Doyle Family Album

Dart Night !

2012-01-17T18:06:00.000-08:00

So... When Dan was in town for Christmas, he wanted to get together to play dart's. My dart board, which only gets used at this time of year, was ready, willing and able. Jim, Dan , myself, Tom, David, Dustin (toms friend), and nephew Joe.

A lot of drinking, of course, so that's why Dan tuned the guitar.... and quickly got a blister on his thumb! Poor baby !

I thought it was pretty funny when I pushed Jim over while he was squatting down picking his dart up off the floor ( he was tipsy and tired). After the laughter died down, Jim wandered over towards me, leaned in real close, and softly said: "Don't you ever push me over again." And you know what??? I think I'll follow that advice.

Family Trivia Night

2012-01-17T17:50:00.000-08:00

Last week, Rick F invited the family over for trivia night. Kind of a small turn out, I was hoping for more since we have not done it in so many years.

Mary Ellen asked for everyone's email addresses, when I receive that email, I'll pass them on. You may have most of them from Rick's emails anyway.

A good time was had by all, and Rick and Karen live in a beautiful home in a beautiful part of west county.

Christmas pics from Kevin and Carolyn

2011-12-27T09:26:00.000-08:00

The first real meal in the new dining room on the new dining set. Carolyn cooked a prime rib roast that came out just perfect.

A close-up of a model of The Bluebird Restaurant in Logan, Utah. Carolyn's maternal great-grandfather started the restaurant in 1914 and it was in family hands until the late 90s.

Our 9-foot tree fits! We bought some new LED lights which are tremendously colorful but, for some reason, my camera doesn't pick up the colors accurately. So that's our gas fireplace on the left. It's set in tiny mosaic tiles, the colored ones made of glass, the rest white normal tile. The slot on the right is how they make homes these days out here. It's for a flat-screen tv, which we'll get when Kevin gets a job and socks a little away for it.

Getting dinner ready in the kitchen. Tucker, Carolyn, Jeff and Nikki. Jeff and Nikki take off tomorrow (12/29) for two weeks in Guatemala and Belize with Nikki's parents. Nikki's dad is Guatemalan (one of 21 children!) so they have a LOT of family down there. Jeff and Nikki met on Semester At Sea 4 years ago and have been serious ever since.

After dinner gift-giving. Carolyn and I didn't buy gifts for each other this year. Instead, we bought a house and a ton of stuff for it. That sufficed. :)

My dinner - prime rib, green beans, garlic mashed potatoes (plus Waldorf salad, wine and pie).

Great talking to everyone at John's on Monday. By the way, Jim - when I got to the blogger pate today, up in the upper right corner, there was an icon of a house. Click on that and it takes you to the page to post pictures and entries.

Christmas Eve

2011-12-24T07:51:00.000-08:00

There was an article in today's Denver Post about old ornaments that mean something to the people who own them. One of the pictures was the one above (although they're backward from ours - what seem to be feet on ours appear to be 'wings' on these two). The article said they were an advertising gift from Firestone Tires in 1958. So I guess Dad picked up the three we had for the three of us around at the time - John, Pete and me. I still have mine, with the green pipe-cleaner cross-tie, just like the one on the left. I forget the colors of John's and Pete's.

Quiet Christmas for us. The boys will be coming at some point Christmas night. No presents for Carolyn or me this year - we bought a house! (and all the other stuff that had to be bought for it like rugs, garage door opener, paying the movers, etc.) We're very happy with our Christmas this year and glad that we're not spending it in the teeny apartment we were in for 5 months.

Pictures soon.

(by the way - is anyone else having trouble publishing on this thing? I have to google 'blogger' to get to a page that will allow me on. Sorry if I screwed something up.)

Carolyn's office Christmas dinner

2011-12-15T10:21:00.000-08:00

Do you all remember how I used to rub our Thanksgiving dinners in Jackson in your face, posting the menu? (The one we had this year in Manitou Springs, Colorado was almost as good.) Well, in that vein, I'm posting the dinner that was served at Carolyn's work's Christmas party.

Now, she officially works for the University of Colorado - Denver but the institute (Linda Crnic Institute for Down Syndrome Research) is funded by a multi-multi-millionaire who made his money in cable tv and started and owns the Starz Network. He donates a lot of his money to a number of causes. This year, he not only sent Carolyn $240 in grass-fed steaks, he also invited us to this annual dinner party.

He rented a restaurant out for the night for the 100 or so guests (50 employees and a guest each). It's a very expensive Italian restaurant not too far from where we live. Get this - instead of using the restaurant's chef, he flies in his favorite chef from Sicily for this one night only and the restaurant's chefs assist this guy.

There was flowing champagne and hors d'oeuvres before dinner and an open bar. Our wine glasses at dinner were constantly refilled with the best wine I've ever tasted (obviously the Two-Buck Chuck stuff I tend to get is swill). Here's the menu...

PAPPARDELLE CON ARAGOSTA
Poached Maine lobster sauteed with shallots, fresh thyme, parsley and cherry tomatoes in a light chardonnay cream sauce tossed with wide egg pasta noodles.

RISOTTO SUL NIDO DI FORMAGGIO
Carnaroli rice simmered in mushroom parmesan broth with porcini mushrooms and shallots topped with shaved white truffles and served in a parmesan nest.

BRANZINO IN BRODO AL POMODORO
Chilean sea bass filet butter poached and finished with tomato broth; served over soft polenta and topped with fried leeks.

OSSOBUCO ALL MILANESE
Veal Ossobuco braised with root vegetables and plum tomatoes served over saffron risotto with sweet peas.

DOPPIO MOUSSE AL CIOCCOLATO
White and dark chocolate mousse layered in a trifle cup and topped with fresh raspberries and mint.

PANNA COTTA DI ZUCCA
Butternut squash panna cotta drizzled with creme caramel and topped with amaretti cookie crumbles.

It was a Monday and Carolyn had to get to work early the next day so we left after the meal but apparently the party went on for hours with more drinks and karaoke. Oh - there was a three-piece jazz group playing throughout the night, too.

In January we're all supposed to go to a horse show because her immediate boss (MD and PhD who heads the Institute) and his wife raise paint horses and train them in 'reining' which is like cutting except there's no steer to cut. The horses follow the directions of the rider who has no reigns and, often, no saddle, steering and directing the horse's actions with his or her knees and with vocal commands.

OK, I'm done for now. Pictures of the house will be posted as soon as we get the place finished. There's still a lot of empty walls and knick-knacks sitting around needing a place to live or be stored in.

New home has a few issues...

2011-12-09T13:44:00.001-08:00

Update:

So we discovered just a day after moving in that we had a sewer line problem. We did laundry and the basement partly flooded. Luckily I caught it in time. Two plumbers and two snaking of the lines later, we were told there was something wrong and we needed a snake with a camera on the end to video the line and find what was wrong. The camera showed that the line was broken completely under our little patch of front yard.

The crews came by, dug down about 15 feet and found that the sewer/drainage line from the house to the main city line was completely disconnected by about 10 inches. You could see it plain as day. It was as if they didn't bother to close the gap and just covered it up with earth. The house hasn't been lived in and the little water that has gone through the lines just dumped into the ground - until we moved in. Then it started to block. Fortunately, our realtor and myself kindly made sure that the responsibility for the work cost would be borne by the development, not Carolyn and me. We should have running water in a few hours - yay for baths, showers and flushing toilets! And laundry.

Next, I had a man come out to install our garage door opener. The garage door is a bear to open and I knew there had to be some problems but the door people thought they could fix them. Well, they can't. Turns out the builders, in their haste to put this model up, totally screwed up the garage door installation and then covered over what they screwed up with drywall. So the garage door company said they couldn't guarantee or warranty their work until the garage door structure was fixed. So - back to calls with the builders who I haven't heard back from yet. But they have to fix this just like they had to fix the drain. There's no way the door works without these changes to fix the mistakes they made. Those of you with garage doors and maybe door openers know that the bar that holds the spring and turns for the door to open needs to be perfectly straight and horizontal. Ours bows a few degrees. The garage door guy blamed it on 'the mexicans' (the cheap labor they haul in to do the work).

Also discovered that the company that built our house actually went into receivership after our house was built and another company bought them out and still operate under their name. Not so sure they're happy with what they bought (although the area is highly desirable). But the good news is that the company going into receivership was required to have insurance to cover the new company in case things like this happened. The builders were all nice and fair about the sewer problem. Hope they're just as nice about the garage door.

But - ugh - we want a garage we can use! It's just sitting empty and we have to keep our cars outside because the door is so bad.

That's the update.

Thanksgiving in Colorado

2011-11-27T08:21:00.001-08:00

Carolyn's entire side of the family showed up in Colorado for the Thanksgiving weekend. We stayed one night at the Cliff House Hotel in Manitou Springs, Colorado and had dinner together, like we used to in Jackson Hole. We figured it had been 10 years since our last Jackson Hole visit and it looks like we want to get back into the practice of doing it every year again. Maybe we'll alternate locations or even find a new one every year.

We all had a tremendous time, ate and drank well, and laughed through the whole weekend. On Saturday we brought everyone through our new house which we move into in a few days.

After our afternoon Thanksgiving dinner we went to the largest suite which one couple had reserved and partied till about 10:30 at night. This is Jeff, Carolyn and Tucker and me and Nikki (Jeff's girlfriend).

Nikki, Jeff, Tuck, Carolyn having their Thanksgiving dinner.

Across the street from the hotel is Manitou Springs main street which is full of fun, quirky shops. One of them is a very old arcade which is filled with new and old arcade machines. I came across dozens and dozens of old games that were identical to or reminded me of games we used to play as kids when we'd ride on the SS Admiral in St. Louis. I sent an email with a few more pictures. Does anybody remember this electric basketball game? It was one of my favorites. Each hole on the board has a corresponding number and players stood on each side and pressed the button that corresponded to the numbered hole that the ball fell in which would then shoot toward the basket. Usually both players would hit the button almost at the same time and the ball would go into another hole.

This game had steel balls that would pop out and the two hockey players would spin one way or the other to hit the ball into the other goal or block the ball heading toward yours.

This game had the player with it's back to you underhand shoot the ball into a basket over the other player that would wiggle around.

These were driving games that had you control the little red metal 3-dimensional car on the screen through all kinds of obstacles on the rolling landscape. Click on the picture (or any of them) to make them blow up on your screen to make it easier to see.

This place had dozens and dozens of old games, all of them working!

Hope you all had a good Thanksgiving. Thanks for spending so much time with Dad this past week. After we're all settled into the new house, I'll look at a window for a visit.

