A Hot Day in the Park-June 24, 2015

We took Hannah by herself yesterday to the Loveland park where they have the train. We thought she would want to ride the train but she really did not. She has swings and a slide in her own back yard now so we did not have to make that long drive to Loveland if she had only wanted to swing. However, it was a rare day for us to have Hannah without Zoey, so we took advantage of it.

She doesn't have one of these nice swings so she really did enjoy

this one. We felt sorry for her because someone had dressed her

in clothes that were way too warm for the day. We will plan

differently on our next excursion.

 

Afterward, we stopped at Dairy Queen. Hannah asked for an ice cream cone. We got her one, she took a single bite and spit it out. So I tried to finish it, but it really was not good. When did Dairy Queen start producing an inferior product? We have not been in years and we won't go again for years, if ever we return.

 

However, I really did enjoy the bronze artwork Dairy Queen owns. The city of Loveland puts statues on their city owned properties and they own millions of dollars in bronze work. Since these bronzes were on Dairy Queen property I am left to assume the city did not put them there and that they are indeed owned by the restaurant chain. In my meager estimation I think they own at least $450,000, if not more, in very attractive bronzes. There were at least half a dozen statues on Dairy Queen property.

 

This is nice. I think it says "Ocean Serenade"

on the plaque.

 

"Home Safe". It is still appropriate though I

think this one depicts the WWII era.

 

 

I loved this one. It is new. It has no base and no

plaque yet. It is a nice lady with voluminous

hair that blends into her body. Very nice.

 

And they had toys for the kids.

Thankfully they were painted white so they didn't burn on

a really hot day.

 

I do not have to tell you that we were exhausted from both the heat and the activity. But we still had a fun day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

C'est finis-June 21, 2015

We finally finished! We completed the staining/sealing on Friday.

Yesterday we returned to assemble it. It still wasn't all put back

together in this picture, but you get the idea. For what we were

paid we think we did a decent job. Both girls love it. Unfortunately,

they love the same swing. So it appears we will need to buy another

"baby" swing to keep them from killing each other. This is a true

accomplishment for the two of us. It was hard work!

 

 

We babysat both girls most of the day yesterday. So, you know I must share a few pictures. Jerry has reminded me more than once that this is a travel blog and I have gone way off topic. He is suggesting I give this up until we hit the road again, provided that happens. For now I will post a little more family "stuff".

 

She must think she is in prison though she climbed up there all

by herself. Look at that quality painting job!!

 

Hannah was attempting to cover up Zoey and give me

her special pose at the same time. But, Zoey, not to be

outdone one more time, sneaked into the picture. You can

tell by Zoey's foot that she was really moving when I took this.

I have several pictures of Hannah trying to block Zoey out

of the picture. Good old sibling rivalry.

 

I took at least six pictures before this one, all with her smiling.

But there is something so special about this look. It is innocent

and devilish at the same time. This little Zoey has turned into

quite a character. She is great fun and we all love to laugh together.

 

Thank you for indulging me with more pictures of our grands.

 

I would be remiss if I did not wish a Happy Father's Day to all the dads who enjoy their children and grandchildren as much as we do. Enjoy your day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Another task-June 17, 2015

Today we started staining/sealing the girls' playset. We went through a gallon of stain in no time flat. Actually that was good because it meant we could stop for the day. We went  to Lowe's and bought another gallon to start on early tomorrow morning. We will skip Friday since it is going to be in the mid 90s.

This is one of the two roofs that we took off to stain. You can see

how dry it was and see my hard work!

 

So why would we go to this much trouble? This particular playset was over $1100 new. When you can buy it on Craig's list for under $200, you can stain it yourself and keep it quite affordable. It is going to take us at least 2 more days of work, but we do see that we can get it finished. I will take pictures when it is all done. We have no idea what our next assigned task will be!

Weiner Dog Races-June 13, 2015

While traveling on the roads around here are concerning to all of us since we have a gunman on the loose (killed two so far, severely injured one and hit and missed at least a dozen other cars), we decided to brave it and head to the Weiner Dog races. It was hot and both girls got very tired, so we could not stay long. I only got a few pictures. Wish I could have gotten more because some of those dogs were in costumes befitting Halloween.

You have to look closely to see that the dog on the right has rockets

on its back, with flames shooting out the back. They put the helmet

on in front of us. I could not resist asking if that was needed because

of the speed caused by the rockets? The dog on the left is getting a

headband put on and she is named Wonder Weiner. These were two

of the more sensible dogs who came to the race.

