Saturday, August 29, 2009

A Very Special Day

Today we had a really neat day! A special family friend treated us to the theatre for a children's production in beautiful Creede, Colorado. It is about a 3 hour drive from our home, way up in the mountains in an old mining town. The drive itself is amazingly beautiful and added to the magical feeling of the day. Quite literally it was over the river and through the woods as we crossed and recrossed the Rio Grande and traveled roads that meandered through beautiful Aspen and Lodge Pole Pine forests.


Here the boys are outside the Creede Repertory Theatre. Creede is a tiny mining town established in the 1880's. It currently has only 400 or so year round residents, but their nationally renowned theatre draws over 20,000 theatre goers every season! The children's production today was based on the brothers Grimm and a fanciful retelling of some of their most well known tales. I was pretty sure the boys would enjoy it, but I had no idea just how much they would really love it! All three were sitting on the edge of their seats, enraptured by the live action on stage. Kenny's high pitched squeal could be heard throughout as they all giggled up a storm at the antics. This was such a professional performance, it was hard to remember we weren't in a big city somewhere!! At one point Joshie turned to me and whispered "Mommy...this is AWESOME!"


After the long drive and sitting through the play, we were ready to do some exploring as we had never been to Creede before. We visited their fire station which was built in a cave-like manner, cut out from the side of the mountain. It was left open for the public and showcased a couple of older vehicles along with housing their current equipment. For some odd reason, there was a display case which contained a stuffed cougar that was on loan to the Fire Department...not sure what the significance was but it was cool to see. We then wandered down their main street where the boys played in a small park, walked along the old railroad tracks, and we had a picnic lunch we had brought.

On our way home we had another unexpected adventure. We had stopped at a store to pick up some drinks and someone mentioned there was a beautiful waterfall off the highway on our way back, so we decided to investigate. This is what awaited us, awesome, isn't it? Another reminder of how lucky we are to live in Colorado and have such sights so readily accessible to us to enjoy. We all commented on how loud and impressive the falls were despite the fact there really wasn't that deep a river feeding it. I imagine it is even more breathtaking during the peak time when snow runoff feeds it. We wandered deeper into the area and took a couple of short hikes in different directions, quiet forests and beaver ponds surrounded us in one area...it is what you imagine a true forest to be with moss softening the sounds, a bed of pine needles cushioning the path, a moist earthy smell filling your nostrils, all this as gentle light filters in and bathes the forest floor in an almost otherworldly glow. Dominick and I laughed as we followed behind the boys who, as one would expect with boys their age, took the most wandering route the could find, winding their way through, around and over fallen trees and pointing out deer droppings whenever they saw it as if they had found stolen treasure. It was Boy Paradise!!




We didn't set foot back home until almost 9:00 PM. As we all flopped our tired selves on the couch, the boys wrapped themselves up in their favorite blankies (And those blankies keep getting bigger and bigger as bodies get bigger and bigger!) and we all just lay there yacking, wanting to stretch out our perfect day just a little bit longer. I asked the boys what their favorite part of the day was and it was quickly and unanimously agreed that the play was a huge hit and way outweighed the waterfall and the forest hike. But everyone agreed that the entire day was very special and we were so grateful to our friend for providing us with the tickets. It was such a thoughtful thing to do, and something we never would have experienced otherwise. I have a feeling we have acting potential in Kenny, as he is fearless and able to visit that place that few of us can, where he can imagine himself to inhabit a character's body and becomes someone else. I asked him if he thought he could be on stage someday and he quite confidently responded "Oh yea, but I need to learn to read better so I can learn what I need to say." Who knows? It wouldn't surprise me at all. Dream big dreams, right?

3 comments:

Carrie DeLille said...

Sorry, Cindy, I'm going to do this on your next several entries :o)ATTENTION anyone reading this-Peggy and I are planning a long-distance "baby" shower. It will be a bit unique....please contact me at cdelille@verizon.net and I will explain!!

Calico Sky said...

This is something I really struggle with, I guess even mentioning need incase others feel they should give which I wouldn't want? Or it might be based on past experience where people with weath didn't give even though they have a lot. I once did a collection for underwear and socks for an orphanage in Eastern Europe. I asked every single friend if they would buy just a few pairs and I'd send a big box. One friend participated, most ignored the request, close friends (he is a Minster, she is a nurse) who are very wealthy due to inheritance simply said "we don't have any used underwear/socks lying around so no", they then went on to tell me how they just bought another timeshare. And BTW I wasn't collecting used!!!

That experience might honestly make me not share the struggles financially. I've just been asked to do some volunteer work in some orphanages (teaching about attachment) and the reality is I can't afford the airfair and expenses ($3000) not as a single, working for a charity, supporting kids she used to foster who is also adopting. I'm praying about it but I would never dream of sharing that with friends because fear they'd say nothing, like the one I let it slip to and went silent then told me she and her husband bought a new BMW (they are Christians too).

Your post gives me hope that there are people out there who do share my currency, who do share my desire and my lack of funds, who do believe that treasures in heaven are more important than treasures on earth. I just blogged about that, skirting around the issue, but maybe you've inspired a post!

p.s. can I add you to my blogroll?

Lenore Ryan said...
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