Sunday Seven

Today is a special day. Yeah, I know there is some kind of football game on, but I mean it is a culinary fiesta here!! It has smelled so good here all day, but now it is all ready,

So today's list is

The Sunday Seven Reasons You Wish You Were Having Dinner Here

1. Ernie's famous meatballs. Soooooooo much flavor!

2. Mashed potatoes with meatball gravy

3. Buttered peas

4. Clayton's home-made Caribean Jerk Wings

5. Clayton's Hot-wings

6. Clayton's Sesame Wings

7. Left-over chocolate birthday cake

Ernie and his meatballs

Happy Anniversary

Happy 11th Anniversary to Mom and Ernie!

They are going out of town for the whole weekend!

Have fun!

Colorado News

Extra Extra Here is the latest:

Mom has a new job!! She is working at a drug clinic doing what she did in CA. But the hours are way better. They are from 6am to 2 pm. She bought a whole buch of new, cute scrubs. It seems to be going pretty well. She has gotten out at noon a couple of times too.

Steffy has less than 1 month to go before she has the baby. It is a girl, and they have the name Emily picked out, but so many moms change it after they have the baby, so we will see. She is inducing labor on Feb 11th, because all her family is coming out to see her be born!

Clayton is working at Mission Company, so he brings home tons of chips and pork rines and snacks. We love him!!! He doesn't usually come home until 11PM or so.

Nino started the new semester, but he is only taking one class. A night class. He says that he cannot take any of the other classes until he takes this one. He and I have been lil night owls and have been getting up VERY late in the day. My excuse is that I am on Spain time. Haha!

Ernie has a job that gets him up very early in the morning, so I only see him for a lil while in the evening. He is usually in bed by 8:30.

Grandma is still doing her Red Hat meetings and she invited me to the next one. But because I am under 50 years old, I have to wear a pink hat!! Won't I look just fantastic in a PINK hat!! But I am excited to go.

Nessa has an interview for a job that will pay her to go to school for 9 months before she works. So we are wishing her luck on that one. She also has been seeing a guy named Stan for a while now. I introduced them last time I was here. I just thought he was cute, but he turned out to be a really cool guy. He works for the prison here, but on the side, he does the sound for concerts, so Nessa has been able to go backstage at a few concerts here. Next week there is a music festival at the art center here. She will be going to that as well. Click HERE to see his website. But has no pictures of himself on there. Never fear:

Nessa and Stan:

They are threatening us with more snow, and it is COLD, but I have not seen a flurry since a last week. I hopeit does not all come at once, I wanted to go to Grandma's property in the mountains this weekend, but the roads may close for the weather.

All us kids went to dinner a few nights ago. We have had some fun nights of snacks and games. Clay works late into the night now, though, so we have to wait for when he is feeling perky.

Clay and Steffy

John in Colorado Part 1

John and I in Lake Isabel

While John was with us in Colorado, we took a lil trip to Lake Isabel and Bishop's Castle. they are not far, and Ernie, Mom, and Nino came as well.

Lake Isabel is very pretty this time of year with the snow and ice.

Bishop's Castle is a local oddity that you really have to see to believe. It is in the mountains, and the owner just started building out of rock and steel this castle. It is huge and full of stairs to climb high up into the air. However, it is not like anyplace built by a company. Lots of parts have no railing and the stairs are steep and small. Also, some windows and doors lead to nothing- just a big drop. The higher you go, the rickitier it is. John was not impressed with the construction and did not trust it enought to go too high. Although he did get some video to be uploaded later when I am better with this new contraption of mine.

Click HERE to learn more about the Castle.

Click HERE to see more photos of our trip.

Happy Birthday Ernie

Clayton made carne asada and Mom made German Chocolate Cake. It was a good night for all of us! Mmmmm...

We decorated the diningroom in Harley-Davidson balloons, and went the whole night without an old-fart joke!

The decorations

Tomarrow, Mom, Grandma, Nessa, Cole, Nima, Alex (Nino's dog), and I are going up to the property in the mountains. I hope we get snowed in! So I will be away for a couple days. Will you miss me?

Obligatory Cole Photo!

