The day we needed an arc...

I've had several texts and emails from family and friends who are hearing about flooding in Boulder County and wondering how we are affected. I thought I'd compile all the photos here so you can all see our neighborhood.

School was closed due to flooding/road closures (THAT was a lovely 4:30 AM wake up call....). We lost power last night, but only for a few hours so all is well. Mike's office was closed, and even if it wasn't he could not have made it to Boulder this morning. A few smaller, less incorporated areas of Erie have been evacuated due to the flooding in Coal Creek (photos below) but that has not affected our neighborhood. Boulder has had it really bad. Several dams breached or broken, flooding at the university campus dorms, flash floods on Boulder Creek (right through the heart of town) and a few bridges swept away in Boulder County, from what I've heard. Those people could definitely use your prayers for some drier weather!

The rain has stopped here for now and, as long as we don't get another night of massive downpours like last night, I think our area will be fine - a mess to clean up but no major issues. It's just so strange for here. In 16+ years I don't think I can ever recall a FULL day of rain, let alone several days in a row with rain and hours on end of heavy downpours. Climate change??? Nah....

The sidewalk/train heading down to the bridge over the creek. Creek is normally a few feet deep and maybe 5 feet wide at most with a slight current.

The bridge is entirely under water. Normally water is at least 5-6 feet below bottom of bridge. Bridge is maybe 12 feet long and creek is not even half it's width.

Row of crayfish trying to escape the torrent.

This is normally a dry grassy area.

Our neighbor grabbed a crayfish. Quinn was not impressed.

Standing on the sidewalk at the far end of our park (down towards Mike's parents' street). Gives perspective on just how high the water is.

 

Here's a few videos of this same area. They show how fast the water is moving.

Blogger gives me a hard time about loading videos for some reason, and I can't tell if these embedded links are working, so in case not here are links to them on Youtube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMxS5DhTYK4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CzdQBGwHgJc

And these last ones are from the entrance to the neighborhood east of us up on the hill. The cars you see driving to the right of the picture are on Erie Pkwy (Hwy 8), for those who've been out to visit.

According to photos I've seen from others in my neighborhood, this is actually a whole lot better than it was overnight when the water was OVER the bridge.

Praying the rain stops! We needed the moisture but have had more than enough now, thank you!
Thanks for all the concern. We will be sure to update if things change but hopefully the worst is over now.

The sweetest milestones

I love babies. I love everything about that baby stage - even the lack of sleep part, while rough, is totally worth it. So while it is wonderful to see the milestones- first tooth, crawling, first steps, first words, potty training- they also pang my heart because my child is getting farther and farther from "babyhood". This milestone, however, is one that has no hint of bitter with the sweet. I heard this for the first time when I was walking out of Quinn's room after putting him to bed a few nights ago (and, of course, I had to turn right around and snuggle him a bunch more- until he pointed to the crib and told me, "BED mama!!). While this video was staged (and he was totally bribed to do it on cue for the camera!) it's still awfully sweet, in my opinion. When he's big and sassy and wants nothing to do with his mama (like his big brother is right now....) I'll be watching this multiple times a day!

Rookie of the year

Caleb's little league season has ended, but Quinny has now decided to take up the sport. I think he's a natural!

Look at that form!

And the amazing pitching technique!

Sunday afternoon nature walk

Today was an absolutely gorgeous day so we decided to drive towards Fort Collins and take an easy family hike at Fossil Creek Reservoir Open Space. Since we haven't been hiking since late fall it seemed like a good idea to find an easy, family friendly "hike" with little elevation change for our first hike of the year, and this completely fit the bill. In fact, it was more of a "walk" than a "hike" - flat, gravel or paved trails, bathrooms (nice bathrooms with indoor plumbing!), lots of birds, a large lake. Perfect.

We headed down the longest trail first (1.6 miles round trip) towards an "observation blind" that overlooks that lake and (potentially) lots of bird habitat. 

The views were lovely and the trail was filled with all sorts of little treasures to observe.

Various small birds, great blue heron in the distance, a variety of wildflowers, dragonflies...

a recently shed snake skin provided lots of entertainment, as well, as did a bounty of ladybugs.

The views from the observation blind were gorgeous!

Caleb hopped over the wall to get a closer look at some fish near the shore, and Mike and Sophia soon joined him. Quinn and I saw a family of ducks with several babies swimming near the shore so we decided to walk around and join everyone. As I rounded the corner of the small building I heard a rustle in the grass and turned around to find this

... 5 feet to my right! After the initial heart attack subsided and we realized it wasn't a rattlesnake we all checked him out (from a safe distance- venomous or not, I'm not getting near a snake! My 5-foot surprise encounter is as close as I ever want to be.)

Yay for 30x zoom on the little Canon!

We were pretty sure this was a Bull snake and when we got home and checked Caleb's Colorado reptile guide that suspicion was confirmed.

The ironic thing is Sophia was obsessed with snakes today and didn't want to go on a hike for fear she'd run into one. Mike and I kept assuring her that in 15 plus years of living in Colorado and hiking/biking a lot (in our younger, more active days! lol) the two of us had only ever seen a snake once - on our property shortly after moving into our current house. We told her that snakes generally hide when they sense people coming and they don't typically come towards or hurt people unless you mess with them. So what did this guy do? Came straight towards us then slithered into the observation blind (where we'd just been), slithered all along every place we'd been standing in the little building as though following our "scent", then out the other side and into his hole! So much for her believing what we tell her about things like that in the future! 

After that bit of excitement we headed back towards the trailhead and down a shorter trail that got close to the water.

Snack break.

Quinn decided to play switch with daddy's hat

We found a few more friends to explore-

Mayflies!

We also saw a pelican and lots of fish by the water. The third trail was closed half way to the observation deck due to bald eagle nesting, so we decided to head back to the car for a late lunch and some gelato.

A perfect summer afternoon!

Tiny dancer

Today was Sophia's first ballet recital with a "real" dance studio. She has taken ballet since she was 3 at the local recreation center, but the caliber of teachers and dancers at the studio is a completely different experience. 

Sophie was beyond thrilled to finally have a pink costume. In all 5 years of dance classes she's never had pink- red/white, blue/black, black/white and turquoise but never pink. And not *just* pink, but sparkly pink with a full tutu AND a rhinestone tiara! This girl was in heaven! 

Waiting to check in before the show

 

 The performer with her bouquet

I'll edit this with a video of her dance performance once we receive it - parents were not allowed to record or photograph anything during the concert.