Easter Blessings

Sometimes I think I take more Easter pictures than I do at Christmas!!  I just can't get enough of those beautifully colored eggs and the grand kids (girls) in their pretty pastel dresses!  I love attending church and repeating "He Is Risen Indeed - Hallelujah!!"  What a wonderful day to get together with the family!

Glenn and I headed to Ft. Collins around lunch time on Friday, hoping to miss the traffic - it didn't happen!  Some how I always end up with a full car load of things to unload!!  But it all got unloaded and put way and soon Jill and I were boiling eggs and stuffing candy and stickers in plastic eggs for the egg hunt!

Saturday morning found us at the church for the program and Easter Egg Hunt.  This year an illusionist did the program and he was excellent - kept the kids and the adults entertained!!  Most of us grabbed a cup of coffee or hot chocolate before the program at their cafe in the church!

 Because the snow from the "blizzard" hadn't all melted, the grass was snowy and wet so the Easter Egg Hunt was held in the parking lot - can you believe the volunteers put out 9500 eggs?????  Of course there are a lot of kids that attend but most every child had an overflowing egg basket!!

 Only Aleah and Kenzie wanted their pictures taken with the Easter Bunny - I think everyone else was just too cold and ready to head to the car!!

 Brad wasn't feeling well so we missed him being there!!  And after a quick lunch, it was time to color eggs!!

 It made us sad that Rayna didn't want to color eggs this year - said she just wasn't interested - but after all she IS a teenager!!  But we sure missed her sitting at the egg table!!

 Gwyn decided it was just too exciting to go down for a nap so she was getting a little cranky - Papa took over and before long, she just leaned forward on his lap and promptly fell asleep - guess he has the magic touch!!  But that position sure doesn't look comfortable to me!

To Be Cont'd.......................

Blizzard Day

We woke up Wednesday morning to a blizzard - snow blowing all over the place and at times you could barely see across the driveway.  Joleen was supposed to head back to Kansas - that certainly didn't happen!!

We enjoyed the day inside - watching it snow, working some, enjoying special coffee together and having fun texting the girls all day who of course were home too as everything was pretty much shut down in Denver and Ft. Collins!

The top picture was taken the day after the blizzard - I love the formations after the sun has come out!!  To me it looks like a big chicken claw!!  The next picture was taken the day of the blizzard.

We ended up getting about a foot - Woodland Park had 20" as did some of Denver!  But the nice thing about snows this time of year is that it does melt quickly!!

Our Final Day

My time at Lake Havasu was coming to an end - we all slept in and then headed down to the beach to take in some sun!  It was about that time that my cell phone refused to work - it kept popping up that I needed a new SIM card and even after turning it off and on, it still wouldn't work!  So after our beach time, we would have to head to Verizon!

 The lake area was gorgeous that morning and we parked ourselves under a shade tree, enjoyed some great coffee and just relaxed in the moment.................

 Because it was spring break, it was unusually busy with "spring breakers".  The boats were loud and showy, the bikinis were tiny and the beer was flowing like crazy!!  Before we left, Karen and I took a walk down towards the docks to see all the boats lined up!  WOW - it was pretty wild there and I couldn't believe all the fancy boats - must have some rich parents!!

We were content to see it all and then leave!!!  After lunch, Marilyn and I headed back downtown to see if I could get my phone fixed and it was easy - the Verizon guy just installed a new SIM card and I was all set to go!

Jeff grilled fish for dinner that night and we watched the sunset once again!  After watching "Everest", we said our goodbyes and headed to bed!  Marilyn and I were up by 5:00 to hit the road back to Vegas!!

It was fun seeing the scenery on the way back since it was dark when we came - and we arrived in plenty of time!  Unfortunately the sign was wrong so Marilyn dropped me off at the wrong terminal - I went in and looked and looked for United and finally figured out what was wrong - but trying to find the bus to get to the other terminal was a nightmare and then the bus took FOREVER to come!

Luckily I was TSA approved but in the rush to get there, I forgot to dump out my water so security walked me all the way back out and I had to go through again.................the morning was not going well!!!

But I finally made it all through with a few minutes to spare so I ran to Starbucks (my LEAST favorite coffee place) and ordered my usual special coffee, looking forward to a few minutes of relaxation before I boarded the plane and the coffee was horrible - so bad that I dumped the entire thing after one drink................when will I learn I DESPISE Starbucks coffee!!!!!

The flight was good - my luggage made it - and the drive home was just fine!!  It was a great few days with special friends!!

It's Great To Have Good Friends!

Friday morning looked like another perfect day!  Karen wasn't feeling well so Marilyn and I headed over to Linda's to pick her up and we hiked Sara Park that morning!  Again, it was pretty warm out but the hike was pretty easy and we walked a couple of miles!

 The terrain is pretty desolate!  But most of Arizona is that way and I've always loved it!

