ICE ICE BABY

 I successfully convinced Jimmie to go for a drive to Cripple Creek where an ice festival was happening. While it wasn't as big as I was expecting, it was still pretty cool to see all the ice sculptures that various people worked on. Of course, I got all giddy when I saw the MILLENIUM FALCON! and R2D2!! Had to get a picture! 

In other news, my car had to go back to the shop last night. This is the first car that I have owned, and I am so proud of myself for this purchase. So, to see my Red Queen being towed broke my heart a little bit. Come to find out, a service technician who did my oil change the week before, decided not to replace the plug for my oil pan even though it didn't look sturdy enough. So, on my way home Sunday night, the plug came out and all of the oil spilled out and the engine seized. When they looked at it on Monday morning, they instantly knew what was wrong and have already taken steps to rectify the situation. YAY! 

At the time of this blog post, they have given me a rental car - 2022 Outback for free AND they are replacing my engine for free. Double YAY! I am so grateful to them and to God for keeping me safe and practically giving me a new car. Praying this all goes well! 

Snow Tubing Time!

Oh my goodness, this was so much fun! When I first saw the tubing hill at Echo Mountain, my jaw dropped a tad. It's pretty high and I am a little afraid of heights. However, after my first run down the hill, I was in heaven. Jimmie, my boyfriend, and I must have gone down 20+ times. We loved it so much, we asked for another hour. The way tubing hills operate up here is that you pay per hour. We originally booked the 3 - 4pm hour and then we decided to ask for another hour since it's discounted. Super cold by the time we left but we had a blast. There are three tubing hills that I know of in Colorado near Denver. I honestly can't wait to check out the other ones!!

The hardest part was getting on and getting off the people mover going up the hill! HAHA That takes some finesse and eye foot coordination.

Overall, this was a fun way to spend Valentine's weekend. I am glad Jimmie and I decided to do experiences together instead of giving each other gifts. I feel like this is a better way to spend money. Gifts can sometimes just collect dust unless it's super useful. My love languages are gifts and quality time and I know Jimmie is the same way. Happy Valentine's Day! 

MLK ROODDEEEOOOOO!

I invited one my friends from work, Christina, and her husband to join Jimmie and I at the rodeo. They are from Texas but never been to a rodeo before. WHAT!? I have always been enamored with them so whenever the rodeo comes to Denver, I am all about trying to figure out when to go. 

My favorite was the barrel racing but I also loved the acrobats and mutton bustin. There were adults and kids as young as 3 years old participating! I was floored! If I had a three year old, there is NO WAY I would let them do barrel racing or mutton buston without full body bubble wrap! 

For those of you who don't know, mutton bustin is when a child, typically under age 8 hangs onto a sheep and rides it for as long as they can without falling off. It was fun to watch. 

The barrel racing was also great! We all cheered for the kids extra hard! Some of them, I am not sure they knew what to do or maybe it was the horse! 

Overall, it was a fun night! Love hanging out with my crew and seeing the horses. 

Highest Bridge in the World - SURPRISE BDAY TRIP

I wanted to go on a birthday trip but didn't have time till this past weekend. Jimmie had told me about Royal Gorge months ago and I hadn't been so...he drove me there. It was super cool! Even though, I am a tad afraid of heights I loved seeing God's creation. I wonder if this is a mini version of The Grand Canyon. 

We took the gondola over and then walked the bridge back. The bridge had the flags of every state and had to find my dear old Connecticut flag. There was also ziplining and no...I didn't try that. I would have had to have given myself a long pep talk just to get into the contraption. While we were walking back toward the bridge, there were little goldfish you could feed and a slingshot kind of "ride". Looked a little freaky. Who would voluntarily put themselves into it to be flung into the air back and forth? Crazy people. 

The view was freaking amazing! I loved seeing the mountains, the Arkansas river, the train, the sky...just everything. It was neat to see and I got a souvenir sticker to put on my suitcase! Glad the weather was cool and not hot. The sun played peekaboo for a while. It did get a bit windy but super happy the bridge was solid. Jimmie kept looking down and pointing out things to me, which I looked at for .05 seconds before backing up. I think he enjoyed seeing me squirm. 

If you ever get a chance to go, it is well worth the drive. We watched a video in the museum about a fire that happened here years ago and burned almost everything around this bridge, yet the bridge was barely touched. How amazing is that! This bridge was built before our grandparents' time and is still standing today! Men were a lot smarter back then than they are now...just saying.