Life!!!

I am a very lucky girl/woman to be alive today and I thank sooooo many people for helping me with that. It begins with Torie from the YMCA who is now a great friend. I am blessed. My family, mom, dad, and aunt Carol who came out here to be with me. I think they got me to wake up and notice their voices. I guess I followed my mom's voice when I was just coming out of it. Great friends that were there everyday or calling to make sure I was ok. Angie kept everyone updated on facebook as well as my farm! :)Wendy for bringing good food and being there everyday and Gina for bringing the sweets! :) I am sooo lucky and thank God every day for giving my life back to me and in full working order..no real memory loss..obviously just some short term stuff. It is coming back slowly but surely! I don't know what I would do without the wonderful, amazing and blessed people I have in my life. Thank you again ALL of you!

Loving camping.

We had a great time at 11 Mile Reservoir campground.

Do I know her....

Amy being a rock star while we are hiking. :)

My legs are too short.

It took me a while to get across this but I made it successfully! :)

Hiking and reading.

Amy and I went on a hike and laid in the sun and enjoyed a good book. What that book was...I honestly don't remember...due to recent circumstances. :)

Amy...

The view in the morning with Amy wrapped up to stay warm.

Looking out..

What I saw when I woke up one morning. Climbing up and enjoying the view!

Waking up..

Getting up in the morning and enjoying the beautiful morning!

Having fun...

Chillin' at ElevenMile.

Potter

Hard core "Potter" fans. We went to the 12:45AM show. It was great. Now, I want to see it in IMAX!

"Up"

I brought Maggie to see "Up", as you can see she is very into the movie! When it was over she was so sad because she wanted to watch it again..I felt so bad! I will take her again soon! I love this little girl. :)

Peace!

Just give it a chance....

Chillin with Angie!

Relaxing with my best friend at my parents house. We were watching Brenna crawl all over my mom. :)

MN fun.

Hanging out with Kale, Leif and Brenna! My MN kids!

Sprinkler fun!

Brenna and I playing in/on/ and behind the sprinkler. As you can imagine I was wet after this little extravaganza! Always having fun with the MN kids!

My best friend!

Angie and I relaxing at the Wooden pool party! I love this pic of us! Having a great time with kids and friends...who could ask for more? I am lucky to have such a great friend!

Keri's pool party.

Relaxing at my friend Keri's house. Tuesdays are play date at her house. I was fortunate to be home for one of these this summer. What a beautiful day out it was.

Fun with Rocks??

Brenna and Leif getting ready to get washed up, but first rocks are fun to play with. Why do kids need toys? They'd rather play with rocks and boxes. :)

Summer Time

Life the last few weeks.

So...no recent pictures, I know I am a slacker. I need to start taking my camera out with me more on the amazing hikes I have been doing. My friend Wendy and I went today to the back side of Red Rocks, a part I have never traveled, and it was beautiful. Note to self, bring camera more often.

I have been busy with keeping fit and I am proud to say I have lost 11.5 lbs. in the last month and a half. The bodybug has kept me accountable for sure. One of the best investments to date. I will keep plugging away and keep you up to date. It feels good for sure!!

The other thing that has been keeping me busy this summer is my RESEARCH PAPER! Yes, the last class for me to attain my Masters Degree and it is a doozy. As I sit here with all the books, articles and notebooks around me I think...I have a lot of work to do. It is too late to do anything now though...it's late. ;) Tomorrow is another day and I will get it done then. My first draft is due Friday..I hope to have it in by Thursday to enjoy the 4th of July weekend early. So, I will gradutate this August with a Masters in Curriculum and Intruction with an emphasis in Space/Science Education. What's next you ask? Well, my PhD someday of course. I think that I would like to try my hand at teaching college level courses someday. I need to make a dent in my loan payments before tackling that beast!

