Heart Of Gold

There is always a light moment with Jonathan involved. They all seemed to get into it as well.

Jacqui and Jonathan have always supported each other. Jacqui had worked all night long in labor and delivery and came straight from work to help out. She got to video and interview the boys and be a general cheerleader. They are trying to take Fastball nation wide and with the leagues come this service project.

Jaimie keeping the stats. She is always supporting Jonathan too. What a treasure she is. They are a good team.

Jonathan, encouraging, teaching and supporting. He truly has a gift with others.

Creed and I hanging out together. I got the best assignment out of the whole group!!! His dad will have him playing soon enough. I tease Jonathan and tell him that Creed will want to play the piano! His response, "No Way!"

This last Saturday, Jonathan and his friend Mike, put on a clinic (baseball of course) for a group of children and their sponsors who work with Big Brothers. Jonathan had signed up and worked with Big Brothers shortly after moving to Denver. So after starting this Fastball League with Mike, they have decided to do some community service. We got to help at their first clinic and it was a great opportunity. Jacqui came in from working at the hospital all night and we jumped in the car and headed to a part of Denver that we have never been in...........They had batting practice, pitching, catching, running and scrimmage opportunities. You could tell that a majority of these young boys knew nothing about baseball. After working with them for a couple of hours, they were darned excited about what they had done. Some of these young boys, could do very well, I told Jonathan he needed to be a mentor. Anyway, it was a wonderful opportunity, that they are going to continue doing and I think everyone was blessed to have been there. I know I was. Jonathan is actually amazing to watch with people. He has such a good heart and cares so about other people. Everyone relates to him and if he didn't need money, I could see him doing service full time and loving it. I am going to sit back and watch what the Lord does with him. Jaimie was every bit a partner. They had certificates for the boys, timed trials that she kept track of, drinks, and lots of cheering and support. They are a wonderful pair. I am blessed.

HERE'S TO ALL OF US FIRECRACKERS!!!!

Didn't I used to change their diapers? What happened?

July is one of the months of birthdays for our family. Navie starts it out by being born on the fourth of July! She really is a firecracker and we all love her. Then comes my mom next being born on the 6th, I blogged about her a little earlier, she also is a firecracker times two........Then comes our newest firecracker Jaimie Lynn Jardine......Her birthday is on the 16th just before mine. We were excited to be able to celebrate with her this year. We are very grateful to have her in our family and she fits in so well, sorry Jaimie. She is beautiful, as are all my girls, and she is sweet, fun, a hard worker, talented, and so good as a mom and wife. I could go on but I must leave some mystery as to how I feel about her, right??????? Happy Birthday Jaimie! We love you!!!!!

HAPPY, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME, THANKS RICHARD!

This was a praticularly hard birthday for me. Just saying the number brings back math class in my mind, where diarrhea was my constant friend......Going to the board and not being able to do the problem, you get the picture. So thank heavens Richard surprised me and took me to Steamboat Springs. It was absolutely beautiful, green, fresh mountain air and so many fun things to do. I really didn't concentrate on being older for one second and now I can pretend it just didn't happen.:)

As we are there, I am thinking this is the perfect place for our family reunion next year.......

A view of the ski runs from far away.....

People floating down the Yampa River. So much fun. You can put in all long this river and it actually flows all the way to Craig from Steamboat.

There is a rodeo on Friday and Saturday nights all through the summer season. It was beautiful sitting out in the cool mountain air and watching those crazy boys "cheat injury," one more time. I know Buddy will like this little stop.

I think he's saying to us, "Go ahead, make my day!"

The children's pee wee chase. See the little calf over by the wall with a red ribbon on his tail? The little boy in the middle of the picture, almost by himself, with a blue shirt and white cowboy hat, one the prize. We think someone coached him?

We rode the gondola up to the top of the mountain. It was so pretty. I am sure that Daddy would not be looking down. How about you Buddy? Once you get up this high, there are hiking trails and bike trails and a ton of people taking advantage of them. I would like to be in shape enough on my NEXT birthday to do it myself.

