Merry Christmas!

Colorado 2008

9-25-2008 7am off to Colorado... we stayed at Wal-mart in Kearney Nebraska.

9-26-2008 We met Pam, Michael, Sarah, Alyce, Tara, Paul and Priss at Red Top for burgers Friday night! Famous Giant Burgers... Mike's favorite place to eat in Colorado Springs.

9-27-2008 We went to an auction with Pam, Michael, Sarah and Alyce... then to the Colorado Springs Flea Market. For dinner we had a cookout at the campground! Sarah made her famous Green Chili... it was Great! After dinner we sat around our new camp fire in a box!

9-28-2009 In the morning we walked the dogs from the Garden of the Gods campground through Manitou Springs. Along the way Snickers found a creek to cool off in and get a drink.

That afternoon, we rode our bikes about 4 blocks from the campground to Garden of the Gods and rode around the park. It is one of my favorite places and the views are beautiful!

The hills were tough for me... hard to breathe but it was great fun! Mike did a lot of waiting for me! At least he had a nice view while he waited!

We did see some wildlife, a few chipmunks, rabbits, a beautiful blue bird and a mom and baby mule deer.

























9-28-2008 We had planned to leave today but decided since we are within walking / biking distance of so many neat things to do we are going to stay and check out Friday. We have been talking with several people at the campground and they are going to have a reunion here for a camp group called Adventure Caravans. They put up a huge tent and say they are expecting about 100 campers to be here by Wednesday. The Garden of the Gods campground is really pretty and nicely kept up. The bathrooms are cute too! And our site... well we can see Pikes Peak from our door! The aspen trees in the campground have turned golden ... they are beautiful! We had thought that maybe our friends, Rita and Greg, could come with us on a return trip to Colorado Springs and stay in the cute little cabins they have in the campground but they do not allow dogs! So that will not work. Too bad.

We woke up early and took the boys hiking in Garden of the Gods! The weather was just perfect for hiking... warm sun and a still cool breeze in the morning.

We hiked on CHAMBERS/BRETAG/PALMER TRAIL it is a moderate, 3 mile circle with less than a 250 foot rise. Nearly circling the entire Park, this trail covers rolling, rocky terrain away from the traffic.


Then we went on SIAMESE TWINS TRAIL also an easy 1 mile round trip, with less than a 150 foot rise. There is a unique view of Pikes Peak through the natural window of the twins. What a beautiful view!


We ended up on the SCOTSMAN/BUCKSKIN CHARLIE TRAIL is a moderate trail that loops through the Park. Enjoy the distant views of the Central Garden formations from these rolling, rocky trails.



See our Motor Home at the end of the trail!

When we got back to the motor home we took the boys to the campground and then we biked back up to Manitou Springs and went shopping in the little shops. We bought the boys a cool retractable leash from a store that sold planet dog stuff. We watched a solar oven bake cookies and then we ate one! Mike also got a grater from a kitchen store there. We had fun looking in the shops! We decided it was time to head back and see what the boys were up to... the trip back only took about 10 minutes it was all down hill!!

For dinner we walked across the street from the campground to Amanda Fonda's Mexican Restaurant. It is a log cabin looking building right in between Old Colorado City and Manitou Springs. We sat on the outer patio overlooking a mountain creek it was great!

Hiking with my friends

9-10-2008 Rita and Greg picked me and the boys up to go hiking in Jubilee College State Park! What a beautiful place. We hiked and then had dinner.. Roasted Peanuts, Old Wisconsin Hot Dogs and chips. For dessert we had S'mores! It was a great evening.

Mom and Dad's 52nd Anniversary

9-08-2008 Mom and Dad's 52nd Anniversary. We all went out to dinner to celebrate!

More Camping!

9-05-08 We packed up and headed to Chillicothe to camp at the Recreation area. We get there at 6:30 and the gate is locked already. Luckily the owners drive up right behind us and let us in. They seem to have quite a few rules ... We settle in for the night.



9-06-08 Wow! who know they have 4 lakes here and it is beautiful! We hiked around the lakes with the boys and when they got tired out we went for a bike ride into town. That evening we went to a benefit dinner and auction for the recreation association in Sunnyland. We had fun!

