Girls Weekend

It finally arrived - the weekend we look forward to all year - GIRLS WEEKEND!!!!! 

The girls are always excited to have a weekend away from kids and husbands!!  And since we were having the weekend at my house, they were doubly happy as they knew I would spoil them!  They all enjoy coming to the mountains where it's peaceful and quiet!

Glenn had plans to go fishing for the weekend but that certainly didn't happen with the weather we had!  The winter storm warning came out Friday morning for that evening!!  I was hoping the girls would arrive before the snow but the storm came in a little early so it was already snowing when they arrived!!

The snow was beautiful and we were all glad we hadn't made any plans for the weekend - just staying in and relaxing!!!

Drinks are always on the agenda!!  Along with 7 layer dip!

 We watched a couple of movies - but actually ended up moving upstairs because after we got all settled, the DVD player in the lower level decided to act up!

 We woke up to a winter wonderland Saturday morning - and it snowed the entire day!!  Glenn kept the fire stocked up in the wood stove and if we got a little cool, we just turned on the gas fireplace!  Most of the day we spent reading - not a big luxury for me as I read all the time!!  But the girls rarely get a chance between their jobs and kids so they were thrilled to have UNINTERRUPTED reading time!!

 And of course we had our computers to check - Jill and Jessi tried to do some blogging but our internet was super slow (due to the snow I assume) so they didn't get too much accomplished!!

Eating is always a big part of the weekend - Jessi had brought her homemade cinnamon rolls and gosh they were good each morning with coffee for our mid-morning snack!!  I had fixed manicotti the night they arrived and we had crab salad for lunch which we all love.  Chubby chicken  was on the menu for dinner Saturday night (chicken mixed with cream cheese and salsa and wrapped in tortillas and fried) and both nights for dessert we had my yummy strawberry rhubarb cobbler with ice cream!!

And the snow just kept coming...................no getting in the hot tub on Saturday!

 But Sunday morning we woke up to blue skies!!  Darn cold though as only 10 degrees!!  As soon as it got a little warmer, I scooped the deck off and we hit the hot tub!

The weekend went extremely fast!!!  I was sad to see the girls leave as it's always hard to find time to just spend with THEM!!  What an awesome weekend!!

Life Is All About Change

Can you believe it?  We have kids MOVING TO TELLER COUNTY in a little over a month!! 

Jaime and Brad weren't planning on moving till after Rayna graduated but Jaime's job at the private pharmacy is not working out as expected and she needed to get another job!  Instead of trying to get a job in Denver and then transfer in 3 years, she opted to get a job in our area and move now!!

So 3 things needed to happen:  1)  Find a rental to live in (since they certainly can't get a house built in a month) 2)  Jaime needed to get a job and 3)  They need to sell their house in Denver!

The rental selection around here is slim and none since the Charis Bible College moved in a few years ago!  But Jaime got on the list to be notified as soon as anything popped up and sure enough this last week one became available in Woodland Park that would work out perfect!!  The showings would begin at 1:00 last Saturday - but since the 1:00 was booked before she called, she asked if she could have a 12:45 appointment and the realtor agreed to it!  Jaime also filled out the online application that day with the required fee!

We saw the inside of the rental last Saturday and it will work out just great so Jaime told the realtor immediately she wanted it and wrote out the deposit check - because she had the first appointment and her application done, she had first choice!!  Good thing because the appointment at 1:00 had called the realtor earlier and offered MORE rent money if he could have at!!  By the time Jaime had handed over her security deposit, there were 4 more families touring the house!!  WOW !!!!

The house is located right on the east edge of Woodland Park and will be great for Jaime to get on the highway and drive to Co. Springs for her job!

Now the job situation: The pharmacy job application is an online app for all companies - Jaime applied to several but immediately heard from Safeway (where she used to work as the manager for many years before they shut her store down) and did the oral interview - after a "in person" interview last Friday, she waited patiently all weekend to get the phone call which arrived on Monday morning offering her a job as manager in the Fountain area (the south end of Co. Springs)!  We were all so happy when she got the call and she should be starting mid-May!

So 2 out of 3 isn't too bad!!!!  Jaime and Brad are working frantically on their house to get it on the market soon!  They had previously started a huge project of replacing all the carpet with vinyl plank wood looking tiles so have to finish that up along with painting 2 levels - they have a lot done and Glenn and I went up for 2 days last week to help them out!  Jaime and I got a lot of packing and sorting done and we'll go back up after we return from our fishing trip to KS.