2011-10-30T10:05:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone... I haven't posted anything for a long time. Gail was in the office of the surgeon last week just for a follow up, and the Doctor invited her to walk with her office on Saturday, Oct 28th. It was a walk in Forest Park, sponsored by the American Cancer Society, and titled: Making Strides Against Breast Cancer.

Not anywhere near as big as the Komen Walk for the Cure, we participated in a 3 mile walk thru Forest Park. This is the 3rd year for this event, and the weather was beautiful (they said it was cold and rainy last year). Not to mention that many of the trees were changing colors, and that made it just that much nicer. The above group consists of survivors, office workers, and spouses. Dr Beth Snell is the third woman from the right (just to the left of the woman in the plaid coat).

It actually was a little cool at 8AM when the group photo was taken. The walk started at 9am, and we were finished by 10:30. By the end, it had warmed up nicely and many had abandoned their coats. I would guess there were about 2000 people. Probably more, but none of the news stations updated their blogs w/info yet.

saw Obama in Denver today

2011-10-26T15:35:00.000-07:00

This is Carolyn, Tucker and Jeff's girlfriend Nikki (Jeff's on assignment still in North Dakota) in the gym at the University of Colorado - Denver right before Obama gave a speech. It was only open to students and staff of the school and Tuck attends and Carolyn works there and is on staff so that's how we all got in (they could bring a guest).

These are pictures I took from where we were standing. I used a zoom but we were still really close.

This is Obama pointing at me and telling everyone that I am an exemplary citizen and a fine political mind and everyone is nuts not to do as I suggest. (heh-heh)

A better idea of how close we were.

Obama shaking hands after it was over. I wasn't close enough to get a handshake but I still was really close.

In other news, we're putting a bid on a house this week. Fingers crossed for us! If we get it, I'll post some pictures. It's not possible to get the house of our dreams in our price range here but this one comes pretty close.

Jefferson barracks concert

2011-10-08T07:33:00.000-07:00

I published a post on fb of Dave Mason who played at Jefferson Barracks two weeks ago.

He was great, has not lost his voice and the band sounded perfect. Gypsy sounded real good,

the only song I recognized, (unfortunatly), was "when Im dead and gone".

I really like Poco but they just did not have the sound quality. Sad

September's almost over...

2011-09-28T10:01:00.000-07:00

So here's the latest update from Colorado...

Carolyn has a new job at the Linda Crnic (pronounced Sir-nick) Institute for Down Syndrome. She's the executive assistant to the director of the Institute. And she LOVES the job. I can't tell you how happy it makes me to see her so fulfilled and enjoying this new job. It's a brand-new research institute that is run through the University of Colorado but the entire funding is from private donations and Carolyn has been assured they have decades of funding already in the bank. None of it is from the government but they are pursuing research grants, as all foundations do.

The big thing coming up is a $500-a-plate fundraiser, black-tie event that features the honorary chairman of the board of the foundation - Quincy Jones. Carolyn was told that if they don't sell out, then she and I will be invited but that will mean getting a tux for me and a fancy-schmancy dress for her - which we would gladly do. But - looks like it'll just be her because I'll be holding up scenery in TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD at The Denver Center the night of the big event. But I can't complain. While I'm basically an extra, and doing understudy work, it's the biggest theatre paycheck I've ever received. The show runs through the end of October and we'll see where I go and what I do after that. I'll spend October, once the show is up, looking for my next job.

And the next big thing on our agenda is buying a house. While on one hand we're both working at the moment and bringing in more than we did in Utah, we also have opposite work schedules. Carolyn works days and I work nights and weekends. So we can't explore the neighborhoods the way we'd like to. We might have to resort to me doing some research and checking and then leaving what I find for Carolyn to explore on weekends and vice-versa. But, we should have common schedules by November. While prices here are still pretty high, they're lower than they've been for a long time and our realtor assures me there are some bargains to be found with some foreclosures, so we'll look into that. Again, our biggest hope is to pay cash for the house but we may have to get a smaller, short-term loan (which we're already pre-approved for). We want to get something we want and not settle so the price may be more, making the small-ish loan (for a house, anyway) necessary.

Jeff will be home for two weeks starting next week and Tuck's busy as usual with school and his part-time job at Starbucks. Tuck, Carolyn and I went to the downtown Octoberfest a couple of weeks ago and really had a blast. It reminded me of the downtown festivals they used to have in St. Louis before they got out of hand and had to be stopped. Lots of fun. Great restaurants here but I suppose any city could boast that. It's something I've missed for almost 20 years!

Gracie turns 1 year old in a week. Time has flown. By the way, the other day Carolyn and I were at a farmer's market and then went downtown for something and she turned to me and said, 'I'm so happy here.' I asked her if she missed Logan, having never lived anywhere else and she said, 'Not one bit. I'm kind of surprised at that but I haven't missed a thing. I'm just so much happier here.'

We both are.

By the way, I thought I'd try out a new layout with the family blog. If it drives you nuts, just let me know and I'll change it back or try a different one. You can play around yourselves by going to the 'dashboard' and goofing around. There are some fun new looks.

Taylor's sweet sixteen

2011-09-25T17:52:00.000-07:00

Taylor had her Sixteenth birthday Saturday so I had to do something special. I admitted she was my child. That's nice right?

She did not want this pic taken because she did not have a shower yet.

Cracked me up.

Kept the straight face for this one.

I got her birth stones in a necklace and earring's, and got her 16 pink roses along with some crazy daisies. I figured she would like those, go along with her personality.

Happy birthday to my T!

See ya.

Jimmy

Da Dogs...

2011-09-22T18:57:00.000-07:00

Sadie was walking around like she had just eaten a bird and feathers were sticking out of her mouth. Cracked us up. Had to take a pic of Molly so she wouldn't be jealous.

No news here... just going to work and coming home to watch TV.

My girls

2011-09-19T21:18:00.000-07:00

Carolyn and Gracie

Labor day weekend fun

2011-09-05T07:48:00.000-07:00

Went out Sunday with some friends to Grafton Ill. We went to

a bar called "The loading dock" Neat place, it is actually an

old loading dock they converted into a bar! Lots of people,

nice and open right on the river. Ran into 5 more people we knew

and it ended up being a long fun day.

This is the bar and patio from the parking lot. It looked small until you walked in.

A view down river where you can see the bluffs and boats. My back is towards the entrance where we came in, this place was big!

Took this picture where the band was going to play looking up river. If the pic will blow up you can see the lighthouse out there. There is a boat marina there too that we ended up going to and had a few beers on a friends boat. BIG, I mean BIIIIIG boat. It was nice.

This is actually the old storage area for the docks, they let the bikers only park in here. It was rather large and filled up by four or five. Some real pretty bikes too.

I have plenty of things to say about this but wont bore you. This was on the outside of the police station. hmmm.

We ate a dinner in town with the friends we ran into, of course we took up two big tables with our group, but it was cheap and great food. Lots of fun. If anyone can make it out there I suggest you do, the bar crowd ranged from little kids (I'm talking babies here) to people in their 60's and 70's. It was a nice crowd, met a bunch of people and just an all around good time.

Hope everyone had a fun weekend

Jimmy

job update

2011-08-19T07:15:00.000-07:00

Carolyn landed a job working for an engineering firm that has long-term projects with water treatment. She started yesterday. It's a better paying job than the university (which is notorious for low pay) and they seem pretty crazy about her already. Who wouldn't be?

As for me, I sent my resume and picture to a few theaters here in Denver and got a call immediately (and I mean within 90 minutes) and was offered 10 weeks at top pay at the biggest theater in town, The Denver Center For The Performing Arts. I also signed up with a voiceover agent and have had three great auditions in just the last couple of days. Still waiting to see if I land any of them but the frequency of the auditions already is a good sign. The law of averages should play in my favor.

So we're doing well and between now and at least Halloween (when my theater contract ends), we're making a whole lot more than we ever did in Utah. Carolyn also still has an interview coming up that would pay a lot more than her new position with the engineering firm, so we're hopeful about that. If Carolyn gets THAT job, maybe the engineering firm would match whatever the company offers. Anyway, that's where we stand at the moment.

I'll be heading to St. Louis tomorrow (Saturday). Short, easy visit. Talk with those of you in town then.

our latest Denver foray...

2011-08-11T09:42:00.000-07:00

Jeff is back in Denver for a couple of weeks so he and Nikki have filled up our calendar with fun and different things to do. Last night's was a happy hour brew pub crawl where we went pub-to-pub on this contraption. The owner steered, a bartender stood in the middle and served drinks as we all pedaled as we sat at the bar and went about as slow as a walk. It was a little hard when we hit a few slight inclines, but it was a lot of fun, too. We ended up riding this thing to about 5 different bars.

Tuck, Jeff, Nikki and Carolyn at The Ginn Mill, one of Denver's oldest bars, dating from prohibition days.

Carolyn and me 'en route'. I'm pedaling like a madman but Carolyn had a pedal-free seat (she was over the rear wheel).

Tuck, Jeff and Nikki pedaling and imbibing.

Saki-bombs at one of the stops, a bar/sushi place. You pounded the bar on both sides of the shot glass balanced on the chopsticks and the shotglass of saki falls in the beer. Then you shoot it. Well, we did it, anyway. Not my favorite drink but it was all about the experience. At another place we actually had pickle vodka shots. Big containers of vodka that are filled with giant dill pickles. Surprisingly good, too.

So we're having fun while we look for jobs. :)

Sunday in Golden, Colorado

2011-08-07T17:53:00.000-07:00

Jeff is home for two weeks following his first assignment with FEMA to Bismark, ND for the Minot floods. He heads right back after his 'furlough.' He enjoys it, is learning a ton and feels as if he's contributing. What more could you ask? He's here with his girlfriend of 4 years, Nikki (they are VERY serious) and the new dog she rescued, an as-yet-unnamed 2 -year-old Jack Russel Terrier.

We're in the beer garden of the Golden Brewing Company, a small micro-brewery that has no restaurant or bottling plant - just this beer garden in this very picturesque turn-of-the-century neighborhood a block off of Golden's Main Street. Very cozy and a favorite new 'haunt.'

A picture of the new doggie. Any ideas for names? She's a sweetie, very calm to the point of being shy.

Tuck and Carolyn trying to think of new doggie names.

I walked out into the street, just a few feet away, to get the group's picture.

Carolyn and me enjoying the boys' and Nikki's company and very glad to find ourselves in Colorado.

Fun St. Louis site

2011-08-06T17:14:00.000-07:00

Well, fun in a sad sort of way sometimes. It's a site about old St. Louis landmarks that have been torn down. Lots of before and after pictures. The 'after' pictures can be pretty sad.

