Family Time

 Meanwhile, Glenn had been out fishing somewhere! Doesn't matter where we're at - fishing is always on the list and he usually always catches something!

We sorted more in the afternoon - and really accomplished a lot!  Out of all the sorting, the two things that I was amazed at were:  1)  we found out that Grandma Amundson had a brother (who died probably at birth) and a sister (who died when she was 6) that we never knew about!! 2) inside an old document velvet holder, we found Grandma Amundsons' graduation picture, class picture, announcement, calling card, diploma, and her class ring - all in perfect condition!!!  What a find!

Late afternoon we were more than ready to head to the bar/restaurant for a drink and a meal!  But first a picture of the 4 siblings who hadn't been together in 6 years!!

The lighting was horrible in the back room but we somehow got a picture of the girls - we were glad to have Jordan join us!

I guess only Glenn paid attention when I said SMILE!  The others were too busy eating!

Patty and I were both so full, we actually split a 4 piece shrimp dinner and fries!  There were people at the bar that we knew so stopped and visited on our way out the door - the guys stayed and played pool!

I always enjoy this memorial to the locals who fought in the different wars!

This probably wasn't the same night but I caught Patty and Teri drinking wine and eating dessert - our favorite past time!  And by the way, the dessert and cinnamon roll we brought back from lunch were both delicious!

I think everyone was exhausted that night!  

Soldier Bound

 Our annual Sisters Trip was going to be held in Soldier at Patty's house - since none of us really knew what COVID was going to look like in June, we all decided it would just be easier to meet at Patty's house!  And she had a purpose to this visit:  FINALLY finish up the sorting of Mom and Dad's things, along with a few things of grandmas' that Patty had been storing for years and years! 

So off to Soldier we headed!  Since we had just been back in April, the trip seemed longer than ever but we pulled in late afternoon and it's always great to get out of that car and stand for awhile!

Teri and Emily were already there and in the kitchen helping Patty - Jay was kind enough to cook meals in advance for us - Teri had made a rhubarb cake (that I LOVE!) and Emily had made a couple of salads!  I had brought dips and salsa and pepper jelly for happy hours and Patty had plenty of wine, chips and dessert so we were all set!

We enjoyed our lasagna dinner with Jim and Brenda stopping by so we all had a great visit!  And the next morning was COFFEE time - special coffee time on the front porch before we headed to the basement!  Great coffee - great sister time!

And then the sorting began!!  We sorted clippings and pictures, read items, took copies and pictures of things - it was exhausting at times but oh so fun to read different articles about the past and decide who was taking what!  Our backs got so sore leaning over the ping pong tables so we would sit in chairs for awhile and then soon enough, we would be back standing!

We had decided that just the sisters would go to Tecamah for lunch at Master's Hand!  So we changed from our older clothes and had Emily take pictures of us before we headed out!

I love this place - the gift shop is so cute and one can wander around for a long time!  But we didn't have long to wait before our table was ready!  And no, dessert really DIDN'T come before the meal!  But it sure was good with a cup of coffee!  I had apple crisp with ice cream which was delicious!

We all loved the fact that you could get a cup of soup or salad, a drink, your main meal and dessert for a set price!  I had the chicken salad which was fantastic - the crescent roll was hot and soft and the beautiful salad was a masterpiece!  For the first course I had the Cuban black bean soup which was very good!

This was our first picture which should have been before the dessert picture!  It was a pretty place setting and we all talked a mile a minute waiting for our food!

After getting a dessert to go and a cinnamon roll to go, we all bought our treasures and headed back to Soldier.  More sorting in the afternoon - happy hour with Emily and Cheri who had driven in from Omaha and before we knew it, it was time to go out for dinner!

John Martin Reservoir

 Home for 2 days and then we take off again - that seems to be the normal for the month of June!  This time we headed south past Pueblo to John Martin Reservoir.  Glenn always likes to do a camping trip south BEFORE it gets too hot so he can fish!  

This year Dick and Jane were coming down also with their trailer - Dick doesn't fish much but Glenn talked him into it so it was great to have some company!  Gary and Gwyn also came down for one night and tented right outside our 5th wheel!

