WHAT'S IN A NAME?
Kathy bought a "name your baby" book over 30 years ago. That's how long it's been since we were selecting names for our kids.

Aiden:Irish "Little fiery one" A man whose temper flared between his mirth and tears. That probably fits most babies, teens, and many adults. I'm Irish so there is the potential.

Reid:Old English: "Red-haired or red-complexioned" Reid really does have the more ruddy complexion of the two.

We'll have to see it plays out especially since the names were chosen before they were born. I do appreciate that K & E incorporated both grandfathers' names as middle names. I am honored.

Bumper sticker seen in Cheyenne:
"Support your local police-
Commit a crime."

LIVING CLOSE TO ONE'S IN-LAWS: Yesterday afternoon I walked at a leisurely pace from our house to Keri and Eric's home. It took a little over four minutes. This morning I stepped up the pace and it took a little over three minutes.
Keri should be discharged this morning. It will take a couple of vehicles to get the twins and their parents plus their other stuff back to Casa Brusven.

DEBUNKING THE MYTH that the weather is so much better in Colorado than Wyoming. Since we arrived Thursday, it has either rained or snowed constantly. We did get a few hours of sun Sunday morning and it is making a second attempt today. We drove in a blizzard to the hospital on Friday and again last night returning from the hospital and visiting old Casper friends.
MILESTONE-Since we purchased a mini-frig ( which will later be consigned to the man cave in the basement), we can now have milk and juice at our own house, I ate breakfast "at home" for the first time (also first meal there). I opened all the shades in the family room and enjoyed the warmth (cheap heat) of the sun. It was only cereal and juice and I pulled up a lawn chair to the card table and read the ads from yesterday's Denver Post. It felt like home. Today we are supposed to get a bed and I won't sleep on an air mattress although they are pretty comfortable.
The twins were doing well when we left the hospital late yesterday afternoon. I think they get a little grumpy when the nurses and others wake them up to see if they are all right. Doesn't seem fair.
I need to run errands this morning so I'll sign off from Keri and Eric's since we don't have internet at our place yet. Soon I hope.

Yesterday Kathy and I became grandparents. Keri and Eric became parents of twin boys, Aiden and Reid. Everyone appears to be healthy for which we are grateful. They have a room at a new or recently remodeled hospital where the whole family sleeps. This is different from when Keri and David were born. The kids were in the nursery, Kathy had her room and I went home. I guess there is a whole lot of family bonding but I'm not sure how much sleep the parents get.
We were able to do a whole lot of baby holding within the first hour and a half the boys were born.
The security in the pediatrics wing is unbelievable. The babies go nowhere without wristbands being checked.

TIS BETTER TO GIVE...
When cleaning out a house, church rummage sales are truly God-sent. The Lutheran youth group is having a sale of donated items this week. Believe me we gave. It was sort of an assortment of contrasts. We gave several pairs of ice skates (which we haven't used since the kids were in elementary school) contrasting with the snorkeling gear which we used when we took the kids to Bermuda on the Big Red Boat (Disney). It would cost too much just to carry them on the plane to get to an ocean.
It's a joyous feeling to give-it beats the heck out of moving the stuff.

IT'S A SMALL TOWN
This summer will be my 50th high school class reunion. My wife kept reminding that I should make plans if I'm going to attend. I hadn't heard from anyone about the dates or other details so I called around and talked to my classmates who live in Casper. None of them knew anything either so I called my old high school long distance. The lady who answered the phone at my old school didn't know any dates either. She asked what year I graduated. I told her and she said that was her mother's graduating class. It is a small town. She gave me her mother's phone number (some people never leave their hometown), I called, got the details, later made a motel reservation for those dates, and checked that off my list of things to do.
You gotta like small towns.

Went to see Bill Cosby at the Events Center yesterday afternoon. It amazes me how a person can sit in a chair and be entertaining and have such a large number of people laughing for almost two hours just by talking about life and how funny some situations can be. Well worth the price.

Today I made my first of what I hope are many trips to the municipal dump-mostly paint and shredded paper. My barber told me that for every trip you haul stuff to your new residence you should make at least a minimum of one trip to the dump. Wise man my barber.
For my business friends:
"You might be a Redneck if...Your 'stock portfolio' is three sheep and a goat."

I watched The Men Who Stare at Goats movie the other night. When I selected it, I thought the title was a little weird but it had a pretty good cast. After watching it, I decided that a film with even a great cast can't be saved. This is a dog-don't rent it.
Yesterday was tax day and like several other towns we had our Tea Party rally. The paper reports there were "around" 150 people there. Watching the TV clips, viewing pictures in the newspaper, and listening to the speakers who made it on local TV, I would say this group more or less represented a group who had nothing better to do on a nice day. In comparing our present taxes in Wyoming with our-soon-to be new residence in Colorado, Wyoming has some of the lowest taxes in the country. We also receive more in taxes returned to the state than we pay to the feds. When your patron saint is Sarah Palin, what can you expect?

