Catching up With Random Stuff

The summer flew by. There weren't many posts here by me. Thanks to those of you who keep checking in with me and commenting. It seems like we've lost so many bloggers, and it's sad. I can't come up with many posts these days, it seems, but I refuse to quit entirely - I would miss you all too much.

So it's time to catch up a bit - where did the last three months go? They went very very fast, with the 4 girls here quite a bit of the time. Besides camp and the family reunion, Hayley had a great get-away with her Girl Scout troop, in the Colorado Springs area. I really like the posing of this picture in the Garden of the Gods.

They also visited Cave of the Winds.

Both Hayley and Livi got the teachers they hoped for. Livi's is the same wonderful teacher Hayley had in second grade. We're thankful for this blessing. I didn't make it over to their house on the first day of school for the traditional picture with their new outfits. That's a first for me. We'll have their school pictures soon - everything hit the ground running once school started.

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A bit of catch-up on the twinnies:

They are absolutely so wonderful - except when they're not. They do have their moments - usually about 30 moments when they get going. But they are growing up so much - they just got "kicked out" of the church nursery on Wednesday nights now, because they're too old. It seems to be going well for them. At least they still get to see their favorite "Sandy" on Tuesday mornings during a new Bible study I've joined. They get to play in the gym day care when I have them, and they enjoy that too. My greatest fun is listening to them as they play and don't know I'm listening. They have such great imaginations, and it is so great to have a built-in always playmate.

Potty training - the bane of our existence. They are way old, IMHO, to be this far behind on this process. But they are stubborn little characters. We got so excited a couple of weeks ago when Emma took it upon herself to go several times a day for several days. She was so proud and so excited. Katie would have no part of it. And so Emma quit, too. They love wearing their cute little unders, and don't wet or dirty them all day, which is not a good thing either. What to do? What to do??

Growing up is such an adventure - and watching them learn is such fun. They want to do everything by themselves, which is a very good thing - but it takes so much longer. They've mastered the art of buckling their car seat belts - but it's quite the laborious process. For some reason, the door isn't allowed to close until they are finished. Shoes and socks - grueling, but such a big step.

They were evaluated for preschool and qualified, but unfortunately they are on a long waiting list. This is paid for by the school district because of their financial situation, but it doesn't do much good when there are too many others in the same boat and they can't get in. I was looking forward to a couple of mornings of freedom each week, but we're keeping busy and doing what we have to do.

A couple of funny things - suddenly Emma has begun calling us Grandmaw and Grandpaw instead of Gramma and Grampa. It is so cute. Last night they were staying here, as they often do. I couldn't remember which twin had which pair of jammies on, so I said, "Are you Emma or Katie?" Katie answers, with a twinkle in her eye, "Emma!" Little monkey - pulling fast ones on me already.

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Last Sunday Grandpa Dwight took the girls up to Rocky Mountain National Park in the afternoon. They had the greatest time, and Grandpa is so happy to have new hiking partners for years to come. The promise was for an all day camping trip (not overnight, but involving tents and cook-outs) today (Saturday), but the weather didn't look very promising up there this morning, so they headed to Denver instead. The twins have talked about "going to the mountains" all week, so I hope they aren't disappointed with a more urban adventure.

They stopped in Estes Park on the way down the hill to have a cone at a shop named "Hayley's"




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The other night when they were here, Grandpa played human basketball goal - and Hayley had just scored.




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My sis and I had a great Girls Night Out last Thursday - we were privileged to spend the evening listening to one of our favorite novelists - Laura Lippman. She was a fun speaker, and it was interesting to hear the journey her writing has taken her on. Speaking of books, have you read The Help? I have to say, I RARELY watch a movie based on a book, because it frustrates me so much how they mess with the plot, but this is one movie that didn't ruin the book. Well done.

If you've made it this far, thanks for hanging in there with me on this very long, rambling essay! Have a great week!

The Week in Review

Well, actually, it's a review of the last couple of weeks -- we've had one really hot day, two or three perfect days, and several wet and cool days. Never a dull moment around here. The Big Thompson River is running really high and fast, but so far no flooding down here.



I've actually been up to Estes Park twice this week - really quite hard to believe. The first time was with my two dear friends from high school in Nebraska. These two are like extra sisters to me, and we've seen each other through a lot in the last 25 years since we've connected here in Colorado. One is back in Nebraska, but has a cabin out here in the mountains. The other one lives about 20 miles from me. We get together as often as we can.



Monday we spent about 6 hours catching up, and had a lovely dinner at one of our favorite places above Estes Park called The Bald Pate Inn. It has a fun history, so check it out if you're interested. They have the most delicious soups, salad, muffins, breads, and pies.



The inn is old and rustic, made of logs, and has sloping wooden floors which add to its charm. They employ several college students every summer from all over the country, in fact the world, who are majoring in Restaurant and Resort Management. It's always fun to visit with these young people who are enjoying their stay in the mountains for the summer. I just learned that the book and Broadway play on which the name of the inn is based is inspiration for an outdoor drama they do each summer in their amphitheater. I'd love to go back up there and see it, but it doesn't look like it will happen this year.

