Wagons East?

We were playing in Jimi and Boopah's driveway last week with Jimi, Boopah, Angie and Tyler (and Buddy). Riley loved riding in the wagon.

Here is a video of the fun...

We managed all sorts of combinations of riders and pullers - a fun afternoon!

On her own two feet

In the last week Riley has really gotten the hang of this walking thing - now she's walking all over the place!

Here's the proof:

Aunt Lori

My dad's only sister (my aunt), Lori, passed away a few weeks ago. She had juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis which got progressively worse until she was confined to a wheelchair in her early teens. She was never supposed to live very long, but kept beating the odds and lived into her 50s. Despite her disability, she was one of the most spunky, upbeat people I have ever known. She has been living in Hawaii and my most recent pictures of her are from our honeymoon to Hawaii, which was before I had a digital camera, so I don't have any pictures to post here. I will miss her terribly. Here is a link to her obituary, so that you all can learn a little more about what a great woman she was.

Dancing Queen

I apologize in advance that this video is sideways. I forget when I'm using the videocamera feature on my digital camera that it matters what direction you hold the camera!

Just a little glimpse at everyday Riley...

Obama Mama

I got a call at around 9am on Thursday that there was a ticket available fo me to see Obama speak at Invesco Field at the final night of the Democratic National Convention in Denver, if I could arrange to get there. Through some quick phone dialing and sheer luck, I was able to leave work early, pick up Riley from daycare, drop her off at my step-sister's (thanks Dawn and Dad for agreeing to watch her last minute), leave Dawn's house at 4pm and be sitting in my seat at Invesco by 5pm for a fun, memorable and inspiring evening.

The picture above is the view from our seats. They were handing out flags, lots of them. There were about 80,000 people in attendance. We had luck on our side that day because we kept hearing on the radio as we made our way to Invesco about lines that were up to 3 miles long and taking hours to get through in order to get in. We got dropped off at the 'end of the line' on Auraria Campus and basically walked the entire time we were in line. We even stopped just before the "you must be credentialed" part to wait to hand off some tickets. As I said, it must have taken us only 30-45 minutes to get in - and that really was just to walk that distance!
I started taking pictures of the jumbo screen because I could see it better than the actual people. Above is Joe Biden is introducing the "regular" people - about 8 or 10 everyday people who shared their stories. I heard this part wasn't on TV. It's too bad - it was a really enjoyable part.
The picture above sort of shows the excitement when Barack Obama came on stage. They handed out the "change" signs right before he went on. I was so excited all week about all the various signs they had for the DNC ("Michelle" for Michelle Obama, "Kennedy" for Teddy Kennedy, "Hillary" for Hillary Clinton, "Clinton/Obama/Unity" also for Hillary). They looked cool on TV, but it proved to be very cumbersome to have to hold flags and signs while sitting and listening to the speech. But they are an awesome memento from the night.
Above is a better shot of Obama on the jumbo screen. I really like how the lone guy waving the big flag in front looks in this picture.

It was an awesome evening. I am glad the stars aligned so that I could attend! Si, se puede!