Snow & Rain - Spring?

 Late spring snows ARE THE BEST!  Heavy, wet moisture and the funny thing is, the weatherman never gets it right!  When there is a SLIGHT chance of some snow, that's when we get the storm!

May 11th the heavy wet snow came in - I was glad I didn't have to go anywhere that day as the snow was coming down fast!  And because it's SO heavy and wet, it sticks to the trees!

I took this picture from our bedroom - see the snow on the roof starting to slide!

It was an AWESOME day to watch it snow while I started my spring cleaning!

If you look to the left of the picture under the 5th wheel, you can see a tree that was completely bent over - actually there are 2 right there so Glenn went out and got the snow off and they both popped right back up!  Yay - it's sad to have those trees snap from the heavy snow!  Lots of limbs and branches around that did snap off though!

We're really not sure how much snow we got because a lot of it melted as it hit the ground but we think about a foot actually came down!

Then on May 15th we had quite the rain and hail storm come in!  WOW was it loud!  

But the moisture is very welcome as Colorado is so dry - as long as it's not the big stuff, we'll take it!

And now over a week later, we have had rain almost every day!  But because of the cold temps at night, the leaves are JUST starting to pop out - yes, a late spring!

Mother's Day

 The last couple of years I was up at Jill's for Mothers Day Weekend but since we had just been up there for Aleah's confirmation, we were home this year!  But Jaime actually had the weekend off!!  It's pretty rare that she ever has Mothers Day off so this made it special!  Her and Brad had plans for the morning but that was fine!

I had told Glenn that I wanted him to take me to Wild Horses Cafe for breakfast - we hadn't been there since we returned from Mexico so we headed over right when it opened!  Yes, the coffee is still as good as ever there!

They make an awesome breakfast sandwich on bagels so we both enjoyed them! (You would have thought Glenn would have told me I had two pieces of hair sticking straight up so it looked like I had horns - ha!)

I met Jaime in Divide and she got in my car as I needed to make a Walmart run BEFORE we went to the movie I wanted to see!  I had checked the ad and the local movie theater was playing The Book Club #2 - I had seen the first one and loved it so knew this chick flick would be fun to see with Jaime!  Well we got to the theater and the parking lot was empty and the theater looked dark - oh no!!  Did I get the time wrong or what????  So I brought it up on my phone and this is what it said!!!

I was super disappointed because I really wanted to see it with Jaime........  Oh well - that storm sure did cause some problems!!

Here's a picture of our exciting time at Walmart - HA!

So Jaime asked me what I wanted to do next and I said let's go to Goodwill and see if you can find any dresses for Mexico (we leave June 8th for our mother-daughter trip to Playa del Carmen).  We drove to Goodwill and I started sorting through the racks and piling hangers on Jaime's arms - she tried on about 8 different dresses/capris and ended up buying 5 of them!!!  WOW - Mexico here we come!!  And all for the total of $38.00 I think - what a bargain!!

Next on the list was smoothies from McDonalds - we picked up Irene first as she was off work and headed to the drive through - but the guy said there was no smoothies today as the storm had knocked out the smoothie machine - REALLY???  That storm sure got in the way of my Mother's Day!!  But we ordered sundaes and a malt and it was all good!

So Mothers Day turned out definitely different that what I expected but it was fun to spend time with Jaime and that's all that matters!!

Confirmation Day

 Aleah's special day dawned bright and beautiful!!  I headed out for an early morning walk hoping to smell some lilacs along the way but I didn't see any bushes out front of the houses - but it was a nice walk anyway!

Jill and I organized the last minute things before the Keppys and Smiths arrived - the actual confirmation service was in the afternoon so Jill was serving a lunch before that and having the cake reception afterwards!

We all enjoyed the nacho bar and then we headed into the church!

Aleah posing with her godparents.

And the mandatory photo with your grandparents!

Whoops - this posted out of order but what a beautiful girl posing with her special cake!!

All the kids made these special banners with their chosen bible verses - they were hung at the back of the church!

The service was very nice - Aleah's parents and godparents went up front when it was her turn!  Most of the kids participated in the actual service with Aleah doing one of the readings.

Aleah and Kenzie after the service!

We ate cake and drank punch and Aleah opened her gifts!  It was such a nice day!

It's not too often that most of the grandkids are together so we snapped a picture of them - missing Rayna but including Irene!  And Kylan is in sunglasses because he spent the day before in the ER after getting dry ice in his eyes - yes, boys will be boys!!

Glenn and I headed out late afternoon - we had driven the pickup because Glenn was picking up several rolls of insulation from a guy in Loveland!  It took a while to get it all loaded and strapped down!

