June 30, 2015

June Flowers Bring Baby Shower

Sunday my sister Debby, Paige and I hosted a baby shower for my niece Erin at my home. This baby will be the first for Erin and Jon and first grandchild for Debby so there is a lot of excitement in the air! Because Erin and Jon live in Phoenix, the shower was also a great time for them to reconnect with Colorado friends and relatives. My sisters Barb and Lori were able to fly in as well. I have a call in to the Guinness folks because I'm pretty sure we broke a world record for longest Shower - but that is what made it so fun! We are still eating leftovers so stop by for some cake!

Erin and friends check out the food- yes those are Cheetos - tiger tails - for Auburn fan Jon!

Great cake!

Nieces Kaylynn and Chrisann attended

Sisters together- Debby, Barb, Lori, me and mom

June 26, 2015

Crime Boss

I have to confess to a crime. I have failed as a parent and almost forced my son into the dark side  as a wanted felon without him even realizing it. I am a shover - when company is coming, I tend to shove stray items, such as junk mail into drawers or baskets. This week I decided to sort through my basket since the height of the contents was approaching the ceiling. As I was digging, I came across a jury notice for Alex. Apparently he was supposed to report for jury duty in May....oops! I don't know why I didn't notice this when it came in the mail but it must have come during a particular busy shoving day. Anyway, I had to call and confess to Alex what I did and that he would not  be able to come home any time soon for fear of him being discovered and sent the the big house. Luckily, Alex has a smart head on his shoulders and contacted the powers that be, explained that he was out of state attending school, his mother was an airhead, and that he would be honored to be rescheduled for jury duty in September when his is back in the state. All has been forgiven and Alex is now back on the honorable path once again and will only be wearing orange to Bronco games. Whew!

June 25, 2015

Twist and Pull

Yesterday Don came home around 5pm from the Cherry Creek area and told me that there was a major storm brewing. At the same time we were turning on the TV, Paige was texting from the Anschutz Campus where she was holed up in the first floor bathroom due to the tornado warning. There was no announcement from the research building she is working in but her phone notified her of the warning. I will not be complaining about the phone bill this month. Everything turned out fine, no damage to the building or people which was surprising when you see the photo of how close the funnel cloud was. 

Today the excitement was Max's trip to the dentist. A specialist looked at his overbite this week and determined that all of his bottom teeth had to be pulled in order for his jaw and adult teeth to develop normally. Don was out of town so I had to be the bad guy who took  him to the clinic this morning. Everything went well and he was pretty out of it when Don brought him home. Max perked up later tonight but you could tell that things were a little psychedelic for him. He was a little wobbly and  took an interest in the television-barking at what he saw. The vet who did the procedure took me seriously when I said, "I guess the tooth fairy will be busy tonight" and sent home the teeth with Don! I wonder what she will bring? Stay tuned!

Twister over Anschutz

Recovering with Moose

Ready to be put under the pillow!

June 23, 2015

Filling the ARC

ARC is coming on Friday so I have been cleaning out drawers. It feels good to get organized and the bonus was finding things I didn't realize that I was missing....for example, chocolate from our trip to Austria three years ago, Christmas ornaments purchased on other trips, and some cool notepads...and that was all found in just my underwear drawer! I tried to be brutally honest with myself when going through the closet. If the pants are too tight today, they will probably be too tight tomorrow and just because a sweater looked good ten years ago doesn't mean that it should be out in public today. If those shoes hurt my feet, they would be better off on someone else's. My mantra was, "the more I get rid of the more I will have room for new!" I hope ARC is bringing a big truck!

June 21, 2015

Happy Fathers Day!

It was a beautiful - and hot - day to celebrate fathers. We had a BBQ for my husband, my father-in-law, and my brother-in-law today. Although Alex couldn't be here, Paige made sure she honored her dad enough for the both of them because he deserves it! Also, I think I may have the best father-in-law around so it is always a pleasure to celebrate with Don Sr. My sister-in-law, Shelly, picked a winner when she married Lee. He is a super person and awesome dad to her three kids. It was fun to celebrate these three great guys and of course remember the fathers who are not with us anymore but left us with essential wisdoms and wonderful memories. Happy Fathers Day!

Three special dads!

Four lucky kids!

June 20, 2015

Reunited

This afternoon I reunited with some old friends from the great Fort Morgan Class of 1980! We met up in a different Fort - Fort Collins - and I had a wonderful time visiting with people I haven't seen in a long time. There were only a few of us but we had a lot of stories to share. The weird thing is that even though we graduated over three decades ago, none of us have aged a bit! I hope that we can do this again soon with even more of our Mustangs!

