Month o' Hair, Week #2

Katelee and I are still having lots of fun continuing on our quest of coming up with different hairstyles for each day of this month! We had fun this week trying new styles. Most of them turned out really cute. I've continued to get inspiration from the blogs mentioned previously, as well as a new blog recommended to me called Babes in Hairland. Happy hairstyling!

Day 14

Today was the first time I really experimented with 'corkscrew' braids. They are so easy to do, but I think they look really cool. I parted her hair down the middle on top and did one corkscrew braid on each side going back into a pony tail. I split the ponytail hair in half and did two separate corkscrew braids (one with each half) and then twisted the two braids around each other and secured at the end. I wrapped the two side braids from above around the ponytail and secured in the rubberband. I really loved how this hairstyle turned out. Tutorial here.

Day 13

Three braids into one big braid. Part the hair on the side. On the larger side, split the hair into two pieces and french braid each piece down the side of her head. Do the same, with only one braid, on the smaller side of the part. Bring all three braids back on the side, so that one braid wraps around the head, and braid the three braids together and fasten off. I like the waves still left over from yesterday's "crimped" hair, too.

Day 12

Braids into "crimped" hair.

Katelee chose this hairstyle. She likes her crazy crimped hair when I take it out of the hairstyles each night. So we decided to do it for real! After her shower, while her hair was still wet, we braided it into a bunch of little bitty braids that she slept on. The next morning, we carefully took out each braid, curled the ends, and added a headband. Ta da!

The night before:

Day 11

Vertical twists into double messy bun.

I split Katelee's hair into five parts going back from her forehead all the way down to her neck. I twisted each section of hair back halfway and then secured the bottom half (untwisted) to the top (twisted) half with a rubberband. I gathered all the ponytails into a big double messy bun.

Day 10

Crisscross ponytails

This was the first day of our vacation, and I knew I needed something that would withstand the zoo and swimming. I like this hairstyle because it's fast and easy, but gets lots of compliments. Part the hair in the middle and secure on top with two ponytails. Continue down to make another ponytail in the middle, only take a section of each ponytail and cross it over into the other side's rubberband, etc. Cute!

Day 9

Flower Bun

This is the bun where you separate the hair into five sections and roll each section up and secure with a bobbypin. I think Katelee looks DARLING with this hairstyle. Tutorial here.

Day 8

Waterfall braids

I've seen waterfall braids on a lot of blogs, and think they look gorgeous! They are HARD to do, though, harder than they look. Not that the technique is that tricky, but I can't figure out how to keep them in place. It's such a loose hairstyle. This is definitely not a hairdo for a busy day. (When do we NOT have a busy day?) Luckily, they stayed in Katelee's hair during her preschool program, though they were completely destroyed by about 11 a.m. :) Tutorial here.

Colorado Springs Vacation, Day 2

Saturday morning we slept in, enjoyed a nice breakfast, and headed out for another day of fun. We decided to take Katelee miniature golfing. She loved it and has already been asking when we can do again!

Gerald showing Katelee how to hold the golf club. Once she got the hang of it she was surprisingly good - better than me!

Yes! I did it!

Katelee like the elephant.

Hole in one!!!!

Yes, Katelee DID get a hole in one! Here she is beside her golf ball holding up 'one' finger!

Gerald also got a hole in one before the game was over, at the windmill.

(Though does it count as a hole in one if you tried three times to get a hole in one???? I don't think so . . . ) Ha ha ha!

Quick story: Sunday night after returning home for our trip, we were having family home evening. Katelee was in charge of the activity. She brought out blankets and colored on paper to create her own 'mini golf' hole. Gerald pulled out his putter and a ball, and we played 'at-home' miniature golf. What a creative girl!

After golfing, we headed out to see the Garden of the Gods.

The Garden of the Gods really is beautiful country.

I love the red rocks.

This formation is called the "kissing camels." Can you see them?

One of the park rangers gave us a little tour. Katelee befriended his dog, Winnie. They became inseparable for the rest of our time there. ;)

It was a beautiful day - perfect weather!

