Why lie about it...

I need a beer, LOL!! Yeah...cause for some strange reason, trying to control my "truth-o-meter"...makes me really thirsty! Truth-O-Meter you ask?? Uh yeah...it's that little filter you have on your mouth and fingertips that keeps you from saying/typing what you really think...instead, just insert ((hugs)) and walk away, seriously...trust me, it's much easier to just walk away. At this point, I really don't care what people think, considering how little they do...

Is there a full moon or something??

Wow...I'm not sure what's in the air, but some people (who shall remain nameless) really need to get the stick out of their ass(es). Yeah...I mean some people (given the proper forum) will complain about anything...now granted, I complain...I admit it, but this is my blog to say whatever comes to mind, body or soul...I don't however, spend hours on the computer complaining about every little annoyance in my life and then snap at people for responding to my endless whining. Then you have the people who seem to take great pride in putting words into my mouth. I mean...sheesh...own your own freakin' thoughts, okay? Really? Seriously? Yeah...some people need to get a life...

First Grade Field Trip to Buckskin Joe's...

The entrance to Buckskin Joe's

Michelle helping the girls with their lunches...

Oh boy...the Mystery house....ummmmm, they really should call it the headache and nausea house. When you enter, there's a long hallway that eventually leads to a small ramp with a door way. Inside the door way is a room that is very "slanted". Everything in the room is off kilter and immediately your brain's equalibrium is thrown off. Let's just say, I've had shots of tequila that didn't hurt that bad, LOL!!

The "Gun Fight"...

Paige and Micah...awwww, how cute!!

Our group: Paige, Courtney, Gracie, Sophie, Kaitlin, Katherine, and ?? (don't know the other little girl's name)...

Paige on the railway...

Courtney...

Paige...

Waiting to board the train...

It was a long, exciting day...but we all had a good time. We also took a ride in the big wagon pulled by the Belgium horses and went thru the maze. It was a nice warm day with some cloud cover so we weren't melting hot, LOL. After it was over, Paige and I headed back down to Canon City and went to visit "Pops"! We had a great visit (and a couple beers)...gotta love Pops! Poor Kay...she looks so frail, I hope she gets better soon...she is such a sweet heart!

Schoooooooool's outttttt for summer!!

Yes...today was the last day of school!! Woo Hoo (I'm looking forward to sleeping in til 8 am, LOL)...and starting this fall, I'll have one child in college, one child in high school, one child in middle school, and one child in elementary school...so I think that 'bout covers it!! In some respects...this year has flown by...but in other respects, it has been a long, often hair pulling, school year. The kids are all moving up to the next grade YAY!! Our elementary school will also have "another" new principal. Mrs. B retired last June and we had a new principal, Mrs. T...so I was a bit surprised to read in the school news letter that she would be leaving us so soon. Of course, I had to get the "scoop" from all the first grade teachers (yesterday at the 1st gr. field trip)...hmmmm...I did get an earful, LOL. Aparently she was on her period 4 weeks out of the month, LOL...no but seriously...you can't just come into a new school (that's been running smoothly) and make all these outrageous changes without some serious staff resistance. Anyway, they've already met the new principal, and said they got a great feeling about her...so we'll see.

Awwww...summer days and nights...gotta love 'em! What do I love about summer??? Hmmmm...well, let me count the ways, LOL!

* I love not waking up to an alarm...
* I love the smell of lilac and jasmine in the air...
* I love the smell of grilling burgers...
* I love morning thunder..
* I love rain and thunder (any time of the day)...
* I love feeling the sun's warm rays on my skin...
* I love waking up to chirping birds...
* l love watching the same birds come back year after year building their nests in the same place...
* I love cold beer on a hot day...
* I love watermelon...
* I love going to the drive-in...
* I love listening to crickets at night...
* I love spending lazy days with the kids...
* I love late night walks under the stars...
* I love the State Fair which visits us every August...
* I love the beautiful sunsets over the Sangre De Cristo mountain range...
* I love outdoor swimming...
* I love seeing the deck and porch full of brilliant colored flowers...
* I love watching the kids run through the sprinklers...
* I love seeing neighbors outside...
* I love summer parties...
* I love the cool breeze of summer nights...

