Part I of 2: Thirsday Thirteen

Hi everyone. I am still alive and well. I have so much to update you on, just can't do it right now. Teaser, right!

Just wanted to let you all know that the kids and I went to Colorado for our summer vacation and we had a blast. It was one busy trip. I want to write down everything we did before I forget. I will have to come back and add pictures at another time.

1. 50th Surprise Birthday Party for Uncle Gene. This was the most awesome thing. Everyone (well almost everyone) was there. Uncle Alan and Aunt Randi (came from Kansas), Cousin Steve and Maureen, Larry J, Robbie (who I really needed his number but the one I had was NOT good). Cousin Brian (Dallas), Uncle Clarence and Auntie Karen, Grandpa Chavez, My Dad, Bobbie, Ray and Dina and so many other family members. It was a great time.

2. 4th of July Barbecue at my Mom and Fred's house. A smaller gathering but just as fun. I tried Chili Beer and it was only good for the first few sips...after that I had to switch it up to lemonade. My sister and Rick bought enough fireworks to last for SEVEN HOUR..ha ha. No really we had a lot and it was fun AND scary to watch my son light these things up. I remember the days he would hide in the house when it was firework time. NOT any more. Another thing that just amazed me was how many aerial fireworks were all around us and all night too. It was like going to a firework show that never ended. Puebloans sure did spend their savings for this holiday. WOW! It rained a little bit but it didn't put a damper on our spirits.

3. Bishops Castle and Lake Isabel. What a treat to visit this man made castle. Jim Bishop has been working on this castle (BY HAND and BY HIMSELF) for the past 41 years. I was here last when I was about Darren's age so it was really neat for me to take the kids. & of course Lauren climbed to the very (rickety) top! We tried to do the paddleboats on the lake, but got rained on.

4. We “Went to Town” on Mom’s Cooking. That we did almost every day. She truly is the best cook. She made Breakfast Tacos with GREEN CHILE, Pork Steak with all the fixings, Chicken Tacos on White (for those of you who don’t know, that means Deep Fried Chicken Filled Tacos on Flour Tortilla-the tortilla is stuffed and fried, YUM), Enchilada Tejanas. I made Migas for Mom, cause last time she came to visit I made that and she loves it. So we ate a lot. I had lost 12 pounds, I am sure with my visit I have found at least 5 back. (update from last week, I only gained 3, but lost 4.2 this week-so back on track).

5. Drive In Movie {Transformers}-I wish we had these here but I guess the weather isn’t as nice and cool in the evenings as it is in Pueblo. Unfortunately it kept raining on and off so it was a bit frustrating at first. Luckily after about 30 minutes into us turning the car around, putting up the chairs, getting in the car, getting back out of the car, it stopped. We decided to enjoy a few cold ones and had to laugh that the liquor store we went to ONLY had 30 packs of Tecate Light. I have never seen a 30 pack, nor have a ever thought I’d buy a 30 pack. It was so heavy. Ha ha.

6. Pueblo Zoo, enough said. Not really, they have done a lot of renovations to the zoo and it has come along nicely since I was a child. They closed down “Monkey Mountain” which was a favorite of mine when I was little. They have new exhibits now and penguins. Yay for the Pueblo Zoo.

7. Lake Pueblo, Hot but not humid…and you can actually enjoy some blue water with the mountains as your backdrop. Boy did I get a tan there. We were only out there for like 2 hours and I almost burned. I guess the higher elevation? No clue, but it was lovely. Only thing we didn’t like was the fact that the bottom of the lake was very squishy..mud. Bleh.

8. Festival Friday’s, Okay, so I couldn’t do this every weekend, but it was nice to go to this event. In Pueblo’s downtown “Arts District” they have a live band and a bunch of booths. Puebloans gather around for a nice outdoor concert and big arse beers. Really, these were huge cans. You have to buy tokens for any of the booths and of course they are non-refundable. So you have to use it or lose it. I was only able to handle 1 BAB(eer). So we gave extra tokens to my lil sis…she better USE THEM.

TBC…..(I will try to finish tomorrow)