Colonoscopy is the endoscopic examination of the large colon and the distal part of the small bowel with a CCD camera or a fiber optic camera on a flexible tube. By tomorrow morning....Ken and I are going to feel as pure as this rose below....TALK ABOUT TOO MUCH INFORMATION! 
So, to pass the time....we'll share some pictures taken this weekend of our precious Annie. Enjoy.
Annie on the outside while the dogs are penned up inside what is supposed to be the "corral" we bought for Annie to hang out in...talk about unfair. But it lets her walk around freely while they stay safely behind the fence so they can't knock her over onto the hard tile floor.
Auntie Katie took the photo above and the photo below at Justin and Jemmo's on Saturday. You know...Mattel and Fisher Price are missing the boat here....if they could just make cell phones and t.v. controllers that replicated the real thing....not those large colorful toy ones they make, but honest to good "safe" replicas of the real McCoy....they could make millions...after all....that is ALL Annie ever wants to play with. Just put a light-up, music making, classical stacker (stack-a-block) toy in front of her...and right next to it an authentic cell phone or t.v. controller (they don't even need to have batteries in them)....guarantee, she'll pick the remote/cell phone over any flashy "kid" designed toy ANY OLD DAY. Just an observation as I sit home contemplating the day ahead of me....so to speak. Gotta run...no pun intended....
THIRTY YEARS....ONE MAN, ONE WOMAN, ONE MARRIAGE BETWEEN US!!!! Praise the Good Lord! (Spoiler alert...as Ken always says "be careful, you just might learn something." In the BLOG below is a little bit of history mixed in with my ramblings!) Enjoy!!!
Ken and I celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary on the American Riviera -- Santa Barbara that is! The weather was beautiful.....and we had a nice time puttering about the city, mountains, and neighboring towns. We even scoured the countryside for Oprah's house....there are some beautiful homes in Santa Barbara and neighboring Montecito. Photo above was taken by a European tourist of us in the Botanical Gardens. It was beautiful there, one could just sit and enjoy the peaceful sounds of the trickling creek and birds joyfully singing amongst the tall cool redwoods. It was gorgeous, so cool, and a nice walk. Below is a picture Ken took of me on the "shortcut" bridge (1/2 mile walk versus the 1 mile walk) - yes, we did just the 1/2 mile as we were in somewhat of a hurry to get to the Land Shark tour down on the wharf.
Above...the majestic giant redwoods - funny thing...the woman at the front entrance told us "be sure to visit the redwoods, they are just magnificent!" And then as we were wandering about underneath them, a family, of European decent (everybody was from someplace outside of the United States it seemed - must be the exchange rate making the good old USA a bargain vacation), happened by and the parents said to the kids..."oh kids, let's go look at the redwoods, that's something you don't get to see." Together we laughed..we have two HUGE redwoods right outside our window, in our own yard...we see every day...no biggie...hee hee...Californians...so spoiled. Below...we rested on a log bench in the shaded, secluded area. It was very peaceful, almost expected to see Bambi and Thumper pop out and playfully spring by.
Above the ground cover with fresh dew taken at the botanical gardens. Below...our sightseeing then took us to the picturesque Santa Barbara Mission, the State's 10th mission to be founded by the Spanish Franciscans. It was established in 1786! The original buildings were of adobe and unpretentious and destroyed by an earthquake in 1812. Thereafter the present church was planned. It was finished and dedicated in 1820. The beautiful fountain in front of the Mission was built in 1808 (see my picture below). The original purpose of the Mission was the christianazation of the Chumash Indians. This was considered accomplished by the 1930s. We both felt the tour didn't really let the visitor see very much of the grounds, but the chapel was beautiful. There are over 4,000 Chumash Indians buried in the cemetery grounds directly outside the chapel door. That was hard to believe in that small area...and people are still being buried there - not sure how they get to, but there were recent burials. 
