Get ready for the Super Bowl

How could we even think of enjoying the Super Bowl without eating. This year you'll need two glasses of water when you eat - one to drink, and one to cool down your knife and fork! I'm sure I'll hear the words, "stop gorging yourself," and then one head will nod in shame, and other will keep eating. I got this photo from Kathy Ramsland. Thanks Kathy! I thought it was impressive too.

DEE Turned 60!

Yes, it's true! Nancy's sister Dee made it to 60 years. She said she went to the Doctor and asked him to see if he could tell her how old she was. After a quick examination, the doctor said, "According to the examination, I'm alone in the room!"

Nancy and her brother arranged for yard art to celebrate her graduation to the geriatric scene. She woke up this morning to this. Aging is a wonderful experience for Dee. What a thrill it is to learn that Polident isn't a beat up Parrot!

I assured Dee that aging isn't all that bad. Think of the trouble many of us would be in if wrinkles hurt. Anyway, she enjoyed the yard art and was on the phone with Nancy this morning by 6:30a wondering who was responsible for this!

Click here Dee for more help!

Dawson Butte Hike

We went on a great little five mile hike last week on the Dawson Butte Trail, which is just about halfway between Denver and Colorado Springs. We enjoyed nice weather and some mixed sunshine. Not bad for a January day in Colorado! We all decided the trail was nice enough to return for a mountain bike ride. We'll see this one again in May or June! The area is also popular for Geocaching.

Flashback: Thanksgiving

I don't get it. We have plenty of chairs in the house, so what's up with this? One thing's for sure, you would never see two guys stuck together in a chair like this, even if they are cousins. Thanksgiving brings out the fun in people. After dinner I suspect they were sitting alone wondering when they might see their feet next - after all that eating, I think. I was asleep.

The desert

There is something special about the desert. It just screams fun, excitement, and westerns. Every kid wants to ride a horse and carry a six gun around his waste. Why do you think westerns were the most popular movie for so many years? All the boys loved westerns because the cowboys were brave, strong, and never kissed the schoolmarm. Plus they wore those cool hats. And the girls could never figure out why the boys liked their horses more.

Over the Christmas holidays we did a little horseback riding. Below is a photo of Seth riding into the desert. Hey Seth where's your hat?

Banjo in Italy

I ran across this photo the other day and thought my last trip to Italy. Tyler and I were hiking in Cinque Terre along the coast, and we met this girl and her mother who were doing the same thing, just going in a different direction. She had this banjo (distinctively American) and seemed proud of it. I thought it was great. I told her about meeting a rock star once and asking him if he could read music. So she asked me, "well, could he read music?" I told her he said, "Yeah, but not enough to hurt my music." I could see her mom smiling in the background.

Rockies trade

The Colorado Rockies traded Seth Smith to the the Oakland A's for a couple of pitchers, Josh Ottman, a right hander and Guillermo Moscoso, a lefty. Smith was a decent hitter for the Rockies with a .284 batting average with 15 home runs, 32 doubles, nine triples, and 59 RBI's. He also had a very good throwing arm, but with the addition of Michael Cuddyer who plays right field, there was no place for Smith to go. Let's hope it helps. The Rocks are now stockpiling pitchers.

Contrail in the morning

I got up this morning, looked out the window and there it was! American Flight 2339! Hey! Is that my flight? I sure hope not, but it is a beautiful sight. We have some wonderful sunrises here in Colorado but most of them are natural and the result of light hitting either the clouds or the smog. Hmmm... is that natural?

Tyler

Tyler didn't make it home this year from Korea due a trip he planned to Bali. So, we are really missing him now. He just had a birthday a couple of weeks ago, and of course we do Skype with him fairly often but it isn't really enough. Sometimes you just want a hug and a long talk on the couch. Anyway, I always liked this photo of him and thought I'd post it for family and his friends who follow my blog.

We did get an email from him that he was hung up in Singapore for four days with some kind of passport issue. He said he was now on his way to Bali for a dive there.

