A Year of Change

We got up at 4:30 am but really didn’t sleep much at all last night. The party yesterday was one for the books. Sit down dinner for 75 or 80, home cooked food and 80% of the people there were related. The party started at 2pm and we left a bit before 8 at night.

Ages spanned from a few months to 80 or 90 or who knows how old. The misses had 2 or 3 mothers and fathers each present and then there was the different groups from different sides of the family. I of course mingled with all of them. Pa Don rented a “jumpy castle” for all the kids which was a huge hit. A good time was had by all. Grandma Dix sure has done a lot for a lot of people over the years and is very much loved by all. They say you can measure your life by how many friends you have and if true, she’s way up there.

We left the hotel about 5;30 this morning and were wheels up right on schedule at 7:45am. After a short 2 hour flight we were back in Denver headed home for some much needed rest. Both boys fell asleep in the car on the way home, (littlest one is still out) and the house was a welcome sight. No time to rest for me as lots of work going on. I really didn’t even get a break while in CA. I visited a few stores and mingled with customers telling them about our wines as well as bonding with the wine department managers. Great stores there (Nugget Markets) and if you live in Northern CA, you should check them out.

Auntie Kristin showed up a bit late due to flight complications on Friday, was gone all day Saturday (whole other story) and made it back Sunday for the party until she had to leave to catch a 7pm flight for L.A. Sure was good to see her, we all love her lots.

The boys swam at least once each day at the hotel which they really enjoyed. I need to run right now as lots to do, I really need a vacation!

Take care and Happy Birthday once again to a great mother (and father) in law. I’m sure the misses will write more tomorrow.

God Bless

Good morning…it’s a lovely day….the sun is shining, the birds are singing and all the foliage is in full spring bloom.  Bright pink, fuchsia, lavender, red and every color of green you can imagine.  We have clear blue skies for the afternoon party. Yea!!

The hotel has breakfast included and the boys are loving it!  Waffles, Fruit Loops, juice, biscuits and gravy and an assortment of danishes and bagels…..much more enticing than what I offer at home.  It’s good to be on “Vacation”.

We had a lot of fun with Grandpa yesterday.  He treated us to the Train Museum in Old Town and we all enjoyed seeing all of the old trains.  The older private cabins were amazing, and the fact that the meals were cooked and served by one chef and three waiters is almost inconceivable in the day of prepared food and microwaves. The dishes/ china were gorgeous…different designs for different routes…one of my favorites was the “Rocky Mountain” design…complete with a slight shadow of a mountain goat!

We had lunch and then headed over to my other mom’s houseboat to fish.  The lines  went in and the boys held the poles for about 5 minutes.  They were distracted by my sister and her fun hubby….the kids tried “Sneak attacks” on said sister and brother-in-law with water weapons and bean bags.  They boys were wearing life vests at all times because the Sacramento river is running really high and very fast.  We didn’t catch any fish, but we had good conversation and the kids got worn out.  The youngest fell asleep on the way to Grandma’s and slept for over three hours.  Thank you Auntie S and Uncle M!!!

We spent some time with Grandma and the oldest helped set tables for today’s party while hubby andI went to pick up a purse that was left behind at party #1. 

We got back to the hotel..threw some dinner in the oven, took the boys for a night swim and then all headed to bed.

We are looking forward to today’s event.  There will be over 75 people and the kids are related to 3/4 of them…lots and lots of 1st, 2nd, and 3rd cousins.  The Native American relatives are of special interest to our oldest since that is currently the unit of study  in 3rd grade.

We are off for a morning swim and perhaps to see one of my husbands childhood friends that lives close by.

God Bless

LLF

We arrived in Sacramento around 2:10p.m., deplaned and headed to the rental car office.  Once in the car it took only 40 minutes to get to the hotel….10minutes to unpack and change into swimsuits, 3 to get to the pool and then a quick 45minute private pool party for the boys to try and burn off some energy before the big bash.

We got to the party right on time and thankfully my Wonderful Old Stepfather had name tags for everyone……I had to peek at quite a few since I haven’t seen 3/4 of my mom’s friends and relatives in 10-20 years.

