Beanie Baby Bingo . . . Again

We had our final reunion meeting last night at Children's Hospital. We are now officially done with that group. Joseph had his usual class and we met with the other adults like we have been doing over these last couple of months.

I have decided that there is always something really fun and festive going on for the kids there. Last night, we walked into the main lobby and ran into the woman in charge of the volunteers. She recognized us and called the girls and Joseph by name. She said she had missed seeing them and invited the girls to the fun festival they had going on. They had arranged a group of adult volunteers to come and do various activities. She told the girls the list of activities and their eyes were as wide as saucers and they were so excited. They were able to play beanie baby bingo again and won a beanie baby each. Rachel choose a purple bear named Millennium no surprise there as its birthday was January 1, 1999. Each beanie baby comes with a given name and a birthday. Juliana choose a white unicorn named Mystic. Joseph was given the opportunity to choose one after the classes like last time. He choose a super cute green dragon named Scorch. Then the girls were able to win books and then got their face painted. Rachel got a purple flower and Juliana a pink butterfly. Then they got their picture taken and made a cute frame to go with it. What a fun night as usual for them. Like last time there were many other children there that were very frail and sick. Many were in wheelchairs and had many I.V.'s in them.

We as adults enjoyed a fun pizza party and were able to visit and get to know each other a bit better. It was a fun night had by all.

The Pictures and The Crossing

Here are the pictures from the birthday party for Katherine. It was a warm and beautiful day that day, the pictures turned out well. That is because I was not taking them.

Joseph and I went to The Crossing yesterday to prepare and serve lunch there. The Crossing is run by The Denver Rescue Mission. It is a temporary housing facility for people trying to get back up on their feet. We arrived at the facility which is a converted old motel and were given aprons and a job. We first opened up a whole bunch of ground up elk meat for bean and beef burritos to be served for dinner that night. I have never seen so much elk meat in my life. The man running the kitchen told me they get it donated a lot from the packing company that people use to pack the meat that they get from hunting. People forget to come and pick up the meat and it is given to The Crossing. We then opened a whole bunch of re fried beans and then layered up tortillas. We then got kicked out of the kitchen because someone else decided that Joseph was too short to be in there. So, we were assigned dish duty and Joseph brought in the dirty dishes from the lunch room to the dish washing area. We were then asked to serve dessert in the serving line. Joseph dished up cookies and I made a huge mess dishing up a huge bowl of chocolate pudding. Joseph was a great worker as usual and it was a comfort to have him with me. There were many kids there his age because it was a holiday and they were not in school. We saw several families and many single men there. It seemed that people could come off the street and get a meal. I saw many coming in while we were serving. It was a bake potato bar and it smelled good. We were offered to eat there, but I told Joseph that the food was not for us and that we had plenty at home. Everyone there was very nice and expressed their thanks for us being there. The workers were mostly adult men and were so cute and patient with Joseph. He just blended right in with them. It was a great way to honor the memory of Katherine and we will plan to go and serve there again in June to remember when she left us to go and live in Heaven where she belongs.

Katherine's Birthday

Yesterday was our dear sweet Katherine's 1st birthday. It was a hard day, we miss her very much.

I had a nice weekend planned to help me through the hard times. My dear friends Melissa and Kristie met me at Fairmount and we went to see Katherine on Friday. Mike had planned to take the day off so it worked out really well. Melissa brought a cute pink bird to keep there with her. Kristie gave us a beautiful crystal pink rose in a vase that we are keeping at the house. Mike and I have decided that is what will represent Katherine for us in our minds. We will remember her through pink roses. I think this came about when someone sent us a bouquet of baby pink roses after she passed away and that has just stuck with me. Thank you so much to Kristie for such a thoughtful and beautiful gift. Mike has suggested that we take it with us on trips and set it out to remind us of her memory. I really like that idea.

After seeing Katherine, we went out to lunch and it was so much fun. We went to Pei Wei which is a great Chinese place owned by P.F. Chang's. So good. I had the Beef Lo Mein and Spring Rolls. It was yummy! We had a great time visiting, thanks guys for a great afternoon.

Saturday dawned as I knew it would. I arose early and went to the gym. I then went out to the barn and had a great lesson with Laurie and Tego. I did some trotting while sitting, oh that hurt! I am still sore from that. I then did some cantering and a jumping pattern. Laurie tied my stirrups to the saddle to help me keep my legs in place. It worked out great. I need that every time. Oh, wait, no I need to learn how to do it on my own. The woman that I met last week was coming after me and she was riding Tego. I handed him off to her and she is now planning to take lessons from Laurie like me. Although, she had much more equipment than I did, but hey I am on a budget here. I am sure she had a great time as well.

I came home and got ready and then we went to see Katherine. We got balloons to to the release. We were all wearing our Katherine pins and the man at the store blowing up the balloons asked the kids if it was their sister's first birthday. They said it was and they never asked where the baby was. Oh well, some things are best left unsaid.

We arrived at Fairmount and tied up her balloon. We sang her happy birthday and sent up the other ones to her in heaven. I am sure she has them by now. Happy Birthday my little Angel!