A couple of days later, DC and I headed back up there with his sister who lives here and his brother and SIL who were visiting from Georgia. It was one of those cold, wet, gray days down here. But as we headed up, we broke through the clouds and in fact could see them below us as we climbed. The elk were out in great numbers on this day - we even saw one at the top of the mountain, which is highly unusual this early in the season - he was eating brown grass when the ones down below were dining on succulent greens.


You can see brown trees in this picture - they are victim to the pine bark beetle, which is destroying so many of our forests. It is very sad. They haven't figured out a way to stop it yet.

As we got higher, we found our picnic spot and enjoyed a bit of sun and warmth (if you sat right in the sun). This was in the Lawn Lake area, where a devastating flood roared through in 1980, due to the failure of a dam. It did great damage to Estes Park, just 4 years after the Big Thompson flood, which started below Estes, but caused tourists not to be able to get there for a couple of years. So they suffered about 6 years or more to their tourist economy. Here you can see reminders still evident.



But the area was beautiful and we enjoyed ourselves, along with many others who were out with the same idea. Many of them were spotting big horn sheep up on the rocks in the trees, but I never was able to locate them.






We proceeded to the top of the world via Trail Ridge Road, the highest continuous highway in the US. There was so much snow up there this past winter that the opening, which is usually around Memorial Day, was the latest in 20 years. Driving between the plowed banks felt as if you were going through a tunnel.

I took this one outside my window. I love the puffy cloud and deep blue sky above the snowbank.

The road had only been opened for 5 days, the first several were so the workers could get up to the gift shop at the top and get it ready for the onslaught of tourists. When we got there, the shop was doing a booming business in souvenirs and lunch. It was SO cold, though sunny, up there. The wall of snow that had been scooped off the parking lot was amazing.



I stayed in the car and "let" DC take all of the rest of the cold pictures - I seriously thought the wind was going to whip him off the edge of the world at one point. I just love the shadows of the clouds floating above the snowy peaks.







Two weeks ago, we went into the mountains at the southern part of the state, up to our church camp. The occasion was especially poignant for our church, for it was the groundbreaking for a new chapel which will be named after the young man, Dan Walker, who died three summers ago while he was working there for the summer. The chapel will be so beautiful and in a setting unparalleled in its beauty, facing Pikes Peak.

Dan was a wonderful young man with a huge future. Though he is gone from us, the ripples of the impact of this chapel will be even more huge.

Dan's family turned the first shovels - mom, dad, and 3 brothers.

Kevin and Angie had quite an adventure getting to Maine. Thirteen states, 2500 miles, 45 hours in total - all driven by Kevin. Just a few miles down the road, their brand new wheel alignment proved to be inadequate - they turned back around to Cheyenne and found that the company in Fort Collins had done absolutely nothing - $168 worth of nothing. Amazing. The same company in Cheyenne did the right thing and fixed it for them, and were very kind in the process. They hit lots of construction, causing big delays. Trying to make up for lost time, Kev got a speeding ticket in Lincoln, Nebraska. They finally made it to their destination where I'd made them a reservation (they had no phone bars throughout the day) until 1:00 a.m. The second night they made it as far as Cleveland and stayed with the parents of one of the TC students. It was such a blessing to spend time with these neat people, and very refreshing to them - all of them. When the phone worked again, Angie found out she had 3 calls from the jobs she had applied for - all asking her for interviews. A fourth one came later, so she had 4 interviews coming up on that Monday. I loved the way they took it all in stride and just enjoyed being together.

On Thursday they made it to Utica, New York and had a good night's rest. The next day they got to see Niagara Falls on the Buffalo side - such a treat. They enjoyed the beauty of that part of the country and felt like tourists rather than weary travelers. The friend with the truck had gone ahead, because he had to be back at work.

They finally arrived at TC in Winthrop, Maine Friday afternoon and spent the week-end with the pastor in whose home they are staying until they can get into a place of their own. This is wonderful except for two things - ticks and black flies - oh, and no bars on her phone. But it's all sorting itself out. She had 4 interviews on Monday and one more on Thursday. Three of the 4 on Monday offered her positions - I don't know if she's heard from the 5th one, but she accepted the one on the Ob/Gyn clinic in Lewiston, Maine. It was a tough decision for her - several of them were very inviting. Talk about feeling desired! We are so proud of both of them. Keep them in your prayers if you think of them, because there's a lot of "settling in" ahead of them.

I know this is way too long, but just a little update on the kiddoes -

Miss Emma is on her second round of pink eye, and miraculously none of the rest of us has caught it. She had it in both eyes and kept saying, "I have a pink eye." Katie would then say, "I don't have a pink eye," in the tone of voice that indicated she couldn't figure out why she didn't, since they always do the same thing together.

I love listening to them when they don't know anyone's listening or watching - they love to sit at the table for a long time after the meal, making games with their toast, their silverware, and anything else they can make into a toy. They also make a huge mess in the process! That hot dog bun ended up into about 100 pieces on the floor. Oh, well, that's what brooms are for.




And just for the pure fun of it ---