We had barely got on the interstate when I could see that one of the straps was slipping and we were starting to lose a roll - so Glenn pulled over and worked and tightened to strap it down again!  He started out and within a mile, it happened again!!  This time he pulled off on a service type of road!  The strap just wouldn't hold so he walked around in the ditch and found a broken strap and a piece of barbed wire and made it work!!

It was a LONG trip home!!  I was just sure that his contraption wouldn't hold but it did!  We stopped for a quick bite to eat and got home after dark, thoroughly exhausted!!

Aleah's Brunch/Football Game

  Aleah's confirmation has been on the calendar for many months and it worked out perfectly to head up to Ft. Collins to not only see everyone, but to attend her confirmation AND Parkers' football game!

We first stopped at Jessi's office for adjustments - the drop table on her NEW chiropractic table is awesome and I sure needed it!  The office was decorated for her 12 year anniversary and looked so cute!

After stopping for a quick lunch we finally made it to Jill's house - it was so good to see everyone!!  Bev was also there with her dog Tucker but he's not near as playful as Penny is!

Saturday morning was Aleah's special brunch at the church - the tables were beautifully decorated and we were seated at one table for our family!

The brunch was great!  Breakfast burritos (a little too spicy for me but they were still delicious!), fresh fruit, muffins, CINNAMON ROLLS (YEA!) and juice and coffee!  There were a couple of speakers while we ate!

After the brunch, we headed into the sanctuary and each person getting confirmed came up front and read their statement of faith!  Aleah did an excellent job and I was very impressed with what she wrote1

Robby, Jill, Aleah and Parker

Jill and I got a few things done for Sunday and then it was time to head to Parker's football game!  Jill and Robby had bought this nice tent to sit under - it was kind of a pain to put it up the first time but now they know how to do it!  HA!

Parker played great!  It's so fun to watch these kids play and a lot of them have been together for a long time!

The day started out very warm but about 1/2 through it started getting cooler and by the time we left, it was darn chilly!!  Luckily I had brought my a sweatshirt!!  And Parker's team WON!!  YEAH!

Jill and I ran a couple of errands later and did some more prep work for confirmation day!!  We did have time for a couple of games of cards with Aleah - she loves the "7" game as we call it!  

And just for the record, we had seen lilac bushes in full bloom on the way up so I was VERY excited to get to Jill's as she has a huge bush!!  Sadly, hers was not in bloom......

On The Road Again...

 As good as it feels to be back home, the amount of  things to do once you get there is overwhelming! Unpacking and laundry is a given - basically most everything we take to Mexico needs to be washed once we get back home - mainly because it's all wrinkled after being packed for 4 days or more but also  beause when we get back home, it's still COLD out so all the clothes need to be still put away with the rest of the summer clothes for a few more weeks!

And the mail - oh my gosh - our huge island was completely covered!  Jaime was kind enough to sort it all into piles so of course a lot of it was junk mail!  But there was a pretty good pile of things that needed attention and that took many hours to go though and deal with all of that!

The house had a nice layer of dust on it and I hadn't cleaned the couple of weeks before we left so the house needed a good clean!  And the list went on and on and on.....

I headed over one morning to have coffee with Jaime and catch up with the Smiths'!  She had taken care of all of the plants so I packed them up and brought them home!

I always miss the kids and grandkids while we're gone - and since I needed an adjustment desperately, we decided to head to Denver for the weekend!  Glenn had a dr appt in Co. Springs Friday morning and after that we headed to Rayna's place to meet Jaime and Brad - they wanted Glenn to help out with remodeling the basement!  So the 3 of them did measurements and all kinds of lists and plans while Rayna and I caught up!  Jaime's headed back up home while Glenn and I took Rayna to lunch and then we finally got left for Denver!

We made it there just in time for me to walk with Jessi to pick up Gwyn from school - it was sure great to see her!  Jessi had a yummy pork roast in the crockpot for dinner and we watched a movie that night!

Saturday morning was coffee time with Jessi!  It had been a long time since we've done that so we headed to our favorite coffee spot and talked the morning away! And then we were off to Evan's track meet!

The day was warm - in fact at times it was downright hot!  Evan ran in the 4 x 800 relay - he ran great and the team took 2nd place at this invitational!  WOW!  But he did get a bad blister out of the race so he was hobbling around afterwards!  It was fun to spend time with Gwyn too!

Evans' girlfriend Hannah had went with us - they sure make a cute couple and she is super nice!

