M&M's Cool Blog

Cute Easter Video - 2011

2011-04-23T08:24:00.000-06:00

Backyard Activity - Never a Dull Moment

2011-04-11T07:45:00.000-06:00

Aliens Invade Pagosa Springs - Breaking News Story

2011-04-01T09:27:00.001-06:00

2010-12-19T09:32:00.000-07:00

2010-10-04T07:59:00.002-06:00

Get Ready For M&M's Annual Halloween Bash! Should be a Blast!!!

Android vs Apple

2010-08-22T15:29:00.001-06:00

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Android vs Apple

2009-12-31T22:14:00.001-07:00

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December Page From Calendar

2009-12-29T14:28:00.005-07:00

Here is the December page from the beautiful calendar the kids gave us for Christmas last year. We received another awesome calendar this year! We will post pictures from it starting in January :)

November Page From Calendar

2009-11-09T06:39:00.003-07:00

Here is the November page from the beautiful calendar the kids gave us for Christmas last year. It was such a great gift with photos of our loved ones that we will treasure for many years to come!

July, August, September and October Pages From Calendar

2009-09-30T17:42:00.004-06:00

Just realized that we were remiss in posting additional pages to the beautiful calendar the kids gave us for Christmas. It was such a great gift with photos of our loved ones that we will treasure for many years to come! We are now posting July through October to catch up. Hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

Cruise-a-Thong Video

2009-08-01T14:18:00.005-06:00

Here is the much anticipated video from this year's Cruise-a-Thong!

Dancing Highlights From "Tacky" Dance

2009-08-01T10:30:00.004-06:00

As we mentioned in a previous post, Tiffany & Shea joined us at the "Tacky" dance, where Shea won second prize and I won first. Here is a video containing some dancing highlights from the dance. Yes Mark, including me in my tutu, although a very brief clip. Enjoy!

In Pursuit of Mediocrity

2009-07-27T10:52:00.029-06:00

The Cruise-a-Thong is a triathlon designed for the "Average Joe" athlete in all of us. The course included a 2 mile cruiser bike tour of Pagosa Springs with an elevation gain of about 3 feet, a thong (flip flop not the underwear, please!) walk up the almost world famous Pagosa Springs Riverwalk and a 1 mile tubing trip down the San Juan River, now in it's lazy July phase.

The overall winner was the participant with the most average time, taking into account bonus points for consumption of edibles & beverages, costumes, the number of gears on the bike in excess of 1, any flip flops lost during the "race" and the subjective preferences of the judges. Other prizes were also awarded to the median participant and the mode participants.

There were comfort stations at strategic points along the course (2 along the "grueling" 2 mile cruiser ride). Participants were encouraged to bring along their own beverages, as the regular consumption of liquids keeps racers hydrated. We saw one participant run out of his beverages, but fortunately, he was able to avert dehydration and make a detour to a liquor store along the route to replenish.

Since our daughter, Tiffany, son, Tony and his wife, Shea were visiting with five of the grandkids, we brought them along for a fun day in the park. Here's a picture of Isaac, Taylor and Samantha enjoying the cool San Juan River in the heat of the day.

Guess you can tell that Jon takes after his Grandpa in his love of costumes...

Here's a pre-race picture after a family race strategy session, or something like that. Shown are Tony, Sammy, Muriel, Mikey & Ashley...

Pre-race festivities began at 9 am with the first annual Bloody Mary Showdown, where the participants tasted the contestants' Bloody Marys and voted on which was best in town. Below is one of the contestants and a few of the tasters...

Mikey's Captain Six Pack outfit attracted lots of attention--which is just the way he likes it! Here is is posing for the local media...

Racers lined up (sort of) at the starting line for a pre-race photo. What a colorful bunch we were!

After the start, racers strolled or cartwheeled or rolled or whatever in a leisurely fashion to their cruisers for the first leg of the "race" which was the cruiser ride around downtown Pagosa Springs.

Here's a photo of Captain Six Pack flying along the course. Fortunately with his helmet and straw, he was able to stay well hydrated...

Allison, Mikey, Ann & Tony, followed closely by fellow racers, along the cruiser course...

Captain Six Pack demonstrating proper flip-flop technique for the next leg of the "race"...

Colorful racer during the third and final leg of the race, tubing down the San Juan River...

Below, Mikey and Tony dragging into the finish line after an exhausting physical effort ;-)

Among the highlights of the race, Muriel found a fellow racer in Cornhusker headgear stuck on his tube between two boulders in the river. She floated down backwards and hit his tube, tossing him into the water minus his hat. Recovering the hat was his first priority, then the tube! Sadly, she probably delayed his progress long enough so he ended up winning the median participant prize!

The event was so much fun that Tony and Shea have decided to return next year to do it again!