The party was fabulous, the flowers were gorgeous and talking with everyone was wonderful. My mom and W.O.S.F. had everyone categorized…F:I=immediate family, F:INNO=immediate, nieces, nephews, outlaws…etc. They introduced everyone and the connection they have to my mom…very cool.  One of my mom’s good friends was the M.C. and quite a few people got up and spoke of how she had impacted their lives.  What a lady she is!  My hubby got up and had some lovely things to say, as did everyone else. I am proud to be her daughter and to have benefited from the influence of her wonderful friends and family in my early years.

We are off to hang out with my dad in Old Sacramento today and then head over to my biological mom’s house boat to take the boys fishing. My sister is also at the house boat with her hubby, so this will be the second of three family reunions.  Of course they were at the party last night and we all enjoyed seeing them.  It is so hard to live so for away from everyone….we are very fortunate to have my husbands family so close to us and are going to make an effort to have a bi-monthly dinner at our house!!!  Mark your calendars!!

Tomorrow is the big gathering at my mom’s house…more of a family reunion….100 plus people.  She rented a jumpy castle to keep the kids entertained and my cousin from Oklahoma has been cooking for this party for 3 days…I think we will buy a cooler to take leftovers home!!!

Anyway, we are off to get cleaned up and head to my dad’s…so, until tomorrow.

God Bless

LLF

Hard to believe this is the 100th post of the year! Time’s flying by people, enjoy each day. As you know, today we fly out for the BBB (big birthday bash) in California. My back is still sore but I’m headed to the gym anyhow. All the bills are paid through Monday the 11th so no pressure there until Tuesday the 12th. Everyone’s excited to see everyone. There are so many relatives we have that we’ve never met. Tons of cousins, aunts and uncles from Oklahoma and who knows who else.

It’s supposed to be cool there (mid 60’s) which is pretty much normal for us. The neighbor Roxie will be looking after the dogs and fish and hopefully Mojo the malamute won’t find any animals to chase all night while we’re gone. We’ve found a few ants in the house the past few days and cannot find where they’re coming from. We sure hope we don’t come home to find a bunch of new room mates. I think the dogs roll in the dirt (what most of you call grass) in the backyard and then brings some in the house.

Uncle T is taking us to the airport and we’re still waiting to see if our friends will pick us up. If not, we’ll have to take a cab home. Time to run as I have to get to the gym and have a lot to do before we leave for the airport at 10:30. I’ll have to find a computer tomorrow to write the post so it might be late the next few days. As I said before, Monday’s post will be published in the afternoon after we arrive back in Denver.

Take care and we’ll talk to you tomorrow from California.

God bless and take care,

Sorry to you early birds that read the blog in the morning. We are rushing around trying to get ready for the big birthday bash in Cali. The misses is getting her toes, nails, hair, etc (don’t know what else, but I’m sure something) all done today before the big trip. Me of course, I’ll pack tomorrow am an hour or so before we go. That there is the difference between men and women!

Boys are in school taking their spelling tests a day early since we’ll be on a plane tomorrow. Aunt B is taking our lab to the vet today for a check up, shots, or something, and is paying for the whole thing! Not sure why except maybe she thinks our poor little dog is neglected. I personally think it’s just cause she’s nice and really cares about our lab. Either way, way cool!

Last night a retired dentist I know down the street (for the past year, we talk occasionally when we see each other on the street) showed up at my door and showed me this old over and under 12 gage shotgun from Brazil. We talk hunting often as he has lots of land in Nebraska and Iowa and hunts every year. His wife has some sort of bad abdominal cancer (just found out a month or so ago) and I don’t think he has many people to talk with. He always jokes that I’m the only one (other than 1 policeman neighbor who’s moving away) that he likes to talk to in the neighborhood. He says everyone else is crazy. I think his kids are all out of state. Anyhow he shows me this old shotgun case and tells me to pull the gun out and take a look at it. While the wood on the stock is a bit beat up, the bores (barrels) are very clean (in good shape). As I’m admiring this, I asked him when he got this and he said he picked it up today. After checking it out and telling him what a nice find I start to hand it back to him and he says “no, that’s for you”! At first I didn’t understand and said “what?”, to which he replied, “I saw it and knew you didn’t have a 12 gage and I just bought it for you, no strings attached”. Obviously I was overwhelmed, I have given him a few bottles of wine here and there but nothing else. My wife says he’s lonely, has no one in the neighborhood to talk to, and really enjoys my company as whenever he sees me, he stops and will talk for hours (if I let him). We’re going to get together in a few weeks for dinner or something, he really is a character., kind of a crazy old coot if you know what I mean. (not crazy in the literal sense, just funny with tons of stories and yes a republican!) He also collects cars, I know he has 4 Jeep Wagoneers from the 80’s, 4 Mercedes, an old Army jeep he restored, and some other cars. He also has a plane or two and a bunch of guns. I always joke and tell him I want to be him when I grow up! Anyhow, what a nice gift, couldn’t have cost more than $300 or so but the gesture means much more than the value of the gun. He says I should join his group when they go turkey hunting over at his place in Nebraska. Also apparently my Mom and his wife have been friends for years as he remembers my Dad well who also drove Jeep Wagoneers (we had a lot of them) so they’ve been in the neighborhood for a long time.

