Stratman Colorado Trip 2008

It's official. The Stratman family, although spread out, has visited each home site now. LA, Siloam Springs, and now Colorado Springs has been christened by each family. We all spent the last week with Nate and Kim and had a BLAST. Deb and Gar stayed in the basement on the double bed and Jake, me, and Ben stayed at the Antler Hyatt in downtown Colorado Springs! HA. Reverse that. No, it was perfect to stay with Nate and Kim because when Ben and Ruthie went to bed we could all talk and eat and drink things we didn't want our kiddos to hear, eat or drink. We climbed mountains, played in parks, went up Pike's Peak, saw Nate's church, got to see Bee and Scott, ate like royalty, and had SO MUCH FUN chasing after the kids and making sure that everyone shared. And, with Bee and Scott in the house our belly's were full and our cheeks tired from laughing.
Deb giving the kiddos a bath.
Nate and Kim's cool back yard.
Hanging out in Nate's truck after an afternoon of playing at the park and splashing in the fountain.

Cheyenne Mountain Trail

A few generations enjoying the outdoors.
The best part of the trip was the cousins getting some QT.
You just can't get enough of Miss Ruthie.

Cheyenne Mountain Trail

Grandma and Grandpa SPOILED our babies :-)

Pike's Peak

We made it to the top :-) It was cold up top! And, we needed fuel right away---I think it was from the elevation! After a few low-fat, low-calorie donuts and some water we were ready to check out the summit and take some pictures.

This is a view of Pike's Peak not far from Nate and Kim's house. cool

The Cog Train up Pike's Peak

Here are a few shots of the ride up to the top of Pike's Peak. It was an amazing ride!
The top was all rocks.

A natural reservoir.A view from the top.

Garden of the Gods, Colorado Springs, CO

self-portrait



A view of Pikes Peak from the visitor's center at the Garden of the Gods.

Capulin

Here is Sierra Grande, an extinct shield volcano in northeastern New Mexico that rises 2,200 feet above the surrounding plain. It is part of the inactive Raton-Clayton volcanic field.
The hike around Capulin was 1 mile and very steep. Ben took turns riding on our shoulders.

A look up from the middle of the volcano.
volcanic rock

View from the top of Capulin Volcano

A view of New Mexico from the top of Capulin.
Looking down on the Santa Fe trail from the rim of the volcano.

Ben's taking a break on the rim of Capulin.

Here's some info:

Capulin Volcano National Monument, located in Northeastern New Mexico, was designated a U.S. National Monument on August 9, 1916. It is an example of an extinct cinder cone volcano that is part of the Raton-Clayton Volcanic Field. A paved road spirals around the volcano and visitors can drive up to a parking lot at the rim. Hiking trails circle the rim as well as lead down into the mouth of the volcano. The visitor's center offers educational programs about volcanoes.

From the National Park Service:
Capulin Volcano National Monument is a well-preserved, relatively young (58,000 to 62,000 years old), symmetrical cinder cone. It rises steeply from the surrounding grassland plains to an elevation of 8,182 feet above sea level. The irregular rim of the crater is about a mile in circumference and the crater about 400 feet deep.
Capulin Volcano is one of the outstanding landmarks located in the northeast corner of New Mexico, where the rolling grasslands meet the foothills of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. Capulin Volcano's highest point provides unobstructed, panoramic views of the volcanic field, distant snow-capped mountains, and portions of four states (New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas and Colorado). Capulin Volcano also offers visitors excellent opportunities for observing and understanding volcanic formation. The large volcanic field surrounding the monument contains at least 100 recognizable volcanoes, and aids visitors in gaining insights into 10 million years of the geological history of northern New Mexico.

We've been married for 10 years!

Here we are getting ready to go out on the town. Beka, our amazing babysitter, came over to play with Ben and we headed to Nate's favorite place, Fayette-nam, for dinner. We went to the Urban Table which is smack in the middle of the downtown square. They buy food from the Farmer's Market and everything was really delicious!
My gift: WOWZERS! Jake bought me an amazing gift! The stone is blue topaz...Ben's birthstone. It's totally stunning and I was so surprised. I felt like a million bucks. Jake PROMISED me that we weren't going to do gifts. STINKER The 10 year gift is aluminum for goodness sake. I'm glad I got blue topaz :-)

Tents and Caves

Jake has been making "caves" as Ben would call them. Jake calls them forts. We've had card tables, chairs, blankets, and books all over the living room. Ben sure likes the idea of the "cave" but doesn't really like to be in it. So, Jake put up his camping tent and Ben eventually warmed up to the idea of being in the tent. He still called the tent a cave. Funny.

Ben van Gogh

yummy...jelly

I picked blackberries last weekend and Jake made some jam. It is sooo tasty! Ben agrees! Our new favorite snack is toast with LOTS of jelly.