Road Trip!

Early yesterday morning, Kristin & I got in the car and headed out for a drive. To Denver. We came here to visit Emilie and pick up Julie at the Denver airport on the way to join in the fun.

Teacher Invasion, as Emilie calls it.

The last few summers, we've had plans to get together in the summer for fun, laughs, adventure, food, drinks, and relaxation. Last year it was Chicago. This year, Denver. Emilie assures us she won't be living in another new town next year for us to head to :)

I haven't taken a big road trip like this since the last time Julie & I headed to Denver for a job fair about 8 years ago. It was a blast! I don't normally like being in the car for extended periods of time, but when I'm driving, it's not so bad. So, I hopped in the driver's seat. Kristin was a great co-pilot and we made lots of memories! We made great time, with minimal stops, so we even had time to stop at Prairie Dog Town. For those of you not familiar with this tourist stop, I'll just tell you that their current claim to fame is a 6-legged cow. Oh, and the extra legs come out of the cow's neck. Just wait until I share pictures :)

The first night was a blast, and being able to walk & sit outside without breaking into a sweat is enough to make me love this city. I can't wait to see what today brings us!

Happy Girl

She was probably looking at the tiny squirrel in our neighborhood that keeps climbing just out of her reach on the tree trunks. Now every time we go outside, Minnie sits at the bottom of the trees, looking up like she might be able to catch it. Or play with it. You know how much Minnie likes other animals :)

I was so happy we could get outside for a quick photo shoot today. And quick means less than five minutes in this 100+ degree heat. It's brutal out. Too hot to do much more than lay on the couch inside. We needed to get outside to do something, even if it was quick. I wanted to post this picture of a smiley Minnie because I picked the more serious picture of her for my photo blog today. She definitely shows lots of different emotions ... that's one of my favorite things about her!

Hope you are all staying cool ... people AND animals. Don't leave your pets out in this extreme heat. Just think about how hot you are and then imagine wearing a fur coat every time you went outside. Now I've got to get back to my DVR. The Closer and Rizzoli & Isles are waiting for me.

5 days and 500+ pictures

I've been home from Carmel, CA for almost a week. I've been putting off this blog post because I wasn't sure how I could possibly sum up the trip or share my 500+ photos. Well, thanks to my friend, Jilly, I put the following slide show together! I know it's probably too long for the majority of my readers, but I wasn't sure I could narrow my pictures down any further.

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We fit a lot in the 5ish days we were there: hiking, wine, window-shopping, walking along the beach, cards, trip up to Big Sur, food, visit to Pebble Beach Golf Course, wine, 17-Mile Drive, laughs, Monterrey Bay Aquarium, wine, more cards and fun.

What a wonderful trip & get-away during the Kansas heat. I hope I get to go back again someday!

Craftpalooza

Kathryn, Jill & I planned to have a crafty weekend. Jill worked on her dishcloths for her giveaway contest. Kathryn came to create a cookie sheet calendar similar to the one I made a few years ago. Here is a picture review of the process!

Ta da! All done! It took me an ENTIRE Spring Break to complete my calendar and with our hard work, we finished Kat's in just under 4 hours. We even have an idea for our next crafty project. Love craft time with the girls :)