On a side note, I am in the process of finding out how to become a HOME OWNER! It is scary and exciting all at the same time. I thought I found the house for me but am having sencond thoughts. Everyone has opinions and I appreciate them all but there are so many to consider..what's a girl to do? So, I will take it slowly and what ever is supposed to be will be. Hopefully before the end of the year...that $8,000 tax credit would be nice.

So, here I go..off to bed..read New Moon...and get ready for spin class in the morning. Please think of me. I am not intimidated by many things but spin class is scary to me! I know I will survive.

Love you all and thanks for reading my blog!

He is alive in VEGAS!

We went to an impersonator show and Elvis was one of the performers. He was nice enough to pose with me after a few camera glitches. :)

Side shot.

The new do!

Benihana!

We had a nice dinner before our show. Benihana was awesome.

MGM

I can't wait to see this performance. I have made it a goal to see all the Cirque Du Soleil shows in Vegas. I have 2 down now. :) Ka was amazing!!!

In the theater.

Amy and I waiting for the Ka performance to begin. We got in trouble for having our picture taken....woops!

The Grand Canyon.

This is the view from the top of our adventure! Yes, I am going to hike down this. Good luck to me!

No bug glasses!

I had to remember to have my photos without my bug sunglasses on. This shot was a little bright so I had to improvise. It works.

Amy rolling down the canyon.

This is one of my favorite shots of Amy. She is so cool!

Loving vacation!

Taking a break from all the fun!

Stopping to enjoy the scenary.

What a beautiful morning. We started our hike at 7:30AM and what a good choice that was. :)

We found a friend.

Amy was going to go climb on some rocks for a photo and noticed some falling rocks. Looking up this is what we saw. Hello Mr. Ram.

Enjoying the view down..

What can I say?

Proof.

I made it down to the 3 mile resthouse! My quads hurt. Who said going down was easier??

I have to go where?

Yes, back up that beast!

I survived the Canyon!

I can barely stand up at this point! I can't believe I made it but what other choice did I have! It is one of the biggest things I have ever done physically...5 hours. I rock!

I am so cool!

Mixing it up for the viewers. :)

Look...

You can be 4 places at once! Here I am in Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, and Arizona! Amy made me do this as well as the crowd standing around.

Here we go!

My faithful sidekick, Amy. She is a great traveling partner!

Our first stop.

Our first stop after entering the Canyon. What a view. It is so much more than a big hole in the ground!

How grand...

A picturesque shot of the Grand Canyon from the South Rim.

Having a blast!

Just enjoying the Canyon!

Scenic Overlook....

Hmmm..I am reevaluating my sunglasses! I feel like a bug! :)

Weirdo!

It's her first time through the Rocky Mountains. Does she look like she is having fun? I like this shot! Wolf Creek Pass 2009!

Coolin' off

It warmed us up hiking to the falls...so it was a cool break to hang out by the water.

Treasure Falls

A beautiful shot of Treasure Falls near Durango, CO. We hiked up to the falls. A good break to burn some calories on a road trip. Good thinking Amy!

On top of the world!

We took our students on a field trip to the top of Pikes Peak. We took the Cog up and the kids had a great time. They were awesome and I was so proud of them.

Braving the cold!

In the 5 or 6 times I have been to the top of Pikes Peak, I have never seen this much snow up there. In the background that is the top of the building towards the right. Amy, Scott and I braved the snow.

The Mission Pilots.

Just us girls, as Spivey would say. Getting ready to take the Cog back down Pikes Peak.

Windy day on the Peak.

So, a few boys were brave enough to venture outside with me. We walked around the top and I let them get close to the edge. They were pretending to be falling. It made me nervous! They had a blast and so did I!

A great team leader!

Anne and I posing for the camera on the top of Pikes Peak! Man, was it cold! She is an amazing person and was a wonderful team leader. :)

Some of my favs.

Don't tell them this but they were some of my favorite students. I won't lie, I was hard on them but they are great kids!

Avery, Marquis, and Remmon.

Who could resist this?

On our way down the cog and Joey is always entertaining me. He could always bring a smile to my face. :)