marriage with no dry eyes in attendance.  A beautiful redemption story!  

Another year of VBS survived!  I found the fun helping in the kitchen this year.  Delia took over as the Lead Drama person this year, training and acting with her former Kindergarten Buddy Emily.

Unintentional matching for church.

A Book Club meeting where we all squeezed into our wedding gowns to drink Champaign, tell our dress stories, and discuss The Gown, the book I picked about the embroiders who made Princess Elizabeth's dress.

Fathers Day celebrated with Tevye at Fiddler on the Roof in Sacramento.  Apropos!  One of theater's best father characters and one of Dave's favorites.

And another musical too!  Delia and I went to see her good drama buddy Dylan perform as Curly in Oklahoma at the Gallo Center!  It was amazing that he got the lead and he did great!  Delia and Dylan have been acting together since 6th grade.  They're excited for big things this Senior year of Drama!  

Delia's birthday Presentation Party.  Lots of laughs as the girls shared photoshopped slides predicting things like what their future careers will be, which celerity they'll marry, or how they'll make a million dollars. Below is an ridiculous, out-of-context slide from Delia's show.  Enjoy! :)

Inside Out 2-- loved it!

Enjoying local eats and artists at the Farmers Market.

Lots of coffee shop dates with my companion.  I've had a really sweet summer soaking up all the Delia Time before her busy senior year and next college chapter.

And something new for our travel this year-- select treats from foreign countries bought at World Market!  We traveled domestically, but snacked internationally!

Seventeen of our 32 Summer Bucket List items were crossed off these past few months!  Always sad when a good summer is over, and this year comes with big changes as we prepare to say goodbye to many school things that have been our norm for 15 years.  Say a little prayer for us. 

Side Outings in CO

We did the big things in Colorado Springs, but we had a fun time doing little stuff too!

To rehydrate after our high-altitude adventure on Pikes Peak, we took the Manitou Springs Challenge!  Manitou Springs is a cute little town at the base of the mountain, named for the natural mineral springs that flow through it.  We brought our own cups, downloaded the map, then went on a walking scavenger hunt.

We ended up sampling 4 of the 8 fountains.  Not a fan of the natural carbonation of mineral water, Delia only needed to try one.  But, we liked seeing the different style of each fountain and tasting the subtle differences in each cup of water!

We spent some time, and about a dollar, at Manitou's penny arcade too!  Here a whole street of vintage pinball machines, fortune tellers, carnival games, rides, and skee-ball is begging for your coins! 

We also discovered the most insane sporting goods store!  We went in for the shoe sales, we stayed for the aquarium, candy shop, Ferris wheel, taxidermy display, and animatronic Abraham Lincoln (???).  Scheels baffled and delighted us!

We ate the best BBQ at a place called Mission BBQ.  Not only were the brisket, ribs, and mac and cheese wonderful here, but the restaurant intentionally honors service men and women and first responders in its décor and mission.  Gotta love that!

We made a special dessert stop for Delia one night.  This was not your average donut shop!  Is it sweet?  Then they probably put it on a donut.  You could find these toppings on the various donuts in our box: crushed Heath bars, pink sprinkles, bacon, marshmallow fluff, peanut butter, caramel, and pecans.  

We got to walk around the Air Force Academy as well.  Our good college friends Nikki and Aaron have a son in his junior year here.  The best part of this day was texting with them all morning!  We also enjoyed learning about life as an Air Force officer pilot or astronaut in training.  The display of historic aircraft was my favorite.  We walked under a huge B-52 and saw one of the Vietnam helicopters I just read so much about in The Women.  This was an impressive campus and we're happy to have a better image of it when we pray for our friends' son!

And we took a long drive through a wildlife preserve.  Decades ago, this was a US Army Arsenal that produced chemical weapons and fuel for war vehicles.  Now, it is a giant, open piece of land, home to all kinds of Colorado critters. We saw prairie dogs, deer, bison, pelicans, storks, and bald eagles. 

This Colorado vacation may have been minus our firstborn, but it was still a magnificent week spent appreciating donuts at all altitudes; outstanding American achievement, from the Olympics to the Air Force; God's creation in mountain summits, marmots, and red rocks; and our dear loved ones!

Garden of the Gods

Olympic stuff, Pikes Peak, and Garden of the Gods are the main things you just need see when visiting Colorado Springs.  On our third day we took this last must-do off the list.  Vacationing with Delia meant a hiking-free trip.  Almost. ;)  This was the only day we made her walk and climb steps in heat and elevation.

Garden of the Gods is free to the public and pretty big!  It can be seen mostly by driving.  But, there is one main loop you can walk to see the rock formations up close and even climb on some of them.  We did this for a few hours during the day and then came back in the evening to see it at sunset.

Red rocks, blue skies, and gray mountains.  Such gorgeous views!

We just did easy climbs, obviously.  But, rock-climbers can get permits and enjoy more challenging climbs.  We saw some climbers and thought of Ella.

All the rock formations have names.  This one was our favorite: Kissing Camels.

At dusk we explored the Balanced Rocks.  Isn't it wild how they just perch like that?

Sunset was spectacular!  

Pikes Peak

Our next adventure in Colorado Springs took us up to 14,115 feet!  Pikes Peak is a Colorado Springs must, but the more I looked into it, the more I realized driving the Pikes Peak Highway, with its 152 hairpin turns, 7000 feet of elevation gain, and cliffs with no guardrails, sounded like a good way to ruin our vacation!  Haha!  So we booked tickets on the historic cog railway that took us up peacefully, scenically, and with narration!

The train ride was an hour and half each way.  We saw waterfalls, wildflowers, forests of aspen trees, lakes, the end of the tree line, snow, and tons of yellow-bellied whistling marmots!  It was just lovely.

At the summit, you are given exactly 50 minutes to explore.  It was explained that this time is specific because it's about all our sea-level bodies can handle without getting altitude sickness in the 30% less oxygenated air!

But, 50 minutes was plenty of time to do all the things. 

Like 1. See the iconic old sign (I think my mom had a picture by this!).

 2. Take a spin through the Visitor's Center.

3.  Get an order of high-altitude donuts from the café.  Supposedly they're better up here, but we thought they tasted like regular donuts.  They did come with a view! Fun to eat donuts on the summit of a mountain!

4.  Walk the whole path to take in all the views, and more marmots.

5.  Read the lyrics to America the Beautiful in the actual spot that inspired the writing of them!

6.  And make it back to the train right as headaches and heart flutters were setting in.  No biggie, we were fine once we dropped a few thousand feet on the train.  But, we definitely felt it!

This is the highest elevation we've ever stood in!  The views were incredible.  And it was all enjoyed without a bit of hiking or stressful driving!