Here's the link

Lots of nostalgia sites going on this weekend on the internet for some reason. I tripped across this one after looking at a Facebook page titles something like, 'Remember North St. Louis County...' or something like that. Lots of restaurants, movie theaters and shopping malls. The link above has demolition pictures of Northland and River Roads malls.

Just thought I'd share. Dan and Jim might not care at all. Maybe not even Dave. But I remember riding my bike to Northland which seemed very far away and a real 'adventurous trip' for a 14-year-old.

Dave and Gail's puppy

2011-07-30T18:09:00.002-07:00

This is little Sadie, if I spelled that right, with my friends dog Molly.

She is a cute pup, glad I dont have to deal with her.

She was trying to lick my camera.

Very cute, very sweet, still glad she is not MINE!!!

Enyoy the pee stains Dave!

Jimmy

2011-07-30T18:09:00.001-07:00

2011-07-30T18:09:00.000-07:00

2011-07-29T13:38:00.000-07:00

These are some pictures that Jeff took from the Virgin Islands. He moved there three or four weeks ago. This is the view he has from his driveway. Very nice.

Of course this is later on in the day, not first thing in the morning.

This shows his driveway, and is all polished rocks. He sent me a pic of it but I did not post it.

I figured everyone would ask, What the hell? But what a view.

He was on the beach at sunset, mmmmmm. I hope the job comes through for me.

Eww, how did this get in there?!!! When Dave, Dan and I went to visit Carolyn and Kevin.

Good but short trip.

I want to go to the islands but it is not for the scenery, mind you the ocean is a huge plus for me!

The job offer, if it comes through would be excellent.

Keep your fingers crossed, already talked to my kids and Krista. They are ok with it.

I think they just want me gone!

Later Jimmy

Jim, Dave and Dan might appreciate this...

2011-07-24T17:25:00.000-07:00

I've been going into neighborhood bars that seem interesting and today I found one that reminds me of a cross between Moe's Tavern on The Simpsons and The Drunken Clam on Family Guy. It's called 'The Rusty Bucket'.

Fun place.

There's another place a bit closer, The Thirsty Bear, but it's almost like a mall bar - too neat and tidy, no style (bad or otherwise). I live out in the 'burbs so there isn't going to be any great, old neighborhood bars near us, although I did find a few in closer to downtown.

Now if I just have near as much luck finding a job as I have finding nice, appealing bars. Of course, you can't spit without hitting a bar around here and good jobs are a bit harder to find.

Out on the river

2011-07-23T19:19:00.000-07:00

Went out on the nasty Meremac with some friends today to ride some wave runners.

Went to George winter park and had some fun.

Sandy to the left, her husband Tim to her right and their daughter Jen behind Sandy. Yes that is Sandy Miegher that lived across the street from us on Shortleaf. Mark is the guy with his back turned from you. The other girl is a friend of Jen's, Taylor.

This is Taylor, ( Jen's friend), and Marks dog Molly. She is a great dog. Layed back and goofy.

Like all his dogs in the past.

Left to right. Mark, Jen, me, Tim and Sandy sitting. It was a really fun, great day.

Jen with her award winning smile. She is one big ham when it comes to a camera.
Her friend Taylor is on the jet ski.

It was a fun day and had a bunch of laughs with friends.

Got to ride a jet ski or bike, however you call it, but just had a great time.

What a way to spend a saturday.

Beer, boats,..........damn no broads!

Oh well, two outa three aint bad.

See ya

Jimmy

Gracie's closing in on 10 months

2011-07-21T07:16:00.000-07:00

Great picture of Sadie, Dave. Hope she stays small, for your sake. Although big dogs have a bit less energy, it seems.

I hadn't pulled out my camera since early May but I took this yesterday so it's recent. I'll have to pose next to her so you can get an idea of how big she is. She hasn't seemed to grow much over the past couple of months.

Denver is VERY dog friendly. Most stores allow dogs in, even grocery stores. And there are little dog boutiques everywhere. There are even stores that specialize in 'do it yourself' dog washing. Most people in apartments even have dogs. One of the benefits of all the dog lovin' is lots of state off-leash dog parks. There's one near us which is great - big and open with plenty of room to run and play with the other dogs. We like to take Gracie there whenever we can to wear her out so she's a bit calm for the rest of the day. People still ask what kind of dog she is because she's not big and fluffy like a lot of golden retrievers. When we tell them she's not quite 10 months they all think she's a giant, which surprises me. But then I notice that most golden retrievers around here are very short. She's the same height as Jesse was, just skinnier (for now).

No news on the job hunt yet. But we stay positive.

New Addition to the Family

2011-07-21T05:47:00.000-07:00

Meet Sadie, the newest addition to the family. Picked her up from the shelter on Sunday. Here it is Thursday, and I can tell you puppies are still a pain in the @$$ !

Cute as can be, but what a pain!

I'll put up pics often so you can see how she grows.... we can all find that out together because we don't really know what she is! Guessing to be a medium dog... hoping it will be smaller than Gracie, about the same size as our Molly.

Mrs. Blase has passed away

2011-07-15T07:34:00.000-07:00

Here's her obituary in the Post Dispatch:

Blase, Mary E. fortified with the Sacraments of Holy Mother Church on Wednesday, July 13, 2011. Beloved wife of the late George A. Blase. Dearest mother of Thomas (Debrah), Robert, Teresa, Jeanne (John) Cichon, William (Gretchen), Barbara (Edward) Wilmes, John (Kirstin) and James (Rosemarie) Blase. Our dear grandmother of 31, great-grandmother of 7, sister, sister-in-law, aunt, cousin, godmother and friend. Services: The Stygar Family of Funeral Service is caring for the Blase family at the STYGAR FLORISSANT CHAPEL, 13980 New Halls Ferry Rd. where services will begin on Saturday, July 16 at 9:15 a.m. then process to Holy Name of Jesus Church for 10:00 a.m. Mass. Interment Calvary Cemetery. VISITATION FRIDAY 3-8 P.M. In lieu of flowers, the family respectfully requests memorials to the Saint Charles office of Birthright counseling, 205 N. 5th Street, St. Charles, MO 63301. www.stygar.com

I LIKE it here

2011-07-10T18:45:00.000-07:00

This is the Red Rocks Amphitheatre, which is just a few miles from our apartment. It was built in the 1930s and is the premiere outdoor concert venue in Denver. I haven't attended yet, but hope to soon. It's pretty legendary. They have movies here, too, so that may be the first thing I go to.

Cactus Jack's deck in Evergreen, Colorado

Interior of Cactus Jack's

The Little Bear Blues Bar in Evergreen, Colorado

A view of Morrison, Colorado (all of these pictures were taken off the internet).

A great day today - I took my motorcycle up the nearby canyon road to the towns of Morrison and Evergreen, Colorado. Morrison is about 3 miles up the road and Evergreen is another 11. The road is probably the best time I've ever had on my motorcycle. The canyon is beautiful - better than anything in Utah - and curvy as all get-out. I tipped my bike back and forth like a racer and had a helluva time.

Morrison is a great little town and is literally only a couple of miles up the road. They have these beautiful little restaurants with patios in the back that are just a blast. These places look the same now as they must have in the 70s, which I just love. Great beer gardens with music and families and just a fun old time.

I road up around the Red Rocks amphitheatre and then headed up the next 11 miles to Evergreen, through one of the most beautiful canyons I've yet to see. Just a blast. I stopped at this little bar called Cactus Jack's and it was on the creek (Cherry Creek) and had a little bluegrass band playing inside ('A Man of Constant Sorry' from the movie OH BROTHER, WHERE ART THOU and they did 'Rocky Top', too. Excellent.). Then I walked down a block to the Little Bear. This place really took me back - a mountain bar straight out of the 70s. There was this incredible blues/rock band playing Clapton and the Beatles and all kinds of terrific stuff. This is the kind of thing you'd NEVER find in Utah. And this was a Sunday afternoon!

I REALLY love it here. Now all I need is a job...

Dads house for Dan and Jill visit

2011-07-06T10:12:00.000-07:00

It was fun at Dad's Tuesday night.

My two kids were no shows. Taylor just got home from the Lake of the Ozarks and was tired.

Understandable, Erik....?? No clue

Jail?

Kinda dark picture sorry, Caleb, David, Katie, Maddie, Mary, Jill, and the old man.

Everyone picking on Grandpa's feet. Dragon claws!! It was funny, and poor Dad was out of breath after laughing.

Caleb and Alex in towels after playing in the fountain at Dad's little park. Katie was ducking, have no idea why. The two boys, after they got dressed, ran around like a bunch of monkeys.

LOUD!!!! I've been in bars with a band that was more quiet than Dad's with these two!

Dan's new wardrobe. Jill wants him to fit in them.

Actually Dad's idea for Alex to wear these while waiting for his clothes to dry.

PINK!??? REALLY??!

He did not put them on.....wheew!

The culprit of the wet little boy's, Grandpa Pete! Typical Grandpa, walks in and says "Your kids are soaked! Im done!!"

It was a good time

Jimmy

Dare the fair!

2011-07-03T09:37:00.000-07:00

I went down to the VP fair Saturday with some friends.

Actually with Jeff, (who I call Midget) because he is leaving for St. Thomas Virgin Islands on the 12th. He is going to live there, lucky bastard; so I thought I would rough the crowd at VP.

Steve Miller performed that night. He was good but did butcher some of his tunes.
I took this shot from the street by the depressed section of 55.

No, that is not where everyone driving is going " Oh man this sucks!"

Cool pic I think.

The crowd.............I hate people.

I did not get bumped once though. Must have been the look I had of

I HATE PEOPLE!!!!

Well it worked.

Downtown, just wanted to have the picture.

Airshow
Duh
It was a good concert and I got vidio but it would not upload on this blog again.
Steve Miller was good, and a free show is always the best.

HOME
Happy fourth everyone

Jimmy

our new short-term home

2011-06-27T07:04:00.001-07:00

Here's a link to the apartment we'll be staying in - The Landing at Bear Creek.

We're in the 'Little Bear' model.

We signed a 6-month lease, hoping and planning to be in our new home, where ever that is in Denver, by Christmas.

We move this Saturday. VERY excited!

correction...

2011-06-19T19:41:00.000-07:00

Okay, a later post said that the house on Vorhoff is a foreclosure and that it went for $108,000 in 2004. Still...

a quick note...

2011-06-17T16:51:00.000-07:00

Dave either found or started the St. Casimir's Parish Facebook page. Someone wrote something today that made me go there and read what she had to say. She's a real estate broker now and said she had grown up on Vorhoff and that the house she grew up in is on the market for....

$39,900

wow

Sunday, June 12

2011-06-12T12:43:00.000-07:00

Great pictures of the celebrate life picnic. Beautiful day and great turn-out. Wish we could have been there. Know that our thoughts were with all of you (as we drove back to Utah from Colorado for 9 hours).

