Why Do I Love Boulder County, Colorado? (Part 3)

RANDOM "GREEN"ness. . . .



(picture taken at the 29th Street Mall in Boulder)

Why Do I Love Boulder County, Colorado? (Part 2)

We LOVE our Dogs!!

The dog culture here in Colorado borders on insanity.

Our dogs eat organic dog food and they ride in the car with us to Starbucks to get a "puppacino" (that's a cup full of whipped cream that they are given at the drive thru instead of a doggie biscuit). We pick up their poop in a plastic bag while out taking a walk. There are dog parks all over the place created just for them to have playdates with their friends. We buy them clothes and designer leashes (Okay, I don't go that far) and there are speciality shops on every corner where you can purchase the most ridiculous things to occupy their time and shrink a family's bank account. I actually saw a birthday cake cookie the other day that was no bigger than the average human cookie and it cost $5.99 - for 2 whole dog bites!!!! (no, I didn't buy that one either. . .but the lady in front of me with the matching pomeranians bought 2!!!)

Dogs in Colorado are a protected species - a pampered species - they live better lives than most humans. . .but don't dye your poodle pink! I heard of a hair salon in Boulder who had a poodle in their shop. They died it pink and got charged a $1000 fine for endangering the health of their dog.

Meet my pampered pooch, ECO (like "echo") He's actually not so pampered, but he sure has cost our family lots of bucks. The things we do for our dogs. . .

Why Do I Love Boulder County, Colorado? (Part 1)

EVERYBODY rides a bike!!! Okay, maybe not everybody. I don't ride a bike. I don't even own a bike. But I love the idea of owning and riding a bike. The largest majority of people that I know here do it. I simply need the 4 seater minivan version with airbags. No, scratch that. . .What I need is a surrey like this happy family discovered at Disneyland. Wouldn't I get some great stares if the girls and I started down the bike lane to Target in this?
Or maybe I should do it Hanoi style like this. . .(you've gotta click on this pic to see the larger image)Who really needs a bike lane anyway?

Maybe someday I will join the bike riding craze of Colorado. It's really cool. And seriously, EVERYONE else rides a bike!!!!! But I just paid $1100 so my van would continue to run. I can't even afford a bike. So for me, I'll continue to enjoy the air conditioning and live vicariously through all of my friends who are burning hundreds of calories and saving the ozone layer and looking really terrific in their spandex all at the same time.

This is reason #1 why I love where I live! Check back for more!

Glocalnet Launches New Site

What is Glocalnet? I could give you the big explanation or you could just click here. I'm sure they will explain it much better than I. But in a nutshell, for us at Cool River, they are the ones who launched us out into the church planting world and the ones who continue to help connect us to our mission of working in North Vietnam. But they are about so, so much more. I am extremely proud to be a part of this group. You really should take some time to browse their new site. It's pretty cool. And more is coming soon. . . (FYI - Cool River was the featured church plant on the opening day of this site. Check it out!)

God's Big Backyard

I thought I would share few pictures of the girl's week at Vacation Bible School. . .

Every summer since they have been old enough to participate, I have found a local church providing VBS and signed Emma, Claire and Olivia up. That is one of the perks of church planting. We don't have to do VBS ourselves because we don't have the manpower, and everyone is thrilled to let us be a part of theirs. :-) (FYI - We have chosen not to provide VBS at Cool River and instead to channel our ministry energies alongside the activities that our town provides to its residents.)

Anyway, VBS is not what it used to be. Gone are the days of vanilla wafers and fruit punch, the pledge to the Christian flag and a game of "mother may I?" in the church parking lot. VBS 21st century is a HUGE production!! Lucky for us and the communities that they minister to, there are some churches where VBS is their bread and butter. And yes, I have to say that I am not too proud to enjoy the fruit of their gifting.

So. . .this year we attended VBS at Rocky Mountain Christian Church. It was absolutely top notch! Way to go RMCC! The girls had an absolute blast!!!




Another week of summer has already passed.

A Day in Niwot

There is this little town about 20 minutes way from my house called Niwot, CO. I never go there. But this week it has been my "get away" spot while the girls are at VBS. As often happens, I was sitting at the Eye Opener this morning reading my Bible and writing when a random thought came into my mind. . .I should take pictures of this eclectic little town. . .no big reason. . .I just felt like sharing. Unfortunately, most of them didn't turn out so great. But here are a few I thought I would share. . .

The market. . .the best "people watching" place in town

Old Town Niwot

Great Coffee!



Saving the best for last. . .Ethanol for $2.99/gallon!!!!!



So where is your favorite "get away?"

A Week of Tennis

Emma just completed her first official week of "for real" tennis camp today. After 30 hours of tennis, fun and sun (except for the days that it poured down rain), Emma is exhausted, but happily still loving tennis.

