So here is the deal...we have many, many wonderful photos from our Thanksgiving celebration in Seattle. However, I am not sure that any of them project the fun we had as much as this one does! We did have a grand time with John, Matt, Amy and Janelle. We had some interesting weather with snow and ice, but we prevailed and had a grand time. We spent about 48 hours at Beau and Bonnie's home in Kirkland. We ate turkey, played games, watched football and generally had some super family time. Amy cooked up a storm in Bonnie's kitchen, which was fun to behold. In addition to the "turkey" time, we also celebrated Matt's birthday and cheered for the Seahawks (but to no avail). So watch for the next posting--we will be back in Seattle to celebrate Christmas (a little early) and John's birthday too. Good times ahead!!

Look at the smiles on these faces. Who is happier? Grandparents? Grandgirls? We think it could be a tie!!! We had such a grand time in Des Moines this past weekend. We were able to get in our usual hugging, playing games and laughing. A highlight for us was being the "Mystery Readers" in Sara's class on Friday--Sara guessed it before we arrived. Michelle spent an entire Saturday playing with her scrapbook pages; while Sara went horseback riding and Lori and grandparents had a dandy time at the Build-a-Bear store. It was a terrific weekend...puzzle making, checkers, crafting, reading and more. We even got in a few good visits with Daddy John. As always, it is a treat for us to be around this special family.

Who can imagine more fun than the Allens, Maddens and Weavers taking a trip together up the California Coast? We had such a grand time. The weather was absolutely perfect. We toured the Hearst Castle, observed hundreds of elephant seals in their natural habitat, toured a mission, drove through the wine country, ate some excellent meals together, laughed and shared stories! Charlotte arranged for a lovely VRBO home in Cambria--right across the street from the ocean. We had a terrific view from our expansive window. This trip was a true reminder about friendships and how important they are to all of us. We are truly blessed to have some special people in our lives!!

Strode and Judy have just returned from a wonderful (too short) visit to St. Louis, MO. Strode started the visit by participating in the ACCC conference which started on Wednesday. Judy joined him on Thursday evening. Friday, they toured the area near the "Arch" (the Gateway to the West). Strode took a number of photos --no surprise there. Friday evening Judy and Strode joined sister Pat, brothers Tony and Walt and sister-in-law Gwen for the start of an extended visit and wonderful Italian dinner (thanks Tony). Most of Saturday was spent in Cuba, MO with youngest sister, Julie. Lots of memories were retold with laughter and hugs interspersed throughout the visit. It was very special to have all the Weaver "sibs" gathered in one place. Another treat for all the visitors was to celebrate Sunday in Aunt Sally's church as she shared a thoughtful sermon to the congregation. It was truly special to be part of her flock on a Sunday morning. The Weaver clan shared some football viewing and some tasty pizza at Tony & Sally's lovely home before everyone departed to their respective homes and travels. The hope is that the Weaver siblings will plan to do this again in the not too distant future.

Fall is here in Colorado. Judy and Strode took a lovely trip up to the mountains to enjoy the wonderful weather and the color turning on the aspens. It was a perfect day trip. They even made a short stop in one of their favorite little bergs--Georgetown. A picnic lunch was shared under a shade tree to complete a "just right" weekend adventure. We are so blessed to live in this amazing place!

Wow, what a weekend with our son John! It was football, football and more football:-). John arrived late on Friday night -so we scurried to bed to get our beauty sleep. Saturday morning with lunch pack in hand, we headed for Boulder on the famous "Buff Bus". (John definitely lowered the age average on the bus!) We enjoyed a wonderful game at Folsom stadium where the Buffs beat Hawaii. We followed up the game with some yummy Mexican food.

Sunday, looked much the same, except we drove ourselves to the parking lot near Invesco Field to watch the Broncos vs. Seahawks game. It was hot! In fact, it was the hotest game on record at Invesco Field--and we were there baking in the sun. We had a great time in super seats. Sad news with a loss for the Seahawks and good news for the Bronco fans. (We were mixed!) We followed this game with Italian food on the patio.

