Shoveling the white stuff

It actually started to melt a bit so we each grabbed a shovel and cleared the walkway.  Good exercise.

Blizzard of 2009

I stupidly ventured outside to take a couple of pics and almost got blown down to Denver.  The wind is really roaring out there -- must be 30mph or more
. 
The good news -- the snow has stopped falling.
The bad news -- it's supposed to snow off and on through tonight. 

The good news -- it's supposed to be in the 50's by Saturday so it will melt quickly.
The bad news --we will be left with a huge puddle in the driveway and lots of muddy shoes. 

The good news -- we don't have to shovel out the driveway!

I just saw 8 cars go down our road, heading south.  Since we have very little traffic on our road, I am pretty sure they were routed down our road because there's some big accident over by I-25 and hwy 402.

Blizzard of 2009

This was the view out our kitchen window this morning.    There's a drift around the back door that's high enough to prevent us from going out that door.  The wind has blown the snow all over the windows on the east side of the house.
It's been snowing since Tuesday night and it's not supposed to quit until sometime tonight.  The wind is the problem.  The east side of the house is snowed in -- the west side of the house is not too bad.  I haven't ventured outside yet but I may get out later today and get a couple of pics.  Not sure how much snow we have received but it's more than 10-inches for sure.

Really glad we don't have to get out in this storm; retirement is a GOOD thing.

Pictures from my visit to see my GRANDS

I spent a whole week with my precious GRANDS last week.  I can't believe how much they are changing.  They are talking more, walking more, running more (Emmett), and learning more by the minute.  I envy how much they remember -- as in EVERYTHING they see and hear.   

Looking at their blog...

Emmett's New Shoes

Emmett is now wearing a size 7 shoe.

Magnolia's Glam Shots

I took these photos when I was in Seattle last week.  They make me SMILE!

Gary and Emy Visit Seattle

Gary and Emy came out for a visit the week before we left for home.  They explored the area, including a trip to San Juan Island for sea kayaking, and made sure they had lots of "baby time" with the twins.  They went to the zoo with the kids, and took them for a long walk on another day, and just hung out with them on other days  I am sure they will post some of their own pictures on their blog (right?) but here are a few taken the day before they left for home.

  The twins warmed up to Emy and Gary quickly.  Emy was their favorite for reading them books; Gary was their favorite for playing wild games with them.

Playing "mail man" with Emmett

(Emmett had to pick up mail on each of his trips around the coffee table)

Comfortable in his "mail truck"

They liked to rock in the rocking chair

(preferably standing up, though)

14 months old

One month earlier in the same chair

Definitely NOT Summer in Seattle

Just a week ago we were on the road home.  We REALLY enjoyed spending the summer with our GRANDS.  They are coming up with new tricks each and every day and we just LOVED being there to see them grow from babies to toddlers.  What FUN!

Not sure where the summer went ... it went way too quickly ... so now we have to depend on Heather's bog to keep us updated on their antics.

We took a detour on the way back home, stopping to enjoy the Oregon Coast and Crater Lake National Park. But after those two enjoyable stops, it was I-80 for us all the way to Colorado.  I have to admit that I did let out a whoop of joy when I saw the "Welcome to Colorado" sign.  It was good to get home.

It took us a very long time to drive through the state of Wyoming, and ... if you haven't been there for a long time ... you may not remember that there's not much difference in the terrain on I-80. But I did manage to get a couple of photos:

Snow fences amongst the sagebrush.

(They were building new ones)

Repairing I-80 -- Thank you WDOT

Hey, it was WYOMING...

not much to photograph

OOPS...

(Not an unusual sight on I-80)

More photos soon.