Memorial Day 2017

It STILL seems weird that we don't camp anymore on holiday weekends since we're retired and can go during the week!!  But we were excited that the Keppys were coming down on Friday!!!  I didn't envy them hitting all that holiday traffic coming to the mountains from Denver but it didn't take them too much longer than usual to get here late Friday afternoon!!

We had an enjoyable weekend and although the guys went rock hounding one day, Jessi and I never left the premises!!  We were content to just hang out with the kids and read !!!

Gwyn was her usual talkative cute self - she sure loves coming here and she loved being outside!!

 The girls had so much fun on the play set - and Gwyn loved the sandbox although somehow I didn't get a picture of her in it!!  She had no fear climbing up to the top and coming down the slide!

 We read lots of books - Kenzie took over for me in this picture!

 Pancakes are always a hit at our house - Papa makes the kids whatever shape they want!

 Swinging away !

 Jessi got a lot of reading done - to the tune of 2 books over the weekend!!  Yes they were easy reads but still!!!

Papa had decided to build a swing for the kids - he found the perfect place where they could take off from a large rock and swing down - Gary helped him get the rope up in the tree and the kids absolutely loved it!!

 The kids even did the hot tub and Gwyn went in too - she had to sit on someones lap of course but she enjoyed it!!  My pictures turned out pretty bad so I didn't post them!

And our weather - typical Colorado weather - pretty nice in the mornings but by noon cloudy and some rain - one day we even had hail!  But no complaints - we need all the moisture we can get!

They Keppys decided to stay Sunday night too so headed out mid-morning on Monday - what a fantastic weekend!

Once Again - Construction Has Begun

The long awaited shop has been started!!!  Glenn has been moving dirt for days upon days and we can finally see some progress!  Weather has been a big factor, along with waiting for the county to approve everything - but yesterday Glenn picked up the permits (along with paying the outrageous permit fees!!!) and he is good to go!!

The shop will be around 2000 sq ft - yes HUGE!!  But when you take into consideration that he plans on storing the 5th wheel and the boat in there, along with piles and piles and piles (trust me, it's endless!) of his "stuff" AND will also have a workshop area in there, then  you realize he needs something that big!

It's all squared up now and the trenches are dug for the footings!

 Yesterday Glenn rented a compactor for the day - I couldn't believe it was remote controlled!!  Glenn and I both ran it for many hours to get the soil compacted!!

More pictures to come as the shop progresses!!

HOPING Spring Is FINALLY Here!!

Between the snow, cold temps and then MORE snow, it hasn't been a great May!!  But I truly believe spring has finally arrived!!

Both hummingbird feeders are out with at least 2 hummingbirds enjoying the nectar - and I know more will be around soon!!  New sand was bought for the sandbox (since Gwyn will be here this next weekend!!) and I washed up all the sand toys - I'm sure she'll enjoy it!!

 We bought a new umbrella at Lowe's the other day and I love how colorful it is!!

 And our front porch is all ready for visitors - Glenn has planted the planters with pretty flowers and it's usually nice and sunny in the mornings - come on over for coffee!!

Mothers Day

What a feast for breakfast!!  Gary and Glenn cooked up bacon, scrambled eggs, biscuits and gravy AND french toast!  Jessi and I were both impressed!!

Glenn had bought me a beautiful miniature rose bush and the girls gave me my annual present which I love more each year - my printed blog book for the prior year!!  I now have 9 blog books to date and each one is so precious!!

 Papa took the kids to the park with Gwyn dressed in one of her new outfits!

 And then it was off to Evan's flag football practice and game!!  Glenn took the car and carried the chairs to watch Evan's practice and then I walked to the game with Kenzie and Gwyn in the stroller - it wasn't too far away but a couple of small hills made it seem longer!!

Evan played an awesome game and even made a touchdown!!  So fun to see!!

 The day was gorgeous - and the scenery just doesn't get better than this when you're sitting at a game!

Glenn headed for home after lunch - and as soon as Jessi and Gary arrived home from their last seminar, I hit the road too!  It was hard to leave Gwyn as she wasn't happy I was leaving but the time will be short till we see them again!  What a great time in Denver!!

Triple Birthday Party

It's nice to have 3 birthdays in the month of May, along with Mothers Day, so we can do one big celebration!!  Gwyn will turn 2 on the 18th, Glenn turns 65 on the 22nd and Kylan will be 10 on the 25th! 

Jill's arrived early afternoon to help out Jaime for a while and it seems no matter what, there is always computer work for Robby - we ALL appreciate his services!!

By mid afternoon, everyone arrived at Jessi's and we had a taco bar set up for an early meal!!  And then it was on to the presents!!

 Kylan was thrilled with his drone!!  And Papa got the best t-shirt from the Keppys!!

 It was so fun to watch Gwyn open her gifts - she loved them all!

 Papa's all set for fishing with a new fishing shirt from the Smiths and a new fishing hat from the Savages!!

 Gwyn wouldn't take off her pink sweatshirt we got her and was thrilled with the new scooter!!

