MUST be Spring!

Even the indoor plants are blooming -

and it's warm enough that Darlene's tulips opened up, even though they were just buds on Monday!

So...I guess we'll have 3 (maybe 5) more days of Spring, and then it will be Summer (defined by over 85-degree days).

Still beats Winter....

4/14 Birthday!

I love how birthdays now spread out over days!  I say celebrate as long as possible!!

The day was wonderful with beautiful weather and over the course of that day and the next I received phone calls and emails from children, grandchildren (which included singing)  and friends - delightful!  Wish I could have hugged everyone in person to say "THANK YOU!!!" - they all touched my heart.

On Monday, the admins took Darlene and I to lunch (we have the same birthday) at Ojeda's - here I am with my birthday sopapilla!

fortunately, Haidee had her camera on-hand!

Haidee also gifted Darlene and I each with vases of flowers - mine still looks beautiful on my desk - thanks, again, Haidee!

 And, if AT&T doesn't screw up their service appointment again, I have a future date night with my husband at one of our favorite restaurants.

Who said we had to have just a birth-DAY celebration?  

I vote for a minimum of a month!

Speaking of Surprises....

Mike and Maryann stopped by on their honeymoon tour last night!!!

Dave and I were thrilled!  Not only did we get to see Mike again, but we got to meet Maryann and she's a doll - We're excited to have a new Daughter-in-law and a new grand-daughter!

Seems the only real thing we can afford to do for the kids these days is feed them.  Since Maryann has a special relationship with barbeque (her words), we went to Spring Creek for dinner.

picture from Spring Creek website

It was an evening of good food and good company -

Surprise!

You just never know when something will surprise you (I guess that's what makes it a surprise, huh?) ... every so often, some of us will take a short 20-minute walk through the buildings to get the kinks out or just to get in some sort of cardio during the day...

Now this place is chock-full-o'art, which I wouldn't include in a post because I don't have permission but I did find an unexpected bonus at the base of one of the big plants outside of one of the elevator banks - orchids!

you never know what you'll discover in a day...

A Loss....

We flew to Nevada to say a final goodbye to our niece, Amanda - the world has lost a truly unique and special person..

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We stayed in Sam's Town this time because it was close to Mom and Dee; our room overlooked the courtyard where they have a fake mountain, with animatronic wolf, bear, and eagle...

and it gave a good vantage point for the laser shows at 8 and 10 pm

Early one morning, we made a quick visit the M&M store on the strip to pick up "thank you" gifts for friends watching the house and picking up the mail -

and we saw where the Key Largo burned down the day before (they were still putting water on it)...

I suppose this qualifies as a Men-at-work photo....

and, while we were sorry for the reason, it was a good visit with family as we got to spend time with some of our kids and grandkids.