Colorado Vacation- The Holy Cross Abbey and Winery

Mom showing Cole the fish.

Yesterday, Ernie took me for a ride on the Harley! It is really the only way to see a place. Now I know why they say that they do so much riding out here as opposed to California. The scenery is so relaxing and fun. You also see so many animals: vultures, groundhogs, hawks, etc.

Today, Mom, Nessa, Cole, Grandma, and I went to the Holy Cross Winery, which is right next to an old abbey. It used to house monks, then it was a winery and Abbey, then it was an Abbey and highschool. The abbey was closed in 2005. Now it is more of a museum. Click HERE to read more about its history. It is a very beautiful building. You can tour the bottom floor and chapel.

Outside the Abbey

We also went to the winery where Nessa and I tasted wines (YES-COLORADO MADE WINES!), and we picked a yummy Syrah for Thanksgiving Dinner. The grounds of both the Abbey and winery were so pretty. It was all fall colors and well-maintained, and there were some horses between them. It was not the season to tour the actual vinyards, but we could see where the Chardonnay grapes were grown.

It is so much fun to get wines from the actual winery. You learn so much about them, and they seem more special. I also loved visiting the volcano winery in Hawaii.

Picking our wines.

Click HERE for more pictures. I took a few pictures of the Abbey windows, because it is supposed to be haunted. See if you see anything spooky.

We were also going to go to the prison museum which is still a prison, but parts of it are for touring, because it was the prison when Colorado was still a colony! But it was closed. There are a lot of prisons here.

Colorado Vacation- Part 2

Tomarrow, Nino and I are going back to the Denver Art Museum. This time we are bringing Grandma. I think she will love it as well. Click HERE to see the show we are seeing again.

It has been nice spending time with everyone. Nessa and I went out again last night and played pool with Mom. Mom was getting more attention than I was! Mostly in the evenings we play games: Taboo or poker usually. Steffy is quite the shark.

Mom playing Pool at the Local Watering Hole

Next week, we are going to the property in the mountains for 2 nights, so I really hope there is no snow, because they do not drive up in the snow! I have not seen the house since it has been finished. Click HERE to see pics I took last year of the property. It is so pretty! Also, next week is Ernie's birthday!

Cole and Nima Sharing a Swing and a Scarf

Colorado Vacation- Part 1

I made it here night before last (even if my luggage did not). I gave my seat up on a full flight and was able to switch to a nonstop flight (instead of a 5 hour layover in Vegas) AND got a $200 voucher for another flight. And my luggage came yesterday- whew!

Cole is doing so much more now than the last time I saw him (Easter). He is walking great, and he sings and dances. He is still pretty unsure about whether I am going to hurt him or not, but I seem to interest him also. He jumps a mile everytime I yell, laugh, but he does not cry and I can pick him up without fuss, so we seem to be getting along fine. Yesterday, I told Nessa I wanted to hold him as much as possible, so he would remember me when I get back from Spain. I said that way he could recognize my smell. She said that cats do that, not babies. I asked if that meant cats were smarter than her baby. She then tried to run me down with a shopping cart.

Nessa and I went out last night. Considering we are in the sticks, we found a couple nice places to chill, have drinks, and play those video-bar-games. Nessa complained that it is too hard here to feel dressed up in the winter, because you have to wear so many layers of clothes (it was freezing-literally), but we looked cute in the end.

Steffy looks SO cute! She is 6 months along and is as slightly built as ever except for this perfectly round belly.

We also got some great news yetserday! Ernie just got a new job! He will now be working here in town. No more truck-driving or being gone most of the week! Yay!

Now for what you really want to know:

Enigma LOVES it here. He loves all the activity and he gets along fine with all the dogs. I have to be careful letting him outside, because there a lot of birds of prey here that could get him before I even know what happened. Also, I don not know if it is the altitude or dry air, but whatever makes it so hard for me to breathe here, makes him stop all that gagging and coughing. Wierd, huh?

TONIGHT Nessa and I go to Denver to see the Avalanche play Vancouver!! I have not been to a hockey game in forever! Go Avs!

My phone is almost dead, but I hope to have pictures for you soon!