Carolyn and I got back from our short trip to Denver yesterday. We traveled on Tuesday, looked for apartments Wed - Fri, and came back Saturday.

We saw over a dozen different apartment complexes and chose one in Lakewood, Colorado which is a western suburb of Denver. Downtown is a 15 minute ride (in good traffic). We move in July 2nd and start our assault on the Denver job market.

The apartment is nice, but small. A one-bedroom. The complex is nice, too, and is only a couple of miles from the front range foothills west of downtown Denver. It's situated well for us to get to know the city and outlying areas. We'll be much better informed house buyers this way. We signed a 6-month lease betting that we'll find work and buy a house by then. Keep your fingers crossed.

We're fairly close to the boys so we look forward to seeing them often. I have to tell you, though - just traveling around metro Denver, hanging out with the boys (as well as a couple of nights with Carolyn's sister and her husband) was a real treat. We're going to like it there, we're sure. Now, all we need is to get those jobs.... :)

Some more from bbq

2011-06-12T06:26:00.001-07:00

A few more

Krista talking with Gail. She seems very good for what she has been through. She had smiles and stayed longer than me. I'm sure she slept well yesterday. Meanwhile, dad is in the back probably telling Erik, Sean, and Taylor how to properly use a cooler.

Kidding Pop

your an easy target.

Wee man Caleb in his "I'm cool" pose. The other two Dave will have to tell you.

No clue

I took this pic quick. Political discussion, or religion, or some other fight!

Joking, a typical Doyle dinner........wait....it had to be an argument then!

Jake Hurst(standing), his father John Hurst to his right, Patty Hurst to his left(Gail's sister), and Jake's wife is sitting with thier baby. Forgot her name(sorry). I even worked with Jake for almost a year. I should know his wife's name.
Damn!
The rest I have know clue, Grimes related. Ask Dave

Uhhhh....more people I don't know except Dave jr, Gail, and our family at the next table

I just wanted to put pics up to show what a big turnout it was.

I will go on the walk next year for sure.

Congrats to Dave and Gail for a GREAT bbq and a great time!

Had fun.....lots of it.

Jimmy

Celebrate life bbq

2011-06-12T05:35:00.001-07:00

Celebrate life bbq for Gail!

It was a lot of fun and hanging with Gail's family is always a blast!

Dave did a great job, plenty of food, fun, and good times.

All of us minus Erik, Sean, and Taylor. Krista even showed! Of course in this pic,

Dad was to busy for a picture! I'm sure it was the president calling or something!

Your fathers look on his face when your son show's his tatoo!!!!

Priceless!!

Dave wondering......What the hell was I doing???

I just told Pete and Mary who was doing the cooking.

Oh Yeah! I'm the chef!!!!

DOOOH!!

It was a lot of fun, got to see old friends too.

Gonna put up some more

Jimmy

Ryans Grad party

2011-06-05T19:55:00.000-07:00

Here are a few pics from today at John and Joyce.s house for Ryans grad party.

I took this pic because my daughter would not sit with her cousins.?!?!?!?!?

Hello? I dont like them either but I sit and talk to them!?!?!?!

ha.. kidding

Just so we know how old we are. God......kids suck!!

Sorry, I ruined this pic. Taylor, me, Erik. Love my knuckleheads.

T, E, Pete and Dave. Was a good time with all
Great to see the nephews and the brothers.

Johns friend took these pics. Had to make sure I got one of all of us.

It was a good day, but short.

Wish it lasted longer

Jimmy

Gail Update...

2011-06-04T09:38:00.000-07:00

But First... Kevin, you must have REALLY been bored! I can see it now, "Here is a good category: Boring B list movies from the 40's! Even the poster would have scared me away. With that being said, I'm sure I'll watch it!

It's Saturday morning, but I'll try and re-cap from Thursday. This may not be to the minute, but you'll get the idea.
THURS>>>
7 AM : Arrived at Hosp.
7:30 : Brought into prep room
7:45 : Hooked up to monitors, Doc said earlier patient never showed up, so Gail would be
operated at 8:30AM
8:00 : Family was able to visit in prep room, 2 at a time.... Jim & Joan, Tracy, Patty, David,
and Tom
8:50 : Informed Operating Room almost ready
8:55 : Anaesthesiologist (SP?), and OR nurse came in and prep room was like a bee hive w/
everyone making last minute preparations, Joan & I had to exit to waiting area.
9:25 : Informed operation had begun ... Dad arrived to wait as well as nephew Joe.
11:45 : Informed operation had finished, she would be in post-op for 2 hours w/no visits.
2:15 : A very groggy Gail moved to room on 5th floor and we could all visit. As the day went
on, she slept and visited, and seemed to be in a pretty good mood. Antibiotics
administered thru IV drip, as well as any pain meds.
FRI

7:45AM: She woke me up at home.... I promised to be there at 7:30AM woops.
Hospital said she could go home whenever she wanted.
8:30 : I finally arrived at Hospital.... she was real tired and still hooked up to IV... let her
sleep some more, and checked out at 11AM

11:45 : arrived at home, had lunch, and put her to bed.

By about 4PM on Friday, the IV meds were starting to wear off, and then the pain started. Not only sore on left side and left arm, but also right arm and neck and shoulders! She is guessing that they had her table slanted with feet up, head lowered, and her right arm pulled over her head w/IV.

So, here we are on Saturday, and she pain comes back every 4 hours like clock work when the meds wear off. Guess that's what you expect after being cut on. She is being positive, and I'm trying to be the good husband.

Talk to everyone soon.

un -believe- able

2011-05-29T20:08:00.000-07:00

Brothers:

So I was bored last night and decided to instant stream a Netflix movie over the computer. I didn't know what I wanted to see so I started 'browsing' and discovered this old 3 Stooges movie that I had never heard of before. It's dumb, bad, slow and very cheaply done, but it's THE STOOGES! With Curly!!

It was made in 1945 and here's a Wikipedia link to the movie. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rockin'_in_the_Rockies

I was amazed to actually discover an old Stooges movie after all these years. It's 107 minutes long and a little tough to sit through but you can fast-forward past all the slower stuff. Very Saturday afternoon kind of stuff. Fun to see Curly still going at it. Larry's great. Moe plays a straight character, which is weird, but that's the way they sold the movie. If you have Netflix, you can instant-stream it. If not, try to find it on the internet. It's worth it for any Stooge fan.

Moving sale

2011-05-07T13:05:00.000-07:00

Looks like the sale of the house is a go. We never heard a word about them backing out yesterday, the day of due diligence, when their deadline landed. Actually, the one thing we did hear was that they asked if we could move out immediately, which of course we can't.

We had a garage sale today, just ended. I hereby admit that I thought it was a waste of time but Carolyn wanted to try it. With us moving, we put a ton of stuff in, including student desks, bedroom sets, bikes, other furniture, my old futon couch/bed. Basically everything in the basement except my favorite recliner. We tried a garage sale about 10 years ago, when the economy was rockin', and we made about $25. It was a bust and I was thinking of that when Carolyn came up with this idea. I thought I'd have to move everything into the garage, then out on the driveway and, when nobody came, I'd have to then make a bunch of trips to the local thrift store to donate everything.

We sold out.

Made about $1000

I am stunned.

Carolyn is very pleased, to say the least.

Now we continue to pack and look for a short-term place to stay here in the valley until we know exactly where we'll be going. And, basically, we're looking at dumps. That's all that will rent to us short-term with a dog. Ah, well. More motivation to get going (not that we need any).

Keep keeping fingers crossed for us on the Denver job. Interview in two weeks.

Easter @ John's

2011-05-01T21:30:00.001-07:00

Caleb wouldn't look up for the pic, but Alex did!

Ryan is graduating high school this year, and Katie has become a young lady. That's what happens when you turn 50 I guess...

Tom left his cell phone at home, so all night long he kept putting his hand to his ear and pretending he was talking on a phone.

Dad and Nancy had a good time.

John is explaining something interesting.

a few more from bike day

2011-05-01T06:08:00.000-07:00

Some of these pics are not the best but here are a few

more pics from the bike show.

Ok paint job but not great. It looked good on the bike but I have seen better.
For some reason this reminded me off steak and shake. I did not tell the owner that.

This was a real good paint job and nice burnt orange color. It was probably the best paint job there I saw. Pretty bike.

HOOSIER!!!!

I was in Jeff county.........

Clean, sharp, but green. Oh did I tell you I was in Jeff. county?

You can take the hoosier out of the trailer park but cannot take the trailer park out of the hoosier!

bike show

2011-04-30T19:11:00.000-07:00

Went to a bike show friends of mine were at. It was really cool. Lot of nice bikes and lot of hoosiers with bikes! It was fun.

There is no way this guy could see over this bike! He pulled up looking to the side of his bike! Neat bike but not my type.

Nice paint job and a nice bike.

Weak paint job but a nice stretch.

cool

Better.

Real cool bikes

wish I could have one.

see ya

Jimmy

Gracie at 7 months

2011-04-27T18:45:00.000-07:00

Jim bugged me to put up a recent picture of Gracie, so here it is, taken tonight.

Good luck to Jim on all his upcoming interviews.

My interview in Denver is scheduled for late May now, the 22nd - 24th. So we'll have moved out of our place by then (assuming no problems - the buyer can back out up till May 6).

Other than that, it's pack, pack, pack, throw away, throw away (not that you can tell from this picture.

Easter

2011-04-24T06:00:00.000-07:00

Easter at John and Joyce's

The little one's were wild but the game's were still played.

It was a good time as always.

Alex and Caleb playing on the leather couch. Hmm, John did not yell? Must be cheap couches!
The boy's around the boy's! Or should I say "The stooges with the stooges!"

Pete, John, me, Dan, and Dave

Everyone but me. That's normal. Im not typing all the names, if you don't know them why the hell are you on our website?
kidding..left to right
Dad and Nancy, John, pete, with Mary in front. Dan, David jr, Dave and Katie in front. Ryan, Erin and Tom, Lauren, and Alex and Caleb on the stairs.

Finishing dinner with the usual Doyle conversation at the table. Notice the room Dan is giving Dad while he finishes. He is out of fork stabbing reach! :)

Great food! They had two different flavors of ham, plenty of mashed potatoes, hhhmmmmm. Veggies, cream of broccoli soup, David jr brought a desert, (had coconut in it, Idid not try it),
it was all good.

I had to lower my resolution on my camera to get this to load. But grandpa Pete playing ping pong with Caleb, and Alex.

Funny stuff

Later

Jimmy

some Banff, Canada pictures...