Tacky Dance 2009

2009-07-26T16:42:00.007-06:00

Tiffany and her kids, along with Tony, Shea and the twins made the trek down from Utah to have a whirl wind weekend with M&M. When they arrived Friday afternoon, Mike was already at the Community Center setting up for the “Tacky” dance (he was the DJ). Tony graciously agreed to watch all five kids and let Tiffany, Shea and Muriel attend the dance. We all dressed in our tackiest, well maybe our tackiest outfits to attend the dance and take home the coveted title of the Tackiest person. Mike, who dressed as I am not sure what, took first and Shea dressed as a Tacky golfer took second. Think Mike may have upped his chances a bit, by putting on 20 seconds of the song “I feel Pretty” and made his entrance while it was playing. He was jumping, twirling and doing other weird moves. This is the 3rd year for this dance and the past two years Muriel and I won as a couple. This year they did individuals only and keeping true to form the “Tacky” title stays in the family! Not sure if that is a compliment or not ;-) The prizes were also tacky. The first place prize was a gift basket (plastic planter) filled with treasures such as canned spam, vienna sausage, motor oil, cat litter scoop, Boons Farm wine, and other tackilicious goodies. We all had a blast and had a short time to recuperate before the next event (Cruise-a-Thong), the following morning. We will do a separate post on this fun event. Below are some pictures from the dance.

New Family Member

2009-07-12T15:58:00.006-06:00

We adopted a young shelter dog a little over a week ago: ChaCha. She a mystery mix of Lab and something else, but she is very cute and extremely smart. Of course it turned out to be WAY more work than we anticipated since she needed some basic obedience training and to fit in with the family. She is very high-energy, so we've been giving her lots of exercise. I snapped these photos on a hike we took a week ago, although she dosn't hold still often.

Here is a short video from the hike...

Join Us In Our First Driveway Showing This Summer

2009-07-12T10:43:00.002-06:00

Have a Great July 4th

2009-07-04T07:00:00.003-06:00

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Belated Father's Day Getaway

2009-06-29T11:06:00.006-06:00

I had planned a special Father's Day for Mikey, but he was so dead after staying awake for 24 hours to DJ the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life, followed by DJ'ing a wedding with no sleep, that we postponed it until yesterday. I took him to a great place to fly fish that I had heard about from a local old-timer. We went along Weminuche Creek, near a wilderness area. We hiked in a little more than 2 miles and I took this picture of Mikey & Dude along the way....While Mikey was fishing, Dude and I took a long exploratory hike along the Creek. During the hike, I stopped to look around and Dude came back to check on me when I snapped this picture of him looking cute...

After our hike, Dude and I rejoined Mikey, who was having a great time and had caught and released over a dozen fish in a couple of hours with his fly rod...

On our way back out to the truck, I was awestruck by the beautiful view and took this picture of Mikey hiking out with the mountains in the background...

We both had a great day, as you can tell from Mikey's expression of his "appreciation" below...

Hike to Poison Park & Elk Park

2009-06-25T11:55:00.005-06:00

Muriel joined a group of local outdoor enthusiasts for those age 50 and older called the Gray Wolves. During the summer, they go on a weekly hike, led by one of the members. A few of the members were born and raised here and know a lot of the local history and landmarks, so they provide interesting insights and stories during the hikes. This week, we went on a 9 mile out-and-back hike in the Weminuche Wilderness to Poison Park and beyond to Elk Park where we had lunch and enjoyed the view. There were lush, green meadows surrounded by the Weminuche Cliffs towering above. Here's a couple of pictures from Poison Park... Here's a picture of the rest of the Gray Wolf Hikers quickly leaving me in the dust... ;-)

Below are a couple of pictures I took from Elk Park, where we stopped for lunch on a ridge overlooking the Weminuche River Ranch far below, dwarfed beneath the cliffs above.

First Hike of 2009

2009-06-16T16:38:00.005-06:00

For the first hike of the season, we went with Dee & Steve to a place none of us had been before: Fish Creek Trail to Leche Lake. It was a beautiful day and we took the dogs and lunch along. We sidetracked along the way to Opal Lake then continued our hike. Everything was so green from all the spring rains and the meadows and forest were surrounded with mountains and rocky cliffs. We walked through scenic meadows, saw a cow elk in one, crossed a few creeks along the way.

We stepped off the trail on a ridge and were rewarded with some spectacular views...

Before arriving at our destination and enjoying lunch by Leche Lake, named for it's milky appearance.

Hopefully, this is the first of many hikes we will enjoy this summer!

May and June Page From Calendar

2009-06-08T14:40:00.003-06:00

As we mentioned in prior posts, our daughter, Tiffany, coordinated with Tony & Shea and Shannon & Ray to collect pictures to use to craft a beautiful calendar. It was such a great gift with photos of our loved ones that we will treasure for many years to come! We decided to publish a picture of the page for each month of the year this year. We missed posting May's, so here is both May and June. Enjoy!

