Pet store-October 29, 2015

We decided a trip to the pet store was in order this morning. Zoey has never been. It was the third time we have taken Hannah I believe. Hannah remembered every inch of the store. Zoey was carried away with all of the animals. The more active they were the more she enjoyed them. She squealed at every cage and waved hello to them. Now for a few pictures. Some are blurry but that's an iPhone for you.

 

 

 

 

 

Hannah has been talking about guinea pigs for a long time. The Wonder Pets have to save a baby guinea pig on one of their episodes. Today she saw several real ones. We also saw ferrets, mice, parakeets, turtles, cats who were up for adoption, spiders, hermit crabs and fish of every possible description including glow fish. I loved them! I'm sure I am forgetting some little critter. It was fun and exhausting. We just wish Zoey could talk so she could tell us what she thought. Hannah loved it and did not want to leave.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Busy day-October 25, 2015

We had another great day in the mountains with Jerry's sister. We found another excellent buffet. We do so much walking we don't mind partaking in a delicious buffet.

On I-70 west of Denver we saw our first snow of this season. It is a great reminder that snow here at lower elevations might not be too far off. I was in the back seat taking pictures out the windshield. It worked pretty well.

See the snow capped peaks above the trees and below the clouds.

 

Taken out the side window. That fresh white snow is so pretty.

 

Having lived in Loveland, a huge producer of bronze art, it

is hard to get excited over another piece of bronze. However, this one

caught my eye today. The name plate simply says "Black Hawk". The rest

is written in another language. What I don't know is if he was simply named

Black Hawk or if he was Chief of the Black Hawk tribe. I need to do my homework.

Honestly, this is one of the prettiest bronzes I have seen in a very long time. I'm

really not sure why this one spoke to me, but it definitely did.

 

 

I have been meaning to post this picture for a long time.

When we exit off of I-25 headed to Judy's house, this extraordinary building is

really close to the exit. When I first noticed it over 35 years ago, I think I remember

it belonged to AT&T. It has changed hands so many times I cannot remember all the names.

I do know it belonged to Avaya for a while. Now it is Digital Globe, or is it Globe Digital?

Either way I have always thought this looked like a huge satellite dish. But it isn't. It is

actually the glass entry to the building. It must be strong glass because it has been through

many hail storms over the years. Call me weird. I really like this building.

 

This is my attempt to show you how big that building really is.

All glass.

 

Tomorrow will be a full day of babysitting. We never know if that means we will get lots of pictures of the girls or if we will be too busy to take any at all. We'll see.

 

 

Zoey-October 21, 2015

Today's pictures are just of Zoey. We put a card table in the middle of the living room and threw an old sheet on top of it. We put a blanket inside and Hannah crawled right in and stayed there for about an hour and a half. That meant there were no battles between the two girls for us to have to break up. Peace is a glorious thing.

Zoey was so active it amazed us. I got a request for chicken noodle soup. It was a cold rainy day so soup was perfect. I had great help.

Zoey, my little sous chef.

 

 

Please disregard that our living room looks like a tornado

lost a fight with a hurricane. That is how it goes when the girls are here.

For a solid hour Zoey carried this red plastic chair all around the condo.

We do not know why but she was having too much fun to stop her.

Every once in a while she would stop and put her bear in it, dump it on

the floor and take off again. She loved it and we enjoyed the laughter.

 

At her house Zoey gets a bottle. Here she does not.

We can get huge amounts of milk in her with this Halloween glass

and a straw. Giving her a straw made her grow up right before our eyes.

It completely changed her personality.

 

Our refrigerator has been a source of so much play time

with both girls. The doors are completely covered with only their

artwork and decorative magnets. Zoey absolutely loves playing with

the magnets. I do watch her closely though she is not prone to

putting things in her mouth.

 

Today was another fun day. We needed the rain so badly that I will not complain about it being such a gloomy day. It's not gloomy inside with Hannah and Zoey to keep us on our toes.

 

 

Note: I am going completely off topic here. Those of you who have followed this blog for so long know how much I love clouds and sunsets and rainbows. I consider them to be God's handiwork for all of us to enjoy if we just take the time. I took one picture yesterday that spoke to me.

 

If you look closely you can see the rain coming out of this thunderstorm.

Yet the top glows so brightly it almost hurts your eye.

It was a stunning sight.

You can also see school busses unloading at the football field across

the street. Now I ask you, why would you allow a game to be played

with this kind of thunderstorm hovering overhead? I've never understood that.

But play they did.

 

We will sleep well tonight. It is cool and cloudy and we are completely exhausted!

 



Busy week-October 17, 2015

Wednesday we went to the mountains with Jerry's sister, Judy. Once again it was just gorgeous. I told her if we could find a place in the country that had more of that gorgeous weather we would move there. Clean air, light breeze, blue skies. You just can't beat it. We all had a great time.

