Day 54: The Good Life - Front Porch View & Mountain Smell

Hello. Today is one of those perfect summer days of weather reprieve. It is only 66 degrees today with a slight breeze. I am sitting here on my porch swing and this is my view. I sit here a lot during the warmer weather while the kids play in all the neighbors' yards because, yes, I am that mom. See that little piece of forest between the two driveways? This morning, it was like a new discovery for all three of the kids as they traipsed around playing cheetahs, which fortunately for them, are not native to Colorado.

Every time I come out on the porch, whether to lazily swing and read a book, sit on the cement steps eating ice cream cones with the kids, or to be totally vigilant marching from the porch to the driveway to the neighbors' homes to keep track of the kids, I think how lucky I am to see this natural beauty every single day. As long as I go out on the front porch at least once during the day. Ha!

But, the real thing that inspired this post today was the fresh scent of pine. It was among the first things I noticed when we toured this house 3 years ago. It smelled like my childhood spent at family cook-outs in the mountains. With the cool weather and even cooler breeze on this middle-of-the-summer gift of a day, the aroma of pine was especially strong, and I thought, "Now, there's one for your Colorado Love List."

And, I was right.

Day 53: Fawns

Do you see those two baby deer trying to blend into our backyard? Well, June and July mean fawns here, and we've been waiting and waiting this year. The rain has kept them away, I guess, but here they are! We love catching a glimpse of them, and even when were are staring at them from inside the house, we whisper quietly because they are so easily spooked. I remember going on drives through the mountains as a girl, and we would be SO excited if we ever spotted any wildlife at all. And, even if we saw some, it would always be very far away from us, and here this is in our backyard. This picture was taken through the window. That's something to like, for sure.

Day 52: Santa's Village

Let me introduce you to Santa's Village, a small amusement park for children exactly the ages of my children. They even have a north pole that is frozen solid. It feels pretty nice to rub your hands all over it on a hot day.

I'm not normally very excited to spend the day at a theme park, but this amusement park is tucked away up in the mountain side and a nice breeze tickled our backs all day.

We also lucked out that Blake was just tall enough to ride all the rides. We last visited when Avery was about the same age and she was not nearly tall enough at the time.

The carousel is always a favorite with our kids.

Luckily, Dustin does think theme parks are fun, and he rode almost all the rides with the kids when they needed an adult to accompany them. What a fun dad, amiright?

Blake felt very big and independent riding without us, and the girls felt very big and responsible when we asked them to sit by Blake and put their arm around him to keep him safe. 

We had cousins with us, which is always the best, and we were all happy to watch Dustin wheel them around all day. Ha!

The buildings are pretty cute.

You can sit on Santa's lap if you want. You can buy Christmas ornaments. You can mail a postcard from the North Pole. You can buy a s'mores pack and roast it by the fire. It's all pretty fun.

So, Santa's Village at the North Pole. It's a pretty good find.

Day 51: Kissing Camels

When I was a kid, we would drive to the Provo/Orem area in Utah every year to see my grandparents. As we were driving in, my dad would always point out the lovely Mount Timpanogos.

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He would tell stories of hiking it with my older brothers when they were small, and he would tell us of the folklore surrounding this majestic mountain. The one I liked best involved a Native American princess and her love story. Then, as we whizzed past on the freeway, he would say, "See! See it!? You can see the outline of the princess along the top of Timpanogos!" From the back of the crowded twinkie van or suburban because, yes, I was always in the back, I would concentrate on that outline, and you know what? I still have yet to see that outline.

Can you see it?

Well, in Colorado Springs, we have a much simpler outline at Garden of the Gods. It's called Kissing Camels, and we point it out to the girls every time we go. I am always reminded of my dad when we walk along the cement path while the girls zip along on their scooters, "See it?! See it, girls? Do you see the two kissing camels?"

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Aren't they lovely? This, of course, is not my photography. Here is mine:

This is the angle we see the camels from our walks, but the other shot is how we see them every time we drive to and from school.

I'm headed to Utah in a couple of weeks, and you can bet I'll tell the girls the stories of Timpanogos and pretend I can see the outline of the beautiful princess and can they see it to?

It's the little things, you know?