Happy Mother's Day Yia Yia

2009-05-10T08:49:00.003-06:00

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Prom Highlights and Hearing Loss

2009-04-26T10:34:00.005-06:00

As many of you know, I was DJ at the Pagosa Springs High School prom last night. Went well, although it took me longer than anticipated to set up the lights, due to the way the room was decorated, which limited options for effectively covering the dance area. Finished setting everything up just in time to start playing and was bombarded with requests all night, so didn't get any pictures or video. After looking at the layout, I decided to go with 4 speakers rather than 6, which afterward I'm thinking for the level of loudness they wanted 6 might have been better. To give you an idea of how loud it was, I had to run back out to the trailer for something, walking through the dance area, through another large room, out the front door, with doors closed, and walking down the sidewalk, you could still hear the music at a level I normally play at dances. Then, once I got back they asked, "can you crank it up louder, then louder, then louder! My hearing hasn't got back to normal yet. Even standing behind the speakers, I had difficulty hearing people's request. They started typing them out on their phones and showing me when they came up. It was so loud, again even behind the speakers, that I could not listen through the headset (volume cranked up) to most of the requests for language that was school appropriate.

It was a tough gig. As you can imagine the differing taste in music was tough and I am sure I made some people very happy and pissed off a few as well. However, with a couple exceptions (see lowlights below) the dance floor was packed, with almost no room to move all night. The lights worked out great and were awesome, wish I had got some pictures/video.

The highlights (songs that got cheers from the crowd) some of these may surprise you.
Jump (feat. Nelly Furtado) by Flo Rida
All I Ever Wanted (Radio Edit) by Basshunter
Day 'N' Nite by Kid Cudi
Right Round by Flo Rida
Save A Horse (Ride A Cowboy) by Big & Rich
Poker Face by Lady GaGa
Play That Funky Music by Wild Cherry
Low [feat T-Pain] by Flo
Glass Danse by The Faint
Pour Some Sugar On Me by Def Leppard
Boom Boom Pow by Black Eyed Peas
Let It Rock by Kevin Rudolf
Cherry Pie by Warrant
Walk This Way by Aerosmith
Mustang Sally by Buddy Guy
Shake It (Radio Mix) by Metro Station
In The Ayer [feat. will.I.am] by Flo Rida

Some of the lowlights included:
One couple (obviously C&W fans, since the Dude was wearing a western hat) asked if I could play Cotton Eyed Joe and feeling guilty since I hadn't played but a couple of country songs, I relented (against by better judgment). When the song began about two thirds of the dance floor emptied and went to the other room, some of the kids glaring at me as they were leaving. The dozen or so that were left seemed to enjoy it. I followed it up with a popular very upbeat song and the dance floor was packed once again.

The other low moment came when a gal asked me to play Better Together by Jack Johnson, which is a great song, but not for this crowd. I put it off, then at the end of the night, this gal comes back up and asks when/if I was going to play it. She explained that she was there with the Principle's son, who came back to town for the prom and this was their song. I played it and at first there were a few boos, but half of the crowd still danced to it.

It was a challenging event, but I had a blast, although I may never regain my hearing. Got home in bed about 3:00am and was still hearing all those songs going through my head, in fact I still am. Was up at 6:30 am and feeling it now.

Many Thanks to our Friend Bryan Meekin who helped me set up and came back after 1:00am and help me tear down and load! He then had to head over to help out at the after prom party, which was supposed to last until 5:00am.

The only pictures I have are the ones below of me in my outfit ready to go.

What, you didn't wash the dirt off the trailer, before the gig! Yes, the shirt is sound activated. The dancers on the front dance to the beat of the music.

Nice shoes Dude!

A better look at the Awesome Job Muriel did adding a sign to the trailer!

Amazing Race Phil Keoghan's Ride Across America

2009-04-08T09:45:00.010-06:00

Yesterday Muriel and I went down to the town park in support of Phil Keoghan's Ride Across America. Pagosa is one of the stops on his cross country ride from Los Angeles to New York to raise awareness and funds for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. We missed his entry the previous day into town, due to some misinformation on arrival time. There was supposed to be a segment on the CBS Early Show yesterday from Pagosa, but haven’t seen it online. Check out his video blog at http://www.philridesacrossamerica.com/daily_blog.html for an entry from Pagosa. Looks like he is a few days behind on posting, so keep checking, you may see us. Also, Check out some of the twists the town did to Phil along the lines of the Amazing Race, pretty Cool!
http://pagosa.com/artman/publish/article_4982.shtml
http://pagosa.com/artman/publish/article_4983.shtml

Below are some pictures and a short video from yesterday’s gathering.

Picture of Phil coming off the new bridge over the San Juan which was just put in the day before and dedicated when Phil was there.

