The Royal Gorge Bridge

The last day of my nephew's visit, we took him to the Royal Gorge Bridge. The bridge was constructed in 1929 and is the worlds tallest suspension bridge, hanging 1053 feet above the ground.



The length of the bridge is 1260 feet and boy did it seem far in the cold and wind. As you can tell from this picture we were bundled up. It was a cold morning and so windy that the bridge was moving up and down. The bridge is made up of 1292 planks of deck and 250 are replaces annually.



In the summer you can usually look down to the royal gorge river below and see rafters go by.



You can also take an aerial tram across the gorge. The tram is the world's longest single-span aerial tram in the world, gliding more than 1100 feet above the canyon floor.

Another Hike and Snow Angels

The last couple of days that Branden was here, the weather was really nice, so we tried to show him a few more local hiking spots.


As usual at this time of year, there are patches of snow all over the place just begging for snow angles to be made.

6 Months and Growing

Ava has passed the 6 months mark and has grown to 26 1/2 inches in length and weights 14lbs 4ozs. She didn't like her 6 months shots a couple of weeks ago and was very fussy afterwards. I spent most of the first night downstairs in the 'Chair' holding her and trying to keep her comfortable. She also has two little lower teeth coming in and spends a lot of time trying to chew on whatever makes it to her mouth.



Ava is rolling around quite a bit but as of yet, no signs of crawling. Besides, who needs to crawl when you can just roll over to where you want to go. When she is not in her jumpy chair, she spends time on her quilts with toys all around. She rolls back and forth between them and finds just the right one to play with. Today, I put some toys down for her and a bit later, Branden came along and gave her a few stuffed animals to enjoy. We went kind of overboard. I had to take some pictures because she looked so cute with Ameya's white bear. This was the first time Ava played with it and she was very excited with her new friend.

A Visit from Branden

My Nephew, Branden, came to visit this week. He has the week off from school and my sister flew him out to Colorado. Ameya has been so excited and hangs on every word or action from Branden. She has found her new best friend.



Of course, we've had to do some of the local Colorado stuff, like hiking and visiting local tourist spots but the best has been the fish head. Be prepared, when you come to our house, you now need to take a picture with the fish head. Thanks Branden for being such a great sport! We love having you and will miss you when you go home. We hope you can come back again soon!

Saying Good-bye to a Faithful Friend

We just found out from the vet, that Dakota has cancer of the spine. For the last two weeks, he has not been walking to well and displaying a lot of pain with his back legs as he attempted to get around. At first, we thought it was just due to the cold weather but as he continued to get worse, we thought he might have licked some antifreeze from the garage. I think Scott and I are relieved to know at least we didn't cause this as that would be very hard to bare.

The vet sent us home with some pain medicine so we could spend some time with him before we have to say good-bye. We are hoping to have at least another week with him but it will all depend on how he is doing. It is so hard to let him go. He has been an awesome dog and we will miss him so much.

The sad part is that we know Boris will be following very soon behind him. His tumors are getting so big that he also has trouble getting around. The difference is that Boris is still such a happy and energetic dog. When he looks at me, I can still see that puppy like excitement. I feel like he has so much life still in him but the tumors are cutting it short.

Answering a Tag

1. How long have you been together? 15 years
2. How long did you date? 1 year and 10 months but it would have only been about 6 months if I had accepted the first 'unofficial' proposal
3. How old is he? The big 40


4. Who eats more? Depends what were having and time of day
5. Who said, "I love you" first? Scott
6. Who is taller? Scott
7 Who sings better? We both are better in the choir than doing a solo
8. Who is smarter? Depends on the topic as we both have strengths and weaknesses


9. Who does the laundry? We both do now but it use to be mainly me
10. Who does the dishes? Who ever has the free time and the energy
11. Who sleeps on the right side? Scott as it's closer to the door and Yes Carly, like Craig, the gun
12. Who pays the Bills? I do but Scott helps me, if he's around
13. Who mows the lawn? Scott does
14. Who cooks Dinner? I do but if I'm working late or off schedule, Scott will


15. Who is more stubborn? Definitely me!
16. Who kissed whom first? Scott kissed me
17. Who asked whom out? Scott asked me out
18. Who proposed? Scott did and boy was I surprised. He had to ask me three times before I could stop my hysterical nervous laughing and say 'Yes' under a wonderful California Sunset. This was the 'official' proposal with Scott on one knee and a ring in his hand.
19. Who is more sensitive? I'd want you to believe Scott is but it's me.
20. Who has more friends? I 'know' more people but Scott truly has more 'friends'

And whom am I tagging - Brit, Janelle and Kelly :)

A Visit with Grandma Linda and Grandpa Dave

We went out to California for New Years and got to visit with all our family. We took Ameya out to Disneyland last year so she met most everyone but this was the fist time most of the family met Ava.



We had a great time and only wished that we could have stayed longer. We sure miss everyone and look forward to our next visit, which we hope will be soon! And Kelly, I'll keep you posted. I would love to see you and get caught up!

Go Baby

We brought Ava a baby jumper last month and she loves it. She goes crazy in it and is so excited to be standing and moving around all by herself.



We have it on Video and if I can ever figure out why it's not uploading, you'll see it soon.

A New Bath

Ava is getting so big that we had to move her up to a big girl bath - which everyone knows is shaped like a rubber duck. The beak even quacks



And yes I know the date is wrong - guess I better learn how to set the date on the camera.

Happy Valentines Day

All I really need is love, but a little chocolate now and then doesn't hurt!
- Lucy Van Pelt from "Peanuts"

Ameya, the Artist

Ameya got so many great gifts from all our family for Christmas, that she is never lacking for something fun to do. She is very creative and loves to work with her hands. Here she is sitting across from me in my office working away on the drawing set, her Aunt Carol gave her.