SOUTH DAKOTA WEEKEND

Chistina's boyfriend Steve (yellow shirt) and his family (Kenny-brother, Bob-dad, Keith-brother, Steve, Jean-mom)

Last weekend we traveled to Deadwood, South Dakota to cheer for our daughter Christina as she ran her first 1/2 marathon. Linda and I took advantage of the proximity of Mount Rushmore and went to see this most impressive National Monument. We particularly enjoyed listening to the audio tour, and specifically to the Lakota indian who spoke of the inmense spiritual effect of such a place. Sunday it was off to the race. The full and half marathon take place on the Michelson Trail, a 100 mile natural trail that was built on top of the tracks of an old railroad. We cheered our beautiful daughter during the last 2 miles of the race and then snapped a few pictures at the finish line.

Magnolia Turning 20 Quilt (Jade's Quilt)

This is a quilt I just finished for the young lady, Jade, who watched our house for the last two years. She is heading off to college, so Jorge and I thought a great gift would be a quilt. It is a very simple pattern, but with 6 different fabrics, solids, stripes and flowers, it looks busy and much more difficult. The top one is the full quilt, then two close ups which display the colors better, the label, and the back of the quilt. I know it is a little 'old' for a high school grad, but hopefully she will have it a long time and learn to appreciate the fabric patterns.

MONTANA WILD FLOWERS

Our weekend in Montana over Memorial Day weekend was fabulous, despite many rainshowers. It starts with the view you've seen before, which we never get tired of. As we have worked on controlling our noxious weeds, we have seen a nice surge in the population of wild flowers. I also found some interesting flowering cactii growing very close to the ground.

GREAT BLUE HERONS

We got the word several blue herons were nesting a couple of miles south of Sheridan, so we went to enjoy them. There are thousands of them in the mountainous Northwest this time of year. They nest very high and constantly fly in and out of their nests, probably stocking up in preparation for the for the hungry young ones being born this time of year. Our zoom lens is not quite adequate to capture the details, but you it was good enough for us.

The day of the big race is finally here. Jorge at the top is taking some scenic pictures before the race, then Christina looking good at about 10.5 miles. The four people we knew in the race: Steve, Christina, Keith (Steve's brother), and their friend Bryce, with happy smiles after completing the race. The last one is of part of the Lipetzky family: Kenny, Dad - Bob, Keith, Steve, Mom - Jean. We all had a great week end, and Jorge and I look forward to cheering Christina on at races in the future.