Hannah's birthday-August 12, 2019

Yesterday was Hannah's 7th birthday. She is 7, going on 27. Knows it all and is never wrong. Yet, we were able to provide her with a fun afternoon. She chose her theme and her cake. She even showed me a picture of exactly what she wanted on the cake. I may not like it, but who am I to tell her no? It is her birthday.

Yes, she wanted this emoji on her cake. The baker called on Wednesday

and said the cake was just too plain with white icing and a chocolate

emoji, so could she be creative? I said yes. So this is what we got!

Actually you can't look at without smiling. Isn't that exactly what

a cake should do? Make you smile or even laugh.

 

We found a balloon and paper plates and napkins.

It is our job to make her birthday fun.

 

The moment when all three saw the cake for the first time.

Both parents thought it was fun, too.

 

So now we have a 7 year old who starts second grade on Thursday of this week. Next Tuesday, Zoey who is 5, starts full day kindergarten. We will then be down to sweet little crazy Daisy. It will be an adjustment for us as well as for her. We are going to try to do a few special things for her to help ease the loss we think she will feel. Who knows? Maybe she will be glad! It's bitter sweet for us.

 

 

Pets and Popsicles-August 10, 2019

Friday we bravely took all three girls to the Pets and Parades in Greeley. We went last year, too. Can't decide which year was hotter. They did have gigantic tress where we were so I could tolerate a little heat. Pets and Parades is somewhat of a petting zoo, but the animals are in old buildings from local history not in a big pen waiting to be petted. After kids walk they entire thing they get a popsicle. This year we got a popsicle, too. 

This is where Pets and Popsicles was held. Many events are held

here. It is a very, very nice complex. The City has put a lot of money

into this museum. It's extremely impressive.

 

There was a litter of 7 week old bunnies. They were

so cute and very soft.

 

Hannah petting a very friendly small goat. The other child is unknown!

 

Ducks. Not sure what type they are.

 

Mother and daughter alpacas. They were adorable. The mother's

name is Summer and her daughter is Sunny. There was a lady there

telling us all about these animals, things we did not know. They do not

spit like llamas. They produce massive amounts of wool. As delicately as I

can tell this, they set aside a spot as their "potty". An entire heard will do

that. And that is where they go. Nowhere else. They are very neat and clean

animals and actually friendly once they get to know you. All three girls

enjoyed the alpacas.

 

The original first Weld County Courthouse from the 1800s.

It has been restored to try to hold it together.

Some one did great work on this restoration.

 

There are a number of original houses and business buildings that have been restored and moved to this location. The story behind each building is carefully documented. All I can say is that those  pioneers were very strong and dedicated people. None of us now could live like they had to live.

  

Our little angels. Actually, they were very good on this trip. They

never complained about the heat (like I did!). They enjoyed seeing

the animals up close. Daisy is not mad in this picture, she is just

making a face. She is a happy little thing so it was surprising

to see this face.

 

It was a fun thing to do. School starts next week so we wanted to do something different before that happened. We have done a couple of other fun things this summer I hope to post soon.

 

 

 

 

 

Heard of this?-August 3, 2019

This happens every week in our neighborhood. These people live 2 doors south of us. I finally decided I had to say something. The pictures are not perfect because I did not want to get caught.

This is a shop vacuum. Our neighbors use it to vacuum their driveway,

street, curb and gutter and....are you ready?.....their lawn!

 

 

And they do it on hands and knees. This is not a joke.

 

So I ask you, have you ever seen anybody do this? But the biggest question is: WHY? If I get to the point I have absolutely nothing to do, I promise you I will not be vacuuming my lawn. I can see sweeping your driveway once in a while but not vacuuming it. To each his own I suppose.

 

Steve-July 27, 2019

We are so busy with all three girls that I am not finding time to take too many pictures. I do have a couple I took yesterday.

