After arriving in Denver at Aunt Sara's we ventured to Boulder, Co on Saturday. One of my favorite spots in the country. Forgetting that it was Memorial Day weekend, we squeezed through the crowds of folks there for the Boulder Boulder run. They had vendors with running gear and running clubs set up in the mall. It's sort of a runners dream come true and an arthritis sufferer's nightmare. Seriously, I just wanted to weep. If only I could run and buy all that neat gear....someday in heaven I am gonna run like the wind.

The painter above was letting folks try their hand a painting. Mieke got to make flowers on the canvas. These blue sunglasses made her eyes even bluer.

 Trying on head gear.

 And all the Flat Irons in their magnificent glory. We managed about a half hour hike before Mieke wiped out and skinned a knee. Running on the trails is generally not a good idea.

 Cousin Sean had an 8am soccer game. And boy was it windy and cold. We never seem to come prepared no matter how much we pack. Mieke, Jelena and Aunt Sara shivering.
Sean is #19 in the blue jersey.

 I have discovered that Blog Spot only wants to download my horizontal photos and not the verticals.
How to kill time at a soccer game: Cartwheels and backward rolls down the incline.

And pretend you are a fashion model. In the afternoon we headed to Garden of the Gods. Just amazing. The sky was so clear and blue. We could feel just about every UV ray coming down.

 Pike's Peak in the distance.

Next stop, Rapid City, South Dakota.

 It's a good idea, when you are behind on blogging, to start with a photo of cute kids! Weston, Will and baby Carsten came for a visit. We found those "Milk-fed" shirts at Moo-Roo our local dairy's, dairy store. See, the Huenink boys live on a dairy farm now. But they used to live down the street from us and boy, do we miss these boys and their parents.

After breakfast at the AMVETS downtown Hudson, we hit the road for Colorado. The girls and I made a looong road trip West. Matt stayed home with Papa Ulven, who was in the hospital. Papa is now back at the nursing home and doing marvelously well! He is sitting up and eating on his own.

Here are my traveling companions:

 We took off for Colorado (Parker) to see Aunt Sara and her family for Memorial Day weekend. Mieke brought along her grown up reading. She thinks it's cool to pick these books out at the library. I think it is because Jelena is an avid reader and well, we want to be just like her....

Sorry, I have trouble loading from iPhoto sometimes. We stopped at Grand Island, NE to gas up and fell prey to the tacky tourist stuff at the gas station. I am quite certain that real natives used fewer poles on their dwellings.

 Of course, I always miss the turn for the Mormon Island as it is hidden in the trees but totally visible from the interstate. Duh. It's a lovely spot to stop, if you can find it. Of course it has a BIG sign with an arrow, but fighting with you 5 1/2 year old about using the restroom usually distracts one from such obvious signage.

 We spent the night in Kearney, NE. Next morning we visited the Archway to the West or something like that.

 The museum is really not worth the $$ admission price but it gave us the $12 quick history of the American West. Complete with "wild" guys. He is for real, beard is real and yes, he poses for every shot that way. I hope he gets a hefty cut of the admission price.

 We determined that we probably would not have made it very far on the trail and our wagon discards would look a lot like this.

 I am pretty sure others have messed with this gal and she will surely dump the coffee coffee on her foot.

 The next stretch tomorrow......stay tuned.

Papa is now in Traer at the Sunrise Nursing Home as of today. It's a little too early to tell what will happen next. Just resting and getting adjusted. Not sure he knows where he is or what is going on most of the time. The picture above was taken last summer with the Pennsylvania cousins and Marvin. So glad we had that time to be together.

I have photos to down load from my camera and just haven't had time to get to it. Mieke "graduated" from Preschool last week. A BIG deal to her. Lots of questions about why we did not have a big party for her or presents. Maybe, if she makes it to the 12th grade, we will have that big party for her.

Papa Ulven is not doing well. He is being transported to Iowa City Hospital today. He has some bleeding in the brain. Matt will go to be with him. We will have to wait and see. Prayers appreciated for God's will and His strength.

Papa Ulven is now recovering slowly from his surgery. He had a herniated disc in his lower back which was removed and the spinal area was cleaned up. He will be on the rehab floor for some time until he strength returns. Right now he is a little confused but managing.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, it's garage sale weekend in Hudson. About 50 souls are pedaling their stuff on lawns and garages. Mieke is a shopaholic. So the deal I made with her was in order to shop, she had to earn her own money. Mieke has wanted to have a lemonade stand for a long time. Now was the time. Yesterday afternoon was hot (80+). We found frozen lemonade at the store for 99 cents and four boxes of Capri Sun in the garage and we were in business. The neighborhood was literally buzzing with saws and sprayers and workmen: across the street a tree was being taken down and next door the folks were sealing a foundation. Customers!!

