It's as good as new!

After many years of torment and procrastination we finally repainted the house and better yet, had the front door refinished!

If I could I would have put a sledgehammer through that door or set it on fire or something to get rid of it. It was in such bad shape that we even looked at replacing it but of course it would have been a chunk o' change to do it!! Doesn't everything cost a chunk o' change anymore?

The guys we hired, Don and Chris had done some work for us at our stores and we used them one other time back at the Fairplay house. I hated them! They never showed up on time and worked very little! I warned Kurt that if he wanted to hire them he will be the recipient of my complaints every day. He assured me that they have changed and they will show up and be professional throughout the whole job.


Once it was stripped of its old paint and sanded down, the original beauty came back...amazing!!

Initially we were just having the door and entry way refinished and repainted. They gave us a good deal and took care of us. To my surprise, the door turned out beautifully and I couldn't believe that it was the same door. As you can see, the previous owners had put this nasty red paint all over it but didn't protect the finish or anything so with the morning sun beating on it; it just about ruined it - worst of all, he did it AFTER we closed on the house!! I don't know what possessed him to do it, the house is sold Mr. - move on!! Right?!!

We were going to be done with that but asked them for a bid anyways to see if we can strike up another deal if they were to paint the whole house. Luckily, we were able to so off we went!! Here is the BEFORE...


I definitely do not have an eye for colors so we went through several different paint samples and as usual Kurt ended up choosing the colors because I was just all confused by then! According to the guys, it took a little over a week to complete and near the end of the project we were all ready to wrap it up. There was an enormous amount of trim work to be hand painted along with all the gutters and downspouts!! Oy vay!! But they did it and in the end after all my scrutinizing and knit picking every day; our house is beautiful!!

Heavenly Camp Trip

We just came back from a camping trip to Grand County, up Hwy 40 near Granby. It was such a beautiful place, we couldn't believe it!

It didn't start out that way, we had never been there and decided to take a look because others have said it's a great place to camp and ATV. We drove into our first spot down a road marked 106 and found nothing but trees all cut down and logging trucks everywhere. They were there taking down all the trees destroyed by the pine beetles. It was ugly and sad. Luckily Kurt looked a bit further on the map before we left home and saw another location called Homestead. After much discussion, we decided to try that out; it's gotta be better than seeing all these dead trees!

We drove in and it looked promising but we were not sure which way to go from there. We stopped a couple that happen to be out "moose watching" and asked if they knew of any other camp spots but they were unable to help us. We ended up in a great big meadow with no trees around and wind whipping through us.

It was looking like that that was going to home for a few days so we unloaded and went for a short exploration ride and it was a good thing we did!

Through our ride we came upon this site that was next to a creek about 8 ft. across but shallow enough to wade through and just man made waterfalls everywhere and surrounded by lodgepole pines and lush green vegetations. It was questionable whether or not we could level there but I knew we had to try so we ended up dropping the trailer at the beginning of the trail and just taking the RV and ATVs with us.

We were able to get some shooting in and Evan especially wanted to shoot; so Daddy let him have a go at it. The trails were rough but not tough; although there were a few spots that I had to have Kurt take over. More so because I let my fears get the better of me but I just didn't want to chance it!!

We stopped at some old cabins here and there; hard to believe that a family of 5 or 6 or even more lived in these tiny cabins, talk about claustrophobia!!

On our last day we were able to finally spot a moose; no bullwinkle but maybe next time!

The weather was perfect; couldn't of asked for any better!


The best part was that it had a built in ramp for the boys to jump their ATVs! Needless to say, this is now our favorite camp spot!!

Lost tooth, New tooth

Evan finally lost his first tooth! It hung in there for quite some time but it eventually came out as he was brushing his teeth.

He couldn't wait to tell everyone at school the next day and by george that's exactly what he did when he stepped out of the car and into the hands of the ladies that receive the kids in the drop off at school!

Another milestone and many more to come as we re-ride this roller coaster again but this time with Evan!

