So. About that bear...

Remember last week when I posted the photo of the bear that was spotted at my workplace? There is more to the story. And really, you aren't going to believe this when I share it with you. The very next day the same bear (at least I think it was the same bear) was busily playing around in a creek bed not too far from my workplace when it spotted a passerby walking on a nearby trail. The bear was curious and started to follow the pedestrian. The pedestrian tried to remain calm, but realized that the bear was getting closer and closer to them, so they started to run, and as luck would have it, the bear started to chase them. (Tip #1 when you encounter a bear: DON'T RUN). You think you know where this story is going, don't you? Or maybe you don't. While running from the bear the pedestrian yelled for help, but no one heard the cries. They ran up an embankment and into a narrow two laned road where they were struck by a car passing by. The driver stopped to see if the pedestrian was okay (they claimed they were), and then drove off. But to make the story even more crazy? The pedestrian who was chased by the bear AND hit by the car? Was pregnant. The story was featured this morning on The Today Show. And if that isn't enough evidence to convince you, you can read more about it here, here, and here. Talk about having a bad day!

Mountain Lions and Bobcats and Bears.....I kid you not!

I heard rumors today at the workplace that there was a new guy in town. A few by-standers spotted him on campus on Monday evening, wandering around near the main entry of the west side of the building. They were afraid to get too close to him though because he seemed to be in a bear of a mood.

Perhaps he forgot his badge?

Pssssst.....

Check out Lookit! I Spy.... today to find out what today is. Besides April 21st that is.

Carry on.

Just Like That

It's sunny! And warm-ish! We are back into the upper 60's - low 70's! I always find the weather patterns here in Colorado to be a bit strange. On Saturday afternoon we kept hearing reports of road closures, and 2 feet + of snow accumulations and traffic snarls and snow drifts the size of Godzilla just a few minutes north of where we live. They were still getting pummeled with snow and we had........nothing. Every last bit of snow we got on Friday was completely gone. No signs of it anywhere. All things weather started to clear for us on Saturday which led us right into a beautiful day on Sunday. The sky was an awesome shade of blue and it was a wonderful feeling to finally have the sun beating down on me, warming up my skin. I may have taken advantage of how close we are to the sun on more then a few occasions that day. It was wonderful. Yesterday was just as beautiful too. Do I dare say that Spring time has sprung in the Rockies? In other news, Keven Jr. got into some trouble yesterday at school. He hit a girl. She bumped into him and knocked his glasses into his face and so he hit her. As punishment he had to stay in his room until dinner time, then once dinner was over he was only allowed to do 'educational' things. His brother on the other hand went scurrying outside as soon as he scarfed down his meal and we didn't see him again until about 30 minutes before bedtime. Keven Jr. was really upset and begged and pleaded to go outside too, but alas he was not allowed. Instead he sadly watched his brother play across the street with their friends from the front window. He got over it fairly quick, but really, talk about breaking someones heart! In the end I think he learned from his mistake - he knows that hitting is not allowed. Period. End of story. Have a great Tuesday everyone!!

Photo Hunter: Purple

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SNOW DAY!

Yes, you read that right, it snowed today. I'm well aware that it's April 17th. It's Spring for heavens sake. Besides the fact that me and the boys have been sneezing our fool heads off, we haven't really seen Spring yet. We can't even tell that Spring is even remotely around the corner. I mean really, we've had more snow this Spring than we did all winter. GO FIGURE. Colorado I shake my fist at you! The school district we are in cancelled due to the weather and as a result, Keven and I stayed home from work. The kids did a little bit of everything but what they most enjoyed was playing out in the snow. And I kid you not, at one point it was snowing, lightening and thundering. And then the clouds sort of parted and you could see blueish sky, and then the sun came out. We were even under a Tornado watch for a bit. And now it's snowing again. We probably have about 5 inches at the moment, with another 6-8 inches expected overnight. I'm sure by tomorrow afternoon it'll be all gone and then maybe. MAYBE we'll have Spring. But in typical Colorado fashion, I'm not holding my breath. It has snowed in June before you know. Oh, and that reminds me. I should be walking right now in the American Cancer Society; Relay for Life, but obviously I'm not. Originally they weren't going to cancel it / move it for anything. Then they moved it indoors. And then as the weather picked up closer to evening time, they rescheduled it all together to a different weekend. A different weekend in which I'm hoping for you guessed it....Spring like weather. So there you have it. More than you probably wanted to know about Colorado and it's silly weather patterns. In other news, Keven Jr. got something in the mail today from his grandparents in North Carolina.