2011-04-15T21:36:00.000-07:00

One view out the windows of the cafeteria we ate three meals a day, every day.

There are big, glacially cut mountains all around us. Here's one of 'em.

The town of Banff. It's a typical touristy mountain town. Lots of skiing here during the winter.

This is the view from the deck of the Banff Springs Hotel deck. It was an overcast day and the picture isn't as clear as it should have been.

Chita Rivera was the star of the show I worked on. She was the original Anita in WEST SIDE STORY, the original Velma Kelly in CHICAGO, and the original Rosie (Dick Van Dyke's girlfriend) in BYE BYE, BIRDIE, all on Broadway. She was in the film SWEET CHARITY which was shown while we were here for the Sundance company. 78 years old and still can dance with the best of them. And in the 80s she was in a car accident that broke her left leg in 12 places. She has two new knees and a new hip and STILL can dance like mad. She's amazing. And the nicest person in the world.

She also was a recipient of the Kennedy Center Honors in 2006 and she was given the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2009. No ego, no special treatment. She worked harder than than anybody and, as good as everyone was in the play, still stood out as the strongest. It was something to watch her every day for three weeks.

Ugly day

2011-03-26T13:19:00.000-07:00

This is what we get for our 70 degree's last week! Just thought I would post it for the out of towner's.

We got about a total of two inches in arnold. Wet, nasty, good snowball making snow.

Ick! Oh well, the joy's of living in St. Louis.

Later

Never again!!!!!

2011-03-20T19:14:00.000-07:00

I was asked to build these two doors for Havanna cigar bar. I have never said ok to something that was such a pain! I am no door builder that is for sure. There is no poly on these thats why they look different.

Never, ever.....ever........EVER again.

Party @ Pete's

2011-03-19T09:13:00.000-07:00

Little Man Caleb and one of Pete's friends.

No, Caleb was not in an Irish brawl... he was 60-80 feet in the air on a hydralic lift when the machine broke... the backup safety mechanisim did not kick in, so the cage they were in free fell d0wn the entire distance and his face slammed down on the hand rail breaking his nose... the other guy in the lift had his legs give out when they hit bottom, and he slammed down on his knees. Caleb was awake, but doesn't remember the first 5 minuts or so after the accident. The guy who hired them to change the lights saw the whole thing and gave Caleb his name and number for a statement.... Can you say Dan Ryan... 555-HURT ? Sean in the Kitchen... don't know who the young lady is.

Gail and Mary on the couch....Gail did NOT have too much to drink, just a bad pic.

There were more pics of Pete's friends, but none of me or Pete. John & Joyce left before I pulled out the camera.... I missed Dad, Tom, Rose & Pat. David & Jim forgot about it, or planned on coming on the wrong night. Eric was sick. Pete had plenty to eat and drink.... we all had a good time.

Pete had another St Pat's Party.... served corned beef on a Friday. Pete is sending us all straight to Hell.

A Happy St. Paddy's Day clip...

2011-03-12T06:12:00.000-08:00

These are the pics Kevin

2011-03-11T18:21:00.000-08:00

Hey

I told Kevin about the work I did at Meigers house about five or six years ago and was not sure if I posted the pics. It is a vaulted ceiling and all stained wood so I had to put boxes in the corners to make the edges look like they match.

This is the typical bathroom that was in the style of house they have. I cant remember the name of their style of house was called, I know ours was the coachlight but don't know what the ranch was called. The boxes on the side and steps were originally all carpet.
The fireplace mantel I designed. They said big.......soooooo.
The vaulted ceiling originally had a nasty cedar wrapped beam stained dark, dark almost black color. I wrapped it in oak and built the keystone block in the middle to be used as the fan mount block and to also add a little class.

Pain in the butt corner but it came out ok. These are the boxes I was talking about for the corners.

Cabinets and tile work, actually did this a year or two before I did the crown molding. Put hardwood in the kitchen and foyer also as well as the hall bath. They got a whole new house and it looks great.

Anyhow, just thought I would show it off.

Jimmy

in honor of the upcoming St. Patrick's Day celebrations...

2011-03-05T10:32:00.000-08:00

Click on the image to start it, then double-click on it again, once it's going, to get the full-screen image. Very much worth it.

Back from a visit with the boys...

2011-02-22T18:01:00.000-08:00

My turn to catch people up a bit...

Carolyn and I drove to Denver with Gracie to see the boys and then to see her sister and her husband over the long weekend. We drove on Friday, drove back on Tuesday.

Had a great visit. It's always so much fun to see the boys and we miss them like mad. We showed up around 5 o'clock on Friday night and had all the makings for one of their favorites - our secret family homemade lasagna. It's the best and they were craving it. We put it together and while we were waiting for it to cook Jeff, his girlfriend Nikki and I went to the liquor store to stock up. Lots of fun catching up. We got back to the boys' apartment where Carolyn and Tuck and Gracie were, had dinner and them some drinks. Then (to keep the recent theme going) Jeff announced that he had just landed his dream job with FEMA. He starts in a month or two (after a background check) as a Historical Specialist. He'll be deployed to disaster sites and research into the history of the area (in all aspects - land, physical, you name it) in order for FEMA to prepare for the disaster, protect/restore the place as best it can. He'll be working in the same office with his girlfriend who will be deployed to the same sites. And he doesn't have to cut his hair!

He went about it all the right way. He met people in the department through his girlfriend and created a resume which he sent to a bunch of people to review and send him feedback. He then turned it in and a couple of days later was told he had the job - no interview, just a phone call welcoming him aboard. He got that phone call last Friday, the day we showed up, so it was a big, fun celebration all weekend.

We spent two days with the boys and Nikki. Gracie, our 5-month-old golden retriever was just great. Traveled well and played well. We spent the second two nights with Carolyn's sister Lane and her husband Jeff. They have a 4-year-old golden retriever and the two dogs played constantly.

We just drove back from Colorado today (to about 6 inches of new wet snow, which I had to blow off the driveway). It was the first time I got online and there was an email from Sundance telling me they want to pay me this summer (it's always been a volunteer thing). So, a good weekend.

Congrats to Pete and Jim on their jobs and kudos to Dave for setting up Jim with his new boss. Dave, you're kind of the George Bailey of the family. What would we do without you?

We have Gail in our thoughts daily and appreciate the updates. Wish we were closer so we could be involved in any small way.

I'm thinking of a visit in May. Not sure - depends on if our house sells before then or not. It officially goes on the market this Friday! Woo-hoo!

Drop ceiling

2011-02-22T12:18:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone.

Dave, thanks for the nice message on the site about Pete and I. This is what I was doing during your dinner with Pete. Tim and Sandy asked me to help with the drop ceiling even though I hate doing them just because I do not like them. But Tim came up with this idea for the panels that I am totally impressed with.

The beginning of it. What it looked like before completion.
Midway through.
Finished.

Real cool idea and he is going to poly all the wood. We hand built all the panels out of 3 1/2 inch beaded tongue and groove stock pine.

Nice.

CONGRATULATIONS !

2011-02-21T17:53:00.000-08:00

Congrats to Pete and Jim who both seem to be moving ahead in the job market! C'mon Kevin... we're all pulling for you!

Dave

Chemo #3

2011-02-20T16:56:00.000-08:00

Gail goes in for her third dose of Chemo tomorrow. Pete came over last night with stew, bread, and cheesecake for desert. Invited Jim along, but he was working on a drop ceiling and never made it. After a wonderful meal, and pleasant conversation, we watched the newest Star Trek movie. It was a good night.

Went out to dinner with Dad and Jim, and Gail on Wednesday night @ Delaney's Pub near St Anthony's Hosp. It was another evening of old stories and new ones.....LIKE>>>>

The time Mom and Dad got into an argument on Shortleaf Ct.... dad started laughing at her, and that sent her over the edge. She went after dad with a golf club! He ran upstairs and into Jim's room and shut the door. A second later, the head of the golf club went slamming through the door! Everone just assumed Jim did it, and mom and dad never said anything to have us believe otherwise.

The tetrazini Joyce made us was wonderful. I do believe she tweaked mom's recipe a bit, it seemed very creamy. AND, I forgot to take sample hats to Joyce on Friday, so I'll shoot for the next weekend.

Dan called last week also... and I had a nice conversation with him.... all in all, if it wasn't for the cancer, it was a good week. I think we should say "the cancer", kinda like "the diareah"... just throwin' that out there.

Talk to all of you soon.

No Real News To Tell

2011-02-07T07:34:00.000-08:00

Just a few quick notes... Gail goes in for her second Chemo treatment this morning... from all indications, she should be losing her hair by this weekend. When It starts to fall out, I'll give her a G I Jane haircut... we hear it's less stress to have your spouse buzz it off than to have it come out in chunks. She has purchased a wig, some pull over hats, and we hope to meet with Joyce to try and make some more hats from old X-Ray Scrubs Gail has packed away that she does not wear any more. I'll keep everyone posted as we move forward.

Now... about the dog on the couch... seems our old Miss Boo liked to sleep at night on our living room couch. When she would hear our alarm go off, she would get off the couch and lie on the floor. We didn't know about this until one morning I saw an outline on the couch cushion that looked like someone was sitting on it.... put my hand there and it was warm to the touch. We ended up buying those big dog pillow's, laying them in the kitchen, and putting up a baby gate to block the dogs in the kitchen at night. I cant stand animals on the furniture! BUT , as many of you know, a cat will do whatever it wants. It is a futile effort to try and win a war of wills with a cat.... she sleeps wherever she wants... couch, recliner, bed, you name it. Must drive our dog crazy!

By the by... I bumped into Betty & Bob Embry yesterday at Lowe's. Seems Bob Burton has contracted ALS... he must have had it for some time before it was diagnosed, currently his head slumps to his chest unless he uses his hand as a prop to hold it up. Everyone is obviousely concearned, but there is nothing anyone can do except wait for it to get worse.

Dave

Gracie at 18 weeks

2011-02-05T15:21:00.000-08:00

This picture actually makes her look just a little bit bigger than she really is. But, no doubt about it, she's growing fast. She's around 31 pounds on the way to 65 - 70.

We've given up the fight to keep her off the couch. We figure this will be our 'lounge around in the tv room' couch once we move and we'll get something nicer for whatever living room we have. We only found out after she died that our old dog, Jesse, was on the couch all the time. The boys ratted her out when they showed us some pictures of her up on it. Apparently she would be fine about being on the couch when they were around, because they didn't chase her off, but she'd stay far away from it for Carolyn or me. Funny.

She doesn't look all that puppy-ish anymore. We're still expecting her to darken up, we just don't know when yet.

18 weeks. And a very good dog, overall.

some fun news...

