The Best of Colorado Springs: Auntie Sepa's Visit

We were fortunate enough to have some family visiting with us this weekend--my Auntie Sepa (my dad's sister), her husband Mike and their 10-year-old cocker spaniel, Cupid. This is the first time I'd seen them in over 15 years, so you can imagine the excitement, especially for my dad. It was so nice to see him so happy. His sister's visit totally made his year! On Saturday, as we do with all our visitors, we took them to see the hottest tourist spots in Colorado Springs. Before we did that, we couldn't resist the opportunity to take a few family photos in front of mom and dad's house.

First, we headed out to the Garden of the Gods. Most people would see it and think, "wow, great rocks," but it really is just gorgeous out there. I never tire of going. As a matter of fact, Malu and I used to bring Lucy out there for hikes, which she absolutely loves! It was a beautiful Colorado day--not too hot or cold, and barely a cloud in the sky. This picture was taken at the Garden of the Gods Visitor Center. I was able to capture both the Garden of the Gods and Pikes Peak. So pretty!

Here are mom and dad with Auntie Sepa and Uncle Mike with the "Kissing Camels" off in the distance. These guys absolutely loved playing tourist all morning!

This is the "Balancing Rock" and Dad, Uncle Mike, Auntie Sepa, and Roz doing the signature pose in front of the renowned landmark. I swear, these pictures never get old!

And of course, Cupid got to play tourist too! He got some really good exercise out there. Isn't he just an angel?

Our next stop was to Manitou Springs--a quaint little town nestled at the foothills of the Rocky Mountains (particularly Pikes Peak) and yet another popular tourist attraction. I love going to Manitou Springs. There are little shops that line the streets, which I absolutely love.

You can find just about anything--cookware, State souvenirs, jewelry, antiques, and most importantly--food! There are some great restaurants and what I enjoy most are the candy and ice cream shops that sell homemade fudge. As a matter of fact, one candy store sells chocolate-covered gummy bears. Malu and I have made the drive down there a few times just for those delicious treats! Ooh, I can go for some of those right now.

Our last stop (since we all started to grow weary at this point), was Old Colorado City, which is very similar to Manitou. Only here, we went to the Farmers' Market and got our hands on some of the finest produce in the city. Here's mom getting some of those smoked chilis. She later used them to make an omelette. Oh yeah!

I saw piles and piles of some of my favorite cooking ingredients. Here, you'll see basil, garlic and onions--oh my!

The La Baguette Bakery was out there too and they had these interesting loaves of bread. The girl manning the station told me the name, but it was something in French which I can't remember at the moment. If I had more cash on hand, I would have bought both loaves and eating them with some of that olive oil dipping sauce.

This is one of my favorite photos from that day. The fruits looked so delicious. I didn't buy any because I have tons of fruits already in the house that need to be eaten. I do, however, plan on going back so that I can whip up some nice pies or cobblers with these things!

All in all, Saturday was quite an eventful day. My Aunt and Uncle left early this morning (Sunday). They stayed at my house and tried to sneak out without waking me up. Too bad for them...I wanted to be up to say good-bye. I hate saying good-bye, really! It was so nice to see them. Surely, we won't let another 15 years go by without seeing each other again. I wish them a safe trip home and by now, they should be somewhere between Utah and California--Nevada, perhaps? Let's hope so.

Just so you know, I hosted a Pampered Chef party on Saturday night. I'll be posting those pictures on my cooking blog so that I can share some of the recipes we experimented with. You'll love them!

You'd think it would have ended there. Nope! Today (Sunday), we had a barbecue at Antonette's house. Since I was tired from all the cooking and company in previous days, I almost contemplated not going. Good thing I didn't--because the purpose of the get-together was to announce that Antonette's sister, Charisse (shown below) is expecting a baby. She's about 7 weeks pregnant! Charisse has always been a sister to me and I'm so happy for her and Jacques....so congratulations you guys!

Another week ahead. Not as busy as last week, but still...school? Yuck! Malu is actually in the field this week. Those of you that know Malu know that he LOVES being out in the field--well, being outdoors period. So he's enjoying himself immensely, I'm sure. He's actually on my phone right now. I've got it on speakerphone and he's snoring. We've been doing this as long as I can remember--sleeping on the phone together. It's corny, but when you've lived apart as much as we have, you find all kinds of ways to remain close and for us, this is one of them. Over the years, we became accustomed to sleeping with our phones on. These days, I usually wait until he starts snoring and then shut the phone off. Occasionally (like today), I miss the snoring and just leave the phone on. It kinda makes me feel like he's laying right next to me. Crazy, huh?

Well, sorry for all the rambling! Have a blessed week everyone!