What's different?

Can you see the difference between these two pictures? (not counting cleanliness)




That's right ... We put new pulls on our kitchen cabinets! I know it seems like small potatoes, but there will be no more nails breaking, splitting or pulled back painfully while opening cabinets. The extra benefit is it adds panache!

Ridgway to Ouray

Swimming is a very important part of any trip with Levi, so we went to Ridgway State Park. We had heard it was a fun, beautiful place, and they were right. We had a picnic first.


And then Levi froze his tush off in the reservoir.


We then went on to Ouray, Colo., which is known for its springs. It's a beautiful town surrounded by the mountains.

I started to drive the Million Dollar Highway for this view, and had to turn around after a few miles. There is no guard rail and we were driving next to a cliff. My nerves couldn't take it, and I won't do it again!

I had such a great time with Mom and Levi. It was sad to see them go.

Grand Mesa

The third day we made the trek up the Grand Mesa, which was about 30 degrees cooler than in the valley of Grand Junction. Levi and I are posing near the Powderhorn Ski Resort that overlooks the valley. You can see the Bookcliffs in the background.



It was so green on top of the Grand Mesa, and there are a number of lakes scattered about. Absolutely gorgeous!

This is another gorgeous lake. I really like the picture since it looks like Mom and Levi are standing in front of a back drop. It also makes you want to go camping ...

Fun in the Sun

The second day Mom and Levi were here, Levi and I went to the gym, we all went shopping, went to the pool and Levi got a ride in the convertible. Here he is looking too cool for school.




John had a good time taking him for a ride.


While the boys were gone, mom and I got out the mower to attack our little grass patch. I barely started when the boys showed up. Levi wanted to try the rotary mower out...

Then mom ...

And John finished up. There's nothing better than making your chores look fun and having someone else finish them up for you! I'm sure there's a bit of Tom Sawyer in all of us.

Glenwood Springs, Colo.

It was great having Mom and Levi out his past week for a visit. We had so much fun! Our first adventure was Glenwood Springs and the Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park. We took a ride up Iron Mountain on a tram, which is always an experience trying to get on and off a moving, swaying pod, but we got some great views on the way up.



Our first stop was the cave, which is was quite beautiful. One of the "rooms" is the second largest in the state. I have to say I was surprised since there are much larger caves in Missouri. I thought Colorado would have larger caves, but I guess not.



We took time to step outside the cave and take a look at the view of the Colorado River down below, and this thrill ride that swings you out over the canyon. I couldn't wait to try it out!

And then I got on it, and the butterflies started. We flew out over the canyon, looking at the river and highway approximately 4,000 feet below. I couldn't wait to do it again, but Levi sure could.

Levi rode the bull and laughed the entire time before getting thrown off.

I rode the bull and told them to stop BEFORE I got thrown off. By looking at the picture, I think I could have just stood up ...

We had lunch overlooking the city of Glenwood Springs.

And we rode the Alpine Coaster, which goes incredibly fast the more weight you have on the sled. This was our first go, and they assured me that the sled wouldn't fly off the coaster rails. It was so much fun, we did it again, but we did it on our own.

We sluiced for gems.

And we flew over the canyon once more before we made the trek back home. Levi is such a brave guy!

Rock Art

I really like this picture I took at Arches National Park, so I thought I would share. Along the hiking trails, rocks are stacked so you know you're on the path. This particular stack was by "Balanced Rock".

Fam Trip, Part Dos

The family fun continued Saturday with a trip to Arches National Park in the 100+ degree heat. It's a dry heat, so it's really not as bad as you think. However, it was still pretty warm. We took our time driving to Moab, Utah, making a stops along the Colorado River near Castle Valley. Here's John, Kevin and Kate. Kim decided to take a breather and recoup a bit from the full week of traveling and sightseeing. I would definitely need a vacation from a packed vacation!

The park was busy, but not as busy as it could be, which could have been due to the heat. I really like this picture of Kevin and Kate with the "Three Gossips" in the background.

Kate really enjoyed climbing all over the rocks. She's such a brave soul! This is much more treacherous than it looks. What you can't see is what they had to climb to get to this point at the "Double Arches".


As the day went on, clouds began to roll in, which made it much cooler (like 98). John took this picture as we were leaving the "Landscape Arch" area of the park around 6 p.m. or so.

Again, the mandatory glamor shot of me and John. I know you can't get enough of us! Do I sound conceited? Oh, well.

Fam Trip

This past weekend, John's brother's family came for a visit. Kevin, Kim and Kate made the trek from East Texas by car, stopping to see the sights along the way. We had a wonderful time! Thursday night we went to the Downtown Farmer's Market and the next day we went through the Colorado National Monument. Aren't they cute!

Kate and I went off on a trail and spotted this lizard. At first it looked like a toy since it was so brightly colored, but then it scampered off into the shade where John shot this picture. Definitely real.


After our hike, which was longer than we expected, Kate was bushed.


Both of us were ready to stop the hiking in the crazy heat. We ended up taking a short cut off the trail on the main road. We're such rule breakers!


Then we drove through the monument, close to the cliff's edge. This is how I felt about Kevin's driving ... Kim went to her "happy place". (Just kidding, Kevin! You did great!)


Glamor shots of me and John. You know it's mandatory. I'll be sure to post more pix of our grand adventure with the Matthews. Stay tuned.

Cocker's Concert

Last night John and I made the trek to Hotchkiss, Colo., a town around 500 people to see Joe Cocker. He's still got it and he put on a great show. His band was incredible and the fans were definitely into the concert.

Since Joe has a ranch and makes his home in Crawford, he puts on a benefit concert every year for the Cocker Kids Foundation. CKF benefits local kids with scholarships, camps, etc.

John and I skewed to the older side, but it's not to say that there wasn't tomfoolery happening in the audience, including a bit of the "medical" marijuana. Maybe those folks were reliving the Joe Cocker concert from Woodstock.

John and I before the concert.

Joe Cocker rockin' out.

We were able to go to a meet and greet, so I took John's picture with Joe. Yeah, we're on a first name basis ...