On Zoey's birthday in May, she asked us for a BIG penguin. When she said that she would stretch her arms as tall as she could stretch them. We finally found a plush penguin that was a little over 2 feet tall. She loved it. His name is Steve. I think it is from a movie, but don't quote me. So yesterday I was able to finally get some pictures of Steve. However, Steve was playing princess dress-up. The girls thought that was hilarious. I admit I had to help dress him.

Zoey and Steve. Steve is in Cinderella clothes.

The cat wearing the "pearls" is Hannah's grumpy cat.

 

Here is Steve as Belle. I was happy that the Beast

did not accompany Beauty!

 

By the time they left last night Steve was back to being Steve.

 

We try to roll with the punches when the girls are here. I doubt Jerry ever dreamed he would know how to dress a princess doll. But whatever it takes to help the girls have fun. We are trying to build memories.

Storm clouds-July 20, 2019

If you have followed this blog for any time you know I love clouds, rainbows and sunsets. The view we have of storm clouds here is so extraordinary that it is hard not to just stand and gawk at the beauty.

Same storm taken from two different locations.

This thunderstorm was actually located over Sydney, Nebraska.

 

 

We have talked about the fact that it is not possible to see thunderstorms far away in other parts of the country like we see them here. Part of it, we think, is just simply the lay of the land. And then there is the fact we have far fewer trees here than other areas especially the South. On Jerry's first trip to Alabama he almost had an attack of claustrophobia because of the dense trees. It really bothered him. He did eventually adjust and found all those trees provided nice shade. Still, I love looking at what is happening in other states.

 

This storm was in extreme eastern Colorado and western Kansas.

 

Storm over Cheyenne, WY.

 

 

I spend so much time looking up it is amazing I have not tripped over my own feet.  

 

 

 

Old Love-July 12, 2019

The following is an email I received today from our South Dakota State Representative, Dusty Johnson. He is a free spirit. I genuinely like him though we sometimes think differently. Obviously the picture was taken 20 years ago. I did not ask his permission to post this but I feel like he would not mind. I am giving him the credit! I love what this says.







July 12, 2019
Dear Cheryl,

I Prefer Old Love

By Rep. Dusty Johnson
July 12, 2019

Reflections as I begin my 20th year of marriage to Jacquelyn (Dice) Johnson: 

New love is fun. It‘s easy to enjoy the excitement, the rush, the sense of opportunity.

I prefer old love, though.

New love is perishable. It‘s easily distracted and fades quickly. Old love is abiding. It’s stubborn, willing to ride out the inevitable storms and maelstroms of marriage.

New love is picky, and can be run off by any manner of shortcoming. Old love knows its every wart. For some blessed reason, old love sticks around.

You don’t have to dress up for old love, but often you do, because you want to.

Old love doesn’t keep score, because there’s only one team. Old love laughs together, cries together, works together, disciplines children together.

New love is noisy. There are so many interesting stories to share and fun secrets to confide. Old love knows how to talk and advise and share and confide, but it has also learned how to be still. It is easy to use silence as a tool of anger or apathy, but old love knows silence can also mean comfort and happiness.

Old love comes from God, and you can feel him within it. New love brings more pleasure, but old love brings more joy.

Old love laughs at jokes no one else understands. Old love exchanges glances, tells stories with a single look, and reads minds.

Old love is a best friend, makes us better, and is a sincere blessing.

New love is fun, but I prefer old love.

Crazy Facebook-July 6, 2019

Anyone who knows me knows I do not like Facebook at all. I am on it to follow family. I generally do not comment often but I had something I wanted to share on the 4th of July.

It is a 4th of July tree made by my brother and sister-in-law.

I think it is so pretty and definitely appropriate for July 4th.

When I saved it to my hard drive I saved it as his MAGA tree,

not his July 4th tree. That was my big mistake.