Yosemite

If you haven't been to Yosemite yet, you should consider it. This is a beautiful photo of Tenaya Lake. Most of the photos you see are of Yosemite Valley with the big, giant granite walls. This is really more typical of the park. It is truly sublime. I got this photo somewhere off the Internet and recognized it immediately. Wish I could remember who took it or where I got it. Anyway, enjoy it.

Eye Tattoos

After seeing an eye tattoo I realized a truth: if at first you don't succeed, I suggest you don't play Russian roulette! In addition, there's a good reason he has a stupid look on his face - he's stupid!

Just another hike?

My planned destination for this spring is Machu Picchu in Peru. We'll be hiking roughly forty miles over a period of four days on the Inca Trail to this spectacular spot. It's almost an "other worldly" place. In college my friend Craig and I agreed to meet here. We said, "Meet you in Picchu!" Now it's time to go before our knees give out.

Deer

No, I'm not going to shoot you! It's not hunting season yet. Right near my house is a canyon called Deer Creek canyon. I ride my bike up there once in a while. The canyon gets its name honestly, it's full of deer.

Happiness

John Barrymore said, "happiness always sneaks in through a door you didn't know was open!" That's good enough for me. I can tell you that money sure doesn't make you happy. Is a man with eight million dollars happier than a man with seven? I don't think so. So, when happiness shows up, give it a comfortable seat but try not to send little faces to me thinking it's contagious. Oh, they are cute aren't they!

Pagosa Springs

Our trip to Pagosa Springs was cut short this weekend due to an immanent storm, which never really materialized. It's hitting the mountains and high passes but not much else. Anyway, we had a nice time. Gary and Laura came over and we watched the Broncos finish their season in New England. I think most Coloradoans are ecstatic we got as far as we did. Two and a half months ago, we were in the Andrew Luck lottery at 1-4.

We did get up Sunday morning and go to the hot springs at 8:00a or so. There are about 35 hot tubs at this place and when we arrived, only one other couple was there with two small children. We picked a tub on the far side of the them near the river which had just the right temperature for us, 106. We weren't in that tub for more than 30 seconds and those two little kids ran over and got in our tub to splash around! Hey! I'm not your babysitter! These kids were planning on becoming astronauts. They rocketed around in our tub taking up space. But soon they left and we had it to ourselves again. You know kids, they can't sit still.

Ice scrapers and work

My neighbors car is pictured below after the last snowstorm. I know he had to get to work, but he just left it there... for days. Hey, my sentiments exactly! It takes more than an ice scraper to deal with this! Later he told me 'work is the most unpopular way of making money!' I told him not to worry, the little bit of work he does, won't be noticed!

Tattoos

People are getting tattoos everywhere these days. There is just no end to what you'll see and where you'll see it. It made me think how fantastic nature really is. A billion years ago she had no idea that we'd wear glasses, yet look where she put our ears! People don't know if this guy has had a facelift or not. I think he just wears support sideburns!

Gimme sunshine

Just two minutes after I shoveled the drive this afternoon it was covered again. Half an hour later there were two more inches! Nancy told me it took her three hours to get to work in the snarled traffic! But isn't it pretty? Nah! But we need the moisture! Nah, we've got plenty now. Gimme sunshine.

Highlights of 2011

Click this link for our 2011 highlights.

Click the link above for the highlights of our year. It's a short 8 minute video. Most of our friends and followers are in it. I trust your year is off to a great start!

Many Blessings to you all.

Andy

Broncos Win Big!!

I thought you might find this article about Tim Tebow interesting. You know Tebow commonly puts the Bible verse 3:16 on his face. How about this? Tebow had 316 yards passing the ball for an average of 31.6 yards. There were about 45 million viewers of the game, rendering a 31.6 television rating. Really?? Yes, that's right! Here in Denver there is some degree of excitement. Okay, there is a lot of excitement!

