Life on the High Plains

The family has had a fantasy football league for years and I'm usually in one of the bottom spots at the end of the season.  Not this year though!  I was lucky enough to draft Peyton Manning as my Quarterback this year, and has it been a great year for Peyton and the Broncos. I just thought I'd share that I took over the top spot this week (sorry Brian).  It probably won't last for long so I thought I'd better blog about it before my beloved Broncos and Peyton are on a bye and I fall out of first place. Go Colorado Rogues!

Do you ever get so caught up in day-to-day life that you lose track of what you're most passionate about?  This past weekend I had a great reminder of one of my greatest passions. I attended a conference for work in Wichita last week and when it ended I went on down to Tulsa for two reasons:  1) visit my brother and his family, and 2) join Jillian and her 4-H horse judging team at the U.S. National Arabian and Half Arabian Horse Show. It was fantastic!  Jillian was busy with her team so I spent a lot of time by myself at the show.  On Saturday I was there from the time it started until almost midnight.  I couldn't get enough of it.  I was really thrilled too because my brother, Yogi , and his family came down to the show and seemed to really enjoy it ( check out his blog ).  Below are some shots of the classes we watched.  Fans of the Arabian breed are ultra passionate about these horses.  They hoot and holler and do everything they can...

Last week Irv, Mr. Beans, and I made a quick trip down to Albuquerque for a surprise birthday party for Irv's dad. The only problem was that Dad had other plans.  In order to avoid his own birthday party he had himself admitted to the hospital.  The lengths some people will go to to get out of being the guest of honor at their own party!  We showed him though because we had the party without him.  The only problem was that it wasn't much of a party without the patriarch of the family.  We did our best to eat, drink, and celebrate the other October birthdays, but we all knew the guest of honor was missing. We received good news last night--Dad had been released from the hospital and was back at home.  I guess we need to get some more food, another cake and a few more candles so we can have another party. Happy 80th birthday, Dad!

Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.   Hebrews 12:2 The Church of San Servacio in Valladolid was a quick stop on the return from Ek-Balam, a Mayan ruin that we visited during a recent trip to the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico.   I have a thing for old churches and this one is fairly old--construction started in 1706.   This cathedral was remarkably simple on the inside.  It's plain, white walls on the inside are beautiful with the crucifixes and statues of Christ.       An incredibly majestic house of God! Happy Skywatch Friday!

No trip to the Mayan Riviera would be complete without a scuba diving excursion.  I swore I was done with diving, but I still brought my certification card along just in case. The lure of the clear, turquoise waters of the Caribbean called my name and beckoned me to give up the thought of never diving again and to sign up for a day of diving. You can ask Irv, my theory on a dive experience is directly related to the quality of the dive boat.  When our dive boat was over an hour late picking us up because it ran out of gas and two guys in a kayak had to deliver gas to the boat, I should have had my first clue that it wasn't going to be a great day of diving. My second clue was my first glimpse of the boat.  Hmmm....I was kind of spoiled by the dive boats in Australia which were top notch.  This boat was not quite the bottom of the barrel, such as our dive experience in Acapulco, but it was close. Next clue, getting ready to dive and being told entry would be ...

We're back from paradise.  I'm a little bummed.  We stayed in a beautiful resort with multiple swimming pools and a white sand beach.  The service at the resort was impeccable.  It was a really nice week with my darlin.     Yesterday we were in the tropics and today I had to wear a winter coat out to feed the horses.  Quite a change in 24 hours.  I think I'd like to spend my winters on the Mayan Riveria and the summers in Colorado.  Now I just have to figure out how to make that happen.  I might have to learn how to buy a lottery ticket.   Stories from our trip will be coming soon.  

In preparation for our upcoming vacation I downloaded all the pictures off my camera so the SD card would be empty.  I came across pictures from our last trip--remember the one that ended with an appendectomy? Anyway, this was my weekend in South Dakota hanging out with the guys--my dad, brothers, and Irv.  It also involved some geocaching.  Below are some geocaching shots.  I mostly just watched--they take it very seriously. Maybe it's under here   I think it's over there   Let me just reach under here   Now what?   It's here somewhere   Let me look a little closer     I hope this isn't poison ivy! Help!  I'm falling. It's got to be here! Let's resync our GPS's   Maybe it's up there Go ahead Irv, reach in.   It's up there somewhere!   This is what I think about while they're on a geocache hunt:   Wow...that's a really big...