This week was a growing time both for her and for myself. Emma was given a lot of responsibility as she was left in two new situations that she had never experienced. . .8 hours/day away from her parents, out in the open, at a tennis court/pool with only a few coaches to supervise. . .Mom was a nervous wreck for the first 2 days, but she did terrific. . .Second, this week was the first time I have ever allowed Emma to go swimming without my supervision. She is not a great swimmer - brave, but not a lot of skills. Because of this, I was probably the most nervous about not being there to jump in and save her if she needed me during the two opportunities they gave the kids to cool off in the pool. Again, she did just fine. (I have to admit that if she had looked up a few times she would have noticed a silhouette on the other side of the fence that looked much like her mom. . .shhhhh!)



So a new chapter of life has begun. I officially have a daughter who is growing up. . .three of them as a matter of fact. Of course, I have known that all along, but on this day as I write it is very, very real.

Banjo Billy

I had more fun tonight than I have had in a very long time!


A group of ladies got together to celebrate Wendy Spurbeck's birthday by taking a ride on Banjo Billy's Bus Tour. Yep, you heard right. Banjo Billy. Can you tell it is a Boulder bus? You should see the 70's furniture inside to sit on. . .not to mention the horse saddles if you choose not to ride on the orange, yellow and brown plaid sofa. If you live near Boulder and have never taken this night time tour of the city, complete with ghost stories and Boulder history, it is absolutely a must! But if you do it, you must do it in style!

Tonight about 15 ladies joined Wendy at the Boulderado Hotel. We had no idea what we were in for. But after a few glasses of wine, dark chocolate, strawberries, cheese and tons of laughter and silliness, I think that every lady who went with us is ready to plan the next ladies night out with Billy. Seriously, it is a terrific tour. But go as a group and plan to have fun.

After the Banjo Billy tour came to an end, we headed up the street to Centro latin restaurant for dinner. Talk about some SPICY but yummy food! I definitely drank my H2O limit for the day. It was a terrific night all around. Who could ask for more. . great entertainment, amazing ladies to hang out with, yummy food and lots of laughs. Thanks, ladies, for a lot of fun! Happy birthday, Wendy!

I'll Never Complain. . .

about slow or bad service at the drive thru again.

Today the girls and I were out on our annual Croc shopping expedition. It was truly a girls day out. Pink Crocs for all (except for me - hot pink rubber shoes do nothing for my wardrobe!)

Anyway, after our time at the mall, I realized that it was 12:00 and all of a sudden my stomach started rumbling for Chick fil a. Typically, Chick fil a is by far the fastest drive thru. You can get into a line of 10 cars and still be served in 5 minutes or less. 99% of the time they are very impressive - both with speed and their manners. . ."thank you. . .my pleasure." Don't you just love that!

I have to tell you that today was quite the different experience. It was very stressful - not so much because of their unusual slowness. I'm sure that 2 girls smacking each other across the seat behind me had way more to do with my sense of frustration. But all the same, I drove away swearing that I would never return to Chick fil a at lunch time ever again. . .one of those days.

Next came the humor. Such an insignificant moment in life, and yet by way of random You Tube searching for something completely different, I came across this video. (If you are a High School Musical fan or have tiny HSM fans running around your house, you will recognize these celebrities.) Never again will I complain about my drive thru experience. My worst experience can't possibly equal what these girls had to go through.



Just a post to waste your time. . .:-) Every once in a while I think I should be allowed to share something completely insignificant, don't you?. . .Enjoy the weekend!

The Dream Versus Reality

I just came back from picking up the family minivan from the shop. I suppose you could say that reality has set in once again. Just when I started dreaming of the possibility of not being a minivan mom for the rest of my life, my hopes and dreams were shattered in one grand swipe of the Frontier Mastercard.

Yet another dose of reality hit today. I am doomed. . .doomed to continue to ride in a dirty, trash filled, chicken nugget and fries covered house on wheels for quite a few more years to come. And how do I know this? Well. . .I just paid it off. . .

And of course, the inevitable thing happened. . .People always think that once you pay off your vehicle all of a sudden you will have all of this extra money to put aside into savings. At least that was my original plan. The money would happily sit there and gain interest each month until the coveted day arrived when all of the kids were out of car seats. One day soon they would be able to sit side by side without causing us to have to detour to the emergency room. In my imagination, the days of the dream car were just around the corner.

But today reality set in. And this is the reality of my day. . .I paid off the silver Chevy minivan last month and then. . .you guessed it - a few leaks all of a sudden needed to be repaired. . .$1100.00 later. . .and I STILL own a minivan. . .a leak free minivan, yes. . .but still a silver Chevy minivan!!!!!!! And I understand fully tonight that I am doomed to continue on as a minivan mom for lots of years to come. . . (I mean, how do you justify putting $1100 into a vehicle only to get rid of it in 6 months time?)