June 19, 2015

A Special Life Celebrated

Today we had to say a final goodbye to my Aunt Helen. You may remember that over Memorial Day weekend we traveled to La Junta to help her celebrate her 90th birthday. Sadly, she passed away suddenly, less than a week later. The services today at the La Junta Church of Christ were very nice because she was an active member of this small church so the preachers, who knew and loved her as much as her family, gave very heartfelt sermons. It was truly a celebration of her life. Of course the bittersweet of all funerals is that you can once again be together with family that you don't often see and share wonderful memories that will live on. Rest in peace Aunt Helen.

June 18, 2015

A Different Life

Whenever I travel, I like to imagine what it would be like to live there. Whether it is a big city like New York or an oil-spot-in-the-road town, I let my mind create what my daily life there would be. Today I went on a road trip with my mom and sister through southeastern Colorado where there is a vast amount of open space with just a few houses here and there. Could I live out in the middle of nowhere? Twenty years ago my answer would have been an adamant "NO!" but now it would be "yes, if I had Internet." I could probably live just about anywhere if I had a strong Wi-Fi connection so I could keep in touch with society and order from Amazon! The World Wide Web has developed a global society where a person has to work hard at staying isolated...even on the wide open plains!

June 17, 2015

Tee Time

My sister Debby and I played golf today in Fort Morgan. It has been so long since I've played there that I didn't realize that the course has a different name now -Quail Dune Golf Course. I guess since it is the only one in town I've always just referred to it as "the golf course." We had a great time even though I lost a few balls in the rough - which is really rough - don't go into the rough without a club in your hand kind of rough! We played Best Ball which I like because it saves me from hacking away towards shoulder damage and I get done before dark. Debby came prepared and brought along mints for us to suck on to keep the gnats away. It seemed to work and it was way less smelly than puffing on cigars. I may pass along this little idea to Don.....

A great day for golf 

I would say we were pretty evenly matched on this hit!

June 16, 2015

Toes and Tequila

Paige and I have wanted to get pedicures together since she has gotten home from college but our schedules have been conflicting. I think that I have mentioned before that it is a Duvall girl tradition that our toenails be painted at all times - even in the dead of winter. Growing up of course, no one went to get pedicures so we were on our own, in the trenches, attending to our own piggies. I had to work overtime during all the summers spent as a lifeguard making sure those ten digits were properly decorated for duty. However, in the past few years, pedicures have become more  common and a fairly reasonable service so the idea of doing it myself has faded with the memory. Paige and I finally found a nearby salon that was open late to accommodate her schedule so we went tonight. To make a great thing even better, we got the Margarita Special - a little tequila drinkee poo while your toes are being pampered...Muy Bueno! 

June 15, 2015

Serpents in the Garden

This summer I will help out. I will be Don's gardening assistant since work is extremely busy for him right now. That was my intention but after today I'm seriously thinking about giving my notice. It's not the work- I like being outside- but I didn't fully comprehend that I would encounter the silent, slithering vermin that lie in wait amongst the petunias. Snakes! I hate them. I knew we had one maybe two around but apparently Don forgot to tell me that we have quite a family of Garter snakes in our yard- front and back. Yes, I know they aren't poisonous or can't swallow me and they are probably more scared of me....blah, blah...but they are too quiet and blend in - you think you are pulling a weed by a piece of bark but then the bark slithers away...yuck! But I am whining...so on the positive side....I guess they have an appetite for mice (which I'm not a fan of either) and other irritating insects. 

I'm currently in negotiations with Don about wether I will be continuing my gardening role. Some ideas on the table: a ten foot statue of St. Patrick- he did it for Ireland, why not Arvada? Or how about spray painting them neon pink so at least I would see them.....I'll keep you posted.

I can't even stand to post a snake picture!

June 14, 2015

Back in the Saddle

No....no horses for me but I made myself go on a hike on Saturday. I had to get back on that "horse" and overcome my newfound fear of nature due to the rock slide I was in a few weeks ago while on a hike. We spent this weekend in Steamboat Springs and Don convinced me to hike. It was a simple trek to Fish Creek Falls and they were magnificent because of the Spring runoff. Of course we couldn't just stop there - no we needed to go to the top of the Falls where we lost the trail a few times but we didn't come across any dangerous situations this time. To be on the safe side I found that one could appreciate the Falls ten feet from the edge just as fine! 

There was a girls softball tournament in Steamboat this weekend so our campground was full of families and lots of teenage girls. I have never seen a KOA so busy in the evening - kids everywhere riding bikes, swimming, and running around. We had a fun time sipping wine in our lawn chairs and yelling at them to "stay off our lawn!" 

Maggie enjoying the Falls

Ok Nature is still cool!