Needless to say, it was a "just right" weekend with son John.

Here are the "girls" on Labor Day weekend at the Living History Farm in Des Moines, Iowa. We had such a good time looking at all of the "olden" day houses and equipment. We also fit in a pony ride and a freeze pop! Sara and Lori were delightful and charming! Sara was so interested in all of the history and tradition. It was a treat for Grandma and Grandpa to be a part of the tour. During our visit we also got in a couple of meals out, church, and some kite flying. It was wonderful to spend time with this special family. We are blessed.

The Denver Units had such a nice August weekend. We took in a movie and dinner with friends on Saturday. The highlight of our weekend was a wonderful hike with our friends Pat Olive and Dennis Steh. Pat was Judy's supervisor when she was a principal. We had a grand time while hiking a gentle trail for about 3 miles. The view was lovely and the weather was just right. We will definitely go back to this same area for hiking. We are so happy to be able to take advantage of this great outdoors in Colorado!!

What a week we spent in Seattle...lovely weather, our boys and their girls, friends and general good times. We hugged our way through the week. Our days and nights included: a Sounders Soccer game, a Seahawk training camp day, a tour of Pikes Place Market, moving furniture and weeding, Trivia night at Red Hook, two movies, a rousing game of Tripoli and a birthday celebration. We couldn't have asked for a better trip. We are so blessed to have 2 wonderful sons and 2 terrific daughter-in laws. They are always so generous in sharing their time with us. It has been a super, duper summer.

One of the highlights of the trip was a lunch picnic with Matt and then a walk through the P-Patch community garden. Lots of color and unusual plants. It was a perfect day to enjoy the Seattle sunshine (once again August is some of Seattle's best weather.

Amazing, outstanding, and awesome--all words to describe our extended weekend in Crested Butte, CO! We had such a great time. The weather was just about perfect and the scenery was absolutely lovely everywhere we turned...mountains, flowers, water, aspens, blue sky and more. We hiked each day and took photos galore--especially Strode:-). We had a couple of picnics, we forged creeks and we scaled mountains (well maybe small hills!). We hope to return in the fall to see the aspens turn golden. We are reminded how blessed we are to live in this beautiful state of Colorado.

Well what a wonderful extended weekend we have had. You can tell by the smiles on our faces that we are enjoying our time together. Amy and John arrived on Thursday (late). From Friday morning until Sunday afternoon we packed in a ton of grand time together: Brewfest--rain and all, Rockies game, World Cup soccer, Trip to Leadville, many games of "Head and Foot", not to mention lots of laughter, good meals and many hugs. This was definitely a memory maker for the Denver Units. We are so blessed to have such a wonderful family!!!

Last week was one of those weeks that will fill our hearts and minds with wonderful memories. It was a perfect week for Grandma Judy and Grandpa Ed (Strode). Our daughter, Michelle, and her family joined us in Denver for a week. We were able to take in lots of sights and sounds of Denver. It would be hard to choose our favorites. The nice part about the visit was that we were not rushed and we got in lots of hugging and visiting time with our wonderful daughter, her husband John, and our precious grand girls-Sara and Lori.

We managed to fit in a trip to the Denver Aquarium, the Children's Museum, a paddle boat ride, shopping, 2 ice cream stops, 5 playgrounds and some yummy Mexican food meals. John got in several "running" days. The girls had lots of play time. And the "mamas" got pedicures. All in all--a fabulous vacation week!!

June 5th found Strode taking on a first time challenge. A fellow at work put out the call that he would be leading a "hike" up to the top of Mt. Bierstadt about one hour from Denver. It is reputed to be the easiest of the 54 14,000 foot mountains in Colorado. So with only one week of preparation, Strode spent about 45 minutes to an hour each day walking up and down the dam that is close to their home in Lowry. The day started early (4:30 wake up) the group assembled and 27 of us took off to try our hand at mountain "hiking". The trip is three miles each way and a gain in elevation of about 2,200 feet from the trail head. The first two thirds is as best described a climbing hike. The surprise came closer to the top. This early in June that is still a lot of snow covering the peak and we had to do some pretty significant 'bouldering' since the normal trail was covered in snow in a number of places. Strode is shown on the left with a look of relief that came with reaching the summit. Top left shows the many stops that we took to catch our breath. Top right, we had to test our balance going up and down crossing the stream. On the right the view from the summit shows the beautiful distant views and the boulder field that we climbed through to enjoy that breathtaking view. After lunch at the top we headed down.

