Colorado Hunts

California Weekend and Snow Day

2012-02-03T13:26:00.001-08:00

We were supposed to get a foot or more snow today so they cancelled school and my work. Terry went to work but took the Suzuki. The nice neighbor came over and used his snow blower on my driveway and sidewalk early this morning. I had to go out later and do it again because there were a couple more inches of snow. It's still snowing a little now.Last Thursday I flew into the Burbank airport. Katelin and Anthony picked me up. Spent the night at their apt and the next day Katelin and I went to Santa Barbara. I LOVE SB! The Marina was right by our hotel.

It was 80 degrees while we were there.

But that doesn't mean that the ocean was warm as Katelin found out!

We took a very long walk along State Street. The International Film Festival was going on. We walked the whole thing so we could eat at a Deli Katelin had ate at before.

We then walked to the County Courthouse. The Courthouse has been called the most beautiful government building in America. Designed by William Mooser III, the Spanish-Moorish style building was completed in 1929, after the 1925 earthquake ruined much of the city. It occupies a square block in downtown Santa Barbara. Gardens and lawns surround this working courthouse. Visitors can ride an elevator to the 85-foot "El Mirador" clock tower for unforgettable views of the city, coast and mountains. Other attractions include the Mural Room, "Spirit of the Ocean" fountain, noteworthy architecture and ornate tile work throughout the building

View from the clock tower

Went back to our hotel after walking all day and had a little rest. That night we went to Jill's Place - a great steakhouse. Next morning got up and went to the Farmer's Market to buy Terry tangerines. We bought a lot of other stuff also. Then we headed to Solvang - a little Dutch town in the mountains. Very touristy but lots of fun.

On our way back to Katelin's we stopped by and saw Debbie. She looks great! She had fixed us a little snack and wanted us to stay for dinner but since I wouldn't let Anthony come with us on our adventure we thought we better get back.

That night we walked to a restaurant to eat - who knew you could walk to restaurants and grocery stores. Next day we went grocery shopping and then Anthony's parents came over for dinner. Katelin worked Monday morning so Anthony took me to the airport.

Terry picked me up and we went to Chili's - although I was the only one to eat.

I had a blast! It was lots of fun. I've always wanted to go to SB and now I can take it off my bucket list - although I want to go back. I want to drive the coast to Pebble Beach. Thank you Katelin and Anthony for letting me sleep on your couch, picking me up and dropping me off and showing me a great time

Christmas, New Year's and Verizon

2012-01-03T16:13:00.000-08:00

Katelin came here for Christmas. She got her Friday morning and left Monday evening. Jennica and Katelin took us to dinner Friday night. No matter what - you've got to love your stocking - especially when they have lottery tickets in them. Katelin won $7 this year and Jennica $0.

The tree before opening presents.

Everyone was so tired! Not as much excitement Christmas morning as everyone would rather sleep.

Terry trying on all the things he got for Christmas.

After the presents were opened they ended up back in bed. How come they love our waterbed so much? Everyone makes fun of us for still having it but everyone wants to sleep in it.

Terry and I went bowling for New Year's Eve. Stayed out until 1:00 - way past my bedtime. Jennica and I went shopping at Dillard's New Year's Day. Wasn't so good this year. Only found a couple of shoes (salesgirl gave me the wrong gray ones so I have to go back.)

Verizon

Jennica has had problems with her Droid for about 2 months - dropped calls and lots of static even though she has all the bars. Every time we called Verizon they either opened another ticket or transferred you to someone or said they would get back to us. Right before Christmas Verizon was on the news because they installed 10 million worth of upgrades to the Bronco's stadium. I saw red and had steam coming out my ears. I emailed the guy that was on TV but he was just a media relations person. I then decided to email the Chief Executive Officer and the Chief Technical Officer and a couple of people in the Western District. Within 2 minutes I got an email from the CTO asking for Jennica's address and he would get it taken care of. I really didn't think anything would happened. Next day Jennica had 3 calls from Verizon and an Engineer out to her house. I had an email also. Next day someone called me to say it had been fixed and if they problem ever came up again to call them directly. Guess it pays to go to the top!

Catch up - Cars, Katelin, Jennica's Birthday and the Hunts

2011-10-24T17:47:00.000-07:00

So it's my turn to get a new car - someday. I love the car below - a Suzuki SX4. Maybe I like it because it's a Suzuki and mine is going to die someday. I opened my big mouth and said I never got to pick a car so Terry has decided I will pick the next one. I really like this one but---- This one gets alot better gas mileage which I really want too. This is the new Hyundai Veloster. Hopefully in a year or two I'll know which one I really want.

A couple of weekends ago Katelin and Anthony went to the Queen Mary and spent the night on board. On Sunday they went to the Brunch. Following is a description of it - sounds wonderful to me but Katelin said it was just OK. "Located in the elegant Grand Salon, the ship's original First-Class Dining Room, the Champagne Sunday Brunch is a Southern California legend. Live entertainment sets the mood and free-flowing champagne served in 1930s-style glasses raises Sunday morning spirits. With a variety of action stations and more than 50 exceptional dishes, our Southern California brunch offers food from around the globe.
Culinary stations include:
Creative omelet, Eggs Benedict, Belgian waffles, Appetizers: A fresh variety of mixed green salads, fresh smoked salmon, shrimp, oysters, mussels, and a charcuterie selection of smoked meats and global cheese, Entree: Roasted turkey, Asian fusion including stir-fry, selection of pastas and homemade sauces & authentic Mexican dishes, A wide selection of fresh pastries, cakes, pies and signature desserts, featuring chocolate-covered strawberries, and make-your-own ice cream sundaes

This past Sunday we took Jennica toThe White Fence Farm for her birthday dinner. Now that was delicious. They start out with different sides/salads which include a bean salad, cottage cheese, cole slaw, pickled beets (yuck) and corn fritters. Then they bring out fried chicken and potatoes and gravy.

They also have a petting zoo for the kids.

And of course after dinner we have to hit the general store for our old fashioned candy.

It'a a great place to take your kids - even when they turn 31!

The Hunts/Becks came to visit. Dawn, Bruce and Twylla came Monday evening (and no I don't think that is Bruce.) They came to our house for a light dinner then we took Dawn and Bruce to their hotel and Twylla stayed with us.
The next day I worked in the morning then I went home and picked up Twylla and then Dawn. We went to Cherry Creek Mall shopping at Macy's. Jennica rode her bike to the mall to see us.

Wednesday was Jennica's birthday. She met us at the zoo. We saw all the good animals.

A good time was had by all.

We went and picked Tim and Debbie up at the airport . The next day I worked and Terry took everyone to Estes Park to see the Elk.

They stopped by to see the Standly Hotel. It's very old. This is the hotel from the 1st Shining. It really is haunted.

Friday we went to Wash Park and looked at all the pretty flowers.

But I think the garage sale across the street caught everyone's attention more than the park. We then went downtown shopping and to lunch.

Saturday was shopping day - Kohls and Aurora Mall. Boy can that Twylla shop. Then on Sunday we said good-bye to the Becks and Twylla. Tim, Debi, Terry and I went back downtown for lunch then home to a rousing game of Scrabble - beware - never play with Debi - she will kill you.

Can't get enough of Katelin

2011-10-04T16:40:00.000-07:00

So after we got home from our little trip to see Katelin - Jennica flies out to see her. She actually flew out with a friend who was attending a wedding and stayed at this really nice resort. Katelin met her there and spent the night. Katelin then flew to Dallas for a week of traning. Then she was supposed to fly to Denver the next week for a conference. So she decided instead of going home to LA for the weekend she would fly to Denver. (Jennica and Katelin at the airport.)

We had Katelin's favorite meal - flank steak - the first night she was here. Then on Saturday night we had a little get together with some of her friends. I made a lot of finger foods.

I took her downtown Monday morning for her conference. She stayed downtown that week. She went to dinner with Jennica, a baseball game and Cruisers with Jennica. Of course I didn't get to see her until Thursday when I went to pick her up. On Friday Anthony flew in for her birthday weekend. Of course we had Flank Steak again, broc/cauliflower salad and ice cream cake. We also went to Washington Park - one of the most beautiful parks around.

In front of the Lake.

We also went downtown so Anthony could see Denver. He loved it - especially the Bronco stadium and Coors Field.

Saturday we went to Estes Park and Rocky Mountain National Park. Unfortunately it was a free day so it was very crowded. We were going to hike around the lake but way too many people so instead we drove high into the mountains.

There were supposed to be Elk but it was way too hot.

Some great shots of the mountains and Katelin, Anthony and Jennica.

The trees were just starting to change colors.

Way too crowded to eat in Estes Park so we drove to Longmont to eat. They hate it when I take pictures at restaurants.

Saturday night Katelin and Anthony went to visit a friend of his in Parker.

Sunday we ended going back to downtown because they were having Oktoberfest. We listened to a really good band and had a great time. Then it was time for Katelin and Anthony to leave.

This past weekend Terry and I went to a little pub and heard the band play that was Oktoberfest. What a change it was. Jennica was working, Katelin was cleaning house and Terry and I were out playing. That does not happen very much - in fact this is probably the one and only time it will

California here we come!

2011-08-24T17:09:00.000-07:00

We left our house early morning on Thursday the 11th. It was a very loooong drive to Las Vegas. We pulled into the parking garage and who do we run into - my mom and dad

Of course my dad had already won on the slots. We took a shuttle to the strip and it was a disappointment. He took the back way in so we missed all the lights. It was so crowded we got back on and went back to the hotel. Played a little Black Jack and lost. Got up the next morning and headed out to LA after losing at Black Jack again.

Got to Katelin's mid afternoon on Friday. She took us to Ventura Beach and Pier. We went the back way and went through the orchards. It was very pretty. We bought some oranges and grapefruits.We ate at the Pier - it was OK - not a fan of seafood.You would think that California is hot but it is cool by the beach. Mom wore someone's coat where ever she went.Next day we went to Hollywood. We rode the metro - it's about 3 blocks from Katelin's house.

Way crowded there!

You can see Katelin's apt building in the background. This museum(??) is right by her house.

Saturday night was Bucket List time. My dad has always wanted to go to the Los Alamitos racetrack so that is what we did. He watches them race all the time on TV
The announcers are in the background. Of course Katelin was the only one to win anything. I think she won on three races.

Guess who was cold again - OK we were all cold except Dad! It was a great time there - all except for the ride home. Terry was wearing his glasses as he has had an ulcer on his eye and the scar rubs on his contacts. Later he told me he was seeing double of everything plus he can't see in the dark anyway. Let's just say - not a fun ride home for anyone.

Sunday we had a barbeque by the pool at Katelin's place. We met Anthony's parents, uncle/aunt, brother and sister-in-law and their two kids.

Dad in the background - Gino (Anthony's dad), Katelin, Anthony, Marie (Anthony's mom) and my mom. We left Katelin's late Sunday - got up early Monday and dropped mom and dad at their car in Las Vegas. Terry and I drove to Grand Junction - spent the night. Bought our two boxes of peaches in Palisades and drove home.

We had a very nice time. Katelin and Anthony are more than likely coming to Colorado in Sept. It was hard to say good-bye to my baby.

Out our back door

2011-07-18T16:20:00.000-07:00

Our weekends have been pretty boring for the last month and 1/2 since Terry has been in Pueblo. Terry would usually play games on his computer and I would watch movies all weekend. He was in town the past week so we decided to go to Evergreen Lake. Evergreen is a small mountain town about 50 miles away. I put the pictures in the wrong order (last to first) but oh well. There is a stream that runs from the little dam/lake into town. We walked 1/2 way around the lake then walked into town and got an ice cream cone.

It was a really beautiful place and the weather was good - still a little on the hot side

This is the Lake House where you can have weddings, meetings, etc.

This is the boat house - you can rent paddle and row boats. Looked like too much work for us.

We saw a herd of moose (Whooops - my dad just corrected me - these are Elk - guess I need to get out in nature more) on our way up.

After walking around the lake we went back into town to eat but it was way too busy so we came back to the lake and ate at a restaurant there. We have lived here 30 years and have never actually been in the town of Evergreen or the lake. We've driven by the exit but never ventured into town. It's unbelievable the things you can miss that are just literally out your back door. We need to start picking places in Colorado to visit.

The Past Month

2011-07-06T16:17:00.001-07:00

So Terry has been in Pueblo coming home on the weekends. I think this is the last full week he will be there. To be honest it's been kind of nice. No getting up early to fix breakfast or lunch, no fixing dinner at 9:00 pm. On the other hand the weekends have been boring because he is so tired. We haven't ate out for a month which is a record for me - well he eats out every night and I've gone a couple of times. This 4th of July weekend we had the neighbors over for a quick BBQ and then later that night we went over to their house so Terry could play poker. I still dont' like to play so it got a little boring for me. Monday we went to the fireworks. As you can see he plays with his phone - even at the fireworks. We went to the Capitol's People Fair in June - lots of good music.

They food trucks in at the Civic Center every Tues and Thurs during the summer. Jennica went a couple of times last year. She's already gone 3or 4 times this year. She invited me to go with her one Tuesday. Pretty good food but boy was it hot!

I got a falafel and she got a sausage with cranberry and apricot. We shared those yummy looking fries.

Jennica returned home from Thailand. We picked her up in Colorado Springs - looks about the same as when she left.

