Tim Samaras from Storm Chasers

Tim was so nice to do a presentation for our homeschool group today! We found out that, in addition to chasing tornadoes, Tim is really into lightning. We learned a lot about both today.

Noah's 6th Birthday Party

Yep! I'm 6!!!

Noah came up with the design and our cake guy did a great job on it!

Customary birthday fireworks.

A crazy bunch of friends!

Riverside Cemetery, Denver, CO

Denver's longest continually operating cemetery. There are some very interesting pioneers buried there. Check out their website for some super-cool information!

The Crematory. The kids had lots of questions here and Noah asked to see inside. (Gasp!)

We get some amazing rainbows around here!

Kayli's Birthday Party

Noah was the only dude there but he didn't care! A party's a party as far as he's concerned!!

Tubing, Belleview Park, Englewood, CO

Some lady sold us these tubes as she and her kids were leaving. It was totally random but convenient and fun! We hoped not to get "cooties" when we had to blow them up again. All the kids asked, "What are cooties?" You learn something new every day! :o)

Stickworks

The park near Coors Amphitheater has a some cool artwork. Stickworks and another art project using recycled materials.

Swimming Lesson

He looks pretty happy in these pictures but he ended up being too cold to finish. Colorado is just a little too cold for a morning swimming lesson.

Noah lost his first tooth today!

The "tooth fairy" brought him a lollipop and a dollar.

Belleview Park, Englewood, CO

Belleview Park Train. We missed the petting zoo but got to wade in the creek.

Pollock Painting at the Park, Observatory Park, Denver, CO

Jackson Pollock was a pretty interesting artist. We learned to paint like he did sometimes. It was fun!

My little florist.

Creekside Cafe, Steamboat Springs, CO

Our favorite place to eat in Steamboat! They love dogs, too, and have a bowl of water outside the front door for them in the summer! Awww...

We met a blind hobo today, on his birthday.

We're staying in Alta, Utah for a ski area trade show, so Noah and I went to Salt Lake City this morning to ride our bikes. I decided we would stick with the bike path that goes with the Jordan River. We saw a man feeding the geese at one of the bridges, so we had to stop. The man was chatting with a dangerous looking guy who had brown hair shaped into a mohawk with red tips, a dog collar with spikes around his neck, a cute little doggie, an old green pack with a sleeping bag and mat tied to the top, lots of tan and wandering eyes (he's blind). His name is "Ace", or David as his mother calls him. Turns out his mama lives about 30 minutes from us in Denver and he went to the School for the Blind in Colorado Srings. His 34th birthday is today and I hear him talking to the man about "scoring" a twenty while panhandling because it's his birthday. The man who gave him the twenty made him show his id to prove it was really his birthday. Anyway, he was excited that he would be able to buy some food, and probably booze, with his big bill. Ace went on his way and we were left chatting with the fisherman, John. Turns out he's a ski bum who lives in his RV at the KOA in SLC so he can ski all winter and then he explores the country in the summer. He even knows a friend of ours who lives in SLC who is also a ski bum, only one who has a real house. :) John told us where to get the best Mexican food, so we headed over to the Red Iguana for a belly-full and then hit the bike path back to the truck. We passed Ace, lying in the grass with some friends. I said hello to him and his buddies were shocked (I heard their chatter in the background as I was talking to Ace). I have to admit that he looks pretty scary, until you talk to him, and his sweet doggie also gives him away. I asked if he had called his mother yet and he hadn't. I knew he was probably going to spend his money on booze and call his mother collect or maybe not even call because he would be drunk and forget. After he offered me a drink of vodka and Noah a drink of soda, I offered for him to use my cell phone to call his mama before he was too far gone. I dialed the number for him becuase (remember?) he's blind. He left a really sweet message for her and mentioned that it was his 34th birthday and he just wanted to call and tell her he loved her.

I can't imagine "bathing" in gas station sinks, hopping trains to get to where you're going, sleeping under bridges with homeless people, not knowing where your next meal will come from and staying drunk as much as possible. Even more than that, I can't imagine how David's mama feels about it. It would be so hard to not know when you were going to talk to your son again or if the next call would be because something terrible had happened to him.

My little Noah David's two biggest concerns were that Ace didn't have a house and that we should get him some toys for his birthday. I wasn't sure what to get a blind hobo on his birthday, so I just hoped the call to his mother would be a good enough present. He seemed really happy with it.

The Jordan River Bike Path, Salt Lake City, Utah

Getting ready to hop in the bike.

A nice man was feeding the geese in the Jordan River. He said there were also humongous koi in there. This is the same day we met the blind hobo, Ace.

Most excellent food!