It all seems so unreal at this point!!  I just can't imagine having them so close by with the 2 kids in the local schools here! 

Easter 2017 Part Two

Even though Rayna no longer does the egg hunt, she still likes to be involved so we put her in charge of hiding the 150 plastic eggs!!!!  Each child only gets to find his or her "color" and we made sure Gwyns' eggs were right out in the open!!

 The crew watched as the kids found their colored eggs!!

 A quick game of Easter bingo so I could hand out their chocolate bunnies to eat!

 And of course the mandatory pictures!!

 I had to take the Smiths' picture after they arrived at our house on Easter night since somehow we didn't get a family picture of them!!

 We all enjoyed a wonderful Easter meal with all the trimmings!!  Poor Gwyn was exhausted and went up to take a nap - we found her later in Aleah's room, sleeping at the end of Aleah's bed frame on the floor, with just a little bit of room because the wall was there!!  I can't imagine she was very comfortable but at least she caught a few winks!!!  The Smiths and the Keppys headed back to Denver and Glenn and I enjoyed church the next morning with the Savages.

Waiting for the kids when we returned were the baskets filled by the Easter Bunny and they were all smiles!!

It was a wonderful time for our Easter celebration to all be together and enjoy each other as a family!  Thanks Jill and Robby for hosting a great Easter!!

Easter 2017 Part One

Our family Easter celebration was held on Saturday - first up was the Easter program followed by the Easter Egg Hunt at Jill's church!  Since Jessi had to work for a couple of hours, Jaime's brought the Keppy kids up and Gwyn was excited to see us!  Check out their matching dresses!!

 After the kids program, it was outside for the egg hunt - perfect weather!!

Jessi took this darling photo of Gwyn - wish I could claim the photo but I can't!!

Aleah, Kenzie and Parker with the Easter Bunny!

 After a quick lunch, the kids settled down to dye Easter eggs!  We stuck with just the regular dye this year with no shaving cream!!

 Gwyn even enjoyed dyeing the eggs!!

 The boys getting in their technology time! 

And then it was time for the hunt in the back yard - To Be Cont'd..........

Not Enough Hours In The Day!

Thursday we headed out - first to Colorado Springs so I could pick up my new glasses!!  I LOVE them and was glad to take off the other pair as I hadn't been happy with the frames since I got them!!  And then it was up to Ft. Collins for 3 1/2 days!

Aleah had soccer practice late afternoon so went with Jill so we could watch a little and walk a lot!!  Friday Jill worked and mid-morning I went to Parker's kindergarten class as I was the "mystery reader" that day!!  He was so surprised when I walked in the door!  The little ones were so cute as they were having a party that day so had all worn their pj's and brought their blankets and stuffed animals!!

 Then it was back home for a little bit before I headed back to the school to surprise Aleah by eating lunch with her!!  She invited 2 of her friends to sit at the "guest" table and we all had fun!!

 Parker only goes to 1/2 day kindergarten so I picked him up and we ate a quick lunch and then headed to the theater to see "Boss Baby" for a belated birthday present!!  He loved the movie - I just liked it!!  Ha Ha!

 Back home for an early dinner before Aleah's soccer game - in between all of this I made punch, a salad and boiled eggs for coloring!!

Then we were off to the game!!  It was fun watching Aleah play in the gorgeous Ft. Collins weather!

I was one tired "Nana" that night!!

A Cousin Evening

Has it really been 10 years since I've seen my cousin Cheryl?  Yes it has - so I was excited when Gary and Adrianne called and invited us down for dinner as Cheryl had flown in from Missouri and was spending some time in Colorado before she moved back to California!

Cheryl hasn't changed a bit and we enjoyed catching up with some wine and appetizers!

 Gary and Adrianne always feed us well when we're there and this time was no exception!!  Gary even baked a peach pie as the last time we were down I had told him that peach was my favorite!!

 What a fun evening catching up with the "cousins"!!!

Strange Creations

April - probably one of my least favorite months because warm weather seems to hit in Feb and March - and then April comes along and it's cold and snowy when you're expecting it to be warm!

The moisture is awesome though!!  Won't complain about that one little bit!!

Since the ground is getting warmer, the snow doesn't stay long - we had about 6" of new snow and it's always fun to watch the snow slide off the metal roof - and when it's warmer during the day and then it gets COLD at night, here are the results!!