Christmas in BV

We are going to Buena Vista this year for Christmas with Gretchen, Mike, Makena and Beckett. Cooper and Jill be joining the festivities Christmas Eve. This will be the first Christmas we will be with the whole gang! :) I got all the Christmas decorations down from the attic but am not feeling like doing the work. So, I don't think I will be putting up the Christmas tree, another first.

Halloween 2009

Here are a few pics from Halloween this year in Buena Vista. Makena was a clown and wore the costume by mom, her Great Granma Grace made for Makena's mom when Gretchen was a little girl! Her hair was sprayed red and let me tell you, not easy to wash out! Beckett was a dinosaur and his mohawk was sprayed red with green on the sides to match his costume! We had a great time and ate WAY too much candy...still, lots of fun!

Snow!

I am sitting here enjoying a cup of coffee as it snows this morning. I love snow, primarly Colorado snow. Yes, you can sweep it with a broom. I did not like snow the winter of 2007 when my mom and I got caught in a blizzard with white out conditions in the mountains. That was not fun! But for today, I am inside and warm so I like snow!

Long time, no blog.

Sooooo...guess I will try and start blogging again. I don't know if anyone will read this but I will give it a go! This weekend has been beautiful, 70's sunny. I actually went to a movie last night with two co-workers and had a great time. We went to Julie and Julia, about Julia Child and a woman named Julie who worked her way through Julia Child's cookbook "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" in one year 500 some odd recipes!!! WOW!! Not me..we had BBQ brats and mac and cheese for dinner tonight!! :) Would love to receive a comment if anyone ever reads this!

Makena's, The Very Hungry Caterpillar

Unca Tupa AKA Uncle Cooper

Gretchen, Makena and Beckett came to Denver so Uncle Cooper came down from Ft. Collins to visit. Makena calls him Unca Tupa...it is so cute! :) She is taking so much and Beckett can even say Unca too. We had a great day just hanging out and playing. I have put up some pictures.

Spring Break

We got to spend a few days in Buena Vista with Gretchen, Mike and the grandbabies so I thought I would add a few new pictures...here you go Kammie! :)

We also went to Ft. Collins to see Cooper and Jill but I did not get any new pictures, maybe next time.

Don't Bank on the Money til the Money is in the Bank...

So our Honda got stolen Saturday night. It was our anniversary and we had a wonderful evening only to wake up and notice the Honda was not in its usual parking spot. Was I dreaming or what! But Dale came out to the parking lot and said..."Yep, it's gone." So phone calls were made to the police who were not too encouraging about recovering it. Little did we know that Hondas are easy to break into and one of the most stolen cars. Of course we did not have comprehensive insurance as it was 12 years old so we are counting it as about a $3,000 loss...thus the title of this blog according to Dale. We had "plans" for that money but not anymore!

Happy Anniversary to us!

Today is our 28th wedding anniversary...where does the time go? If I had any old pictures I would post them but no such luck! We have had a relaxing and enjoyable day. Another 28 years and we will be 81 and 80...hard to believe!

Another New Do...Too Cute!

Here is the latest hairdo with a before and after photos. A young girl from Ethopia braids hair as her business so that is where we take Makena. It is a long and at times painful (for Makena as it hurts and for us to see her cry) process but SO worth it. She likes to shake her head and hear the beads make noise. It is the simple things in life!

Spring is in the Air

So I have not blogged in over a month. What a slacker. The most exciting events were that Makena turned 2 Feb. 10 and Beckett turned 1 on Feb 28! I have put pictures in the slideshow link. It was a great time and hard to believe that I was in Korea this time last year. Both kids are growing so fast. Makena is talking so much more and Beckett is walking everywhere. I can't wait to go to the park and play outside with them this spring.

Bills and Taxes

So our great weekend of playing with family and friends has come and gone. Now it is time so get busy on paperwork. I will not have any pictures to post as we all know what it looks like. I think the most startling fact is that we got the hospital bill for Dale's surgery. He was in for less than 24 hours and the total was $29,000.00 YES $29,000.00. YIKES STRIPES! Do we need health care reform in this country? Plus I get to do state income tax forms from 3 states as I was still working out of Utah for the hotel, Dale was in Minnesota for his temporary assignment and of course, Colorado. Makes me tired to think about...so I think I will go walk the dogs and get some exercise!

Here they come!

The grand kiddos are coming this weekend...YEAH! The weather is going to be in the 50's, winter in Colorado, gotta love it. Maybe now I will have new pictures to post. Gotta go get ready...bye!

NUTS!

