June in Colorado & Kansas -- Family, Friends, Fun, Fantastic Views

We're back home from our vacation in Colorado with Drew and Carrie and Greg and Kim, and it was a great time together. We visited lots of friends in Colorado so the time was doubly precious. The Millers' hospitality was wonderful at their "Bed & Breakfast" in Aurora to begin our time, meeting up with the kids there in Denver! We visited with the Englishes in Parker, the Prigels in Golden, and met with the Forsythes in Leadville. The kids got to meet up with college friends before flying back to their homes, and Dick and I had a good visit with family in Western Kansas on our drive back home. From the beginning of our travels in Emporia through Kansas to Colorado, back through Western Kansas, and then on home through the Flint Hills, the drive was absolutely beautiful with the lush greens of a wet spring in Kansas and Colorado -- a veritable feast-for-the-eyes!

The rented Jeep allowed times of off-roading!

On top of the world!

Cottonwood Pass -- the Continental Divide; it was quite cool and windy that evening.

A cloudy sunset one evening overlooking some of the Collegiate Peaks from the west side.

Off on a trail ride to see some beautiful scenery up close and personal (Greg in the lead behind a guide, Carrie, Kim, and Drew -- with a guide bringing up the rear)

And back home again -- coming across the Flint Hills in all their glory!

Upgrading

Here are a few pictures of the new flooring; the office, the kitchen area, and the family room. It's sort of hard to get pictures that show it very well, but you'll get the idea. Now we just need some new furniture, new paint, new window treatments, new.....

:-)

The Land of Enchantment

Earlier this month, we took Daddy and Lois with us to visit Larry at his cabin in New Mexico. While in Leoti with Daddy and Lois, we got to visit with Gwen and her kids as well as Bob and Ann. Then while in NM, we saw Sandy and her family and also Karen and her family. On our way home from NM, we stopped in Syracuse and saw Jennifer and her family. We really got to touch base with lots of dear ones! These are a few pictures of our time in NM.

April Fool's Day (13 days late)

I've never seen anything like this. We had about 3/4 inch rain yesterday morning and afternoon that was followed by about 3-4 inches of very wet snow late yesterday afternoon and overnight. It's already starting to melt this morning so it won't last long. The snowflakes were at least as big as quarters so it was beautiful but so very un-spring-like! Here's a picture of our Dalmatian out enjoying the big flakes -- oh, wait! she's a black Lab! :-)

Frosted Flowers

Oh, my! This just isn't supposed to happen in April in Kansas! Most of the grassy places are covered with snow -- not anything deep but definitely frosted. Our Easter Sunrise Service is promising to be very, very chilly; probably about 20 degrees!

Budding Friendship and Old Friends

Last night, the girls were actually sharing

the cushy-pillow -- well, at least for a few seconds! :-)

SURPRISE, CARRIE! I thought you'd enjoy these pictures.

Chris, Holly, and little Lora flew in for about a week-long visit with Norm...

...and with Kelly, Jaylen, and Kelora (don't know if I spelled that right) who drove in for the time with family. I got to hold Kelora! She's so tiny!

And while I was catching "old friends" pictures,I got Brian, Sharae, and Lenia to pose as well!

Redbuds in Bloom

Here's a touch of our spring flowers for you, Kimi. :-)