A Day at the Park

Yesterday the four of us went to Elitch Gardens Theme Park. Rich's company rented the whole place for their employees and families, so while the lines were still long enough, it was not nearly as bad as it could have been had the park been open to the public.

The girls went their own way in the morning and so Rich and I decided to wander. Rich had said he wasn't much into thrill rides, which was fine by me.

But something changed and I am still not sure what... the first ride Rich suggested we go on was MindEraser. What a ride! Then we went on the Twister II, this huge wooden roller coaster. It was great. We had quite a while yet before the time we were to meet the girls for lunch, so the next stop was Shipwreck Falls- I hesitated, noting that we would get wet (it wasn't all that hot out), and Rich said we would only get "a little wet". Famous last words. Of course, he led me to the front seat- and the boat wasn't even full, surprise, surprise... lol We got absolutely drenched!

The next stop was the Boomerang- what had gotten into this man, anyway??? And he wanted the FRONT seat. So, off we went. It is a totally different experience being at the front. When that ride starts, it backs you up first and you are kind of suspended for a few seconds- pretty weird and scary feeling to be at the front of that one! 

After that, we were both a little dizzy and decided to opt for the Ferris Wheel, partly to calm ourselves (LOL) and partly to get a view of the park from high up, which was pretty cool. 

We met the girls for lunch and they wanted to hang out with us for a bit. We went on the Turn of the Century (swings) first and then we took them to the Mind Eraser. And Rich wanted to go in front again! I was wondering what on earth was going through his mind. And when I was strapped into that front position, I wondered again what I had been thinking to agree! lol I forced myself to keep my eyes open, and it was scary but exhilarating. 

We had pretty much had it by then, but Chloe wanted to go to the water park. She did a big slide with a tube and loved it. But she didn't want to go alone again (Heidi wasn't feeling so well by then) and it wasn't that warm, so she got dressed and she and I did the swings again. On the way out, Chloe, Rich, and I took a ride on the carousel. Chloe was hilarious. I took a photo of her on my phone, I just haven't figured out how to get it onto my computer yet.

We took the light rail into Denver and back and that was an adventure in itself. It is pretty cheap overall and nicer than driving in and out of the city.

Boy howdy!!! It was a great day!

http://www.elitchgardens.com

Our biking adventures

Rich has been off on holidays this week and we have taken advantage of that to take some long bike rides. 

We went on Monday, and boy did we pick a hard trail! There were a lot of sharp inclines, the trail was up and down so much we had to ride our brakes a lot, and we totaled an incline of over 220 feet! Add to that the fact that due to other obligations and such, we hadn't been out in a couple of weeks... let's just say we were plenty worn out when we finally dragged our sorry behinds back to the car (we often drive to a park so we can start at a certain point in a bike trail and explore from there). 

Today we went in the morning and we were feeling in much better shape than the other day! lol

We went along the south Platte River and tried out some new pathways there- it is a whole labyrinth of trails. It was sunny but cooler than it has been, a perfect day for riding. We had a glorious time!

The first photo shows the kind of stunning scenery that we ride alongside on this trail. The second photo shows the deck of the place we stopped for lunch; there is actually a little trail built from the bike trail to the Platte Canyon Grill- and they have excellent hamburgers! There were many bikers from the trail there for lunch, it was very cool.

The Baby of the Family is 11!

Today is Chloe's 11th birthday. Pity it is a school day; it's rough to have to stand on your chair at school so your classmates can sing Happy Birthday to you, it's a horrible thing to have to withstand a whole bunch of teachers smiling at you and giving you candies...

We actually let Chloe open her gifts on Monday so that she could have the holiday to enjoy her gifts. Heidi gave her a stuffed Squirt (from Finding Nemo) and a Wall*E journal, both of which she just loved.

We will have cards and cake tonight, we don't have a lot of time considering it is a school night.

This weekend we are heading to Elitch Gardens, the amusement park. Rich's company has booked the park for their family day. It should be lots of fun!

The following weekend, Chloe will have a sleepover party for her birthday. We haven't finalized any plans, just the date... lol

So far...

After three solid days of canning, I am off to a good start!

 

I have made plum jam (13), plum butter (5), plum conserve (5), peach jam (17), peach salsa (6), zucchini pickles (10), zucchini marmalade (not shown-5), and dill pickles (5). Later today, I am going to finish my cinnamon watermelon pickles, made with watermelon rind- they are soaking in the fridge right now.

With the rest of the case of peaches I got last weekend, I am making a peach pie for dessert. And with the rest of the zucchini, I will make a nice side dish to go with dinner.

That's the thing about preserving, you just have to get to it when you have the stuff!

Heidi is trying out the bus system today. We live too close for her to take the school bus, but with a heavy backpack plus band stuff, the walk can be long for her. We got tickets last night and she walked to the bus stop this morning. As I didn't get a panicky call from her and classes are now well under way, I am assuming she made out alright.

We got a new composter this week, and once I finish putting the rest of the bricks under it, I can start using it, thank goodness! Strangely enough, composting supplies are not to be found locally, we had to order it from the internet. We would like a vegetable garden next year, and the compost will be very useful.

I must get to mopping and such, you can't imagine what a mess I have been making all week! lol

More of the bounty!

I said I was going to become a canning fool, and so I am. I just need to hunt down more jars... for some reason, they aren't very easy to find around here. Weird, because there are so many farmer's markets and such, I can't be the only one interested in preserving things.

At the Farmer's Market on Saturday, we bought a case of peaches which I will turn into jam either tonight or tomorrow. I have picked more plums, but just cleaned them and took the stones out- they are in the freezer in bags right now. I have already made 13 jars of plum jam, 5 jars of plum butter, and 5 jars of plum compote out of the 15+ pounds of plums I picked over the weekend.

My very generous neighbors have been supplying me with copious amounts of zucchini; there are no less than 35 cups shredded in bags in the freezer right now. And there is still more- but I found a recipe for zucchini bread & butter pickles, and for zucchini marmalade. So as soon as I get my hot little hands on more jars, I am back to the canning.  Right now I am calling around to see where to buy them while my chocolate-chocolate chip zucchini bread bakes.

I love making jams and preserves; there is something very satisfying about the wonderful smells in the kitchen while I cook and the look of the sparkling jars down on my basement shelves!