I'm on spring break this week,

which means the other set of grandparents are

here taking care of little Sanford.

I needed a little get away from the daily schedule.

No, I wasn't heading to Cancun, Barbados, or 

even an island cruise.

Instead Running Man and I headed

 

to a little cabin 

 

 at the YMCA camp in Estes Park, Colorado,

which is located at the entrance to Rocky Mountain National Park.

Needless to say, the area is beautiful.

It's one of our favorite places to go to regroup.

It was a mini get away that didn't include:

access to any electronics

But did include:

Sleeping in

6 fudge stores on the main drag of town

No particular plans

Reading a new quilt magazine

Stitching

Popcorn and apples in front of the fireplace

 and

enjoying the unexpected.

Until Next Time-

Getting Ready

We are heading to Hawaii

to celebrate our birthdays.

I have already reached my milestone birthday, 

and Ed's B-day is in Feb.

So why not go celebrate in November.

Ed is always full of surprises.

He was getting ready.

Announcement:

I am going to shave off my beard!

Now I am ready!

I did shave my legs.

I guess I'm ready too.

Until Next Time-Kyle

The Wind in the Willows

The story The Wind in the Willows is a delightful children's story written by Kenneth Grahame in 1908.  Do you remember?

It has the character of Mole, Ratty, Mr. Badger and the wild and eccentric Mr. Toad.

All winter the wind has been blowing through our willow tree.  It's a beautiful tree, especially in the summer with it's long and willowy green leaves.

But it is also a very messy tree.  It sheds its branches easily, leaving them all over the backyard.  When the wind blows from the northwest they are placed on the ground like compass needles, all facing in a perfect northwest/southeast direction.

This weekend is a special day. 

It's the 3rd Annual Raking Day.

This is our interpretation of "American Gothic"

Today I have to check out the rakes, make sure there are plenty of work gloves, and plan the treats for afterward.  I don't know if my kids have as much fun as we do, but all their work is sure appreciated!

Just as Mole emerged from his home in the spring and began an adventure with his friends, we'll be emerging Saturday to have fun, as long as the wind doesn't blow too much through the willow.

Until Next Time-Kyle

The Amazing Race

My favorite TV show right now is The Amazing Race.  It is a "must" watch on Sunday nights.  If you know the premise of the show, it's that each team has to go from point A to point B and do detours or challenges along the way on their race around the world.   

Well, I wasn't racing around the world today, just around Fort Collins and my day was an amazing race from start to finish.  I started at...

maneuvering up and down the aisles with my list in hand.   And ended at ...

with 10 other stops in between. The aim with errands is to have a plan, have a list, try and keep focused on  the list and get in and out as quickly as you can.  It's when I start to linger that I get into trouble.

It's a great feeling at the end of  "errand day" to look at what you have accomplished.  My list was long, but now as the sun has set and the day is almost over, I can *sigh* and relax and feel good about what I did.  Don't you love it when you have a day like that? 

Until next time-Kyle

Wicked

On Saturday my girls and I plus Ed were able to go the Buell Theater in Denver to see the musical Wicked.

I know many of  you have seen it before.  And if you haven't put it on your list of things to enjoy. It was wonderful. The story is thought provoking and the music is outstanding. First of all going to the Buell is such a special treat.  Second going with my family is great.  My girls had bought the tickets for me for Mother's Day, way back then and we have just been waiting.  The down side was that Kate, of course, wasn't able to come so Ed was her stand in. Saturday was Halloween and many in the audience were decked out in matching witch costumes.  Maybe that's normal but it seemed appropriate for the day.  We wore normal clothes.

We missed you, Kate

The best kinds of gifts are doing something with special people.  It was a perfect Mother's Day.

Until next time-Kyle