She had an absolutely wonderful time there. We heard so many stories. One of the best was her trip into the jungle with the elephants and the rats in their hut. And no - this is not Jennica on the elephant because she can't seem to send me a picture.

She also got a "new" used bike but it is a Del Sol - like her pink one. She now has 4 bikes but will be getting rid of at least one.

Katelin went to Catalina Island for the 4th and no this is not a picture she took because I can't get her to send me one either.

She stayed at her friend's Kristi's house. She went Saturday and came home on Monday. She said the ferry ride over was a little bumpy. The night before she went to Venice Beach to celebrate her two friends from Fort Collins birthdays and spent the night there.

Katelin has now moved. This is the floorplan of their apartment. It has a washer/dryer in the unit - one of the main reasons they wanted this complex.

It seems like a nice building. Lots of amenities with a pool, fitness center and raquetball court - which Katelin hasn't used any of them yet. She's been at a bank with a bad commute - takes her about an hour and 45 mintues to get home. And her weekends have been busy - the weekend before she went to Las Vegas

They don't have much furniture but I found this couch on Craigslist for $275. The best thing about it is that it was in the apartment complex they were moving into.

Jennica Thailand

2011-05-20T19:49:00.000-07:00

Took Jennica to the airport on April 30th for her adventure to Thailand. She was going to meet her friend, Liz, from England and two of Liz's friends there for two weeks and then she is going to Vietnam for a week by herself. Here are the emails I received from her in the three weeks.

they scared me at the airport it said I needed a visa for china but I don't cause I'm there less than 24 hours and I have my onward ticket but I had two mild heart attacks before we got it sorted it's all good though I'll email when I get there when I can bye love you guys.

Hi I'm here, it was a long trip and very tiring, I'm just sitting in the lounge waiting for the girls and I just had a cockroach crawl on my leg!! I lived through it though so I'll be ok. We are hanging out in Bangkok today and tomorrow then a night train to Chang Mai. Haven't really done much yet but just wanted you to know I made it. I have internet access here so you can email me back and tell me what's going on with you. Everything is fine and this is going to be loads and loads of fun!

Hey I tried writing you back before but the Internet is bad we are in change Mai now going tommorrow to ride elephants and hike we are going to stay in a village I am so excited everything is great love you

Its all good just out of a massage and off to the islands tonight is everything ok back home

Thanks I almost forgot I'll get it at the airport tomorrow morning I'm at my hotel now and I'm leaving at four am I'll try to email again had so much fun with Liz but she gave me a cold off to bed now speak to u later

Awe how sweet you are to mother my friends even! Yeah he is a real stress case. Tell him I said hi and I can't get him a budda cause it is illegal to take it out of the country. I have a busy few days ahead of me, I'll be out of touch again probably until I get closer to leaving. I'm leaving early for a boat cruise on Hanlong Bay and then I'm taking an overnight train to Sappa. I just got to Hanoi today and it is amazing, it is like nothing else in the world! Hard to explain now, I'm going to bed, staying in a hostel and all the girls are asleep already and I need to get into my bag again, I forgot this is why hostels suck, but for $5 a night I can't really complain. Love you

Love you too. I just got back from Sapa and it is before 6 am I have this day in Hanoi so I'm just waiting for things to open then back to Bangkok andthen back home. I guess you will just be there to pick me up? Just keep an eye on my flight it is United due to arrive around 8 pm. Also watch your email, if something happens I'll email you otherwise I'll be there. I'm sad it's almost over but it has been so awesome, Vietnam is so awesome and I wish I had two weeks here.

Ha your on here same time as me!!

bring cough syrup please

WOW!!! So I met up with two other people that have the 10 hour layover here in China as well, and one of the ladys said hey since we have so long lets go to the AirChina lounge and ask if we can use the lounge, suprisingly they said yes. So we are just sitting here in the lap of luxery. This is so cool, we are sleeping on fully reclining lounge chairs watching movies on a big screen tv. They also have showers and sleeping rooms. All of the food is free and there are sandwiches and sodas juice, fully cooked breakfast bar all free. This is totally awesome and will be the best layover I ever had! This is really nice. I'll see you soon and I can tell you about my trip but I think I'm going to be really tired. I'm not tired right now but I should be! See you soon, back to eating biscuits and drinking esspressos!

Going tomorrow to Colorado Springs to pick her up. She has to work Sunday - not sure how she will do it - being sick and jet lagged.

Katelin was going to Catalina Island for the weekend but it was only supposed to be 65 degrees so they decided to go to Palm Springs instead - it's supposed to be 90.

Terry will be in Pueblo for the next 4-6 weeks coming home on weekends. My boss went to China for a month so I'll do a lot of work at home.

Catch up

2011-04-14T16:40:00.000-07:00

I thought this was a cute picture - he is talking to Twylla Terry has been working out of town for the past month and a half. So this is how we have been spending our weekends - taking naps. He goes to work at 7:00 am and gets off between 9 and 10 then he grabs something to eat. So he is totally exhausted on the weekends.

We celebrated Terry's birthday (4/7) the weekend before. I was so excited about my present. He has been drinking out of the same coffee mug for the past 31 years - unfortunately the handle is a little loose. I got it as a present from freshman college roommate. For some reason Terry thought she made it for me. Anyway I searched on the internet (I love the internet) and put in blue seagull sailboat coffee mug and up it popped. So I got it ordered for him. He was so surprised when he opened it.

We also went to the car show for his birthday. I told him, "You've been smiling for the past two hours." Thanks goodness they closed or else we still might be there.

My newphew, Jeremy went to Cancun. He was supposed to have a one hour layover in Denver. But someone had heart problems so they had to have an emergency landing in Houston. By the time they got to Denver they had missed their flight. And they didn't have any flights out until the next day. So Jennica went and got him and we got to have a visit and a late lunch with him. It was so good to see him. I really think he is one of the most cutest guys around!

Scary!

2011-03-19T09:54:00.001-07:00

This morning I got a call from the credit union for Katelin. They asked if she was there and I said no. They asked if she could call them because they had some questions about fraudulent charges on her card. Of course I tried to call her and her phone was dead. So what is the first thing that runs through my mind. She's either hurt or dead and someone is using her card. Come to find out it was neither (thank God). I finally reached her at 10:00 - she was charging her phone - and told her to call. The credit union said there were charges made in California and her address was in Colorado. Katelin explained that she had lived in CA for two years and this is the first anyone had questioned it. Needless to say Terry and I were very relieved to hear from her. So remember everyone - keep your dang phone charged!

Update

2011-03-11T15:34:00.000-08:00

Long time since the last blog so here's whats been going on. 1st of all Jennica had her 2nd blood test and everything came back normal. They still think it was virus that went to her liver. (2) Terry and I celebrated our 31st Anniversary on March 1st. We went to The Fort to eat but wasn't thrilled with it. (3) Went with Jennica the next Sunday to Texas D Brazil and it was delicious. (4) Katelin got to see Twylla, Tim and Debbie while they were in LA. She met them at their hotel and went to lunch with them. (5) Got my test results back from my mammogram and everything is hunky dory! So I woke up this morning and the first thing I saw was that a tsunami was going to hit California. Normally wouldn't be too concerned since Katelin does not live directly on the beach - not even close. But she is on a cruise that went to Mexico that will dock in LA tomorrow. Needless to say I freaked out just a little but then as the morning wore on I heard that South CA wasn't really affected by it. YEAH! I'm sure that her ship was a little rocky - let you know later.

Comes in Threes

2011-02-16T16:19:00.001-08:00

When I was in Palm Springs my friend, Jacky, introduced me to Dutch Babies. I have fixed them the last two weekends and Terry absolutely loves them. I like mine with lemon, butter and powdered sugar. Terry likes it that way too but he loves them with blueberries. I have never had my fingernails this long. They always chip and break. They started growing when we were in Costa Rica. Must be all the vitamin D from the sun. Unfortunately I already broke one on my right hand.

Comes in Threes - So a couple of weeks ago Jennica became very sick. We had gone out Sunday for dinner and she was OK. Woke up on Monday with a raging headache and body aches. Thought it was the flu. On Tuesday and Wednesday she could barely move. She came over to my house on Thursday and she still didn't feel good - headache was gone but still fever, chills and sweating. That's also when we found out her pee was a rusty brown color. She has a pink toilet and couldn't see it. She got a doctor's appt for Friday. They did blood tests for hepatitis and a couple of other things. All came back negative. Doctor said it could be a virus that went to her liver. I don't like not knowing. She goes back this week for blood/urine tests to make sure everything is OK.

Katelin called Tuesday. They had a gas leak in their townhome. The landlord had called the gas company and had the gas turned off. He called Katelin to meet them to see what the problem was . When she got home the smell was overwhelming. She was on the phone with me and I told her to open the windows, get a book and wait outside for them. I told her on the way out to check her gas range top. Sure enough it was on high. Not sure why the flame was out. She thinks it may have been on since that Sunday (super bowl). They are lucky that they didn't all die or get blown up.

I came home yesterday and there was dog puke and diarrhea on the floor. Quickly checked to see if Jack had gotten into something but couldn't find anything. He was laying on the rug in front of the love seat. I should have know something was terribly wrong because when I came in and saw the mess and said - Oh Jack - he didn't run into the bedroom and hide. He couldn't stand up. Took him to the vet. They took an xray - thought it might be his heart because he was having problems breathing. Wasn't his heart. They gave me several things it could be. Said they would pump him full of antibiotics and see what happens by the next morning. Then she said they were doing blood tests and for me to wait and see what they said. She came back and said it wasn't good. His liver wasn't functioning. In the meantime I had called Terry in Minnesota to tell him and he said not to let the dog suffer. I told the vet what Terry had said and she told me - he is SUFFERING. A vet isn't supposed to tell you to put your dog to sleep but I got the hint. So I said "Let's do it" It was very sad and I was there to the very end. We have had Jack for about 9 years. He is supposed to be Katelin's dog but he lived with us. He was an obnoxious dog - whining for food anytime we ate or he heard a cupboard door opening, always getting into things (remember the 5 lbs of corn meal), always wanting to be petted, having to sleep in my bed. But damn I am going to miss him.

This is two of Jacks favorite places - in between someones legs and lying in our bed.

FUN, FUN WEEKEND!

2011-01-20T15:11:00.000-08:00

I had a message on our machine when we got back from Costa Rica. It was from the husband of one of my best friend's from high school. Of course she was turning 50 too. He wanted to plan a surprise party for her and he wanted me and another friend to come. It was very hard for me to be convinced to go. I mean we had just gotten back from Costa Rica and had Christmas. But he pulled the "C" card (cancer) on me and said it might be his last time of getting to do something like this. How could I say no with that kind of talk? So I made my reservations and flew to Palm Springs. Got there Thursday morning pretty early. Fred picked me up and we went to breakfast. Came back to the airport at noon and picked Julie up (she lives in Rupert.)

Fred took us to our hotel where we waited until about 3:00. He told Jacky that he had to get some papers signed for some clients. She wanted to wait in the car but he convinced her to come in. She walked past us and then did a double take. She was laughing and crying at the same time.

Our hotel - and yes we had gorgeous weather Fred said he was going to take us on his 25 cent tour of Palm Springs. He had made a brochure advertising an open house for the Elvis Presley house and had given it to me at the airport. I asked if we could stop by and go in and see it.

We arrived there 15 minutes later - this is the outside of the house

We walked in to the master bedroom and there was Elvis and about 50 guests.

We had HorsD"Oeuvres by the pool. Elvis entertained us with lots of songs and wiggling hips.

After the party we went back to her house and talked into the wee hours. Next morning we got up and went to breakfast at her restaurant (Elmers) with about 15 or her friends. Fred really gave us the 25 cent tour that afternoon - he is a retired police man and now a private investigator. That night went to dinner with a couple of her friends. We had dinner on main street and it was so fun and colorful. Next day we hung out by the pool and talked and talked some more. That night one of her friends fixed us dinner at his house. Beautiful home with a wall of glass doors overlooking the pool. His grand piano played while we were eating. I felt like we were in a 5-star restaurant.

When I got arrived at the airport I had drank lots of diet pepsi on the way back. I hate to go on the airplane so I rushed to the bathroom at the airport. Tore the seat protector from the holder (it really did tear) but in such a hurry to go and I didn't care. Got out of the bathroom and went to the moving walkway. Someone behind me tapped me on the sholder so I said sorry and moved over. She said - Oh no - I just wanted to let you know that you have toilet paper hanging out your pants. Guess that's what I get for being 50! It really wasn't TP but part of the seat protector.

On another fun weekend - the girls went to San Francisco that same weekend. They had lots of fun and rode bikes across the Golden Gate Bridge. Katelin is still there for work and will go back next week.

I think Terry enjoyed having the house to himself. Although he did call me and say "Boy you don't call much when you are partying - and we are out of bread!

