A wordy update... (no pics)

Well I guess it has been a while since our last post. This one will be a lot happier than the last post. It is now the middle of November and I am still jobless. Thankfully things have worked out on the insurance front and Lisa and Bryce are squared away. Dang that stuff is expensive. Oh well.

I was able to spend a couple of weekends in Colorado with the Hendricks. I surprised everyone on Halloween by simply showing up. It was fun to see the kids dressed up, but I was more excited to see Steve. Preston’s baptism was great; it is still hard to believe that he is 8. I still remember being at the temple when Jodie surprised mom and dad. That was a neat evening. Jodie made some great grub for Preston’s party and then turned around and cooked some more for Steve’s party. It was so much fun that they invited me back the next weekend for the Colorado Springs/Air Force game. So I left Sunday and was back in Colorado on Thursday morning.

When I got home from my first trip I told Lisa that I was going back up to Colorado and to see if Karen wanted to come down. She was on the phone immediately. Karen worked out things on her end and we picked her up Wednesday morning. I told Bryce that grandma was coming and his response- “What is she bringing me?” We told him that she was just coming to see him and stay at his house, he replied- “Wow! What is she bringing me?” (He is spoiled.) Well sure enough we got home and she pulled her bag out the trunk and he asked- “Grandma what did you bring me?” She just laughed and said she might have something for him. Lisa and I just laughed.

I left early Thursday for the Springs with a quick stop in Mormon-land. I was there long enough to see snow and to remember what 25 degrees feels like. (Made me glad for Phoenix autumns). Jodie and Mason picked me up and we went to this place called Ted’s for lunch- we all had the Bison. Jodie and Mason had burgers, I had the meatloaf. It was great. Steve picked up the kids from school and that is when things got busy. Jodie is the most talented person that I have ever known. I know lots of folks who can do a few things really well; Jodie can do everything fantastically and unbelievably. I will say that she has always been the most talented of the four siblings. Well she had an open house for her metal business for the weekend- that meant that the 2 bald guys were on kid patrol. Here is what we did-
Thursday-Took kids to AF academy to watch FB practice-cancelled- spent time looking for AF football players so Preston could say hello-waited-waited-found kicker and talked to him- went to see if basketball teams were practicing-nope- toured all three athletic buildings before playing on the indoor field- went to Hendricks to pick up papers to copy for Jodie- made copies- took papers back to Jodie- went to McDs for dinner- took kids to Marriott hotel to swim- had the pools to ourselves- indoor swimming has never been so fun- got home late.
Friday- picked kids up from school- met Steve at AF academy for football luncheon- talked to coaches- took kids back to school-home for naps-went to McDs for dinner-took kids swimming at Marriott- back home- Jodie, Taylor and I went to the outlet store to get cold weather gear and some Christmas gifts-dinner-home late
Saturday-breakfast at McDs-swimming at Marriott hotel- Preston mouthed off to as many Colorado State football players and coaches that he could (they stayed at the hotel)-gives the business to the CSU Director of Football Operations-all of the CSU folks were great, they just laughed it off and smiled at him- they offered all of us CSU stuff- picked up Jodie and some friends and tailgated before the game with Steve co-workers.

Now this is where is got interesting. I will say that the pre-game at the AF academy is the neatest experience. Between the cadets, the jumpers and the flyovers nothing beats it. Let’s talk about the flyovers for this game. When the jumpers were descending we could see a jet circling off in the distance. Then he was out of sight. The cadet band played the national anthem and the cadets made their way to the stands. The next thing you know there is an F-16 falcon about 300 feet off the deck. He was low and fast. As I looked up to see him I could see the cones behind his jet. Before I could get “holy sh—“out of my mouth he buzzed the stadium in full afterburner. My fillings rattled and it was the loudest thing I have ever heard in my life. When my senses were starting to come back an F-22 Raptor buzzed the stadium and after clearing the stadium went full throttle and climbed straight up with his engines blazing. He was out of sight when the next F-22 did the same thing. I told Steve that the Air Force really knows how to get the crowd fired up for a game. I would go to every AF game if they could guarantee me the flyovers like that.

Oh the game was great; AF won big. It was so dang cold but I had a nice warm jacket on. Steve took Preston and some of his friends onto the field at halftime for alumni weekend and then into the locker room after the game. I sat with Jodie and the fiancé of one of the cadets/coaches. I had the best seat in the house!!!!

We went to dinner after the game and went home to watch highlights and relax.

I flew out Sunday afternoon and that not end my weekend. My buddy Doug and I had tickets to a concert that night. We saw Joe Satriani with special guest Mountain (Mississippi Queen is one of their songs). That will be another post.

I was sick for the whole week following the game and concert and finally made it out of the house yesterday.

Lisa and Bryce are well, we are just plugging along. We are looking forward to our move at month’s end and are glad that we are staying in this complex.

Stay tuned…