Rufus Meets Tato

Jeff and Grace stayed with us this weekend along with their 16 week old teacup Chihuahua named Tato. It was funny to see Rufus and Tato play together - they got along great. Here they are playing with their respective toy balls. They also chased one another around the yard!

Weekend Wedding

We were glad to help celebrate Tony and Sheila's wedding this past weekend. Jeff and Grace were our houseguests for the weekend, and we all had a great time. Here are Jeff, Tony, Sheila and Grace at the wedding reception. Later that night Jeff and I talked Todd and Grace into joining us at Waffle House, our favorite restaurant. :-)

At the Wedding

The stained glass at Jackson's St. Peter's Catholic Church is positively everywhere - there's hardly any wall space! Here Todd and I are after Tony and Sheila's wedding ceremony.

Tony/Sheilas Wedding

Saturday was Tony and Sheila's wedding, and it was just beautiful at Jackson's St. Peter's Catholic Church. This photo was taken after the ceremony during the photo session.

Cardinals Game

Thursday night Breck and Jen were nice enough to take us to the St Louis Cardinals game - they beat the Cubs 11-1 and there were several great home runs. Also slugger Albert Pujols was hit by a pitch to walk in a run. We took this photo near home plate because we could see the arch behind the scoreboard - but it did not show up in this photo. However, there's a great view here of the Budweiser scoreboard. Everything in St Louis is Budweiser this, Budweiser that!

Hacienda Restaurant in St Louis

Thursday the 26th, Breck and Jen took us to Hacienda Restaurant near St Louis, and I had to include this photo because Todd won a t-shirt (in a drawing) that I'm sure will be worn almost daily around here in the near future. 'Cerveza Por Favor' means Beer, Please, so Todd was pretty excited about the shirt. Also, I have to recommend the mexican pizza at Hacienda - it was so big, the two of us could not finish it.

Breck's Cute House in St Louis

While we were in St Louis, we visited my brother Breck and his wife Jen. We had not seen their new house (pictured) in a suburb of St Louis. Breck is giving Todd the grand tour of the exterior in this photo.

St Louis Trip

Myself and three of my coworkers went to St Louis this week for a conference, and here we are pictured Thursday at the conference - Mac, Amy, me and Chad. We learned a lot at this idea-sharing and networking event, held at the Renaissance Grand downtown - across from the convention center where Hillary, John Edwards, Barack Obama and others spoke. There was a ton of press sharks circling the center and around the hotel as the National Urban League conference was going on (not the event I attended).

View of Colorado Springs

Here we are at Cheyenne Lodge on property here at the Broadmoor, where we had dinner tonight. The view behind is of Colorado Springs and beyond. We all watched a thunderstorm downtown with fascination until the lighting moved closer to us. After that, everyone cleared out. The big group photo is of all 70 people who came on this trip with our group. I had to get pretty far back to take it, but I loved the effect of the horizon and the clouds behind everyone.

Who dat?

I had to have my photo taken with the owl brought by Hawk Crest to our presentation tonight. The lady holding him ducked down behind me so Todd could take this photo. This is the largest owl species, and it is not native to America. Somehow Hawk Crest rescued this owl and is raising it. The HC spokesperson called it an ambassador owl.

Hawk Crest Presentation

Tonight at our dinner at Cheyenne Lodge, we had a presentation by Hawk Crest, an organization that promotes and preserves birds of prey. They brought a live owl, hawk, falcon and bald eagle for us to see close-up. They demonstrated wing span and a bit of flight, and it was fascinating to see the birds up close.

Cheyenne Lodge

Tonight (Saturday) we had dinner at the Cheyenne Lodge on property here at The Broadmoor. We had a spectacular view of the city and mountains - we could see for miles. This is a view of the lodge with the mountains behind.

Her 'First' Vacation

I suppose these tummy shots are inevitable but I keep resisting putting them on here. Amy said today when we were on the Royal Gorge Railroad Tour that I should have a photo of my tummy, so I could tell the baby about her first vacation. So I agreed to it and Todd took this one, and here it is. I think it makes me look a lot bigger than I really am because of the drape of the back of the shirt. But listen to me trying to protest that I haven't gained weight. I have. Next week will mark the beginning of my sixth month. The countdown is on.

My Coworkers

On an outside-view railcar on the Royal Gorge Railroad tour today, someone took this shot of my coworkers and I with our spouses. Todd and I are in front, and in back are Mac, Susan, Mac, Amy, Chad and Katherine. After this photo was taken, the cameraman declared it 'magnificent' so I had to include it. I have to say it was hot on that outdoor car so I did not stay out there very long.

From Within the Royal Gorge

Our train tour today on the Royal Gorge Railroad Route took us by the rushing Arkansas River, and gave us some great views of the natural part of Colorado.

