ALIVE!

We are indeed alive. We have been super busy around here. On the 21st Nana came for a visit. She has been having a great time with the kids. On the 24th, our friend, his girlfriend, and his two kids arrived. They were here until Sunday evening. We had a great time visiting with them. Aaron got his commission on the 25th.

Speaking of the commissioning, the ceremony was fantastic (besides the MC who had a difficult time reading). Aaron was one of four people who were commissioned that evening. We held it in an old house in Littleton. The house and grounds were absolutely beautiful. The Denver city skyline served as a backdrop for the ceremony. After the formal ceremony (the MC showed up late) was completed we had food and drinks.

Two of the people who were there to celebrate with us have been our friends since Monterey. That's 15 years of friendship. It's hard to believe that we have known those guys for that long. It was fantastic to have them share in this moment with Aaron, though. Aaron's parents and brother were all able to make it as well. Aaron's family purchased him his officer sword as his gift. He was really surprised and very happy. He though he was going to borrow his dad's sword but instead got his own.

The whole evening was really a lot of fun.

Maybe Not

Now they are saying that the lion may have been a large dog. A dog that looks like a lion? and is is as big as a lion? I hope I don't run into this lion/dog anytime.

A Lion? Seriously?

Lion on the loose in El Paso County
Story By: Bea KarnesSource: AP
Colorado Springs Published 23 minute(s) ago
Reverse 911 warning goes out in the Falcon Hwy. and Log Rd. area.The El Paso County Sheriff's Office reports that a lion has been spotted in Eastern El Paso County. Big Cats of Serenity Springs is in the vicinity. It's a sanctuary including lions, tigers, ligers, cougars, leopards, and servals. Serenity Springs reports that all of its cats are accounted-for.Residents are encouraged to remain indoors with their pets and report any sightings by calling 911.

This location is about 20 miles due east of where we live. I guess we are having an indoor day today.

Mustang

Aaron spent his first drill weekend as an officer. Last week he signed all the paperwork that deleted him from the enlisted ranks and added him to the officer ranks. He said it was very strange to have people soluting him and calling him sir. He kept looking around for the officer before realizing that it was him. I guess after 10 years of being the one who says sir and solutes first, it take a bit getting use to being soluted and called sir.

For those who don't know, in the Navy when someone receives a commission to go from the enlisted ranks to the officer ranks they are forever reffered to as a Mustang. Someone who came in directly as an officer or through the Academy and never spent time in the enlisted ranks does not receive this "title". Aaron proudly accepts being a Mustang.

Stars and Stripes and Stars

On the 4th we went up to Parker to spend the evening with Aaron's cousin and his family. M & T were nice enough to grill us some burgers and dogs. Is there anything else to eat on the 4th? The kids all played in the pool and the sandbox. They all had a great time. The three of them really are cute together with all their blue eyes and blonde hair.

We ended the evening with a fireworks show in Parker. We were lucky enough to have front row seats. It was a really nice display. The fire truck had to put out 3 fires. The ground here is very dry. We had headphones on the kids so that the noise wouldn't bother them. Caleb was completely mesmerized by the fireworks.

Now to the other stars. I am working on making a quilt for Aaron. I am doing this as a gift to him for his commissioning. I am taking his enlisted uniforms, cutting them up and making a quilt. I must let you know that I have never made a quilt before so this is quite an endeavor. Wish me luck!

Donkey Derby

Last weekend we packed up the kids and took them to Cripple Creek. Cripple Creek is a small casino town about an hour from us. Every summer they have three weekends of Summer Fest. Each weekend they have a different theme. The theme this last weekend was Donkey Derby Days. They were having a donkey race (we missed it) and a bunch of other activities.

Our first stop when we arrived was the miniature pony rides. Each kid got to pick one pony that they wanted to ride. Caleb got the smallest pony, so small in fact that Caleb and the pony were the same height. Campbell picked one that was a regular pony, not a miniature. They were both very excited to be on the ponies. Though, I don't know who decided the pony ride location. It was directly across the street from the fire house. During our kids' rides the fire trucks had to leave the fire house. Not a big deal, except that they decided to use their horns, despited the fact that the road was closed because of the festivities. The horn didn't faze Caleb's horse thankfully. But Campbell's horse spooked and started hopping around. Campbell was bucked off in this process. Luckily, the man charged with staying with her during the ride was on top of it and caught her. All ended well.

After the ponies we went to the petting zoo. I don't know what it is around here, but they call these things petting zoos but there is always only one animal variet to pet. Also, 3 of the 4 that we have been to have been goats. Once they got to pet rabbits. Anyway, they went to pet the goats. They had baby miniature goats that were small enough even Caleb could hold them. Although, he didn't like it because he thought they were eating him. They were actually only licking him.

Campbell then went for a donkey ride down the street. Caleb and I stayed behind and visited with the baby donkey and the llamas. Once she returned we headed down the street to get our lunch. Aaron got his sausage dog. Campbell had a hamburger, and Caleb had a hotdog. I ate Campbell's leftover hamburger and Caleb's leftover hotdog. The kids also got some face painting done.

At noon, they had a parade. We sat through that. It was just like any smalltown parade. There were a bunch of old cars. The Shr*iners were there. At least at this parade they threw out candy. This was Caleb's favorite part of the day. This kids loves candy, especially chocolate. After the parade we headed home.