9-07-08 Sunday morning we get up early take the boys for a long walk and then ride our bikes into town to have breakfast at the local hot spot, The Track Inn. After breakfast we see that they are setting up for an auction and we decided to head back to the campground and pack up and go to the auction. Mike spent some time in the "Tiki Hut" before we were ready to leave the campground.

Labor Day Weekend 2008

8-28-08 (Rita's Birthday!)
We raced home from work & hopped in the Siesta on our way to Tipton Iowa and Hunts Cedar River Campgrounds. We wanted to stay in Scott County park but it was full, we are meeting my Mom and Dad and Chesley there.... We get there and it's like two feet from Interstate 80! See the video!




I was thinking .. maybe it will be better in the morning.. it is so noisy, you can't even hear the person next to you.. one thing is, if the boys bark no one is going to hear them!

Friday 8-29-08

Beautiful sunny day! Mike fixed us breakfast and yes.. still VERY loud from the interstate but it is kind of a nice place and pretty where the river is. We hiked with the boys down to the river and along it for a ways and then through some farm fields. After hiking we had to brush them to get all the burrs out of their fur! and then we made some sticky notepad holders for Chesley to give away as Christmas gifts.
We could not believe the people that were packing in there! There was not even room to walk between some of the campers! We cooked some hobo meals and watched the never ending stream of campers, cars and golf carts! The boys just loved all the activity.

We made a trip into Tipton to get some supplies at Wal-Mart and then back to the campground for a campfire.

Saturday 8-30-08




The campground is full!!! They are going to have some fun activities today Golf Cart Rodeo and Soda Bottle Scavenger hunt! and yes it is still very noisy but I guess you get used to it somewhat.

Sunday 8-31-08

The dogs are exhausted! They slept in until 8:30! Today we are going to a harvest fest in Scott County Park.



Monday 9-1-2008
We are heading home today! Again the boys slept in until 8:30... they are so exhausted they can hardly move!

We're Going Camping!

Did you pack my Orbee ball and lots of cookies!?

RV Trip

We picked up our new RV, a Four Seasons Siesta, Saturday morning (8-16-08) at 9 am at Tri-County RV. Jack spent a couple of hours with us going over how everything works.

After we left we took the RV by to show Grandma and Grandpa. Mollie came over when we got home and said she would even like to camp in it! Ted and JoAnn came over and they thought it was really cute too!

After all our visitors we packed a few things and headed to Walmart to get a few snacks and supplies. Then we headed out to Comlara Park!

We cooked hot dogs on our new CobbQ and had a small campfire from sticks we collected on a hike.

After the fire, we went in the RV and watched Michael Phelps win his 8th Gold Medal in the Beijing Olympics.

The next morning the boys were all ready to go on a nice long hike! We hiked all around Comlara Park. When we got back to the RV, Carol and Terry were there! They had ridden their bikes 12 miles to come see us! They toured the RV and we all watched the USA Olympic VolleyBall team win over Poland.

Our Best Friends Beau and Bijou

Tonight we we went line dancing at the boys best friends house. The new dance tonight was Duck Soup. Here is a photo of Beau and Bijou.

Watch this space for a video of Bijou's dance!

Teddy and Dudley Graduate from Beginners Obedience Training!

Teddy and Dudley graduated from Beginner Obedience tonight at POTC! They did great! Dudley placed 2nd in all the games... Musical Healing, Sit and Down time challenge. Teddy got first in the Musical healing!! He did great! Musical healing is like musical chairs for dogs. First dog/handler partners to get to a piece of tape and the first dog that sits is the winner. It was a fun evening!

After class we headed over to Petsmart to stock up on dog food! Teddy and Dudley love Petsmart!

Snickers enjoying his Orbee ball .. accidentally pushing it into the pool and then fishing it out! You can see the full video on youtube.

Work

I know this doesn't have much to do with my three dogs! but it's what keeps me away from them and buys them toys and stylish collars!

Look Inside >> July 2008 Directory of Material Handling

April 30, 2008

Wednesday nights is Snickers Rally Class at Heartland Dog Training. We started working with a clicker tonight... I had to get a clicker+ that had different sounds because Snickers was afraid of the regular clicker. The one we got can make bird sounds, cricket sounds and a bell sound. He seems to like the bird and cricket the best. Dudley and Teddy will be next to start with the clicker training!