Ken (above) outside the Mission near the beautiful bougainvillea in full bloom. 
(Above) The Mission grounds inside the courtyard before entering the chapel. The buildings you see in the background are what we were hoping to tour but were not included in our $5 tour fee.
This picture (above) is a statue in the Mission chapel of Mary Magdalene looking up at Jesus at his tomb after he was resurrected. It was life size and very striking in the shadows along the walls of the chapel. The picture below Ken took of the Mission bell tower peaking out behind the trees taken from the base of the original water basin built by the Chumash Indians. Such a picturesque location. From the steps of the Mission you can see all the way to the ocean with the oil rigs on the horizon. There was a Santa Barbara fire truck parked by the rose gardens and firefighters were doing their morning PT running around the Mission's beautiful lawn and gardens....boy we bet Justin would rather do his PT in this climate and beautiful setting versus where he is now..LOL. Ken wanted to stop the one female firefighter we saw run by and ask her if she knew his son-in-law the fireman....LOL.....j/k of course but he did tease about it every time we saw a fireman/woman....saying "I wonder if they know our son-in-law Justin? Let's ask them." LOL - we did, so go ahead, laugh out loud! They then got a medical emergency call and were out of there with sirens blaring!
The picture above is me on the Mission steps. Below is where we ate our anniversary dinner...see, here's our story....Rachel Ray's $40 A Day television show (Food Network) had an episode where she visited Santa Barbara. In the episode, she talked about this great little place to eat up in the mountains, Cold Springs Tavern (15-20 minutes outside of Santa Barbara on Hwy 154 - San Marcos Pass), full of history (the Cold Spring Tavern was built in the 1860s as a way station to serve the travelers on the new "turnpike" over the San Marcos pass that was constructed by Chinese laborers to ease transportation over the mountains. Passengers boarded stagecoaches that were very uncomfortable and they endured dangerous roads and the inevitable highwayman to make the trip over the pass. It was a time in history that was both hazardous and romantic. The danger has long since passed but the romanticism has been carefully preserved and can still be found at the Tavern. established in 1865 and the route that General John Fremont took to capture the city of Santa Barbara in 1848). And here's another reason we went: In 1941 the tavern was purchased by Adelaide Ovington for $2,000 who, along with her daughter Audrey, operated the tavern for over sixty years. It was their life's work to preserve the tavern so that future generations would be able to see the tavern as it was. "If anyone wants to celebrate a special event and has plans to celebrate an anniversary of that event in later years and expect to remember it as it was, they would be well advised to have it here because we never change." "Memories endure here." Well.........my memory will always remain a wee bit different....dead animal heads on every wall - not just your ordinary dead heads like my son-in-law has hanging in his office...noooooo.....OLD DEAD HEADS, probably from the 1860s I'm guessing - wild goat, deer, wild boar complete with gnarly teeth, some kind of fox or badger or something scary looking...just to name a few. The place was old and when I stepped one foot into the main door (which I will give you...was quaint)....the smell in the place just about did me in...ohhh Nellie!! It was like strong Rosemary, mixed with rabbit stew, venison, duck gizzards, spices no longer used by modern man, 100 year old dust, some more pungent Rosemary, and of course...old dead animal heads, lest one forgets! I was panicked - here I told Ken all about this place, about Rachel Ray's episode about it...we just drove 20 minutes out of town on a long windy road into what I felt like was "Deliverance" revisited, and I wanted to turn tail and run run run!!! So we stayed, we were seated under two OLD dead heads and a wall full of newspaper clippings about the dogs that were famous residents who had died over the years....to top it off...our crusty old, flickering table lamp was made of old pulled animal skins...I took my glasses off and Ken asked me why (I can't see without them) and I lied and said I was just resting my eyes...to which he replied "you don't want to see the dead animals do you?" How right on the nose he was. I ate my meal...all the while wanting to run out of there screaming...I guess the food was okay...but I would NEVER go back...never never..it took me 24 hours to get that smell out of the hairs in my nose...smelled it all night and the next day....yuck!!! But it is a memory...romantic...I doubt it....but a memory nonetheless! Ahh.. 30 years...how romantic... :-)
Above, don't I look happy enjoying my anniversary dinner at Cold Springs Tavern - LOL. Notice the glasses are off...don't want to look at those dead carcases on the walls - not appetizing at all! Below....Choppers...anxiously awaiting the return of his beloved Mom (Jill) and Dad (Ken) to return from, what must have seemed like forever to him, vacation. We missed you too Choppy!
