Memorial Day Weekend 2014

Memorial Day was kind of hard this year, as I assume every holiday that reminds me of my dad will be for awhile.  My dad was a veteran and he passed away this past April, so of course he was heavy on our minds today.  But we made the most of the day, spending it with my mom, aunt, and my brother and his family down in Castle Rock.  We hiked up to "the rock" and then scrambled up "the rock", something I hadn't done since I was in my early twenties.  It was actually fun and kind of exhilarating.  My brother used to technical climb, so I don't know if it's sensible that I trust him to find a good way up, or foolish because he's so much better at it than I am.  But regardless, there was just enough challenge with an edge of danger to make it a great way to spend the day.

My heart just about stopped at one point when my son saw a lizard in a rock crevice and leaned over to get a good look.  I calmly told him to lean back, because I thought screaming it would scare him and send him tumbling over the edge.  After that I was adamant that he needed to move back from the edge of the rock.

The area is very pretty with scrub oak and little lizards climbing around the rocks.

Scrub Oak Leaves

Castle Rock, we were up next to that star

My brother, nephew, and son

Pikes Peak with fresh snow from this weekend

My brother, nephew, and daughter

Lizard poking up through the rock crevice

Me and my family

Lizard sunbathing

Wildflower

We spent yesterday afternoon with my mother- and father-in-law and had brats to eat.  I love bratwurst but only eat it about once a year because I know it's not very good for me.  I like to make sure that mine has lots of horseradish mustard on it!

Flowering shrub in my mother-in-law's back yard

My mother-in-law's flowers (she has a degree in horticulture)

Last night my daughter and I did one of the 5K races we're participating in this year.  She hadn't been very willing to run much of the other two races we've participated in, but last night she did agree to run part of the time, so we completed the 5K together in 41 minutes.

So like life, our weekend had its ups and downs, but overall was very nice.