Job Stuff

Dennis decided to turn down the position with Little Debbie's. He spent a lot of time doing his due diligence and decided that the route did not have enough potential to earn the income he was looking for. If he thought it had more potential he would have been very willing to get up at 4am again and do route work. It is something that he knows and would be good at. Some other negatives were no vacations and possibly working on weekends. Besides that we were both concerned about the physical aspect of the job and the wear and tear it would do to his knees. So it's back to square one....

As for me, there is a possibility in the works. I applied for a "customer service/receptionist position at a on-line fabric warehouse! It is an amazing story because my mom and I had just gotten back from lunch with a friend of hers who lives here in Longmont. When we were at this lady's house mom mentioned that I was looking for work and she mentioned checking at "equilter" because they are a big employer in Boulder. Well, when we got home I was looking at the Craig's list job postings and there was an ad for the job at equilter. It fit me exactly! Plus, I had just re-vamped my resume that morning thanks to a friend of Rena's who works in HR. I sent my resume off right away and then we left to go see Carsten and Grant when they got out of school. When we got back there was a message on our phone from someone at equilter. The message had been left 10 minutes after I sent my application!!! I called back and was given a phone interview. I went for a "live" interview Wednesday and it went well but I still have to interview with the head of the department next week. In the mean time I am still applying for other jobs in case this one does not work out. It is not a great paying job but it would be something and it is only a 20 minute drive and is in a field that I love. More later.......

First snow!!!

This was how our back yard view looked this morning!

And the front yard.....

Here is our California van covered in Colorado snow.

Dennis shoveling the drive way. Thank you to the Kirklands for the shovel and the Faulkners for beanie and gloves!

More fun at the pumpkin patch!

A beautiful day at the Pumpkin Patch in Longmont.

Carsten and I sitting in a "piggy" car in front of all the weird colored pumpkins.

The boy in the corn maze with baba.

Feeding the goats.

The boys are great with animals even though their parents want nothing to do with them.

Pumpkin Patch

We took the boys to a local pumkin patch last Friday. They had a blast pulling wagons around, looking for pumkins and playing on all the fun features.

I took Carsten to this same pumpkin patch 3 years ago and at that time he was afraid of this same pumpkin! I told him about how he was scared of it and now he just thinks it's funny.

Carsten mid-jump on the jumper toy.

They could have played on the jumper all day!

It was VERY hard to pick out just the right pumpkin!

jobs.....

Well, I am finally giving in and going to a temp agency. I have been applying for many, many jobs but am not getting called. (I am starting to regret not wanting to commit to a year of working for Wanda in the Denver area.) I took a long assessment test yesterday for the temp agency and did not do very good. Well, I did okay on the data entry and typing part and average on the Word and Excel portion but terrible on Outlook. I really need to brush up on my skills! I have an interview this morning at the temp office and it will be interesting to see if they have any ideas for me.
Dennis is going on a "ride-along" today for a distributorship with Little Debbie's snack food. He would be an independent contractor and would have to buy his own truck and computer. Neither one of us is too excited about him getting into route-sales again. He had to get up at 3:30 this morning to meet the manager! He is not used to early hours any more and with winter coming up it would be especially hard. I will let you know more in a couple of days.
Love, Dana

St. Catherine of Siena Chapel

We passed this cool looking stone church on the Peak to Peak highway when we were sight seeing with our friends Ed and Donna. Ed suggested we turn around and check it out. It was an amazing old Catholic Church and there was a picture of Pope John Paul II visting here in 1993. Thanks Ed for leading us to here!

Elk in Estes Park

We could not believe there were elk hanging out in a golf course and open fields in the town of Estes Park. It saved us a trip into the National Park! Apparently they move to lower elevations this time of the year. The last picture shows Stanley Hotel and the beautiful mountains in the background.

Family + Friends = Fun times

Well, here is what we do with our freinds in 2011---we look at our lap-tops and i-pads every few seconds!

We had Mary (Morris),Tommy, Jacob, and Katlyn Martinez over for dinner along with Rena and the boys while the Farnum's were here. Mary is Donna and Ed's niece who just moved here from Ca. Jacob, Carsten and Grant had a great time together.

The boys showing off their dessert.

Fun with the Farnum's

We had a blast over the weekend with our friends Ed and Donna from OC. Here is Donna and I enjoying a gin and tonic (in plastic cups with lids) at the Ute Creek Golf Course clubhouse.

Below Donna and Ed climbing up to Boulder Falls.

The water was still flowing at the falls.

Ed and Dennis toasting with tequila!

Ed and Donna posing with Mr. Scarecrow at the Estes Park Brewery.

More pics to come!

Jobs, Anniversary, Friends

Dennis and I are continuing to look for jobs without much luck. I had a lead on a job that I was very excited about but it did not work out. It was with a family friend's company in Denver and it would have involved a lot of driving. It was only a 4 day a week job but the commute would have been up to 1.5 hours each way. Because she is a friend I let her know that I might not be able to stay at the job for more than a few months. It turned out she wanted a 1 year commitment which I was not comfortable with. It was one of the most difficult decisions I have ever made (besides moving to Colorado). So, I am on the job hunt again. Dennis has put in a couple of applications also but has not gotten any bites. He is still looking into businesses and we will be meeting with our son-in-law next week with some franchise opportunities to look at.

Yesterday was our 37th wedding anniversary!!! Wow, it has been quite a ride! We had a nice day and a very nice dinner at Red Lobster. We have been so blessed and we thank God every day for each other. The kids gave us a certificate for a night at a condo in Steam Boat Springs!!! We can't wait to use it!

We are VERY excited that our dear friends Donna and Ed Farnum are coming to visit us tomorrow. They will be our first visitors in our new home. The weather has taken a bit of a turn and it is cold and windy tonight. We are kind of bummed about it but I was just thinking that it would be really cool if the Farnum's were here for our first snow!

Sorry for no pictures this time. Love and blessing to all, Dana

More birthday photos

Here are some more pictures at the "fun park" celebrating Carsten's birthday.

Dennis helping Grant "drive" the car. The boys liked the driving games and skeet-ball the most.

Taking a break from the fun with some Gatorade.

Grant taking a break on a giant mushroom.

Here is Nathan and Dennis singing "Danny Boy" after a night mountain bike ride and a few beers under their belts.

Dennis and Carsten B-Days

The Kirkland's came over Friday night to celebrate Carsten and Dennis' birthday's. Carsten requested eggs, sausage, pancakes, strawberries and grapes for dinner. It was delicious!!! I think the boys look like little angels in the photo above.

Carsten and Grant goofing off after their bath and wearing thier glow-stick halows.

We all went to a "fun center" on Sunday with the boys and 2 friends. Carsten is conteplating his golf move above.

Rena helping Grant master his stroke.

This HUGE wolf spider was in one of the holes. The staff at the golf course said this was actually a small one!! They also told us they are harmless---thank goodness!