Miles' birthday always has July 4 as a festive warm-up. I don't think we've ever had so much neighborhood participation as we had this year, though! I'm not sure if it's Colorado culture, Pueblo culture or just our neighborhood, but at least half of the people in our neighborhood were setting off fireworks in their yards on July 4. And two of our immediate neighbors were setting them off every night for the week before July 4, one of them until midnight each night. This was not a practice which endeared our neighbors to us very powerfully, but they have other opportunities to endear themselves.
For July 4, we decided to skip the downtown event (which promised to lock us in a traffic jam until an ungodly hour with cranky, tired children) and I took the kids up to the top of a hill on CSU's campus to watch fireworks from one end of town to the other.
It was nothing short of breathtaking, to see fireworks from the mountains, in the neighborhoods and all through town in a panorama of light.
I may be tempted to do the same next year; it was so peaceful. There were no noticeable bugs or any other pest, and the desert air was a dry bath of comfortable warmth.
A few days later, Miles Franz Joseph turned 7. Seeing as I still see this when I look at him, I'm having trouble accepting his age:
Miles has only been to a couple of restaurants in Pueblo, but he's decided Tres Margaritas is his favorite. Therefore, we celebrated his birthday lunch at this, the same Mexican restaurant where Jon and I ate on our first visit to Pueblo.
He opened cards from grandparents and cousins....
Played with a couple of his new gifts...
...and was serenaded by the staff, and gifted with ice cream!
What a lucky 7 year old.
At home, he opened his big gift from Grandpa Jim and Grandma Dorothy:
His last bike was a gift for his 4th birthday, so it was time for an 18"! He's a pro already.
Adele gifted him with a Mario and a Luigi doll:
But he decided to have his cake image reflect his current obsession:
I am elated to announce that he's in the middle of the Sorcerer's Stone and that he is reading it himself.
He's on a real chapter book frenzy this summer, actually! Magic Treehouse books and Tales of a 4th Grade Nothing alternate with Harry Potter and the
Julian books.
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| With his lego Harry Potter figure |
We finished the night at a favorite Pueblo attraction: The Rides at City Park.
Did I mention that rainbows are frequent here? Did I mention that I love this??
The rides are 25 cents, except for the carousel, which is a steep 50 cents. If you bring children to visit us, we'll definitely take you here!
Jon and I also managed a great time! Some of us are more demonstrative of pleasure than others:
Next up: Pictures from our trip up Pike's Peak! We're real high altitude people, now.
It was when we advanced beyond the treeline that I really began to thrill at the view. 
Look, a marmoset!:
In less than 90 minutes, we were at the summit. I thought the conductor was joking about the quality of the donuts up there; I wasn't totally sure there would be bathrooms. She was not joking, as it turned out. That will remain in my memory as the best donut I have ever consumed. 
We made it!
The kids enjoyed the train ride a lot more than the summit experience. It was about 55 degrees and windy. But I was elated!
The beauty of the trip back was more luxurious since we had only to sit and glide back to Manitou Springs. 
Adele got into my purse and put on my lipstick at one point:
