Rich decided to grill out for the last day of September. Frost is forecast Saturday night!

These beautiful mums came from Track Nationals. I didn't even notice the grass clippings on them until I uploaded the photo. Guess I'll have to take another pic tomorrow.

We took Mother out to eat at La Hacienda for her 76th birthday. The waiters brought a sombrero, a birthday treat and sang to her!

For my birthday, Kristin gave me these charms for my pandora type bracelet. I love them! I just got them out today after our trip and now need to get them on the bracelet.

After all the excitement of last week, we drove for most of the day and are back at home. Here's a beer that Kristin and Tyler spotted when we were shopping in Hurricane, Utah. I had to take a picture of it for future reference.

Day 3 of Track Nationals brought the Marian Knights their 13th National title on the Velodrome. Sparkling cider added to the celebration. Allie quickly volunteered to spread the joy!

Day 2 of Track Nats brought the Coed Team Sprint. Sierra continued this year with being the fastest starter of all competitors. Everyone on the team did their part and the group won by 4 seconds over 2nd place! This year's members were Sierra, Rob, Alex, Katie, David, and Adam.

Today was the first day of Collegiate Track Nationals in Indianapolis. Sierra got 11th in the 3K pursuit in the morning session. She was happy with that since she's never gotten in the top 20 before today. In the evening session, She got 2nd in the 500 meter time trial. She was a little disappointed since she was hoping for a sub 39 second time. She got 39.286, about a half a second from 1st place! The top 5 were all within 1 second of the winner. After today's events, Marian was over 100 points ahead in the Team Omnium.

Kristin and Tyler posed with a "Yeti" today. He looked like the grinch that stole Christmas only in white!

Gourmet hot dog in Bootleg Canyon - bacon, pico, onions, mustard! The cook loved her!

Today, we went to Boulder City to sheep watch. We took LOTS of photos and spent hours watching them, I don't get tired of that!

Today, we went land sailing near Primm, Nevada just across the border into California. The area was Ivanpah Dry Lake, a BLM recreational area. All of us had a great time! We felt like we were setting new speed records in the land boats but I'm sure we weren't going quite that fast.

After hiking today, we took a jeep tour with Zion Adventures. We went through the town of Rockville, to the ghost town Grafton and through BLM land up what the MTBikers call "cry baby hill" to the top of this mesa. What a beautiful view!

The squirrels were happy to pose for photos on the Riverwalk up in the canyon in Zion.

We were on the road to Zion today by 8AM. We found Zion Adventures where Kristin and I rented shoes, neoprene socks and walking sticks to use while hiking in "the narrows". I also rented a waterproof camera bag so I could walk without fear of ruining my camera! Here we are waiting for the shuttle bus into Zion Canyon.

We are on our way to Las Vegas today. I had Rich stop so I could take a photo of the bridge over the Middle River near Spring Hill. It will be gone when we get home. It is being replaced this fall. Sierra's high school friends used to tell her that the bridge was haunted. She always laughed about that since we drove over it nearly every day.

The cats were busy last night and left these 2 rodents as gifts for us this morning. They were laid out just like this on the sidewalk as if there was a competition to see who could bring the finest prize home for us!

Miss Kittie has been SO friendly lately. She wants to cuddle with anyone on the sofa. Trouble is that she is so happy purring and kneading with her paws that it HURTS! Then she gets mad if you want her to stop.

Here's the resulting bruise from Rich's fall on Saturday. He says that it is pretty sore when sitting but not too painful when standing. I think that he was lucky not to break anything!

While I was gone in Kentucky, Rich got this table for the deck. I applied the water seal today and now it is back on the deck. Hopefully, the wood will keep its natural color.

Rich and I took the dogs for a walk to the waterfall and creek. I asked Rich to sit on the tree for a photo. He fell and hit his hip on the big root while climbing up to pose. I immediately was afraid that he could have broken his hip. I could tell that it really hurt but he got up and we were on to finish our walk.

We are headed to the lake to pick up some wood that we cut in May. G'ma will also come home with us so she will be here for next Tuesday's flight to Las Vegas. In Kansas City, a new bridge is being built over the Missouri River so I snapped this photo when the traffic slowed.

I wanted to get a pic of Kristin and Sierra together last Monday after breakfast. No one felt up to it and I was a little disappointed. Today, while looking through some things stuck away in a tub, I found this photo. I can't remember what year it was but am sure that it was taken on a bike ride that we were on to Graceland College in Lamoni, IA.

The steps to the deck are finished. I guess all that is left to do is make a walkway up to them, maybe some stepping stones or something like that.

Rich obviously was busy cutting wood while I was in Kentucky. The stack about doubled in size from when I left until today. We have to go down to Mother's this weekend to get some wood that we had cut back in May. Who knows if that will get us through the winter of 2010-2011.

Here's how everyone felt after racing yesterday. The weather was wonderful but very dry and it was hard to breath in the dust all weekend. We all had stuffy noses and were coughing a lot today.

Here's our new 50 and over women's cruiser class at Grand Nationals. This is how the weekend turned out: Finishes in the motos were: Shayne, Kathy, Joni, Shelby, Kittie. Finishes in the Main event were: Shayne, Kathy, Shelby, Joni, and Kittie. Congrats to everyone and next year, we'll be split out further!

After 2 rounds of BMX racing, we cooked for our host and hostess, Russ and Maggie. As with tradition, we had steak, shrimp, salad, baked potatoes and a chocalatey dessert. We had plenty to eat for Shelby, Joni, Kristin, Tyler, Sierra, and Max. Everyone was happy and full. YUMM!

Today, BMX practice for me was at 8 AM. Then Maggie and I went to Metzger's where they have an animal shelter. We each walked 4 silly dogs and I tried not to get attached to any of them or the kittys that were living there!

I worked at the track until 7:45 this morning and then our practice was from 7:50 to 8:10. Kristin and I packed up, got some breakfast and then headed for Maggie's house to sleep. We finally got to see the new 6 week old, Bubba Gail. Needless to say, she is so adorable!

Kristin and I got to have lunch together before she went for a job interview at the hospital. She got the job! She is very excited and hopes to clear the pre-employment requirements and start working later this month. Then, we left for Louisville where I worked at the track from midnight to 7:45AM taking registrations at the campground.