On the Memorial Day weekend Strode and I took in a great baseball game at Coors Field. You can tell by the photos that it was a great day to be outside in Denver. It was a full house as the Rockies took on the Dodgers. Strode was practicing taking photos with his phone, which is still a work in progress:-). We had great seats on the third base side. Rockies lost the game, but it was still a very successful outing as we continuted to celebrate our long weekend.

This was really a "sports" weekend for us. Not only did we take in the Rockies game, but we also attended a Colorado Rapids game. It was great fun. The Rapids were hosting the Seattle Sounders. Strode and I sported our much coveted Sounders scarves to the game. We were greeted heartily by several other Sounders fans (also wearing scarves). We were torn as fans...who to cheer for? Should we root on the home team--Rapids? Or should we support the Sounders --where son John works? We cheered for good plays, but quietly were hoping the Sounders won. In the end, the Rapid prevailed. It was a great evening to watch some professional soccer.

Strode and I were off to the woods! Today we hiked Elk Meadow which is near Evergreen, CO. It was an incredibly sunny day with the temperatures in the high 70s. It was very windy out in the open, but just right under the trees. This is one of our favorite hikes in the area. It is about 3 miles doing the full circuit...some uphill and downhill. As we walked along today we were reminded about how blessed we are to live in such a beautiful area.

What a grand weekend we had in Des Moines...a little rain and wind did not stop us from hugging, laughing, playing games and "doing crafts". This photo was taken at the very nice botanic gardens in Des Moines. We lucked out because the "gardens" had some special activities on the Saturday we visited. There were instruments to play while singing along to favorite songs. There were balloon flowers and a few animals to admire. All in all a perfect afternoon topped off by a tasty lunch at Fudruckers--Sara's choice. We all enjoyed the yummy milkshakes. Thanks to the Houghtons for a wonderful visit. We are always well cared for when we stay at their lovely home!!

In addition to our "work-day" with Habitat for Humanity, Strode and I took an amazing walk around on of the few water venues we have in Denver. Wash Park is a wonderful area with a couple of small man-made lakes with trees, bicycling and walking paths. There are several acres of grass for the volleyball enthusiasts and playgrounds for the small fry. You can see by the photo that it was a lovely day to be out and savor the spring weather. It is good to be alive!!

This was a busy, but productive weekend for the Weavers. The highlight of the weekend was joining the volunteers for Habitat for Humanity for a Saturday work-day. The photo shows part of the work team from our church. Strode, of course, is on the far left in the photo. Joe and Linda Holliman are in the photo as well- the very short and very tall combo:-). There were 10 volunteers from the church who painted all day long. It was a great experience. Judy provided lunch for the 10 volunteers. That was her contribution to the work-day.

We are back from our very fun trip to Seattle this past weekend. In one of these photos you will find my "boys". We had several opportunities to visit with Matt and John--and to do a little neck hugging. We were so glad to get to spend time with them. In the other photo you will see a couple of the Allens, extended Allens/Fishers, and we added Matt's wife Janelle to the mix! This photo was taken at the Fischers' home in Issaquah after Tricia's baby shower. All in all, it was a fabulous trip to the Northwest.

Here we are the second day of spring 2010! There were blizzard like conditions in Denver on Friday, but as you can see, there is very little snow left on a lovely Sunday afternoon. Strode and I took a long leisurely walk around this beautiful lake in City Park. There were people everywhere walk dogs, pushing strollers, jogging and biking. We know that we will have some more "weather" in the next few weeks, but a day like this reminds us that spring will come!! We are seeing buds on trees and a few bulbs are pushing up through the crusty ground. Ah-h-h we do love our sunshine.

