Well, I’m officially another year older ~ not sure if I’m another year wiser or not. LOL! Had my birthday yesterday and Vance made me a special dinner. Red Robin used to have these great chicken quesadillas; we went there just for that. Well, management changed and so did the recipe. So, Vance has figured out a way to make one just as good, if not better! So, I put n a request for that for my birthday and I got it! Yummy!!! Crispy on the outside, chicken, cheese, bacon and black olives on the inside. Delicious!
And he got me these fantastic boots from Land’s End that I had asked for! I’ve been needing some good snow boots for a while now, they are so warm! I got to try them out this morning as I drove to work in 8-degree weather. Yes, it’s a lovely day here in sunny, snowy Colorado! Ryan got me a great Phillips, Craig and Dean CD that I just love! So it was a wonderful day! I got a bunch of Happy Birthday e-wishes from lots of cyberfriends and family all day long. It was great! Thanks so much to all of you who made it such a great day! (Except for mom who said she’s sending me a ‘funny’ card next year! grrrrrr…just kidding)
Let’s see, the last update was New Year’s Day. Well, Vance is still having a hard time with his back muscles. He has no more pain down his leg, Praise God! But he is still having some pain at the surgical site and a lot of stiff, achy, cramping muscles to contend with. He’s up and about doing more than he was before surgery, but still having pain, so it’s kind of a bummer. And with this Arctic weather we’ve been having (Yes Virginia, apparently there is winter in Denver), he’s not been able to get out and walk like he would have liked to.
Ryan has recuperated very well from his tonsillectomy. No more snoring- woohoo! He is still having problems with his allergies though. We finally finished his testing and he is allergic to all the trees, grasses and weeds they tested him for, plus cats, dogs, rabbits, hamsters, etc, etc. The list of what he’s not allergic to is shorter and easier to remember – horses, hogs, cows, guinea pigs and parakeets. He can’t even have down pillows, comforters, coats, etc. So, we ordered the serum for his allergy shots and he should start by the end of the month. The trees start pollinating out here tomorrow – Yikes!
He’s enjoying his 4H and youth group activities. 
His birthday fell on the same day as the middle school all-nighter at church. But that’s a whole ‘nuther blog! 🙂
In 4H, he has started both is dog training classes with Harley and his shooting sports practices. Shooting sports is on Tuesday nights and dog classes are on Wednesday nights, so we keep pretty busy.
Harley will participate in the county fair dog show in obedience and showmanship, as far as we know now. So far, he’s doing fantastic! He just hates to sit his bare little bottom or lay his bare little belly on the cold concrete floor at classes – and who can blame him? 🙂
In shooting sports, Ryan is doing air rifle again this year, but he has also been loaned the use of a friend’s air pistol and he will be checking out a .22 rifle from the program and using it also. So he will have at least 3 shooting sports events to do. 
He and Vance have been having fun building electronic gadgets for his electronics project and I take him out to the state park and national wildlife preserve for his forestry, wildlife and outdoor adventure projects. 
He’s enrolled in a lot of projects this year, for several reasons. One, we have more time with the hours I’m working and him being homeschooled. Two, he had a lot of unfinished projects and it is a goal this year to complete them. And three, there are some new things that he wanted to try and some that I felt he should be doing at this age. Well, I guess that’s enough for now. More later…….