Yes folks, a shark tooth necklace straight from the beach. He was ecstatic to have a shark tooth necklace again but quickly looked to me for reassurance in that I was still going to look for his other one. Let's hope that it turns up at some point. Also, we have a visitor with us this weekend. Keven Jr. brought home Kinderbear from school to hang out with us. So far they have played Wii, built, destroyed and built again MarbleWorks, and watched cartoons. Here is Keven Jr. with Kinderbear out in the snow. And while I'm sharing photos, here are some others that I took today while they were enjoying the lovely wintry weather.

Have a great weekend everyone. And um, stay warm!

I hate it when.....

I'm wearing knee socks and they end up down around my ankles. I can't find something that I'm looking for. Like this. When you wake up happy that it's Friday, only to discover it's really THURSDAY. Yes, this happened to me today. I wanted to cry. You go to get yourself a cup of coffee in the workplace kitchen and you find the coffee pot all dried up. What's so hard about making coffee? I swear I'm the only person in the office that makes coffee. You have plans for the upcoming weekend and the weather forecast is yet again calling for snow. AND LOTS OF IT. I'm supposed to be participating in this and well, I'm a little nervous now. Allergy season starts. You sneeze and sneeze and sneeze so many times in a row that you can't catch your breath and then you choke. It sucks. You are wearing a light colored top and are eating something tomato based and you spill it all down the front of you. This hasn't happened to me in a while, but when it does? It sucks. It's snowing when you leave your office and you have no coat. You are walking along just minding your own business and out of the blue you trip. Over nothing. Am I the only one that does this? So tell me. What things are you hating?

Just not good enough

I've torn every inch of my house apart looking for a shark tooth necklace. A shark tooth necklace that Keven Jr. decided he HAD to have a few days ago. The same necklace that we got for him as a souvenir from a vacation we took in Hawaii. ALMOST TWO YEARS AGO. I think he wore the necklace once. Possibly while we were still in Hawaii. Since we returned to the mainland? He's never asked for it, or wanted to wear it. Until Monday. His kindergarten class is talking about Australia this week and I can only imagine that they have been discussing sharks. Sharks are big in Australia, no? And because the boy has a memory like no other, this discussion in class has since sparked memories from our trip and reminded him of the necklace we bought for him. ALMOST TWO YEARS AGO. He wanted to wear it to school today for show and tell. He has not stopped asking me about it since the first mention of it on Monday. And of course I could not find it in time for the life of me. Even worse? I can't remember at all what I did with it. And that is just not good enough for him. Bring on the mommy guilt. Today is going to be a rough day.

Madeline Alice Spohr - She's an Angel Now

Relay for Life: American Cancer Society

Cancer. What does it mean to you? This year marks the 25th anniversary of the American Cancer Society: Relay for Life and I'm proud to say that I'm a participant. I will be walking this Friday evening into the early hours of Saturday morning to celebrate survivorship since the Relay for Life represents the hope that those lost to cancer will never be forgotten, that those who have to face cancer will be supported and that one day there will be a cure.

-There is no finish line until we find a cure-

One person can make a difference, that is why I am participating with hopes to raise money, to do my part to help research and programs for the American Cancer Society. Visit the American Cancer Society webpage today to learn more. If you want to participate in the Relay for Life, visit their webpage for details. If you have been affected by cancer, or if someone you know has been affected by this horrible disease, feel free to leave me a comment with their name and whatever information you'd like to share. I will in turn add them to the list of people that I'm walking for this weekend and light a luminary in their honor. And if you want to help support this cause even further, visit my sponsor page and make a donation on their behalf.

Once you choose hope, anythings possible. ~Christopher Reeve

The Power of People

The Internet is a crazy thing, isn't it? Well, maybe I shouldn't say 'crazy'. Perhaps 'amazing' is more fitting of a word? I've recently watched from a distance on Facebook and on Twitter as people joined together to help spread the word about a tragedy that struck a family known around the blog world. You may or may not have followed the story like I did but regardless - it was powerful to observe the outpouring of support from all over. I watched the same thing happen with The Mandell Family just over a year ago, complete strangers joining together to do something good, out of the kindness of their hearts. Sometimes just thinking about all the negativity that's out there these days is just so overwhelming. It makes it hard to comprehend that good stuff is going on as well, right in the mix of things. Over the last few months I've witnessed friends getting laid off from their jobs, couples finding out that they have mis-carried a pregnancy, husbands and wives getting divorced after years of being married, and some individuals coming to terms with the fact that they were just recently diagnosed with cancer. The world stops for no one, it keeps on spinning.

