GRANDchildren, that is. I left last Friday and drove to Kansas to pick up Ben and Bailey (14) and Jadelyn (9) for a couple of weeks. I told everyone at breakfast that I was going in search of summer, wearing capris and sandals, and I expected to find it about 10 o’clock. Sure enough, when I stopped in Limon for a bathroom break, I stepped out of the car into 80+ degree weather! The weather cooperated all the way and so did the other drivers on the road.
On Saturday, I was able to attend a very special wedding. To explain why it was so special, I have to go back a long time. Beginning in the early 1990s, I worked for Active Aging newspaper, a senior citizens’ tabloid size paper. As a community service, once a week the staff took turns delivering a Meals on Wheels route and since the Harvey family was home schooling their first grader, I usually stopped and picked up Nathanael to help me. I enjoyed him and the seniors absolutely loved having a 6-year-old come to visit. Eventually I took each of the older three as they turned 5. I’m not sure why we stopped doing that before the younger kids reached that age, but these kids have been really special to me. Nathanael will be starting his second year of teaching high school history and psychology in the fall and Saturday afternoon, he married his lovely bride Tori. I’m glad I was able to come back for it!
Monday morning I loaded up the grandkids and headed back toward Colorado. In Kansas, 14-year-olds can get their drivers learning permits and both Ben and Bailey wanted to drive on the way home. They did pretty well and my nerves remained intact. My own kids took Driver’s Ed so I didn’t have to do much instruction back then. And again, the other drivers on the road cooperated with us very well!
This morning first thing we took advantage of one of the zip lines Golden Bell Camp has. We thought they would go on the 900′ line but ended up on the 400′ one. There’s only one way up:
Jadelyn hollered for Papa all the way up and her foot slipped a bit, but she made it!
Ben climbed up so quickly, I didn’t get a picture of him and the video of his takeoff is very short. Unfortunately, I haven’t figured out yet how to attach it so you’ll just have to believe that all three of them seemed to have a blast once they hit the line.
This afternoon we put in a practice session at the really cool mine-themed mini-golf course, just to get a sneak preview before Mom and Dad (Heidi and Tim) arrive this weekend. I won the first hole but we won’t talk about the others.
Tomorrow I think we’ll tackle Raspberry Mountain, which LeRoy and I hiked last year. It isn’t a really difficult hike, just 7.5 or 8 miles round trip. The kids seem to have adapted well to the altitude, so I’m sure they’ll be way out in from of me. Wish me luck!
2010liberty's Blog 