So, what a good day! I’ve got to get going now as I have a few crises at work that need to be handled. I’ll be posting early tomorrow am before heading off to the airport, family in tow. I’ll have to use someone’s computer in CA on Saturday and Sunday to do the blog. Monday’s post will have to be around noon when we get back home.

Take care, stay safe and go out today and buy someone a gun! It’ll really make them happy! If you don’t know someone who’d want one, just send me a check.

p.s. another 7.0 earthquake in Japan, hope it’s not as bad, God bless.

Good morning all!!! It is another beautiful Colorado morning. The sun hasn’t made it’s appearance yet, so the sky is dark steel with a silver sliver of the moon.  The the air is crisp and all of our flowers made it through the snow. Hurray!

Our little old friend gave us a scare night before last.  When I arrived to her home at 9:oop.m. she was very pale…her tummy was hurting….she was really warm, her BP was 189/109 and pulse was about 88. She wouldn’t let met take her to the Doctor..she had an appointment already scheduled for 12:00 yesterday.  I made her a cup of tea and got her situated and headed home.  I then called the nurse help line…no help at all…and then called L.O.L back to check on her one more time. She was all settled in and Bunkie was nestled up on her lap, so…. she said she would see me in the morning. I prayed many times for her to make it through the night and feel better in the morning.  The power of prayer truly is amazing.

L.o.l. looked much better in the morning and of course the docs couldn’t find a thing wrong with her.  Maybe a bad bout of food poisoning…I hope not from dinner with us.

The boys had a great first day back to school. They didn’t lose any of their reading and writing skills over the break and of course their social skills are still in top form.

The oldest had soccer practice last night and the youngest went along to play with friends that also have older brothers on the team.  They ran Dad ragged and when I walked in he said, “They are all yours”.  The boys had been waiting for “Breakfast for dinner”, so I got busy making hash browns, bacon, pancakes and eggs for our little munchkins.

The boys were super happy I was home from work…It’s so nice to be missed.  They walked down to give the dog his shot and had a lot of trouble getting to sleep.  It was well after 9 when they finally settled down.  I know 9 doesn’t sound like “Late” to the average bear, but when ours don’t get to sleep by 8 at the latest on a school night…they really are “Grouchy bears” in the morning…..Not a fun way to start the day.  I am letting them sleep in as long as possible.

I’ve been throwing the ball for the dogs in the morning and also right before bed….walks are hard to get in these days, but the ball is a nice consolation for them. The Lab has yet another ear infection, so I have to get some ear wash from the vet sometime today. I am off work at 6, so maybe on my way home.

The wind is supposed to get up to 60mph today…can you say..”Awnings up”> I am not a fan of the wind…a breeze is nice, but 40-60mph…not fun. There are still fires burning here and the wind certainly won’t help the fire fighters….we could use a good rain.

Dad has another busy day to get everything wrapped up in time to go to CA for the “Big bash”, and of course, he is the after school care for the boys again today.  Good luck Daddy!!!

I am of to get lunches made and breakfast started….

God Bless and Thank you for keeping everyone safe.

Well I finally broke down and went to the chiropractor yesterday morning. 2 1/2 hours and $300 later I actually felt better. Apparently the X rays show my back and spine are fine (could have told them that w/out x rays and I did!) but the cushiony part between my bottom disk and tailbone is only 3 mm while all other are 10mm. What this all means is I have less room for error or “cushion” so when I move too harshly it can squeeze some of this soft material between the bones or pinch it and then the nerve causes me pain. Anyhow I’m back today and tomorrow for more adjustments trying to get better to get on a plane at the end of the week. We’d promised the boys all week that we’d take them to the movies so with Mom working, I ended up sitting in a movie theater for a few hours which didn’t help. After that we (the boys actually helped) cleaned the house and vacuumed (which didn’t help my back but I just can’t stand the mess) and then made dinner.