I had an experience myself recently that involved the kindness of a complete stranger and I wanted to share it with you. A few weeks ago I discovered that Keven Jr. had left his small collection of Pokemon trading cards in his pants pocket which then got washed and dried. I was so distraught for him and knew he was going to be completely devastated when he found out, but I broke the news to him anyway, the best way I could. We tried to salvage the cards but really they were a complete loss. He cried. And cried. Since I felt somewhat responsible for the mishap, I promised to get him some new cards to replace them. I was on Twitter later that evening and twittered about the situation:

Son #1 is crushed. He left his Pokemon cards N his pants pocket & they got washed. AND DRIED. Safe 2 say they R ruined. *cue the tears*

I didn't think anything more about it until I got a 'direct message' on Twitter from HeadlessMom. She dm'ed me and asked for a list of the ruined Pokemon cards because she had some that she wanted to pass along to Keven Jr. I was ecstatic that she made the offer, and more importantly I was happy for Keven Jr. I just knew he was going to be thrilled to death. She blogged all about it here. I didn't tell Keven Jr. about it and instead just waited for the package to arrive in the mail. And when it finally did I had my camera on hand to capture his reaction. Here, take a look:

Hmm, I wonder what's in this package because I really have NO CLUE.

Are those what I think they are!? WooooHooo! I'm so excited!

A bag full of Pokemon cards and a note for my Mom!

Time to check them out....one by.....

.......One.

THANK YOU HeadlessMom for your kindness and your generosity! Keven Jr. LOVED the set of Pokemon cards you sent him, it totally made his day. And it made my day too, to see him so happy. See. The kindness. It's out there. You just have to look through the fog sometimes to see it.

Weekly Winners 4/5 through 4/11

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Happy Easter Everyone!

We woke up this morning to snow; a nice, steady, heavy wet snow. And while we always welcome the moisture, it's annoying. We've had more snow this Spring then we did all winter. I mean really, what's up?

The kids were happy to discover that the Easter bunny had left them each a basket filled with all kinds of fun things, and were even more surprised to find Easter eggs filled to the brim with candy placed in various spots all over the house. After breakfast I started baking cupcakes and then sat down and helped the boys dye Easter eggs.

We had afternoon dinner plans with my Mom & Dad but the snow hadn't let up at all since we woke up and there for a little while it seemed as if we were going to have to bail on our Easter dinner plans and just hang out at home. By early afternoon the snow turned to rain and the accumulation started to turn to slush and we loaded up the car and went through with our original plans just the same.

The kids got another Easter basket filled with goodies from Grandma and Grandpa, they hunted some more for hidden candy filled eggs and then they spent the rest of their time harassing their new friend Missy (my Mom & Dad's new four legged addition) and acting like crazy fools hyped up on sugar. All I wanted to do was eat chocolate and junk food. Which I did. We had a nice ham dinner with vegetables and sweet potatoes and afterwards ate cupcakes. And then all I wanted to do was take a nap. Which I wouldn't let myself do. Before we knew it it was time for us to head home to settle down for the evening and get ready for the week.

Which is what we are doing now. I hope all of my family and friends; near and far; had a wonderful Easter holiday. Till next time.

Photo Hunter: Triangle

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Mama Said Knock you Out

It all went down Saturday night and continued into Sunday. Every time I looked - I couldn't see anything wrong. Until Monday morning. Two doctor's appointments and thirty dollars later we still have a problem. But we have no idea what the problem is. Keven Jr. looks as if someone punched his lights out. His left eye is pink and bruised looking and swollen. So swollen that he can barely open his eye. Uncomfortable to the point that he's woken up in the middle of the night now for the last two nights crying. Motrin. Benedryl. Cool compresses. Nothing seems to be helping. The doctor said that it wasn't contagious, and that it was most likely an allergic reaction to something, localized to his left eye only. He has no fever. His throat is not sore. He seems perfectly fine. But his eye is ridiculously swollen. It hurts me to look at it. It hurts me even more to send him off to school looking sad and beat up. The kids were going to make fun of him he said to me this morning. Keven made the comment that Keven Jr.'s eye reminded him of when I went into anaphylactic shock several years ago. My mind started to race just thinking about it because that situation was no joke. I almost died. And while our pediatrician assured me that this reaction wasn't going to escalate to that degree, I still can't shake all the thoughts of 'what if'. All we can do at this point is be aware of any changes and simply wait it out and hope his eye returns to normal soon. And in the meantime you better believe that I'm going to be driving myself crazy trying to figure out what it was that caused his body to attack itself like it did. Was it the cat that he touched on Saturday? Is it possible that it's just environmental allergies? Will we ever know? Probably not. If he's anything like his mother however, the road ahead of him come springtime is going to be a bumpy one. I'm already sneezing just thinking about it.

Photo Hunter: Stripes

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