 

When I posted it on Facebook, I could never find it. Then I received notification from Facebook that they had deleted it. It was allowed online for 6 hours. That was bad enough but they added insult to injury by locking me out of Facebook. It took me an hour of intense work to get Facebook to open again. So I am back on Facebook, but my settings have been drastically changed and it makes it very hard to maneuver. There's not a thing I can do about it. So I have learned my lesson. I changed the name on the picture to 4th of July tree.

 



 Enjoy the tree better late than never.

Hope you had a fun 4th!

Got milk?-July 1, 2019

Got milk?

 

Not milk. This is Daisy eating one of her favorite snacks,

Laughing Cow Dippers. I like this snack, too. We have no idea why

she chose to put the cream cheese on her upper lip but neither are we

surprised. This girl is full of energy and non stop thinking.  

Girls-June 20, 2019

As stated previously I hesitate to continue to post family pictures on a travel blog. But, forgive me, I want to share these.

 

 

Don't they look like sweet little angels?

Oh my................no further comment!

 

Jello-June 14, 2019

I just wanted to share a couple of pictures of more fun with Jello. It's easy and it's not messy.

 

And it's quite yummy.

 

The Jello boxes were marked "Jello Bricks". It was very easy to do and the girls had a good time.

 

A little more-June 3, 2019

I just received some more pictures of Zoey's birthday horseback riding adventure. We know now that Daisy had far more fun than Zoey. She has told us about her horse in extreme detail at least half a dozen times. And she gets so excited talking about her horse, Little Joe, that she starts stumbling on her words because she is talking so fast. It is so much fun to watch her eyes light up. I think she is going to be the horse lover in the family.

This is the gleeful face of a very happy 2 year old.

So, do you think Daisy was having fun?

Zoey is 5-May 28, 2019

I cannot resist sharing pictures of Zoey's 5th birthday even if it's not a trip we made. For two years she has wanted to go horseback riding. She got the wish fulfilled yesterday. She loved every minute. Hannah went along because she had to. Daisy went bonkers. She said she was not scared at all. She had the most fun.

It was a very happy birthday for Zoey.

 

The whole family.

 

Last year was a princess cake. This year was a pink

penguin. (All of her gifts were penguin items). Wonder

what next year will be?

 

Blowing out 5 candles was very easy.

 

All in all it was a great day for little Zoey. All three girls were exhausted by the time they got here for cake, but they pushed through. We cannot believe these girls are growing so fast.

 

 

 

 

 

thinking-May 27, 2019

I am still thinking about this blog. I have decided that I enjoy posting this blog so much I am not sure I could give it up for good.

However, it is a travel blog. We have a very busy summer ahead of us. We are going to attempt to set up a schedule so we can take a couple of days off here and there. Then I could post our travels. So, for now I think I will post less but still post.

I have always loved to write so this blog fills a need for me to do that.

I will try to keep this going for now.

Today is Zoey's 5th birthday. They have taken her horse back riding which she has wanted to do for 3 years. I asked them to take pictures. If they do I will post that. I cannot imagine her sitting on a horse! And I will post pictures of her cake just like I did last year.

Happy Memorial Day! It is a day of appreciation and remembrance.

Last trip-May 18, 2019

We just returned from a trip to WinStar. I have posted so many times about WinStar that I decided perhaps you would not want to see the same pictures again. I will just post what every entrance says.

I love this. It makes me proud to be a guest of the Chickasaw Nation.

 

Once again we had a three room suite with a view from two sides. It is so wonderful to be treated like royalty though we are as far from that as anybody can be. This time we were given 2 free buffets. Usually it's only one and we pay for the rest which is not a big deal at all. We were also given more money in free play than we have ever received. So we really did feel special. And, as usual, we had a wonderful time.

 

Based on what this summer looks like we might not be making any more trips of length until school starts again in the fall. So I am conflicted on whether to continue this blog. After all, it is called Cheryl's Travel Blog. I feel like no one really wants to see my granddaughters. So, let me think this over and I will let you know which side of my thoughts wins.

