A weekly list of things accomplished, enjoyed, learned, tried and remembered.
1. Camping trip #1. We got to spend 3 nights and 4 days at Mueller State Park for our first camping trip of the season. Let’s just say it was…. adventurous. It was pouring rain when we got there to set up, but ended as soon as we finished (typical). We attempted to start a campfire, but since a lot of the wood got a bit damp, Super Rockstar tried to help it along using some camping fuel (what we use for our lanterns). A spark flew into the fuel can as he was pouring it on the wood and the whole can ignited. Fearing that it would explode, he tossed it aside and within seconds we had a spreading fire right under our awning. We had some towels that had gotten soaked by the rain, so we threw them on the flames. But the fire kept growing. I tossed the awning aside worrying that it would catch fire, while Super Rockstar grabbed our fire extinguisher out of the camper. Several neighbors came running with buckets of water, but thankfully Super Rockstar used the extinguisher and got it out quickly. I couldn’t believe how fast it all happened. We went from no fire, to quickly spreading flames in about 5 seconds. It was all put out in about 30 seconds, but it nearly took my breath away.
The rest of the trip included a lot of relaxing, hiking, marshmallow roasting (no more fire mishaps thankfully), fishing in the gorgeous Eleven Mile Canyon, watching movies at night, mountain biking around the campground, a quick kayak ride in Eleven Mile Reservoir before massive winds blew in another rainstorm, and more fishing in the pouring rain. Morgan loved using his new scope on his airsoft rifle and Grayson climbed every rock he could. It was great and we can’t wait to go again–hopefully with no more fire incidents and maybe not so much rain.
2. Trainwreck Gig. This is a relatively new place in the downtown area of Colorado Springs–near the new Switchbacks soccer stadium. It’s basically a sports bar with a lot of outdoor activities to do–such as sand volleyball, corn hole, etc. and also has several fire pit areas. This was SofaKillers first time to play at Trainwreck and they learned very quickly the reason for its name–trains go by every 30 minutes or so and make for an interesting (and very loud) trumpet section the guys aren’t used to. But it was a fun night and good show.
3. Airsoft Play. Morgan has been collecting all kinds of airsoft gear and dreams of one day attending one of the outdoor “war games” that he’s read about. But he and his brother have really enjoyed a fun indoor arena here in our towncalled American Paintball Coliseum They have a pretty cool set up–you can rent all the gear you need including firearm and mask, buy a bag of airsoft bb’s and go to town with battles. It’s a lot like Dart Wars (THE place for nerf blaster battles) –in that teams (which they pick before each game) battle against each other. Airsoft stings a bit more, so it’s a good idea to wear thick layers (or have a protective vest) and wear gloves and a hat. The boys had a great time–getting to enjoy about 3 hours of play. Each game lasts about 15 minutes with breaks in between to reload. They also offer paintball, laser tag and ax throwing and their prices are very reasonable.
4. Summer is FINALLY here. We have had a bummer of a summer break weatherwise. Rain showers showed up in late May and parked over our state for an entire month –along with much cooler temperatures than we are used to having for this long (I was still wearing sweaters up until last week). We went many days without seeing the sun and even the outdoor gigs Super Rockstar played–were iffy right up until the moment they started playing. It’s been aggravating to say the least. I set up our pool on the 1st of June and it sat there unused–it was just too cold. Finally, FINALLY, the sun broke through, the clouds moved on and we have enjoyed glorious sunny and hot days. Our pool is in full use, we have enjoyed taking Barney for hikes without slogging through the mud and a huge bonus is the glorious green grass and beautiful wildflowers blooming. Everywhere I go, folks are smiling and enjoying life. Just give it time though–by September we will be sick to death of the heat and begging for a rain shower.
5. Movies and Shows to Watch–Episode 69. Just click the link to read our reviews of some things we watched.
6. My Favorite Mems of the Week.
As always, I would love to hear from you. I hope you have a great week!