Southern Fun and Summertime

Colorado summer is here! Well it has been here for a few weeks, but we were gone for a week in South Carolina. During these past few weeks, I have been reminded of some of the differences between Colorado summers and South Carolina summers.

Drinking plenty of water is important in both Colorado and South Carolina during the summer. In Colorado it is important because of the low humidity here. The air is dry, like the desert, so you need about twice as much water as you would drink in a more humid climate.

Thinking of sun exposure usually wasn't something I thought of in South Carolina unless we were at the beach. If I'm going to be in the sun more than an hour here in Colorado, I have to put sunscreen on or I will burn. With Colorado Springs at the altitude of 6,035 feet there is less water vapor in the air and 25% less protection from the sun. Colorado Springs gets over 300 days of sunshine each year. That's a lot of sunscreen! Even during the winter months, sunscreen is important if you are going to be under the sun's rays for a length of time. I read this excerpt on some website about high altitude living and we've experienced the truth of this article after our day of skiing during the first week of May.

"At high altitudes the ultraviolet rays from the sun are more intense and therefore more damaging. Cautionary notes from those who live in high altitude areas include the observation that 'sunburns at high altitude may also have a longer delay factor – they may not show up until you are more seriously burned than you would be at lower altitude. In other words, by the time you notice that you are turning pink, you may be actually in the process of developing a second degree burn that will blister. Fair skin can begin to burn within half an hour, and two hours can burn you badly enough to give you trouble sleeping that night.'"

It was nice to spend a few days in South Carolina at the start of this summer. The family and friends definitely make the humidity worth it. Four days we were in Greenville, SC and two days we spent on day trips to see friends and family. We got to see another high school friend, Ben Wise, get married. It was a beautiful wedding and are excited for him and Morgan as they start their lives as husband and wife.

One day we went to Columbia, SC to see our dear friends from college Kelli & Nathan Sweet and Kelli's parents. We enjoyed lunch with them and the afternoon during my first trip to the Riverbank Zoo.

Patricia & Danny Allen (Kelli's parents)

One evening we were able to drop in and visit with one of my best friend's Kim and her family. It was great Ben was home too so we could catch up with him. Kim's second son was born a week before we came to Greenville. Great timing! So glad we were able to meet little Nolan and to see Braden all growing up at almost 3 years old.

One week old Nolan

Another day we drove to Hickory, NC to spend time with Caleb's grandparents and see his aunt and cousins. When we first arrived, my mother-in-love was getting some water and smelled something nasty in the water. Caleb's grandparents water comes from a well so she was wondering if something may have gotten into the well. A dead animal. Rick, my father-in-love, worked hard with his dad to get access to the well to see if they could find the source of the foul smell in the water. They did. At first, the news was there was a snake in the well. That proved to be wrong when the actual problem was discovered. 4 dead mice in the well. Eww! Grandma Heavner wasn't able to smell the water because she said she lost her sense of smell a couple years ago. I'm glad Mom was able to notice the smell so those dead mice were discovered. That led to an interesting day waiting to see what they were going to find. 

While Dad and Grandpa Heavner worked on the well, Nathan, Caleb, and I tried out Grandpa's new "toy," a hydraulic riding lawn mower. Caleb supervised me while I tried it out for the first time. It kind of took off and I went for a ride curving down a hill in the yard. After getting the hang of it, it was definitely fun mowing and can see why Grandpa loves this new "toy." It was great to spend this day with family.

We enjoyed lunch and some time one afternoon downtown with my brother, David, and his girlfriend Nichole. The Reedy River Falls Park downtown was green and full of colorful landscaped flowers. 

I wish I had pictures to post of my mom and dad on here but those pictures are on my parents camera. It was great to stay at my parents house for the week and be with them. We enjoyed playing horseshoes and croquet at my parents house and some yummy southern pulled pork BBQ with both our families.

After our busy week back South seeing family and friends, we were ready to get back to Colorado and enjoy the summer starting here. Can't wait to share some of our summer fun with time in Gunnison, hiking adventures, camping hopefully, and pictures of the Lord's beautiful creation throughout Colorado.