So we tripled up with the boat and headed down late Sunday morning - checked out the 2 sites we had rented for the 4 of us and proceeded to get all set up - Dick and Jane weren't far behind!

Was it hot down there?  YES  Was it humid? YES  Were the mosquitos bad? YES  HMMMM - maybe we came a little too late this year but oh well!  Our 5th wheel has a/c and you can bet it was used!

The guys would get up pretty early and fish - Jane and I would walk in the morning before it got TOO hot and then again in the evening (fighting the mosquitos!!)  We decided if we came again, we would try to get spots by the lake - I'm sure the mosquitos would be a little thicker there BUT there was always a breeze by the lake where we didn't have one in the middle of the campground!  We were happy to have spots that had shade trees though!

Since the campground is on the small lake side, we couldn't see the dam so Glenn took me in the truck one day so I could see it!

This is taken from the bridge dam and shows the lake and the campground to the left!

Jane and I both enjoy reading so our days were spent in our campers during the heat of the day!  Glenn met our neighbors (they were from Parker) and invited them over one evening for a fish fry!  Everyone brought some sides and it worked out well!  

Since Jane and I walked around the lake a couple of times, we discovered this spot which was perfect for coming back with our coffee and books!  The lake also has a small swimming area so Gary took Gwyn there a couple of times so she could swim!  It's a beautiful campground and I'm sure it would be fun to travel here in the fall when it's a lot cooler!

We did have an awful thunderstorm on Sunday night!  The thunder and lightning were so loud and I was afraid Gary and Gwyn would be soaked in their tent but it held up well!  It did rain quite a bit which always makes it a bit messy in the morning but by mid-morning it was starting to dry out!  The neighbor came over and said he had a large turtle outside his camper!!!  I didn't get a picture of it but they called the camp maintenance people and they scooped it up and took it back to the lake!

With grilled tenderloin steaks one night, grilled chicken the next night and then 4 different kinds of fish the last night, we all ate like kings!  A great time with wonderful friends!

1st Camping Trip of the Season

 We always try to take a local trip with the 5th wheel and razor to check everything out!  Close by is Tarryall so that's where we decided to go!

We found a great spot to set up and it's always fun to get the camper set up the first time, put the awning and camp chairs out and check out the view!  Yes, there is still a lot of snow on the mountains!

This guy almost walked right into our camp!!!  He watched us for awhile and then sauntered off - and sure didn't seem to be scared of us!

Camp is all set up and Glenn's happy to be drinking a beer!  It was cool out so we donned jeans and sweatshirts to take our first ride in the razor!

Gorgeous views!  But the razor wasn't running right - once again, Glenn thought he had it fixed but it was still making a horrible noise so we only drove it for about an hour and then headed back to camp!  As a side note, it's all tore apart in the shop right now, waiting for parts!!

Glenn decided that since we really couldn't ride around, that he wanted to move the next day closer to the area where he could go rock and gem hunting!  I said sure so we picked up the next day and moved.  Our spot again was good and just a quick walk away from this great campsite (for tents) that had the best place for a campfire!

Guess this picture got out of order because this was taken on our razor ride, high up with beautiful views!

Here's a picture of the great rock formations that were right beside us - I enjoyed walking up there for my daily walks and checking it out!  Glenn did some gem hunting right across the road and we enjoyed our second night of camping!

So besides the razor, the 5th wheel worked out fine - one always wonders if you're going to have a broken pipe in the 5th wheel after the long, long winter but Glenn does a great job of getting it ready for winter and all was fine!  Here's to an ALMOST perfect start to summer!

Oh The Games We Play

 We play a lot of cards with the kids  and grandkids, along with some games when they're down!  Jessi had brought down a game that we had played at her house which was really fun and Kenzie couldn't wait to play it!  Some of the things we all had to do were hard and others were quite easy!  But this one was hilarious!

You tied a tape measure around yourself and attached to that was something wooden - can't even remember what we used but could have been a pencil!!  And then you had to knock the ball off of plastic cups!  Anyway, this picture is a classic, even though its' blurred, because it looks like Glenn has hair on one side!!!  HA!!

Check out my green frog slippers!!  Must have been cold that day!