I Love New Year's Day

2011-01-06T14:31:00.000-08:00

I absolutely love New Year's Day. And it's not because I have the day off. And it's not because it's a Brand New Year. And it's not because I make resolutions that I can't/won't keep. It is because Dillard's has a fantastic SALE. They have 50% off their sale/clearance items. So I got up and went to Park Meadows Mall - on the way home Jennica called and said she was at my house. So we went to the Aurora Mall to Dillards and then back to Park Meadows Mall. The best thing to buy during this sale is shoes. This is some of the great bargains I got. The Reebok Easy Tones were only $35 as well as the boots. The cute little Rocket Dogs and Roxy's were only $10. I picked up two business suits for Katelin for $30 a piece and the pants for $15. Yes - I really do love New Year's Day

COSTA RICA AND CHRISTMAS

2010-12-28T18:05:00.001-08:00

So this trip all started two years ago when Katelin decided she wanted to go to Costa Rica for her college graduation. It never happened - I mean who gets to go to Costa Rica for graduation and besides that she started her job right after graduation. So I decided since I was turning 50, Jennica was turning 30 and Katelin was turning 25 and we had been married for 30 years in 2010 we needed to do something BIG! So Costa Rica it was. We arrived in San Jose on Thanksgiving Day and spent the night. The next day we got up and headed to Monte Verde and the cloud forest. Terry and I stayed in the cabin (with the green roof) and the girls stayed in a room adjacent to the cabin.

View from our cabinWe were greeted by a coatimundi - Diabolo. He was very tame but lived in the forest.Sometimes he got a little too friendlyThe deck from our cabin - the girls' room is next doorAfter getting settled in we went ziplining. What a blast. The zipline had 15 lines. The last line was over a 1/2 mile long.

At the end of the zipline you could go on the tarzan swing. Both Jennica and Katelin did the swing. Terry and I wanted to but the guides were in a hurry because they thought it was going to rain.The next day we went hiking in the cloud forest. We went on a nice little hike. But that wasn't good enough for the girls. They wanted to go further and higher into the jungle. We ended up on a very steep trail hanging off the mountainside. To say the least I was scared to death. We eventually had to turn around because the ground was so wet and the trail was slipping off the mountain.

The next day we headed to Jaco. Along th way we crossed the Crocodile Bridge.

This was our condo complex in JacoKatelin sitting at the outdoor dining table with her coconut drink - it was not good

The pool was great - right across from the beach

The shower always felt good after our adventures

Master bedroom

Girls room

Kitchen - didn't do much cooking - we usually ate breakfast at the condo

Living room

Roof top deck - we sat out here almost every night and watched the sunset

So we arrived in Jaco on Sunday and got settled in. The next day (Monday) Terry and the kids took surf lessons. Terry forgot his camera and I forgot my battery so this is beach, surf (not of the Hunts) and boogie board pictures

Wow I can't believe I'm brave enough to put this on my blog but it was so much fun - who cares!

We didn't go horseback riding - I didn't want to end up in the ocean

This is a fishing dog.

The next day we went to Manuel Antonio Park which was about an hour and 1/2 away. Went on a nice hike and we got to see MONKEYS. That was the big reason for us going to Costa Rica. They had very nice beaches

On Wednesday we rented ATV's and went on a tour. Terry and I got a Rhino - Yeah. Much more fun for me. I didn't have to worry about tipping over and I could enjoy the ride

Thursday Terry and Jennica went white water rafting. They had a blast!

Katelin and I went on the waterfall tour. She wanted to jump from a waterfall!

The kids were so worn out on Friday that we just hung around the condo. Went to the local Farmers market and went shopping. Saturday we took the girls back to San Jose to spend the night because they had an early morning flight back. We went back to Jaco. We stayed until Friday. We had a nice relaxing time - went on a Mangrove tour, hiked and walked the beach at low tide and watched the sunsets. Got lots of reading done. Went back to San Jose on Friday and flew out early Sat. morning. After two weeks you would think we would be ready to come home but we weren't.

So two weeks later Katelin flew in for Christmas. Our Christmas was Costa Rica although we all got presents. I made this blanket for Katelin. It is out of her old T-shirts that she got for volunteering and special occasions.

Jack was concetrating on getting the lottery tickets scratched.

Had a very lazy Christmas - the girls didn't get out of their pajamas all day. Had our usual Christmas dinner - marinated flank steak. Had our dipping/appetizer dinner on Christmas eve. Then it was time to say good-bye again.

Happy Birthday to Jennica

2010-10-21T06:53:00.000-07:00

Tuesday, October 12th was Jennica's 30th Birthday. I took a cake to her work to celebrate - notice there is nothing about turning 30! That night we went downtown to LaFondue for her birthday dinner. Started off with a salad, then cheese fondue with breads, apples and cauliflower. Next came the main course with Lobster, Shrimp, Filet, Chicken Breast and Sirloin. The grand finale was the chocolate fondue with lots of desserts for dipping. Took us three hours to eat it all. Love sitting by the window to see all that goes on.

Had a little bit of excitement while we were there. The fire alarm went off and the fire trucks came. It was actually for the condos above the restaurant. Thank goodness we didn't have to leave because we weren't even half way through our meal.

Leaving the restaurant - happy and stuffed!

IT'S OFFICIAL

2010-10-10T09:36:00.001-07:00

It's Official - I'm Old. I got my AARP application this week. It's weird because AARP stands for American Association of Retired Persons. Come on - do you know anyone who really retires at age 50?

Katelin turns 25 on the 25th

2010-09-25T06:01:00.000-07:00

Happy 25th Birthday to Katelin on the 25th!

Grace Moyes Perry Van Reunion

2010-09-14T15:53:00.000-07:00

Friday morning we got up early and headed to Salt Lake City. After 8 long hours driving we arrived. My mom and dad went to the zoo and met us in SLC and we went and looked around the temple grounds and went out to eat. After they left Twylla, Tim and Debi came. We went with them to eat - or rather we watched them eat. Went to the Shilo hotel and spent the night.

Next morning we got up and ate breakfast, stopped at Wal-Mart and after getting lost a couple of times we made it to the Grace Moyes Perry Van Reunion.This is Twylla and her half-sister Margaret from Rock Springs.

Twylla enjoying talking to her new found relatives. Can't remember all their names

Janice Pope's family. (Ethel's family)
Dianna's family - Margaret's family

Twylla's family

Way too much food - there were more desserts than anything else.

After the reunion we went back to the hotel and rested for awhile. I guess some of the family went swimming. Then we went to Trolley square. They were having an art exhibit. For $5.00 you could draw on this guy. Terry said he would pay for me but the only thing I could think of was - call me!

We ate at the Spaghetti Factory. Still don't see what the thrill is eating here.

After eating (it was late) went back to the hotel, slept, up in the morning, had breakfast and on the road again for another 8 hours. Sorry we really didn't get to say good-bye!

Past Week

2010-09-09T19:47:00.000-07:00

On Sunday we went with Jennica to The Tavern. It is right across from the Rockies Stadium. Thank goodness they weren't playing or we would have never got a table. We sat on the rooftop patio. We ordered appetizers and they were so good. The dinner food wasn't that great. On Labor Day I convinced Terry to go to the Botanical Gardens. This is the place that Jennica got married - see below. All the flowers were in bloom.

It took us a couple of hours to get around the whole thing.

After the gardens we picked Jennica up and went for ice cream. It's a little shoppe right in her neighborhood and it was so busy. Do you notice a theme here - Jennica only likes to go with us when we are eating.

As you can tell I have my rattle snake hunting boots on again. Today when I was watering the tomatoes I saw what I thought was a snake skin. As I bent down to see it - it moved. I could tell right off it was a little rattlesnake by it's color. I threw a bucket over it and went inside and changed by shoes. Came out - grabbed the shovel and chopped it's head off.

Something I thought I would never see

2010-08-30T15:29:00.000-07:00

Jennica came over a couple of weeks ago and I just had to take this picture. Terry and Jennica actually worked on a little project together - they put on her new license plates. There was no cussing, no fighting, no one stomping off mad, no screwdrivers through the windshield. It was quite pleasant and something I may not see again for a long time. Jennica also came over this past Saturday - mostly because I was fixing breakfast. After breakfast we went to JC Pennys and bought her and Katelin two shirts each. Then we watched a movie on TV. She was getting ready to go home and I asked her if she would take us to her Bulgarian restaurant. We really weren't that hungry but I figured I might not get the chance again.

A picture before Terry got his phone out to play with.

This place was very Bulgarian. Everyone spoke Bulgarian. I felt like the Buglarian mob was out front - there were like 4 or 5 very large guys outside talking - then they would come in get something to eat and then go back outsideJennica ordered for us. This is Shopska Salad and one of her favorite things to eat when she was in Croatia.

She ordered Terry a Cevapi which is lamb sausage on a bun

I got a Gyro even though it wasn't on the menu.
Too full for dessert but it kind of looked good. I think they use a lot of honey and I am not a fan of lots of honey.

On another note - Terry LOVES his new phone and I hate it. He spent the whole weekend in the computer room playing with his new phone. The minutes he sits down he plays with it (the phone). And yes, sometimes he forgets and wears his hat all day.

Terry

2010-08-17T16:54:00.000-07:00

So Terry got his Droid 2 yesterday. It was delivered about 4:00 pm and he was home by 7:00 pm. This is the earliest he's been home in a long time. I think this new toy should keep him occupied for awhile. I don't understand the fascination with these things. All I want to do is to be able to get and receive calls. I don't even have text messaging. I'm afraid if I did my kids would never call. In fact I still have my old phone from 4 years ago.

This past weekend (and a couple of weekends before - this project got interrupted by a wasp sting) Terry sanded the shed.

Then he painted it. And what did I do while he was undertaking this project. Absolutely nothing. Sometimes I think a project is for one person only and for sure this was his project.

This picture was taken a month ago. We now have red tomatoes. We haven't had very good luck growing vegetables but they are growing good in my petunia garden - or what used to be my petunia garden.

Absolutely Gross

2010-08-12T16:48:00.001-07:00

So being the good dog owner that I am I decided to give Dixie and Jack a bath this past Sunday. I'd rather give them a bath outside with the hose and cold water than in the bathtub because it hurts my back and makes a big mess. While I was bathing Dixie I noticed something on her back near the rear. It looked like a boil - it was volcano shaped with a black center. Decided I had better take her to the vet Monday morning. I take her into the exam room and the vet knew what it was right away. It was bot fly larvae/warble (warble is the boil). He took her in the back and I could hear them all screaming how big it was. The vet came out and asked if I had a strong stomach - I said NO! He said you really need to see this. It was so huge and gross! This is a picture after the larvae was removed.
This is what the larvae looks like. If anyone wants to gag or puke you are allowed. The vet said there is nothing you can do to prevent this. The fly either lays the larvae on an animal or mosquito who then transfers it to the animal.

After looking at many youtube videos and reading about it I discovered that humans can get this too. Unfortunately one of the main places to pick this up is Costa Rica. Hopefully we don't come back with these!

Cali Trip 7/29-8/1

2010-08-07T07:39:00.000-07:00

We had Southwest vouchers we needed to use by 8/17 so we decided to go to Cali and Jennica came with us. Didn't start out too good as the flight was delayed by 2 hours but we had fun eating the expensive food at the airport. Got into LA had to get the rental car (another hour wait) and finally made it to our hotel at 2:00 am

The next morning after sleeping in a little we went and knocked on a door and guess who answered - KATELIN!We went to breakfast near her house and then it was off to Disneyland - that is after a very long time in traffic. It is unbelievable how well Katelin knows the interstates. We had the GPS but she was much better. She would tell her dad how many lanes to get over and exactly where to exit.

Got to Disneyland (Jennica, Terry and I had our free "Disney Give a Day Get a Day") and got our rides mapped out. It seems like Disney got a lot smaller since we were last there 18 years ago. Rode lots of rides and waited in lots more lines. It was weird but we were never really hot except a couple of times and then at night we froze.

Of course our favorite ride is still Splash Mountain. First wait was 45 minutes, 2nd wait was 10 minutes and if we would have went again I think we could have walked right on. When Katelin was little we went with my family. She really wasn't tall enough to go on Splash Mountain but somehow she made it. Halfway through the ride it stopped and we had to walk out. We couldn't get Katelin back on it after that. Thankfully she outgrew her fear!

All of us were exhausted - dropped Jennica and Katelin off at her house and crashed. Next morning we went to Katelin's and then went to breakfast with her boyfriend, Anthony. It was a neighborhood place and quite good although different. Then we headed to Santa Monica with Katelin leading the way again.
We rented bikes and rode along the beach. We rode down to Venice Beach (now that is one weird place) and back.

Took a couple of breaks along the way to enjoy the views!

We stopped at Santa Monica pier while Jennica rode her bike some more - she loves riding bikes. Once again we thought it was a little chilly so we didn't get in the water except our feet.

Went back to our hotel and the kids wanted to eat at Stuart Anderson's Black Angus - since the ones in Colorado had closed. Delicous meal and even better company. Took the girls back to Katelin's and we all crashed. Next morning got up and picked up the girls and went to Breakfast at a place called Portos. It is a Cuban bakery and diner. They were so busy but very proficient and very delicous. The girls were going to take surf lessons but decided against it. So instead we drove up the Pacific Coast Highway to Malibu. Beautiful ride but so much traffice once again.

Have you noticed a theme here - we were always just a little bit chilly but it was better than being HOT!

Took Katelin home and headed back to the airport. Jennica found us to be quite hilarious looking on the rental car bus back to the airport and had to send a picture to Katelin.

We had a slight delay once again (1/2 hour) got on the plane then had to sit for another 45 minutes while they fixed the coffee pot. Once again didn't get home until 2:00 am and we all had to work the next day. Unfortunately I caught a cold on the airplane and have been sick the whole week but it was worth it!

