Day 59-62: Just working and another hike

 I had an old colleague reach out to me via text and we were making small talk about how things are going. I said to her "life is simple", and it really is. We have slowed down the hustle of life and we are just enjoying it. I actually finished a book. A whole book. From start to finish. I haven't done that in at least 15 years, and prior to that I probably only read because of school. Did I take about a month to finish the book? Yes. But I finished it. That has been the theory of a lot of things lately. I find myself climbing and repeating in my head "you don't have to go fast; you just have to finish". Or when we are hiking, I remind myself that I can go at my own pace. We can go at our own pace, and that is amazing.

We made the trip to IKEA on Tuesday, which is about an hour drive from where we are staying. We figured we would be there for an hour or two. Man, where we wrong. We were there for right around three hours. We found a dresser that works in Alanna's room. Alanna and Brandon put it all together after dinner, and the next day Alanna was excited to organize her room. There is more work to be done in there, but it is coming along nicely! It is very important to us that Alanna has her own space that she is comfortable in.

Alanna went to see her new friend Piper's volleyball game yesterday. We were also invited, but Alanna wanted (needed) to have some time without her parents. We totally understand. The three of us are together essentially 24/7. While Alanna was at the game Brandon, Bruce, and I hiked Horse Tooth. The drive out had awesome views with stellar homes on mountain sides. Homes we will never be able to afford but were nice to look at. They were also homes that we couldn't figure out how the people that lived in them got up there. There were some obvious access roads, and some not-so-obvious maybe roads on the side of the mountain? They did not look like anything I would like to drive up, especially in the snow. The view while hiking just kept getting better the higher we went. I'm not sure how many times I said, "nature is wild", but if I had to guess at least a dozen times. On the hike we saw a Mule Deer Doe and her two fawns, then on our way back to Loveland we saw Elk on the side of the road. At first, I thought they were fake, then they moved. These creatures are huge and majestic. I love all of the bonsai looking trees that grow out of rock. We also saw some unique clouds along the way. We hiked 3.39 miles, and it took about an hour and a half. During that time the temperature went from 84 degrees to 64 degrees. The swing of temperature in this high desert is something. Bruce has been having the best time hiking and going for walks in general. He hops up those rocks, sniffs around at all the smells, and is just the happiest pup. He does have a hiking hang over today. Afterall, he is in his 50s.

After our hike we met up with our friends while Alanna went to Youth Group with Piper. I remember youth group as a child. I would go with my best friend, Mary, and it was fun. It was nice to hang out with different people, play games, and just be kids. Yes, it is at a church, but it is not "churchy". Alanna would like to go again next week, and I'm sure Piper will be thrilled.

Tonight, there is a shoe demo and the rock-climbing gym. Alanna needs shoes so it is a great opportunity for her to try them before we buy them. We may climb, we may not. We are all kind of enjoying a recovery day.

What we learned:

• You lose time when you go to IKEA
• Swedish meatballs are delicious
• Elk are amazing
• Gloomy days are great for recovery

Much Love and Happy Times,

The Blackshire's

Day 53-58 - We moved, Colorado Springs, Bills lost, Dophins won

We have some days to catch up on! Last week Thursday we moved to a new RV resort. This one suits us much better. It is quiet, there are great neighbors, there is more to do around us, and overall, just more peaceful. We did a soft pack to move and decided to not put the motorcycle in the toy hauler and ride it over. The question going back and forth was who is going to ride the motorcycle, and who was going to drive. I haven't practiced on the motorcycle since I got my license, so we decided that me driving the truck and trailer would be the better option. Of course, in my head I was thinking that Brandon didn't want me to hurt his precious motorcycle, but in reality, he didn't want me to hurt myself, which is fair, I guess. So, I drove the truck and trailer! It was more than just forward and two left turns this time, too! They were all right turns, a roundabout, on the highway, then off the highway, then another right turn into the resort. When I get out of the truck to check us in the women in the office were very impressed that I drove. I downplayed it as it was only about five miles, and they told me to own it. I drove it there and everything was fine.

Friday, we went with Dana to Colorado Springs overnight. We walked around the Garden of the Gods, then went into downtown Colorado Springs for dinner. Garden of the Gods was breathtaking. While we were there, we saw mule deer, a doe and a fawn. Then as we kept walking Brandon spotted a buck just sitting down chewing whatever he was chewing. This buck was so close to the fence, and just chilled there. Makes me wonder why hunting is so difficult, but what do I know? Saturday we casually woke up, then made our way to hike Mount Cutler. It was a nice 2ish mile hike with breathtaking views. On the way back down we heard water, that we didn't hear on our way up (odd, we know). We crossed the street at the bottom and found this beautiful, crystal clear, running stream. Dana being Dana walked right in and cupped her hands and drank it. Me being me was still skeptical on whether you can drink it or not. It took me a moment, but I drank it, and it was some of the best water I've ever had. Brandon and Alanna took their socks and shoes off and went into the water, and I followed. It was very cold, crisp, and refreshing. Even though Brandon's feet were a little upstream I still took another drink of that water. Nature is wild!

After the hike we made our way to Cave of the Winds (Cave of the Winds Mountain Park | Your Colorado Adventure Awaits) where Brandon and Alanna took a ride of the Terror-Dactyl. The Terror-Dactyl is "the first of its kind anywhere in the world, the TERROR-dactyl sits on the edge of a 200-foot cliff. Those brave enough to ride will be launched 150 feet into the canyon at nearly 100 miles per hour!" Their video is pretty on point for being Brandon and Alanna - entertaining for sure.

We drove through Manitou Springs with the intention of walking around that adorable little town, but there were no parking spots to be found so we cut our losses and headed home. The drive home was a nail biter as I, Andrea, set a new overall best in mpg. Dana was my co-captain cheering on as the truck updated the mpg's. "20.5, 21, 21.5, 21.7, 21.9, 22, 22.1, 22.3, 22.5, 22.7! She even recorded and sent to the only person that would appreciate our excitement about this as much as we did, our dad. I gloated for a moment and thanked the people who believed in me. We also had a super exciting experience filling up the diesel on the truck. We filled up for $4.09! We happy danced at our savings, then dropped Dana off to enjoy her peace and quiet without us.

Sunday Brandon and I got up and went grocery shopping so we could get to Buffalo Wild Wings in time for the Bills v Dolphins kickoff. We all know how that went. The Bills played their third string team, and the Dolphins won. I'm joking Miami Dolphins fans; it was a good game. We left BWW shortly after half time and then went to look at couches. We may have found the one we want, but we are going to check out IKEA on Tuesday, then make our decision.

I'm putting all of the photos at the end because there is an excessive amount of them. Enjoy the photo dump!

Things we learned:

• Bruce loves hiking. He climbs rocks like a mountain goat.
• I can drive the truck and trailer more than just forward
• Buffalo Wild Wings fills up with a cornucopia of football fans
• Bruce can open the sliding doors if they are not locked (He got out when we went to look at couches. Luckily our neighbors just chained him up and he played with their cat until we got back)
• African Serval's are super cool cats (our neighbor has one)

Much Love and Happy Times,

The Blackshire's