Pawnee National Grasslands

A couple of Sundays ago, Rich, Chloe, and I went for a drive; Rich wanted to see Pawnee National Grasslands. Well, it was miles and miles of flat, and no houses for as far as you could see (and that was pretty far) in any direction.

We finally saw a small sign for it and turned onto a dirt road, where we drove for miles and miles more of flat- though along this route we saw the weird sight of leaning power lines... the only explanation we could come up with was that they are being replaced by the straight up ones. Who knows? But it was very startling.

We also saw three missile stations- I guess that is a good place for them, way out in the middle of nowhere.

At some point we saw a sign that said: Pawnee Buttes. Rich told me buttes are small rock formations, kind of like mesas, but smaller. I don't even know how far we drove before we saw them... a LONG way, according to Chloe!

FINALLY we saw them, and it was well worth the drive. Turns out there are some nice hiking trails there, which we weren't prepared for, but we are planning to go back.

While Rich checked the grass for birds' nests, I took the opportunity to take some close up photos of little flowers, and of course a bunch of the buttes.

Colorado is a very beautiful state.

The kids have arrived!

Yesterday morning, Heidi and Chloe left for Ontario. As Heidi is 15, they are old enough to fly together without anyone else and so they did.

I heard tell of a minor fiasco in Chicago; the girls inadvertently passed their seats while boarding the plane and had to fight the "traffic" going back the other way... only to sit in the wrong seats still and have to move! LOL That was the worst of what happened to them, so that is pretty darn good!

They didn't get to Holly's till quite late in the evening but as Holly's and Heidi's birthdays just passed, they made time before bed to do birthday presents.

Our presents to Holly were a pair of hot pink Doc Martens and a psychology dictionary. The girls each got Holly a MLP tin lunch box- inside of one was a cupcake/muffin t-shirt and inside the other was a pair of cupcake tea towels which Holly says are too cute to use as tea towels!

Holly got Heidi an LA Ink book signed by Cat VonDee (no idea if I spelled that right and not being a fan... well, I don't much care). But Heidi is a huge fan and was quite thrilled by the gift. Sigh. I just don't get tattoos and I never will.

Anyway, here are a few photos that they took at Holly's last night. I told Heidi and Chloe that they need to post things on their blogs too, so I can follow along. We will see if they do...

Chloe's Continuation

Not GRADUATION because they are just "continuing" on- but a ceremony because they have to change schools.

Chloe has finished elementary school with straight "A"s and I am so proud! I have really seen her grow by leaps and bounds in every way this year. I know she is nervous about going to middle school, but I think she will positively thrive in the environment. Being the youngest, she has never cared for being treated like a baby and has always tried to prove her capability in whatever way she can. That is why I think middle school will be right up her alley! lol

Here are a few photos we took last night- check out the neon green leggings! Chloe also likes to make a statement whenever possible... lol

DAY WITHOUT HATE

Today a Day Without Hate is being observed by all local schools. The idea originated last year at Standley Lake High School, when a group of students there, after hearing about the tragedy at Virginia Tech, decided they had to do SOMETHING to help bring awareness to school violence. They hoped that the awareness would bring about new ideas on how to stop it.

This year, two members of Columbine High School Senate organized the event for their school, and called in the support of all the elementary and middle schools in the area. White t-shirts with a message have been sold with the proceeds going to the Never Forgotten fund, scholarships that have been set up in the memory of the thirteen victims of Columbine. The front of the shirts shows a hand print with A Day Without Hate on the palm, and on the back it reads: Hope "learn from yesterday, unite for today, live for tomorrow." Anyone without a purchased t-shirt is asked to wear a white shirt.

White shirts are to symbolize not only peace, but solidarity. All of the schools have events set up to add impact to what they are doing- but other than the posters I have seen, I will have to wait until the girls get home to report on what they did today.

Many local businesses and community members will also be wearing the shirts- this whole community is dedicated to safe schools and neighborhoods. It makes me proud to be a part of such a great community.

I am blogging this for one reason- this Day Without Hate should be EVERYWHERE, EVERY DAY. Unfortunately, that is still impossible but we have to start somewhere; maybe today, you could join us in sharing a bit more of yourself today through smiling at others, performing little random acts of kindness, remembering that we are all here with the same mission- to have a good and peaceful life. If you haven't left the house yet, why not put on a white shirt and tell others why. THANK YOU!!!

If you want to see a few more photos, I have them posted on my facebook page. If you want to read a couple of articles on this, here are a couple of links:

http://denver.yourhub.com/Littleton/Stories/News/General-News/Story~609500.aspx
http://peacejam.org/blog/?p=335

My hardworking girls

This morning I had the pleasure of attending the awards ceremony at the high school. All awards were handed out with the exception of Instrumental Music, which will be done at the banquet on the 18th.

Heidi was recognized for her excellence in both Math and French. Many of her friends were recognized as well- those band kids are really high achievers! You can see how pleased she is to shake Mr. D's hand in congratulations. I am so proud of Heidi, she has worked very hard this year and has maintained a 4.0 GPA throughout the year.

Before the ceremony started, Mr. D'Angelis, the principal, had a few words for us all. He thanked the teachers and parents for their support of the students and then thanked the kids for their hard work, dedication, and commitment to excellence.

One thing he said struck home with me, and as I LOVE good quotes (ask anyone who knows me! lol), I wrote this one down.

He said we all basically have three choices in life: Give Up, Give In, or Give it Your ALL. Don't you just LOVE that??? I believe it with all of my heart. He pointed out that the students being recognized are those who definitely give it their all. No kidding!

While I am bragging about my kids, I have to mention Holly too. She just finished her second year at Carleton in the Psychology program and got four "A" and one "B". She too has worked her behind off this past year, both going to school full-time and holding down a part-time job during the school year. WAY TO GO, HOLLY!!!

I am so very proud to be the mom of these hardworking girls who deserve every bit of back-patting they get!