Idaho Trip

2010-07-11T15:21:00.000-07:00

We went to Burley and Rupert from July 3rd thru the 10th. Not sure what got into Terry but he decided to scrub Twylla's counters and stove - wish he would do mine! Sunday the Gerratts came over to Twylla. I held the baby.

Terry held the baby.

Terry and Shaydon played tractors. Shaydon is such a well behaved little boy. He would say please, thank you and even would tell Terry it was his turn. This is the first time we have ACTUALLY seen Shaydon in person!

We then headed to Twin Falls to Debi's mom's house to watch the fireworks and to eat a scrumptious dinner.

KC and Kaela Bridger and Trenton

Tim, Jordan, Twylla and Jackie

Britni, Kaela and Jana

Terry didn't believe he was as bald as Allen so we had to take a picture to prove it!

Terry, Tim and Dawn

Twylla, Terry, Tim and Dawn - yes Twylla is wearing a turtle neck (it was cold but not that cold)

We went to Mom's and Dad's on Monday and had the biggest, juiciest steak ever.

Tuesday was the day we took Twylla to Salt Lake to meet her nieces. Going from right to left is Janice, Diana, Peggy and Denise. We were supposed to meet at 1:00 at IHOP. Peggy had sent me the address and directions. I only wrote down the address to put in the GPS. She gave me the wrong address but the right directions so we were 40 minutes late. The lunch went pretty well. We talked for a good three hours and heard lots of stories which I doubt if we remember them all. Everyone was talking all at once - except for Terry.

This is Denise and Peggy - they are sisters and the daughters of Jerry Van.

Diana (daughter of Margaret), Janice (daughter of Ethel), Denise (daughter of Jerry), Twylla, Peggy (daughter of Jerry) and me.

Twylla gave them all a hug good-by.

But then decided she wasn't done talking to them. After the lunch we went to the mall shopping and found Twylla a couple of dresses and skirts. Twylla and I had a fun day but not sure if Terry enjoyed it as much as we did.

Wednesday we headed to JackPot.

Patti and Gene were there - Gene played golf and then they hit the pool. We got there and played a little then Mom and Dad came. We all ate then Patti and Gene went home. Dad and Terry played poker - Terry didn't make it very far and Dad got to the third table. I played black jack and didn't do so good either except my $100 did last 4-5 hours so I guess it wasn't too bad.

Went to Taco Bandito - we always have to stop there for a Bandito Burrito. Stacy, Tim and Kara were there. Kara was sharing some exciting news - she's pregnant.

Gene and Patti came as well as mom, dad and Twylla. Everyone loves Taco Bandito.

Went to mom's and dad's on Friday for hamburgers. This is Patti's new baby. Yes I said baby. They have way more stuff for their new baby then they did for Jeremy and Lindsay. It takes them forever to get everything loaded and unloaded. Who would have thought that Patti would love a dog!

Everyone relaxing after a delicious dinner!

Al came to see us off Saturday morning. Long trip home but we made it

Katelin's video

2010-06-23T18:49:00.000-07:00

This is a picture of Katelin and her friend Ali at the Spike TV awards. I froze this on the TV then took a picture of it.

http://community.kidrock.com/video/video/show?id=2085824%3AVideo%3A544994

"Hollywood" Katelin - I also found this video - you may want to just watch the first part - 2nd part is not appropriate.

Jennica had yesterday off so we decided to go to Blackhawk - didn't get off to a good start since I was waiting in the car for her and she was waiting for me to call her so we sat for 20 minutes waiting for each other. After the tongue lashing I received - things got better. We ate at a restaurant/bar - I had a certificate from restaurant.com so it cost us a total of $18 including tax and tip. Then we went and played BlackJack - didn't do so good at first but by the time I walked out of there I was $240 ahead. Jennica came out about $10 a head. I wanted to stay but Jennica was wise enough to know it was time to leave (after I lost a $50 hand).

Happenings

2010-06-20T12:33:00.000-07:00

Jennica got her hair cut and colored Thursday so I went to watch and visit. Jenny has cut our hair for the past 20 years - she started when she was around 18. I really like the cut and color.

Friday night Terry came home early because I wanted to go to the concert at an outdoor shopping mall. We went to an Irish Bistro and sat on the rooftop patio and ate and listened to the music. The band was the Jersey Boys - they played 50's-70's music - you got to love that.

It was such a nice evening weather wise and just all around. It was pretty crowded. They have this every Friday night during the summer. I want to go again but pack a picnic dinner and sit down in the crowd.

Although this isn't a bad way to go either - nice to have someone bring you your food and drinks.

Saturday morning Terry went out to mow the lawn. I wanted to show him the long garter snake skin on the back porch but this is what I found instead - a baby rattlesnake. Between the two of us we finally got his head chopped off. He wriggled around for 5-10 minutes after. Good thing we got it before it got our dogs or Terry.

This is me in my snake hunting outfit that morning. My hair dye stained shirt, shorts and winter snow boots. Glad we don't have neighbors behind us.

Happy Father's Day

2010-06-20T09:40:00.000-07:00

Happy Father's Day to my Dad. I didn't get a card sent so this will have to do. Just wanted to say thanks for buying me that really short, low cut dress in Jr High when Mom said "NO!"
Also for not going ballistic when I got the car rear ended dragging Main Street in Burley at night when I was only 15 and you were out of town that weekend.
For not really going ballistic when I came home to tell you I was getting married (and pregnant).

Thanks for being the best grandpa and dad in the world. We appreciate all you do for us and love you!

Visitors

2010-06-15T15:34:00.001-07:00

Look who came to visit this past Wednesday. Mom and Dad came to fill up my freezer with their delicious hamburger. They had some made into patties so you just defrost and slap them on the grill - how nice! They also brought a steak and a roast - my mom doesn't believe me but I can not cook a roast. It's so dry you have to choke it down.

We went shopping and and then saw Jennica on Thursday. Took a little walk around her park - OK we only made it 1/2 way but it was like 93 degrees.

Dad and Terry went to BlackHawk to play poker. Terry lost but dad won a little. Mom and I stayed home (we weren't allowed to go - they thought we would make them nervous.) We did a more shopping and had lunch. They left early Saturday morning.

Cleaned house on Saturday and got really lazy on Sunday. I think this is one of the first times I have not made my bed - just threw the covers over it. I hated looking at it - don't think that will happen again for awhile.

Thanks for the meat Mom and Dad and thank you for driving all that way to come see us.

Happy Girl!

2010-06-08T20:43:00.001-07:00

Jennica came over Monday to do her laundry. While she was washing I was looking on Craigslist for her stolen bike when I came across an ad for a pink bike. The ad had just been on for about 10 minutes. Jennica called them and we went to look. They lived on the Air Force Base so it was just a hop, skip and jump to get there. She decided she liked the bike - not as good as her first one - but a lot more than the one from WalMart. She spent all day today riding her bike! She is a happy girl again. I can ride my bicycle!

You will notice a couch on the sidewalk - I promise our neighborhood isn't quite that trashy - it is for the DAV to pick up. Although the neighbors next door did go over and take some of the stuff. (I guess we live in a little bit of a trashy neighborhood.)

Capital Hill People's Fair

2010-06-08T20:35:00.000-07:00

This past weekend we went to the People's Fair at the Civic Center. It was that or the Elizabeth Stampede which I slept in too late to go too. The People's Fair is just like the Taste of Colorado except they had more bands/music. Terry and I sat and listened to the music and people watched. It's great to be old!

This is the Center Stage where the main bands played. It was a little too hot because there were no shade trees - I think the high Sunday was around 93.

We also ate while we were there. I had tacos with fresh cilantro which you can see a piece in my teeth - you'd think someone would tell you that you have a gross looking thing stuck between your teeth. This is our self picture.

Denver Cruisers

2010-06-07T14:46:00.000-07:00

I wanted to write on this blog today because I finally have a day off of work, which hasn't happened in about 6 months. So my latest hobby is riding bikes with the Denver Cruisers bike club. We meet up at a bar in Denver every Wednesday and then ride bikes through the city and we go bar hopping. Every week is a different theme and everybody dresses up in costumes too. Some people get really creative. The themes so far have been pink, wild west, celebrity rehab, and hillbillies and hobos. I don't get too much into the costumes but I will this week, this weeks theme is bubble wrap, duct tape, and cardboard.

On the ride one of the stops is always Circle of Death. We ride in different circles in Denver like around a statue or a playground, half the people ride one way around and the other people ride the other way around and we just crash into each other and laugh. This all sounds a little silly, but it's a huge deal in Denver, there are on average about 800-900 people all riding bikes and the biggest ride was over 1300 people. Its funny because people always honk and wave and we just ride around ringing our bicycle bells and yell Happy Hump Day to everyone. There are also people who pull trailers that have sound systems on them so we can listen to music while we ride and then we have dance parties at the red lights.

They also started a Sunday Funday ride and I went on that for the first time yesterday. It was really fun, a little more tame, but the ride ends at Jazz in the Park which is really fun.

This is my friend Jason who always goes on the rides with me

This is the bike parking out front of the bar that we meet up at. Check out the guy with the old timey bike with the big wheel. That guy actually commutes to work on that bike, on any given day you can see him riding around Denver on the thing.

This is the circle of Death, it's around these statues in front of the performing arts complex, the theme that night was pink, it was the first ride and it was freezing, so there were only about 200 people there.

I still miss my old bike that got stolen so much, but this new one will work for a while.

Katelin's "Hollywood" Experience

2010-06-06T11:44:00.000-07:00

Last night Katelin was a seat filler for the Spike TV 2010 Awards show which will air on June 20th on Spike TV. Her friend got the invite and she went as a guest. They had to get there really early. At first they had to sit at the table for the "Hangover" cast but had to move. They were sitting close to the stage after they moved so they stayed there the whole night. Katelin isn't really into the "Star" thing so she may have seen other celebrities during her time in LA but some of the celebs she saw last night: Sandra Bullock, Scarlett Johansson, Adam Sandler, Arnie the Governor, George Clooney, All the Osbornes, Jessica Biel, Leonardo DeCaprio, Charlize Theron, Bradly Cooper, Robert Dinero, Mike Tyson and Shaun White. She has now had her Hollywood experience.

Memorial Day Weekend

2010-06-03T16:20:00.000-07:00

Katelin had class in Chicago this past week so she decided to fly to Denver for Memorial Day Weekend. It made her mother very HAPPY! We planned our trip to Costa Rica - I think they were trying to get in the mood. Katelin got here early Friday morning. I finally convinced her to go shopping because I told her I would buy her anything she wanted - this is what she picked out! We had dinner then she went to stay at a friend's house.Jennica and Katelin went out Saturday night and they spent the night at Jennica's. This is what I got most of Sunday morning except when they would get up to eat.

Sunday afternoon we went downtown. We were supposed to eat on a rooftop patio but the Rockies were playing so we had to eat inside. They wouldn't let me take a picture of them eating. After we walked around awhile and then stopped for more refreshments.

After we ate we went to Red Rocks for a concert with Kansas, Styxx and Foreigner.

I really hate walking to Red Rocks - It's up a mountain plus you have to walk on this bridge which I find quite scary.

Jennica and Katelin waiting on the bridge.Terry and I enjoying the concert.

View of the stage with Denver in the background - it's really beautiful.

Jennica and Katelin enjoying the concert. (And probably making fun of all the old people rocking out.)

Jennica thought she was a rock star!

OK - so they both thought they were rock stars!

OK - so all three of them thought they were rock stars!

The only bad part to the weekend was that Jennica got her bicycle stolen. She was absolutely heartbroken.

So I stopped at Walmart and got her a cheap bike. It was on my way to pick up Jennica some shoes just like Katelin's. They both love the shoes - can't account for taste!

Then it was the last pictures of Katelin before she left.

So much fun to have BOTH my girls at home.

Then it's back to the airport. Unfortunately I didn't think the weekend was long enough. Although I think Katelin did.

What do I hate worse than cleaning toilets?

2010-05-25T17:02:00.001-07:00

YARD WORK!!!!!

Terry has been out of town for a week. Everyone says - oh yeah you get a vacation. Believe me it's not much of a vacation - OK so I haven't had to wipe pee off the rim for a week but I would much rather do that than mow the lawn and replant the tomatoes. Besides that the lawn mower was out of gas so I had to take my little gas can and get gas. I've never learned how to put the tube in the gas tank and suck it out into the can like Terry does. While getting the can out of the shed I moved a bag of fertilizer which had a big hole in it and it went all over the shed.

I gave Dixie a bath and haircut. I accidentally cut her with the scissors on her chest which you can kind of see. The bandage only lasted about an hour. Also I defrosted the freezer. Yep I'm having a wonderful vacation. Glad vacation time is about over!

I hate cleaning bathrooms - more specific "toilets"

2010-05-19T14:47:00.000-07:00

When I clean the last thing I do is clean the bathroom. I absolutely hate to clean it. Maybe it's because mine is so small and the minute anyone steps into it - it looks dirty. Mostly I hate to clean the toilet. I have this habit every morning to take a wet paper towel and wipe the inside rim and the floor beneath. I hate walking in to the bathroom in the morning and seeing little dried drips of pee on the rim and the floor. If God is a man why did he make men this way. I understand it's easier but no matter how much you jiggle you always end up with a drip or two...or five. My rant for the day!