My little hiker

The sky was SO BLUE that day, I couldn't stop commenting on it. It was really gorgeous against the red rocks and with the deep green of the mountain trees. The colors all complimented each other nicely and made them seem even more vivid.

Can you find Katelee?

After we were done at the Garden of the Gods, we enjoyed some dinner and returned to the hotel for more SWIMMING!

Sunday morning we checked out and headed home for church.

What a nice little family get-away! We can't wait to do it again sometime soon!

Colorado Springs Vacation

When we were first married, Gerald and I set a goal to take at least one family vacation a year that did not involve visiting family. My parents were excellent at family vacations, and those memories of family trips are some of my most precious. We wanted to create similar memories for our kids and make spending time together a priority.

It was time to go, and we were in need of a family vacation. We didn't have a long time, or a lot of money to spend on travel, so we decided to spend a couple of days and nights in Colorado Springs. No, it's not very far from home, but the truth is we haven't taken the time to explore there very well. And it's a great place! In fact, we'd like to go again soon. :)

Cheyenne Mountain Zoo

Colorado Springs has a great zoo! This was our first stop on our family vacation, and may have been our favorite overall place we visited. This zoo may not be the largest zoo ever, but it is definitely the most "hands-on" zoo I've ever been too.

The giraffe's are so much fun to visit! As you can see, you are right up next to them and can pet and feed them.

Pretty sure this picture above was taken right after the giraffe licked Katelee's hair!

Feeding the giraffe some lettuce - yummy!

Katelee loves carousels - isn't that smile priceless?!

One of the 'enrichment' events we stumbled across was this one: the zoo keeper hid the possum's food within a box and newspaper, and he found it using his sense of smell.

Katelee thought it was pretty cool to stand a couple of feet away from that possum. She wanted to reach out and pet him! (That's not allowed, by the way. :)

The tiger was very active and was putting on quite the show for us! I could have watched him all day.

Katelee wanted to switch. :)

We were at the leopard exhibit in time to see them feed the leopard. This is a real leopard skin that Katelee is touching.

We also got to hear the elephant trainer tell us about the elephants and see the orangutans paint with the zookeepers.

What a fun zoo and what a fun way to start our vacation!

Seven Falls

After visiting the zoo on Friday, we decided to explore a nearby park called Seven Falls. Colorado has some beautiful country, and this was no exception

One of the first things we saw when we entered the falls area was an elevator going up to a look-out deck. These stairs were next to the elevator. The sign says "185 Steps to the Eagles Nest." Katelee really wanted to take the stairs, and feeling adventurous and energetic I agreed. Gerald took the elevator. :)

From the top we could see the whole waterfall...

... as well as the LONG flight of stairs to climb up along the waterfall. Unfortunately, there was no elevator over there. :) Shoulda taken the elevator while I could! Ha ha!

The sign said, "Congratulations You Made It! Only 185 steps to the bottom."

Katelee loved feeding the trout along the river at the bottom of the falls. They would really jump for the food!

We also enjoyed some Native American dancing and music at the bottom of the falls. Katelee was mesmerized and loved watching them dance.

When they announced that children who wanted to could join them on stage for a special dance, Katelee was the first one up there!

Finally we decided to tackle the 224 stairs to the top of the falls.

The view from the halfway point landing.

It was at about this point that I remembered that I am deathly afraid of heights! Yikes! I started up the second half but started feeling shaky. So I decided to wait at the half-way up landing while Gerald and Katelee went to the top.

I had time to kill, so I took lots of pictures of the falls. And of this pretty blue beetle.

Gerald and Katelee coming back down. I was chanting "be careful, be careful, be careful," their whole way down.

Katelee picked some special dandelions for me while up on top. So sweet!

The rest of Friday evening was spent swimming at the hotel - Katelee's very favorite part! ;) We had a very, very fun day and slept well that night, looking forward to another day of fun on Saturday.

To be continued . . .