SPRING!!!

Ahhhh.  I FEEL it.  Spring is more than just in the air today.  It's officially HERE. 

And although we have some snow still on the ground, there isn't any more on the way in the 7 day forecast.  I have a feeling the snow isn't quite over for the season, but since the days are longer, and the temperatures are getting a little warmer, I think any snow we get from here on out won't stick around too long.

I LOVED our first real Winter here in Colorado.  Loved it with a capital L. So much so, that I'm a little sad to say goodbye to it.  However, this will be our first Spring here.  I can't wait to see what pops up flower and plant-wise. I'm pretty sick of my winter clothes at this point, since I Kon Marie my way to such a small wardrobe. I'm ready to change that up already!  I'm also looking forward to warmer temps, so that I can head out earlier in the days with Lucy and Ricky for some good long hikes. 

I've been so conditioned during my 40+ years of living in the sweltering heat of Dallas summers (excuse me, but... BARF) that this will be my first time to fully soak up the joys of Spring.  Spring in Dallas is actually nice. However, I always have the knowing dread of what's ahead. We arrived in Colorado in June of last year, so I know what the summers are like here.  And although it's not my favorite season (it's still a little hot during parts of the day, and those f-ing rattlesnakes scare the crap out of me), I still like it!

So I am fully welcoming Spring this year.  Completely.  I'm ready to soak it up. 🌼

oh, and yep, this pretty Warner brooch is up for grabs in my ResparkableVintage Etsy shop- the first flower of SPRING

http://www.ResparkableVintage.etsy.com

My ATV Ride, and the Picture to Prove It

Recently, I took a trip to Pagosa Springs, Colorado with the fam.  Fermin and I drove (yes, we drove!) so Lucy and Ricky could join us.  We met up with my brother and his dog, and a few days later, my sister and her dog came up as well.  Hey, it's our dogs world, and we're just living in it!

It was great.  Seriously great.  The weather, the beauty of the the mountains, the fun outdoor things to do every day, ... all of that was such a nice break from Dallas. 

There was only one day that the weather put a damper on things. My brother, Fermin and I rented ATVs.  (Which I mistakenly kept referring to as ATFs, All Terrain Fehicals, and am just going to continue to do so.) We were going to rent them for 4 hours, but because of my blood sugars and my eating schedule, (I'm a little high maintenance due to my Type 1 Diabetes) I said I was only doing 2 hours.  The two of them sort of rolled their eyes at me, but also changed their reservations to 2 hours.  Which in the moment, totally sucked.  But, it ended up being a great thing.

Within 5 minutes of us leaving the rental place to head up the mountain in our ATFs, it started raining.  A lot.  And getting colder and colder.  After about 20 minutes, we had to pull over and get under some trees so this storm could pass.  We did see a few other people in cars, and even a few on  ATFs, but they were all coming down the mountain.  The three of us came up with a plan- rather than riding up the mountain, we decided to go down near the river.  It would probably be warmer there (makes sense, right?), and maybe it wouldn't even be raining by the time we got there.

No.  and No.

That ride back down to where we started was hellacious!  It was so miserably cold, I couldn't see out of my rain soaked, fogged up glasses, and the raindrops were so big they were actually painful.  At one point, I found myself screaming all sorts of phrases into my helmet that only I could hear.  Somehow, I think it made me feel slightly better.  And in between my expletives, I'd laugh at how ridiculous this stupid this ATF ride was.

Oh, did I mention this was my first ever ATF experience?

But this was the one picture we got from that misadventure. We only took one photo, at the very beginning of the ride, before everything went to shit.  Look, we look like we are just loving every minute of it.  It's such a misrepresentation.  And the perfect one to post on my Facebook account!

Fermin and I- on the ATFs pre-monsoon.  Fun for about 5 minutes.

