The Adventures of Bruce the Bobblehead...

Paula sent Bruce an Hawaiian bobblehead for his birthday. The original picture looked something like Tom Cruise, but I figured we needed to put a picture of Bruce's cute face in it instead. So, while Bruce was sound asleep snoring in the Lazy Boy, I went to work finding a picture of Bruce's cute little face and getting him the right size for the bobblehead. Then...Bruce the Bobblehead went for a little trip...

First stop was on the bookshelf in the office, surrounded by some pictures of favorite people...

Next stop was pretending to be in Hawaii with lots of bright flowers...

Then, he went to the backyard, and balanced on the freshly painted patio rail...steady Bruce...don't fall...

 Here is Bruce among the flowers in the hanging pot...no, I did not say "pot among hanging flowers"...

Bobblehead Bruce then went on a safari...

Back to the tropical gardens...

and off to the rock quarry...

I think his final resting place is on Bruce's desk in the bedroom...how boring. Thanks Paula! At least Bobblehead Bruce and I had a great adventure!

When your husband leads you down the wrong trail...literally

So I asked Bruce to go with me on a walk this morning, so that I could get my 5K charm at Weight Watchers tomorrow with Kelly. I told him I would like to walk around Prospect Lake, because I heard that was a nice level walk...not too strenuous...for my still out of shape body. He suggested instead that we go to Red Rock Canyon. We had been there before, and didn't remember it to be too bad, so I said OK. When we got there, we looked at the map, he had me write down the different trails that connected (a different route than we had previously gone), so that I could hike my 3.2 miles or 5K. I'm not sure what happened, but we lost sight of the trail we were supposed to end up on (the easy trail) and ended up on the intermediate and then on the advanced trail. By this time, I was pretty warm, my face was bright red, and my fingers were swollen up like little sausages. Thank goodness for sunscreen and bottled water. My dreams of Prospect Lake were really looking good at this point. After hiking about 3.5 miles, we finally made it back to the parking lot, and off we went to Prospect Lake...just so I could see what I missed...beautiful calm lake with nice level sidewalk around the entire lake...a total of 2 miles around the lake. I could have walked it twice and been perfectly happy...thanks Bruce.

This is what I wanted to do...

Calm peaceful lake

Sidewalk around lake

This is what we did...

Beginning the advanced trail

Looking down from the trail we were on...that means we did plenty of climbing

Face starting to turn red...and look who's carrying the backpack

Even Bruce looks tired

Red face matches red rock

Sausage fingers

Why don't I just listen to my own instincts? Next time I'll think twice.

Freshly Painted House

We've been making a few home improvements lately. First we got new windows on the north side of the house. The windows on the south side had already been replaced, but we still had the old ones on the north. The biggest window in the kitchen was cardboarded up all winter long because it leaked so bad around the frame. We can already feel the difference. Dutch's Home Improvement really did a great job...best windows for the best price! Then just last week, we got the exterior of the house painted. We really like the way it looks. Next thing on the agenda is a new roof. The insurance adjuster is coming out tomorrow to see if the insurance will cover any of it. 

Before

After

Happy 4th!

Well, this 4th of July was definitely different than most. Now, because it was Sunday, we knew we wouldn't be doing much, but it turned out even quieter than we anticipated. We quietly hung the flag before going to church. After I got home from my "after church meeting," I made a quickie jello flag dessert, and we ate a dinner that was basically already prepared and in the freezer. We were considering going up on the hill and watching the fireworks from there, but Mother Nature (or God?) took care of that. Nothing but rain and hail after 9 pm.  So maybe today we will go get our traditional rootbeer and ice cream for rootbeer floats. I'll have to wait until next year to try out my fireworks setting on the camera.

Flag rescue...

We were coming home from delivering a couple of cakes today, and we passed an American flag laying in the middle of the road. Yes, it was just an inexpensive little flag on a stick (probably made in China), but still it was "Old Glory." I made Bruce pull around and stop the van, and he went out and picked up the flag. It was pretty tattered and dirty, so we brought it home and I had Bruce burn it...a proper disposal for such an important icon of our freedom and our wonderful country. I hope we can always show respect for our flag...something to remember, especially with the 4th of July just ahead.

Hospital Birthday for Gary...

So our friend, Gary spent his birthday in the hospital. Here's what happened. A week ago Saturday, Gary got bitten by a brown recluse spider. He got sick...vomiting for several days and then got blisters on his leg from the spider bites (2), and then ended up with a staff infection, and deterioration of the flesh and muscle on his leg...very scary. He has been on IV antibiotics and pain pills and  is scheduled for surgery tomorrow, to clean out the wound and do possible skin grafts.  Tuesday was his birthday. We didn't know what he could eat at that time, so I took a cake over today. Better late than never. Happy Birthday Gary and get well soon!

Special Olympics...truly inspirational!

Our friends, Gary and Susan Hill were competing in the Special Olympics for the state of Colorado, so we decided to take a little trip to Greeley last Saturday to cheer them on. If you ever want to be inspired, the Special Olympics is the thing to watch! The determination, the persistence, and the sheer joy of competing is amazing! They are an example to us all. 

Gary and Susan

Gary competing in the 1500 meter walk