 

 

There were dogs everywhere. Not all were Weiner dogs either. I think some people were trying to pass long bodied Chihuahuas off as Weiners. Not sure how they handled that. Since it was all in fun I guess the probably let them race.

 

It was a nice little race track.

 

I think the first race was the only race where all the dogs ran

to the finish line. During one race a little girl was running along

side the track while she called her dog's name. They disqualified

both dog and girl. I mean you have to have rules and boundaries.

 

It ended up being a fun outing for all. Now the storms have rolled in again. There seems to be no end to the thunderstorms. We are so thankful the Cute Red Vehicle has a garage to stay in for safety.

 

Tomorrow is Flag Day. Does anybody even recognize that anymore? My Daddy absolutely loved our flag and therefore, so do I. I want it to be respected and recognized. I guess that's gone out the window, too. I know some schools have had to remove the American flag because it is offensive to some. How sad and heartbreaking.



 

 

 

 

Checking in-June 9, 2015

I have a minute to catch you up on what we are doing now. We finally got the coach clean and "up to snuff". What a great feeling. Next we get to start staining and sealing the play set that Derrick bought for Hannah. We kept both girls this afternoon and evening. Zoey does not walk or talk yet, but she sure lets Hannah know to leave her belongings alone. And one time she poked Hannah in the eye. For a long time we felt sorry for Zoey. Now the tables are turned!

We have been busy, really busy. I do not mean to ignore my blog. I just simply don't have time or I'm too tired. I will endeavor to do better.

Weather update: We've had two days of sunshine and it was close to 90 both days. Rivers are still above flood stage. They say the rain will move back in here in a day or so. You know we are just thrilled.

I just remembered I have a picture of our next project.

This is Hannah's play set which we now have to stain. You can

see how tall it is because Jerry is not on his knees. There is now

a swing and a slide attached which were not in this picture. See how much

wood we have to work on. If you want to help us, come on down!!

Stormy-June 3, 2015

We worked very hard on the coach today and then we played with the girls for as long as we had strength. After we got home a storm moved in from southwest of Denver. We were nervous that it might be as bad as they predicted. But we only got a few sprinkles. It did provide me with some fun pictures. You know how I love clouds.

As bad as storms, especially the ones with hail and/or tornadoes,

can be, they still produce beautiful clouds. I never see too many of these

types of pictures. It's always better, too, when it is moving away

as these clouds are doing.

It almost looks like a cloud of fire, doesn't it? 

 

The last I heard the rest of the week will be filled with storms.

Neil's concert-June 1, 2015

We made it to the Neil Diamond concert last night in Denver!

And yes, we were in the nose bleed section. But we were there!

 

The ticket situation was so weird to us. Derrick uses a company that does not issue paper tickets. They merely scan a credit card that the tickets were charged to. So, we went to the door with Derrick's credit card in hand and were alarmed they might ask for ID. However, they scanned the card, gave us our seat assignment and sent us up the escalator. I was in shock for quite a while that we were actually there and seated. At the same time I am mortified that this company and its employees have access to all that's on Derrick's credit card. That magnetic strip on the back tells your blood type and the last time you used your passport. It goes without saying all other pertinent information is attached to that card also. And anybody who works there has access to that information. If we had to buy tickets for anything here we would not use that company.

Having said all of that I will say that Neil Diamond has never ever sounded so good. He very obviously has either had vocal chord surgery or has been working with a coach because his voice was so rich and wonderful. He is dreadfully skinny and has a light beard and mustache (we don't care for either). I guess for a man of 72 years who is on a world tour he was in excellent shape. He sang only one song from his new album so for two hours nonstop we heard all his wonderful old songs. He has no warm up act and he does not take a break. Just singing and a wonderful new band to back him up.
It was a fabulous concert. I would not have wanted to miss that. If I can't see Elvis in concert, give me Neil Diamond!!

Pardon the lousy picture. I should have tried to shut my flash off.

In the old days people would turn on cigarette lighters and wave them to certain songs.

These days they turn on the flashlights on their cell phones. That's what you are

seeing in this picture. It was funny and pretty at the same time.

We managed to crash into bed at 1:00 AM so we are struggling this morning. We are on tap to babysit this afternoon. I think we will need naps to do that.