Mother's Day Weekend

2010-05-14T17:57:00.000-07:00

Saturday Brooke and Family were in Fort Collins. I met them at Bass Pro Shop near the old airport.

We went to lunch at TGIFridays and had a nice time visiting. Unfortunately I only got these two pictures. I think Rainy may have remembered me. Both kids let me hold them and give them kisses!

On Mother's Day I got up and cooked a FANTASTIC breakfast. We had fruit - cantaloupe, grapefruit, strawberries, watermelon. Then we had biscuits and gravy, cheesy scrambled eggs and bacon. Terry asked why I made such a nice breakfast. My reply was - "Because I think I'm a good mom and I deserve it." Jennica was late but enjoyed it too. Jennica gave me a very sweet card. She said it reminded her of when they would take all the toys out of the toy box and play inside the toy box. Used to drive me crazy. I remember coming home one day from work (I worked every other weekend when Katelin was little.) and all the toys were on the front lawn and not one person was home. I actually was so mad I threw Katelin's bedroom door open and the handle went through the wall. Not one of my proudest moments but a mommy moment.

Around 4:00 I asked Terry if he was ready to take me to dinner? He said - on Mother's Day??? I couldn't think of a better day. Sometimes you just have to say what you want. I really didn't care if we ended up at McDonalds - just wanted to go. We went to a new restaurant really close to our house. It's not a chain - unusual for here. It was pretty good but probably won't be in business for much longer.

Katelin went surfing for her very first time this past weekend - of course no pictures. She said it was fun but hard. She rode one wave in all the way on her belly and she got on her knees twice. She said it is scary when the waves pull you under.

New Things!

2010-04-28T17:46:00.000-07:00

So this past week or so has been full of new things. I bought Katelin (and Jennica -but she didn't like hers) a new swimming suit for Costa Rica. I hope if I keep saying it that it will happen. Also bought them matching outfits from Macy's. Got a great deal on them. Paid $18 for the whole outfit. They were on sale plus I had a $10 off coupon for each outfit.

Dixie and Jack got a new bed. Mostly because Jennica said my house smells like farts when she walks in. Hopefully this takes care of the problem although she is convinced it is me.

Jennica got a new but used Cruiser bike. She joined a bike club and they go for a bike ride once a week in downtown Denver.

Of course Terry and I had to try it out.On Sunday we went to Jennica's to bring her bike and so Terry could do his "Honey Do" list. Wish I could give him one. After it was done we walked to a restaurant to eat. It's a new thing to be able to walk to where you want to go. There are lots of restaurants, shops, etc all around her neighborhood.

It was a Polish restaurant - I have never been to a Polish Restaurant. Plus Jennica paid for dinner - now that is new!

Would love to have sat on the patio but it was overcast and a little chilly.

Twylla talked to a 1/2 niece and learned more about her birth family.

Made a new receipe that Jennica and I loved but not Terry (that's now new either.) It was a spinach pull apart with marinara sauce.

My sister, Patti, had back surgery today and is doing OK. (so that's not new - she's had two other back surgeries.)

Katelin is in Chicago this week for class (not new either - she's been there a couple of times). Sure she is having a good time - which isn't new either.

Another week in Review

2010-04-13T17:06:00.000-07:00

Thursday was one of my work friend's birthday. We went to Happy Hour at a Biker Bar to celebrate. I've been to "Happy Hour" twice since I've worked there and it's all been in the last two weeks. I'm sure the waitress loves serving me the expensive diet pepsi. It was actually kind of fun both times that I went. I usually don't go because I leave work at 2 or 3 and I don't like going back at 5:30. It has almost become a tradition for us to go to the car show - unless he can find someone at work to go with him. This picture is kind of hilarious since I told him we were never allowed to take pictures of any cars or him sitting in any cars. We both broke out laughing at one poor guy who was so happy and excited to be sitting in one of the cars. Really - what do they do with all those pictures? I've seen people actually lay on the floor to get a shot!

Yesterday we had an electrical fire at my office so I decided to leave! Guess they got back in the building 10 minutes later.

Jennica got back from London, Croatia and Sarajevo on Sunday. She had/has a cold so therefore I heard very little about her trip except the Sarajevo is now her favorite city. Although she felt good enough to go to the Nuggets game last night. Maybe one day I will hear about her trip.

Katelin went to Palm Springs this past weekend and had a blast. Rode the tram up the mountain, ate lots of good food and got plenty of sun.

Terry will go to the optomologist tomorrow. He was mowing branches - yes branches - and got an abrasion on his eye.

Guess who?

2010-04-07T16:04:00.001-07:00

This may look a little familiar. I'll post more on this adventure as it unravels. In the meantime if anyone wants more information, documents, websites, etc let me know.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO TERRY

2010-04-07T15:57:00.000-07:00

Today Terry turns fifty one.
You may think he's all done.
But he still has cute buns
and he's full of fun.

Happy Birthday Hon!

PS: We all know that husbands have a particular way of doing things - like how the grass is cut, etc. Well to my surprise there is a way that you are supposed to throw dog poo away in the garbage. My response: "I can't believe you are telling me how to throw dog S**t away!"

Week in Review

2010-03-29T17:02:00.000-07:00

Monday we had beautiful weather - Tuesday it hailed (picture below), then rained and then started to snow. This is what we woke up to Wednesday morning. The schools had a snow day so my rule is that I have a snow day - even though I don't have any kids at home.

Jennica was leaving Wednesday for London and I had to go get her because she broke her windshield wiper. She was so excited to go!

Last picture I got before she was in the terminal. Got an email from her today and she is now in Croatia. Direct quote from her "this is such an amazing place, love love love it! Having the time of my life, everything is fine."

Good thing I stayed home on Wednesday because I had a birthday dessert buffet for my friend at work. I made seven different desserts: German Chocolate Cake, Pockets of Lemon Cake, Carrot Cake (from scratch if you can believe!), Fruit Pizza, Better than S_x, Mud Pie and Apple Dumpling with Vanilla ice cream (thank you Korbi for the recipe - it's been a hit every time I've made it.)

Sunday we went to Jennica's to fix her windshield wiper. Our neighbor told him to tighten the bolt on the wiper. I asked him where he heard such a thing and he smiled sheepishly and said "I guess you were the one who told me." Terry was quite impressed that I would know that. He hadn't thought of it yet. Have to admit that the internet is wonderful thing and you can find almost anything on it.
After we fixed the wiper we went to Cheesman Park which is two blocks from Jennica's house.

We walked the whole park - quite an accomplishment for me.

It will be really pretty in the summer when all the flowers are in bloom.

Lots and lots of trees!

Great view of Denver. Terry loves to read every sign no matter where we go!

Katelin went to Las Vegas AGAIN this weekend. Went on Friday and going back home today. Talked to her once or twice and she is having a good time. But as they say - What happens in Las Vegas stays in Vegas. So much better that way.

Satuday I actually cleaned out two of Terry's drawers. I threw away at least 30 pair of old, scratched, junky sunglasses and about that many belts. It's the first thing I've gotten rid of that he knows about!

100th post

2010-03-16T18:52:00.000-07:00

Jennica ran a 7K (4.34 miles - I had to look that up) this past weekend. She ran/jogged the whole way. It was downtown and she could actually walk to it from her new apartment. Katelin had Friday off so she went to see her friend in Huntington Beach. Then Saturday morning they decided to go to Catalina Island. Katelin came back on Sunday.

Not to be outdone in the exciting weekend department - Terry and I went to Ace Hardware. Unfortunately I showed him this hat. He thinks he will wear it to Costa Rica. If the girls see it I'm not sure if they'll go with us.

Afterward we hit Outback - decided to celebrate our anniversary a little late. See we can have an exciting weekend too.

PS - Katelin is now officially a real Californian - she survived her first earthquake. It was 4.4 and about 10 miles from her. It did wake her up and she was a little scared.

PSS - Jennica leaves for England next week. Unfortunately British Airways is striking so her flight to Croatia will probably be cancelled.

Happy Anniversary to US!

2010-03-02T18:25:00.001-08:00

Actually our Anniversary was yesterday. We did nothing to celebrate it except go to lunch on Saturday while we were moving Jennica. I did buy Terry a present - although he would have gotten it anyway. He wanted a really nice leather coat. His favorite one is the one Twylla and Doodle gave him with a furry collar. He got a rip in it and it's really dirty. He found one in Dillards but it was $600 and on sale for $300. I asked him how much he wanted it for and he said $150. I kept watching the paper for the sale. It got down to $175 but I still wouldn't buy it. Finally last Wednesday they had 70% off + an extra 40% off which comes to 82% off. I bought two coats - one for $100 and the other for $125 so he could decide which one he wanted. Guess which one he wanted to keep - BOTH.

I also bought us all a raincoat because we are going to Costa Rica this year for our 30th Anniversay, my 50th, Jennica's 30th and Katelin's 25th. We were supposed to go a year and 1/2 ago but it was too hard with Katelin moving to KC and Terry was busy at work. I am bound and determined we are going this year!So how did we celebrate our Anniversary? Terry had to go to Amarillo Sunday night. He got there early evening. He decided to order a pizza from Papa Johns because he didn't have a car. About an hour or two after eating he got sick. He was in the bathroom all night with one end or the other on the toilet. He got an hours worth of sleep. Next morning after throwing up his breakfast he rode with some other guys to the power plant about an hour away. They had to make several stops for Terry. He couldn't even keep water down so besides being very tired he was/is dehydrated. And to top it off he is testing in the boiler room in very high temperatures. He almost fainted yesterday. Talked to him tonight and he still can't keep anything down.

I on the other hand took yesterday off to clean Jennica's old apartment and to get a pap smear. I think I had the better anniversary or should I say I had the not as bad anniversary.

Moving Day

2010-02-28T18:55:00.001-08:00

Jennica's lease is up the first of March so she decided she wanted to live closer to downtown. She thought she better do the move before she got to old to live in a hip part of town. So once again we moved another kid. Thank goodness she hired someone to move her heavy stuff - Terry and I are getting to old. This is the front of her building. It has 3 levels and her apartment is in on the 3rd level and faces the street so she has great views of all the old homes on the street. I think she will be really happy here. It's close to downtown, lots of parks with running paths and all of her friends. The downside is there is one pay washer/dryer in the basement and it will take her an extra 15-20 minutes to get to work and the apartment is more expensive.She got a new fridge and reconditioned stove (I turned it on and sparks flew out but they got it fixed.)

The eating area is quite small so she wants to get a "pub" style table. She said the only time she sat at her table in the last year and half is when I came over for pizza.Her living room is quite big. Just waiting for the cable/internet guy to come on Tuesday.

The bedroom is pretty big also. It has a walk in closet with lots of storage.

This is the entry. The bathroom is off to the right and two big closets on the left. Straight ahead is the bedroom.

The bathroom needed some work. We (or should I say Terry) painted the inside of the medicine cabinet, caulked around the sink and tub and replaced the toilet seat - that was one of the first things that had to be bought!

The bathroom is a funky pink and brown and now a white toilet seat!

Disney Give a Day Get a Day

2010-02-17T17:48:00.000-08:00

I signed me, Terry and Jennica up for the Disney Volunteer Program. We volunteered at the Parker 5k Run. It was a little chilly out but it could have been worse - at least it wasn't snowing!People waiting in line to get signed up and get their shirts.And they are off and running.

Now that we've completed our service we just have to wait for Disney to email our passes and we're off to California to go to Disneyland and see Katelin!

Reoccuring Theme

2010-01-18T17:47:00.000-08:00

This picture probably looks familiar - we got the window shot out of the Suzuki with a BB gun a couple of days before Christmas.My boss came into my other office this morning and asked if I'd seen our office yet. He told me to come look. And to my surprise someone had shot twice at our office window.But this time it wasn't with a BB gun - it was a 45. There were two large holes in the window. One of the bullets went through the credenza (see the hole above the phone). You can barely see the bullet in this picture but it's right by the top of the white piece of paper. The other bullet ricocheted off a chair and went into the ceiling. It must have happened over the weekend - thank goodness no one was in the office.These are my new dishes I bought today. I think I like them - still not sure Terry got me on the idea of buying new dishes. He said the some of the bowls had chips in them. I told him he was the only who ever used the bowls so what did it matter. He agreed with me but it was too late - I had my mind set on new dishes.

These are the towels I went with in my bathroom. I decided on the lighter rug. Took the brown hand towel back and got another beige. I washed them and they were all fuzzy. YUCK!

Happy Days for Me!

2010-01-15T17:33:00.000-08:00

This entry will mostly be pictures because they say it all. I have a big smile on my face because my parents came to visit from Friday to Tuesday. And to top the sundae off with a cherry - Katelin flew in an hour after my parents. She was in Chicago and she changed her flight home so she could stay the weekend with us. We only had to wait a little over an hour so we had something to drink.
And an hour later - low and behold - look who comes through the gate! I think she was excited to see us too!

We did a little visiting at the airport

Then it was home for lots of talking and laughing. Unfortunately Katelin got sick Sunday morning and was throwing up. She thought I had food poisoned her but Jennica had ate the same thing and didn't get sick.

What big smiles we all have!

You can tell I was heaven having both my girls together again.

A group shot of the Zimmermans

Terry with his girls - this was Sunday morning when Katelin wasn't feeling so hot!

Unfortunately it was time to say good-bye to Katelin

She had to say good-bye to her dog and give him a little kiss (Yuck)

Terry with his baby!

