Staying Cool---Mission Possible!

The temperatures here have been nearing the triple digits and with the humidity factor, it feels like a sauna! I personally try to stay inside where the air is cool whenever possible. Dennis and the boys, though have to keep going in spite of the heat! Travis and Gail have their new basement nearly formed and expect to pour the concrete Monday morning. Here you can see Travis, Gail, Ashley and Dale working on the footings. Dennis and I were there helping too, and it was hot! Since this picture was taken, they've put up forms, and re-rod. In addition to all the work being done on the house project, we've had quite a lot of graves to dig these past few weeks. Dennis has also helped two different neighbors dig up water lines that were leaking. I sure hope ours don't start leaking!
The horse and calf don't seem to be suffering with the heat. They have good shade, and can stand inside the barn where it's usually cool (comparatively speaking) and we keep the water tank full. Scamba, however, has moved into the house. He now thinks that the mud room is his house. We don't mind though. He's about 13 years old, and we want to keep him as comfortable as possible for as long as he's with us! He's been the best dog we've ever had!

We're only about four weeks from returning to school! Summer has passed too quickly. The first day back on the bus will be August 23. I have several things I'd like to do before then, but I've been to Michigan and Colorado, plus a quick trip to Wisconsin, so if I don't get anywhere else, I've done plenty! It's been fun!

The horse needs a lot of riding, but it's just been too hot for me. I did go ride with Pam and Alan at Shimek once, and have taken a few short rides right around here. Maybe I'll be more interested in riding when the evenings are cooler.

Great Time at Don and Ada's

Wow! What a wonderful time we had with Don and Ada! We arrived on Sunday afternoon, and hadn't been there an hour until the boys were in the river. They enjoyed throwing rocks, and stacking rocks to make a wingdam. They worked on the project off and on all week long. They also enjoyed the hot tub! After being in the icy cold river water, they had to get into the hot tub to warm up. Don took us all up into the mountains (about 12,000 ft. elevation) on four wheelers. It was beautiful, and so much fun! Mom rode with me and we trailed behind, so we were covered with dust, but Dad went from silver hair to RED! Take a look at the Colorado Redhead. We went over the million dollar highway to Silverton one day. That was a beautiful drive. We had lunch there and perused the shops. Silverton lies in a little valley surrounded by mountains. Colorado mountains are just indescribably beautiful. All the gals went into Durango to do a little shopping one day. Tyler, Kathy, Zach, Wyatt and I went rafting on the Animas River right through the middle of Durango. It was a fairly short ride, and everyone enjoyed it. The whole week went by very quickly. One of the biggest thrills for Zach was riding the four wheelers. Don and Ada have 6 of them, and they let Zach ride the little one first. After a day or so, he was "graduated" to the bigger one. Then he got to take Wyatt riding. We enjoyed the whole trip, and this time, the van didn't break down. We did have Tyler and a tool box though, so we were prepared just in case. Wyatt and Zach really enjoyed baby Alex and also Alex and Dakota, the dogs. The boys were not ready to leave when it was time to come back home. But, then....none of us were! Thanks again Don and Ada for your wonderful hospitality!

Westward Ho!!!

On the road again! We left Saturday morning, not as early as I would have liked, but good enough. We have the van loaded down so good it's got it's nose in the air. We've traveled without incident so far to Colorado Springs. Zach and Wyatt did very well being in the car from 6 A.M. to 9 P.M. We "exercised" them at every stop and played countless rounds of Bingo as we drove. We first spotted mountains in the distance at Limon. The boys were unimpressed. As we got closer though, they got more excited about the mountains. Wyatt was especially interested in those big mountains. He can't wait to play on that mountain. He's looking forward to playing in the snow without a coat. Hope there's snow at Wolf Pass!
We found a room, finally, with an indoor pool in Colorado Springs and the kids enjoyed pool time. After a good night of sleep, we're preparing to pack back into the van for another 400 miles of travel. I'm using the motel high speed internet service to update the blog. Tried adding pictures to our Michigan trip at home, but our computer is so slow it can't get the job done. Wish I could get DSL at our house!
Well...enough for this time. We're on the road again......