2011-01-25T17:38:00.000-08:00

I had a couple of calls the last two days that were good to get. One was from a college that wanted to tell me about their program and school and see if I was still interested. See, I'm probably the only full professor out there applying for jobs that are at a lower rank. That can send up some flags for some people and probably has knocked me out of some job possibilities. I've only applied to programs that I thought were very good and in places I'd like to live. That narrowed down a pretty small pool of possibilities considerably.

But it was good to get the call, even though I'm not a finalist as of right now. It means my resume still is competitive with good programs.

Then I got another call from Sundance to do their Theatre Lab this year. I'm tremendously excited about this. I don't think I've ever had a better time in theatre than my times with Sundance. They are still renovating the Sundance resort here in Utah so they relocated just this once to Banff, in the mountains outside Calgary. Here are some pictures of Banff, Canada

Oh, yeah.

It'll run from March 26 - April 17. It should be just the beginning of Spring up there. Lots of pictures to be shared.

That's the latest...

Hello Everyone

2011-01-23T17:30:00.000-08:00

This is my Nephew-in-Law , Danny, with some kind of a wrestling hold on Davo, Dan is about twice as strong as Davo, so you can imagine the shape he was in to challenge Dan in the first place.

Nephew Jim Hurst in the back left, Dan Wright, Joe Hurst , and of course Davo

Here is a group pic I do remember, however, if you look at me, you can guess I don't remember much more after this. That is my brother-n-law John Hurst in front of me, and Gail's Uncle Max on the right of the pic

Max, John, Me, Jim, Dan, Davo... I look better here...I like this pic better.

Me and Dan, earlier in the evening.

I also want to thank everyone for the prayers and well wishes. Tomorrow Gail starts Chemo, and we begin a very loooong 6 months journy together. Everyone from family to friends have been so supportive: advice, gifts, prayers, masses, cards, agian, cant thank you enough.

Dave

Hey

2011-01-15T19:21:00.001-08:00

This is one of Gracie's latest toys. It's obviously a goofy cartoon rooster. I painted an eyepatch on it with a permanent marker and we call him 'Cogburn'. Get it?

That dainty, pretty little puppy is now a pretty big dog. 15 weeks here. She's a real dog, weighing in at close to 30 pounds, on her way to around 70 - 75. We like our dogs big. She's a real sweetie, though. We took her to her first of 8 obedience classes this morning. We were there with other dogs who were around the same age and found out ours was the only dog that was house trained. We were stunned. Gracie figured it out in about a week over 8 weeks ago. To think we'd still be dealing with that over all that time really struck us. No wonder they signed their dogs up for this class. It's at a local PetsMart and it seems Saturdays are when everybody brings their dogs over for 'socialization.' The place was a doggie zoo. Lots of fun actually. We laughed at how the young employees really got into all the dogs there and the older ones were pretty much 'I hate Saturdays.'
Keeping up with logging in Gracie's growth. She's still growing like a weed but, like I said, she's a really good dog. The one thing that we were stumped by was how much she was biting us (playfully) and tugging on our clothes, doing the tug-of-war thing. At class today they said to use a spray bottle of water to stop her and loudly call out 'Eh-eh-eh!' We had done that with Jesse and she loved the spray bottle so we foolishly assumed that it wouldn't work with Gracie. Well, one spray and the trouble stopped on the spot. She starts biting now and all we say is a loud and sharp 'Eh-eh-eh!' and she stops immediately. To think we suffered the bites and cuts for 8 weeks when this simple solution was staring us in the face.

Well, so much for the small talk...

Big week, with the news of John IV's complications and, of course, Gail's diagnosis. We're glad things finally settled for you John and sorry that it was a lot more pain and problem than you had planned on. Please know that we were thinking of you.

Gail - what can we say... We know you're made of great stuff and will overcome this lousy turn of bad luck. Carolyn's experience doesn't compare but she did study up a lot during her experience and don't hesitate to write or call if you're curious about her experience or just need somebody to talk with who knows a bit of what you'll be thinking and going through. She did a lot of studying up and also has a sister who's gone through about 8 years of serious cancer therapy and has come out on top. It goes without saying that we're thinking of you and sending all the love possible.

When they write the story of all the stuff this family has gone through, it'll be a pretty full book. I guess that's the way it is for everybody. But I'm looking forward to the gathering when all of us are healthy, have great jobs, happy kids (with happy kids) and we can stand up, raise a glass and say - 'damn, we did okay, didn't we?' Very much looking forward to that inevitable get-together.

In the meantime, I guess I'll keep sending these little, goofy posts...

Elvis party at a friends

2011-01-11T03:00:00.000-08:00

My buddy Lon had a Elvis party, New Years party also, and nobody dressed up as Elvis!

He had a dj, food, blah blah blah. It was a good time.

My old roomates Billy and Kathi from Terry,s house. Always good to see them.
Terry and Denise. Very nice people and Denise is always the designated driver, she does not drink. KEEPER!!!!!
I dont know why I put this on twice? I dont know how to get rid of it. oops.

Starting from me, Little Jerry (yes that is sarcasm), Johnny, Terry, and Jim. Jim is who I am renting from.

My way home, the sunrise looked cool so I snapped it. It was a long night but fun, it has been a long time since I went out all night.

I had to test this anyhow with some pictures. Charter was messing with me so they got a real earbeating from me until they gave me what I wanted for the price I wanted.

I feel sorry for the kid I originally started to talk to I called him everything but a white boy.

Kidding, but I can post again

Your loss!!!

later

New blogger!

2011-01-08T09:36:00.000-08:00

Hi guys!

I am taking over the blogging duties from Danny. I'll continue to post pictures of the kids, interesting stories, etc., just like Danny!

Happy New Year, and I'll post soon.

14 weeks old

2011-01-06T17:29:00.000-08:00

Still bites a lot and wants a ton of attention. She's pretty much past the 'cute little puppy' stage so we're anxious for her to grow fast and lose her baby teeth. We're hoping that will make some of the biting go away.

But, overall, still a great little doggie. She's a puppy - what can you do?

Not much else to report.

Gracie-bear at 12 weeks

2010-12-29T07:19:00.000-08:00

A nice, quiet holiday this year. The boys stayed in Denver. We went to a friend's house on Christmas Day, something that's been happening on and off for 15 years now and that was very nice. The next day we had a few people come by and then a dinner at Carolyn's sister's house and then drinks and dessert at Carolyn's cousin's house. Very busy day with lots of relatives around, including 4 under the age of 6. First time around little kids in a LONG time.

2010-12-26T21:06:00.000-08:00

Christmas home movies

2010-12-24T08:56:00.000-08:00

The projector bulbs showed up and I was able to make a video of some old home Christmas movies.

A couple of things; the movies actually looked remarkable on the screen but my camera apparently is not that hot doing this in a dark room. So the quality here is a lot less than the real thing. I went through all the movies and pulled the Christmas movies that I came across. I may have missed a couple here or there, but I don't think so. There aren't many from the early 70s through the late 70s. There were a couple from '80 and '82 but they were in Super 8mm and the projector I have doesn't play those. There are no movies (at least that I have and I think I have them all) after 1982. I started to use video after 1992 but I wasn't in St. Louis for very many Christmases so I don't think we have much from the last 25-30 years. If you have a camera, you might consider using up some tape/disk space now.

You might want to turn the volume down because there is no 'play-by-play' and all you'll hear is the clackity-clack of the projector.

The movies (a 2-parter) are in year-order. It starts, believe it or not, with a home movie from the Lowell Doyles from 1941. In technicolor! You should be able to tell who everybody is, I think, except for one older woman visitor. I think Dad would be 13 or 14 here?

Hey everyone...

2010-12-22T21:29:00.000-08:00

So....This is the power plug by snowman at our front door.... kinda looks like a fire ready to occur, dontchya think?

Here is a view of the front of the house... there is the snowman on the left... he has 4 little snowmen standing around him.... aint that cute?

This is the left side of the driveway. close your eyes and put it all together and it looks O K .

Christmas IS at my house this year. On Suday Dec, 26th running from 3-7ish.... NOT AT 4, JIM.

Because there is not enough room to set up tables, we will just eat finger foods from our laps as we sit around and tell stories of Christmases long, long ago. Kinda like the Christmas song goes...however, we will not be telling scary ghost stories! I never did understand that line from the Andy Williams classic.... what kind of psycho's tell their kids scary ghost stories on Christmas Eve?

John & Joyce - rye bread pizza , Pete - chili cheese dip, Dave - cheese tray & fruit tray, Dad - beer, wine, soda, Jim- I'm sure he'll come thru in the clutch. Mary & Caleb, Sean, and Davo will also show us their skills.....maybe! I'll take pics to post. Later, Dave

Gracie the wonder dog

2010-12-20T17:05:00.001-08:00

Gracie, looking for Santa.

She's still pretty bite-y and feisty, and then there are times when she's lovey-dovey. But she is her breed, which is super-playful.

We're hoping she's a smart one but that's always a crap shoot. But - she got the house-training down in just a few days at 7 weeks. I mentioned that before. She also knows her name now (very good) and understands 'no', 'no biting' (although that doesn't always stop her), 'sit' and 'lie down.' She gets her last set of shots on the 30th and she can then be around other dogs without the danger of catching something bad. Carolyn wants to go to a training class at the local PetSmart store. What the heck, we'll see if it's any good.

Gracie responding to her 'sit' command before she gets her dinner. She is stock still when she sits, a very retriever trait. We're having a lot of fun with her.

Other than Gracie, it's a very quiet Christmas season. A few friends have been by but we've stayed away from the party circuit. It's almost always the same people at all of them and there's just nothing new to say. And almost all of them are university people and I sense they steer clear of mentioning my quitting my job, not knowing how I'm faring. When they do ask, I tell them most of the truth - that I'm doing fine and it's one of the best decisions of my life. The part I don't answer is that I can't understand how they can continue to put up with the dumb/amateurish/offensive things there. So it's just as well I don't go to these parties because I might just speak up on that last note.

I forget who has Christmas in St. Louis this year. I'd like to call. If somebody reads this, please fill me in.

Merry Christmas to all of you!

an almost Christmas present to you all

2010-12-17T13:30:00.000-08:00

Well, I went downstairs to the basement today, set up the movie screen, got out the old family films, set up the old-fashioned projectors, rigged up my video camera, and was all set to put together a collage of family Christmas clips. But the minute I switched on the lamp, it blew.

Fortunately, in this amazing computer age, I brought the dead bulb up to my computer and entered the bulb's identifying numbers. The first link was ebay which has loads of these bulbs. I was worried I'd have to pay $50 or more. Nope. $3.50. So I ordered three of them.

If they get here before Christmas I'll put up the clips. For now, know that was the plan.