And the expressions on these 3 faces is priceless!!  Kenzie was doing the timer - Jessi had done great on her time and who knows what Gwyn was doing!

Gwyn could hardly wait for her turn and she sure had fun trying to knock those balls off!

What a cutie eating her fruit popsicle!

And I surprised Kenzie that morning with her "own" special coffee!!  Yes, she's starting young!

We had a great time over the Memorial Day weekend - spent what time we could outdoors but as usual, there was a lot of rain (which was great!)!  I was just glad we weren't out there camping!

Keppy Time

 It had been a while since all of the Keppy's had been down to our place so we enjoyed having them for a couple of nights over Memorial Day Weekend!  They waited till Sat. to come which was a good thing due to all the Friday night traffic headed to the mountains!

I had grilled cheese, ham and turkey sandwiches ready for them when they walked in the door as they were later than expected and were HUNGRY!!  And trying to keep Evan full is a task, I must say!  That boy DOES eat a lot!

Kenzie decided she wanted to learn how to play pool so the 4 of them headed to the basement!  Papa enjoyed teaching her the basics and she did very well!  Note Evan in the background playing air guitar!

Gwyn discovered the bus that I had underneath the bed so brought it out and had fun with it!  Since her dad drives a bus, she finds it quite intriguing to pretend that she's driving one!

It was cool out and rained in the afternoon BUT we got to have a fire!!  And it's been a few years since we've been able to have a fire on Memorial Day Weekend as the county usually puts a fire ban on for that weekend (and sometimes the entire summer!)  It was chilly out so the fire felt good!

The kids had fun roasting marshmallows!  Evan did a perfect job of roasting his!

And Kenzie had fun trying strawberries with her marshmallow - she said it was super yummy and ate a few that way!

It's almost like camping, isn't it?  We have a perfect spot down in the aspens and hopefully this summer we can have many more get togethers at the fire pit!

Before we knew it, Saturday had came and gone.....

Family & Friends

 Here I am way behind in blogging again.... Where does the time go?

We always enjoy getting together with cousin Gary and his wife Adrianne - sometimes we go to each others house but we always enjoy going out to eat so this time we met at one of our favorite spots, Cantina in Manitou Springs!

We had an excellent meal - with yummy mango margaritas and shared a couple of desserts!  I was thrilled when Adrianne gave me a pint jar of palisade peach jam (which she knows I LOVE!) and a jar of jalapeno pepper jelly - oh my gosh that was wonderful to eat with cream cheese and crackers!  It was great to catch up with them!

And the following day, Jo and Norm (friends from Baja) were on their way home to Wyoming for the summer and stopped in to spend the night!  They are actually purchasing a mobile home in a campground over by Buena Vista so will be very close by after they get through the closing!

We enjoyed visiting, a couple of walks, drinks and appetizers on the deck and a dinner together!  

Spring must be in full swing because the calendar is FULL!

May Photo Dump

Kylan is definitely getting taller - he'll surpass me soon!

We finally got to see Rayna and Matias to give them our gifts from Mexico - Matias had requested a hat and Rayna wanted some of the driftwood that Papa had picked up from the ocean!

One morning I woke up and walked into the closet to see this!!  I should have taken the picture before I picked up all of my hang up clothes and laid them on the bed!  Time to get rid of some clothes I guess!

Can you believe I took ALL of this out of our closet and one chest of drawers?  The tub has a few items that we weren't quite ready to get rid of yet so they'll go to the basement for another year and then we'll see.  But the 2 trash bags went right to the car and then right to Goodwill!!  My hang up bar breathed a sigh of relief after Glenn fixed it!

Spiro is getting BIG!

Spiro was peeking over the table as we played cards!

Glenn has been extremely busy in the greenhouse since we got back from Mexico!  His lettuce is coming up nicely - good thing he has the greenhouse because it's been a cold and rainy spring - usually freezes about every night still!

This hydroponic system is all new this year!  He decided NOT to do aquaponics this year as it's harder to keep the fish alive when it's too cold or too hot!  These little lettuce bunches are cute as can be!

He had this tall one last year and it's doing well also this year!  He sure enjoys his gardening!

 And that's a wrap for May!