The botanical gardens. We were on the lookout for new groundcover :)
So these are just a few of the things you can do here. I got all of the information and am sending a packet to all of the family. There is an alpine slide, a beautiful little spot out in the middle of nowhere that has five hot pools. There is kayaking, atv's, motorcycles, golfing, hiking, biking, shows, and last but not least, shopping. So stay tuned all of you Messick's, we are going to have a party!!!!!

RUN! IT MUST BE THE END OF THE WORLD.....

Always a rainbow at the end of the storm.....

Actual water running in the streets!! This is too good to be true!

One of the things that I miss most about good old Kansas City is a rainstorm.....Ah, thunder, lightning, huge and long rainstorms. It just makes me homesick thinking about them. In Denver, every afternoon it looks like it could rain, and does, every 6". That is, it rains one drop every 6 inches apart. That's It! So we are sitting around the table here and all of a sudden it sounds like rain. Actual thunder and lightning! I run and open the door and get my camera because I want to document this for my own recolletion. Actual rain. We all stood outside in the garage and just soaked it in. Of course, this was the one night that we had plans. There was a banjo concert in the park and we were on our way! DELIVERANCE!!! One side of my face is happy (rain), one side of my face is sad (no concert) at the same time. I looked wonderful........Jonathan said, "Mom just wait a minute, nothing will be cancelled. Lo and behold, I remember this isn't KC and we wait ten minutes. On to the concert! The end of the world abated for one more day :)

Jonathan, in his role as a pack horse. How many more children are you going to have? :) Jacqui talking to the professional about strings, music lessons, etc. Notice she is from the South with her gesturing and all.....

KISSING COUSINS!

I didn't know I had an Uncle Bill and Auntie Pat......Yes, Creed, everyone loves you!

My cousin, Patricia Ann Cassidy, Vary, was so kind and sweet to come and stay with us on her way home. She and her husband, Bill, had been to Oregon for a long vacation and so we were able to see them for an overnight visit. I really appreciate you Pat, for making and taking the time to stop over. We don't get to see each other that much and it was a wonderful opportunity to catch up. I remember being younger and standing on Grandmother's porch with Pat, Mickey, and David. My how the time has flown. Now we are both grandmothers ourselves and with just a little water under the bridge.:) If you can't tell, Pat is over 6' and has always been so striking. Everyone else is jealous of her stature, and she sure wears it well. We reminisced about our"past life," of sitting out in the road and smoking grape vines!!!!!! My kids are still choking, roasting red hot dogs, sitting on back of the tractor and counting the cows, taking baths outside in the freezing water, the old hand water pump, Aunt Martha's fried potatoes, and everything else she grew that was amazing. We talked about Grandmother, parties in her yard, how she liked to cook, and so many more things. Isn't family wonderful? There is nothing to replace it so ,thank you Pat. We will always be family.

CHOO, CHOO!

Christmas in July, still a little snow in the mountains. Ah but that lovely, mountain air!

Beautiful Streams all through our train ride and around the loop in the car. Daddy was so funny, he never looked to the right or left, just straight ahead. I would have noticed but I was cowering in the back floor board.

This old bridge has been refurbished but was built in the l800's for the miners and product from Georgetown to Silvermine..................What a view, and look maw, no top...........

All decked out and ready to ride the train......Richard is still a Chief's fan. We actually met a few others.

Mom and Dad waiting for the train. That water was cold!

Can you see the little chipmunk on the ledge of the rock? This one is for my grandchildren. We love little animals, right Taryn?

Mom and Dad stayed a couple of days after they got back from Mike's. So we decided to be brave and have an adventure. We decided to go to Georgetown and ride the train to the silvermine. It was beautiful outside and we had a great time.

FOREVER A FAN!!!!!!

Richard, my main man playing in right field. He says his head works a lot faster than his feet, but oh, he's good.