 

 

Mother's Day-May 12, 2019

We are on the road. Tonight we are at the Kansas Star, a very nice Hampton Inn in Mulvane, Kansas. It is so nicely appointed and everyone is really nice. It's also very quiet.

This is what I was given when we checked in.

So pretty and it smells wonderful.

I was appreciative.

 

We saw the sun all day today. That has become a rare thing. But it was very windy and there was so much construction. However, we arrived safely here and we're praying for a safe journey to WinStar tomorrow.

 

 

 

Deadwood-May 8, 2019

We never saw the sun the entire time we were in Deadwood, but we didn't care. It is such a fun place to be that we never let the weather stop us. This time we stayed at the Deadwood Mountain Grand, on the top of the hill above Deadwood. It is a really nice place but just far enough up the hill to make us walk to get where we want to go. That's healthy. So we walked. The Deadwood Mountain Grand wants to appear to be more upscale than the other places, but it doesn't affect us that way. They have all sorts of artwork all through the hotel/casino.

They always have at least one motorcycle on display. This one belongs to someone I have never heard of. But it is still very pretty.

This is one of the oddest sculptures I have ever seen. The title is "Eleven Feathers". It is made of stainless steel and it is huge so I can't even guess what it weighs. It is actually quite good looking. The price was not posted. Instead you have to call the artist to find out what the price is.

On Monday morning we went to Rapid City to renew our license plates. To Rapid City and back we drove in fog, snow, rain, sleet, graupel and more fog. What a weird day. Still when we got back to the hotel, we went for a walk. The air was so clean I did not want to go indoors. So we didn't.

We are back in the swing of things now, but we have just made reservations to go to WinStar next week. You know we are very fond of that place. After that we are "grounded" until school starts in the fall.

Deadwood-May 5, 2019

We had a fabulous drive to Deadwood today. We made such good time we had to wait to check in. It is raining and it's foggy. We have to renew our license plates tomorrow and run a couple of other errands. Hopefully I will get some nice pictures even without sunshine.

More later....................

Grants, New Mexico-May 3, 2019

Every time we drive through Grants, New Mexico I am so in awe of the scenery that I forget to try to take decent pictures. This time I tried but it was raining and snowing so the pictures are not clear.

 

 

 

Lava Rock. This trip I decided to get information on this area.

 

All of the above pictures are of lava rock deposited by the El Malpais volcano. Malpais means badlands. As far as I can determine this volcano erupted 30,000 years ago. It has been dormant since. It is a massive lava field covering over 114,000 acres. During World War I it was used as a test bombing range. In the 1940s it was one of 8 sites considered for the Manhattan Project. In 1987 President Reagan made it a National Monument. It is open year round to drive, walk, explore ice caves and study lava cones up close. I am sorry we have never stopped there but it is on our bucket list now. As silly as it sounds every time we drive through here I can clearly visualize what this must have been like when the volcano erupted. The lava rock is fascinating to see. I would love to walk around it and touch it. One day I hope to blog about just that.

 

 

 

Forgot downtown Las Vegas-April 27, 2019

I discovered while trying to clear pictures off of my phone that I had not finished posting about Las Vegas. We spent a day in downtown Las Vegas. It is where the old casinos are. And it has had a cover built over it so it's called the Fremont Experience. The word "experience" is an understatement.
They get by with things here that cannot be done on the Strip.

 

This is the cover over the entire area. No matter what the weather

you can still walk around outside. It's all lit up at night.

(Never noticed the White Castle before).

 

This cute shoe came from one of the demolished casinos. Most

of the signs are in the Neon Museum. We skipped that museum

this trip but saw it last trip. It is just fascinating. To see the gigantic

size of those old signs was so interesting.

 

One might assume this came from the Flamingo but I doubt it.