June 12, 2015

On Vacation

It's been awhile since my last blog because I have embraced being on vacation with open arms! This was my first full week of vacation and I enjoyed having limited deadlines and the ones I had were for fun. I did make myself do laundry (when I start running out of clothes you know there is a problem!) and go to Costco. It had been so long since I'd been there that two different employees asked what event I was catering...! However, I had a wonderful lunch with my friends Cheri and Lynne - who were my outstanding paras this year (we missed you Caroline!) I also hosted Knitting Club this week and today my childhood friend Colleen came over with her grandson Jack. It was wonderful to reconnect with friends and take the time to just visit.

Summer is grand!

Cheers to Cheri, Lynne, and Caroline!

Max and Jack. Max  found that the safest place to be when an 18 month old boy is running around is the kennel!

June 7, 2015

Leaves of Hope

This morning Don and I (and the dogs) joined many of Don's coworkers to participate in the Leaves of Hope Run/Walk. This event was sponsored by Cancer Centers of Colorado at Lutheran Medical Center and Lutheran Medical Center Foundation and began at the hospital in Wheat Ridge. This was Max's first 5K and he was really into it! Although Don and I were just walking, he ran like he was being chased by wild animals!  Actually, he was probably trying to get away from all of the moving feet around him and to keep up with his sister. Every once in awhile I would plop him into my "crazy dog lady" puppy pouch when he looked tired but he made it most of the way.

 It was wonderful to see all of the cancer survivors in their purple shirts, celebrating life. What a gift all of us have to be able to get out of bed and walk 3.1 miles on a beautiful Colorado morning. Of course this event made me appreciate life and remember my loved ones who were not cancer survivors. Especially since our walk took us past the hospice where my good friend Cathy lost her battle. I miss you Cathy, sister Pam, and friend Leslie.....!

5K Action Shot!

Wheat Ridge Animal Hospital contingent

June 5, 2015

Be Prepared

Experiencing the bad storms that we have had lately, prompted me to contemplate my current emergency plan in case the electricity should go out. I do my best thinking in two places, one being on the couch. Maybe I should dig out all of my candles and make sure there are matches or lighters strategically placed around the house. Where are the flashlights and do they have working batteries? Maybe I should go buy one of those weather radios. But wait......I do have candles out, I just need to grab the remote and ...wallah...the battery powered candles turn on! Also who needs a flashlight when I have one on my iPhone? Weather alerts magically appear on my phone and iPad. I also have back up battery pack for it and my iPad. Emergency preparedness is looking a little different in 2015. My only remaining problem is I don't have a battery powered blow dryer but I do have a hat....

June 4, 2015

Something I Will Never Do

Tonight Paige talked me into watching Naked and Afraid. Yes I've heard of it but have never actually watched an episode. I don't get it. Why would anyone want to be stranded -naked -on an island with a complete stranger for 21 days with no food, water or room service? They don't even win a prize if they make it! Okay, it is a great weight loss idea - your pixelation would reduce in size after the first 10 days or so but other than that what is the point? And another thing - I know how dirty you get from camping with clothes on so I can only imagine how dirty you would get - everywhere -sans garments! The producers addressed that tonight by making the participants swim out to the ship so they would clean up a bit before they let them board. Yep, the only island I will be dropped off on will have Ricardo Maltabon greeting me in my new vacation ensemble! 

June 3, 2015

Two Keys and a Fob

The End. Today I checked out, turned in my keys and said a final goodbye to Fremont Elemetary. I have been there for six years - three years full time and three years halftime. It was my first Teacher Librarian job and because of all of the great people I worked with there and all of the wonderful teaching opportunities that I have had there, this school will always have a special place in my heart. Change is hard but I am already feeling the relief that I can now just concentrate on one school, one staff, one population of students, and one library to manage. Also, my pants may stay up better because instead of a handful of keys, I'm down to two keys and one fob. I will always remember that Fremont gave me wings and the inspiration to Soar!

I will miss this wall that Tracey painted for me!

June 2, 2015

The Desk Stops Here

Don and Akex have been playing a game of desk shuffle that I inadvertently created a few years ago. After a couple of years at Fremont the first time, I purchased a desk for my library office that Alex kindly put together for me.That next Spring I found myself having to relocate to another school so Don disassembled and reassembled it at the new school. The Spring after that, I was able to return to Fremont and...you guessed it...Alex had the honors of moving the desk back. 

Today it was Don's turn again to move it to Stott. This is probably the desk's last move because, like me, it is showing signs of wear and tear from all this upheaval! My husband may not be the most romantic but he showed a true act of love by being willing to perform -after a long day at work- as a furniture constructor and mover in his dress pants and shirt at two facilities with the air conditioners turned off! What a guy!