Phil enjoying a free Pancake Breakfast donated by the Pagosa Springs Kiwanis club

Phil's wife on the ride out of town on their way to Wlof Creek pass

Short Video showing some of the mornings highlights

April Page From Calendar

2009-04-04T11:52:00.003-06:00

As we mentioned in our Jan 1st post, for Christmas, our daughter, Tiffany, coordinated with Tony & Shea and Shannon & Ray to collect pictures to use to craft a beautiful calendar. It was such a great gift with photos of our loved ones that we will treasure for many years to come! We decided to publish a picture of the page for each month of the year this year. Here is the page from April. Enjoy!

April Fool's Prank Played on Ray

2009-04-01T08:15:00.002-06:00

Check out Shannon and Ray's blog for a post I did on their blog. April Fool's Ray!

http://shannonandraywest.blogspot.com/

Muriel's Texas Visit

2009-03-26T12:24:00.005-06:00

Muriel went to Texas for a couple of weeks before the summer inferno begins to visit her Mom and Shannon, Ray & Hayden. Her travel mojo has improved greatly now that she is no longer travelling on business, and everything went smoothly. Here are a few pictures from the trip.

Hayden after his bath...
Hayden getting ready for the weekly Sunday morning pancake breakfast with the family....Shopping with Mom and Grammy for Easter stuff... Picking up something for dinner that is sure to gross-out Grandpa Dude (of course, that doesn't take much, just vegetables of almost any description!) Note Shannon's evil grin. Much to Ray's dismay, so far, Hayden is a vegetarian...

Hayden has outgrown his car seat and is quite happy with his new 'big boy' car seat that can now face the front of the car. Of course, he is particularly fond of the dog's toys, one of which he's holding below...

Couldn't resist sharing this funny picture of Hayden practicing his evil look ;-)...Come to think of it, I think I've seen that look on Shannon's face too!...

Hayden showing off his 'Buddha belly' which Dad, Ray, is rubbing for luck...

Enjoy the short video of Hayden playing with his new Easter toy...

2009-03-04T15:26:00.002-07:00

As we mentioned in our Jan 1st post, for Christmas, our daughter, Tiffany, coordinated with Tony & Shea and Shannon & Ray to collect pictures to use to craft a beautiful calendar. It was such a great gift with photos of our loved ones that we will treasure for many years to come! We decided to publish a picture of the page for each month of the year this year. Well here is March, as well as February since we overlooked publishing last month.

Enjoy!

Brave or Stupid?

2009-02-25T09:10:00.003-07:00

Brave or Stupid? You Decide

DJ at Valentine's Dance

2009-02-18T17:01:00.006-07:00

I had the privilege to be the DJ at the Community Center's Valentine Dance last Saturday evening. It was a blast, with a good mix/variety of music. The dance floor was hopping most of the night! I received a bunch of comments on my shirt, which BTW, actually works like an equalizer and responds to the music. Thanks Muriel for getting me such a cool shirt! Check out my new Hip Hop pants in the photo. I know I really should act my age, but you know, you are only as old/young as you feel and/or act :)

Here are some pictures Muriel took, enjoy!

Skiing at Wolf Creek

2009-01-21T12:41:00.005-07:00

We have had some great snow so far this season and thought we would share with you a video of Muriel enjoying it.

We ran into a friend of ours who normally skis, but on this day was snowboarding. He had some family in town and they were mostly snowboarders. As you can see, Joe is pretty good on the snowboard as well.

How deep is the snow?

2009-01-10T16:10:00.006-07:00

Since Isaac and Taylor were wondering how deep the snow was, I took this picture from our dining room window of Grandpa Dude standing in the driveway...... and this one of him shoveling the snow off our roof...

I couldn't resist...

2009-01-10T08:29:00.004-07:00

Taking these pictures during the BCS championship game the other night... the game was in a stalemate until the very end and I don't want to say it was boring, but....

A picture is worth a thousand words!
A big CONGRATULATIONS for Florida for winning 2nd place ;-)

Turkeys Fly

2009-01-09T08:20:00.004-07:00

For those of you who wondered and have asked if the turkeys really do fly, here is a short clip showing the turkeys flying!

ESPN Crowns the True National Champions — The Undefeated, Untied Utah Utes

2009-01-08T15:12:00.006-07:00

"Find me anybody else that went undefeated. Thirteen-and-zero. Beat four ranked teams. Went to the Deep South and seal-clubbed Alabama in the Sugar Bowl. The same Alabama that was ranked No. 1 for five weeks. The same Alabama that went undefeated in the regular season. The same Alabama that Florida beat in order to get INTO the BCS Championship game in the first place."

"Utah is the national champion. The Utes should probably have two now, actually. They went undefeated in 2004, too, and their coach still thinks they were the best team in the land. Smart fella named Urban Meyer. Coaches Florida now. "

"Oh, by the way? It was Utah's eighth straight bowl win, the nation's longest streak. Among the losers during that run? Let's see USC, Georgia Tech, Pittsburgh, and now the legendary Houndstooth Hats."