School starts today finally. It seems like the boys have been off for a month. I’m sure they will be glad to be back playing with their friends. Soccer practice is tonight and Mom’s working until 7:30.

Uncle T and Aunt B, after 4 days of 1o hour classes are now dog massagers. Not sure what this means, (I guess they massage dogs) but am very happy that they both did something together that they can now get up and look forward to each day. I think before they get their certificates they need to do a few case studies so looks like our dogs will be getting free massages, yeah! Aunt B will be working a couple days a week at the local doggie emporium and Uncle T the same baking dog biscuits if I understood them correctly. I’m glad Uncle T is getting out each day having something to do, it’ll be good for him.

I sure miss working out and am going on an all salad diet for the next few days so I can fit into some clothes for the weekend parties. I’m sooo tired of having a bad back, this is the worst it’s ever been. Mom’s making eggs and we’re trying to get the boys up. They have both turned into teenagers when it comes to sleeping in.

I had to fire an employee in Texas over the weekend which is never pleasant but was required. Don’t know how many of you have ever had to fire someone from a job but it’s not an enjoyable thing anyway you look at it. This creates extra work for me this month until I can fulfill the position as I now have to continue to manage the Country as a whole but also Texas on a local level. Both boys are awake snuggling on the couch trying to wake up. Lots of severe weather around the Country, hopefully everyone is safe. We feel blessed to live in Colorado as we really don’t get it as bad as other parts of the U.S.

Looks like 73 degrees today, here we go again, snow one day and sun the next. The weather here always keeps you guessing. Just for fun I’m adding an email I received the other day that some might find political but I just find American, hope you enjoy, here ya go!

Well it’s 15 degrees outside and it looks like all the flowers we planted the other day when it was 80 degrees are now hanging limp covered in ice. Hope some survive. If there was enough moisture to give them a protective cover of ice, some should be ok, otherwise, we’ll do it all again in a few weeks.

I’m watching CNN this morning while writing this and am sorry to mention politics but they’re running a story that the White House is launching Obama’s re-election bid today and wants to raise 1 Billion dollars! Now without going off into politics to much (as the misses will be really mad at me) there is just something really wrong with our whole system that any political campaign would spend 1 Billion dollars trying to get anyone elected. Do you know that it takes about 32 years for your heart to beat 1 billion times??? It takes 32,000 years for your heart to beat 1 trillion times and we owe 14 trillion dollars right now as a country!

Oh well, I’ll save my political speech for the big birthday bash this weekend as I’ve been asked to speak, can’t wait to share my views with everyone as there are a lot of misguided people out there.

The oldest boys football game was cancelled yesterday so we had one of his team mates over for the afternoon. All three of them had a great time. I tried to nurse by back back to health but not much is working. I think I’m going to have to try a chiropractor today even though they scare the hell out of me. You might remember the misses got her neck all jacked up a few years ago by one of these so called doctors. I’ll decide later but something has to be done as it’s never been this bad. Maybe I should just go to the gym and see if I can “lift” my way out of this and pop it back into shape.

Mom arrived home around 8:45pm and pretty much went right to bed, everyone is still sleeping this morning. There is already a large fire burning in the foothills that has destroyed 15 or 20 homes. This is a bit early for fire season here in Colorado. Hope we get some much needed rain soon. I’ve been living with April Fools pranks from the boys for 3 days now. I think the boys, especially the little one, thinks it’s a month long deal. So far Mom has stopped them twice from covering me with shaving cream while I was still asleep. They’re determined to get me though so I’m sure one day soon you’ll read all about it.

My Mom comes home 2 weeks from today, it’ll be good to have her around again as everyone misses her. We hope she’s having fun in Arizona, I guess it was 100 degrees the other day. That right there would be enough to make me leave!

Mom just came down so time to go. The boys have another day off today, (big surprise as I thought Spring Break was over) and Mom works from 12 to 9. Oh boy, it’ll be a fun bust=y day juggling my work, back and keeping them occupied. Hope everyone is doing well, take care,

Oh how nice it is to sleep in until 7a.m.  The whole family slept in! Of course our lab decided she needed to go out at 12:30a.m. and at 2 I had my first calf cramp that woke the husband and me…sweet man that he is he got out of bed to rub it out. Thank you husband! Back to sleep we went and did not wake until 7…a luxury around here.