Drank coffee with my "homies" this morning and discussed the latest on insurance for retired school employees. This is a major concern for each of us as we are all at an age where we're not sure how many insurance companies want us although most of us are also on Medicare.
I had errands to run afterwards. I decided to stop at a fast food place (Taco Bell, the favorite of father and daughter). It was lunch time and some of the students from a near-by high school were at the Bell rather than eating school lunch or brown bagging it. One student with a brand new pick-up parked in two parking spots so no one would scratch his ride. I pulled in between the pick-up and a handicapped parking spot. A few minutes later a young female student pulled in. Her ride was a fairly new red convertible (top was down). Since most of the parking spots in this area, minus a couple of handicapped spaces, were taken, she parked so her new car straddled two handicapped parking spaces and marched into the Bell. I don't where a car with a handicapped sticker would have parked in this close-in area of the lot. It just shows how much students value their new cars.

Murphy's Law is alive and well. Yesterday I decided to mow the lawn for the first time this spring. I got my old lawn mower out of the shed, gassed it up, and pulled the starter cord-nothing. I tried several more times, fooled around with the choke, etc. Still no luck so I loaded the darn thing in the van and took off for the Toro dealership. The technician came out, looked at it, pulled the cord twice and it started. I loaded the mower back in the van, returned home, and mowed the lawn. In the meantime the wind had come up so I got dust and grass in my face for the next hour. I'll wait for a calmer day next time or just hire someone to mow.
Cleaning out files can uncover a lot of things. I found a license registration for 1973 for the same reserved license number that we must have had at that time or even longer.
I also discovered the son's birth expenses. I think he came in about $1,000 a pound-a bargain.
More cleaning today.
Enjoyed Glee last night.

ODDS AND ENDS
Since Keri didn't deliver yesterday, in our family niece Julie maintains April 12th as the solo celebrant of that day.
I sat down Sunday night to watch Julie and Julia on Netflix. After a little over an hour I couldn't take any more of Meryl Streep's voice imitation of Julia Child. It is a 123 minute movie and I knew I would throw something if I didn't stop. I finally finished it on Monday. Of the parallel stories I enjoyed the Julie part much more than the Julia part. I think I have enjoyed every movie I can remember that Meryl Streep was in and I'm sure she did a great job in this role but the voice, whether Meryl's or the real Julia, drove me crazy. I also thought the ending was weak-so much for being a movie critic.
Good news! The TV show Glee returns tonight.

After beginning the moving process after over thirty years in the same house, I offer the following sage advice-start throwing, shredding, and giving away now. I am about to burn up a shredder after disposing of tax returns and other papers going back to the last century. YOU CAN'T GET STARTED TOO EARLY!

Can't pass this one by:
"You might be a Redneck if...Healthy foods give you indigestion."

Keri's cousin's wife picked up a couple of changing tables at a church sale. Keri is giving one to us (a housewarming gift I assume) for our living room. It will fit right in with our air mattresses and lawn chairs.

Dateline Denver
Wednesday morning I was brushing about 3 inches of snow off the car. Thursday morning I was wearing a short sleeved shirt with no jacket. Who knows what today's weather will bring although it is opening day for the Colorado Rockies and they deserve great weather. Go Rocks!

Closed on a house in Littleton, CO, today. My kid's inheritance took a big hit.

We literally blew into Denver this afternoon. This the first time I can remember the wind in Colorado being worse than in Wyoming. We started out in a snow storm in Casper and arrived to 50 degree temps in Denver.

HAPPY EASTER TO EVERYONE!
Unfortunately with the temps in the 20's and a light snow falling the Easter bunny would probably freeze his/her tail off.

In Friday's USA Today,the travel section was titled "10 great places for a baseball pilgrimage." Casper's own Mike Lansing Field was one of the ten. They liked the layout which features seats close to the field (mine was/is in the second row just to the right of home plate-it actually still is because they wouldn't refund my money when I renewed my ticket last fall and then found out I was moving). They also liked the wide open spaces where a fan can watch deer and antelope grazing on the hillside beyond the outfield fences. The locales range from NY to California, Washington state to Florida, a couple of Midwestern stadiums, and, of course, the one in Casper Wyoming.
I have actually been in three of the stadiums:
1. Mike Lansing Field in Casper naturally
2. Fifth Third Field in Toledo, Ohio (I think it's named for a bank)
3. AT&T Bricktown Ballpark in Oklahoma City.
One of the things I will miss about Casper is sitting with my friends so many evenings during the summer and early fall. There's nothing like baseball. I just hope the Casper Ghosts win a few more games and eventually send players to the parent club-the Colorado Rockies.

March went out like a lion and April is continuing that pattern. We received about 5-6 inches of wet snow last night. I thought I was through but I had to fire up the snowblower this morning. When I bought it, I told the store I wanted something that would throw slush and this thing does. I'm on my third snowblower in over 30 years and have considered each a great purchase.
As we get ready to close on our house in Littleton, I am spending more time phoning or emailing our lender, new insurance agency and our realtor in Littleton. Thirty-two years ago when we bought our last house, we just signed papers, wrote a check and moved in.
I'm repeating myself.