COOKIE!!!!!! He's my other boy that I have cheered for since he was knee-high to a grasshopper. We love having him here in Denver, besides he works for the Broncos so we keep up on things.........................I bake cookies, for Cookie.

Jonathan having to hand out the trophies. We lost by one point I think and Jonathan's not used to having the other team take them home, sooooooooooooooooooo.......Wendy, Mike's wife, saved him one. You know they are the founders:)

JONATHAN COULDN'T HAVE BETTER CHEERLEADERS!

It seems like I have been supporting and cheering on my favorite athlete for oh, 24 years now. That's quite a tradition in my book. Jonathan has been playing multiple sports for that long and I have been right there cheering him on every step of the way. In fact, I think some of our best family memories involve ball and going along with the teams when they traveled. Jonathan's favorite sport, however, is baseball. He is not ready to give it up any time soon. He and a friend have started a FastBall League and are trying to take the sport nation wide. So every week we get to see some games and I get to be the cheerleading section. Jerianne, I miss you! We had a Firecracker Tournament on the Fourth and Jonathan and Mike were in charge of it. It turned out great and they played some fabulous ball. Did you know that Richard is playing on this team as well? He has a great batting average and it is fun to see him and Jonathan in the male bonding.

Just a story, when Jonathan was playing baseball at BYU, I was there cheering for him at one of the games. Of course, I have always called him "Sonshine," and still do. I was screaming after a particularly good play, "Way to go Sonshine," when a man two rows down from me turned around and said, "Lady, don't you think it's time to give that up?" I say NEVER.....Once a mom, always a mom, oh I mean fan!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Since this is my journal so to speak, I will write down another story. When Jonathan was a senior in high school, he and his buddies wanted to have a recreational basketball team. SOOOOOOOOOOOO..who do you call? Verlinda! I signed up to be their coach. Now those of you who know me, know that I don't really know about the particulars, I just enjoy the game. So I think I was a coach in name only, BUT, I got to sit on the bench, be part of the huddle, give all of my favorite boys love and encouragement, and provided refreshments for the team and the referees. (Who says I'm not smart?) Things went very well for us and I got my first ever trophy! Plus, we got our pictures in the yearbook, all in all, not to shabby!

Hanging Out With My Homies!

Hello from Creed, as he hangs out with his Poppa. We did eventually take off his clothes and let him dangle his feet in the water.

The fountain that empties into Texie's pool.

Jonathan, I'm too old for this. It brings back many a memory. (You all can just hear Jacqui screaming, can't you?)

It's amazing to think that I have two of my four children living right here in Colorado. The way life is anymore, one is lucky to have anyone, right Mother? But I am grateful. Jacqui and Dave have just moved back after finishing at Ohio State. Dave is now on the road to practicing all of that torture that just puts my teeth on edge!!!! (Pretty good analogy.) I believe that they will probably end up living in Colorado Springs, but that isn't too far for a visit so I am happy. Besdies the Springs are beautiful. Jacqui has started in the Labor and Delivery department at the Littleton Hospital. I think she really misses all of the people in Arizona. Her first day she helped deliver 5 babies, 3 c-sections, so people are continuting to populate......Jonathan and Jaimie, and Creed just live 10 miles up the road and we get to see them quite a lot. Thank you Jaimie, for being so willing to visit the old in-laws. We love it when they come over. Every Sunday we have a Settlers game and a walk with the dogs. I know, they need to get out more.:) So last week, the Jardine's invited us over to swim in Texie's pool. Thanks Texie! It really is a beautiful back yard and we appreciate being able to enjoy it. Jaimie's parents had come in for the fourth and we swam and had dessert. It is wonderful being able to be friends with the in-laws. We love Alan and Laurie. Actually, Laurie and I have a "connection!" We know what each other is thinking. Thank heavens there is another person like me out there....................

These are Creed's grandparents........aren't they fun!!!!