Makena is here at the MimiPop Hotel enjoying 3 fun filled days and 2 nights with us. We took her to get her hair braided last night by this young Ethopian girl. It is fun getting to know their family. They have 3 daughters all adopted from Ethiopia. The mother is American and the father is from Ethopia so they speak Amaric and eat Ethopian food. The mother is going to email us some phrases in Amaric so we can teach them to Makena. Makena will probably pick them up quick as the following story illustrates:
This morning the dogs were following me everywhere, and in this small apartment there is not much room to move. Makena was in her room and as I was putting the dogs in the other bedroom when I said "You dogs are driving me nuts!" Suddenly I heard a sweet little voice from the other room say "Nuts!" I guess I taught her a new word!

Merry Christmas Greeting!

Make a Smilebox postcard

This is what happens when you are bored!

Bored!

I am bored! Old Man Winter decided to push an artic front down this way and set a new record low in Denver...-19!! Needless to say, the Subaru decided to rebel and is not starting this morning. I guess with 100,000 miles on the original battery, it might be time for a new one. Of course, I can't get the car started to go get a new one so here I sit. No work, no thrift stores, no Christmas shopping, no nothing to do. So I wait and hope and pray it will get above 0 and the car will start. I just checked and at 10:41 the temperature is still -4...it doesn't look promising. At least Mitzi will be here this afternoon for a visit before flying out on Wednesday so we can do something then. So I guess I will just sit and read a book for once!

Dog Wash...not Hog Wash

So... after living in the mountains, swimming in the Arkansas River, and hiking on the Midland Trail these mountain dogs are turning into city dogs. I actually took them to to get cleaned up...to a dog spa (the groomer at Petco). They got their nails clipped, ears cleaned, teeth brushed and of course a bath! She also threw in a Blueberry facial for free! I wish I could have gotten a picture of that! Getting two dogs to sit together for a picture is as difficult as getting two children together. In the picture above, Rukah is in front and in the picture below Wyatt, ol Greybeard, is in front. Note the Christmas bows for that special holiday look...Merry Christmas Wyatt and Rukah!

Change in Plans

It has come to my attention that I am a slacker blogger already, so here is the update I intended to post last Sunday. After getting dressed in her "new" Elmo fleece, just as we were beginning to decorate the Christmas tree, the telephone rang..."Is Makena there?". It seems Mama (Gretchen) was missing her little girl. Long story short, we decided to meet Mike, Gretchen and Beckett at Kenosha Pass for the handoff...it was time for Makena to go home. So we quickly "decorated" the tree meaning Makena put the Santa on top and we hopped into the car. It was a beautiful day as you can see in the pictures. We got to see Gretchen, Mike and Beckett and play in the snow. Anyone who knows Dale, knows he has all sorts of knicknames for people and pets. So, with me in one picture is Beckett aka Mr. Serious, Pirate Boy (due to the boy noises he makes), the Professor and Checkit Beckett. Makena has been Showshe for a while and her new one is MackeyMac. We got a new picture of us with the grandkids which I put on for fun!

Christmas Cookies!

This weekend is so special as Makena is here for a visit...Pop and I are SO excited! We have had a big time so far. Of course we had to take her to our favorite thrift stores and we hit the mother lode. We got a pair of red Gymboree clogs for $5, a red Elmo (her favorite) fleece hoodie for $2 and best of all...when she moved from Korea she had to leave her favorite toy which as you can guess we found for $3. She saw it and wouldn't let go! A new set of batteries and it is as good as new. After her nap, we "made" Christmas cookies. After Mimi sliced the roll, Makena decorated them with red and green sprinkles. She is quite the artist with a jar of sugar crystals! Tomorrow's events include a trip to the park (weather permitting) and decorate the Christmas tree. Better go get my rest...good night!

Snow

Today we WOKE UP (Gretchen will get this as we saw a T shirt in Korea with this on it?!) to a light snow. When Dale and I were out cleaning off the Subaru at 6 am, it was so light and glimmery, like little shiny diamonds glistening in the light of the street lamps. Beautiful! By the time the puppies and I went for our morning stroll, the wind had picked up and it was snowing horizontal to the ground...not so beautiful. It reminded me of when Mom and I got caught driving in that blizzard last winter which had to be THE most terrifying experience of my life...I never would have made it home without her! After that experience I declared I was done living in the mountains! Funny that we should be living on the Front Range now...I can enjoy from afar. But, I do love snow. We had so much snow in BV last winter which is fun if you are a kid living in Cleveland Ohio and you can make tunnels but not so fun if you are an adult who has to shovel it! So I will post some pictures of last winter's snow in case you missed them. You can see the work as the pile is as tall as me (which is about 5 feet you know) and the play of snowshoeing and making snow angels. Enjoy the winter wonderland!