Here are the girls from our visit last weekend. If you look very closely you can see the "hole" where Lori has lost her first tooth! It was a great announcement as the grandparents arrived. We had such a special time reading, crafting, visiting the zoo and strolling the mall during our stay. We are so blessed to have such a wonderful family. We thoroughly enjoy making memories together.

Last weekend Strode and I spent a weekend with our favorite grandgirls in DesMoines. Of course, Michelle and John were there too! You can appreciate, I am sure, the artistic work of the 3 artists in this photo. Each of the artists (left to right: Grandpa Ed, Sara and Lori) designed and created their own masks. We spent much of the weekend creating and crafting at the kitchen counter. It was great fun.

This weekend was a busy one for the Weavers. Judy was off to Phoenix to spend a couple of fun days with the Fab 4 (the other three are Erin, Bonnie, and Christy from Seattle). Strode first flew to San Diego for a board meeting of a cancer executives association and then back to Denver for a fund raiser event for his hospital. They are both home safely enjoying the President's Day off and will get a chance to celebrate Valentine's Day together next weekend.

What a grand Super Bowl weekend we had with friend (really family) in Phoenix, AZ this past weekend. We toured the Phoenix area, rode the light rail, saw the Ansel Adams photography exhibit, played Mexican Train and ate gobs of good food. (We also fit in the Super Bowl and cheered the Saints on to victory.)
The photo here was taken in front of the Irish pub where we joined Marni and the Allen family for lunch, hugs and good conversation. We are blessed to have such good friends and can share such good times.

Here is the laundry room on the way out to the garage, the guest room and our bed room. It is a little hard to show the bedroom without a wide angle lens on the digital camera. That is all of the key rooms, hope it give some perspective of our home layout and what it will look like to those who might come to visit.

These three are all taken from the center of the great room. The fireplace is in the center of the west wall, dining area to the north end and the kitchen is to the east side. We are really enjoying the glass front cabinets for Judy to display her good china at the south end of the kitchen.

Our good friend Mary Nelson asked to see some of the inside of our new home so for Mary we will post some pictures taken today. The first two show the bottles that we got at Hobby Lobby that replaced our holiday snowmen that have been enjoying some featured decor spots in the family great room. The third is of the great room from the front door entrance.

Rocky Mountain High - Colorado - Today we drove up to Echo Lake at the entrance to Mt Evans and trooped about the lake on our snowshoes. As you can see it was a beautiful Colorado day with lots of blue skies and a crisp 40 degrees or so. The lake is at about 8,500 feet in altitude so we did not set any speed records in our trek. It was a perfect Saturday after a very busy week. We live in a beautiful part of the world.

Strode and Judy enjoyed a very nice weekend with good friends Pat and Charlotte Madden from Arizona! We managed to get in some Mexican Train, lots of football watching and , of course, we didn't miss a meal! The purpose for the Maddens trip was to spend time with a dear friend from Flagstaff who is receiving Hospice care. We were so pleased to be able to provide a place for Charlotte and Pat to sleep, eat and relax. We were able to catch up with all of their doings. We will look forward to seeing them again during the Super Bowl weekend in Phoenix. We are so blessed to have such good friends. They headed out very EARLY this morning hoping to stay ahead of the snow storm that is expected in northern Arizona later today.

This has been a great couple of weeks for the "Units". We are continuing to enjoy our new home. There is lots of construction going on around us, which is good! We hope that by this summer most of the lots around us are filled in with homes. It is noisy and messy, but will be worth it to have the neighborhood complete. One of the highlights for Strode this month was a very brief sighting of his brother Tony and lovely wife Sally. They came breezing through on their way to the slopes for some great skiing! They were packed for the cold and snow. Tony and Sally stopped by the house for a quick bite of lunch and a quick tour of our new house. Strode was glad for the visit--even though it was brief!