Hello, xanga friends! Colorado was AWESOME!!! Need I say more? Well, probably not but I will anyway! Me, my mom, and my daughter left early on the 27th and followed the church vans as we traveled to a land far away from Texas and the heat. Or so we thought.... Actually, we had some pretty warm days in Colorado although it did cool down at night, thank goodness! We stayed with my friends, Ron and Doris, in Castle Rock which is about 15 miles from Denver. They have a very nice house and a very psycho dog! We arrived at their house at about 11:00 a.m. on Saturday morning and after settling in we were off to a luau that some of the church members were throwing for the congregation. They had roasted a whole pig in a pit....hmmmm....and everyone brought food to go along with it. Lauren took some really good pictures of the different "stages" of the roasting of the pig, along with her taking a BIG bite. After getting a good look of the pig (head and all) after they unwrapped it, I wasn't too keen on eating it. I did take a small bite just to prove I was a good sport then I concentrated on eating all the other great food! The next day we went to church and then went shopping at the outlet stores in Castle Rock. That was about it for that day! On Monday, we went to Colorado Springs and toured the Garden of the Gods and the Cave of the Winds. I bought some silver pine cone jewelry (earrings and a necklace). Doris took us to a wonderful french bakery for lunch in Colorado City. Then we went home and chilled out! Tuesday, we went to the Denver Museum of Natural History and saw the Titanic exhibit and the IMAX on the Titanic. It was very interesting and emotional. While we were there, Lauren somehow lost her wallet! That night a group from Oklahoma Christian (New Reign) came a sang for the church. Wednesday, Doris had to go back to work and my mom was pretty worn out so Lauren and I went back to the museum to see if they had found her wallet. They had and everything was still in it! What a relief! Then we went to the Cherry Creek Mall and hung out for a little while. We then went to the church that we had attended in Denver when we lived there 14 years ago. We were able to visit and eat lunch with the preacher and his wife. Lauren wanted to drive by our old apartment and her old school from when we lived there. Of course, it has all really changed but it was interesting to see some things that we still recognized! Then we went to ANOTHER mall...(we love to shop) and then we went back to Castle Rock. When we got back, I noticed that I had lost one of my little pine cone earrings after only wearing them twice. I found a site online where I can order another pair and I think I just might do that. Anyway, that night we went to church and then to bed. The next morning, we left to go to the mountains where our church group was. It was really hard to leave Doris. I miss her so much and wish that we lived closer! Anyway, we drove up to the mountains and got to see the group after they had just come down from their TREK on the mountain. It was great to see my husband and son after 6 days! Lauren was happy to be around people her own age...(What! I'm not THAT old) lol. The cabin we stayed in was beautiful and had a wonderful view of the mountain range from the front porch. I really want to go and stay in one of those cabins again for a vacation. The next day, we headed for Amarillo and ate at the Big Texan where we watched a man trying to eat a 72 oz. steak. Yeah, only in Texas..... I have been trying to recuperate over the last few days and get back in the swing of things. My summer vacation is almost over, I have to go back to school on the 20th. I've got one more week of freedom! Have a great day, xanga friends! | 
