Lions and Tigers and Bears! Oh, my!

Ok, so no tigers, but here are some headlines from Colorado Springs in the last 3 days.

Lion sighting east of Colorado Springs


Bear breaks into Circuit City

Apparently since it has been so dry, the bears are moving further east to find food. It is not unusual for us to get bears in our neighborhood, remember this. It is unusual for them to get to the east side of town.

Some people say the "lion" was actually a big dog. It does look remarkably dog-like, but I wasn't there, way out east. I was right next to the foothills waiting for more wildlife to invade suburbia.

Can't wait to see what shows up next.

What happened while we were gone...

An eight year old boy at our neighborhood park experienced a freak accident. Coal dust (from years ago?) heated up to 800 degrees in the sun and burnt his crocs.




See the story and video here.

This is the closest park to get to on foot or by bike. There is a playground, a sports field, basketball court and the down below forest area. I rarely allow the boys into that area. For one thing, we have lots of wildlife that resides in our community and I am sure they also love the down below area of the park. Secondly, You can not see that area from the playground and I am always worried about some creep hanging out down there. I never would have thought of the coal dust, that was even too obscure for me to worry about.



The authorities aren't sure if this coal dust has been there since the mining days of Colorado Springs (perhaps hidden under foliage) or if something has happened to bring the dust to the surface. They have the area roped off for more soil testing.

Our prayers go out to eight-year-old Matt Bershinski, we hope he gets better soon and can enjoy his summer vacation.

Colorado Wildlife

No, this post is not about the Ayotte boys.

Here is a copy of the email we received this morning from our elementary school:

Attention Foothills Parents and Students - A mother bear and cubs have been sited in the area around Foothills Elementary. Please take cautionary measures as you send or bring your children to school. There will be inside lineup.

Inside lineup means the kids will be ushered right into school, no playing on the playground before school. It does not mean the children will be in a lineup...number 5 turn to your left.

It is important to note that we live in suburbia, not the mountains of Colorado. A few years ago we had a momma bear and her cubs in our backyard. And once Griffin ran into a bear coming out of our neighbors garage at 7pm.

We always see deer in the neighboring yards. Carter spotted a fox a few nights ago in our own backyard. We were in a panic to get the cats back inside before they were fox bait.

So,the momma and baby bears must mean it is springtime in the Rockies...makes sense since we had a snow storm yesterday. Yes, it is truly spring at last.

A good read

I am reading a great book; A Real Basket Case by Beth Groundwater.

Not only is it a captivating mystery, it was nominated for an Agatha Award for Best First Novel. The story is based in Colorado Springs, there are references to Uncle Wilbur's fountain, Garden of the Gods, La Baguette, etc. And it was written by one of our friends from church. If you are looking for a great book to read, this is the one for you.

We are so happy for Beth's success and wish her the very best of luck with her future novels. Congratulations Beth!

Beautiful, welcoming church

In September I was involved in a church planning retreat. I am the nursery committee chair and an active parent with our preschool program. Our retreat was held in a neighboring church. I was blown away by the gorgeous murals in the children's areas. Our church, while clean, nice and fun for kids, wasn't very visually stimulating...(read.. it was boring).

I made it my mission to change this and work on the beautification of our own children's areas. We were blessed to find a local artist to do the work. She incorporated our children in the design and the end result is a lovely garden of colorful flowers with whimsical birds. Thank you Carla, you are truly an angel.

Home Grown Colorado: In Search of Grass-fed Beef - Retail

I found a great reference for natural foods in Colorado.


Home Grown Colorado: In Search of Grass-fed Beef - Retail

Colorado Springs Pediatric Dentistry's unreasonable charges

Wow, I am so glad I have a blog, now I can complain to everyone at once!

Let's just start by saying we know Griffin's teeth are B-A-D. Really BAD. When he had an infected tooth we were sent to Colorado Springs Pediatric Dentistry.

We were told he needed a new exam and xrays, then he had the teeth pulled. Our insurance covered most of it. We paid $84.25.


Then we were told to bring him back in for the spacer measurement and to get a cavity fixed. We paid $400.15 for our portion.

I brought him in today to have the spacers inserted. And was not allowed to leave, "no we won't bill you," until I paid another $398.20. And we may still owe more since now we have maxed out Griffin's dental coverage for the calendar year, it is only 42 days into the year.

We reviewed the bills, they charged us for 5 cavities and we expected this to be a one tooth extraction experience. They found several other problem areas and said they informed us of this, although neither of us recall being informed of the huge expensive this would cause. They charged significantly over what the insurance considers reasonable and expect us to pay the difference.

We are still trying to figure out why they charged $300 for sedation when our regular dentist charges $45. Why we have a bill for 5 cavities when went there for one infected tooth? We already have a dentist, why would we want this office to perform all this extra work? Why they charge so much more than the insurance considers reasonable?

We have paid almost $1000 to this office, we were referred there for one infected tooth. I believe they are taking advantage of us by overcharging and billing for work that wasn't neccessary.

From now on, our family will steer clear of Derek Kirkham DDS, and the rest of Colorado Springs Pediatric Dentistry.

UPDATE: Due to recent developments I have an update to this post. Please click here and note, I do not respond well to threats.