 German chocolate cupcakes with 2 kinds of frosting for dessert - vanilla for most people and the pecan coconut for a couple more people (Glenn's favorite!!)

 Gwyn enjoyed each bite of hers!!

It was a great time getting together and celebrating the birthdays - my Mothers Day gift in the next blog!

My Speciality - Cleaning, Sorting, Packing

There was LOTS to be done at the Smith household before they put their house on the market.  So as soon as we got back from Kansas, I took a day to unpack the 5th wheel and get caught up on the mail and then headed to Denver to help them out for a couple of days!

Did we work hard - ABSOLUTELY!!!  Their house is large and I started on the inside main floor windows first - we deep cleaned the breakfast nook, dining room, living room, kitchen and office and by 8:00 that night I could hardly move!!  But the next morning I was back at it by 6:45AM - the morning was spent cleaning their bedroom, the powder room, guest bedroom and of course staging all the rooms we had cleaned the day before!  Our afternoon was easier as we sorted through the large tubs in their storage room and got rid of a lot of things - that always makes you feel good!!

Kylan had a school program that evening so we stopped a little early and went to it - Kylan was great in the song they sang from Annie!!  And that evening I headed to Jessi's to spend the night as I was babysitting the next 3 days while Jessi and Gary went to all day seminars there in Denver!

Gwyn was so excited to see me the next morning!!  After the kids left for school, I grabbed coffee and headed back to Jaimes' to do one more thing - deep clean the guest bathroom downstairs!  Gwyn was tired and ready for a nap as she had gotten up early so she napped and I cleaned!!  And then it was back to Jessi's house for lunch and a trip to the park!!

 We had a fun day together and Jessi fixed a great dinner when they got home!!

Evan spent the night with Kylan so it was just us girls for Saturday!!  Coffee and smoothies were on the agenda first thing!!

 And then it was a quick cleaning and some prep work in the kitchen to get ready for the mid-afternoon celebration!! 

Birthday celebrations to follow!!

Where Are The Fish?

All I heard for 2 months was about this lake in Ks. where you would catch 40 to 50 crappie per day!!  Glenn was pretty excited about fishing and our plans were to head to KS. the morning after our girls weekend!  Only remember what happened on girls weekend?   Right - SNOW!!!  And it moved right over to KS!

Sunday night they closed I-70 down and it was still closed early Monday morning - not thinking we would get to head  out on Monday, we went ahead and booked an extra night at the campground!  But the interstate did get open and with the warm temps, we figured most of the snow would melt!!  Some of the side roads were still closed but we headed out about noon and hoped it would all work out OK!

When we got to Colby, the snow was piled high!!  They had gotten about 14" of snow and we had a heck of a time just trying to get diesel for the truck as the truck stop pumps were all shut down!  As we drove on the county road, we went through several small towns where the electric poles were snapped off and wires were hanging on the ground - that's why most of the business places were dark - no electricity!!  It was quite the sight with all those poles broke off!

But as we got closer, the snow drifts were gone and we reached our campground where no snow had fallen!  We stayed at Rock Point Campground at Webster State Park and it was a very nice place!  Plugged into electricity and water (which is rare for us as we usually wilderness camp) and believe it or not, we found THIS sign posted on the bath house!!

 I was pretty excited to have wifi and wished I would have brought my computer..............

We took an evening walk and the lake was very pretty!

 Glenn was up early the next day fishing and that is basically want he did for the next 6 1/2 days!!!  The water temp was down due to the cold front that had come through so fishing was not great at all!  He met another guy in the campground and they both went to another lake the next day but didn't have  much luck there either!

 And me - I spent my days just relaxing - reading, reading, reading - watched a few movies while working on a Swedish weaved blanket - and took at least 3 to 4 walks a day around the loop!!

 Saturday was kids day at the different campgrounds so there were a LOT of kids and parents around - I spent most of the day inside the 5th wheel!!  The weekend did fill up with campers but since there were only 10 spots in our campground, it wasn't bad at all!

 I couldn't believe all the birds around - we just don't have that many in Colorado but there were hundreds on the ground when we first arrived and most of them went to one tree!!  They were sure fun to watch and were a pretty black and yellow/orange!

A friend of Brad's came in on Sunday - Glenn hadn't personally met him till then but they had talked several times and he was only a couple spaces over from us.  Anyway, he had brought a friend and that evening Glenn went over to talk with them and later came back to get me and take me over to their campsite - believe it or not, the friend (Terry) had graduated from East Monona (where I graduated from) and was a year ahead of my brother!!  It was like old home week - we talked and talked and of course knew all the same people - small world!!

 So the trip was great but Glenn sure didn't catch many fish!!  We did eat a batch one night and he brought another batch home to eat but that was it!!  Pretty disappointed in the fishing but he still had fun!!

I'm not sure we'll go back to this lake next year but we do know we need to wait till a little later in May to make the trip!!  That way, the water should be warmer and the fish SHOULD be biting - I don't believe that for a second!!!