Our fictitious cow is no longer with us…and the one person we wanted a response from did not call, so the boys(all 3 of them)did not get to use their well thought out April Fool’s prank. If we ever do get a calf we will name her Bell or LuLu after a family member. (Grandmas, Grandpas, Aunts and Uncles included). We are all anxiously awaiting April 18th and the return of Grandma!!

They had me leave work 3 hours early yesterday since it was very slow due to the Avalanche, Rockies, Nuggets and  Mammoth games. Yea, I got home in time to see the boys setting up their sprinklers and donning swim gear to enjoy the 84 degree day. There is no better sound than the squeals and sometimes screams of joy from children. Boy did they have fun and the lawn and garden got some greatly needed moisture at the same time.

We had dinner together in front of the T.V. (A rarity) so we could all watch the Kid’s Choice Awards…a kids version of the Oscars…Auntie K beware, as I understand it, our family is honored to be at your table for the Big Birthday Bash…and I am sure our kids will have lots of questions and requests for you.  We are very excited to be sitting with you and Uncle F and we will bring some electronic toys and cards to keep the boys entertained after their first couple of rounds of questioning. Don’t worry Uncle F, the boys have a plethora of questions reserved especially for you…..Sailing and paddle boarding being the top 2.

The youngest had his first soccer game yesterday…they won…more importantly they all had a ton of fun.  He almost scored 3 times, once the ball ricocheted  off the goal post so hard that it came back and hit him so hard that it hit the post once again.

The oldest has Flag Football this afternoon…hopefully the weather will hold out.

I am off to give the pooch his shot and home to make breakfast, the the husband and I are going to try to workout…we need to look our best..or at least feel our best for the upcoming party!!

I can’t wait to see all my Moms and Dads, Aunts, Uncles and Cousins…the kids are excited too!

God Bless!!

LLF

We woke up to a lavender and rose colored sky.  There is a pink hue throughout the back yard. It is definitely spring in the Rockies!  The dogs are anxiously awaiting their breakfast and then a few tosses of the ball.

I can’t believe I had to check on the calf, give l.o.d. a shot, (last night), throw the ball now for our pups , go give the biter another shot and make it to work by 8:15…Whew…I better get moving…handing off to hubby..God Bless and Thank God for all of the wonderful people in our lives.

I just brought our calf over to our backyard and put her in the dog pen. I thought some neighbors would see me walking a cow down the street but everyone seems to still be asleep. We’ll let her hang in the backyard for the day. Mojo isn’t quite sure what to make of her but isn’t barking or anything, just slowly moving around her, they seem to like each other. Mojo (our malamute) just ran a few circles around her, ran into the dog pen, jumped up on the house and flew over the six foot chain link fence in one effortless jump. I can’t believe that dog can jump that high! I’m sure our new family member will be the hit of the neighborhood with the kids today. Mojo is in now and Bell is sleeping curled up on some hay, oh boy.

The boys had a play date yesterday am and then we headed to Boulder for a late lunch (3pm) and a meeting with my friend Brad who owns a couple of successful restaurants. He, his sommelier (wine buyer) and I are working on a few additional revenue streams outside of the wine/restaurant business. Without going into too much detail it involves private label food products, more later. We arrived home around 4pm after a stop at the farm to pick up a cooler full of fresh lettuce, spinach (green and red) arugula, and other greens I don’t even know the name of. This early in the season, that’s about all that grows. I cannot believe the difference in taste of fresh vegetables and greens compared to anything you find in a store, no comparison. The oldest boys soccer game is cancelled as too many players are out of town fro spring break but the little one hits the field at 9am. It’s 7 now so time to get moving, wake both boys, get them fed and start gearing up! At least we’re done by a bit after 10 and have the rest of the day to play.

Hope everyone has a great weekend. Aunt Blondie’s Grand Prize was delivered the day before yesterday and it’s supposed to be 80 degrees today! My lower back is now fine but my right shoulder blade is killing me. The wife had a terrible nose bleed during the night, she must have lost a pint of blood all over everything. Hope she doesn’t faint today as she already has low blood pressure (80 over 60) meaning she needs all she has. I’ll make her have a big breakfast and take some iron. More tomorrow,

Snow tomorrow night by the way….. God bless,