So here is a picture of my home on wheels. It is a common little van that sucks gas and smells like soured milk on some days and sweaty gym clothes on others. But it's mine. . .fully mine. And I am blessed to have it. For it is far better than the lavendar car that Kevin once drove (though we loved the blessing of being given that great little car) and it is far more gas efficient than my dad's big truck. It can hold an entire army of kids - 6 car seats to be exact. And it gets me where I need to go. . .so I won't complain. But you better believe that I will continue to dream. Someday I'll drive the cool car. Hey, maybe Kevin would like a minivan for his birthday this month. . . .????

Follow Cool River's Venture Vietnam Trip Here

Our 9th team left Friday for Vietnam. Click Here to follow their progress and keep checking back - they will update the blog often during the next 10 or so days. . .

FRESH!!

The highlight of the Colon family Saturday night. . .time to get ready for summer. It was a family event as the girls giggled while Kevin decided to shave it all off .

Sharefest '08

Every year in May, Boulder County churches come together to serve in schools and various places throughout the county. Many work in the schools where they meet. Others help out at neighboring schools or entities within the community who could use some extra hands for a day just to get on top of the cleaning, yard work, painting and other work that needs to be done.
For 2 years now, Cool River has volunteered at Heritage House - a home for teenage girls. Prior to that we worked one year at Eldorado K-8 where we meet for church.

This is the first time that my girls have been old enough to really lend a helping hand. It was a lot of fun to serve alongside them today as we worked at sorting clothes that had been donated to the Heritage House clothes closet.

Does your family make it a priority to serve together? If so, what do you enjoy doing?

We Are Practicing Our Walking Skills

This morning I woke up to such a beautiful day. It's the kind of a day that makes me want to jump in the van and take the kids to the park, run through the sprinklers or take a hike in the mountains. You know those kind of days. . . But recently, just as I'm sure you can all relate, I find myself second guessing just piling into the van for the unexpected outing. Lately, I am more likely to stay home and wait for all of the errands to pile up so I can take care of them in one giant sweep of the town, taking every shortcut possible and never stopping to smell the roses. Van rides are now more about efficiency than recreation. And as gas prices continue to soar, I'm sure this will continue to become more and more our reality.

So, today we decided to practice our walking skills. Here are a few pictures of our time outdoors.






Safeway grocery store is only about a mile away, so we leashed up ECO and set out. Believe it or not, we actually made it there and back without my having to carry a single girl or a dog! Success!!! We purchased food for dinner ($8.75 for 2 chicken breasts!!! - okay they are organic). . .actually ran through some sprinklers. . . and made it back home in time for lunch.

And now comes to my great admission. . .slowing down and taking a walk to the grocery was WAY more fun than jumping in the car to speed there, grab what we needed and run back in the door only to conquer the next thing on my to-do list. Am I happy that gas prices are soaring? Happy? Are you kidding? I hate it. But I am happy that it is causing us in little ways to slow down and enjoy the moments a little bit more instead of just waving as they pass us by.

Just a Beautiful Moment of Rest for your Day

I have been introduced to this guy named Todd Smith from the Christian music group Selah via my friend Pete's blog. You can read more about Todd and his family story here. It's pretty amazing. Anyway, today when I listened to this song it touched me and refocused me and slowed me down. Maybe you need a little taste of that in your day today as well. Enjoy. . .


Todd Smtih "I Surrender All" from Matthew Singleton on Vimeo.

Maria Sue Chapman's Memorial Service

For those of you who have been reading my blogs about the Chapman's, you may also be interested to read a blog giving the details of Maria's memorial service. God was honored in a huge way. Get ready to cry again.

School is OVER!!!!!!!!! Welcome Summer!

Breckenridge Day 3

Yesterday I had a girls day out with Emma, Claire and Olivia. If you read Kevin's blog, you have already seen what he was up to - work. . .so he says. The funny thing about that is how much better he had miraculously gotten at Wii golf and bowling when I challenged him last night. . .anyway, the girls and I braved the snow and set out to patron the shops of downtown Breck. Peek a Boo Toys was the obvious first stop on Claire's itinerary. An hour later we came out with a few treasures and more Frontier airline miles added to my credit card.


Next it was off to our favorite spot - I wonder why?. . . .


A few silly pictures along the way. . .




And, of course, what outing could possibly be complete without a final stop. . .you guessed it. . .Starbucks (hey, it was cold and snowing outside!!)



Today is our last day of vacation. It's 10:30 and I'm still in my robe. But there is so much more to do. So until I have more stories and pictures to share. . .

Images from Breckenridge

Giant Pancakes for breakfast

Comfy Robes
Silly Girls and Daddy
Thursday morning snow

Naps instead of watching Hannah Montana

Update on Chapman Family

Here is a link to the website that the family created for people to send their thoughts and prayers. You can also find updates here and meet Maria.