#13: Spend a day in the mountains!

Last weekend, the Cole family, minus Bryan made our way up to Copper Mountain for a great weekend of relaxing, hiking, sleeping, and fishing. We were up there for 3 days. Here are a couple fotitos from the weekend:

Once we got up hiking, there was a lot of snow. There was a whole ski run covered in a about 6 feet of snow. Here we are surprised at how much there was at the end of June.
We went on these beautiful walking paths. It was a bit chilly this day, but still a beautiful Rocky mountain afternoon. Check out those lovely mountains! :) AHHH...so often I love living in Colorado.

#9: Picnic in the Park

Sadly, I don't have a picture of this one. Yesterday, July 3rd I arrived to the Springs about 11:30 am. The moment I walked in my folks house, we decided to go out and enjoy a nice picnic at the park. We went up to this place called Fox Run, and had a enjoyable afternoon as a family. It was great!

#14: Go hiking

It's Father's Day. After lunch, my dad proposed a hike. It was crystal clear blues skies, about 85 degrees, and it was a perfect day for hiking. We all jumped at the opportunity of heading outside to get some good exercise and have some great fun as a family! It was wonderful. Here are some pics of our adventures...

Brandon and I...He looks like a flamingo. I think I said something along the lines of, "Welcome to the gun show!" Ha...funny. We have so much fun together.

The gang....minus Bryan. We missed you!

Mamacita and I...we are women, hear us ROAR!

The crew reading something interesting about beetles or trees...not really sure.

So I am making slow progress on my list. I am down 3, only 27 more to go. It has been fun so far!

Item #10: Paddle Boating at City Park

Here goes nothing. My friend, Jason has had paddle boating on the mind for a while, and we finally decided to brave it yesterday in honor of my birthday celebration. We met at City Park at 2:30 to some cloudy skies. I surely thought we were going to get rained out. We ended up having an hour of pure fun, with only one person walking away soaking wet...ME! Interestingly enough, Jason was attempting to bother the other boat (which included Allie, Nic, and Brandon). However, in an effort to soak Jason, they ended up getting my entire right side wet along with flooding my seat, which I then sat down in. My butt was soaking wet by the time we were done. I have to admit that I have never laughed so hard in my life. It was quite entertaining...most definitely worth the $8.46 each person spent.

Jason and I...before getting wet! Brandon, Nic, and Allie...the culprits!

Item #1: Mini golf with the familia

So, I replaced my #1 on my things to do list (Frontier Days) because I am going to be out of town. I have replaced it with mini golf. I admit, I lost, but it was still fun! Here are some pictures of our family adventures on the mini golf course. We are a bit ridiculous :)

I am trying to ride the one-eared donkey. It was slightly awkward.













Brandon and I calculating totals at hole 9. Mom and Brandon were tied at 27. Dad was at 29. And sadly, I was at 30...about 7 over par :(



Brandon and I were imitating the scary ET creature at the end of the golf course. It was part of the "Around the World" themed course. Not sure how it relates, but entertaining enough!












Overall, an exciting game of mini golf. I have come to the conclusion that I am not very good at it! Mom was the winner surprisingly, and Brandon came in second. However, second in his opinion is "not good enough." Better than last, which is what I came in. That's the way the cookie crumbles sometimes! :)

Hit the Jackpot!

Today I hit the jackpot. One of my co-teachers called me and told me that Denver Public Library was having their big used book sale. So, we ventured over there about noon today. It was amazing. I have never seen so many books to wade through, but I managed to walk away with 65 content related books for $40.00. The best part was that they are almost all hard-cover, which hold up so much better in the classroom. It was a great use of time and energy!

Summers off...what shall I do?

I have come to the conclusion lately that one of the best things about being a teacher is having summers off. I have to admit that all my life I have had summers off and never really taken advantage of it. This summer, I have decided that I am going to be productive in the midst of my time off. I've got 7 weeks of summer, so here is my list of 30 things to do:

1. Visit Frontier Days in Cheyenne, Wyoming.
2. Attend a Rockies Game.
3. See a movie at Red Rocks...maybe Ghostbusters or Princess Bride?
4. Get a nice tan and spend lots of time at the pool.
5. Do a puzzle...a hard one.
6. Go to the Museum of Nature and Science.
7. Go the Art Museum.
8. Go to the zoo.
9. Have a picnic in the park.
10. Go paddle-boating at City Park.
11. Have margaritas at the pool.
12. Fly a kite.
13. Enjoy a day in the mountains.
14. Go hiking.
15. Go camping...(yes, Sarah...I will go camping).
16. Climb a tree.
17. Play sand volleyball.
18. See fireworks.
19. Go white water rafting.
20. Play glow in the dark bocce-ball.
21. Make a root-beer float.
22. Play a board game.
23. Cook-out/Barbeque.
24. Play football in the park.
25. Clean out my closets and donate my clothes I don't wear anymore.
26. Go bowling.
27. Go to an amusement park (Elitches or Water World).
28. Go ice-skating.
29. Try a new food...maybe rattlesnake?
30. Run through the sprinklers like I just don't care.

(As I hold my glass up to toast)...Here's to a summer of 4 weddings, 2 roadtrips, sunshine, and hopefully a lot of fun! :) Happy Summer Everyone.