I had arranged to go to Bonfils to give a blood donation in honor of Katherine. So, that is where we headed next. Mike dropped me off and I went in. Mike took the kids to the nearby library. I went in and filled out a two page questionnaire and then turned it in and began to prepare myself for the donation. The nurse called me into the evaluation room and went over the questions. I had checked that I had lived in Europe for more than three months. She asked me when I had lived there and for how long. I told her and then she informed me that I was forever ineligible to donate blood because I could potentially have been exposed to Mad Cow Disease. Oh, well, the best made plans of mice and men often go awry. I tried, I planned, but they would not take me because I have lived abroad in a country nearly twenty years ago. Their loss I suppose, I am a great candidate in my humble opinion. What a waste of time. I called Mike about 20 minuets after dropping me off and he said, "Your done already?" I said "I am done forever." So, just as a public service reminder to anyone planning to donate blood, you cannot donate if you have ever lived in any country in Europe at any point in your life. I wish they had said that on their web site.

Mike came and picked me up and then we went out to dinner to celebrate Katherine's birthday as we do the other kids. The difference was that we did not have to go to Chuck E Cheese. Hallelujah! We all enjoyed a great dinner at Texas Roadhouse. It was a nice way to end the evening.

I am still planning to go tomorrow to The Crossing to work for their lunch shift. I am pretty sure they will not care if I have lived in Europe. I will plan to write later about that and post the pictures from the graveside.

I have had several people ask me about visiting Katherine. If you would ever like to join us, we usually go on Saturday afternoon to see her. Feel free to call me and let me know if you would ever like to join us. Katherine will love the company.

My New Chaps

So, as promised here are the new chaps along with the new paddock boots. The boots are ankle length and then the chaps hit me below the knee. They are so nice and comfortable. So much better than my other ones. Thanks to the Nelson's for the generous Christmas money that allowed me to go and get them.

I had another great lesson yesterday. I can barely walk again today, but it is so worth it. Laurie taught my lesson. She has been in Vail these last several weeks and I have been taking from Sarah instead. But, Laurie was there and she taught and did great. She made me work hard as it should be. There was another woman watching the lesson who is thinking about starting she looked to be about my age. Laurie told me that she had invited her to come and watch me ride. So, there was a little extra pressure. I was able to do a jumping pattern. I started by trotting over the cross rails and then turning at the canter and jumping over two more rails next to each other. It was fun and a great challenge. But, I did not fall off and Tego made me look great as usual. It was a great ride. Going to the barn these past several months have been so healing for me. It is nice to go to a place and forget all my troubles and heavy burdens that I am carrying right now. I love it.

A new Year and New Chaps

So, on Saturday I finally went and bought my new half chaps for riding Monetgo. They are so nice and look great with the boots. I finally look like I kind of belong there at the barn with the new equipment. I am so excited to wear them and break them in. I went for a lesson on Saturday and it went really well. There is another adult (two other men) that ride Montego as well. He went before me and so Tego was nice and warmed up for me, it was a great lesson. I did some trot pole work and then did a lot of cantering around the arena. I am still sore from this, I knew I was going to be sore on that day. Very bouncy the canter, I am still paying for the great fun and challenge but it was totally worth it. The canter is a slow, collected gallop. It sounds simple right, just sit right while a 1,500 pound animal is running. It is very difficult to remain balanced especially around the turns. I need to learn how to counter balance my weight with his weight to better facilitate the turns. That is what I worked on for about 20 minuets. We were both hot and sweaty when we finished. Thanks Tego, you did a great job as usual. He is wonderful, my new favorite person (oh, I mean horse.) I will take pictures of me in the new boots and chaps and post them soon.

We had a fun new years as well. We all went over and spent a great evening with our friends the Chadwicks, Howells, and Harts. Thanks Kristie for having us over. We dined on pizza and soda and had a yummy dessert from Melissa. We all played Apples to Apples. So much fun. I think I was in bed around 9:00 and then woke up at midnight to hear all the fire works and cheering going on.

Our new year's day was spent shopping for a Christmas tree and going out to eat. Mike was given a gift card from some of his co-workers for his graduation. So, we went out and enjoyed a great meal at Outback Steakhouse. It was not the most kid friendly, but it is Mike's favorite. The kids did great, and enjoyed the food.

We then went on a hunt for a tree. I had gotten rid of the old one, it was not full looking and several lights were not working. So, we looked at Lowe's, nothing there. We then went to Home Depot and they had a great one for $35. It was the last one and already set up. We placed it in a cart and were walking to the registers to pay for it. We were stopped by a woman saying is this the 7 1/2 tree for $35? I said it was, but it was the last one. She then got very upset and said she had called earlier that day and asked to have her name placed on it for her to buy. She was quite upset and storming down to the Customer Service counter to complain. Mike and I looked at each other and decided we did not need the tree that bad and walked it down to her. She was surprised and the poor workers at the store relived. So, then we went to Wal-Mart. They had a tree for the same price except it was gold. It was quite possibly the ugliest thing I have ever seen. I opened the box looked in and then closed it and walked away. Nothing to see here, lets move on. So then it was Michel's, nothing there. Finally, it was about 6:30 and I was ready to call it a night. Mike said lets just go to Penny's and look. Well, sure enough they had one that was green and very nice. It came in a box which was even better. They were running a deal that day and we got $10 off our purchase, so the tree ended up to be about the same price. In the end it worked out. It was quite the process, who knew that getting a tree would be so much work? I will love looking at it next year and enjoy the fruits of our labor.