We have been busy since the last post. We had all the normal weekly activities and made a trip to Colorado. The first picture here is Sidney's science fair experiment in action. She choose the testable question "Does the type of liquid affect melting time?" We froze a number of liquids and then watched them thaw several times. All I can say is watching water boil is far more exciting than watching water melt.
We started our drive to Colorado on Friday morning, early. Our intention was to get to Carlsbad Caverns before 2 and we made it with time to spare. We were able to walk into the caverns, enjoy the big rooms and then because we had been in the car all day, we walked back out. That's all up hill to get out. Sidney was at least a little mad at me. But we slept well.
We stayed overnight in Artesia before heading up to Colorado Springs. Between Carlsbad and Artesia is a lot of new oil field activity along with a large lake I had never seen before. There were even at least a dozen white pelicans I could see from the highway. I asked about the lake and indeed it has been dry for years. However recent rains which also flooded Artesia, filled the lake to larger than it has ever been.We got to my parents mid day on Saturday and just goofed off the rest of the day. No one wanted to get in the car again.
We went to church on Sunday and received communion from my dad. After church we had a second breakfast and then did small errands like get gas, groceries and a car wash. We went to the playground at the elementary school twice. The second time Sidney and I took a longer walk over and took a basketball with us. I am sure people who saw us had to think two short blonds with a basketball was at least funny.
On Monday we went to Garden of the God's in Colorado Springs. We had a great time hiking but it was so muddy. There has been plenty of snow and it was melting into a muddy mess. Speaking of snow, Sidney got to play in some every day. The snow lasted in the shady parts on my parents yard all week but the weather was warm and wonderful. The pictures here are the Siamese Twins with Pike's Peak in the background and the Kissing Camels, both popular formations in the park.
We had dinner with another friend who now lives in Denver. I know him from Africa. It was great to see him and hear about his life back on the "normal" side of life. He had been in Africa a long time and seems to be really happy in Denver. We went to a wolf rescue center near Divide on Wednesday. They provided a very nice tour with great discussions about wolf rescue as well as the family structures of the wolfs there. The wolfs were very talkative that day and frequently howled. There were several roommate changes happening and so the wolves had a lot to "talk" about. Some of the discussion on wolves was slanted but overall it was an enjoyable experience and a great opportunity to learn about these intelligent and family orient animals. The paths were quite treacherous though and Sidney fell once along with three other people. We were quite cold after the tour from standing on ice for 2 hours.
After a refill from a tasty lunch in Woodland Park, we went to the Dinosaur Resource Center. It doesn't look like much from the outside but they had great displays, fossils, and educational materials including hands on displays. It was actually quite impressive. Sidney had another slip on the way in. She was running though the outside portico and stepped on what she thought was water. It was except for being frozen water. So off she slid. I did make sure she was OK before laughing hysterically.We really enjoyed the time with my parents. At least for a few days I didn't have to worry about work, feeding us, getting us to activities or the future. We were able to laugh and enjoy going to a park whenever we wanted, playing basketball, throwing snow and getting muddy.
Thursday meant we had to hit the road. We packed up and headed toward Lubbock where we would overnight. We stopped at Capulin Volcano to explore and stretch our legs. There was also a good amount of snow for a last hurrah. After a snow ball fight and walk around the crater, we ate our packed lunch and drove on. We drove very close, too close for comfort, to a wild fire on the way home. It was near Amarillo. I got a little nervous but we made it through fine.
Sidney and I both slept well at the hotel. We had a light dinner and swam for an hour before sleeping in real beds. We had been sleeping on the floor in my parents living room because they had a full house.
We got home on Friday and are unpacked and settled in. We visited with Kirk and took him to run some errands with us Saturday. Sidney was back on a horse this afternoon and the weather has been good so we have been outside a lot.
This is going to be a difficult week. I have run into more road blocks with getting help to take care of Kirk and I meet with the staff at the rehab tomorrow. I fully expect they will tell me that he will have to leave soon due to lack of progress. He still shows no signs of short term memory. He had a tough week and some of his medications had to be increased to try to temper his agitation. He has been more confused and agitated and even a little aggressive. Hard decisions are coming my way. I have to figure out what the best course is for all of us. Please hold us tightly in the coming weeks.
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