Thursday we had both girls for the day. Sometimes it is a challenge to find different things to do. But on Thursday we were provided with lots of free entertainment. It was homecoming for the high school across the street. They closed the street and allowed every student to march in the parade. The band that we have watched all school year led the parade.

One of the most interesting things in the parade were several

students riding unicycles. They were all quite good. The boy on

the extra tall cycle was excellent. That's a rather unique hobby.

Hannah really enjoyed that, but not nearly as much as she loved the band.

 

Then we also had a painting session. I had planned that Jerry would entertain Zoey while Hannah and I painted. Zoey was not having any of that.

 

You can see she is watching Hannah so she can copy her.

 

And here is Zoey's first official piece of artwork.

Not sure she has a future in art but she had fun.

 

Hannah has never taken to the tricycle we gave her, but Zoey

really loves it. She can get on and off of it by herself. Her feet reach

the peddles but not enough for her to go by herself. We still have to push

her which is back breaking, but we would love for her to learn to ride this.

 

They came over last night for a while and we all had a meal together. We made them sit at the table instead of grazing wherever they wanted to. However, Hannah was insistent that "Horsie" had to eat with us. So he did.

 

He is eating broccoli and corn.

We did not share our pork chops with him.

 

We are headed over to the girls' house this afternoon so we can put a new swing on the swing set. We have already agreed to have a parade. Hannah loves that. It is exhausting but we will do it. Tomorrow will definitely be a day of rest.

 

Can you tell we are enjoying these girls? It is such a treat. We are so blessed to have them in our lives.

 

 

 

Trees-October 13, 2015

Years and years ago when I first moved here there was no such thing as a tree turning any color in the fall except yellow. I thought it was so boring but people went absolutely ape over the gold trees in the mountains. I was sad. The trees in the South turn the most beautiful colors including red, orange and purple which was not seen here.

Then something miraculous happened. Trees, one by one, over the years started taking on some red colors in the fall. Today I noticed some trees outside our condo and stopped and appreciated them. I wanted to share a picture which most of you will find boring because you see this every year. When you see purple and orange in your trees please understand those of us out west have not always had pretty colors.

This is such a nice sight to enjoy for a few days. I am grateful

for such beauty just outside our window.

 

I hope you have pretty trees to enjoy in your area. No doubt the trees in the South have not even thought about changing colors yet. Most people think it is the cooler weather that makes the leaves change colors. It is actually the lack of bright light because the days are getting shorter. This can be such a great time of year.

 

 

Sprinkles-October 11, 2015

Hannah loves sprinkles. I have 5 pound bags of sprinkles leftover from candy making. So, when she asked to have some I let her. NEVER AGAIN. She decided it would be fun to scatter them so she just took her hand and waved it back and forth after spilling a bowl of those cute little chocolate sprinkles on the countertop. They went everywhere. And it doesn't end there. They rolled under everything in the pantry, under the refrigerator and stove, in the corners of the kitchen, under the cabinets. They rolled all over the place. We have moved what we can and vacuumed. We have done that repeatedly and still those little things keep appearing. I think they hide in dark places at night and multiply! They are so hard to clean up.

And you know what the worst part is? They make it look like we have mice in the kitchen. Alarming to say the least.

So, please take my advice. Never, ever give a three year old full access to chocolate sprinkles! You will regret it.

Things-October 10, 2015

This will be one of those mixed up miscellaneous posts.

We were gone on Monday and Tuesday. We had the girls yesterday and today. So, time this week has been quite tight. That's not a complaint. Just a statement.

I did forget to tell you that while we were in Sturgis on Tuesday, we stopped at the local grocery store, Lynn's Dakotamart, to buy dill pickle potato chips. Yes, that's odd. We noticed that Lay's is making them now but nothing beats Old Dutch made in Minnesota. We went to the check out clerk with 6 bags. The lady started to look strangely at us so I told her this was contraband and we were taking it across state lines. She started laughing and said "So, I'll see you two on the news tonight?". I said "Yep". And we all laughed. Jerry said after we got outside that she probably just had her best laugh of the day. I hope so. We came back here and started sharing them. The discussion of dill pickle potato chips came about at the Octoberfest last Friday before we knew we were leaving for South Dakota. Good timing.

I also forgot to post one picture taken on our way to South Dakota at the Colorado/Wyoming border. It is the sign for the Terry Bison Ranch. It's one of the largest buffalo (bison) ranches in the country, if not the world. Thousands and thousands of acres of land covered with a kazillion grazing buffalo creatures. They have an interesting restaurant there and they serve, care to guess?, fresh buffalo. We've eaten there and found it quite delicious. It's leaner than beef.

Looks real, doesn't it. It's a metal sign. Nothing more.

On the way back from taking the girls home last night I saw the first nice sunset in a very long time. We have had smoke most of the summer and the last few weeks have been foggy and hazy. So, I took the opportunity to snap a quick picture.

You know how I love sunsets.

