"MY WISH"...

Happy Birthday, Mary Beth!


"My Wish"
by RASCAL FLATTS
I hope that the days come easy and the moments pass slow,
And each road leads you where you want to go,
And if you're faced with a choice, and you have to choose,
I hope you choose the one that means the most to you.
And if one door opens to another door closed,
I hope you keep on walkin' till you find the window,
If it's cold outside, show the world the warmth of your smile,
But more than anything, more than anything,
My wish, for you, is that this life becomes all that you want it to,
Your dreams stay big, and your worries stay small,
You never need to carry more than you can hold,
And while you're out there getting where you're getting to,
I hope you know somebody loves you, and wants the same things too,
Yeah, this, is my wish.

I hope you never look back, but ya never forget,
All the ones who love you, in the place you left,
I hope you always forgive, and you never regret,
And you help somebody every chance you get,
Oh, you find God's grace, in every mistake,
And you always give more than you take.
But more than anything, yeah, and more than anything,
My wish, for you, is that this life becomes all that you want it to,
Your dreams stay big, and your worries stay small,
You never need to carry more than you can hold,
And while you're out there getting where you're getting to,
I hope you know somebody loves you, and wants the same things too,
Yeah, this, is my wish.
This is my wish
I hope you know somebody loves you
May all your dreams stay big ....

...never stop dreaming

...I'll LOVE you for always!

Last Day...

It was hard to think that today (Friday) would be our last full day of vacation in Colorado, but we kept playing and working - enjoying every minute of it. You sure stay busy at julie's house!

She got her Dad to make a trench to bury the barn electric wire and even Owen enjoyed seeing Phil run the backhoe. (Only one telephone wire was broken in the process! oops!) We got in more biking and walking and playing on the 4-wheeler. The "kids" made a tent for Owen to play in.
We also played some more with the ponies!

Aimee and Shane made it up here in time for dinner. Aimee showed us her new bike.
(Grandma was happy to have some time with Aim!) Then we all celebrated Julie's birthday (again) with steak on the grill and a red velvet birthday cake! mmmmmmmmmm Mimi placed the candles on the cake and, fortunately, we did not need a fire extinguisher before Julie blew them out!

The days have been warm and the nights have been cool. I guess that is how it is in the mountains. We will certainly miss this beautiful place and our family here, but have been blessed to enjoy them all so much this week.

Colorado fun...

She loves "those wide open spaces"... and we have all certainly enjoyed them too! The landscape surrounding Olsen's Handlebar Ranch is scenic and spacious.

The mountains rise in every direction and the Blue River flows in the valley below. We have enjoyed walking and biking each way on Kit Carson Drive - (County Road 1001).








Kremmling, the closest town, is 10 miles north. Home of the Mustangs and a lovely park and playground. Owen loved the Vietnam era helicopter and the eagle sculpture; i.e. the "hopicopter" and the "hummingbird". We all enjoyed the water pad with fountains, sprays and arcs of water in which to cool off.
We were so lucky to be able to watch a mountain bike race in the outskirts of Breckenridge. Todd raced in the Expert Division over a course that was 19.5 miles long! We were able to cheer him on over the final "lap"! Owen yelled for Uncle Todd - "woo hoo"!

Phil's favorite thing all week, besides the day of fishing, was the tour of the Country Boy Mine! We went into the cold, wet tunnel about 1000 feet to learn of the miner's life and work in Summit County in the late 1800's.
The tour ended with an opportunity to pan for gold! Phil has often talked about trying that, and he was happy to finally have the chance. Several of us tried our hand at it, some of us discovering tiny golden particles in the sand at the bottom of our pans!

Colorado Vacation...

It has been a busy couple days here at Todd and Julie's house! There is so much to do and we want to do it all! Thanks to Rachel and Owen for getting our day started with Yoga stretches.

Thanks to Julie for getting a little bike and tow-behind burley so Owen and Rachel could join in on the fun.

Some of our vacation activities include:

breakfast with Todd before he leaves for work

picking up rocks in Sadie's and Geri's pasture

reading

napping

playing with ponies

playing on Todd's tractor

and learning to run a dump truck and backhoe

sucking on "juicecicles"

relaxing on the deck

swimming in the big "blue" pool

and soaking in the pools at Hot Sulpher Springs

Mountain horizons...

Our exciting and long-awaited adventure to Todd and Julie's started on Saturday when we left Anoka with Mimi, Rachel and Owen! After 1100 long miles,


a stop at Wall Drug for our "free ice water"

and time to play in their back yard,

































a visit to Mt. Rushmore,


one cold night of tent camping, (brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr)

and a winding drive through Rocky Mountain National Park, (where we spotted this moose and many elk, antelope and mule deer!)we arrived on Sunday afternoon.



















Julie, our enthusiastic hostess, has planned a week of fun for everyone!

Owen already got to know Sadie's little pony friend, "Geri" (which is short for geriatric)


...and we went down to see Julie's river (they have river access rights to the Blue River) which flows north about 10 miles from here to Kremmling and into the Colorado River. Phil got water for Julie's plants, Mimi picked wild flowers, Owen threw clover blossoms into the rushing water and Caleb took a swim....
This is a such beautiful place. I am excited to know that Julie will soon be starting a blog from here called Mountain Horizons.
Much more to come....

Independence Day...

I must admit that part of the joy of grandparenting (or grand-aunting, for that matter) is watching your offspring and the generation of their peers do the business of parenting! (I had the opportunity to do that last week on the Fourth of July and am very happy with what I see!)
It is amazing to see them use their skills as these young parents gently shape and raise the young members of the next generation. It is sometimes hard work, but it is important business and they know it! They each use such different styles and have different temperaments, but they are meeting the unique needs of their youngsters!
I sometimes enjoy just watching...

I see them use their eyes and hands, their words and songs, their arms and hearts to love and nurture. They teach, they correct, they communicate, they make memories and they pass along our way of life. They are quick to explain things and they show their little ones respect and yet they have some expectations and rules and a few non-negotiables... They help them learn to work and grow and pray, and they foster independence.

I think they know exactly what they are doing! ...and it is my job to pray for them and for their little ones. I believe this is the way to preserve and perpetuate our faith, our family and our freedom.
...and, when done well, they will work themselves out of a job - just like I did!