Our First BBQ!....and a Propane Story

So Wayne decided he would buy a BBQ on the way home from work. He headed to Wal Mart and purchased the grill as well as the propane tank. I pulled up to our garage on my way back from the gym to find him sprawled out, BBQ parts everywhere. (I didn't know he had to assemble the dang thing himself!) After an hour it started getting dark outside so he brought the grill into the living room to finish it. At 9 PM it was done!...so he thought. We put it on the porch to light up and.......nothing. Again.....nothing. I asked him if he had the propane tank filled up. His respone was "You gotta have them fill it up too!?" HA HA HA!!! I could hardly contain myself! Bless his heart, he spent over two hours putting the thing together and forgot to get the propane tank filled up! We laughed for a long time...and then I went to Chic Fil A to grab us some dinner. At least we had burgers and brats to look forward to the next night!

We've Added Some Color To Our Kitchen!

Here's our kitchen with the red and yellow colors. I love that we have some color in our home now! We really weren't planning on the red color at first, so now we have to purchase a few things to match it...like towels! The orange ones in this picture would have definately matched the pumpkin orange color! :)

The Finished Product!

Tada! Here is our TV/Family room all finished! The color looks great and makes it feel more like "our" place. Wayne did a good job painting the accent wall...he was really the one to choose the color for it as well. By the way, these are our new couches! It's great because they aren't half eaten by a dog, and the middle cushion is 100% in tact!

It's a Dirty Job, But Somebody's Gotta Do It!

Oooooooh, see the look of concentration and determination in his eyes as he cleans his paint roller! If there is one person in this world who can clean an entire can of paint out of a roller it is Wayne Jensen. Not one drop was left! I attempted it, but soon found out it was harder than it looks. Wayne was a painter for a while, painting the inside of new homes. He knows all the "techniques" to painting your place!

The Kitchen Nightmare...

So how many times can you visit the Home Depot paint department in one day?.....try four. That's right, we went four different times just for the kitchen color(s). The first color Yellow we tried was a little TOO yellow! But of course we didn't decide that until I spent 45 minutes cutting in. We (meaning the wonderful and patient people at Home Depot) tried adding more color to make it a deep orange/brown color, but it turned out looking like a really awful tanish-whatever-it-was color. Third time is a charm right??? Nope. We tried matching this really cool dark orange color on a plate we had. It looked great being held up to the walls! You can see the spot to the left of the picture...looks like a Halloween Pumpkin! No bueno! The last (and FINAL) time we went we decied on a lighter yellow overall, with a backsplash of a deep red. It turned out beautiful!

Getting Ready to Paint!

So we decided to paint our townhome! We started at 8am in the morning and "finished" at about 10:30 at night. Here's Wayne preping the walls with tape, just before cutting in with the paint brush. We agreed on a Navajo White for the walls in the TV room, with an accent wall a very pretty sage/brown color. Just when I thought we had finally moved things in and cleaned up we started this project!

Sunday Picnic at Palmer Park

We enjoyed a very sunny Sunday afternoon by having a picnic in the gigantic Palmer Park. The park is full of mountain biking, walking, and running trails that extend for miles! It is kind of bizarre because you are right in the middle of the city, yet in this beautiful forrest!

Wayne bought me a picnic basket a few days ago (very fancy!) and I have been dying to use it! We found a one-legged picnic table and enjoyed our foccacia bread sandwiches!

Climbing "Red Rocks"

We spent all day Saturday climbing in "Red Rocks." This canyon is just South of Garden of the Gods, and is a continuation of the many "fins" that extend for miles in either direction. I am getting even more addicted to climbing than ever before! Colorado Springs has more things to do outdoors than I could even imagine! It seems like every weekend we discover something new and exciting to do! This next weekend I plan on climbing either here again, or in good old GOG. That's the "slang" for Garden of the Gods.

The World's Youngest Rock Climber!

Meet Quinten! He is 10 months old and belongs to our friends Heather and Dan. Oh, yes that is a dog's leg sticking out on the right side of the picture. That is Heather and Dan's boxer, as well as Quinten's best bud! Quinten loves the outdoors! He was all smiles the entire time we were climbing...just as long as he could play in the dirt!