And my last photograph (below) is of the cat and monkey chairs Ken and I brought back from Santa Barbara for the girls, Annie & Lucy. They just loved them!!!
Great Grandpa Bob and Annie enjoy the birthday festivities.
The two little cousins converse on the couch... about being one, being almost one, and how it feels to be walking.....the usual toddler talk. I think they just wanted an afternoon siesta under a cool breezy fan!
Now that Cash is walking everywhere, he would get in the pool, and get right back out...Annie still not as sure-footed....loved to kick her legs and splash - the best part....no soap...just fun! The old farts who weren't in suits (yes, we know who we are - LOL), were envious, we wanted in there too!
"So Uncle Gage, I sure hope my parties are this much fun every year...did you see all my cool presents? This is FUNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN, yawn, I need a nap...so much excitement and I'm only one you know."
Saturday, August 16, 2008, in 102 degree "typical" August weather, we celebrated with Cash's family and friends his 1st birthday. The theme was ELMO, there was a pinata for the kids who were able to stand on their own and swing a bat (did I see Uncle Kenny in line?), water slides (what a bargain Beth, you should have picked up two for that price!! LOL), kiddie pools for the younguns, and fun water toys! A yummy barbecue and sweet cupcakes rounded out the afternoon. Cousins Annie and Cash spent time posing for pictures on the big red couch inside the house (did I see a bunch of grown-ups in there escaping the heat?) and playing together in the kiddie pool outside. Annie had lots of fun splashing in the pool with her cuz Cash and another little friend (see pictures above). It was great to get together with everyone - it's been too long - we swear Athan didn't know who we were at first - LOL!!!
Thanks for inviting us Cash!!!!
It's good to be one! Happy 1st to the Birthday Boy!
Here Beatrice is seen with Heather & Eli's new pots and pans. She's feeling a little green as well..having spent several, I repeat, several, weeks out at the newlywed's pad...you know those newlyweds...never a dull moment...hopefully...now that she has been outed hanging out with pots...someone will be seeing her soon in their own yard....be on the look out boys and girls!
We came, we spent, we glittered!!! Katy (and Lucy), Jemmo (and Annie) and I all went and had our toes done today...yes ladies and gentlemen (I'm sure at least one man reads my blog), we are glittering our away around town with our stylish ROCK STAR TOES!! Mine are the red ones (with the outline from my new sandals very prevalent I might add), Jemmo's are the purple and Katy's the blue! We love them and we are rockin' them all over this town!!! I know Jemmo...I took it too far...but I'm 52, so I can do that kind of awkward stuff! Enjoy the tootsies all you foot fetish people out there!!! PEACE OUT! (Again...took it too far!) LOL
The girls getting their toes all "glamorized!" It's Kurston's salon (where she works) and she was there providing support (and working too) and watching the Rock Star toes coming together!
Annie is already picking out her Rock Star colors for when she can hold still long enough to get her "little piggies" done too!
ANNIE CELEBRATES WITH HER DADDY! SHE REALLY JUST WANTED TO EAT THE NEW BADGE!
THE HAPPY CARLSON FAMILY.
THE RIDGEWAYS CELEBRATE WITH THE CARLSONS. CONGRATS JUSTIN, JEMMO & ANNIE....YOU ARE NOW A PART OF A PROUD FIREFIGHTING FAMILY!!!!
