Catching Up

Yikes, so today I realized I haven't updated my blog in over a year!! So here is my quick attempt to catch up before I keep up.

Petroglyphs

Last weekend, 8/12-13, we went to the ranch to hang out and to collect some boxes we had stored out there. We left the house Saturday morning and about 20 minutes from the ranch Trace took me on a little detour to see more of the area. We were in Big Gypsum Valley heading to the Dolores river. He spent a lot of time there as a kid, riding his dirt bike out there, fishing in the river, family picnics, etc. Apparently there was a good rain the night before because there were puddles here and there... then there was a big one! we rounded a corner and came up to a wash area. Trace thought hmmm.... and we slowed a little, kicked in 4X4 and... got stuck. crap. our tires sank about 6-10 inches in wet clay mud. So Trace dug us out, backed up and punched it and we were back on our way. then we came up to another wash that looked pretty muddy and washed out. so we reved up and were ready to gun it and push thru. well it turns out this one wasn't soft and muddy. it was a solid dried lip so when we punched it we went flying and bouncing instead of sailing thru. Yeeee Haaaaa!!

Then we made it to the river and we stopped a little before the turn off to get to the shore. Trace took me up the other side and we saw a huge sandstone rock. When we walked up and around there were petroglyph's on one side. Trace had told me about these before. That not many people know they are there or dont' bother with them. And most say they are drawings of aliens... well, they are something... hard to say for sure what the artist was thinking but they don't look human. they both have tails, distinctly 4 fingers on every hand and foot, and and something sticking out of their heads. 3 on the small one and 2 on the big one. Interesting for sure!! When you look at them up close you can see remnants of color on some of the etching, the eyes and face, and the 2 horizontal lines at the top. on the middle right side, someone carved his name or cattle brand and dated it 7/11/38. you can tell it's a very different carving. there were also a few small deer carvings and what is propably a river. but the main figures are much larger than the other animal carvings. Crazy stuff.

Labor Day

I can't believe Summer is over already!! We decided to go camping at McPhee Reservoir for Labor Day weekend and get the boat in the water at least one more time. I went to Walmart and bought a little tent and two cheap sleeping bags and we went for it. it's been a while since either of us have been in a tent but it was nothing new. Both Trace's kids, Casey and Jessica, met us there with a few of their friends. We had a great time. All the fun camping stuff.

Casey brought whole tree trunks for fire wood, we took 3 hours to cook brats on the little Weber. It was a stormy weekend any way and just about 10:00pm the fire was winding down and so were we when the sky opened up and the wind and rain sent us running to our tents just to sit inside our sleeping bags and watch our tent flap like crazy for the next 4 hours. i know i fell asleep eventually because around 2 we were woken up by the classic drug guy at the site next to us talking too loud about nonsense at his camp fire. so we chuckled at that and went back to sleep.

the next morning we all made it thru the storm and woke up to make an awesome campsite breakfast. then we loaded everyone and everything in the boat and headed for the water. Casey's buddies had one of the double tubes so they all took turns being knocked around and thrown into the wake. We headed back to camp for lunch and we had more friends show up. Two of them were going to stay the night and two just came for the afternoon. so we finished our lunch and headed back to the water. What a great way to wrap up the summer.

trip to MO

Seems like we slowed down for most of July and August and there wasn't much to blog about. So I'll fill you in on a little... We were keeping our schedule pretty light because we had a trip to Missouri planned. Trace's brother, Ash, lives there in Fulton. It's pretty close to I-70 between St. Louis & Kansas City. Trace's parents and son went with us. So they came down to Gallup for a day or two before to check out the town and then we all loaded up in the Suburban and head out from Gallup on 8/13. it's about 16 hours each way so we did it in two days. There was plenty of room for everyone and snacks and A/C so the drive was just fine. just long! we stopped in Oklahoma city for the first night then got in to Fulton around 5 on Friday.

Ash is married to Lori and they have two kids, Miranda in 8th grade, and Gage is 7...1st grade i think? they had been building a new house on their property for the last year or two and it's done!! so we wanted to see them and the new house. it's awesome. perfect size for a family of 4 and beautiful! Of course i hardly took any pictures of anything so you'll have to take my word for it. Friday night we hung out at their house and had enchiladas and visited before we headed out to our hotel to crash.

Saturday we had a BBQ at Lori's dad's house. John has a cool old house, late 1800s early 1900s out in the country. They took us for a little tour around the country side and showed us where a lot of John's hayfields are and some great old houses. Just a day or two before John found a camp set up in the trees behind one of his fields. it was abandoned but the guys just had to get in there and snoop around. I was trying desperately to avoid chiggers so I stayed out. Chiggers by the way are AWFUL and very prevalent out there. they are a might, look like tiny fleas or ticks and they live in the tall grasses and will latch on and bite you for a few days even if you don't get them off. not to mention the mosquitoes and biting gnats. oh did I mention it was 85 and 85% humidity the whole time. I was a hot sweaty mess. so nice when you're meeting your new family! but I did some research on Chiggers so i did everything I could to avoid them. everyone else thought i was crazy. I'm happy to report I didn't get one chigger bite and the rest of the family was scratching and crying for a month!!

Sunday was a mellow day back at Ash's house. we went out for pizza and it POURED rain on us for a good hour. it's no wonder everything there is green and lush. it was beautiful! but i take the dry colorado air anyday. i thought it got humid at the beach! i was wrong. this was a whole new level of humid! Monday morning we loaded up and headed home. It was a quick trip with more driving that visiting but we all had a good time and i'm glad we went.