Dan the Belay Donkey!

This is Dan. He's really a great, goofy guy...as you can see. he knows all the best routes in Garden of the Gods and is an excellent climber! We met Dan and his wife, Heather, last Saturday as we went exploring in the park. Last Thrusday we went over to their house for dinner and met their adorable little boy Quinten. We've only been in the Springs for a week so it's nice to already have some buddies!

The Red Tower

Here's Wayne climbing the Red Tower. This was a really fun climb to do considering it is right in the middle of the tourist walkway in Garden of the Gods. This climb was smaller than Montezumi's Castle, but I think it was a little bit more fun! Wayne, myself, and Dan spent all day Saturday climbing in the park and having a great time! Dan goes just about every Saturday so we are looking forward to scraping more skin off our knuckles next week!

YUP!......We Climbed it!!!

This is Montezumi's Castle. It is 125 feet tall and one of the many "Fins" that make up gigantic rock formations in Garden of the Gods. This climb was two pitches, meaning that the first person (lead climber) goes up and then secures to the first anchor to bely the second climber. In this case, our friend Dan was the lead climber, then Wayne, then me. You can see Wayne in this picture climbing a very hairy part of the fin. It is only about 12 inches apart at the widest and the first belay station will make you wet your pants! We all three climbined all the ay to the point just above Wayne's head in this picture, then repelled down to the right. It was seriously the best climb I have ever done...even though I am terrified of heights!

We Made it!

Ok, so we didn't get to go all the way to the top. We had a minor "spit" of snow last night so they closed the top lookout point. We were still able to get to the second to last point where I found myself shaking just taking this picture! I am terrified of heights...but somehow I still rock climb!

A View from the Shrine...

This is a gorgeous view from the shrine! We read that on a clear day you can see up to 130 miles away! Today was one of those days so we snapped all the photos we could. Although we seem high up now, we are only on the first lookout point!

Will Rogers Shrine of the Sun

When you visit the zoo, you also have the option of visiting the Will Rogers Shrine of the Sun. It is WAY up on Cheyenne Mountain, and is over 130 feet tall. A gentleman named Spencer Penrose began building it in December 1934, and finished it in 1937. Himself, his wife, and two dear friends are built in the structure's chapel located on its north side. If you go inside you can actually climb the stairs all the way to the top of it...you better belive Wayne and I went for it!

Totally "Gnarly!"

Ok so I just couldn't help myself when I saw the name of this gigantic tree in the children's center! Yes, it was me who made Wayne do the silly pose and hang loose sign, but I think it looks wicked sweet!

Take a Seat!

There is a children's "Barckyard" section at the zoo that I personally found to be totally awsome! Everything was giant sized! There was a pretty sad petty zoo with only two billy goats who didn't do much but sit on tree stumps, and some chicken looking things that just pecked at you the whole time!

Up Close and Personal at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo!

Ok, so Cheyenne Mountain Zoo is pretty much the coolest place I have ever been! The very first exhibit you run into is the Giraffes! You walk out on a platform and can actually feed them crackers by hand! This morning, however, they enjoyed the snow that had accumulated over night. Wayne found it amusing to feed them snowballs and watch as they licked it up with their ginormous tongues!

Purple Mountains Majesty...Pikes Peak

Pikes Peak! "Purple Mountains Majesty" actually came from this particular peak. At 14,110 feet, it is one of the highest peaks in Colorado. You can hike the 13 mile trail to the top, or take the scenic Cog Railway Train. It is indeed on our list of things to do here in Colroado Springs! The list, howver, keeps growing each and every time we go somewhere and meet new people who share exciting places to go!

Tasting "The Springs"

Manitou Springs was named after its many natural springs. You can walk along the town today and still drink from them as you please. Many people still bring containers to fill with the fresh mountain spring water. I had to try it! I sipped a little bit but immediately spit it out! It tasted like the worst club soda I've ever had! The locals told us that every spring has a different taste or "flavor," but I honestly didn't want to try any more!