We stayed a couple more hours to watch other events which is always fun - I got so hot I had to go sit in the shade awhile!  Not used to that sun at the higher elevation yet!

Kenzie had a slumber party that night to attend and Evan and Hannah stayed at the track meet till it was over about 9:30 - we played some cards and hung out until bedtime!

We all headed to church the next morning (picture is out of order) and then came back and played a game before Glenn and I packed up to head home!

It was so good to see everyone - and the next weekend is Ft. Collins!

Mexico To Colorado

 And the journey home started at 5:30am on April 18th!  We decided we could leave then since Mexico did NOT go on daylight savings time so it was light enough to leave a little earlier than normal!

One last look at the sea as we drove through Los Barriles.

We had a cloudy day to drive which made it nice but the sun would peek out every so often!  Around the Loreto area are the most beautiful waters and beaches!

Our first day is always a hard drive but Glenn made good time and we arrived in San Ignacio at the yurts around 4:00!  It always feels good to get out of the car, grab a couple of drinks and go for a walk around the property!

I know I post pictures of this river and area every time but it's just so beautiful that I can't stop taking pictures!

We had a nice meal that evening with the other guests and it's always fun to visit and talk about all of our travels.  Breakfast is always good before we take off although we don't get an early start - but the day went fine!  I don't remember where I took this picture but the sea of yellow was beautiful!

We crossed the border at Algodones and there was NO LINE!  That's always a plus but the one border agent was sure crabby - we've learned you DON'T joke around with them, kind of like at the airport!  It was an easy crossing and a quick jaunt to get on the interstate which takes you right into Yuma.    

I had decided we needed to stay somewhere different as we weren't impressed with the usual place that we stay at - surprisingly, Yuma hotels are very expensive!  We had stayed at one we really liked a couple years ago but found it wasn't open - but funny enough, when we pulled into the one I had booked, it WAS the same one we had liked before - it had just changed names!

The nice thing about this place is that you can walk across the street and eat at The Cracker Barrell - the last thing you want to do after driving all day is to get back in the car and drive to a restaurant!  We had a great meal there and the next morning ate at another walkable diner.

I told Glenn we were eating lunch at McDonald's (not a place we ever eat at) because I wanted a caramel frappe and some fries!  It didn't disappoint!  I DID miss the frappe!

Another LONG day of driving but since we were in the states, I could help drive!  We pulled into Albuquerque early evening, grabbed some fast food and took it to our room to eat!  We've stayed at the Greentree Suites the last 3 years - it's a nice place to stay and is right along I-25 so it's a quick ride to get back on the interstate and head for home!

What a nice feeling to get back into Colorado - stop and get some groceries as the frig was bare of course - and then FINALLY to get home about 3:00!  Home Sweet Home!

Final Days of Baja

 I can't believe how busy it's been since we arrived home from Mexico - and there just hasn't been any time to catch up!  It's amazing after 3 months of rest, relaxation, sand, warm weather, fishing, reading and beach time, that when you arrive home, everything starts up once again!

So let's finish up our Baja time and return to Colorado happenings!

Our good friends Hillary and Eric leave their rental in Spa Buena Vista and move up to a further location for a couple of weeks!  Glenn and I joined them for lunch one day - the grounds are beautiful there and I loved this flowering bush!

The best sunrises seem to be in Feb and March but we did have a couple of days in April where the clouds were gorgeous!

There were actually more beautiful sunsets during April - always love the pink clouds and the ocean which appears pink!

It just doesn't get much better than a calm, beautiful day to have a cup of coffee and watch the ocean!

We took another beach ride to the next town over with 2 other couples - the sand bothers Glenns' eyes so he brought his ATV goggles down and wore them when we went on a ride!  We had a fun day riding along the ocean and stopping in La Ribera for some drinks and fries!

I was inside one day when I heard this loud sound so went out to investigate - not sure what this is actually called but the person went back and forth several times on this motorized contraption - actually does look like fun but gosh it's loud!

Dave and Leslie Brown had made plans to stop for a day and night before they went to their time share in Cabo - we went out for a late breakfast with them and the guys decided to fish that evening.  Leslie and I just hung out until the guys got back in - right at dark with wind and waves and they were both soaked before we could get the boat out of the water as it sure got a lot of water in it!  No luck that evening and we enjoyed some dips and drinks that night!

Dave came out early the next morning and the guys had a nice morning fishing, even though they didn't catch much, just one trigger fish!  Glenn and I cooked up lunch for them before they headed to Cabo!

And then the job of packing up started - always time consuming and a little sad but I was ready to head back to Colorado!  We said our goodbyes to our good friends with plans to see them all next year!