It's Not New Mexico!

But it's probably a lot prettier than New Mexico!!  Glenn and I had planned to take a little mini trip for 3 nights to Eagle Nest, NM as there was a lake there where he wanted to go ice fishing!  I booked a cute cabin for 3 nights and we were all set to go EXCEPT Glenn happened to check the website on Sunday night and they had closed the lake for fishing due to unsafe ice................

Plan B then came into effect - I cancelled the 3 nights in NM and booked 2 nights at another cute cabin over at Almont, CO.  I love the little town of Almont - we've stayed there a few times at the Almont Resort in rustic cabins but this time I was looking for something just a little nicer since I would be hanging out in the cabin while he fished in the next town.  And I found just what I wanted at The Three Rivers Resort, which is right next door to where we had stayed before!!

We headed out Tuesday morning as they said we could have an early check in and stopped in Gunnison first for lunch - crepes and coffee for me!!  The crepe had a vanilla creme sauce inside and was SO GOOD!!

 We drove out to Blue Mesa Reservoir so Glenn could peek at the ice and then headed to Almont and checked in!!

 The cabin was like a mini modular and it was perfect - everything I needed and wanted in a cabin - the best part was the view of the river which actually runs all winter!  There are 3 rivers that come together in this little town - the East River, the Taylor and the Gunnison. And I'd just sit there and watch that river pass by.....................

 Glenn headed out to ice fish while I unpacked and settled in with a great book and some good music!!  I had brought plenty of snacks to chow down and really enjoyed myself!!  Took a short walk (as you either walked in the mud or on the ice!!) and stood on the bridge and took this picture - the river is so pretty!

 Glenn didn't have any luck at ice fishing that afternoon nor the entire next day!!  But he still enjoyed his time on the ice and that's all that counts!!  I enjoyed my books, 3 movies and probably gained a couple of pounds from all the chips I ate - but who cares, that's what trips are all about!!

Oh yea, there was a fireplace too......................we'll definitely stay in one of these cabins again!!

Valentine's Day

Glenn asked me what I wanted for Valentine's Day and I replied absolutely nothing!!  Although I do love getting flowers, I'd rather receive them at a different time than Valentine's Day since they're so expensive during the holiday.

Actually what I wanted was chocolate covered strawberries!!  Since I was heading into town on Friday for my tax appointment, I decided to check them out at the store - I was appalled!!!  6 strawberries for $8.99!!  Sure they looked nice but really?????

Regular strawberries were on sale for $2.00 a box so I grabbed a couple of boxes knowing I would just settle for them................but after I got home I started thinking about those chocolate covered ones and I checked my pantry - sure enough there was leftover chocolate almond bark from Christmas so I did the next best thing!!!  Take a peek!!

They taste absolutely wonderful!!

Glenn Was BUSY.....

while I was at Suite Retreat!!  The rest of the metal for the roof FINALLY arrived and he did get the large pieces put up ALL BY HIMSELF!!!  He amazes me!  There is still some flashing on the roof to finish and some trim but the majority is now done!

 The contractor and crew finished putting up all the trim shingles under the gables and I think it looks really nice!!  (excuse the shadows and blurs on the pictures - I must remember to take pictures in the morning and not the afternoon!)

 My  job today was to pick up trash, small pieces of wood and move many, many boards to the back of the house - in other wards, I was bending up and down picking up stuff!!  The place looks 100% better in the front, even though I still have 2 more areas to do!!

Progress IS being made - slow and steady!!

Suite Retreat

Can it be possible that it's February and time for Suite Retreat again???  YES!!!  The 3 girls and I SO look forward to this time together - not only to get scrap booking done but to just hang out together and have fun!!

Once again our coordinator offered the 3 night stay and that's what we did!!  We arrived Thursday afternoon about 2:30 (Jill met us a little later as she worked) and within an hour, the room was all rearranged and set up with our 4 tables!

After Jill arrived, we headed down to Happy Hour and snacks!! (Shirley Temples for Jessi of course!)

 And then we were off to Zio's for an Italian dinner together!  It was excellent!

 And then it was time to start scrap booking!  We didn't stay up too late in the evenings and were usually down to breakfast between 7 and 7:30!   Our coordinator again provided Texas Roadhouse for Friday night and sub sandwiches with all the trimmings for Saturday lunch!! 

Our little fridge (and a Playmate ice chest) kept our crab salad, dips, sausage and cheese and leftovers cold for our other meals!!!  And talk about snacks -  my gosh, you would have thought we were staying for a week!!!  There was PLENTY of chocolate and nuts and chips and popcorn....... and of course my espresso machine came so I could make my "special" coffee each morning - oh my it tasted good!!

It was a delightful 3 days of fun!!  I ended up doing 64 sides (32 pages) total!!  Which meant I finished up 2013 and am now ready to start 2014 after I do about 3 trips!! 

Here's one last shot on Sunday morning at breakfast!!

A great time with the best girls ever!!

We Have WINDOWS!

Yes, the windows were delivered last Thursday and installed on Friday - wow - I can't believe how nice they make the house look!!  Two outside doors were also delivered and installed but they weren't the "exciting" ones - they were the lower level door and the one to the garage.  I'm impatiently waiting for the front door and the french glass doors that lead to nowhere (at this point!).

One more day of sanding and then all of the inside logs should be done!  At that point, I can at least get the logs swept down with a broom and get the sawdust swept up!  Glenn is still working on the electric and plumbing - one more trip to Home Depot today - it's never ending for those darn plumbing supplies it seems! 

Babysitting Aleah and Parker

Bingo and Sequence - those were the 2 favorite games that we played over and over and over.......

Jill had a 2 day seminar at The Broadmoor and Robby had a couple of computer jobs to do down this way so they headed in late Thursday night!  Jill was out the door by 6:45 the next day and of course Aleah was up by 5:45 so the day started early for MOST of us!  Jill and Robby spent Friday night joining friends for dinner and then staying at a hotel.

Papa's pancakes were requested by the kids and not long after that, I bundled up the kids for a walk up to the new house!  Our driveway is extremely icy so it was interesting walking it!  The kids loved checking the house out and I was excited because the windows were going in on Friday!!

Parker has his eyes closed but has such a cute smile!!

 Sometimes I think the kids love to stay with us because of the SNACKS!!!  Their favorite is cut up fruit with marshmallows, served with toothpicks to stab it all with!

 The kids play well together and love digging through the tubs of toys!

 It was much too cold to have our tea party outside so the dining room table had to do!  Goldfish and honey nut cheerios were on the menu!

 Parker had a slight cold so coughed some during the night - but the funny part was listening to him talk in his sleep!!  I don't think I've ever heard a kid who talks so much!!  Several times I woke up thinking he was talking to me!!

Jill got off early on Friday so we headed up to show her the new house and then enjoyed a great dinner together!  Since the kids were watching a show before bedtime, Jill and I decided to play a game of pool, although soon the kids were watching us - I think it took us a 1/2 hour to play a game - we're not very good..............

They ended up spending Saturday night with us too - Aleah is such an early riser that I think I'll be sleeping in a little tomorrow!!  What a great time with everyone!