A Baby Shower for Cassy

Cara, Callie, Cami and Celeste hosted a baby shower for Cassy. The theme was building blocks. Callie made a cake out of building blocks. Celeste brought up her die cut machine with a die for a box pattern. Cassy, Celeste, Cami and I cut, assembled, colored and stuffed the blocks with chocolate mini snickers. They turned out really cute. Cami used them to decorate the next day. Caylee stacked them up for us. Celeste planned some fabulous appetizers. My favorite (beside the chocolate covered almonds!) was wontons filled with fruity pudding. They were delicious. Cara prepainted little wooden blocks. As the guests arrived, they were encouraged to paint designs on the block squares. Cara painted a wooden box to house the blocks. It was a fun shower.

Brandon

Celeste and the boys stayed over when Cassy was here visiting. Brandon slept up in Caylee's room. Usually he was up earlier than most of the house. One morning, he awoke right as I was getting ready to study my scriptures. He want me to play a game with him. I decided that was a better choice than sitting off by myself and ignoring him. We built towers for marbles to run through. When one was completed, we would completely disassemble it. Brandon had a certain spot in mind for each type of the tracks. He would find a new design on the box and we would build that one together. What an enjoyable way to spend some time with a sweet grandson! Another morning, when it was just he and I again, we had breakfast together outside. Celeste came up the stairs and snapped these two pictures.

Mathew Winters Trail

I had high hopes for the Summer of lots of outings with my married daughters. Tuesday was going to be our day each week to get together. But at the beginning of the Summer, I had the Musical Fireside at Church, then girls camp, then a quick trip to Utah to see Jenny. So June was a complete loss as far as outings with the older girls went. As soon as I returned home from Utah, Peanut Butter Players was in full swing for Cami and the Jubilee Practices heavily involved Cami, Caylee and myself. Celeste, Cara and Callie planned a few outings and did them without me since I just couldn't fit them in. After a while, they gave up trying. Cara persevered so we actually went hiking at the beginning of the week. Yea! Caylee and Layla went with us. We hiked up the Mathew Winters Trail. This is the same trail where I encountered the poison ivy on my leg earlier in the summer and the Stake Primary youth encountered a rattle snake! We kept our eyes open for both of those hazards and had a wonderful time. Cara carried Layla in the back pack to the top and I carried her back down. I got the better end of that deal! Caylee was a trooper. We hiked for 2 and a half hours. She is a strong little girl and great company. At one point, we crossed a small stream in one of the few wooded areas. There was a white lab type dog laying in the water. On the way back, another white lab type dog was in the same position in the same spot. We all wished we could lay on our belly's in the cool stream water! We did see poison ivy and maybe poison oak but no rattle snakes! Thank goodness.

Running

I love to go running. I love being outside, feeling the sun and a slight breeze on my face. I love looking at the blue sky, the trees and wild flowers which are so beautiful this year. I love the feeling of everything working in sync together, my arms, legs and lungs. I love the challenge of getting out there and just "doing it". After wards, I am hot, sweaty and very happy.

One of my favorite runs right now is "going to the top of the world". It is a four mile route. From my house, I go around Tucker lake to the right, pick up the cement trail and go all the way up to the water tower then back down and finish my loop around the lake. I always run up the little hill to get out of the Tucker lake area. It is just over a mile of uphill once I get to the cement trail to go to the water tower. I love being up there, I can see Arvada Reservoir and North Table mountain to the South, the whole plains including the Denver skyline to the East, to the northwest I can even see the Boulder Flatirons. It is fabulous up there. I also really like this run because I have to work hard to get up to the water tower but then it is a gradual decline back down to Tucker Lake. I feel like I can run fast. Working on training those fast twitch muscles for this part.

On Saturday, while running around Tucker lake, I saw seven pelicans soaring together in a northerly direction. It was a beautiful sight.

Today's run, I managed to time it just as hundreds of hatchlings were hoovering at face level. I felt like Pig Pen from the Charlie Brown cartoons with a billowy cloud of dust surrounding me only it wasn't dirt but little bugs. I ran with my hand waving in front of face, trying not to inhale them or get them in my eyes. I was surprised how long the swarms lasted. On the way back though, I didn't encounter any. I also saw a buck on the hill side. It went bounding away in the tall grass so you could just see his antlers going up and down.

Animal encounters!

While out running yesterday, I saw a hill and said to myself, "That looks like a fun place to do some hill repeats!" I know some of you think that is kind of sick but I like the challenge of it. As I run up the hills I say to myself in some Arnold Swarzenegger type accent "Strong like Bull!". But when this morning rolled around and I actually had to put on my shoes and get out the door to make good on my little goal, I felt a little differently. So, I procrastinated and sat at the computer to check my e-mails. My friend Kris Olson had written on my wall words of encouragement about a run I did recently. That was all I needed to get myself out the door. I am sharing this little story to illustrate how important and powerful words of affirmation can be.

I looked at my hill and decided I would do five repeats and then jog back home. I noticed as I raced up the hill that little black spider legs kept disappearing into the dirt holes as I came upon them. I wondered how much the dirt around the spiders in their holes shook each time I passed over them. On the trail back, I came across a small brown/grey snake curled into an S shape on the trail. I wondered if it was dead and wanted to touch it with my shoe but what if it was an alive baby rattle snake? I didn't really think it was but decided to error in the favor of caution. So I found a small stick and nudged it. It moved a little but seemed on the brink of death. So I rolled it out of the middle of the trail and into some shade. Hopefully, it will recover.

As I approached my front porch, two small birds were circling quite close overhead. The other day Callie, Jordan and Caylee saw what they thought was a baby sparrow perched above the door. Caylee and I ran out to see it but it was gone. So, today as I stood on the front steps, these two birds kept circling and getting closer to me then taking off and coming in again. I wondered if I was a threat to them. I stepped on to the porch and away from the front roof. That settled them down and they landed on the rain gutter and gazed down at me. I came upstairs and looked out the loft window hoping to see a nest. It must still be higher but there is a fair amount of bird doodo on the roof just outside my window. It has been a fun morning and I am happy I actually completed my run. Yea! LIfe is good.

Poison Ivy

This is my last blog of the night, I am about out of pictures and it is almost midnight!. I went for a jog along the Mathew Winters Trail last Monday and evidently I brushed by some poison ivy. I hope it heals soon! The run was worth it though. This trail took me on top of a big foot hill just north of Red Rocks. The wild flowers were so beautiful. What a great time of year!

Happy Birthday to Celeste!

Travis surprised Celeste with a trip for her birthday so we had the boys for a few days and celebrated today as a family. We missed Cassy and Taylor. Happy Birthday Celeste!