Click Here to read the entire ESPN Article.

Go Utes!!!

Ever Wonder What The Turkeys Do in Winter?

2009-01-07T10:34:00.003-07:00

For those of you who have asked the question, what do the Turkeys around our place do in the winter. Well as you can see, they still hang around looking for a handout. Although with the snow as deep as it has been, they don't travel much on the ground, they fly more to get around.

Utah Kicks Alabama's Butt in Sugar Bowl

2009-01-03T08:06:00.001-07:00

Utah despite having a higher average computer ranking than the one-loss Alabama Tide, they were a 10 1/2 point underdog going into the game. Alabama thought the game was going to be a blow out and they almost got it right, but it was the other team giving them the butt whooping. Utah won the toss and elected to kick, giving Alabama the ball 1st, didn't matter, after about 6 minutes of play it was Utah 14 Alabama 0. At the end of the 1st quarter it was 21 to 0. Final score Utah 31 Alabama 17 and Utah is the only unbeaten team in the United States of America right now in Division I football! Interesting, even after winning the Mountain West Conference, the Utes were left out of the BCS national championship game in favor of perennial powers Florida and Oklahoma, even though both have one loss. Doesn't speak well of the BCS system (Sorry Ray but Utah would Kick Florida's Butt as well!). Utah not only showed it could hang with the big boys, it easily dominated one of them.

Mikey in his Utah Utes Sweats Shannon & Ray bought him for Christmas :)

Score at the end of 1st quarter

Mikey trying to show the Utah Utes printed on the leg

And in case you missed it, the final score!

Calendar

2009-01-01T15:56:00.000-07:00

For Christmas, our daughter, Tiffany, coordinated with Tony & Shea and Shannon & Ray to collect pictures to use to craft a beautiful calendar. It was such a great gift with photos of our loved ones that we will treasure for many years to come! It brought tears to our eyes and smiles to our lips, so we decided to publish a picture of the page for each month of the year this year, starting with January…Happy New Year, everyone!

1st Ski Trip of the Season

2009-01-01T15:21:00.001-07:00

Muriel and Mike are finally recovering from being sick since Thanksgiving and even felt well enough to head out skiing. This was our first trip of the season. We left the New Years Eve party early (around 11:00pm) so we could wake up early and beat the tourist crowds to the slopes. We got there when the lifts first opened and got in 8 runs, ate lunch and was home by noon! The skiing was awesome! Here are a couple of pictures of us on the slopes.

Go Big or Go Home

2008-12-28T09:00:00.000-07:00

Mikey never does anything in a small way. He heard me mention a couple of years ago that it would be fun to have an electronic music keyboard and I had in mind something basic. Well Mikey has a memory like an elephant and he bought me one for Christmas. It is as big as a full-size grand piano and has the same feel and an amazing sound…and I think it is smarter and more talented than me. Guess I’ll have to try to do my best to live up to it. I LOVE it! Thanks, Mikey! You’re amazing!

Santa and Elf Visits Pagosa on Xmas Eve

2008-12-27T09:16:00.000-07:00

On Christmas Eve day, Santa (Mikey) and his Helper Elf (Muriel) visited several businesses and other locations to spread Christmas Cheer. This is the second year we have done this and we had a blast. We will make this a annual event!

Santa and Mary Jo at the Chamber of Commerce

Santa With The Ladies At The Community Center

Santa and Elf Visiting Happy Trails

Santa and Ann at The Switchback

Steve McPeek with Santa

Deja Vu

2008-12-23T15:19:00.000-07:00

The summer was beautiful but all too short and last year's heavy deep snows are still a recent, vivid memory and now, here we go again!! And, as if this isn't enough, we're expecting another 2 feet in the next couple of days. We may need a snorkel to get out by then!

Mikey, clearing the driveway after the latest storm...

Muriel on snowshoes uncovering one of the young trees we planted this fall... Muriel's snowshoes...a valuable tool for getting around in hip-deep snow...

Chairs on the rear patio overlooking the hole in the snow that is the pond. Picnic anyone?

Snowy tree face...

Dude checking out Mikey's snowblower work...

Front porch...somewhere anyway!

Bedroom windows & reflection of Muriel on showshoes

BBQ anyone?

Mikey's Birthday

2008-11-18T07:25:00.000-07:00

As most of you know, this past Sunday was my Birthday and as you can imagine Friends and Family sent their twisted, humorous and warm greetings. My lovely wife was so enthralled in the event that she decided to give me two cards. Since she wasn't here to enjoy most of them and some of you weren't here to enjoy as well, I decided to post some of them here for you all to partake.

And let's not forget the gift that keeps popping up! The birthday gal in this video was a gift that I gave to Steve McPeek for his 60th Birthday. Be careful what you give, it may come back to haunt you. This gift has now been passed on to Michael Whiting, no telling who he may pass it along to ;-) In any case for your enjoyment, here is a video of the gift.