Rocky Mountain High, Colorado

For Christmas, Fermin gave me a cute pink down jacket and surprised me with a trip to Colorado.  My first question, of course, was, "Have you made arrangements for Ricky and Lucy?"  And just like the Mr. Happy-Go-Lucky that he is, he said, no, he hadn't.

"You're seriously leaving us here?"

But I called up a few neighbor friends, asked if they could partake in care for the pups, and they all gave an enthusiastic, "Yes!" response.  Such short notice, but thank God, I've got neighbors that are friends too.  One pair of neighbors were the official dog walkers.  Another neighbor was the official meal time gal and was in charge of tucking them in at night.  Yet another neighbor said she's stop over just to give them a little extra love.  Because can the Ricardo's ever get enough love and affection?!  Probably not! 

Still, it was hard leaving them behind...  I thought I was going to cry.

But I didn't.  Because I knew they'd be well cared for and loved on, and that we would get to see them in less than a week. 

We flew into Denver, and it was 72 degrees!  It was 30 degrees colder in Dallas.  What the what?! 

Fermin got us a great apartment rental on the top floor of a hotel/living building.  Our view from the 37th floor was amazeballs...

our room with a view- downtown, Denver CO

And it was huge!  I'm not kidding, nearly as big as our house.  Which, I guess, is another way of saying that our house is not so big.  :)  I kept thinking we would have had plenty of room for Lucy and Ricky.  They could've even had their own bath and bedroom.  But it was pretty romantic, it being just the two of us.

We stayed in Denver a few days, ate many great meals, and got to see the downtown area of Denver for the first time. 

Then it was time to drive to the mountains of Breckenridge.

gorgeous drive from Denver to Breckenridge

The temperature had already dropped in Denver by that time, and it just got colder as we approached higher elevation. 

i can ALWAYS find a bead shop!

beads from Colorado

I've gone to Colorado many times during my life.  And anytime I've gone during the winter, it was for skiing.  But I have to confess:  I didn't ski!  The day we intended to ski ended up being very cold, and very snowy.  I just couldn't talk myself in to getting excited to ski.  And the cool thing is, I didn't have to!  Fermin went without me, and I just shopped around in all the cute little shops in town.   Of course, I was able to find the local bead shop!

My neighbors took great care of Lucy and Ricky.  And every day, I got at least one text up-to-dating me on how they were doing.  They also sent me lots of cute pictures.

pretty littly Lucy

handsome Ricky

We had so much fun, and before we knew it, it was time to fly home.

leaving on a jet plane. ok, not a jet.  but yes. a plane.

We were greeted sweetly by the pups, as I knew we would be.  Lucy was so happy she cried for about 30 minutes straight.  Ricky was equally as excited, but he handled himself like a man.

toys and bones, scattered all over.

I love Colorado.  And Fermin planned this trip out so well for us.  We had a great, great time. It was the perfect amount of time away from home.  (Any longer, and I might have cried harder than Lucy did.)

Colorado or Bust

I should be in Colorado right now. With Fermin, Lucy and Ricky.  Hiking in the cool temperatures, checking out a new scene, and living the high life. 

That was the plan.  We recently got a new car and figured, what better way to break it in but to use it for our transportation to get us out of this brutal Dallas heat?

It was going to be about a 12 hours drive, but that didn't sound too bad.

Until it got closer to our departure date. 

My husband realized he had to be back earlier than he originally thought due to work obligations.  Ug, work- always getting in the way!  So, we considered going somewhere that didn't have quite as long of a travel time to get to.  We thought about northern Arkansas, in the mountainous area.  That sounded like a good enough plan B for me and the Ricardos!

"We have done 5 hour car rides before, and we're willing to do it again!"

It wasn't going to be as cool, or as cool, but still, it was a getaway! But, no one in this family plans ahead.  So the night before we were set to leave, Fermin was on the internet trying to find accomodations.  And obviously, these accomodations had to be dog friendly.  Or bust.

It was just too late.  It didn't pan out.

Oh well.  Next time.
It's all good in the 'hood.