Royal Gorge Railroad Trip

Today (Saturday) in Colorado Springs, we (and a group of 60 of the people here on this trip with us) took a trip through the Royal Gorge Railroad Route, which was a great scenic tour that only took 2 hours. Here we are about to board the train.

Food at Swiss Chalet

The food at Swiss Chalet in Colorado Springs was beautifully presented. Yes, I did take this photo of my dessert plate in front of 11 witnesses. I recommend the scallops and pasta. Then how could we resist this huge piece of chocolate cake?

Crew at the Swiss Chalet

There was a crew of 12 of us Friday night at the Swiss Chalet. The great company was a nice complment to the food. Todd took these shots, and it was hard to get one photo with everyone, but the group was comprised of Mac and Amy, Kim and Todd T., Eddie and Pat, Sherri and Tracy, Martha and Vance, and Todd and me.

View of Pike's Peak

Friday night we ate at the Swiss Chalet restaurant near Colorado Springs. It had a beautiful view of Pike's Peak, which still has snow on the top. They were preparing for this weekend's road race, the Race to the Clouds, so we could see faint headlights up on the peak as cars made their way back down the mountain, going through the 162 hairpin curves. There is another way to get to the top of Pike's Peak - a cog railway, however, Pike's Peak is 14,000 feet and a bit too high for me, since I'm carrying the Curtain Climber. Several people who are here on this work-related trip for me went earlier in the week and most of them were affected physically by the altitude, and all of them advised me to sit that one out.

My Feet By the Pool

Here are my feet by the Broadmoor pool. I like to take one of these shots on whatever vacation I take...and once home I make it my desktop on my computer. That way, at work, I can imagine I'm laying by the pool.

Broadmoor Pool

Friday we spent some time at the Broadmoor pool area, and the weather was terrific. Sunny but not hot - quite a contrast from Mississippi right now!

Broadmoor Grounds

The grounds here at The Broadmoor are manicured and pampered. Even though it has rained here a lot since we arrived, we have seen the automatic sprinklers running in a downpour. This is the greenest grass we have ever seen. This is a view from the balcony of the main building down the 1000-foot descent to downtown Colorado Springs. Today, as yesterday, we are seeing guest speakers and hopefully enjoying the afternoon off.

Cheyenne Lake

Here in Colorado Springs there is no shortage of scenery. The Broadmoor hotel is located on Cheyenne Lake, and I took this shot of the mountains beyond the lake near the main building. Today it's cloudy and cool, but we are hoping for a bit of sunny weather before we leave because there is a great pool area here.

Colorado Springs

We are in Colorado Springs on a work related trip for me. This is the mountain view from our room at The Broadmoor. We had an uneventful trip here on Wednesday except for the fact that one carry-on bag was left on the kitchen counter. Luckily we have all cell phones and wallets. We are just lacking a few things like books, ipods, etc. So today I am touring the Air Force Academy and Todd is going white water rafting. The food here is terrific - huge fresh berries, peaches, etc.

Our Pet Bullfrog

This is the bullfrog we found in the back yard this week. He stayed for a day or so - part of that in the water garden - before hopping back down to the creek. The dog and cats were very interested in him when he hopped around, so I hope one of them didn't eat him!

Tony's Birthday

Emily, Sheila, Tony and Marty at Tony's birthday last weekend. Tony is serving pieces of his ice cream cake. In the background you can see the new raised music stage they have set up at Old Venice Pizza. Their live music started at 10 p.m. or so so we had time to eat before being drowned out by the music.

Tony's Birthday

Lauren, Sean and Ric at Tony's birthday party last weekend at Old Venice Pizza.

Tony's Birthday

This is me, Emily and Sheila last weekend at Tony's birthday party at Old Venice Pizza.

Water Garden

With Lyn's help I made a small pond out of a washtub and a pump, plus some water plants from Lowe's. Rufus uses it as a water dish! It's also a soothing sound in the back yard.

Infinity on High

My ipod playlist now: I'm listening to the new Fall Out Boy CD Infinity on High. Almost every song is fast, which is my preference, and the one song that's kind of slow is actually bearable. The only bad thing is it's hard to remember the name of the song you want to hear, because the song titles have nothing to do with the chorus of the songs. I am showing my age here.

No Pudge Brownies

I have to post my ringing endorsement of No Pudge! fat free brownies, which unfortunately you can't buy at any store in Central Mississippi. This is a brownie mix - you just add fat free yogurt to the mix and bake. It is hard to tell these from regular brownies made with oil. They're great. I bought my package of mix in Asheville NC. The web site gives a state by state list of stores that carry these brownies, and you can buy them on the Mississippi Coast and in the Memphis suburbs.