The home front

Last Sunday, less than two weeks after we moved in, Jon left me alone again.
It was only four days, and he did bring us all New Orleans tee shirts! But as happens every time he leaves town, I had seriously obnoxious misadventures to cope with on my own. This phenomenon, if anything, is intensifying with every trip Jon takes... I may never let him leave us alone again.

WE've had more than a few rain showers in the desert. The sun is in such a hurry to get back out again after that rainbows are frequent. 

Sunday, we got up at 5 to get Jon to the Colorado Springs airport. We were pretty tired, but the drive between Pueblo and Springs is glorious.

Sunday afternoon, after a rest, we decided to finally pay a visit to the big downtown library.

It did not disappoint.

First of all, the building is huge, modern, and filled with light. It's four stories tall, and there's a canal in front! or maybe a moat?

We stopped to admire the materials return machine that's in all the branches, which automatically sorts and checks back in each item.

We lingered a while in the kids' section...

And then, on a whim, decided to take the elevator to the 4th floor to check out the view....

On the fourth floor is a museum!! Which was hosting an exhibit on fitness and wellness. The kids had a blast and I made friends with the young librarian.

We will definitely be back!

Miles and Adele began their swim lessons on Monday. After week one, Adele is a huge fan! Miles... is struggling.

He doesn't swim yet, and his teacher has been less than patient with him. Most of the other kids in the class swim independently, and when he was met with impatience and mandates from his young teacher, he shut down and stopped making efforts. It's been.... character building. Here's hoping his second week brings his better angel to the surface. 

Monday afternoon we planted some seeds, both in the planter rows inside and in the back yard, where we sprinkled grass seed and hoped for the best!

We have a solar tube in the kitchen, which we're hoping will give our vegetable nursery a start before we plant them outside.

On Monday night came the misadventure. Adele had been constipated since we moved in, and it became clear that night that none of the medicines we'd administered nor her own efforts were going to resolve the situation. She's struggled with constipation for years, but this was the first time we needed outside intervention. The screaming and suffering she was doing that evening made me see that the situation was now dire. We packed a few books and our water bottles and headed to the emergency room.

I had no idea what we were in for. I have never been in an ER without being seen for more than, say, an hour.

We arrived at Parkview Medical at 7:45 and did not get put into a room until 10:30. We did not get seen by a doctor until after midnight. The x-rays didn't happen till 1:15 and the procedure didn't happen until 2.
It was 4 in the morning when we got home.

I don't need to go into the hellish details, do I? You all have imaginations and can conceive of what we went through. I will just say that it was a night that both took all my energy away for the rest of the week, and somehow also showed me just how strong I can be when I need to be.

It showed me Miles' tenderness, and Adele's optimism. She went through hell, and is still hurting. Pray for her!

But my baby is on the mend. I was thinking as I brooded over her in the wee hours that she's never, till now, given me serious cause to fear for her. She's always been so vigorous and powerful; I've never worried about her like this. I'm renewed in admiration and love for my tiny warrior.

Tuesday we didn't leave the house. No swimming, no libraries, no parks. Just a little stroll down the street for some fresh air, but mostly, we followed doctor's orders and watched tv! It was heavenly, actually. Wednesday we were back into the world. Swim lessons, shopping, and a trip to the pediatrician all before we could finally drive to Colorado Springs to get Jon.

If there is anything that could make me like driving, it's the drive between Pueblo and Colorado Springs. Give it a try, sometime!

We were all thrilled to see Jon at the airport last night. 

My body just physically gave out today. Jon took his last day before starting his new job to hang out with his family and give me a break. I am back on my game, though. We're taking him to his first day of work tomorrow morning! 

The difference a river makes

Saturday the 24th was another family outing in Pueblo. This time, we opted for some nature.

The Pueblo Nature and Raptor Center is about 15 minutes' drive from our house (ok, most things are around here) and is a lot like Wild Wings at Mendon. It's a sanctuary for injured birds of prey, a nature center, but also a restaurant and event venue, apparently! They were setting up for a wedding by the river when we were there.

