Red Rocks

As the temperatures are now back up to the 40s and 50s, we thought we ought to got out of the house for Martin Luther King Day.  We decided to head over to Red Rocks amphitheatre and Dinosour Ridge...about a 45 min drive from our house.  All I can say is STAIRS.  Just to get to the bottom of the amphitheatre we must have gone up at least 200 steps.  But the view was unbelievable.  You can't appreciate it from the picture.  Look closely at the horizon at the far left and you can see the downtown skyline. Also hard to see, but there were people exercising everywhere.  Pushups, lunges, stair stepping.  Very impressive.

That's milla in the black coat there.  We had just finished a round of tag and were taking some time to rest.

Thomas was in heaven and was in constant motion  the whole time we were there

Taking a moment to give my old lungs a break  

My beautiful girls

I think this was playing lions or something

Still climbing

This was at dinosaur ridge where on our hike up one could see fossilized footprints all over a massive slab of sandstone, among other things.  Although we weren't there to see living things, Sean was determined to find something.  After this picture was taken, papa did spot a grouping of 5 mule deer up on the hill so all were satisfied.  Good day.

The kids are so excited! They finally found a sign of life!
(ended up being a dead beetle)

40th

We all enjoyed Brandon's 40th, despite the sudden drop to frigid temperature.  We had to cancel the balloon flight that I was muy excited about, but otherwise, we enjoyed ourselves.  We spent two nights up in Boulder, enjoying each other and the city.  The first night the fam went to the Boulder dinner theater to see the play '42nd street'.  Although we were always impressed with the quality of the productions that the Elgin Opera House near La Grande was able to put on, this was definitely a step up.  Even Thomas enjoyed the close up show, although I think his favorite thing was getting dessert brought to him at intermission.  The next day Brandon and I explored downtown shops and then we all took a history of Boulder bus tour on the Billy Banjo Bus.  It was full of ghost stories and murders as well as info on early settler and local landmarks.  The hour and a half went quickly and would have been perfect had it not been for the fact the 'heated' bus was maybe only 10 degrees warmer than outside.  Luckily the hotel had a WARM indoor pool that we could revive ourselves in afterwards.  Birthday cake and presents and birthday video (thanks to all that contributed! I think it was Brandon's favorite thing) the next morning completed our adventure.  

Decided to go with the classic football cake that Brandon always enjoyed as a child

Banjo Billy's Bus

We were the first ones on the bus so Thomas was able to snag the saddle seat

Milla getting her papa hug after he opened her present- an origami tulip

It was kind of a banjo themed birthday...Brandon trying out his new gift that he has been asking for  for a while now

To goats and greens

I often don't get to eat what I WANT for lunch because something is on the verge of going bad in the fridge and I can't stand waste, so I eat that instead. This is made more difficult by the fact that I always make too much for dinner so I have too many leftovers and that no one else in my family is willing to eat those things near expiration.

So today I noticed that I had 1/2 a head of cabbage that had been in there, well, since before Christmas.  Luckily it is long lasting!  I love cabbage and so I do occasionally make something out of it for dinner despite the fact that I get a lot of groans.  I could tell this was probably the last week this cabbage had in it, but I also knew it was *Birthday Week* for Brandon and there was no way I could sneak it into a meal without Brandon feeling he'd been abused.  So, of course, I cooked it all up and had a portion of it for lunch today.  Scouring the fridge for something else on the verge that I could have with it I found some goat cheese that I got for a dish over christmas and still had a bit of left.  Being a soft cheese, I figured time was not on my side, so in it went with the cabbage.

Can I just say...scruptious!?  Mmmm.  How did you sit in the fridge for so long together and not meet until today?  How have I been blind to this opportunity for so many years?  No longer.  I will make it again and play around with spices, but today I will enjoy it plain and simple.

Maybe I'M the one with the pitch problem

So Catherine is the only child that enjoys going to choir with me.  I love having something to share with her and I love the company during practices.  Only problem is she sings quite loudly in my ear...and not (usually) the right notes, bless her heart.  Only way to learn, though, is to practice so I just smile and try to lean in to the alto on the other side of me to get my notes.

This past week the kids have been spending a lot of time singing and dancing to Catherine's new karaoke machine.  They've had a blast.  It looked too fun so I finally asked Catherine if I could sing one of the songs with her.  She agreed.  I thought I was doing pretty well until, just a few lines in Catherine paused the music. Leaning close to me, so as not to embarrass, she whispered..."Mom, just so you know you are a bit high.  Could you bring it down a little? It's messing me up."  ;)

Pine

January and February have often been depressing months for me.  Post Christmas excitement,cold weather that is unpleasant to be outside in, kids back in school, etc.  But I discovered something that lifted my spirits while vacuuming up a pile of dumped, crushed chips today...my vacuum is emitting a wonderful scent of pine!    I guess vacuuming up fallen needles from our tree for a month has done the trick.  I am thankful for being able to smell (one of my friends from La Grande was born without a sense of smell...never had thought of that possibility before...she'd had had 3 house fires in the years she was raising her family, largely because she didn't detect things burning early enough to prevent the fires' spread!).  One more blessing.