Talk to you this weekend.

Happy Birthday, Dan!

2010-12-15T08:38:00.000-08:00

Happy 44th! I'll raise a glass to you tonight.

Speaking of raising a glass, I know that Dan and Jill have a little Christmas village setup at their house during the holidays. I have two little places that jumped out at me. The one above is a closeup of 'Patty's Irish Pub' which appealed because it was named 'Patty's', because it was an Irish Pub and because it's set during Christmas. (I tell everybody that's me sitting at the bar - well, a younger me.)

This is actually a tiny lighted replica of The Bluebird Restaurant here in Logan that we got a few years ago. They were going to do a whole series of the town, with historical buildings and stopped after this one. Too bad. But we were attracted to this because it was started by Carolyn's grandfather and she went there for every holiday from her whole childhood up till the late 90s when her uncle sold the restaurant. It was started in 1914 and still looks the same. Mom and Dad and I think a couple of the brothers have been inside. We put up little model train Christmas lights around the top for the holidays.

This is a look of Patty's Irish Pub from the front, with Christmas lights (that blink) and a spotlight over the front door. I got it for a song because no one out here wants to buy one of these houses that represent a bar. Too sinful, you see. (Have I told you I can't wait to get out of this oddball, crazy place? - yes, I have - too many times.)

Anyway, Happy Birthday, Dan. Hope to catch up with you soon.

a few photos

2010-12-12T11:25:00.000-08:00

Above is the single new Christmas ornament I bought this year. Yes, it's Peter Griffin from Family Guy. You press the button on his back and a drunken Peter says, 'Merry Christmas to all, and to all shut the *bleep* up.' Yes, it does the bleep (I think the word that's bleeped is 'hell'). He's my new favorite.

I've shown ornaments on this blog the last couple of years that we had as kids that some of you may remember so I won't do it again. But I thought a couple should be shown...

This is an ornament that I bought about 10 years or so ago, when the boys were still fairly young. I was amazed at how much it looks like Katie's Halloween costume this year.

Pete gave this one to me when I stayed at his place last year. It's the red barn with the reindeer square dancing and Santa calling the dance in the center. I got this, like some of the other Hallmark ornaments, when I lived in Kansas City and had a part time job at Swanson's Department Store. Swanson's was owned by Hallmark so I got 50% off on all ornaments all the time. I bought a bunch for Mom. Not sure if she liked them or not but she always accepted them graciously. She and Dad were square dancing a lot during those days and that's why I sent her this one. Nice of Pete to give it to me.

This is Gracie at 10 weeks. I've decided to document her growth in this pose as the weeks go by. If you're wondering why all of the pictures so far have me in the same clothes, it's not because I'm trying to be artistique. It's because Gracie's still in the bitey-nippy stage and I don't want her ruining my clothes. These she can rip. But I'm glad that her biting is decreasing. It's a teething and playing thing, I think. She should start losing her baby teeth in the next month or two and a lot of the nasty biting should be over.

We believe she is officially house trained. She actually got the bell system within a few days but I had to follow her a bit to nab her when it looked like she might be ready to 'go.' We took her out after she woke up from every nap, too. She had a few mistakes the first couple of days and then a lot fewer the next couple of weeks, but very few and only pee. She hasn't made a mistake for over a week now. She goes to the door and rings the large jingle bell hanging from the doorknob by a ribbon to let us know she wants to go out (this is for play, too). Sometimes, when she's in a big hurry she'll whimper, too. She has never pooped in the house. (I might have just jinxed us, but there it is.)

Very quiet month. No plans, no parties - just hanging with the dog. Nice.

The picture below is Gracie after having rung the bell. She sits to the side of the door and waits to be let out. This time she's wondering what's taking me so long, although you'd think she'd be used to the camera by now.

more Gracie pics...

2010-12-06T05:55:00.001-08:00

Carolyn's famous (in our family) bourbon pumpkin cheesecake. Part of our big Thanksgiving meal.

I'm afraid you'll have to get used to some more pics of Gracie while she's still relatively small.

Jeff with Gracie Thanksgiving weekend. She's biting his dreadlocks.

Carolyn is enjoying Gracie being small while she can. Gracie's almost three times as big as when we got her 2 1/2 weeks ago.

Gracie at 7 weeks, the day we brought her home.

Gracie this weekend, at 9 weeks.

gracie in the snow

2010-11-30T13:15:00.000-08:00

last set......out of order of course

2010-11-27T20:13:00.000-08:00

The last from Pete's

John the pinball wizard! Erik and Sean. I think I told Sean he was a dork!

Jill, Maddie, Katie, Taylor..............oh and dan.

Way to ruin the picture Danny!!

hehe

Ok I ruined this picture.

Mary giving us her best side.
It was a good time until Pete had to boot us all out of the house because he had to go to work.
We will let him go on that one.
Ton of laughs

Jimmy

2010-11-27T19:53:00.000-08:00

A few more pics

sorry i am gonna put up one more after this.

Taylor, Erik, and David on Pete's deck. I was really happy Erik showed. He had to work but showed up and had a lot of fun with us. It was a great time.

BUCKET BALL!!!!!

This was a blast to watch. Something we all did as kids and to watch all the nieces and nephews playing this game was priceless to me.

Unfortunately

they suck.

Prepping up for the humiliating game of bucket ball.

(sigh)

Alex and Caleb. The wild boys. They had a TON of fun and showed their Doyle side with their loud, high screeching voices.

They have that trait!

They were very cute and enjoyable.

Great time as usual, sorry you missed it Kevin and Carolyn.

I will post more.

Jimmy

Pete's for thanksgiving

2010-11-27T19:35:00.000-08:00

Here are a few pics with more to come.

We had a great time at pete's and yes it was LOUD!!!

I don't need to tell you who these people are.

John walking away from his picture he took of the family.

This is not it, this is mine

This is John's.....

just kidding

Pinball, woohoo!!!!!

More Gracie pics...

2010-11-27T15:40:00.000-08:00

Jeff's band

2010-11-26T07:42:00.000-08:00

Jeff's band, playing two songs here, at their gig in Salt Lake City a couple of weeks ago. Jeff came back to visit friends and they decided to play a few shows. It may not be your kind of music, but it's original stuff they wrote and you can't deny there's skill at work. Some of the younger ones may get a kick out of it (John and Ryan Doyle, in particular).

Thanks for all the pics, Jim. I'll be calling on Saturday to say hello to folks.

We're pretty busy keeping the dog busy and happy. She certainly is keeping us happy. And, although I may be jinxing the way things are working here, but she hasn't had an accident in 3 days! She's only 7 weeks old and we've only had her since last Saturday, and she's already got the house-training thing pretty well down. We do the 'bell system'. You hang a bell from a ribbon on the doorknob of the door she uses to go outside to do her business, have her ring it with her nose when she gets up from a nap or starts to sniff, and say 'outside' and take her out. Works like a charm. For the last three days, she goes to the door, rings the bell (sometimes whimpers if she's in a hurry) and goes outside and does her biz. She has never had a #2 accident in the house and only had a handful of #1 accidents in the first few days. We're also crate training her and she's very comfortable in her crate (a store-bought large travel case with a swinging/locking cage door on front). For the last two nights she's slept through the whole night without making a sound. Of course, she gets up at 6 am and has to go straight outside.

Well, it's all good signs. We know there will be accidents but usually it takes 3 weeks to get to the place where we are in almost as many days. Very pleased.

More from John and Joyce's

2010-11-26T06:22:00.000-08:00

The other pictures from John and Joyce's

The puppy. She barks at first but you can pet her now. She is getting old but still cute.

The pool game, hey.........where is the ping pong table?
Oh yeah...........:(

The hockey game. Again we had fun, but.........

what was missing??????

later

Late photo of Utah I found

2010-11-25T12:33:00.000-08:00

I found a old picture from when David, Dan, and I went out and visited Kevin and Carolyn quite awhile ago. Not sure of the time frame, in fact Kevin and I even talked about it but I dont remember how long.

Anyhow, I was looking through the pictures and found a shot David took during the winter, and I took it almost in the same spot in the fall.

COOOOOL!

My shot from in front of thier house looking.......uh.....right.

Should be east but I don't know how the house faces.

Davids shot while we were out there.Was just messing on the computer and found these.thought it would be cool to put them up.
Jimmy

pre thanksgiving at John n Joyce's

2010-11-25T08:32:00.000-08:00

We went to John's for a pre holiday gathering wed. night. I showed up first with Taylor and her friend Courtney first. We walked downstairs and the first thing I notice.......

NO PING PONG TABLE!!!!!!!

EXCUSE ME!?!?!?!?!?

Why are we here?????

He still has the baseball and hockey but they got new furniture and set it up where the ping pong table was. I was told young John wanted more room for his friends to play video. I have an idea.................MOVE!!!!!

This is Erik going with us. He said he was sick, hmmmmmm,

Hops and barley

Duh

Dad and Joyce and Data at the bar, oh and they still got the bumper pool. No ping pong!!!!! I am just........AAAAAAAAARRRRGH!!!!!!

Dan and Alex at the ballpark. Alex was cute as could be, he just wanted to play every game so Dan kept him busy for awhile and so did Grandpa. Then his sisters let him play cards with them.
He was really good and enjoyable.

Ryan, Katie in red, Sarah's back of her head, Maddie, Taylor, and her friend Courtney playing jenga. Courtney thought Ryan was hot! Gonna tell him Saturday at Pete's where I will post pics from there.

Front picture of Ryan, Katie, and Sarah. We only stayed about two and a half hours because Taylor wanted to go to her friends house. I have a feeling it had something to do with a boy but she was afraid to tell me. David showed up for about an hour and a half before he left, he was working on Tom's car and having a few problems with it. I have some pictures with him in it and I will put it on another post.

It was short but that's because

THERE WAS NO PING PONG TABLE!!!!!!!

DAMN!!!!!

"sigh"

see ya

(a very disappointed Jimmy)

Gracie

2010-11-20T16:35:00.001-08:00

katie's costume

2010-11-15T18:46:00.000-08:00

Dave's birthday looked great! Sorry i missed it. I did want to share something, though. Each year for Halloween, Katie creates her own costume. Here's this year's:

Isn't that awesome? She downloaded the characters from the internet, but free-handed the rest. She wore it around herself (wearing suspenders). She ended up with twice the candy as Maddie.

On the downside, she and Maddie hit the neighborhoods with a big group (half were boys). I had to listen to the flirting from the girls and the blustering preening egos from the boys. High School is going to last a long time....

