Today hubby and I headed off for a scenic drive in the Jimenz mountains. It was so good to get out for a day. Just the two of us. No work, no kids, no household chores, no pets. Just hubby, myself, the radio and the cameras. Of course we started off later than we would have liked and by the time we got where we were going the sun was in the worst possible position, so most of my pictures are washed out, but still we got a few good ones. Mostly it was just nice to be out in the majesty of God’s creation, enjoying the weather and each other’s company.

I really needed today.

So here’s a brief visual recap of our day.

First: Jimenz Pueblo — gorgeous canyon formations!

Next stop – Soda Dam — a natural damn occurring from calcium deposits. It had this cool little cave with a natural mineral springs in it.

The mineral springs and a view looking out towards the river.

Final stop: Battleship rock in the Jimenz National Recreation Area — again too much light, but gorgeous none the less!

See?? We get fall here too ~ !

So that was our day — full of hiking, talking, music and photography. A pretty good way to spend the day. Ducky was unfortunately working, and LadyBug is at a church retreat all weekend, so it was just hubby and I. A harbinger of things to come I think! And not just the fall colors!

I loved this area and we are headed back next weekend when I am off on Sunday. We plan to head out early in the morning and hopefully the light will be right for some really great shots. We also plan to stop at some aspen stands and get some shots of the great colors that we drove past, we just have to find the right road!

Question of the day:

Which road do you like to take?

ahhhh…..so sad to see a xanga abused the way I have been abusing mine. No new entries. No visiting and commenting. No pictures added or anything entertaining or amusing.

I guess I should be sent to xanga jail.

Sadly, not that much is going on. I have been subbing, and working at SC – that has kept me busy. Hubby was out of town, and I was working and doing the household stuff (no cooking much to the girl’s dismay). LadyBug’s birthday party came and went and was a big success. It was followed by some drama, which I think is past, but still don’t know exactly what happened.

It’s funny the difference between the two girls. LadyBug has always been extremely independent. While we have a good relationship – we don’t talk about the big issues as much as I would like. I sometimes feel like I have to drag every morsel of information out of her. I think it feels that way because Ducky has always felt like she could talk to me, and although I have had to drag stuff from her, and I know she still keeps stuff from me, she is fairly open and honest. That’s what makes LadyBug’s reticence so difficult I think. But like I said, it’s really just who she is. When she was like 3 and in preschool (where I taught and was with them all the time) her little friends would try the “if you don’t do this… we won’t be your friends” ploy. For instance, one day the three girls were playing and two of them wanted to play on the swings. LadyBug wanted to play on the monkey bars. They said if you don’t come swing with us we won’t be your friends. She replied “OK”. They headed off to the swings, thinking that LadyBug was going to comply – instead she turned towards the monkey bars. She had meant “OK – don’t be my friend”.  She soon got into a conversation with the little girl on the monkey bars and was quite content playing by herself. That’s how she’s always been.

Stubborn? Whew — you know it!! I just hope that she knows she can always come to me, with anything. I try to make sure the girls know that.

Parenting is tough. It’s not for the light hearted.

Right now it’s also getting expensive. Graduation is just right around the corner and the price of graduation stuff, senior portraits and all the little extra stuff is starting to really add up. Luckily we have 3 years to recover before we have to do it again!

I do have all kinds of pictures to upload — from homecoming, parties, zoo trip and all kinds of other stuff. I hope to get to this weekend. This week end is hubby’s birthday, so we’ll see what happens. I also am on a mission this weekend – to find a coffee pot! My coffee pot dies (oh tragedy of tragedies) and we’ve been making do with my back up – which is not a high quality one, it’s the one we bought as cheap as possible to get us through till our furniture got here. It definitely is lacking. I’m trying to decide between a dispense type or a thermal carafe type. Any suggestions? And not from ThisIsBullDookie – as I know what kind of coffee maker you have and can’t afford that right now! You coffee elitist! LOL

Question of the day:

How do you take your coffee? (I was going to put how do you drink you coffee, but figured some smart alec would say “with my mouth” – that’s what I would have said…)

PS — Hello to all my xanga friends! I’ve missed you and thought of you often. I’ll come by as soon as possible (I have to go get ready for work now – but I’ll be back!)