A Visit From the Geno's

The Geno's came through Alamosa as part of Matthew's whirlwind college tour. The last time we saw the Geno's was in 1989, before either of us had kids.
It was great to visit with longtime friends!

Jamie's a newspaper star!

Check out the newspaper article about the Rockies Skills Challenge. He's in the photo and also mentioned in the article. YAY Jamie!!!

Anniversary Cruise

We celebrated our 22nd anniversary on May 31st. Jamie had a playdate at the Astalos' and we took a 300 mile motocycle trip through some of Colorado's finest. We left Alamosa, heading west on Highway 160 to South Fork. Then on to Creede, Lake City, Montrose, Saguache and back to Alamosa. It was a little breezy but otherwise a perfect day. The entire loop took us longer than we thought it would so we were a couple of hours late in picking Jamie up. Thanks to the Astalos' family for understanding! I had a blast snapping photos from the back of the bike as we traveled.

the open road















fire in Embargo Creek area


























































Creede Snowshoe





















Bristol Head















Rio Grande Pyramid & Rio Grande Reservoir
(the headwaters of the Rio Grande River)







































Spring Creek at Continental Divide



























Uncompaghre Peak




















Slumgullion Pass

































we stopped for lunch in Lake City








































Blue Mesa Reservoir
















our shadow



































































































































re-entering the valley

Poodles, Elephants and Bears...oh my!

...and horses, sno-cones, friends, clowns and acrobats. It can only mean one thing...the CIRCUS came to town. It's definitely small town entertainment, but the circus comes every year to benefit the local Shriner's. The weather was perfect and it was a great day to be outside, meeting up with friends was an added bonus!

Cozy

This is a view of my new scraproom, looking in from the outside. Doesn't it look cozy? Once I get my countertop and wall cabinets in, I will decorate it for creative inspiration.

Rockies Skills Challenge

Jamie participated in The Rockies Skills Challenge today. It is a statewide program put on by local Parks & Rec departments. Kids show off their hitting, running & throwing skils. The first place finisher in each division goes on to the sectional competition.
Jamie did very well and placed 2nd in his age division (6-7 year old boys). He and the 1st place finisher (one year older than Jamie) were so close in each event, Jamie was the faster runner but Hunter hit & threw a few feet further. Jamie didn't care, though, he had fun and was SO excited to receive a ribbon for his efforts. He wanted to know how long until next years Rockies Skills Challenge.

hitting = 107' 3"

base running (2nd to home) = 9.50 seconds

throwing = 48' 8"

Soccer Photos

I've been reluctant to scan and post these photos because, well, I'm just PO'd that I actually paid money for these lousy shots. The people who take the so-called "professional" portraits of all of the Parks & Rec kids teams are dear friends but, let's be honest...they are NOT professional photographers. I am a very amateur photographer but I do try to use some basic compostion knowledge when I'm taking photographs, like...ummm...making sure there isn't an automobile parked in the background and manuevering such that it doesn't look like a tree is growing out of my kids head. Plus, the color is horrible!


Because this is not our first experience with the team photo thing, I usually take my own photo when they have the photo sessions going on. This year I was talking to some of the other soccer mom's and got distracted before realizing that Jamie was in front of the camera. I grabbed my camera and got this shot from the side and, even though he's not looking at me, I think it's a better photograph. Guess I'll have to pull out my Photoshop for Dummies book and see if I can fix the "professional" one.

The actual team photo turned out pretty good, unlike the basketball team photo where some of the kids were flashing gang signs. Still, the houses in the background are distracting and unprofessional. This is Alamosa, so I guess I should just take it for what it is. It just kills me to pay for these photos, though, when I KNOW that I can do better.

My mom totally ROCKS!!!!!

My mom, the undisputed garage sale queen and champion of all things "second-hand", has now dominated on Craig's List. She found four brand new wall cabinets to complete my scraproom configuration for the bargain basement price of $150. (Each one would have cost me $128 + tax at Lowe's.) Plus, she has already said she'd get the countertop as my birthday gift, so, my dream scraproom is truly nearing completion. YAY MOM!!!!!

Jammies and Cariboo

Hanging out in our PJ's (because we can!) and playing Cariboo.
The wind is blowing and it's too yucky to be outside so it still doesn't feel like summer vacation...more like a long weekend.

Happy Memorial Day

We were invited to join friends at the Beaver Creek Youth Camp near South Fork for a Memorial Day cookout.




We brought Parker with us so that Jamie would have someone to play with while we visited with our friends.





After we ate, we took the short hike down to Beaver Creek. The boys could not wait to throw rocks into the water.











Even the big boys couldn't resist throwing rocks into the water!