More 50 Pics

2010-11-08T16:38:00.000-08:00

I set up the basement as a dance area for the kids, with DISCO Ball, and colored lights and a strobe light.... problem was, less than half the family brought their kids! So David moved the dart board to the garage, but not many people migrated there, cause we were having too much FUN upstairs and out at the fire pit!

My niece, Julie, married this guy...Danny Wright. we were both a bit looped when I thought we were just posing for a pic.... SURPRISE! I got him back later.

Danny , Myself and Tom. Another niece from Gails side of the family had my camera, so there are a lot of pics of her side, John and Joyce were there, as well as Pete and Jim, of course, but there are no pics of them.

This is Tom and his girlfriend Erin... she is a Baptist. Nuff said.

From John, a bottle of Jamieson's and a rest. gift cert. . . From Pete, The Glenlivit gift box. . . and from David, a bottle of Single Malt.... man, it was a goooooooood birthday!

DAVES 50TH

2010-11-07T04:57:00.000-08:00

Daves 50th was friday and it WAS COLD!!!!!!!

What do you expect when your older brother turns fifty!

It was fun and a great turnout.

Dave jr eating (shocker!)

They had lots of food and Dave here did all the cooking on the dogs and such.
A bottle of booze. (Another shocker!) He got lots of booze for his birthday.......hmmm I see a trend going here.
Tom, his girlfriend (I forgot her name sorry) and his buddy Kevin. Another Doyle eating, PIGS!

Dave got a lot of funny cards, Gail's family out did ours on humor I think with those. They were good.

It should have been black

It was a good time I am sure Dave will post some pics he took.

Later

Jimmy

introducing...

2010-11-03T17:13:00.001-07:00

Gracie.

Five weeks old. We pick her up on 11/20 when she turns 8 weeks old and is fully weaned. She's a pure golden retriever, papers included.

The boys will be with us this Thanksgiving so we'll have a full house again for the first time in a while. That'll be a blast, too.

Another halloween at Havana

2010-10-31T06:53:00.000-07:00

Another year and I still did not dress up.

Actually I went as a carpenter,

thats a stretch!!!

Me, April's dad (the owner) Tom, and Clint. Tom is dressed up as the six flags guy. Clint is wearing his pajama's.
Dont know who this is but it was a neat costumn. The number 55 in the back dressed up like the guy from the hbo series East bound and down, Kenny Powers. It's a show from Will Ferrel and that guy that was in the movie with him Land of the lost. Silly show but funny.

The crowd

Another great costumn, he had the shield but it was crowded so he had to put it in his car.

The girls, from left to right, Tina, April, and Shelly. Tina was, well we will leave that alone, April a clown, Shelly little orphan annie, and the arm to the right was another Shelly and she dressed up as Olivia newton john from Grease. She looked great.

It was fun as usual and I had a beer.

Cop's everywhere so I was a good boy.

Later

Couple of Birthdays . . .

2010-10-26T22:10:00.001-07:00

So... Here is Erin, Tom, and Davo at Talanya's in St Charles on Tom's 22nd Birthday , Oct 12th.

Here we all are as we are getting ready to leave. It was an enjoyable night, just like always when your family gets together.

Here is Grandpa Pete trying to keep up with Caleb.

Dad Birthday Cookie. He already had the ice cream, so it made for a really good treat.

Great Grandpa and Great Grandson blowing out the candles. It was a good evening here as well, although way too short.

Coming soon.... pics from my 50th.

typical Utah house??

2010-10-21T18:59:00.001-07:00

Yep, a new house not too far from us. Jimmy and I drove past it when he visited and we forgot to go back and take a picture, so here you go.

Can you imagine being this guy's neighbor? Who would want to move to this guy's street? I bet the neighbors already there dropped all of their jaws when they saw this piece of junk go up. It looks like two trailers stacked on top of each other. And the windows are all willy-nilly.

Can't wait to get out of this place...

busted!!!

2010-10-19T06:55:00.000-07:00

Ha!

I caught Dave and Pete at a bar!

Your in trouble!!

actually they showed up to Havana with Dad, who I forgot to take a picture of.

It was a memorial thing for my buddy Terry that passed away.

It was a fun time all the same. A friend made a bunch of pictures and a movie to play over the tv's. Funny stuff.

Later

Dads birthday

2010-10-16T07:06:00.000-07:00

Here are a few pics from Dads birthday

This is a picture of a picture that I just felt like putting up here. It does not look to good but it's funny to see us young!
We got some laughs Kevin. Whew!
I think this was when we said the part, well YOU said the part about his three wives. hehe
I tried to post a movie but I have not figured out how to put it on u tube yet.
As soon as I do I will post it.
It was fun and Dave and Gail brought ice cream and a cookie cake that little Kaleb helped blow out the candles on.

Jimmy in Utah

2010-10-15T11:13:00.000-07:00

More of Utah

2010-10-13T06:48:00.000-07:00

A few more from Utah

Kevin and I stopped at the airplane museum on the way to the airport. I took a bunch of pictures but did not want to bore you with all of them. This one is the plane that our uncle was in during world war 2. We could walk under it and see how small it actually was on the inside. There is no way I could move through that thing without coming out with a ton of bruises.
Kevin and Carolyn's basement. Just a small section of his toys.
Really neat picture in thier kitchen, I had to take it

Thier back yard. The flowers and plants were blooming and looked amazing. We actually ate fresh rasberries, peaches, potatoes, and tomatoes out of thier garden.

mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm good

It was a great trip and Im glad to get to see thier house before they move.

Thanks again Kevin and Carolyn

Im going on a diet also.

I ate enough food to keep me full for a week!

Weekend in Utah

2010-10-13T06:32:00.000-07:00

I got back Monday from Kevin and Carolyns house.

Oh by the way..........Happy birthday Dad!

It was a fun trip with great food and lots of beer (of course)

This is a tree that was along the hike we took in the mountains. Kevin told me why it did this but I forgot why. It was odd so I took the pic.
Another from the hike. The views along this short path were amazing.
This is another part of the mountains that we actually drove up to. The colors of the trees are more brighter than any we have here in St louis. I was glad I got to see them during the fall. The last time I saw all this it was covered in snow, and that was impressive as well.

The small white dots to the lower right are rv's from all the hunters. That stopped us from going to certain area's in the mountains. They were hunting moose and elk I believe, so we avoided all those area's. Smart!!!!

In thier backyard.

Dads Apartment

2010-10-06T11:18:00.000-07:00

Early in the Spring, we set up dad with some flowers in a few pots. After they grew for a month, dad thought I planted too many plants per pot, so he seperated them all and planted them in his planter just outside his window. WELL... they took off! So here at the end of the season, he wanted everyone to see how beutiful they look.

Just fun pics.

2010-10-05T06:36:00.000-07:00

This is my roomate's Billy and Kathy going out on a rat run Sunday morning. It was coooooold!

He has a skull facemask on. As soon as he put that on I was laughing and could not resist

a picture. But hey it is almost halloween.

This is one of those pictures they screw up on I phones or somthing.

They posted this on facebook saying it was me after doing a shot!

Hope it blows up bigger
later

Halloween Time

2010-10-03T18:59:00.000-07:00

Jill and I have been jumping on the Halloween bandwagon lately. We've hit the library for a dose of Halloween memories - and thought I'd share a few:

Our first October tradition is watching "Arsenic and Old Lace". A great Frank Capra picture from the 40's. Saw Kevin in the play years ago. I remember Billie Bird was the lead. Here's a pic in case you can't remember who she is:

You'll recognize her from "16 candles".

We also got several Abbott and Costello movies. We have "Abbott and Costello meet the Mummy", and "Abbott and Costello meet Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde". The last one has Boris Karloff in it and is great fun. Here's a poster shot:

We're waiting for "Abbott and Costello meet Frankenstein" to be returned. Jill and I spent most of our formative years watching Abbott and Costello on Channel 11 every Saturday afternoon., so this is great fun.

Hope all is well.

Santa Fe

2010-10-02T17:06:00.001-07:00

Jeff

Santa Fe (by way of Denver).

Carolyn and I just got back from a week-long road trip which took us to Denver to see the boys and then down to New Mexico. We spent a night in Chamayo, two in Santa Fe, and one in Pegosa Springs (Colorado). Great trip, great food, lots of fun.

Tuck

We went out to dinner with the boys and Jeff's girlfriend, Nikki, and toured around downtown Denver. We even stopped at their aquarium. It was a slow day and the five of us were the only ones there so we got a lot of attention from the guides. One showed us some real mermaid's purses (look it up) and then she showed us the archer fish. We held a cricket in our fingers, held it about 5 feet above the tank and those fish were dead-eye, spot-on with a jet of water that hit the cricket. Amazing.

We stopped in a very small town called Chimayo and stayed at a bed and breakfast. Great place, an old hacienda. This is the courtyard. Our room (there are only 6) was where the blue chair is. Great meal across the street at a well-known restaurant called Rancho de Chimayo.

This is the fireplace in our room. We stayed in bed and breakfast places in New Mexico and all of them had these fireplaces in the corner, as did all the restaurants.

Lots of old cars in fields in New Mexico. Don't know why. Stumbled across this one behind a closed filling station where we stopped (not knowing it was closed).

The miracle staircase in the small Loretto Chapel in Santa Fe. Mom and Dad visited this place (and Dan and Jim?). No nails or glue were used to make it, just fitted pegs, and the railings were put up much later. It's an engineering marvel because it has no external center structure to hang the stairs on. There are a few theories but the main one is that the internal spiral is so tight it acts as a center post. The diocese would not hold on to the chapel or buy it when it was going to close 10 years or so ago so a private family bought it and built a hotel next to it. Kinda weird that it went that way.

On Friday we rode on a narrow-guage steam railroad, the Cumbres-Toltec. We rode it for about an hour and a half, stopped for lunch which was provided, and then headed back. There was an option to keep going but that would have made for a 9-hour day. We opted for the half-day.

Going around a bend. The train had about 7 cars, one of them an open 'cattle' car. The day was so beautiful that I pretty much stood outside on that almost the whole time both ways. These pictures were all taken from that open-air cattle car. The narrow-guage railroad can make very tight turns so that makes these pictures possible.

The railroad was built in the 1850s and a lot of the structures are still standing, including this water tower.

We went at the peak of the fall colors and it was just stunning. This train is in the San Juan mountains and goes back and forth between the Colorado and New Mexico border a number of times.

Aspens

Going over a 140 ft. bridge. One on the second half, the part we didn't travel, was over 450 feet high.

We stopped for lunch and afterward the train we were originally on kept going. We boarded one going back on the single line. This is a shot across the valley of our original train. It gives you a little bit of an idea of what it all looked like. The whole trip is in pristine Colorado/New Mexico land - very little that is new is seen.

A shot of some of the trees along the route, looking across the valley.