TuzigootJournal: Denver Weekend

Family Greetings!

We made a quick weekend trip to Denver - up Friday, July 27; home Sunday, July 29. To see family, of course, and to see the Dodgers play the Rockies.

Got an early morning start, pausing in Galisteo long enough to snap this picture of the church in early sun. Actually, there's an interesting string of mailboxes across the street which is why I stopped, but didn't get a very good photo there. There used to be a tiny general store across the highway where we would stop and get some great tamales -- Josie's tamales. Josie was pretty old and nobody took over the store. It's been closed a couple of years now.

On Saturday we went to a bookstore. Didn't notice until later that the book behind Malia is titled, "Angry Little Girls." Doesn't apply to our little girl. We bought a few books on science and statistics for her to start studying. Actually, Susie the Teacher picked out some books that are good for early learning.

Next came a petting zoo. On the way there we drove through a part of town, a nice part of town, called Jackass Hill. There's even a street with that name and kids who live there, Valerie told us, are tickled to be able to tell people where their home is.

Malia is very comfortable with animals. Living with two dogs and two cats, that's a survival skill. She and Tucker, the golden retriever, have a very trusting mutual friendship. You can see pictures on Valerie and Jeff's blog, http:bringinghomemalia.blogspot.com.

We brought Malia a doll, picked out by Aunt Mandi who flew into Albq on Thursday night for a sorority reunion. Malia became fascinated by the doll's shoes. She worked long and hard, with no frustration, trying to take the shoes off and put them on. Her attention span exceeds Rob's with a remote control in hand. Friday evening she had put her own shoes on for the first time and we were all thrilled.

Jeff and Valerie are quite the parents -- teaching her words and concepts. "Where's your bellybutton?" and that sort of thing. It's fun to watch the next generation come along. They've started the paperwork, and the (two-year?) clock ticking, to adopt a sister for Malia.

Saturday night Jeff and Rob had a pleasant outing at the ballpark, even though the Dodgers lost. Sunday morning we caught a little time on the deck before heading for brunch.

Rob's nephew, Kevin McCubbins, and family (wife, Kelly, and children Andrew, Daniel, and Christine) recently moved to the Denver area -- they're living in Castle Rock. Kevin is the son of Judy's sister, Jan. We met Sunday morning for brunch and had a good time visiting with them and getting to know the kids. Good for Jeff and Valerie to have family nearby, too.

We left for home right after noon and got to Cedar Crest around 7:30. Some moderate rain near Colorado Springs, heavy rain near Wagon Mound, NM. It's that time of year -- somewhat grandiosely we call it the monsoon season. On the north side of Trinidad we've noticed this old and large brick barn. Don't know its history, but this time we stopped for a picture.

What about TuziTwo? you ask. Because of Rob's Tu/Th teaching in July, there wasn't time to take Tuzi on this trip. Our next Tuzi outing is a week's trip to Taos starting Aug. 21, with friends from church.