 

I also wanted to share with you a new way we found to teach Hannah about the human skeleton.

These are Cheetos and they are called a Bag of Bones.

They are white cheddar flavored.

Did we ever have fun with these. And they are very good.

 

Never a dull moment in this house!

 

Tomorrow is Sunday. Trust me, it will be a day of rest for us. I hope it is for you also.

Have a very blessed day.

 

 

 

 

Quick trip-October 7, 2015

For the first time in a long time I am able to post on this blog about travel. We made a quick trip to South Dakota for business and threw in a few moments of pleasure while there. It was a dreary cloudy day that started out with a dense fog warning in our destination city. That made picture taking difficult. But it made driving easy.

I'll post a few pictures without comment first.

 

 

The above pictures were taken in eastern Wyoming. It is the most desolate and unfriendly land you can encounter. There's nothing living there except prairie grasses. One is left to ponder what the purpose of this land really is? At one point we saw a rabbit that had been hit several days ago. We agreed that was the last living thing in this part of the country. And it ran out in front of a car or truck because it could not take living there any longer. Shame on us, we found that funny. Then I asked if we could even imagine what the pioneers thought when they arrived here? I'm sure they felt like they never should have left home in the first place.

 

Then we crossed into South Dakota, our home state. The change is immediate as if walking from one room to another.

 

 

The more we drove the more we were convinced that we made the right choice in choosing this state as our home base while traveling. The southeastern part of South Dakota is beautiful. Granted as you travel toward central and eastern South Dakota it is not as pretty. The Black Hills are really pretty. People are exceptionally nice. The weather this time of year is wonderful.

 

We encountered a first for us.

It's a cattle drive! The cowboys were on ATVs and they were,

as you can see, driving the cattle down the side of the road. Lots

of babies in this little herd. Good looking cattle they were.

 

 

We stayed Monday night in Deadwood, had a 10:00 meeting in Sturgis on Tuesday and picked up our mail in Box Elder. Then we headed home. Jerry found a route through Nebraska that I hope never to see again. It was almost spooky. In two days we were in four states, saw some interesting sites, had some good food and all in all had such a good time we are ready to go again.

 

To Bruce and Rachelle, we say how nice it was to meet you. We look forward to conducting business with you for a long time to come.

 

Several times we said we were glad we were not in the coach. The roads were "wobbly" as Hannah calls them, full of twists and turns, up and down hills. One "hill" had a 7% grade. In a coach that's called white knuckle driving. And you hold your breath until you turn blue. It was fine in the Cute Red Vehicle, thankfully.

 

We are back to reality today but wishing we could go again next week. If you get the opportunity please do not turn down a chance to explore the area around Rapid City, South Dakota including towns north of there.

 

 

The girls-October 3, 2015

While I find a few minutes to take pictures I cannot find time to post them on this blog as quickly as I would like to do. I am going to post several pictures taken over the last week or so. I'll put a few comments under the pictures. 

One day Zoey decided the game of the day was to run as fast as

she could and throw herself into the bean bag chair. She landed

perfectly and giggled. Then she came back to me still giggling,

turned around and ran back to the bean bag. She did that at least

a dozen times before she grew tired of that game.

 

It appears Hannah and Zoey are playing together

at the doll house. Not really. Hannah was having a

hissy fit that Zoey had the nerve to touch her doll house.

Zoey just waited on Hannah to calm down and then

took over the house all for herself. Zoey loves this

doll house as much as Hannah does. Thank you, James

and Gloria, for such a wonderful gift.

 

We all went to an Octoberfest together last night. It was terribly cold so the girls had to head home early. After they left I bought them some cute light sticks which Hannah calls magic wands. One end is lighted and the other end has foil colored streamers. Hannah held her so that the bright colors were forward. Zoey held hers by the light and used it like a pom pom. The squeals coming from both girls made those crazy things worth far more than they cost.

 

 

 

As the summer schedule winds down our schedules will also change. I think we are all ready for it. It's been a busy summer. Days spent in parks will change, too, because of the weather. It has been unusually hot and now we are paying for it. We have had some very loud and active thunderstorms starting last night. It just might usher in fall weather here at last. I told Derrick that I was sure I saw the animals lining up two by two and heading for the ark at the end of the street.

 

On another note unrelated to the girls, there was a regional marching band competition across the street today. It started promptly at 8:00 AM. Once again, it brought back such good memories for me. I see a majorette and I want to grab my baton and run across the street. Yes, I still have the baton and yes, I can still twirl it though probably quite a bit slower. I surely do hope I can teach Hannah to twirl in the future. Anyway, one band stood out way beyond the others. They're uniforms were absolutely outstanding and the cadence made me unable to sit still. We have no idea yet who won, but when it was over the parking lot vacated in record time.

 

This was the most outstanding band. They are from Saint Vrain Valley

High School. They were so well prepared for this competition.

 

 

Tomorrow is Sunday. I hope you have a very blessed day.