Rambling Randomness

It's been a wild and crazy spring - maybe one nice warm, sunny day per week, if we were lucky. Today it seemed to turn that corner into, maybe, summer. And a quick turn-around it's supposed to be. The problem with that is the too-fast melting of the huge amounts of snow in the mountains, which could potentially come rushing down and cause flooding down here in the foothills. The snow on Trail Ridge Road, which is the highest continuous highway in the country, has 28 foot piles of snow. The highway is usually opened by Memorial Day for tourists to get to the other side of the mountain, but they had it almost plowed out when winds and snow hit and again and caused 17 foot drifts. Amazing.

The spring flowers lasted a long time, and seemed to thrive on the cool, wet days. The tulips were huge and there are still a few surviving.

The first iris --



The first columbine --




The prolific johnny jump-ups - almost like weeds, but so cute --



And I love the lily of the valley --

The end of the school year came quickly and was incredibly busy - they got out entirely too early this year - I don't know what the school board was thinking. Most of the end of the year events were dampened - literally - by the weather. Field Day was not fun for me - I don't love standing outside watching kids play in the cold and dampness. But I persevered, and tried to get to each of the girls' activities, missing a lot, though. With twin threes, it was extra hard, because they wanted to play instead of watch, of course. Mommy and I switched places midway through the morning.

This was the first time I've enjoyed the indoor activities more than the outdoor - it's usually too hot and stuffy. This year it just felt good.

Of course I had to attend the Awards Assembly, where kids are honored by their teachers for excellence in various areas. Hayley knew she was getting an award, but didn't know in what. It could have been any of several, in my opinion. Not surprisingly, it was for her writing.

Her teacher said these very fun things as she presented the certificate --

Then there was the end of the year Girl Scout meeting, where Hayley was promoted from Brownies to Juniors - and received her Brownie patches.

She went under the bridge from one level to the next --

They did the official hand shake --


And got her new sash to replace the brown vest - onward and upward to new adventures.

THEN - it was Livi's birthday party - another cold day, which did turn out better than it started. It was her first "kid" party, and all the kids in her class were invited. Not too many came (or RSVP'd), but there were enough to have a really good time together at the wonderful new park in our town.

Of course, I always like to update you with my latest readings. Abby was my favorite contestant the first year I watched The Biggest Loser - Season 8. I had read some of her story in a magazine, which is why I turned in. I loved her spirit, in spite of the fact that she had come to the Ranch to try to regain her life after losing her whole family to a horrific car crash, which sent her spiraling into weight gain. I was so glad to see that she had written a book, and it was really worth the time. I highly recommend it - even if you didn't follow her on the show.




And lest you think I haven't been with the littles - fear not. I have been keeping them overnight quite often, giving Kristen a bit of a break. They are so easy in the evening - they go to bed around 7 and sleep 12 hours. Yesterday Emma acquired pink eye - it was so cute when Emma kept talking about her pink eye and Katie kept saying, "I don't have a pink eye." They don't usually have something that the other doesn't. Hopefully the drops will work quickly - not something she enjoys! The other day, they emptied their stuffed animal tub on Grandma.



Well, I didn't mean to dump quite so much on you all, but I guess it's been too long since I wrote anything! Just a bit of update - Kev and Angie left this morning, later than they planned. They had far too many delays, and still haven't reached their night's stop in mid-Iowa. They think it will be midnight before they get there. But Angie got a call (while her phone didn't have any bars) from the hospital where she applied and who have called her before. They wanted her to talk to two managers - so hopefully tomorrow morning won't be too late. She didn't get the message until it was too late to call back today. Obviously a prayer request!

UPDATE: Angie returned the calls this morning (Wednesday) and now has THREE interviews on Monday at the hospital! Praise the Lord!