A Case of Blue Tongue

This is my cousin, Jenny. She is three years old and was a surprise baby. She is now the youngest cousin on the Hess side of the family. Having that spot means she gets spoiled by everyone but someone has to have it so she's the one. Recently we attended a graduation party for her sister and brother. One graduated from high school, the other from college. She got a mouthful of the blue icing that was on the cake. Couldn't resist taking this picture.

Vacation Part 2

On Sunday, we went to Baccalaureate at the Air Force Academy Chapel. It was very nice. After that everyone came to our cabin to eat lunch. Lots of good food and no one went away hungry! Sunday night we went to church and then to the pastor's house afterwards for a snack. At church we got to see Miss Folsum, former teacher at Penn View, and after church, I got to see my friend from my college days, Tonya Sickler. We had fun catching up on the past few years. On Monday, we went to Cripple Creek to visit the Mollie Kathleen gold mine. We went 1,000 ft. down into the gold mine and took the walking tour. After that we went downtown for lunch, which was fabulous, and then did some shopping before heading back to the cabin. When we got back, we went a few blocks from the cabin and got our picture taken at the Old Time Photography shop. First time we've had something like that done together. The pictures turned out great! Tuesday morning dawned with overcast skies and it was chilly. We went to the Parade of Graduates which was outside....basically all the cadets from the Academy parade onto the field and then the graduates step apart to signify that they are leaving the Academy. That night we were able to go to Andrew's commissioning.......very nice ceremony. Wednesday morning greeted us with fog, mist, and cold, cold, cold.....in the 30's. We left the cabin early so that we would be sure to get into the graduation. The doors close at 10 AM and if you're not in by then, you won't get in at all. We sat in the stadium in that weather for over five hours. Good thing we took blankets along as we used every one we had. It was just nasty. Thank goodness I had a weather proof coat! It was great to hear President Bush speak and he shook every graduates' hand.....all 1,012......that took well over an hour. The Thunderbirds only flew over once while the graduates were throwing their hats. They were supposed to do an airshow, but because of the bad weather it was canceled. After that, we went to the graduation party and enjoyed ourselves since the sun decided to come out. We started home on Thursday......traveled from Colorado Springs to Evansville, Indiana to my aunt's house.......very long day! Spent the next day with my aunt and family and then headed for home on Sat. We had a nice trip but it was good to get home! I think a certain brown furry creature was glad to see us too!

Vacation Completed! Part 1

What a trip we had! Except for tornados, cold nights, windy days, fog, rain, and whatever else I'm forgetting, we had a memorable time to say the least! We mostly lived in our coats except for late afternoons. We had good weather on the way going to Colorado until we hit the western part of Kansas. Then I felt like Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz. Let's just say we hope to never be caught in tornado alley again, at least for a long time. I happened to be driving while it all took place. I had to fight to keep the Highlander on the road. Between the rain, roaring wind, and nice sized hail, I'd say we were pretty much involved in some kind of tornadic activity. Felt like being in a washing machine while it was agitating. We knew that there was a tornado about 20 min. behind us and that we would be getting into severe storms ahead of us. The guy on the radio was very helpful and my mom kept checking the map, but I had to laugh at him from time to time. He said to take cover. I was ready to ask him if he'd been to Kansas lately! Where in the world do you take cover in a place like that? Anyway, we made it through all that, only to be in a wind/dust storm for about two hours after that. I should've stopped and had a burial for all the tumbleweeds that decided to cross the road and jump on my wheels. They should put up a sign that says, "Watch out for crossing tumbleweeds!". Needless to say, my mom was ready to cry because she's only had this vehicle for two months and the hail so nicely decided to take some paint along with it. Once we got to Colorado and found our cabin, the real fun began. The next day we went up Pike's Peak....it was 17 degrees and snowy on top and I was ready to yell (if I could've gotten enough air to do so), turn up the heat and give me some air! That night we went to the Flying W cowboy chuckwagon supper. It was too cold to have it outside but that was okay and the food was soooo good! We spent the next day at Royal Gorge....took a train ride through the bottom of the gorge first, then drove to the top. Now if you don't know, a bridge spans this gorge.....so, my dad got the bright idea to walk across the bridge. (You can walk, take the trolley, cable car, or your own car across it.) This is a suspension bridge and once you get to the middle, there's a nice sized space between you and the bottom of the gorge......over 1,000 feet. Not liking heights, my mom and I linked arms and tried to walk in the middle the whole way across.....nothing like the wind blowing the bridge to make it even more interesting and the bridge has wooden planks for the "floor" and yes, there are some cracks. My mom, sister, and I took the trolley back. Dad took the cable car. He tried to say that it was the best way to see it all. Yeah, okay I'll believe it just as long as I didn't have to get in it!