In the span of 2 hours she made $13 dollars. Then with the money burning a hole in her pocket she was off to shop around the neighborhood. We drove to the newer sections of town and found more girl stuff. For $1 she found a small Barbie house, 50 cents for princess slippers and $3 for a purse. All practical and fun. At 7:30 am she was up, dressed and ready to "sell lemonade and make some more money!"

Saturday 
Our new ride. Yep. It's a VAN. We succumbed to the lure of the mini-van. Deeee-lux accommodations and aging parents (Matt and I as well as the grand p's) sort of brought us to this decision. We were losing our swagger getting in and out of the sedan models. Matt still has his road-hugging 2-door Dodge Stratus which quickly restores our cool while driving and reminds us that we are not as limber as we used to be when we get out.

Mieke thinks this van is "magical" because of all the button pushing you need to do to get in and out. It has even created a competition for our little riders to see who gets to "push the button". There is a button for everything. The key fob has a variety of buttons for opening and closing and it's a little confusing on the right and left door buttons. (my right? or the car's right? facing or from the rear? oh, hell, just push a button!) Mieke has chosen the third row, passenger side seat for her domain. Furthest from mom and you get to feel all the bumps.

Sunday

Mieke loves her big sister Jelena. These two fell asleep watching a movie while we were out to lunch on Sunday. Jelena goes home the 12th of June to Serbia. Sniff, we will miss this bright young woman!

Monday

I have a part-time summer job! Hudson has a Summer Kid's Adventure program for the 12 and under set. It is in desperate need of overhaul. No one would step forward to lead so.......I threw in my application and ......being the only applicant.....I got the job. Seriously, we need something for kids to do around here with no pool and no rec center. I have 5 teens working with me four mornings a week (still leaves us lots of pool time).

SO the photo above is all the broken crayons from a large box of very sad looking crayons that came from the Community Center in Hudson. I know there is a craft for these.....yep little ones melting crayons on city property...bwa ha ha! And that is Pinkie Pie Perfect, Mieke's newest stuffed thing to love. It's a hamster.

Tuesday
Matt's dad took a ride in the new van from Paullina to Waterloo on Tuesday. Sunday he fell and had to call 911. Long story short, he has a herniated disc in his lower back. He will have surgery at Covenant Hospital today, Thursday, if all goes well. See, that van has already fulfilled its purpose.

Wednesday
Long day of errand- running.

Thursday
Mieke has been dreaming of a lemonade stand. Garage sale weekend is here so we are "building" a lemonade stand. Hot chocolate if it is cold. At the moment Mieke is picking up the toy room and when she is done, we get to build.

Keep you posted on the progress.....

Mieke is learning to snap her fingers. She practices not stop and now she has it! Very pleased that she can actually make a sound. She's tired so hard that the middle finger on her right hand had a huge blister on it for a week. Of course she flips everyone off showing it off! Daddy had a little discussion about that with her.

Last weekend was Prom at Hudson High School. Jelena asked an underclassman, Andy, who happens to be an immigrant from Bosnia. (Love that we have little mini cultural exchanges like this.) So here they are, at the walk-through: Sorry, we couldn't get a better shot.

Jelena looked fabulous and Andy looked really sharp. His mom was the driver and provided flowers.

Of course not to be upstaged, Mieke had to princess up for the evening.

Matt and I took Mieke to the circus. The kids tickets are "free" but you pay $15 for the adults. Watching the circus is always a look into a completely unique culture. Every performer has at least 4 duties: perform as a main stage act, assist in another act, perform in a second act and finally, take tickets and try to sell you the $20 gizmos your children will meltdown over. "Please, please, I will never ever ask for anything ever again!!! You have to get me THAT!" And that's how you pay for their "free" ticket.

One of the acts was mini-bike riders riding inside a steel ball cage. At one time there were three mini bikes at once in the thing. Wild.

Of course at intermission you could ride a pony or an elephant for $5. So if you indulged your child, which we did not, you could easily spend $70 a kid. All because you got a free ticket!

We tried this Pintrest viral recipe last night ---YUM!

Cinnamon Roll Cake

3 cups flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup sugar
4 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 cups milk
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup butter, melted

Topping
1 cup butter softened but not melted
1 cup brown sugar
2 Tbsp flour
1 Tbsp cinnamon

Mix everything together but the melted butter. Stir butter slowly in and pour into a 9x13 inch greased pan.

For the topping, mix all the ingredients together until well combined. Drop evenly over top of cake. Swirl with a knife. Bake at 350 for 28-32 minutes. until toothpick comes out clean in the center.

Glaze
2 cups powdered sugar
5 Tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla

While warm, drizzle glaze over the cake.