BTW, Muriel I received several bottles of pepper sauce and some great Alaskan and Pagosa Beer to wash it down with. Which hot sauce would you like me to bring, Fire in The Hole, Butt Burner or Texas Tongue Torch?

Charity Fashion Show

2008-11-14T14:47:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday Muriel and Mike volunteered for the 12th Annual Festival of Fashions. All funds raised from the event was donated to help outfit the new Parish Hall. Mikey was Santa Claus for the event and did all the sound/music. Muriel was one of the friendly wait staff. We enjoyed the event and had a blast doing it!

Santa with the MC Mary McKeehan

Santa with Dee McPeek (left) who organized the event and Maria MacNamee (right), owner of Happy Trails Ladies Boutique sponsor of the event

The Lovely Wait Staff! All Volunteers

Santa and the winner of the $1,500 shopping spree at Happy Trails Ladies Boutique

Check out the above video of Mary's description of putting on her new Spanx!

Here is a video of Santa helping out one of the models

Getting Ready for Halloween

2008-10-27T09:10:00.000-06:00

Muriel and the twins feeding the turkeys... Giant spider attacking the twins...

Cool birthday gift from Karen West! Half inside and half outside. Creepy!

The other cool birthday gift from Karen. This one has a remote control and we had the twins screaming when it was coming toward them. They were still suspicious even though we told them we'd turn it off for the picture ;-)

Beautiful birthday flowers from Tony, Tiffany and families. Hope they last for our Halloween party!

Alaska Trip Part 3

2008-10-21T17:20:00.000-06:00

Here is the final posting on our trip to Alaska. These set of pictures are from our port stop in Ketchikan. We decided to get away from the crowds and hike 3 miles to the totem pole park.

Someone's house on the walk to the park

Nice parking pad!

Alaska Trip Part 2

2008-09-25T18:22:00.001-06:00

Here are some more pictures from our Alaska trip. The first shot is from the train on the trip (9 hour ride) from Denali to Whittaker to catch the ship.

First couple hours on the ship

Muriel on the balcony of our room

Hiking in Skagway

Bike ride in Junuea

Here is another short video showing the glaciers and an eagle

First post of our Alaska trip

2008-09-18T12:29:00.000-06:00

Sorry it took so long to get something out here, but have not had any connectivity or free time until now.

The trip started off a little rocky. Muriel had a bladder infection the night before we were to catch our flight. She wasn’t sure if she would make it, but was going to try and catch up once she spoke to the doctor. Mike went ahead and caught the 6:15 am flight and Muriel was able to get hold of the doctor and found out some medicine she had from a couple years ago was still good and started to take it. She caught a later flight and was able to meet Mike, Mac and Maria in the Denver airport where they all caught the flight to Seattle where they met up with the Jordans.
Our land portion of the vacation is coming to an end and below are some pictures and a short video to share with you. Enjoy!

Eating Healthy

Here is a short video of some of the highlights from the land portion of the trip

Catching up with Pictures of Hayden

2008-08-23T13:38:00.001-06:00

I'm hopelessly behind in publishing pictures of Hayden, so let me make an attempt to catch up since it is about time for new pictures (hint, hint). Hard to believe how much the little man has grown since I saw him last. He's in the 95%+ percentile of height and weight for his age!
Couldn't resist sharing a picture of Ray in his 'official' diaper-changing outfit!

And, of course, Mikey had to contribute a little of his 'special' brand of humor too, but at least the pictures should come in handy later on when Hayden is a little older ;-)

And here are a couple of pictures of Hayden on the day of his first swim about a month ago.

Still "Lost" in Love

2008-08-23T13:26:00.001-06:00

M&M celebrated their 26th anniversary yesterday in a quiet fashion with dinner at the Alley House. Our real celebration will be a trip to Alaska in mid-September. Look for more pictures and stories then...

3rd Annual Cruise-a-Thong - A Race For The Average Joe

2008-07-27T15:55:00.000-06:00

Last weekend we went down to check out the 3rd Annual Cruise-a-Thong - A Race For The Average Joe. The paper called it "A grueling and epic race of hilarious proportions" Check out the article in the Pagosa Sun The Cruise-a-Thong is a triathlon designed for the not-quite-hardcore athlete in all of us. The course takes approximately two hours and includes a cruiser bike tour of downtown Pagosa Springs, a thong (flip-flop) walk up the almost world famous Pagosa Springs Riverwalk and a tubing trip back down the San Juan River. The Winner is the participant with the most average time taking into account bonus points for consumption of edibles, the subjective preferences of the judges, gears on the race bike in excess of 1, and any sandals lost during the race.

In an effort to be more gender-inclusive, race organizers have changed the winner’s title from “Average Joe” to “Average Jo.”)

Dave Bellina, in an astounding display of adequacy, won the prestigious and storied Cruise-a-Thong cruiser bicycle (donated by John Dean of Pagosa Outside) for one year.