At the airport saying good-bye.

They will miss each other although Jennica was just in LA with Katelin the first of December

There she goes - I wanted to go to the ticket line with her but I think I was pushing it!

As soon as we got rid of Katelin we went to Chili's to eat. Didn't want to take because she still didn't feel so hot but at least she didn't throw up on the plane. Come to find out she ate at the airport and was just fine.
Terry and I took Monday off and went to the stock show with my mom and dad.

We bought tickets to the PBR (Professional Bull Riding for those of you who aren't cowboys.) It was pretty exciting - especially when one of the bulls jumped the fence and got in with all the photographers.

Then it was back to the airport Tuesday morning.

On a side note - don't ever buy your husband an indoor helicopter. This is what will happen. Thank goodness we didn't have to cut it out.

I have no pictures of Katelin on her cruise. She has promised to send me some - that is when she gets back from her 2nd cruise with her friends from high school - it's just a 3 day down to Mexico. She had a blast on her Caribbean cruise.

My Christmas Present

2010-01-05T17:17:00.000-08:00

Terry put in a new ceramic tile floor in the bathroom (and toilet that will flush a bucket of golf balls.) I think it looks pretty good - and I like the color. Not sure what color of towel and bath rug to put in - any suggestions?

I can't believe I got him to sit on the toilet for this shot!

My other Christmas present was a shopping spree at Dillards. So I didn't buy anything for myself but I got a down filled vest for Terry and lots of things for the girls. I went New Year's Day. Got to the first Dillards at 9:30, called Jennica and picked her up and we went to lunch and another Dillards. Didn't find as much as we wanted so we went back to the first Dillards. The girls got boots, Katelin got Cole Haan shoes, business suit, and lots of undies! I called my sister and told her it was total euphoria. All the sale and clearance items were an extra 50% off. Finally got back home at 5:30 and ordered Pizza - what a great day! Now if Terry doesn't say anything when the credit card bill comes it will make it absolutely perfect!

Vacation for Terry and Twilight

2009-12-29T15:51:00.000-08:00

Terry is home this week taking vacation. I think he is enjoying his time off. Unfortunately for him he has started my tile floor in the bathroom. He has the backerboard almost done. He went back to Lowe's to buy glue and forgot his wallet so he's on his way back home.

So last night we watched Twilight. Terry had ordered it from NetFlix thinking it was a gory vampire movie. He was not really impressed with the movie except for the car that Edward drove - it's the same as his - a Volvo C30. I'll bet Edward's doesn't have orange carpet in it.

Colorado Hunt Christmas 2009

2009-12-26T17:22:00.000-08:00

Terry and I took Christmas Eve day off from work. It has been snowing off and on for the last couple of days. Terry went out in the afternoon to shovel the driveway and sidewalk. We got our first Christmas surprise - someone had shot the window of the Suzuki with a BB gun. Our neighbor got her back window of her Lexus shot out too and also a window in her back - which really doesn't make sense since we have any empty field in back of our house and it is fenced in.

Jennica came over after work. Jack and Jennica talked to Katelin. She also took a little nap - she has been really really busy at work. Works long days and also on the weekends. Jennica's computer was freezing up so Terry worked on it all night and finally found the problem. It took him quite awhile but he did it.

I made Christmas Eve dinner (if you can call it that) It is everyone's favorite dinner of the year. I make lots of snack foods like chicken wings, rolled up little smokies, spiral sandwiches, spinach dip, broc/cauliflower salad and dips.
This is a sweatshirt that my mom bought for me when her and dad went to Tennessee a couple of years ago. I am still not sure if it was a joke or not. My sister got a shirt from the Hard Rock Cafe. I tried to wear this to Katelin's graduation last year but was told to take it off by my mother.

This is our tree after Santa came - yes he still comes to our house and leaves a present and fills the socks. Terry got a watt meter that measures wattage, a snow shovel from Santa, an indoor helicopter, a gift cert to Ace Hardware and new down pillows. Jennica got a comforter, a new MP3 player and some other things that go with it, clothes, suitcase from Santa (maybe I'll get mine back now.) I got my can opener and some CD's that Terry made for me with all my favorite bands (Dr. Hook, Bread, Styxx - all 70/80's) Also I think I may be getting my new tile floor in the bathroom this coming week if Terry doesn't have to work.

Even Jennica and Terry got a Jack card too. I thought Jennica's card was quite funny as we gave her the Magazine - The Week. It had to do with reading in the loo........

Terry was very surprised and happy to get his helicopter. He has been flying it quite a bit and thankfully has gotten good at it - he's only hit the dogs a couple of times.

You may be wondering where Katelin is this Christmas. She stayed in LA because she just left today for a cruise. Her friend from college invited her to go with her family. She flies to Miami tonight and then leaves tomorrow. I sent her lots of little presents all wrapped because she loves to open presents. She knew what most of them were because she also loves to feel and shake them. She has a friend from college that just moved to the LA area a couple of months ago so she came to Katelin's for Christmas Eve and Day. Katelin will get back next Sunday then she flies to Chicago for the week for classes. She told me she will be out of the office at banks until May.

Sad Little Christmas Tree

2009-12-19T19:17:00.000-08:00

We finally got our skinny little tree up. The reason it is sad is because we have never had so few presents under the tree. Could it be because Katelin won't be here for Christmas and she is the one that gets the most presents? There is no one to shake the presents or count them to make sure they have the most. I'm not sure if Santa will even come this year and he's always come before. The year Jennica graduated from college we had people over for Christmas eve and she made us hide half the presents in the bedroom because it looked obscene. It's so sad

because the only thing I can think of that I want for Christmas is an electric can opener.

MY CHRISTMAS MIRACLE

This is a picture of the necklace Terry bought for me when we were in Hawaii celebrating our 25th Anniversary. I absolutely love this necklace and wear it all the time.

I think it was about 3 years ago in November I walked into work and realized it wasn't around my neck. I checked in the parking lot although it was completely covered in snow. I went back to the grocery store that I had stopped at that morning and searched the house high and low. It wasn't to be found. Terry told me he would buy me a new one for Christmas but there weren't any exactly like it. Besides I wanted mine back - it held such special memories. That week in Hawaii was probably one of the best of my life. A week or two later as I got out of the car in the parking lot and had walked a couple of feet I saw my necklace. Actually I found the chain and four of the dangly things. I looked and looked and couldn't fine the very last one. I was happy because I figured I could wear the necklace with just three. About a week later - just before Christmas as I was walking out to my car I found the last one. I did get another necklace for Christmas but I only wear it occasionally because I LOVE this necklace. It's unbelievable that I would find it or that someone hadn't picked it up.

2ND CHRISTMAS MIRACLE

Terry came in 2nd last night at a poker tournament!

Sister Time

2009-12-13T12:06:00.000-08:00

Jennica flew to LA to see Katelin On December 3rd late evening. Unfortunately or fortunately (it's ever how you look at it) Jennica was super busy with work on Friday. They were supposed to go to the Conan O'Brien show on Friday. They missed all these signs telling them where to go. By the time they got there they were too late to be admitted. Saturday they went to Venice Beach and Santa Monica Pier.

It was pretty cold but they had a great time

Sunday morning they got up and went to Runyon Canyon for a hike

It overlooks the city. Lots of stars hike/run there but I think it was too cold for any star sightings.

They also went to Beverly Hills, Rodeo Drive and to see Katelin's office. Jennica came back on Monday. She got rerouted through Oakland so she brought her dad some sourdough bread home.

Terry has taken the last two Fridays off. 2 Fridays ago I got off work early and we went to Blackhawk to play blackjack. We played for quite awhile. If we would have left early Terry would have been a winner. I had a $25 chip left. Terry said to play it because it too much of a hassle to turn it in. I played it and won. So I played again for $50 and won. He decided we could cash in $100. This past Friday he went again to play poker. He played two tournaments. Did OK in the first one but no money and didn't do quite so good in the second one. Even though he didn't win we went to Chili's - gotta love the 2 for $20 deal.

Thanksgiving

2009-11-30T17:32:00.001-08:00

Tim (my uncle) and Kara (my cousin) came for Thanksgiving. And no - it's not that cold in my house. They were getting reading to go to the Denver Bronco/New York Giants game. And can you believe they were cheering for the Giants. So we had a total of 5 for dinner. Next year we may just go out to eat unless we have visitors. I forgot to take any pictures of the actual dinner.

The weekend before we went to the movie - Blind Side. It's an absolute must see. Who wears Levi Jackets anymore?

Before the movie we went to Office Depot to pick out pens - highlight of the past weekend. Luckily we only had 15 minutes before the movie started so he couldn't shop all day. The weekend before that I took him to Kohl's (for my 30% off). It took him over an hour to pick out a pair of tennis shoes.

I know this is hard to believe but I really didn't go shopping on Black Friday. After we took Tim and Kara to the airport I went to Kohls. It wasn't as busy as I expected but I walked in, looked around and walked back out. Sat. I went to Macy's and couldn't find anything. Went to a different mall today and found this suit for Katelin. It was only $55 - regularly $280.

This was Katelin's first Thanksgiving away from home. She and a friend got premade food from the grocery store and had dinner. Friday she worked and Sat/Sunday she went to Las Vegas - big mistake. It took her 8 hours to get home - double the time it should've taken.

Happy Happy Birthday to Me!

2009-11-18T15:17:00.001-08:00

Yesterday was my 49th birthday - yes it's the count down to the big 50. Terry had suggested that we go to dinner for my birthday on Sunday because Jennica happened to be over. I told him I was worth more thought than that - just because it happened to be convenient. I told him I wanted him to make plans. So on Tuesday morning he told me to be ready at 6:45 (big deal for him since he doesn't usually get home until 8 or 8:30.) He took me to Chili's for dinner and he had called Jennica and she met us there. Nice to know that I was worth the effort. Monday night I went to a birthday dinner with my friend. Jennica brought ice cream to my office today for my birthday. I had three early morning calls on my birthday from my parents, sister and Twylla. I got flowers from my bosses and a necklace from my sister. It was a nice birthday and maybe someone will want to continue my birthday tomorrow - I can only hope. As I look back on my 49 years I am so thankful for the wonderful parents I had growing up and that I still have as an adult. They are the best. And speaking of the best - that would describe my daughters. It sometimes is scary to think how much I love them. I would do anything for them. I look forward to their visits and their calls - I love to talk to them. And I am also thankful for the person that I married. He gave me those two wonderful daughters. Terry has also taught me to be careful with my money and for that I am grateful. Because then I have the means to go shopping at Kohls. (And I did get lots of stuff!)

My birthday shouldn't be just about me (although I love it) but about all those people who have made me who I am. So thank you to all for being there for me.

Week in Review

2009-11-11T15:29:00.000-08:00

Jennica left for Cozumel on Thursday for her friend's wedding. It was supposed to be on the beach but it rained. It rained the whole time Jennica was there except for Monday because that is the day she came home. In fact there was a hurricane warning (Ida).

This is her friend, Jeff, from college. Apparently I take too many pictures as it seems I get the back of everyone's head as they are walking away. (Doesn't the guy in the white hat kind of look like Al?)

Unfortunately Jennica came back with a sore back and side ache. There are way too many things that it could be so I decided not to diagnose it.

Terry and I had another uneventful weekend. He washed Jennica's car and we took a couch over for her and brought back a chair from her place - nice when you go away and all these things get done. We also went to a Mexican restaurant to eat. I had gift certificates that I bought for 1/2 price.

Katelin is keeping busy in LA. She has been to her office only once for a week - the rest of the time she has been at banks. Good thing I bought all those suits last year at Christmas because she has had to wear them alot. She has today off and is headed to the beach even though it isn't really warm at the beach - lots of fun things to do. We bought her a camera for her birthday but of course she hasn't sent us one picture.

Today I am trying to make pulled pork sandwiches. Wasn't sure exactly what kind of pork to use since I don't cook it very often. Used Twylla's barbeque sauce recipe (or what she would give to me - her recipes consist of ingredients and you decide how much of each!) Cooked the roast in the crock pot with root beer, drained it then added the BBQ sauce. Hopefully it turns out good because there sure is a lot of it.

The best news is that I got a 30% off on my Kohls advertisement so it is shopping time for me!

Happy Birthday to my "Older" Sister

2009-11-03T15:20:00.000-08:00

Today is Patti's birthday - she is 2 years and 2 weeks older than I am. So that would make her??????? I didn't want to dig through all the mess downstairs so I thought I would post this picture. You can tell this is from the 80's with all the puffy hair and hot pink and green.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PATTI!

Snow day for me

2009-10-28T17:31:00.001-07:00

Woke up to snow today so I decided to take a snow day. I mean really - who buys a house in the snow? Jennica left work early but Terry is sticking it out. I shoveled the driveway twice, cleaned house and put Katelin's (is it still Katelin's room) room back together. I had the bright idea to put the 2 extra long twin beds together and make a queen/king bed. Apparently it must be a big king because the bed frame didn't fit. So it was a lot of work for nothing.

