Breckenridge

Today we went on a walking tour of historic Breckenridge. The lady that gave the tour was very informative and knew about all the places.  Skis were called snow shoes. Snow shoes were call Indian feet or mesh. It was a gold mining town.  

Placer mining means that the mining was done on the surface with pans or picks and shovels. In one area of the town they moved the churches arounds on skids when new property sites became available. 

Dad got along pretty well with his cane, but said that the lady walked so fast that the end of his cane was probably melted off. 

It was enjoyable to visit art galleries and shops. I spotted a statue that reminded me of Finn swimming at a river earlier this summer. 

We also went on a ride up over the continental divide and through the cities of Alma and Fairplay. 

Both today and yesterday we got caught in rainstorms that were torrential. The clouds move in fast and then buckets of rain pour down. 

Blessings Part Four

Everyone slept in and then we went to church. This was followed by dinner at Grandma Jane's and gambling. 

Blessings Part Three

Waffles and bacon are a good way to begin the day. Mason and Milo really like sausage.  Breakfast with Grandpa Dean, Grandma Jane, and the Smith family was awesome on our back patio.  Grandpa Mel went to his high school reunion for Tintic High School in Eureka with his buddy of over 70 years, Frank Morgan.  We missed his witty company. 

As always, Eddie had a great time.

Bowling at byu was next. Milo chose not to bowl. 

And then a little air hockey. Mason won Grandma Marci and Milo won Grandpa Garth. 

And then, the purchase of some candy.

Science center. 

"Annie Get Your Gun" was playing at the Sindance Theater, so we went to the barbecue and them the play. 

Blessings Part Two

Lord of the Rings....

Grandma Marci hid out upstairs. She has a hard time with movies over 1 hour in length.

Trip to Sundance where we road the lift, had goodies, and waded in the stream. 

I get such a kick out of these two.  We were riding up the lift and I saw a little bunch of leaves that had turned red.  Surprise!  Fall is upon us.  I pointed it out to the boys and said that I like Fall.  Mason responded with an enthusiastic, "I LOVE fall because of apple."  I thought I heard, "apples," so I then asked, "Oh really, I love apples too.  What do you like made with apples?"  I assumed that he would respond telling me about Apple Pie, Apple Crumble, maybe a certain type of apple, or even Caramel Apples because I know that he likes caramels.  The tone of his reply gave away the exasperation that he must have been feeling at my inability to understand something so very obvious.

"No, not that apple.  Fall is when Apple shows their new products."

What better reason to love Fall.

The evening brought an opportunity for more Lord of the Rings, minature golf,  and toasting some s'mores. 

Blessings

Let the fun begin. We started out with a trip to Kneaders, playing with Eddie in the backyard, and then to the mind expanding movie Smurfs 2

Mason informed me that this Neapolitan dessert is Tyler's favorite at Martha's Bakery in New York City.  However, it's better in New York City, because they also put fruit in it.

Pumpkin chocolate chip cake. Ahhhhh, dinner. 

Don't worry Emily there's fruit on the pie.

Smurfs 2  - the movie that lasts and lasts ...

For Teachers

From my back seat:

"So waddaya think of Mrs. H.?"

"She's an awesome teacher, but check out the white hairs on her chin.  They are so gross."

"My mom's making me take Advanced Band."

"That sucks, but you'll love Mr. H.  He's so cool and always says the coolest stuff."

"Oh, and Mrs. D. is such a wierdo.  She always wears a plaid shirt and her pants are too short."

"History is my best subject."

"Well that's stupid."

"How's Mr. P.'s history class.  I heard it's lame."

"My legs are killing me."  "Who farted?"  "I gotta get outa here."  "Can I roll down a window?"

"I'm taking the hardest Pre-Calculus class, but I heard nobody passes the AP test cause that teacher is an idiot."

"And what about Miss C.?  Have you seen that she hardly has any hair on the top of her head and it's so stringy."

"Mr. J. didn't like me.  That's why I got a bad grade."

"Lunch is the hardest part.  Your friends now won't be your friends for long."

"Yea, stick with the wardies."

"That chemistry teacher talks weird.  Why can he talk American?"

"What if your locker doesn't open?"

"I'm excited."

"Get real.  I hate school."

Tribute to Teachers - most are:

• excited for another new year to begin
• spending countless hours preparing materials and attending workshops over the summer to make a better learning experience for their students
• worrying
• overplanning
• stressing over their facial hair, new shoes, plaid shirts, pant length, hair style
• hoping to touch the life of each and every student
• brought to reality after the first three weeks that it probably won't be every student
• hoping that their students like them
• genuinely too busy to "not like" any particular students

So, the next time you encounter a teacher say, "So you are a teacher, what do you like about your job?"

After their reply say, "That's great!"

Their answers may surprise you.

Gaahh. Leave Me Alone

Do you ever go into a store and just want to be left alone? I entered several stores and the the eager clerks seem to pounce on me.

I like to go early in the morning when there are no people. Clerks should know that anyone with a 10:01 a.m. arrival time is not up for chit-chat. This is browsing, quiet time.

No, I don't want to buy anything, I'm not trying to find anything specific, nor do I want to save %15 by signing up for a new credit card or rewards program. I would have rushed in after work had I been seeking that experience. 

Oooh, but wait a minute, this is sure a cute top for my pregnant daughter.

I'll just look for items that are 50% off lowest marked price and then head home.

... And then eat fresh peaches and soft-serve ice cream for lunch.