Wow...well, those are just a few of my favorite "summer" things!

Tons-O-Fun!!

Yes...the PBR Bull Riders Only was back in town!! An interesting way to spend our 17th Anniversary, LOL! We all had a great time. We took Murph, Danielle, Lee, Michelle, Tim, Clay and we also met up with another couple from Atmos. This event was televised on the Versus Network as the PBR Ford F-150 Event! The crew:



So here's Nolan and Murph:




Here's Michelle and Lee:



Me and "Deputy Dog":



Danielle and Murph:


Troy and ?? (Can't remember his wife's name...oops):



Then...after the BR event, it was off to Park East for an awesome dinner!! It was just a really fun time...a memorable night!! Here's some random shots from Park East:

Girls night out??

Yeah...a girls night out!! Last night as I was gleefully waltzing around the house trying to "tidy" things up a bit...I got a phone call. It was Michelle and she says, "Carolyn, I've got itchy feet..." and I thought...hey, they make a special cream for that LOL...but she just needed to get out for a bit...so we went and had drinks at the TW. Now mind you, I was already in PJs and had a thick coat of Vick's rubbed under my nose (cause I had to change the litter box)...but, I managed to put myself together in 20 min. Anyway, I made the unfortunate decision to have Dirty Vodka Martinis (instead of my usual Bud Lights)...and I am still feeling the effects today, urrrrgggg! However, we had a great time! We sat at the bar and Zeke, Pete, Joe, Guy were all at a table watchin' the NBA finals. Well, Pete came over and talked to us for almost an hour. His dd, is in P & C's class as well and I guess Michelle knows Jen pretty good. Anyway, Pete kept telling us that we need to take Jen out ((yikes)), I'm not sure she's ready for us yet LOL!! Anyway...then Aaron and his friend came in and wanted us to play pool (actually I think they just wanted to win a free pitcher of beer from beating us at pool, LOL)...anyway, we didn't get out of there til 1:30 or so...which really cut my sleep short, LOL!! Needless to say, our lunch date had to take a rain check. I KNOW Michelle got a nap, LOL...but I'm still going strong (((yawn)))...

OOPS...

Make that PBR in town 16th and 17th!! Oh boy...I could have sworn that the commercial I saw a few weeks ago said the 15th and 16th...but I was wrong! So now, we've got quite the conundrum as we can only attend the event on the 16th since we have people coming from out of town to attend it and then people who are going out of town on Sunday. Well, ordinarily it wouldn't matter, but Saturday the 16th is our 17th wedding anniversary AND Paige's spring recital (which is at 2:30). Uhhhhh...I'm just sick over this. I mean, we can make the BR event (which starts at 6 pm) if we leave the recital early, but I so love to take Paige out for dinner after her recitals as she's all dressed up (looking so cute) and now, I guess we'll have to leave the recital early (another thing I do not like to do and then Paige will miss the grand finale)...but there's just no other way to manage everything. I think Nolan and I will go out (alone) on Friday night for dinner at La Renaissance and then take Paige out for her post-dance dinner on Sunday night. Oh...I don't know, maybe we'll take all the kids out with us on Friday night...that would be fun too and they've only been to La R. once. Then if all that's not enough to stress about...Paige's big first grade program and awards event is Tues. night at 6 pm, which means she'll have to miss her last dance class before recital day since dance is from 5:30 to 6:30...uggggg! I'm sure it will all work out in the end, but I'm just disappointed that things didn't turn out the way I had hoped/planned.

PBR back in town May 15th...