4th of July

We talked Crystal, Bear, & CJ into staying in Gallup for a few days so they could spend 4th of July with us. We took the ski boat to McPhee reservoir in Dolores, CO for the day. It took about 3 hours. We met Trace's son, Casey there with 2 of his buddies to join us for boating. It was beautiful day! Warm but not hot just enough cloud cover to come and go and give us relief from the heat.

The 3 boys did most of the water activities; knee boarding, wake-boarding, and tubing. We did get Bear and Crystal out on a tube too though! CJ was willing to jump in the water and swim but didn't want anything to do with the tubing! I'm with you CJ, I've seen people go flying off those! But everyone had a great time. we came home a little tired and sunburned but it was worth it. we got home in time to see the fireworks going off all over town. we stopped on the way into town and Bear bought some of his own too. CJ got sparklers and Bear had a few roman candles and shooting ones. We set up the lawn chairs in the back yard and there was plenty to see all around. Happy Birthday America!!

Trip to CA

I stayed at G-ma's Shari's house in Lomita while I was in LA for the week. It was perfect. Max and I were and happy there. G-ma and I have lived together before so we moved about with out any trouble. Her 3 cat's weren't thrilled to have Max there but they were incredibly hospitable too. Once I had a home base I was free to run around and catch up with as many people as I could.

Wednesday evening, Lisa stopped by Grandma's on her way home from work so we could visit. She got to meet Max and we got to catch up on what's new with each other. Later that night, I had desert at BJ's with Kathy, Angela, & Rebecca. I was introduced to the famous BJ's Pazookie (cookie sundae) very good stuff! We caught up on hugs and baby stories.

Thursday I had lunch with my aunt Laurie at Red Onion in PV. Yum!! We ate for 10 minutes and talked for an hour. So great to catch up! That night Shannell & I went to an event in San Pedro for an organization she works with, Operation Progress, that helps inner city kids with scholarships and work opportunities. A ton of people from the Boston PD were there and some were performing Irish Drinking songs for the crowd. That was cool.

Friday, my mom's friend Janet cut and colored my hair. Just cleaned it up and added some dark auburn low lights to play up my color. Still look great. Thanks Janet! Then I met up with Kathy for the afternoon. We had dinner at Chipotle and then hung out at her mom's for a while and watched the kids play in the great summer beach weather. Then headed back to her house to catch up and visit. I didn't get home until after 1:AM. We are such party animals. :)

Saturday I took Max to the dog park and he had a ball. He was nervous when my mom and I took him earlier in the week but he was ready to run and play this time. We got to see adult Westies and i talked to their owners for a few minutes. So far, everyone has only good things to say about westies and i agree! that night Mom, G-ma, & I had a movie night at Grandma's; we made dinner and watched Confessions if a Shopaholic. Such a cute movie!

Sunday morning mom and I took Max to the cove in PV to hike around. He wasn't sure what to do with that but it was sure cute to see him all wet out in the water. After that I just hung around the house with Grandma. Reading, napping, relaxing, wonderful! That evening I met Kathy and the rest of the gang at Life Covenant church. Then several of us went to Pat & Oscars for dinner. After dinner I went to visit Grandma Edie, Grandpa Larry, & Jeremy. They had just got home from my cousin Alex's wedding in Visalia, CA. I brought some pictures from CO/NM so they could see what I've been up to over here.

Monday evening I went to Crystal's for a going away party. She was getting married to Bear in Vegas Tuesday and moving to Kansas! So I got to meet him and wish them a happy life together. Turns out they were going to be driving through Gallup on their way to Kansas so I hauled some of their stuff back with me to make a little more room in the car for part of the trip. That also meant that Crystal and I would get to see each other one more time. :)

Tuesday morning I got up early and hit the road. I couldn't wait to get home to my hubby. I was soooooo homesick by the end of my trip. It was great to catch up but it's always great to be home. Next time I'll pack Trace in my suite case!!

Trip to CA (stop in AZ)

Monday June 22, Mom, Max, & I set off for California. I decided to drive my mom home instead of having her fly home on the ticket she already bought...sorry about that. :) But since I'm still looking for a job Trace and I thought it would be a good time for me to take a girls trip back to the beach to hang out and catch up with everyone for a few days. We stopped to see aunt Lu and the family in Cornville, AZ (near Sedona) Monday night. Max got to play with their dogs, Dukie and Roxie, and we got to hang out and stretch our legs and visit. We went to dinner at Pizza Hut and then went to watch my cousin play Softball after. Game was good, all was well...Till our family almost went to the dirt with the other side!! Seriously! The other team was losing badly and they weren't happy about it. So they were being snotty the whole time and I'll admit our side of the bleachers were a little rowdy but not really us. When the game was over the two teams slap hands, good game, good game, all that... Well the pitcher wouldn't shake hands, he just made a fist and walked by... so my sweet innocent 5'2" aunt (okay, maybe not so sweet and innocent) said "come on pitcher, don't be such a poor sport"... so after the game he walked over and started talking smack! Something like "say that to my face old lady!" so she just said he was showing poor sportsmanship. Seriously not cussing or being nasty. Well that exploded and as we were walking to the cars, their whole team started following us and yelling and then my family was getting pissed. I have 3 cousins, 18-21, and they weren't happy with they guys talking to their mom that way; but we were all trying to convince each other to get to the cars. So the rest of Adams team stepped in and we were able to go home with out throwing blows but holy moly, it was crazy!! Never a dull moment with Aunty Lu! :)