Today, marks six months for Alan and I. Shortly after we started being serious, I had a total freak out moment and started searching the internet asking the question, "How do you know if you are in love?" You should have seen some of the results, however I did come across an article that stated you can only be in love after six months of being together, because anything before six months is just lust. I, of course, thought that it was funny, because even though I did not want to admit to this crazy thing called love, I knew I was in love. It was hard for me to admit, and Alan was soon told about the article. We have both been joking for months that we can't be in love yet...because it hasn't been six months. Today, however marks that lust to love transition and we can finally lay that joke to rest. I am sick with a serious head cold today and am in my apartment. Alan is at his home, after being sick yesterday. When we talked earlier, he told me that we were finally officially in love. It was cute. It's just too bad, we couldn't spend the day together. But it is okay, because in six months we will be married and will get to spend the rest of our lives together.
Six months ago, I had just moved to Colorado. I had been here about a week, and lonely. I got an email from a man that sounded too good to be true. Soon, much to my surprise we started emailing on a regular basis, which turned into almost nightly phone calls, which turned into our first date. We met at Garden of the Gods, had some food at the cafe, and then took a walk in the park. At the end of the date, I thought for sure it was a bust, but he called the next day to set up another date. I was pretty surprised, because those that know me, know that I do not do well with men, relationships, and especially dating. The second date was a nice dinner, which led to the third date, when he cooked for me. I have been telling people that he knew on the first date, and I knew on the second, but the third was just plain magical. We both knew we were in for a long time.....now we are engaged, planning a wedding and sharing more love and laughs everyday. I tell him almost constantly that I do not know what I did to deserve him, but I am glad I did it. Everyday, we talk, we laugh, we share in each others lives. I cannot imagine life without him in it. Amazing how six months can completely turn your world upside down in a good way.
The video was taken at Crater Lake NP when we were on our 12 day adventure in June.....before we could possibly be in love.....
The other day, the pups were filthy, so we had bath time. The first photo is of Baxter and Molly in a place they cannot get out of, the dreaded tub. The second is of Molly getting shampooed. The last of Baxter back in the tub drying off. They are now 10 pounds each, when we got them they were just over 6 pounds. Growing and eating like crazy. Cute, even when wet!
So our little cute fuzzbutts have turned into cute little monsters! Just kidding, they are so much fun, but they love to dig. In the dirt, in the water dish, and add water to the dirt and watch out!
The fuzzbutts have come home. We got our Corgis. Molly is mostly black, and Baxter is mostly brown. They were 8 weeks old on Friday. They have been here 8 hours, and we are totally in love and have learned some of the different personalities already. Molly loves toys and to sleep, Baxter loves to bark and chase the cat.
Yes, I have been a slacker on SPS lately. I have miss two weeks. I do not have an excuse. What can I say, I should be disowned by SPS. Last Sunday, the boy and I took out his jeep and drove to Castlewood Canyon State Park. It is a pretty little canyon with lots of green, a color seen very little lately. It has be a relatively dry summer with little rain, and little green. See, we do go places that aren't national parks :)
This past weekend, the boy and I went to Castlewood Canyon State Park near Castle Rock Colorado. It's is not a far drive, but we took back roads to make it more scenic and more fun. We were on a a dirt road for miles, and ended up coming across a field of sunflowers. It was amazing, because we had no clue we would run into it. There are also a ton of wild sunfowers in the area, and they seem to take over fields and road sides. It was pretty neat to see the wild ones pale in comparsion to the domestic ones. It was a pleasant surprise. 
Driving through North Cascades National Park, we experienced a foggy morning which gave way to some blue skies. The mountains are simply amazing. The snow of course added to the beautiful landscape. This was one park I thought I would never get to, so I was excited to see it. I can't help but think I am such a lucky person to get the chance to see all these great places. I am thrilled when I think about my future and seeing our national parks with my soon to be husband.
Camp Hale used to be a WWII training ground to get soldiers used to winter conditions. They trained soldiers to ski, rock climb, shoot, and to endure harsh winter weather. Now it is a giant forest service area with camp grounds and lots of dirt roads and trails. Alan and I went a while ago and experienced some nasty rain. I managed to snap a few photos, but didn't take nearly as many as I wanted due to weather and my jeep started making an odd sound that freaked me out. Alan had to make on site repair. It was a fun campground, and I hope to go back some day to enjoy some trails we didn't get to do.
The flowers at Royal Gorge were enticing to some butterflies. I stalked one and managed to get a few decent shots. Enjoy.
While on our messed up Glacier trip, where we went everywhere else, we traveled the road through the National Scenic Area of the Columbia River Gorge on the border between Washington and Oregon. We decided to cross over to the Washington side of the gorge to take the "more scenic route" It was an incredibly windy day, that literally could blow you off your trail. The river was very impressive and the rock walls were beautiful. Another great incidental side trip that started out by Alan saying, "lets go there", followed by me saying,"okay!". Some people are so easy to travel with.
While at Royal Gorge, I snapped a few photos of the planted flowers that were part of the sign. They were truly vibrant colors and the camera picked them up well. There was a butterfly zooming around, and the next post will be stalking the butterfly.
While in Canyonlands on White Rim trail we were lucky enough to see a ton of beautiful plants. All of the cacti were in full bloom with bright colors. I enjoyed yelling, "STOP" so I could take some roadside photos.
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