Woo Hoo...yep, you got it folks...the Bull Riders Only show will be back in town on May 15th. We had already invited Lee and Michelle and then I got an email from Clay the other night...so I mentioned it to him that the BRO was coming again and if he and Tim wanted to go...to just let me know. So...the other night in Denver, Tim told me to get 3 extra tickets cause Clay wants to come and Tim also wants to bring his wife. Wife??? Seriously??? Come on...we can't have any fun if "she's" there LOL. Okay...our evening out with Tim and wife was ummmmm...a drag! Okay, I said it...maybe it was just a bad night (though from what all Tim's told me, it seems to be the norm) and I'm willing to give it another "go"...but thank God, I'll have Michelle there with me cause fun+fun=FUN!! LOL They were also discussing inviting Murph and Donelle again...which would be awesome cause then we can call it a "business" thing and charge it to the company...and we already know once Nolan, Tim, Clay and Murph get in the same room...it's going to be business, business, business...again, thank God for Michelle!! LOL

Speaking of Tim...we're suppose to go up this weekend (Fri. and Sat.) to help them move into their new house...oh yeah...that outta be interesting!!

A moment in time...

Funny how they say that fashion trends always come back around...and apparently, so do ex in-laws. Well...they didn't necessarily come around, but they were at the barn dance we went to last Saturday night. Strange really...cause I think the last time we went (some 8 to 10 yrs ago) they were there then. I know their son John has some connection to the P. Home Builders Association (I think he works...or used to work at Sante Fe Rental)...anyway, the last couple times that I saw them there, I felt it an uncomfortable situation and went up and said "hello". Mother Levar was always nice and talked to me, but father Levar would never even give me the time of day. So fast forward to Saturday night. We walked in during the cocktail hour...found a table and just as we were sitting down, Krystal and Rick walked in (we didn't even know that they were coming)...anyway, we were saving a spot for Jack and Jill (as we were sharing Taylor for babysitting services and Jill wasn't quite ready when we dropped Taylor off). Then RaeAnn and her dh...Ray & Jill...showed up as well...and it was nice to have a big crowd. And before I forget...what a "value" night out. The tickets were $20/ea. (which we got for free cause the company bought them)...and for that price you got drinks (beer, mixed, wine coolers, etc.)...as many as you could drink...a BBQ dinner that was to die for...a live country band (with dancing)...it was really fun...well, except for the ex in-law part, LOL.

So...after about 20 minutes...I told Nolan that I felt awkward and that maybe I should go over and say "hello". He looked at me and just said...NO, you've done enough! For 23 yrs you've bent over backwards for those people (even though you didn't have to)...let them come to you, period. So...I thought about it for a minute and decided he was right. Jimmy's 23 yrs. old...their son (my ex) gave up his parental rights when Jimmy was 7 (to allow Nolan to adopt him)...and they haven't seen Jimmy since he was about 9 or 10 (when my mom took him out for a visit one time). So...I enjoyed myself. All the while, though...they had walked past us several times (to the food line, etc.) and never said a word. It bothered me...I admit it. Why? Why does it matter after all these years?? Well...there's some things I know for "almost" a fact. One is that Mother Levar con't to send Jimmy xmas present and bday card every year...but I have the distinct feeling that she did it on the sly (unbeknownced to father Levar)...in fact, I really think that if FL hadn't been there, she probably would have talked to me. For some reason (I guess divorcing their son)...I'm on permanent "grudge" with FL. Granted, our last known conversation (just prior to my leaving Frank) was pretty heated and admittedly, I said some pretty harsh things. But hey...that was 23 years ago...I was just 21 yrs. old (just a kid myself). I have apologized verbally and written, but I guess it will never be enough. So...apparently getting a divorce is a far worse crime than giving up your biological son, hmmmm. Truly...it speaks volumes of the type of people they were/are...and undeniably...I made the right choice in leaving that family.

On a better note. John Levar (one of ex's older brothers) wasn't there early in the evening...but he walked in around 10 pm or so and came right over...gave me a hug and was just as sweet as could be. I also talked to his wife Donna and she was really nice as well (this was after ML and FL had already left). John was always super nice and I'm really glad I got to see him and speak to him.

Funny...just when you think you've left the past behind...there it is, at the Barn Dance! Jimmy and I talked about it the other night and basically, he said just "fuck 'em"...so yeah...what Jimmy said! LOL