Sprague Lake, RMNP

Sprague Lake & the Rocky Mountains

It's almost embarrassing that we have lived in Colorado for six years, and had never been to Rocky Mountain National Park.

Until Wednesday.

Taking advantage of free admittance to the National Parks, we heading up there right after Elijah got out of preschool. It took us two hours to drive up there, and the sights don't get really good until you get past Lyons. The winding road that leads into Estes Park has been driven before. It's a wonder we never got past the town to see the majesty that lies just a few miles later.

The elk were out in Estes Park, which encouraged me that we'd see some in RMNP, and we did. We stopped at Beaver Meadows Visitor Center, right outside the park to get our bearings. The man working in there offered the suggestion we go to Sprague Lake, an easy short hike for our little guys. We took him up on that, and found our way there. We settled at the picnic benches to eat out lunch, while the scrub jays hovered, watching to see if we'd leave them any crumbs (no dice birdies!)

The wind was chilly, so we let Miles finish his lunch in the car, out of the wind. We then bundled the boys in the hats & gloves Daddy brought. Compasses in hand the kids were raring to start the 1/2 mile hike around Sprague Lake.


the hikers

Given that it is still early in the season, the path had parts covered in snow. This did not deter or slow down the boys, eager to explore. There were other families out there too. This place offered a lot of great views to photograph.

For Geoff, the highlight was seeing the boys so excited to hike around the lake. For me, it was seeing a beaver in the lake. That was right after I told Elijah there were no beavers (oops). For the boys, it was a stop at the Rock Shop in Estes Park to build a collection.

The outing really fired all of us up to go camping. Bring on the food on the campfire!


Elijah thought this picture was funny- Elk Butts

Sports

Elijah wants to learn how to play baseball. It sent a wave of fear inside me. Baseball is expensive! Especially if it's not something he will enjoy. Also, I am not keen on a big commitment level when we already have to work Saturdays around Daddy's running schedule.

My brother & I never got involved in organized sports until we were much older. And then when money got tight, we couldn't continue on.

Trails (our rec center) offers some short classes on a few sports. I may see if Elijah would be interested in learning soccer skills. Then if he really digs it, we can go from there.

I just wish Miles could participate too. Seems he can't partake in a lot of the classes Elijah does. So I'm stuck finding Miles his own activity, and resulting in more running around for Mommy.

How do other parents do it?

When Families Fight

I'd like to say that in the 13 years of marriage that my in-laws and I have never fought. But every few years we do. There is a lot of tension right now, and on the heels of some of them coming for a visit.

The reason for the fights are almost always the same. Distance & communication. We don't live near each other, and we don't communicate often. So things get said, things get twisted, and we have to try and resolve it all long distance. More often than not, I'm left feeling it never really got resolved to my satisfaction, and I just have to move on.

This last fight, involved too many people, when it really was between two couples. Add in a flair for dramatic (I wonder where my son gets *that* from), and emotions run high.

When I finally sat down and read my bible, I turned to Psalm 51. I was struck by verse 9, "Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity." I acted in a way that made me wish God hadn't seen it, and that I needed to call for him to blot out my wickedness.

In a few hours, our guests will be here, and either things will get worse, or God will work on all of us during the visit.

My Left Foot

The fourth toe on my left foot has been either numb or in pain since November. After months of waiting to see if it would go away by itself, I finally went to see the doctor, who referred me to a podiatrist. Tuesday, I saw the podiatrist and actually learned some stuff! I don't know why I didn't suspect that the pain I was feeling could be connecting to what the rest of my foot & leg were doing. I guess because I only noticed the pain in my toe.

He told me I have Morton's Neuroma. You'd think it having a name would spell trouble, but it really isn't. And to lessen the pain, I just need to be stretching my calves more. My ankle is tight, my big toe isn't as flexible as it should be, so all the pressure on my feet have shifted to the other side of my foot. That means my foot is pronating. Evidently I have high arches, and so I put all my weight on my heels and the balls of my feet.

If after a month of stretching the pain hasn't gotten better, I can go back and get an injection to reduce the inflammation. Oooh, can I? I think I'll stick with stretching. I might even consider a massage, since when I stretch, my calves are tight too.

Now you know more about my feet than you did before. :)

Savior

It seemed fitting to write this on Good Friday.

I may or may not be normal. It was pointed out to me when I was younger, that I have a savior complex. Often I am willing to sacrifice myself to help someone else. And while that might sound altruistic, I don't believe it always is.

My heart hurts at the feeling of not being able to help those I care for. At times I can delude myself into thinking that if I were actually available to these people, I could save them. But the reality is, I am only human, I can not save everyone. And not everyone wants to be saved. And that makes my heart ache even more.

Truth is I can not even save anyone. I was blessed enough to be saved. And I want that for everyone. To know that they are not alone. God loves them. Life isn't easy. But life with God... it's so much better than life without Him.