It looked like so much fun, we are doing it next year. We have several other friends who are going to join us. If anyone else is interested, the official web site is http://www.cruiseathong.com/

Below is a short video of some of the highlights.

Scenes Like This is Why I Love it Here in Colorado

2008-07-17T09:17:00.000-06:00

Took these pictures out the dining room window this morning!

Turkey Herder or Hurter?

2008-07-10T08:12:00.000-06:00

So is this deer a turkey herder or hurter? You decide! Thought I would share this unique footage I shot this morning while filming some hen turkeys with their chicks.

Enjoy!

Wednesday Volleyball Evening

2008-07-08T14:26:00.001-06:00

As most of you know, we have a group that plays volleyball on Wednesday evenings over at Mac and Maria's. We play a lot, drink a lot, then eat and drink a lot more afterwards. I have been sidelined with a sprained ankle the past two weeks of volleyball, so this past week, I decided to take some photos while watching from the sidelines.

Enjoy!

Stuff him Ann!

Wow, that's some serious air!

Again, way up high!

July 4th in Pagosa

2008-07-04T14:53:00.000-06:00

This morning we went down to watch the July 4th parade, well at least I went to watch, Muriel had another way she wanted to experience the parade! Thought I would share some pictures (ok a lot of pictures) so you can see what a small town parade is like.

Wait a minute, is that Muriel?

It sure looks like her.

Well, what do you know, it is her!

Relay For Life Event "“There’s No Place Like Hope"

2008-06-29T11:47:00.000-06:00

Well I survived the Relay For Life event! I had a blast, but staying up for over 24 hours is tough. For those of you who don't know what Relay For Life is, it is a national event which takes place each year across the nation. The American Cancer Society Relay For Life brings together entire communities to take part in the fight against cancer. It’s a time and place where people come to celebrate those who have survived cancer, remember those we’ve lost, and fight back against a disease that touches too many lives. The theme for this year's event was "There's No Place Like Hope", therefore the Wizard of Oz costumes you see some of us wearing. This was my second year volunteering for this event. I felt honored and privileged to be asked to do all the audio and video for the event again this year! Besides all the ceremonies and announcements, I was involved in music, dancing, Karaoke and showing the movie The Wizard of Oz.

Picture of DJ Dude Hard at Work ;-)

Glenda the Good Witch and Dorthy

The Realtors Relay Team (1st group)

Notice that Muriel is Leading as Always!

Hi Everyone!

Below is a video of some of the Karaoke highlights, which took place late at night. This was my first time to play Karaoke at any event, went very well.

We didn't get too many pictures, but the media and others got quite a few. If we come across some great ones, we will post them.

Pictures from Season's 1st Volleyball

2008-06-12T07:46:00.000-06:00

I finally received copies of some photos from our 1st Volleyball get together. This one was held several weekends ago and although everyone was a little rusty, we had a blast. After imbibing quite a bit, some of us may even felt like we were playing great ;-)

Pictures from Humane Society Fundraiser

2008-06-06T16:15:00.000-06:00

As promised here are some pictures of Mikey dressed as a Chippendale dancer serving the ladies at the Humane Society Fundraiser:

2nd Rebuttal to Tony’s Football Pool Video

2008-05-25T08:16:00.000-06:00

Apparently Tony did not understand our last video message. Maybe he will understand it better coming from the trophy! Video is small, but pay close attention to the opening scene, the trophy is caught actually singing ;-) This intimate exchange between Tony and the trophy is an exclusive sent to this blog by an anonymous source ;-)

Are You Sure This is Memorial Day Weekend?

2008-05-24T10:33:00.000-06:00

What a start to the Memorial Day weekend! This is what we woke up to see this morning. We actually had the fireplace on last night and this mormning. Sun is coming out now and it is supposed to get to 64 degrees today, we'll see.

Whew What a Week!

2008-05-20T09:21:00.000-06:00

A lot of you have been asking for us to update our blog, well here you go. This past week was hectic. Muriel was out-of-town on a business trip and Mike was busy filming and putting together videos for the Seeds-of-Learning fund raiser. It all culminated with a non-stop weekend. Muriel got home Friday night around 9:30pm and Mike was busy DJing the May dance at the Community Center. Needless to say, it was a late night. We had to get up early Saturday morning to prepare and help set-up for the fund raiser, where Mike(DJ Dude) was doing all the audio and video for the event. The event was a success, but again a late night for us. Now Sunday, a day of rest - NOT - we had our first volleyball get together of the season. Started at 3:00pm and we got home around 10:00pm. We are now recuperating from this whirlwind of a week. Below are a couple of pictures from the Seeds-of-Learning of helpers resting in the break room before the event. The theme was a picnic theme and the people serving and doing other chores were serve ants, thus the antennas on the heads. Volleyball pics coming as soon as I can get them from Maria (didn't take our camera).

