I love these window boxes. The contrast of the bright red with the blue trimmed window was more than I could resist, thus all these pictures... :-)

More clouds, and I couldn't resist taking a photo of the red door and red benches which are at the front of our friends' restaurant, San Q - same folks who own our favorite restaurant, Kohnami where we enjoy Saturday sushi. My hubby even decided that I could take his photo in Burro Alley :-)

Sunday was a beautiful sunny day, so hubby and I went to the Plaza and wandered around for several hours. Was so nice to walk around in the fresh air and sunshine, had a nice snack and iced tea, then resumed our walk. The clouds were incredible, and I couldn't resist taking countless photos... By the time we reached the car, it was sprinkling. All in all, a very nice day, and it gave me a chance to take photos with my new camera! Yay!

Today, mama got a new toy - well, actually a very serious piece of photographic equipment, at least for me. I'm not one who can figure out F-Stops and all the fancy stuff that highly technical cameras involve, so this camera is perfect for me. And it's a Nikon - how awesome is that? Already loving it, though today was rainy and we didn't want to wander around town getting wet. So hopefully tomorrow will be sunny cuz I'm hankering to take me some pictures! :-) I am hoping to get some dyn-o-mite photos of flowers that I can have canvas mounted in large format, and counting on being able to get some nice close-ups with my new camera! Wish me luck! Well, actually I just need to keep practicing :-) Either way, fun!!

The top picture is of our daughter taking a photo of one of the many deer that loved to visit the campground. The truck belongs to a neighbor - we would park in front of his truck and walk up Steve's mom's steps to the cabin. The second picture is that same truck after the fire had roared through, wreaking destruction... Needless to say, photos such as that triggered many tears in the family as we all thought of the many hours of labor Mom and Dad Chaparro put into their little cabin in the woods. We are just so thankful for the memories as well as photos that we have...

On our drive back from Santa Barbara a couple weeks ago (we had a wonderful time with our kids and hated to have to leave) we learned of the fire in Ruidoso, specifically near Bonita Lake. These pictures are of the Chaparro family's cabin at the Bonita Park Nazarene Campgrounds near Bonita Lake. In 2009 we were able to spend a few days at the cabin with our daughter, and we thoroughly enjoyed the peaceful setting. There were always little repairs, such as my husband working on the hot water heater, but the over-riding theme was relaxing and enjoying the fresh mountain air. It wouldn't be long during our drive back from Santa Barbara before we realized that the cabin was in real danger from the Little Bear Fire, and as the time passed our worst fears were realized...

...and now (June 28, 2012)

It just breaks my heart to see the devastation in Colorado Springs as the fires devour homes, trees, everything in sight, and no relief in sight. My prayers go up for those who have lost their homes and for those who are in harm's way fighting this monstrous fire...