Lexi and the Labyrinth...

Help...our house has been seized by an overactive 2 yr old! It's difficult to get much done when you are directed as to what to do and where to go by a little girl that thinks she owns you, the house, and just about anything in sight. Granted, it must be difficult to be couped up in the house for too long when you're 2. So, we try to get the girls out as much as possible to relieve some of the boredom. Yesterday, we went to visit Grandpa Bruce out at the Fransican Retreat Center where he works. They have a labyrinth on the grounds there, like a maze that you walk around and around until you finally get to the center. The circles are divided with stones, which you are not supposed to step over. Grandpa took Lexi around and around until they finally reached the center, but on the way back she took several short cuts. I guess it's supposed to be a reflection of your life or something...no short cuts allowed. Of course, a 2 year understands all of this so well. Anyway, Lexi had fun walking around in circles if nothing else. The ladies that Bruce works with loved meeting Paula and the girls, and then Grandpa took the girls for a ride on the electric cart to go see the deer. It was fun getting out in the sun after it had been so cold and icy over the weekend. 

Living with a parrot surrounded by barricades...

Welcome to Fort Lexi...

Paula and the girls moved in last week to stay with us for a few months while Eddie is away at basic and skills training for the Air Force. Since they have moved in, we have been trying to get the house organized again. However, the task is still not complete. There was a ton of laundry that needed to be done. Besides the regular stuff, there were extra linens and things of Eddie's that needed to be laundered and packed away. Then we have had to combine two kitchens into one as far as food goes. We moved the computer and the majority of the office stuff into our bedroom, so that we could turn the office into Lexi's room, which we found works much better than having both girls in the same room. Anyway, there are boxes, storage containers, blankets, and laundry hampers everywhere...the perfect tools to barricade Grandma into a corner or a makeshift fort so that she can't move. Even a chair or an occasional toy seems to do the job. So last night as I was trying to finish up the laundry, I was surrounded by laundry hampers, open washer/dryer doors, garbage cans, and miscellaneous objects, while Lexi was instructing me to "close the door, Grandma." What should have taken about an hour to complete took about 3, and I still had to complete things after Lexi finally went to bed. In the meantime, I can hear Paula laughing in the background.

We have also found that this skilled 2 year old fort builder resembles a parrot in many ways. Kinda like one of those birds that you try to teach respectable language to, but the things they "pick up" and repeat are the undesirable words that slip out of your mouth, like "oh crap." So it has been an interesting and sometimes humorous experience watching two old grandparents change their daily routine and habits to fit into the lifestyle of a two year old who wants to mimic everything they do.

America the Beautiful...

Here's a great little video filmed here in Colorado Springs and nearby. This is one of the reasons we live here. By the way, I'm looking out the window and I see snow...yikes! It was warm yesterday.

http://www.citizenlink.org/Stoplight/A000010256.cfm?utm_id=emailafriend&utm_campaign=1

Mom's catering company...

I have a division of my catering company called Mom's Catering. What makes this division separate from my regular catering company is that I pay for part of the supplies, and do all of the prep work  for free. We had a farewell party last night for Eddie as he departs for AF basic training on Tuesday. This actually could have almost qualified for another "We are in the process of moving" party. I was actually fine with doing the majority of the work (Bruce cut up the fruit and shredded the pork and loaded up the van), since I knew Paula and Eddie were busy packing, moving, and taking care of the girls. We went over to Cottonwood Park, a nice park with a huge fun playground for the kids. We didn't realize that it was a soccer day at the park, too, so for awhile anyway, it was hard to find a place to park. The adults had a good time visiting and wishing Eddie well, while the kids had fun playing at the playground (they played more than ate). We had lots of leftovers that we brought home and froze. 

Labor Day at Rocky Mountain National Park

On Monday, we decided to take a road trip to Rocky Mountain National Park, since it had been years ago that we were last there and Bev had never been. So we packed up a picnic lunch and off we went. On the way out of town, we stopped at Big Lots because they had cameras on sale, and I needed a camera for my cake business. I let you know that, just because some of these pictures are not too great and have a random date that came with the camera, since I was just learning to use it. I'm still learning. We stopped at a little jerky stand somewhere before Estes Park and Bev bought some elk jerky. I'm not even a jerky lover, but this stuff was really good...I think because it was so fresh. When we got to Estes Park, we looked around for a place to eat our lunch. We finally found the perfect place...a little old cemetery. After that, we made our way to the park. It was a beautiful day. Not much snow was left, much to our surprise. At one point, we had a perfect Sound of Music moment that we tried to capture on camera. No pictures of Bruce and me since the one that Bev took had Bruce cut off and half of my head gone. The LCD screen on the new camera is hard to see in the sun.

Bev and Bruce

Bev playing Julie Andrews, singing The hills are alive...

Bev buying elk jerky

Our picnic area

Follow-up to Idiot's Guides...

So, after my research last night about Idiot's Guides, I told Bruce, "This is what you should do...write an Idiot's Guide to Home Inspections." But guess what? I googled it, and we are 5 years too late. There's already one out there. Who would've known? I wonder if there is an Idiot's Guide to Overcoming Procrastination? Just a second...let me google that...oh my gosh, it's here!!! The Complete Idiot's Guide to Overcoming Procrastination.

Idiot's Guide to . . .?

Bruce and I cleaned up and organized the biggest bookcase in the office today. As I'm sitting here looking at our handiwork, one of the books that sticks out the most is our Idiot's Guide to Reflexology...probably because of the bright orange color and the bold word "IDIOT'S." So then I found myself wondering what other Idiot's Guides there are, and what would it take to write one. I was shocked when I googled Idiot's Guides. Here are some of the more interesting ones I found:

• Idiot's Guide to Training Attack Hummingbirds (Are there really such things?)
• Idiot's Guide to Cannibalism (Wow...all I can say is WOW)
• Idiot's Guide to Understanding Einstein(isn't that an oxymoron?)
• Idiot's Guide to Improving your IQ (another oxymoron?)
• Idiot's Guide to Blowing Up Balloons (is it really that difficult?)
• Idiot's Guide to Clear Thinking (Hmmm...)
• Pocket Idiot's Guide to Homemade Dogfood (there's a whole book on this?)
• Idiot's Guide to Breathing (oh man, this even beats the balloon guide)
• Idiot's Guide to Understanding the Brain (for sure an oxymoron!)
• Idiot's Guide to Pro Wrestling (now there's something everyone wants to learn about)

and the best one...

• Idoit's Guide for Dumies!! (Notice the way "idiot's" and "dummies" are spelled)

Do people really make money from selling these books, and if so, is there something that I know that some idiot would want to learn about? There has to be.