Bucket List

2009-10-20T17:51:00.000-07:00

I have wanted to go to downtown Denver and eat on a patio or a rooftop all summer long. We never made it. Sunday it was 82 degrees so I decided we should go. We first went to a restaurant/bar that was a rooftop - we didn't like it so we left. We walked down 16th street mall (outside mall) - no traffic is allowed except for the bus. We decided to eat at Rock Bottom Brewery - it's the parent company of Old Chicago - go figure. We sat right next to the sidewalk so I could watch everyone. There was someone playing a sax on the corner and it was really really nice. We ate and then sat there for about 2-3 hours drinking our sodas, watching people and listening to the saxaphone player.

After we left the restaurant we walked down the mall a bit. We rode the bus back because Jennica had on heels - they make her rear end wiggle really cute.

Terry had to admit that it was a great idea that I had. Perfect weather, perfect food, perfect comany. I can now cross it off my bucket list.

Happy Birthday to Jennica

2009-10-12T16:00:00.000-07:00

October 7th was a free day at the zoo. I had gone in the Spring with Brooke and her family on a free day - weather was gorgeous but it was crowded I actually convinced Terry to take 1/2 day off and go with me. The weather was gorgeous and it wasn't very crowded since we went late afternoon.

This is how we have spent the last couple of weekends. Terry plays games on the computer and shops for cars and I lay on the couch and watch DVD's - I've really like Dexter from Showtime. I think we need to get more motivated

Today is Jennica's birthday - 29 years old. She went to Las Vegas with her friend, Lucy.

I dropped them off at the airport on Saturday.

This is the look of - Please! No more pictures!

PS - This past week Katelin went to dinner in Beverly Hills. She walked past a restaurant called Mr Chow and she got so excited because she got to see Paparazzi for the first time

Another birthday and what a change

2009-09-27T07:07:00.000-07:00

September 25th was Katelin's birthday - the things that have changed in the past year is that she developed eczema, graduated from college cum laude, got a job with the Office of the Comptroller, moved to Kansas City, traveled all over Kansas and Missouri for her job, Went to California and Chicago, moved to North Hollywood, California. She still hates to cook and clean. Loves TV and being with people and is one of the most confident and smart people I know. I made a birthday cake for her and took it into work. One of my friends at work also has a son in North Dakota who has a birthday on the same day. I made a cake so we could celebrate their birthdays. The post from her birthday last year tells more about her. http://jana-coloradohunts.blogspot.com/2008/09/happy-birthday-katelin.html

Jennica decided she wanted a change so she decided to get her hair dyed and cut. She wanted to go to a light brown. I told her I wouldn't do it because she was changing color and she had to go to a colorist. She picked a place that had good reviews. So when the colorist took the towel off her hair the first time - she said "Oh I didn't think it woud do this." Jennica said her hair was purple. The lady died it again and this time it came out dark brown with red undertones. It is quite a shock to see her for the first time. But after the first 10 minutes I really started to like it. She has never been anything but blonde.

LA Move

2009-09-24T17:13:00.000-07:00

I went to KC on Thursday, 9/10, loaded my car and Katelin's and we came back on Friday. Over the weekend Katelin said good- bye to her friends and Terry put on brakes and fixed a couple of other things on her car.

First stop on Monday was at Mesquite, Nevada. We stayed at the Virgin River. Did a little gambling - I came out a little ahead, Katelin was about even and Terry lost a little. But we had a good time and Terry got to play in a poker tournament - came in 5th.

I found it hilarious how much we use electronics. Katelin was texting and using her computer and Terry was looking at the GPS plus had his palm pilot going.

Not sure what these two were looking at but it must have been interesting.

Got into LA the next day and unloaded both cars. Headed out to buy a bed and TV. By the time we got to Costco for the TV we were starving so of course we had to grab a hot dog and soda. They had three lines and about 10 people in each line. The food court was outside. If there is more than 4 people in our Costco line we think it's too busy and will pass it by. This is Katelin's balcony - great view of the city but it was too dark to get any pictures.

The kitchen - not sure if she will make in there much or not.

Living room with a nice TV - sure she will get good use out of that.

Trying to organize her room. She has way too many clothes so we had to buy a storage rack at Wal-Mart to hang her clothes on. She also has a balcony off her bedroom The roommates - Brett and Darren - Darren actually attended CU in Boulder - rivals of CSU.

Terry and I left on Thursday. We spent the Thursday and Friday night in St George. But also made another stop in Mesquite to eat and play - We started with $50 each - I lost mine but Terry made up for it and walked away with $150.

We visited Zion National Park. We did a hike where there were 3 ponds. I made it to the lower pond and said I was done - all ponds look alike. Terry decided to hike further so I told him I would meet him at the lodge. He got to the top and it started to downpour. He was soaked as was his phone, camera and palm pilot.

Had to buy him a new shirt and hat because he was freezing.I really was having a nice time even though there is no smile.

Jennica and I had a girls' night out. Who would have thought you can have a girls night out with your daughter. We went to Red Lobster for Shrimp Feast. What a happy girl when she has her belly full of little shrimp. This is also a before picture because she is going to get her hair cut and colored (light brown) on Saturday. I will post the after pictures.

Things

2009-09-12T08:18:00.000-07:00

No pictures - just a short post. Jennica ran a 5k two weekends ago. She did it in 34 minutes and ran the whole way. She loves to walk but this is the first time she ran. I drove to Kansas Thursday - helped Katelin load her things into her car and mine and then we came back Friday. Terry will work on her car - repack and we will go to California probably on Monday. I was just informed that her friend wants to eat dinner here so I need to get busy and get something made.

Chicago

2009-08-23T18:21:00.000-07:00

We left California Friday morning at 6:00 am for Chicago - Katelin was on the next flight behind us at 7:00 am. This is her getting off the plane looking disgusted that her mom is taking a picture of her. Katelin had invited us to go to Chicago with her because she had training. She had a flex Friday so we were going to go with her for the weekend. This was decided before we decided to go to California with her. After checking into our hotel we went to Navy Pier and had a great time. We stayed late and listened to two bands. Remember we were up at 4 am to catch the plane to Chicago and there was a two hour time difference.Katelin found snowcones - she does lover he snowcones

This is still at Navy Pier with Chicago as a background.

Terry and Katelin enjoying a little refreshment.

We went to Millennium Park - we were so hot we soaked our feet. This little guy was quite fun to watch.

This is the bean. It's like a giant mirror that reflects your image and the city's. It also does some crazy images.

We went to the Industry and Science Museum. We walked so much I had blisters on the bottom of my feet. We also took a river boat ride and saw all the architecture/buildings.

This is Katelin's friend/coworker, Lori. Katelin will miss her when she moves.

Katelin had told us that she had a fireant bite. After looking at it I thought it was boil. She finally went to a clinic and had it lanced. She if floating down a river in Nebraska this weekend so hopefully it doesn't get infected. The doctor said she could go if she kept it covered and since she is on 2 antibiotics it should be OK

One amazing thing that happened in Chicago is Terry let Katelin be the Navigator. She has a very good sense of direction. He led us on a very long walk which wasn't necessary. Katelin had told him to go a different way but he thought his way was better. After that - Katelin was the boss of directions. We ate at a little restaurant next to our hotel.

We got a Chicago hotdogThis is our hotel in Chicago - it was on the River. When we checked in they gave us an upgrade and we got a river view. I booked on priceline and got such great deals for all our hotels. This one was $70/night. So close to everything.

And of course we had to have Chicago Pizza. We went and put our names in - came back in a half hour and put our order in - came back in a half hour and waited an hour to be seated. The next night we went across the street to a little Italian cafe and sat out on the patio. John Cuzack was having dinner or trying to pick up two women - not sure which. I really don't even know what movies he's been in. Our waiter was very excited about the whole thing.

Terry and I went home on Monday afternoon. Our flight was leaving at 12:30 but they wanted two passengers to give up their seats. So we gave ours up and got $600 in flight credit and we didn't get home until 10:30 that night. Katelin stayed the week for training.

Just so you don't think we are real meanies - we did ask Jennica to go to Chicago with us but she decided to stay here. She stayed at our house and watched the dogs and watered our garden. It was nice not to have to worry about home.

California

2009-08-13T21:14:00.000-07:00

This is a little out of order since I tried to post this before and it didn't go through. Katelin will be working in the last building. Not sure why I didn't get a better shot of it. (It's the tall gray one.) We went to the Americana Mall which is about 1/4 mile away from Katelin's work. Lots of shops and restaurants. Ashley Tinsdale was having a free concert that night but we were busy looking at houses.

We had looked at so many houses on Wednesday we decided to take a break and go to the zoo for a couple of hours on Thursday.

This is a picture of the living room where Katelin will be living.

Her roommates are the boys at the two ends of the couch. Hopefully she loves where she is living because I am really tired of moving her. The description for her house is below (from Craigslist.)

We were the first ones to move into it, so everything is still new. Each room has its own balcony and is on its own floor for more privacy. The top floor has a 12x12 rooftop balcony with outdoor carpet, brand new outdoor L-style couch. There is a washer and a dryer in our unit. There is also gated garage tandem parking. The entire 5 unit building is secured with a video camera intercom sytem. We are looking for one roommate who is responsible and respectful (male or female). The room is nice size with balcony and has a large walk in closet. We are two 26 y/o professionals, open minded and easy going. The place is fully furnished with brand new furniture and appliances in the kitchen and living room. Granite countertops and hardwood floors with carpet in the bedrooms. (we do have a very large plasma in the living room) We are more social living room dwellers than bedroom dwellers. We enjoy playing and watching sports. We're easy to get along with. We are young guys living in LA beginning to pursue careers. Ultimately, we are looking for a roommate male or female that can fit in with our personalities and goals.

Showers, Snakes and Safari

2009-08-06T17:56:00.000-07:00

This is a picture I took on August 6th coming home from work. We had a down pour and it was really hard to get through this intersection. I found this peeking out from under our back step.

Yep - it's four feet long and yes it is a snake skin! The next day I saw a snake slithering around the corner of the house so I caught up to it and bent down but it wasn't the four foot snake - instead it was a rattle snake. It hissed and rattled at me. I ran - I almost died twice - once from a snake bite and once from a heart attack.

We went to the wildlife experince because they were showing an IMAX of a safari. One day Terry and I are going to go on a safari and if not then at least we got to see one.

They have a musem with lots of stuffed animals. Dave Linger - owner of RE/MAX built this so he could house all his stuff. This is me feeding the wild bears

And me on my safari

Kansas City

2009-07-21T17:15:00.000-07:00

My mom flew to Denver on Thursday afternoon. We got up early Friday and drove to Kansas City - it's a nine hour drive. We checked into our hotel and then picked Katelin up. She gave us a tour of Kansas and then we went to eat at a place called Gordon Biersch in the Power and Light District. After dinner they had a free concert.

It was an interesting place. It's an open area with a stage and then it is surrounded with bars and restaurants. I could have "people" watched all night. The next morning we went shopping a little bit. Then Katelin took us to the National World War One Memorial. It has a great view of downtown Kansas City Missouri.So of course it was photo opportunity.

You can take the elevator up the tower and have even a better view. I'm scared of heights and she said the elevator was scary so we passed on going up.

Next we went to the casinos. I thought the casinos were actually on the Missouri River but come to find out they look just like Las Vegas. We played black jack for about an hour which I thought was pretty good since we started with $20 each and the minimum bet was $10.That night we went to a Kansas City BBQ. It was quite smokey in the restaurant and we smelled like BBQ all night. It was quite a long day so we headed back to the hotel to go swimming and soak in the hot tub.The next morning we went to Panera for breakfast. It is right by Katelin's work. She is on the top floor. After breakfast we had hugs and kisses and left for the long 9 hour drive back to Denver.

So I only got pictures in Kansas City. Thursday night Jennica came over to see Grandma and eat dinner with us. When we got back on Sunday we all went to Old Chicago. Then Jennica came over for steak last night and to say good-bye. Mom left this morning and is now back home!

Haircuts!

2009-07-15T07:44:00.001-07:00

Terry had to work last Saturday so I decided to give Dixie a hair cut. She looks s0 much better even though I did a crappy job. Dixie was supposed to be Katelin's dog. We got her on Halloween when Katelin was in 5th grade. But of course she bonded with me since I was the one who fed her and took her out to the bathroom. She used to go everywhere with us until Jack came along. They both can't ride in the car because Jack gets jealous and wants to sit on your lap. Since Dixie looked so much better I decided to get my hair cut too. I have got my haircut by the same person for the last 15 years. I just ask her what she thinks is best and I agree with her and she cuts how she wants. (This is a self-picture - took awhile to get one that I could use!)

Lots of Pictures and Fun!

2009-07-07T19:44:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday it was back to Lowes for us. I really needed new rugs and I found some that I like. On Wednesday my neighbor, Deanna (in the blue dress) had a ladies poker party. I hate to play poker so I dealt black jack.We had lots and lots of good things to eat!This is their backyard. Katelin has spent many a summer's day over here when she was little. Her hair would be green all summer long from swimming. Katelin came Thursday. I picked her up at the airport at 6:45 am. We went to lunch at Macaroni Grill then she went to Fort Collins for the night.

She came home Friday afternoon and we went to Casa Bonitas. Yes Jennica has Katelin's shirt on because she came right from work and didn't have anything to wear.
Terry and the girls in front of Casa Bonitas. (anyone see the SouthPark episode about Casa Bonitas?) Jennica was telling a friend where she was at and they thought it was hilarious since this place is really for kids.
It's always a long line to get in. The food is not very good but it's lots of fun.

This is me being thrilled by the whole exerience.

