A tale of two campers

 This past weekend was the second annual CZAR rally.

     No not this type...

 More like this...

 It stands for Colorado Zidecar Adventure Riders..

and includes fellow Colorado  Uralista owners.

Yep, it's a party for Hubby and Valencia and all the others

who enjoy this style of riding.  

Each year (ok, the past 2 years, but they are on a roll), they've gathered together..

I believe "rallied" is the preferred term

 at an area campground for a weekend of fun and fellowship.

And while I really want to be a supportive wife, (and for the most part I am)
,I have come to respect my limits. 

Camping:  with bugs, non flush toilets and the potential for wildlife encounters? 

Yeah, that's pretty much where I draw the line on  my spousal support

Not gonna go there...

Although I will pose nicely for the photo op...

Roughing it for me is spotty wi-fi and a crappy continental breakfast* at the local hotel.

*which for the record, we did endure...

But these two?  

They were up for a little more adventure...

So, Friday night, I left Thing Two in the wilderness...

 and brought Thing One (content as long as his device had juice)..back with me to Gunnison

 Pausing for one last photo op of the evening

(and to let the 3 deer safely cross the road in front of me)

 The next morning, while Hubby and Thing Two took off with their crew,

Thing One and I went in search of our own adventures..

 Knights and Dragons?  

Not what I was expecting to find in the area known as

Colorado's wildflower capital...

 Ah yes, this is more like it..

We wandered around the town of Crested Butte

Or as the half asleep teenager, hopped up on benadryl 

(thanks to the plethora of bug bites he sustained during his brief foray into nature).

"What are we doing here in Crusty Butt?"

Despite his confusion, he was still a very cooperative traveling companion....

while I checked out the sites..

This would make a cool wheelchair for work..although priced WAY out of the budget

for a public school

 Soon, we headed up to the surrounding hills..

in search of wildflowers..

 And find them we did...

My mountain and wildflower fix sustained, we headed back to Gunnison to wait for the others...
Thing Two decided that one night in the woods was enough for him..
and together we headed back to the front range...
With just a few more photo op stops along the way...

All in all, a good time was had by all.
As you read this blog and marvel at the beauty we are blessed with here in Colorado,
please say a prayer for those battling the fires currently plaguing our state.
Fire Danger remains high with winds and high temperatures forecasted for this week and beyond.
Our hearts go out to those who have lost their homes and who risk their lives to
protect this beautiful state of ours.  

Every Summer has a story...

The calendar informed me that today is the first day of summer.  Really?   It seems like we've been enjoying the lazy days of summer for the past several weeks.  So, time for a quick recap...because well, without the blog, I forget what it is that we were doing during the summer of 2013...so let's start telling the stories of 

Summer 2013!

This is our first summer with two full fledged teenagers in the house:   as Thing One crossed into teen land towards the end last summer (yes, he seems like an old soul, but honestly, he is just 13). 

 When they were little, these things were just like their Mama:   they could not sleep in.  0615 was a late wake up call for them.  Friends commented "just wait, they'll be teens some day".  And sure enough, the sleep factor has arrived here at the house of Chang..

This one?

Can easily sleep until well past noon....when we let him...which I often do.  HELLO?   You don't wake sleeping babies, nor does one set off to wake a sleeping teenager unless you need to.

And what about Thing Two?  Here he sits in his pre-summer look...waiting for the doctor to come check out why he has the nosebleeds from H*LL.  

Turns out he had two blood vessels on the floor of the nose that were very close to the surface and easily irritated.  A quick cauterization, and $750 later, he's been nosebleed free for 3 weeks and counting (since we were on an every other day-with one bleed lasting 90 minutes, this was money and time well spent)

Thing Two has sported the long hair look for several years now....so I was rather surprised when he announced he wanted to go short...really short in fact...so I present to you...

the Clean Cut look of Thing Two..

Thing One decided that his brother no longer lived with us, instead, we were hosting a foreign exchange kid.

Thing Two, without missing a beat decided his exchange student name would be

 Kilometer Lee..

So, we've got nosebleeds cleared up, hair cuts done, and as you noticed on 12 on the 12th, the traveling man returned safely from Alaska.   

What else is new?  

Well, Grandpa was kind enough to give us season passes to Elitches...a locally owned amusement park. 

We've been a couple times....and the boys have had fun with their friends...

 Being Boys...

And as for me?   Well, my husband took me to court this weekend....yep, at my request....it seemed like a great way to report for Jury Duty...

 So stick around, for more summer stories yet to be experienced....

12 on the 12th: Coming Home!

Starting out the morning early, just shy of 0630, I head out on my morning summer walk.   Oh hold the applause, this is mostly about connecting with other friends in the neighborhood, as we walk 'n chat (heavy on the chat).

Stopped along the way to snap a picture of the grass fire that happened over the weekend.  This is the green space behind my subdivision.  This fire is minor compared to the wild fires burning through our state as I type this.

It's Wednesday so you know what that means:  COFFEE CLUB!    A small gathering this week, but in many ways, this is just as nice as our bigger groups...we actually had a chance to participate in all the conversations and helped Susan with a dilemma (GO to California and visit your parents, no one should ever regret time spent with family).

And since I had already walked, I figured Stewie could use a little exercise as well...so after coffee we scooted over to Safeway where I treated myself to some flowers...

 Daylight's wasting...time to get busy.   First order of business is to re-arrange the garage.  With Hubby out of town, well, we sort of took over his space with our stuff.  That simply won't do....

 Garage in order, next stop is the Party Store...where one realizes no matter how cool they might try to act, wind up toys are still fun to play with while you are waiting for your mom to make up her mind....

Home from our quick run to the store!  Time to wake up Thing One and put him to work...

 Channeling our inner decorator...with indoor chalk

 And out door side walk chalk (in case you can't read it, it says "Dad went NORTH to Alaska"

And one last touch...and we are ready..

For the Hubby's great return from Alaska!  

 Yes indeed, it has been a great day from start to finish!  

Welcome Home, Honey!  We missed you and are so glad that you made it home safe and sound...