Journey / Heart Concert

We just came back from a great concert at Red Rocks this past weekend. It featured Heart and Journey!

I am just floored at Journey's new lead singer, Arnel Pineda! It's amazing that someone else has a voice that can closely duplicate Steve Perrys. I had heard that he was Asian and possibly Japanese but it turns out that he is Phillipino, in his early 40's, sang in a band called The Zoo who did covers of such legendary bands as Aerosmith, Police and of course Journey, in the Phillipines, lived on the streets for a while due to an illness and eventual death of his mother which drained them financially and was found on YouTube by Neil Schon of Journey.

An excellent rags to riches story!!

First Day of Kindergarten

Our second one officially started Kindergarten! It seem so crazy considering that most of our friends kids are deciding on college or just graduated high school and we have very small children still...but sometimes you can't control when these kiddies will come along in your lives; you're just glad that they are here!

I think I was more nervous about him going to school and riding the bus at the end of the day. I asked Evan if he was scared and his cute response is always, "Mom, I'm not afraid of anything!" I hope that stays with him forever! I had Jared ride the bus with him for these first couple of weeks just so he knows what it feels like and gets off at the right stop. Even though Jared is only within 5 minutes from home he readily volunteers to ride with Evan for as long as he wants him to. There are moments of sibling kindness...though rare at times...they exist!

After much anticipation, his new teacher is Mrs. Holly Pierce. She seems like a very sweet and nice teacher. I helped out a lot during the first week and the kids all seem to like her very much. Our track was teacher-less forever, probably because it was a position that only required an afternoon for a few hours.

This is now his second week and I just pull up to the school and drop him off to line up in front of the school. He's such a big boy (in his mind) conquering all the little milestones that we hold dear to our hearts.

Life is strange and I can't seem to remember what life was like before the boys...!

It's what brings us together...

As I sit here and recount another fabulous weekend camping and atving with my boys; I'm just so grateful at this point in our lives to be able to do these weekend trips with them all! Mostly, looking forward to next weekend!

We had another place in mind to try out but given the time we were able to leave by because the kids had school we opted for good ol' Tarryall. The weather couldn't have been better! We had a bit of weather but overall it was gorgeous and perfect for camping and riding.

Jared was extra excited to go because he got a new ATV courtesy of Daddy (the spoiler- just kidding) We had been searching for one for quite a while through dealers and craigslist but no one had a decent one to buy and if they did it was never what was advertised! I always thought excellent condition meant it didn't have any part of the body cracked and they just took the picture from the other side!

Kurt finally found an 07' Honda TRX 250cc at our friend Jake's motorsports place. Never ridden, they just didn't sell it so we got a good deal on it. He was quite excited needless to say! It's a manual shift (which I know nothing about since I can't drive one!) but Jared got on it and learned it right away, I'm so jealous!! I just don't understand the whole concept of shifting!! Too much for my little pea brain I suppose!

Evan is now the proud owner of Jared's old ATV the Eton 90cc which is just about right for his size! He was having fun riding around camp with it; which is just fine with Mom!!

These are the times that will hopefully stick in our boys memories forever and maybe when they grow up and have their own families they'll do the same with their kids.

A Little Get Together

(NOTE: THIS WAS STARTED BACK AT THE END OF JUNE!)

So here I sit around 6am in Little America in downtown Salt Lake this weekend. We made the long trek to Utah again by car to see Kurt's side of the family. It was really nice to see his Mom Sue, his sister Kim and her family, Aunt Margie and Uncle Jack and all the other cousins and uncles.

Sue is looking great, she just lost about 30 lbs and is ecstatic about how great she looked in a swimsuit and she did look fantastic! I think I could go for 30-50 lbs myself!

Kim, we hadn't seen for years and has barely kept in touch over the years. She and the family looked great though; their oldest is Cole who is 15 now out of four children.