First of all, the Flamingo is still standing though it was the first

casino ever built in Las Vegas. It's very old. I cannot explain

this sign but it's cute.

 

I want to be nice while I describe one thing we saw downtown that simply could not be believed. There was an older woman in a wheelchair holding a sign that read "Retired stripper needs money for food". Ok. She was well into retirement age for any occupation. She had not ever gone without food. The bottom part of her ample body was covered. But, well, the top was not. She only had on pasties. Here's the tough part. The pasties were resting on her knees. Got the picture? I desperately wanted a picture of that sight but figured she would want to charge me $20 to pose for the picture. I will say she had on more clothes than the singing cowboy I saw last time. He was nude! He only had a guitar covering him in front. Oh he did have his boots on. Downtown, as previously stated, is very different from the Strip. And one might assume there are no rules or restrictions.

 



 

On our way back from downtown we made it a point to find Freed's Bakery.

60 years old and going stronger than ever. We heard about this

on the Food Network and we had to see if for ourselves. There

are no words. And I can't describe the wonderful fragrance of

the place. I can testify the sweets are a wonderful treat.

 

Warning: as I clear more photos off of my phone I may find more pictures. Be prepared.

 

So how can somebody take so many pictures? It's not hard to take the pictures but it is certainly hard to see all that Las Vegas has to offer. The last time we were there we stayed 3 months and still did not see everything. I am sorry for the people who think the only thing in LV is casinos. They are so wrong. It is a wonderful city full of life, lights, fun and friendly people. Love Las Vegas!

 

 

 

 

Leaving Las Vegas-April 23, 2019

I have so many more pictures of Las Vegas but I am sure you are very tired of it by now. Please allow me a few more pictures. Bear in mind that after this we temporarily revert back to granddaughters. This should be a welcome break from them though I do want to post some Easter pictures eventually.

The fun thing about driving through the desert southwest is that

you can so easily see what weather is happening around you, well,

most of the time you can. Here you can see it is raining even though

it's several miles away. We never did drive through any of this.

 

Last view of the Colorado River leaving Lake Meade/Hoover Dam.

At this point it is still a big healthy river and a pretty green color.

 

Last view of Lake Meade. We have driven all the way around it.

Not only is it a huge lake but it is actually very pretty and scenic.

This view has not always been available, only when they completed

I-11.

 

What do you think caused the holes in this huge rock?

I haven't a clue.



 

I think I just found some pictures I failed to post. We'll see if I can adjust to stopping now. We had so much fun I want to share it all.

 

 



 

 

 

 

Las Vegas misc-April 17, 2019

There are a couple of pictures I want to share but they don't fall into any particular category.

 

Name this one "Walls". Walls are everywhere in Las Vegas. I

would personally estimate that perhaps only one house in 100

doesn't have a wall. They also don't have grass behind those walls.

Say what you want about a wall on the border, the people of Vegas

know the value of walls around their property.

 

Casa de Shenandoah, Wayne Newton's estate.

There is an interesting story behind this entry. During our last 3 month stay in Las Vegas Wayne filed for bankruptcy. He lost this place which was bought at auction. Wayne and his family refused to leave. After several months he left and went out of the country, as the story goes. His aunt who lives in one of the houses on the property flatly refused to move. But this entry was changed along with the name of the property. We left to return to our mundane life and don't know what happened. We drove past it during this last visit and low and behold, Wayne's name was back on the entry. So, he must have won out. His name is still powerful in Las Vegas. One time we went to an Arabian horse show at Southpoint. Wayne made an appearance and walked all the way around the arena with his entourage in tow. In the end the World Champion Arabian horse was named. From behind the curtain came Wayne Newton and his partners, two men from Saudi Arabia, leading the beautiful horse. You can fill in the blanks.

 

We will be babysitting for the next 3 days including egg dying on Saturday, so I will have to put this blog on the back burner until at least Sunday, maybe Monday. Please allow me to wish you a very Happy Easter now.