Visit to see Hayden

2008-04-30T08:21:00.000-06:00

Muriel and Karen are really enjoying their visit to see their new grandson, Hayden, for the first time. The Mom and Dad are exhausted from trying to keep up with the demands of their newborn, but they are happy and excited new parents. I hope that you enjoy the photos below...

Shannon, the happy Mom greeting her new son, Hayden Lee West...

Ray, the exhausted Dad with Hayden...

Grandma Karen enjoying a moment with her new grandson...

Grandma Muriel relaxing with Hayden in one of the quiet moments...

Mom anticipating the worst for the diaper change...

Proud Dad...

Hayden's best picture pose!

Video Message From Baby West

2008-04-25T10:24:00.000-06:00

Baby West Has Arrived!!!

2008-04-24T15:59:00.000-06:00

Shannon and Ray are proud parents of a cute baby boy born around 1:25 this afternoon, weighing in at 8 pounds 12 ounces. When Ray was question as to the name, his response was "I will call him mini me." Muriel is heading for Texas on Saturday, so there will be more pictures posted soon.

Rebuttal to Tony’s Football Pool Video

2008-04-20T12:54:00.000-06:00

Here is the Rebuttal to Tony’s Football Pool Video. Many thanks to all those who contributed!!!

Wow, a Chippendale Dancer in Pagosa?

2008-04-19T16:33:00.000-06:00

No, just Mikey! Muriel 'volunteered' him to be a server at a women's fashion brunch to benefit the Humane Society. All the waiters compete for tips (which all go to the Humane Society for the homeless animals) and the one with the most gets crowned 'King of Waiters.' Think he'll win?

Wish I could be here to see it all, but I will be visiting Shannon & Ray and the new baby. I have 'spies' going though with cameras so I'll have pictures and stories to share later...

What a Wonderful Wife!!!

2008-04-17T15:12:00.000-06:00

Wow do I have a GREAT wife or what! Take a look at what she bought me for Fathers Day and it is still a couple months away yet. As many of you know, I am a part time DJ and this mixer and these speakers will compliment my system well. With this mixer I can use both of my amplifiers and run all six speakers at once. That should be some powerful sound! I can also accommodate 6 microphones. Look at all those controls and knobs. This will be so cool, can't wait to try them out!

Thank You Sweetie!!!

Surprise Baby Shower

2008-04-05T19:39:00.000-06:00

In mid-March, Shannon’s good friend, Pam, hosted a baby shower for Shannon. Pam plotted with Karen West (Ray’s Mom) and I for us to stage a surprise appearance for the shower. Pam’s husband, Dean, picked Karen and I up and took us to a nice hotel near Shannon’s house, and went to dinner with us at Shannon’s favorite restaurant. Karen and I shared a room and had our own pajama party, giggling with anticipate about the surprise. When Shannon arrived and greeted the guests, Karen and I were hiding in the laundry room until Pam lured Shannon to the gift table nearby. We popped out and Shannon was so surprised, then she got all teary with emotion. We had a lovely time at the shower and Pam was a wonderful hostess. It was a very quick trip, as I was headed back home the next day, but we’ll both be back after Baby West is born for the first couple of weeks of parenthood for our kids. Can’t wait!!!

Muriel Had a Nose Job?

2008-04-04T15:45:00.000-06:00

Not really, actually Muriel went in this week for some minor surgery on her nose. She had a strange little dimple on her nose that turned out to be skin cancer, but it is the kind that stays local, so the surgery was the cure. Her nose is hidden in bandages (should have seen the big bandage before they put this smaller one on) until Tuesday while it heals. In the meantime, Mikey is having ‘fun’ with her picture! Growing older is certainly NOT for wimps!

Cute Video Explaining How Muriel Feels About It:

Spring Time in Colorado

2008-03-27T16:48:00.000-06:00

Muriel woke up early the other morning and something outside startled her. It was a couple of elk ouside the window looking in. When it got light we could see there was a herd outside and one of them left a nose print on the window, complete with a drip line (eeewwww). This morning we looked outside while in the study and saw some sure signs of Spring. There was a tom turkey strutting his stuff for a flock of hens. He thought he was so cool. At the same time we had a herd of elk hanging around. It is wonderful living here!

Here is a short video clip from what we observed this morning.

Poker Night Turns Into Pictionary Night

2008-03-25T09:29:00.000-06:00

In the summer months we have a fun group who get together at Mac & Maria's (yes another M&M) every Wednesday for sand volleyball. In the months when we can't play volleyball each couple takes a turn at hosting a poker night. This happens about once a month. This past week is was our turn to host, unfortunatley Muriel got sick. Dee & Steve McPeek bailed us out and hosted the party at their place. After we all ate, we took a vote on who wanted to play poker vs who wanted to play Pictionary. Well Pictionary won out and it was guys vs the girls. This little news clip should give you an idea of the outcome ;-)