Eating your house

The grandkids really enjoyed the holidays. Lots of food, fun, family (all playing with you), and presents. What more could you ask? Well, maybe one more thing. I'd like to eat my house! Wait! you can't eat it yet, it's still under construction. That's building material, not candy!

Hold on a minute, it even lights up! Can I eat that too? The kids have found a way to help mom cut down on food expenses too. She fills a basket at the grocery store, gets in the express checkout, and the kids keep eating until she's down to eight items!

Pancakes

After eating this blueberry pancake I realized what my favorite food is... thirds! If I keep eating like this my rowing machine will sink! But you've got to love it. This pancake was like an NBA player, it flopped over the side... of my plate. Anyway, with lots of butter and really good syrup you can forget about a diet anytime, which is exactly what I did over the holidays.

Now that I'm home and back from vacation, I've been going to the Y to workout. There are all these people attending my exercise classes I don't know. In fact, I've never seen them before. I suppose it's okay, they'll all be gone by February!

Breakfast in the mountains

Seth and I rode up the Santa Catalina Mountains for breakfast with Dad and Evorine. We rode on horses and they rode in a van. We enjoyed blueberry pancakes, eggs, bacon, and fresh coffee together with the rest of the family. Dad told us about his trips to the mountains as a young man growing up in Tucson and what it was like being in the last 'mounted' cavalry unit. We had a wonderful ride up and and time with family. You'll have to forgive my father for putting on the wrong hat. Having been born in Colorado you'd think he knows better.

Evorine has recovered from a serious illness and is much better now. She was able to join us and make the trip up to the mountains for breakfast. It was a beautiful morning with beautiful views of the desert.

Family reunion

We had a family reunion during the Christmas holiday at Tanque Verde Ranch. You see, a family is a unit assembled to spend money the head of the family hasn't earned yet. Nevertheless, when all is gone and everybody else has abandoned you, your family is still there. I like this part of the family because they're fun and they make me laugh. Tess is in College now at UCLA. When she writes home it goes something like this; "Dear Mom, Please write to me more often - even if it's only ten or twenty."

I did learn a good trick from my other side of the family, which solves the problem of visiting relatives. I borrow money from the rich ones, I give it to the poor ones, and none of them ever come back!

Rescue attempt

Watching my grandson rescue Barbie from the tree was interesting. "She just climbed up too high, I'll get her." We had a great Christmas because I no longer am as interested in my own presents as I am in watching the children discover theirs. You talk about excitement, this was it. They say it's better to give than to receive. I say it depends on the gift! I did get an Evelyn Waugh book from my son-in-law. Now that was good!

Then there was the underwear and pajamas we gave the kids. Those are the kind of gifts you take out of the box while you're looking for the present!

Swimming in December

You don't see this too often in late December. The weather was nice enough to enjoy the pool during our stay in Tucson. My son-in-law Seth (a really, really good father) was seen for hours playing with the kids in the water, so I took this photo of he and Daisy. As you can see, they were in the water with a lot of people. It's a good thing they were in early while the water was still blue!

Betting on horses

I wanted to introduce you to my horse. Here's a good tip for you betting people. I learned this while riding last week. Bet on jockeys with bad breath. The horses win just trying to get away from them! Look at his ears!

My accountant doesn't understand that I love horses, so I give all my money to the improvement of the breed. I've also managed to make my betting deductible. I have a bookie who changed his name to Red Cross!

Horses

I used to have a riding academy but business kept falling off. Okay, not really. That's my daughter Noelle riding behind me up Tanque Verde Creek. It's amazing that I stayed on my horse! Look at her, and all that cactus behind her!

We had a great ride that morning and then met with our family for breakfast up in the Santa Catalina mountains. We had blueberry pancakes, and bacon and eggs. Unfortunately, my horse was so slow they made him the mascot for the post office! Then, when we got back to the stable my horse tiptoed so he wouldn't wake the other horses!

When we were done with breakfast it was like walking into a Wallmart store parking lot. Where is my car? Which one is mine? At the end of the morning I realized one important fact about horses. A horse is an animal that can take thousand so of people for a ride.