Their kids were so sweet and their oldest girl Jade swam with Evan and had the best time. I will remember that forever! Evan made a friend in their youngest girl, Ruby!

Margie was knitting away at her latest project (I'm so envious that she's able to do that) but she is still troubled by her feet after numerous surgeries and has been unable to take up any of her normal activities. We wish her some relief and recovery soon!! Poor lady!

Kurt's Aunt Kinney was kind enough to put together some games to play at Liberty Park during our picnic and she even brought prizes for the winners. We had a great time there!

The boys got re-aquainted with their cousins and played well together.

Even though it was a short trip it was terrific seeing everyone and we ended our visit with a big get together for breakfast, then everyone left for home and went their own way...

A Bit of Funny...

Obama to Tax Aspirin!

Breaking News: Obama to impose 40% tax on aspirin

because

it's white and it works!!

Goodbye Michael Jackson

As you all know by now the legendary Michael Jackson has passed away. Think what you may about him and what his life has meant to you or not meant to you. The bottom line is that he was a true talent and musical genius. I still can here the songs from his "Off the Wall" album in my head and sing to them or "Thriller" - choreographing cheerleading dance routines to his music! Brings back a lot of great memories and like all music it ties you to a certain time or events that were going on in your life.

What a shock it's been due to his untimely death but I guess the verdict is still out as to how he arrived at the state of a cardiac arrest. Now there are speculations that it may have been caused by prescription drugs he was taking. Just like the other "King" - Elvis Presley, I'm sure he was on several meds.

It would have been so wonderful I've thought in the past to become a superstar like the Michael Jackson or Britney Spears - mega superstardom. All the fame, fortune and untold adulations that came with it. However, as the story unfolds like so many, it appears that Michael led a very lonely and sad life. Everything from the beatings he received from his father which may have led to his ever changing appearance and the need to recapture his youth that was taken away from him.

I didn't follow him much in the recent years because like many I just didn't understand his moods and changes he placed upon himself. All the media focused on were his extravagant spending habits and the never ending accusations of situations involving children - none of which fascinated me.

As I watched his memorial on tv today; I couldn't help but be somewhat cynical as to why so many strangers were vying for a last look or encounter with the King of Pop. I can understand how someone in the entertainment world could have an effect on you because you love what they do, but a great deal of these people probably never even seen him live or know him personally yet they were so affected by his death.



I loved his music and I think with everyone and all music; it transports you back to a time in your life or an event that brings joy, happiness and sometimes sadness. That's what Michael's music did for me and countless others. I think his Off the Wall album was one of my first albums I bought that I could call my own!



It wasn't a shame that the world lost a true talent but what seemed to be the saddest thing is that he may have died a very lonely person...

Happy 4th to our great country!

Tis another 4th of July and with the sweltering heat during the day and torrential rain storms in the afternoon - all were great!

Our cul-de-sac was a quiet one this year; all our neighbors packed up and left town to visit families or just enjoy a weekend out of town for some R&R. Luckily gas prices didn't soar to $3.00 or more as previously predicted just because of the holiday. We miss seeing everyone around like years past but enjoyed the calmness and quiet time.

Kurt and I took the boys to pick up some fireworks and we decided to get them the day of; more sales and better deals. Evan wanted sparklers, gold and neon ones this year and Jared just wanted smoke balls - I don't know but we got him a whole box and he was pleased!

We got together with our long time friends Jerry & Angel and their three boys for what was suppose to be a fireworks display in Castle Rock but the rain came and it was not just a little sprinkle, it flooded the streets and overflowed the gutters! It was questionable whether or not we would be able to see the fireworks. So we waited it out with time to spare luckily and visited and caught up with what's happening with them lately. When it was nearly dark, the rain stopped and skies cleared so off we went.

Fireworks are so traditional and it just isn't the same without them which is symbolic to celebrate the joys of our wonderful country.

The boys had a great time visiting their buddies and the grown up got a chance to chat. Perfect 4th!! Hope you had a great one as well and God Bless our Country...!