More Rafting

My niece Sarah had taken a few pictures with her disposable camera.


Charis and Jodie


Charis helping Marcus row the oars.


Rachel, Jodie and Charis


Charis

Rafting in Glenwood Springs

Charis, friend Nicole, and I met my parents, sister and her family in Glenwood Springs (Mark had to work). While my parents went sightseeing today, the rest of us went rafting. I had to stay behind with Rachel and Charis for the first 20 minutes, since they couldn't do the Class 3 rapids (they both weigh less than 50 pounds), but then we were able to do the Class 1 & 2 for the rest of the trip (2 hours). We all had a BLAST!!


Charis in front of a historic saloon Leadville on our lunch stop on the way to Glenwood.


One of the crazier waves Rebecca, Rick, Samantha (13), Sarah (10) and Nicole hit. Sam and Rick were on the right side of the boat; Sarah was sitting on the floor.

On the smaller rapids after Rachel (8), Charis (5) and I joined the trip. Rachel and Sarah were hidden in this picture.


After our trip. I can't wait to go again!!!

Magic Treehouse Cake

Two 9x13 vanilla cake layers with chocolate icing. I sprayed the chocolate with blue and black color mist.

Jack and Annie are done like a Frozen Buttercream Transfer, but with candy melts, which harden faster and more thoroughly. I think I like working with the candy melts better.

Foreign Adopted Children Equality (FACE) Act

This is from Vera's (and several others') blogs:

FACE Act
Please take a moment to read this and sign the petition.

Please ask your spouses and friends to do the same.

The intercountry adoption process is a long, tedious process for American citizens seeking to adopt a foreign born child. Paperwork includes home studies, finger printing and criminal checks. The process can take up to three years to complete.

At the completion of the adoption, the child must be approved for a U.S. immigrant visa in order to enter the U.S. and gain citizenship. The immigrant visa is required despite the fact that the "immigrant" is the child of a U.S. citizen.

The U.S. is one of the few developed countries in the world that requires internationally adopted children of citizens to immigrate in order to join their new families. Most countries recognize internationally adopted children as citizens upon the finalization of their adoption.

The Foreign Adopted Children Equality Act (FACE Act) would recognize that internationally adopted children deserve to be treated as children of American citizens and accorded the same citizenship process as children born aboard to American citizens. Under the FACE Act, Adoptive parents would apply for a U.S. passport and Consular Report of Birth instead of a visa. These documents provide adoptive parents with immediate proof of citizenship for their adopted child and provide immediate proof of U.S. citizenship. "- McLane Layton Equality for Adopted Children (EACH)

Please follow the link to sign the petition.

http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/face-act-of-2009.html

Dog Cake

Cake for a 1-year-old's birthday. I used the lamb 3D pan to make the dog.

Cow Appreciation Day at Chick-Fil-A

We came. We cowed. We ate for free.

Charis dressed as a princess cow. Both Charis and our neighbor boy had on spots and a tail (not visible in the picture). I dressed up, too, but the benefit of me taking the picture is that I don't have to be in it! :)

Highway of Legends

We took the historic Highway of Legends (12) on our way home from New Mexico. It makes a wide arch from Trinidad to Walsenburg, 82 miles of beautiful scenery. It added about 2 hours to our trip, but it was worth it.

Click here for a site with some of the history.


The coal ovens in Cokedale, just west of Trinidad, look like Roman ruins. Cokedale apparently was a bustling community for 40 years, until the demand for coal and coke dwindled after WWII.

The stone wall in Stonewall.

The stone wall and Purgatoire River.

The Purgatoire River (also known as the Picketwire) in Stonewall.

The Purgatoire River was named many years ago, during the time when Spanish Conquistadors were exploring the area in their search for Cibola (the Seven Cities of Gold), around 1594. The legend says the leaders of the expedition argued and Juan Hermana killed Francisco Bonilla to assume full leadership of the group.

The priest who accompanied them refused to follow a murderer so he and part of the expedition left and returned south to Mexico. Hermana and the others forged ahead and continued searching. Some say they found gold near the Spanish Peaks and forced Native Americans to dig it out for them. In leaving the area, they killed all their Native American slaves and headed south over Cuchara Pass with their ill-gotten gold.

All versions of the legend say they were ambushed near the Purgatoire and wiped out to a man. Their bones and armour were found many years later along the river bank but no stash of gold has ever been found. Because they died without the benefit of last rites, they were said to be in Purgatory and the river was named "El Rio de Las Animas Perdidas en Purgatorio." The French changed that to "Purgatoire" and the English to "Picketwire."

I'm not sure, but this may be the side view of the Devil's Stairstep.

Some of the burros in the area.

The Spanish Peaks. We traveled between them and the Sangre de Cristo range. I didn't get any pictures of the "fourteeners" in that range because of the lighting.

We stopped at the city park in Walsenburg to let Charis stretch her legs and play a while, found a local eatery, and then headed home.

I'd love to do that trek again. There is a lot to see, and I know I missed quite a bit. The article I had mentioned a dilapidated "house on a bridge," but we never saw it. The weather alternated between beautiful and sunny, to downpours, which made it difficult.