Adele loved tromping around in her boots, but she did not love the heat (94).

Miles and I really fell for this owl and we stayed for almost the whole (excessively long) Q&A session.

Peregrine Falcon

Elsa the Screech Owl

Barred Owl

The center is located outside of town and it's like a different world from Pueblo, with its green lawns and tall trees. Outside of town all is scrub, fern and bluffs; the high desert starts as soon as you get out of range of the Arkansas River.

Ground Squirrel taking a siesta

Over by the river, all is green and leafy. Tall trees bend over the water and waterfowl glide.

Away from the river, abruptly, all is desert.

Isn't the nature center so gorgeous?

The river is the reason we have Pueblo. So I am grateful for the river, but I also am learning to love the desert.

Look at this observatory!! I can't wait to check this out. 

Meanwhile, at home, we make a few modifications to keep the desert at bay...

While still enjoying its gifts.

Some of you know we have been hoping to be able to adopt a dog after we moved. A week or so ago we had this magical event where we were on the porch, kids quarreling, tired, and this gorgeous lab just wanders into our yard. And it was like the clouds parted and angels were singing. He was licking Adele, Miles was petting him and giggleing, and we were like... dog, did you find us??

And then a guy across the street whistled and the dog bounds away.

But our neighbor dog has been back, and we adore him for as long as he stays. He apparently doesn't tolerate confinement!

There will be a post where we introduce our dog. It's almost certain.

We've become active library patrons and we're all doing summer reading. This boy finished one chapter book and read an entire other one JUST TODAY.

(I'm so proud)

Fun in the Colorado Sun

Father's Day gave us the perfect excuse to explore Pueblo a little more.

Despite the 99 degree temperatures, we settled on the zoo and the park! I'd been looking forward to taking the kids to these two places since I was googling this town back in January.

It's a small zoo, but it's bigger than the one in Roanoke so we had plenty to be excited about!

Like penguins!

And ostriches!

We weren't able to see the new baby lion, or indeed any lions (probably too hot even for them), but we did catch a few of these guys:

I bonded with the lynx:

Adele was fascinated by the peacocks, which strolled freely. I was sure she was going to get a bite, but either the peacock or Adele had just enough self control to avoid this.

I loved these dudes:

The river otters were able to escape the heat, at least.

At 5, the zoo closes... and the Rides at City Park open!

There are about 10 kiddy rides and they're each a quarter per child to ride! What??!

We hit up the train first and enjoyed creating a breeze around the sunny pond:

I'm growing out my fringe. My hair is just too insane in this dry air to make it look tolerable!

Oh, the carousel is the exception to the 25 cent price...

...It costs 50 cents a ride.

I love free and cheep things! What a treasure!

Speaking of free and cheap things, we went to the local library branch for a second day in a row last week to participate in creative movement:

Later in the week, our furniture and washer and dryer arrived! Furnishing the kids with big boxes to play with. They spent quite a lot of time in their little city in the backyard. Here's a shot of the beginning of their submarine...


Now, it has windows and a front viewing pane.

Oh, and our efforts to rake and mow the yards continue. Pictures soon.

In fact, I'm thinking next week I might feel ready to show readers pictures of the whole house! I'm just trying to get more art on the walls and pick up the clutter, first.

Jon leaves for New Orleans tomorrow morning, for the American Society for Engineering Education conference. I have four days of solo parenting! But it'll be no sweat with all these cool things to do and our lovely home to nest in.

We're doing well, a bit tired from adjusting to the elevation and the time zone difference, but ok on the whole. We're tossing back gallons of water and trying to encourage the children to do the same. I am also, admittedly, a bit lonely. It's not that unusual for me to go 10 days without socializing, but I really feel the distance of all my friends and family and the almost complete lack of acquaintance here. I hope to meet some like-minded adult people soon!