Whitefish Point and Mackinac Bridge

What a day! First, we had a great breakfast compliments of our motel. Then we loaded up to head out sightseeing, and the van wouldn't start. Called our mechanic. He suggested that we replace the coil pack, which we did. Still nothing. Called our mechanic. He said, try replacing the spark plugs, which we did. Still nothing. So we called AAA. Got towed to Cooks garage. Rented a car, and went on to the sightseeing plans. Had a great time. While we were at Whitefish Point, Mr. Cook called to say the van was ready. New fuel pump, which was what our mechanic figured it probably would be. We didn't hurry back, because we were about an hour away from the garage. Continued our visit at Whitefish. Saw where the Edmund Fitzgerald went down in 1975. Saw big ships way out in Lake Superior. It was beautiful. Then we came back to Sault Ste. Marie for dinner at the Locks View Diner. Enjoyed an excellent meal while watching big ships go through the Soo Locks. Guess what we had to eat? Whitefish! It was delicious. We were fortunate enough to see the biggest ship on the great lakes lock through. It was the Paul R. Tregurtha, and it was huge. Tomorrow we plan to do a boat tour of the Soo Locks. After supper, we drove down to Mackinac Bridge. Actually we drove across the bridge. It's long! And HIGH! We saw several ships and Lakes Michigan and Huron...at least that's what we think. We walked the beach and visited the Mackinac Lighthouse. Then we returned Sault Ste. Marie. We're really enjoying the trip, the sights, and even the van breaking down was an interesting and funny detour in our plans.
We took the boat tour through the Soo Locks the next morning. It was interesting and informative. We were actually in Canada, but without passports. We went under the International Bridge and through the Canadian locks. We so enjoyed the Locks View Diner that we went back for lunch. Went shopping in all the gifts shops along Portage Street, and then decided to go back home through lower Michigan. With no destination in mind, we started driving south. We enjoyed the scenic drive along the lakeshore until dark. We kept driving because none of us seemed to want to stop. So we arrived home at 6 o'clock! Our trip may have been short in duration, but we logged nearly 2000 miles of travel and had a great time!

It's nearly midnight, and we've arrived in Sault Ste. Marie. Had a great trip. We enjoyed the scenery. The drive up highway 2 along Lake Michigan shoreline was beautiful. Tomorrow we plan to see the Soo Locks and maybe Mackinac Island. Watch for more news!

Lucky Horse

This is Lucky. Lucky horse! Darren, the rider might be lucky too, but we don't call him that! When this picture was taken, it was just the fourth time Lucky had been ridden. She's a three year old Quarter Horse. We've had her since she was six months old. She has had about 30 days under the saddle. I rode her for about an hour after we got home. She's very calm and will go where ever you point her. I'm planning to put a lot of hours on her this summer and through the fall.

SIB Trip 2005

Last year, Bobbie and I traveled to South Dakota. We took off with no plan what-so-ever and drove straight through to the Badlands. We took our paints and canvasses along and started portraits of Mom and Dad. While there, we thought it would be fun to pose for our own Mount Rushmore style photograph. Keep in mind that the paintings of Mom and Dad are unfinished! We have yet to paint them some hair and clothing. Pictured here, they're not much more than eyes, noses, and mouth. We are all much better looking than this picture portrays...Ha! We had such fun that we decided to make an annual SIB Trip. This year we plan to go to Upper Peninsula, Michigan and have dubbed it the SIB Trip 2006-Lighthouse Tour. Watch for more news about it here. In case you wonder-SIB is for Sibling. To be invited, you must be a sibling.

First Attempt at Blogging!

Wow! Ten years ago, I was one who said "I will never be connected to the internet"...and now look at me! I'm a blogger. Well, I'm learning as I go, so don't be too critical. My purpose for this blog site is to keep a diary of sorts. I figure, at my age, if I don't keep a log of what I've been doing and where I've been, I might not remember! This way, I'll be able to go back and see where I've been and what I've done! If this turns out to be the only entry on this blog, then you (who ever reads this) will know that I've forgotten how to get back here. Believe me, that is totally possible!