Ucross Foundation

Another fun thing we did when Ben and Sara were here was to tour their current art exhibit at the Ucross Foundation. 

It is cool that Maria and Eric are having a joint show. We were grateful for staff for opening it up for our family to have a private, guided tour.  

Ben and Sara planned their Wyoming Trip especially to be able to see this display.

Sam had worked a night shift the night before, but was up for the day with the family as well.

This barn is the setting for the art gallery at the Ucross Foundation. This beautiful, isolated setting is a place where  creative people can be chosen to come and use their talents to paint, write, whatever.  It really is a gorgeous place.

We met this golden lab puppy, who chased anything that ran.

After he took a mud bath, we had reason to run from him! 

A tree became the get away of choice.

Isn't that a tree that needed climbed anyway? 

And then this pretty lady joined us...

Later that day we went to visit my Mom, sister and Aunt.  It was such a wonderfully full day.  It involved a lot of driving through beautiful country on a lovely day.  

And, it was a day with all three of our kids together.  That does not happen often! 

I love them.

My babies...

Today in Wyoming

And we are just getting started! We are expecting a LOT of snow today.

Night at the Museum

Friday night we took our son and daughter-in-law to Buffalo, Wyoming for a night at the Occidental Hotel. 

The Occidental Hotel is a very, very old hotel (1880) that is loaded with history and beautifully restored. Former visitors included Teddy Roosevelt, Buffalo Bill Cody and Calamity Jane. It was a fun experience. The whole place was full of antiques. It really felt as though we spent the night at a museum.

It was all very elegant, very lovely.

Then, there was this.

And if you are fans of Longmire, we were most definitely aware we were in Longmire Country.

The weather was great. Thankfully the snow held off until Sunday.  It was nice to have that little excursion with Ben and Sara.

Fun With Uncle Ben

Hula hooping in Wal-Mart

Yes, we apparently have the kind of family that hula hoops in Wal-Mart. 

Not just that, but our daughter-in-law, Sara, kept hula hooping even when her husband tossed bananas to her... Well, for a bit anyway.

That's all. I have no explanations to offer.

Sandals on the Frozen Tundra

We are all enjoying a visit from Sara and Ben. Since they live on the East Coast, it is a big deal to have them in Wyoming.

Yesterday was a beautiful day in Wyoming, sunny and warm. Considering that it snowed on the weekend, sandal weather was appreciated.

After dinner last night, we went for a little hike to the waterfall that is only about 5 minutes from town. As it turned out, it was still winter there! 

That did NOT stop Ben from enjoying himself! 

Although I bet his feet were cold! 

Cheetah Girls

Maria and I took the little girls shopping for Easter dresses today. You will have to wait too see those, but they were willing to pose in their new Cheetah hats.

Cordelia is in a Cheetah Phase right now, and Elise learns about coolness from her big sister.  They look pretty cute. Elise had her own little style, though, that made her look a bit like a very tiny gang member.

Science Fun

I had a special treat this afternoon.... Time off work too spend with the Granddaughters. We went to the Science Zone, a fun place for them to learn and play.

Cordelia climbed the little climbing wall. She was proud to have made it all the way across.

Elise got to play in the little kid area, making sure to point out that she is still a little kid. Usually she is telling me she is a big kid but she knew big kids weren't allowed in there.

So, she is a little kid when it suits her.  

Smart girl.

They played together a long time.

Everywhere  we turned, there were new adventures.

The place was full of interesting things to see and do.

When we were done, we took another field trip... To the car wash.  Did you know it is noisy there? 

Does Elise's smile seem a little forced? 

Time to Laugh

Recently my granddaughter, Cordelia, and I were talking about each other's personality traits.  She said that one thing she knew about me was that I love to laugh. That made me so happy to know that was something she noticed. She also noticed that I love to hum a lot.

If I can pass on to my kids and grandkids a sense of joy, then I am satisfied. 

Almost.

I also want to pass that on to others, so, here's a laugh for your day.

No Shadow

Sorry, folks, but this ground dog didn't see her shadow today. 

I did see a lot of snow, though! Mike and I have shoveled mountains of it.

Actually, if we see ONLY six more weeks of winter, that isn't so bad for Wyoming.

Thank you for all the kind birthday wishes. I am a fortunate woman to have so many great friends and loving family members.

Lunch Break l

One of my highlights this week was when family members meet at the hospital to have lunch together.

We didn't all arrive at once so there was some waiting time.

In case you can't tell, that is chair ballet.

Chair ballet is exhausting.

Eric arrived in time to wait with us.

Even Sam joined us. Since he works a night shift, this was a rare event. I am not certain he will remember it. He was pretty tired.

I expect Sam woke up later that evening and wondered if that had been a dream. Maybe he was wondering that even at the time.

It is these small moments, the ones that kind of run together in my mind later on, that provide a background of joy for this life of mine.

And I will just end with this...

2016 - Year of Music and Needles!

I made a couple resolutions for 2016.  I have the usual thoughts of eating better, exercising more, etc.  However, I decided that this is a good year for me to put some new effort into exercising my brain.  I want to do it in a fun way, though.

Over the course of my adult life I have often been learning new things.  I went through an EMT course and really learned a lot through that.  I took a CNA course and then went back to college, graduating with my nursing degree at age 40.  I certainly felt that I learned a lot of new things during those years.

Once I was a nurse, I kept learning and studying.  I earned certifications in a few different areas.  The hardest was gaining certification as an oncology nurse.  It was stressful but I really enjoyed learning so much and feeling more competent when I was working as an oncology nurse.

I've learned some new things at my current job but I admit I've been cruising a bit over the last 2 years.  I have areas of nursing I need to further explore, more to learn, but I think I need to focus some on different areas of learning.

So...

I decided to try to learn two new, fun things this year.

I want to learn to knit and I want to learn to play the clarinet.  I've started already with the clarinet. My generous mother-in-law gave us each Christmas money and I took the opportunity to order a clarinet. Nope, I am not planning on doing anything too fancy but I have decided to at least learn to play enough to enjoy it myself.  So, meet my new clarinet!  Don't worry.  I know it is not a flute and that is not how I should hold it.  It was just difficult to take a selfie that included me and the clarinet if I held it downward.

I bought a couple of books and I've started learning.  It sounds pretty!  OK, that is NOT true.  Actually, it sounds PRETTY AWFUL!  I don't care.  I'm having fun!  I can play Hot Cross Buns all by myself!

These are my teachers...

I am not the only one in the family pursuing music this year.  I don't want to brag about our grandchildren (that was a big lie) but I would like to point out that this little beauty, practicing for a church talent show, is only 6 years old.  

She and her Daddy are going to do "My Girl."  Isn't that just the most adorable thing you ever saw/heard?

Sticker Stylist

Last night we had the little granddaughters over for the evening.  I had some mosaic craft for them that involved putting on little stickers on ponies.

Anyway, there were leftover stickers.

Cordelia decided she would be a sticker stylist, her term, and Grandpa was a good sport. 

She made him into something quite fancy.

The best part is, he wore the stickers for most of the evening. I think when a young woman is considering a husband, she should ask herself if he would make a good grandpa.  Just saying...

Elise was next.

She told me her sister was making her beautiful.

Then me.

I know, I look lovely.

Thanks to our sticker stylist!