Photo Safari

The girls and I went on a picture-taking expedition up the Poudre Canyon this afternoon.  Lots of fun.

And, of course, a wienie roast followed the pictures...followed by roasted marshmallows.

April Adventure

This was my "go somewhere I've never been before" trip for April.  This is a Colorado state park about an hour from my house.  Not someplace to go back to...pretty barren.  But there are several small ponds and lots of people there...I'm guessing fishermen.

 The sky was beautiful.  Took a hike, kept looking for great pictures...nope.

 This character was the most interesting thing I saw...at a museum in historic Longmont.

Adventures with Zoe...

Collecting stuff around the house she can play with...love the lei and beads on her.

 This is how she always stands.

My little Hawaiian baby!

Adventures with Zoe...

Yes, we're still going to the mall...because she likes it so much.  Managed to get this picture before she took it off.

Oops...guess we stayed too long.

Adventures with Zoe

Went back to the mall...she LOVES it there...mostly the people...she loves looking at people, watching what they're doing, listening to them talk.  This hat was in one of those stores mostly for teenagers...hats, purses, jewelry, ear piercing.

 Of course, when she's ready to go, she's not afraid to let me know!

Adventures with Zoe continues...

Went to the mall for the first time...she loved all the action...people, shops, music, lights.

 Loved, loved, loved the fountain.  I took off her socks and put her feet in the water...squealed with delight!  She gets LOTS of attention from people passing by...they love her hair and her chubby cheeks.

Bath time is one of her favorite times of the day.  She just kicks back and becomes a lady of leisure. 

Easter with Zoe

First Easter...of course, she doesn't have a clue...but we got some cute pictures.

Spring evening at City Park...

Warmer than usual spring brings more people out for evenings in the park.  And what a variety...four youngsters with a hacky sack, three teenagers tossing a football, several kites drifting on the wind, at the water's edge, a girl with a guitar and a guy with a bongo drum...and I swear the ducks were joining in...a guy with a wide yellow rubber band tied between two trees improving his tightrope walking skills, several families dining al fresco, walkers, runners and lots of fisherman.  I walk over to watch the sunset and with the sky full of clouds it promised to be glorious...nope...daylight just quietly faded away.

Walk to the art gallery...

This small gallery in Old Town Fort Collins has a new show every month...all feature local artists.  This month's theme is transportation and I just love this little covered wagon...all in metal...very vintage!

I have said it before...I HATE to walk, even though I know it's really important that I get the exercise.  So last week I decided to try walking at sunset...oh, wow...it was so calming, so quiet, so pretty.  I've been every night since then...I think I'm hooked! 

And so it begins...

...adventures with Zoe.  She's six months old and can sit up in a stroller.  So starting today...and for as long as I'm able...Zoe and I are going on adventures...it's going to be quite a trip!!  And aren't those sunglasses just the cat's meow?

Walked uptown today...visited several stores and the library...looks like she's really interested, right?

It's quite a walk up and back...she enjoyed a nap...I could have used one.

Even cowboys...

...need a card now and then.  This SU cowboy is a favorite and I like the challenge of making an interesting card that's not "too much" for a guy.

Finally bought the Papertrey "Take Note" stamps so I'm going to be making lots of these notebooks in the next few days...people really like them. 

Bookmarks for kids

Once a week I read to some pre-school kids.  The nonprofit I work through...Fort Collins Read Aloud...has a goal of getting at least one book into the hands of every child.  So today each boy and girl is getting their own book.  That gift seems to call out for a bookmark, so I made these.  Very excited for today's session.

It's coming...

Spring is on its way!!  Doors and windows open today for the first time in months...love it!!

Sometimes it's not a card...

It's an expensive tote bag from Walmart.  Find six fabrics you like together...measure, cut, gather, hot glue and, voila, you have a summer purse.  Not sure I can see myself actually carrying it...we'll see!!

Vintage

Well, only one card today...but it's so cute.  A vintage image and some lace trim...that makes a perfect card for me!

Two cards a day

That's my current goal...make two cards a day.  My stash will grow and I'll have lots of cards to give away whenever I decide where they'll be going.  I almost gave away the impression plate that made this background because I'd never used it...what a waste...I love the look.

That's

Hands and feet

Has newly discovered her feet and toes...she just couldn't possibly be any cuter!!

New cards

Edited to add:  These were my submissions to CHF for their design team...unfortunately I wasn't chosen.
This is the first time I've ever used an image from CHF, and the first time I've used a digital image...I like it!  And with my new star punch, I could use my checkerboard background stamp then punch out stars that coordinated with his shirt...cool!

I really like this simple image...but I'm a little lazy and there's a lot to color.

See, I'm starting to use my lace hoard!  And some scrunchy ribbon I bought on Etsy.

Don't make simple cards very often...really like how this one turned out.

Estes Park

Drove up to Estes Park today to attend a model train show...have to get some ideas for my new train.  Beautiful drive with the ice and snow in the river.  But oh such trauma!  When I left the show I turned left...which I thought was the way home...but, noooooo it wasn't.  As I drove up into the mountains and realized I was lost, started looking for a place to turn around.

Pulled over onto a turnout, then decided the road was too narrow to make a U-turn.  Okay...on to the next turnout...but when I tried to pull back onto the road my tires spun on the ice...5 minutes later, after backing up and spinning and backing up and spinning, finally shot out onto the highway.  Next turnout was a trailhead parking lot...or you could have called it an ice rink.  Slip and slid my way to a stop, turned around, inched out onto the highway so my back tires were on solid ground and hit the gas...yea, made it out.  I was so shaken I had to stop for a cream puff to calm my nerves for the drive home.

Wildlife

February adventure...an hour's drive to this wildlife sanctuary...they rescue lions, tigers, bears and other large animals from private homes, small circuses and other habitats unsuitable for this gorgeous animals.  They have 320 acres and after a period of readjustment, the animals are placed into family-type groups with lots of room to roam...not perfect but MUCH better than where they were.  That big guy in the middle is the head of this pride.

He's by himself for now...will gradually get to meet other tigers. 

This is a really big warehouse where all the meals are prepared...mostly by volunteers.  All the viewing areas are elevated...less stress on the animals.  I will definitely be going back in the summer when they're open until dusk and the animals are more active.