 In the afternoon we decided to ride the "casino" boat to the other side of the lake which is an Indian settlement that has a casino.  It was downright hot as we waited in line to ride the boat and the breeze felt wonderful once the boat started going.

 The settlement and casino are on the California side - we opted to not even go into the casino since people are allowed to smoke inside.  So we jumped off the boat and got right back in line to head back to the Az. side!

 We spent some time just relaxing under the London Bridge and then met Jeff, Dave and Linda at a brewery for dinner!  I had the most amazing drink!  Something like the Miami Vices I make but this one was even better!!  I can't even remember what the brewery called it but it was fantastic!

 After a great meal, we raced home to catch the sunset and it didn't disappoint!!  Another great day at Lake Havasu!

Sunshine City

After a great nights' sleep we decided to check out the state campground and walk one of the paths beside it - we stopped at a coffee place to get some coffee and then headed towards the lake!  The sun was out in full force and we also wished we would have gotten an earlier start!

The state campground looked wonderful!!  We walked around and I picked out a couple of nice spots just in case we decide to come down next year!!  Looks pretty inviting doesn't it?

 On the path that we hiked, there was a cactus garden which is taken care of by volunteers -  there were some cool cactus!!  We decided this one looked like a bunny!

 Here's Marilyn peeking out between the Joshua tree!

 I thought I better take a picture of the boat launch so Glenn would have an idea of how nice it was!

 Ready for a rest!

 It was another relaxing afternoon at Karen's place - 4:00 found us over at Dave and Linda's house for cocktails on the patio and enchiladas!  They have a beautiful home and it was fun to see their place!

 Marilyn took a dip in their pool, even though it was pretty cold!

 Good friends - yummy drinks - great food - we had such a fun time!

Here I Come Lake Havasu City!

Old friends come together!!  Karen (one of my good friends from Woodland Park) and her husband Jeff rent a home in Lake Havasu every winter for a couple of months - when another of my good friends Marilyn decided to visit there from Oregon for a week, Karen asked if I could come too and we would have a girls' week!!  ABSOLUTELY!  I wouldn't have a problem getting out of the Colorado weather for a few days!

I flew into Vegas on Tuesday afternoon from Denver - a good flight with no problems!  Had a couple of hours wait till Marilyn got in and then we headed to pick up the rental car!  Unfortunately that did take a while so we saw the bright lights of Vegas before we headed out in the desert for the 2 1/2 hour drive to Havasu!

It was great to get to Karen's place after our day of travel and hit the sack!!

It's always hard to get your bearings someplace when you drive into it in the dark so it was a pleasure to wake up and look around in the daylight!  Nice and warm - sunny - I was glad to be there!!

We headed out to see The London Bridge that morning and to take a walk along the lake!  Here's the view from the top of the bridge!

 The fountain at the bottom of the bridge where we went through the visitors center and read all about the London Bridge being brought over - very interesting!

 And here's the bridge in the background!

 All around Lake Havasu are small replicas of light houses from around the country!

 We hiked all around the walking path till we could go no further - a lot of people were out walking that morning - a must to do before it gets too hot!  Lots of gorgeous views!

 We spent the afternoon sitting around Karen's pool (unfortunately not in service as the liner was ripped and hadn't come in yet) talking, eating and just enjoying each others' company!

That evening we headed to an excellent Mexican restaurant for $1.00 tacos and 1/2 price margaritas!!

 We met good friends Dave and Linda there for an enjoyable evening - they also have a house in Havasu for the winter!!  Great food with great friends!!

The Kids Come To Visit!

It was finally time for the kids to come and see the new house!!  Jessi's came down on Saturday and Glenn immediately told Evan and Kenzie that if they helped him split wood, he would take them to town for a surprise!

So they did just that - helped Glenn and Evan was taught how to use the splitter - and they had fun!

 The kids thought for sure that Papa would take them for ice cream so they were thoroughly surprised when he took them to Tractor Supply and had them each pick out a chick to name and bring back to our house for Papa to raise!

 Kenzie loved holding the baby chicks - 9 of them were brought home!  (yes, in addition to the 10 we already had!!)

 Gwyn was all smiles!

 Jill's arrived early afternoon on Sunday and the cousins couldn't wait to get in the hot tub, despite the wind!!

 Coloring time at the bar!

 Papa had fun putting his hat on Gwyn's head and Gwyn pulling it off as fast as she could!

 Parker and Aleah each picked out a chick to name too and the rest of the day was spent running between the chicks and the toys!

The Keppys left after dinner that evening and the Savages stayed 2 nights with us - Robby helped organize all the cords in the office and taught us how to use the tv along with putting 3 remotes into 1 remote - what would I do without him!!

Jill and I enjoyed the hot tub, a walk to the old house and playing games with the kids!  It was a nice relaxing time with both families.  I packed my bag early Tuesday morning and after Jill's left late morning, I was also out the door for my trip to Lake Havasu City!