They have skee ball and lots of arcade games to play.

The place is decorated like Mexico. I think the kids like "Black Bart's Cave" the best. It still gives them a thrill to go through it.

They have cliff divers who dive into the pool. There are also a couple of little shows where someone will fall into the water.

Katelin's two friends came with us - Alisha, Jeri, Katelin and Jennica. My kids are never too old for snow cones.

On the 4th of July it was back over to Ed and Deanna's for more poker, blackjack and food. Ed is the one sitting next to Terry and Katie is also sitting next to Terry.

This is my baby leaving to go back to Kansas City. It was a short but fun visit. My mom and me (and maybe Terry so he can fix her car) are going to visit Katelin July 17th-19th so I'll get to see her again real soon.

Not all Fun and Games

2009-06-24T16:53:00.000-07:00

The weekend did start out good - as I got up Saturday mid-morning, promptly moved to the couch and watched two movies. One was on TV and the other was Bride Wars. Then Terry decided we needed to go shopping for a new kitchen sink. But first stop was Harbor Freight. I refuse to go into that store - I can't find one thing that interests me.Next stop was Lowe's - which I find about as fun as Harbor Freight. 2 hours later after Terry got done reading all the fine print we had our new kitchen sink. We should have known it was going to be hard to install since the sink was $200 and the installation was $250. I'm sure our neighbors were not thrilled with kitchen sink on the front lawn but it's better than have the toilet out there. Terry worked all day Sunday (what a fun Father's Day) and had it almost done but the drain leaked and of course Lowe's was closed by then. So I didn't have a sink - yeah we had to go out to eat at Old Chicago.

He finally got it all done late Monday night (yeah again because I had to order Dominos Pizza.) Glad it's done because he was not a happy camper when it leaked. He hasn't even seen the pictures of Kortni's kitchen yet so he doesn't realize how lucky he is.

So now I have a brand new kitchen sink. Yep - it still holds my dirty dishes until I can get them into the dishwasher. Not sure why it's so dang hard to open the door and put them in.

Back to the same old thing!

2009-06-17T16:47:00.000-07:00

We did pretty good for two weekends in a row of doing something different but this past weekend we ended up going to a movie. We were tired of planning something then getting rained out. We went to Star Trek. Terry and I used to watch horny Captain Kirk all the time when we were first married. The movie was at Southlands Shopping Center. It's a very nice outdoor mall with water fountains. This is where the Tornado hit two weekends ago. I couldn't believe how many homes had their windows blown out and the shingles missing from their roofs. Jennica went to Baltimore for two weeks. She doesn't have to take vacation time because she can work from home. She is going to take a couple of days off and go to New York.
Katelin is in Girard, Kansas. She said it reminds her of Rupert, Idaho. They have a square and the bank is on the square although the court house is in the middle of it. They don't have a hotel in Girard so they have to stay in Pittsburg, KS.

Something Different Part 2 - The Same Old Thing Part 1000

2009-06-09T06:21:00.000-07:00

Something Different: This past weekend Terry and I went to the Elizabeth Stampede. Elizabeth is a small town about 45 miles away. It has grown a lot in the past 10 years. Lots of BIG houses with barns/horses. We went to the parade Sat. morning (it can't hold a candle to Burley's or Rupert's) It was mostly businesses on a trailer full of people pulled by a pickup. They didn't even through good candy to the kids. They had booths set up and a band playing. Terry loved the Alpaca's and would love to have one - I can see it in the backyard already - next to the steer that we might win from the raffle ticket he bought.Next we went to the rodeo. It was a lot of fun. The setting is beautiful as it reminds you of being in the mountains. I am very scared of heights so of course we were near the top. The bleachers were old and scary with big spaces in between.

Katelin's friend, Jeri, went to visit Katelin in Kansas City for the weekend. She stopped by so she could take some things to Katelin for me.

We tried to do something different on Sunday. We were going to go downtown and eat on a rooftop patio. The weather wouldn't cooperate so we ended up at Chili's. While we were there we were having the tornadoes 15 miles south. Jennica hates it when I take pictures in a restaurant.

Same Old Thing: Snakes. Every year we have snakes under our front step

and our back step. I want Terry to get rid of them but he thinks they eat the mice. I think he is just scared to touch them.

Something Different

2009-06-02T06:19:00.001-07:00

Ever feel like you're in a rut. It seems like we do and go to the same places all the time. When we go out to eat it's usually within a couple of miles of our house - Texas Roadhouse, Old Chicago, Chili's and the go to the early movie. So this weekend we did something a little different. We went to Red Rocks to a concert with 38 Special, Styx and REO Speedwagon. We first went to a little touristy town called Morrison - next to Red Rocks - and had dinner. It was at a Latino Bistro called Beso De Arte. It was nothing like our usual places. We sat out on the patio and had chicken enchiladas. It was fun to watch the people and even Terry had to admit that the food was good.

Red Rocks is in the foothills and you have to climb a long way up to get to the venue. Fortunately they had a shuttle bus to the top - it was the best $2 I ever spent. The minute we sat down it started to rain. I learned three things about outdoor concerts.

1. Bring your rain gear

2. Bring your rain gear

3. Bring your rain gear

We were soaked but I really wanted to hear Styx. One of my favorite songs is "BABE." My kids know all the words because they had to listen to it in the car so much when they were little. So we sat there for 2 1/2 hours in the rain waiting for that one song. And wouldn't you know it - they never sang it. I really thought they would since I thought it was one of their biggest hits. They also didn't sing "Mr Robtoto" but they did sing a Beatle's song - go figure. All in all it was a fun night even though we were soaked. Now if I can just convince Terry to go to the Elizabeth Stampede next weekend and the Greek Festival the weekend after.

Visitors

2009-05-28T19:55:00.000-07:00

My mom and dad came down on the 21st of May and stayed until the 24th. It was a very short visit. Terry and Dad went to Blackhawk on Friday and played poker and came home a lot lighter than when they left. I took mom with me to show a house and then we drove around Denver and looked at the different (rich) neighborhoods. On Saturday we took another drive and ended up at the horse track. Again we came away a lot lighter than when we arrived. My mom was the only one to win but somehow Terry lost the ticket.

The real reason they came to see me - besides missing me - is to bring me HAMBURGER! I have not bought hamburger from the store - ever. My kids can't stand the smell from store bought hamburger and Katelin says it has bones in it. This should last me awhile.
I brag on my Suzuki all the time. It's a '92 and I love to drive it. It has only needed the fuel pump replaced. The other day it overheated and was steaming. I pulled into the parking lot of Target (good place to get stuck) and lifted the hood. It was very nice because two men came to see if they could help. Actually one was a boy of about 20 but he was a car mechanic and had his tools. He checked all my hoses and they were OK but he found a crack in the top of the radiator. I called Terry and he came and got me and drove it home. So being the engineer he is - he glued it back together. I am not going to be the one to test drive it to see if it holds together.

Done!

2009-05-17T08:59:00.000-07:00

I finally finished painting Katelin's old room. You can hardly tell but it is grey and white. You can tell more at the window and the wall. Terry asked what I was going to do with it now and I'm not sure. He wants me to turn it into an office so I stay out of his. I am thinking that maybe I will put the two twin beds together and make a queen bed, get rid of the book case and keep the dresser. It's a small room so it might be a little crowded. But what do you do with all the stuff you can't get rid of? I put Katelin's memory items in a box and put it in the closet. But what about the Mikey Mouse and the Gorilla - they hold some good memories so I don't know what to do with them. Also we finally got done with the bathroom although Terry wants to put in a ceramic tile floor in and maybe get a new sink and vanity. It is a bright white and I LIKE it. Now I don't have to look at crazy patterns all the time.

I bought the Pro Caulk (and Bra Strap Holders) from Bed Bath and Beyond. Terry thought it was a dumb idea but it looked really neat on the TV ads. Plus I had a coupon for $10 off a $30 purchase so basically I got the Bra Straps for free and the girls really wanted them. He had to admit that it did work put still not sure if it was worth the $20.

Saturday, Stetson graduated from CSU. I went down and babysat the kids while Brooke attended graduation. They were going to have a BBQ after but I told Brooke to go out to eat and enjoy the day. They are moving to North Platte, Nebraska for the summer and then to Lincoln for 3 years. Both kids acutally liked me this time. No crying what so ever. We played, fed them lunch and then they took naps. Was a little worried about the nap thing since I don't have the right equipment to get the job done. But Kason was so tired from playing that by the time I went to get his diaper he was fast asleep in the middle of the floor with his blankie.

It was nice to have them here. We only saw them 5 or 6 times in the 9 months they were here but it was fun to have them for Thanksgiving and see them every once in awhile.

Mother's Day and Painting

2009-05-10T09:48:00.001-07:00

I decided to take the wallpaper off the bathroom wall because every time I sat on the throne I realized how bad I hated it. I'm tired of so much wallpaper and color. So I stripped the wallpaper, had someone come texture the wall and I painted it bright white on Saturday. I thought I would just paint over the wallpaper in Katelin's room because I thought it was stuck on the wall pretty good - but to my surpise it wasn't. So I stripped that wallpaper and had to have the guy come out an texture that wall too (which cost me an extra $30 dollars for the trip.) Ithought I was going to paint it in earthy greens but you can always tell when I redo a room because it's in the colors of that time span. (my bedroom still has the cornflower blue and rust -80's - Jennica's is seafoam green and peach - 90's) So instead I stole Korbi's idea and decided to go with white and grey. Although Terry talked me out of going with a darker grey. Not done painting yet so I'm not sure how it will turn out. So much easier to do with no one sleeping in the bedroom Saturday morning Terry and Jennica took me to breakfast for Mother's Day. Katelin said we were white trash because we went to Country Buffet but it was good. Where else can you have dessert for breakfast.

Terry rotatilled the garden on Saturday and forgot to wear a hat. We are both a little sore - our old bodies are not used to all that bending and stretching. I think today will be a rest day!

Fun and Busy Weekend!

2009-04-27T17:30:00.001-07:00

I picked Katelin up from her hotel on Thursday and she went to Fort Fun (Collins) until Saturday morning. Terry went to an auction with the neighbor on Saturday. Later that afternoon Brooke and her family stopped by because they had gone to the temple. Katelin playing with Kayson. He is such a good and happy baby.

It takes Rainy awhile to warm up to me.

Katelin and Jennica went out together on Saturday evening and they both spent the night.

Sunday morning we had a great breakfast. Not sure why I always get pictures when they are eating.

Katelin and her dad.

I got the lawn power raked and aereated on Friday. Then I fertilized it. Can you tell that apparently I did not do it correctly.

This is Katelin with her offiical badge and ID. She used it to check into the airport in KC. The agent asked her if she was carrying. Katelin told her that she was only with the OCC and didn't carry a gun.

Of course here we are eating again. It is called the White Fence Farm . As Katelin told her friend - they have a large playground and ......

a petting zoo. It was raining so we didn't really walk around the grounds. My kids have loved this place since they were little. They serve fried chicken family style with potatoes and gravy (and yes the potatoes are real), cole slaw,cottage cheese, bean salad and corn fritters. It is soooo good.

Katelin had to leave today to go to Chicago. Her flight was at 6:40but I always get nervous and make everyone arrive at the airport early.

We forgot to check to see if her plane was on time and of course it was an hour delayed. So she is still sitting at the airport right now.

Jennica was thoughtful and knew that I would be missing Katelin so she called and said she was coming over and bringing a pizza. YEAH!

Katelin's here!

2009-04-21T09:30:00.000-07:00

I picked Katelin up from the airport on Monday morning and we went to lunch and then I took her to her hotel. She has training here until Thursday afternoon. She is going to stay until Monday and then fly to Chicago for more training. After class on Thursday she is going to Fort Collins for a couple of days and then will come back here. Korbi said her baby girl was growing up because she was walking. I know how she feels - my baby girl is growing up too. She said to me - doesn't it sound weird that I am traveling for my job - can you believe it - I have a real job!

This is Katelin checking into her hotel downtown. She borrowed a suitcase from her friend Chuck's mom because she didn't like her garment one. She forgot that she had borrowed it and thought the airline had lost her luggage until she realized the one lone bag going around the carousel was hers.

Spring in the Rockies!

2009-04-19T09:12:00.000-07:00

The weatherman usually doesn't get the forecast right but they did this time. It started raining on Friday and then it turned to snow late Friday afternoon. Today it is supposed to get up to 60 degrees and Monday -Thursday it will be in the 70's. You got to love Colorado!
This is Jack waiting patiently while I get the bed made so................... that he can get back to bed.

Ugly or Cute

2009-04-13T17:31:00.001-07:00

I have been really good and have not shopped much for the last two months. So I decided it was about time. When I came home and showed Terry what I had bought he thought it was all ugly and didn't like it - although he said he would have to see how they looked on the girls - like that will ever happen. These are the two tops that I bought Jennica - thought they would look good with jeans or dress pants. Terry thought the pink/black was OK.

These are the two tops that I bought Katelin. I really like the one on the left - you can't see in the picture but the material drapes in front and makes it look like pockets. The lady in front of me checking out really liked it too.

I realize my girls aren't little anymore but I bought them matching outfits for Easter. Not sure if they will like it or not. It's not like they would ever wear it the same time. Terry like the white pants and that is the one thing I'm not so sure about.

So the questions is - who's right - Me/cute or Terry/ugly?