Firefighter Memorial

by Melissa Evans

The IAFF Memorial takes place annually in Colorado Springs to honor all the of the firefighters in the US and Canada who have died in the line of duty over the previous year. This year about seven hundred honor guard, pipers and drummers participated in the service attended by 6,000 people honoring 136 firefighters lost between June 2009 and June 2010.

Meg's first plane ride

Casa Bonita is supposedly a famous place mentioned on the radio and on the show South Park. It has a Mariachi band, cliff divers, shows, pinatas for kids, and an arcade. It also has all you can eat TERRIBLE food! The idea was great, the execution horrible.

The Denver Botanic Gardens were gorgeous!

This is the Asian section of the gardens. (one of my favorite parts)

Shane clued us in on all the places to go in Denver.

This is a yummy pizza place.

I had no idea how many names there would be on the memorial walls.

Chief Poleski (pipes), Wayne, and Shannon Miller (drums) at the memorial site.

They closed the main street in Colorado Springs for two nights for the pipers and drummers to play through the street. This was an informal event that drew a huge crowd, and sold a lot of alcohol!

This picture isn't very clear but, It was taken by a FF from on top of an engine on the street. In the middle you can see all the pipers and drummers with the crowd closed in all around them.

Handle bar mustaches like this were a dime a dozen!

Captain Wyatt, Wayne, Captain Ruby (retired).

They rode in a group of motorcyclists that go up every year.

Right before the memorial in his formal get- up!

Some Clark County and City of Las Vegas players.

This is a lot of the Clark County and City of Las Vegas firefighters that attended.

The street was too crowded for a stroller at night. So Meg was my little growth for a few nights. She loved it!

That's a good looking, red-mustached Scot.

Garden of the Gods

Manitou Springs

These Anasazi Cliff Dwellings built between 1100 and 1300 AD are well preserved and very interesting.

Meg was unimpressed!

Birthday Girls

Since there are so many birthdays close together (and I just started a new job have been busy and overwhelmed) I didn't get individual birthday posts done for Vicki, Alex, Suzy and Tylee. I thought you might enjoy looking at the following birthday photos which were taken six years ago on September 3, 2004. Hope you girls had fun birthdays this year! Love, Snick

These next photos were sent to me by mom and the birthday messages are from Deb:

Vicki is a fun loving gal who is very down to earth. She is a no nonsense girl and very practical. She is a great Mom and I see her teaching her kids good things all the time. She is thoughtful and loving and I think about her every time I use my cell phone. Vicki keeps in touch with me (which I appreciate) and we have a lot of good talks. Hope you had a Happy Birthday, Vick!!!

~Love, Deb

Alex is growing up so fast it's hard to believe. Alex is very smart and an avid reader. She is staying active in sports at school and at home. She has a gift for theater. I think it's very cool that she loves to sing and participate in musicals and plays. Alex has a testimony of the church and is a good example to those around her. I miss seeing her. I hope you had a terrific birthday, Alex!!!

~Love, Aunt Deb

Suzy is one wild and crazy gal. I miss her so much. I've been counting down the days until she flys in from Montana. I had so much fun when I got to go with Mom to Montana. I got to see Suzy at work, in her church calling and at home. Suzy keeps very busy and always has a positive outlook. She is the best rhymer I know. When I'm having a bad day I just go read one of her poems on the family blog and have a good chuckle. I'm looking forward to this weekend and hope you have a very Happy Birthday, Suz.

~Love, Deb

Tylee is growing into a beautiful young woman. She has already made tons of friends out in Logandale. She is very social like her Mom and her Dad. She is awesome at soccer and I'm sure the team is thrilled to have her there. She is a very good girl and a great example for her younger siblings. She is also very smart and does well at school. I miss having her family in Vegas, but know that it was a great thing for all the family. Have a Happy Birthday, Tylee!!!

~Love, Aunt Deb

Crustless Quiche

Vicki made this for everyone on Labor Day for breakfast. Those who showed up loved it...YUM!

10 eggs

2 cups cottage cheese

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup flour

3/4 pound pepper jack cheese

1/4 pound cheddar cheese

1/2 cup (1 cube) butter, softened

7-ounce can green chiles

1 - 2 cups ham or cooked bacon

Mix and pour into a greased 9 x 13 pan.

Bake at 400º for 15 minutes.

Turn oven down to 350º and bake for another 25 minutes.

Christensen Family Reunion

Birthday girl Suzy with Snick

Debbie, Julie & Cassie

Our sweet Grandma Christensen

Treasure Hunt

Grandma's paper bag game

Grandma Christensen's Family.... wow!

Kaden and Meg

Bagpipe Dancers

Crea let Chuck dig a hole

S'mores around the fire pit

Thanks for the tomatoes, Crea!

Julie's New Job

Well, can you believe it? I finally did it.... I got a JOB!! I put my resume in a couple of weeks ago for a front-office job at Summerlin Foot & Ankle doing patient check-in and insurance billing but the job was given to someone else. This past Sunday evening, however, I got a call asking if I could come in and start working Monday morning for a completely different position. Dr. Cade's assistant left last weekend without any advance notice which left a position open in the back office. I had mentioned in my interview that I wanted to start working in a medical office in order to get my foot in the door on the medical side of things (rather than just paperwork.... blah!). I told him that blood didn't bother me and I hoped to be able to watch some procedures or surgeries. He must have been impressed with that because he wanted ME to be his assistant!

Monday was crazy, intimidating and extremely overwhelming to say the least! I came home in tears and wanted to quit. Chuck was obviously upset with me and I even called mom to ask her advice while I had a melt-down. I decided to give it one more day and I prayed that everything would turn out alright. Day two wasn't nearly so bad and day three was actually kind of fun! Chuck loves telling me "I told you so!".

Dr. John (Jack) Cade

So far, some of my duties include seating patients in the exam rooms, scheduling surgeries, taking and developing x-rays and assisting the doctor with minor procedures at the office. I'll be removing casts and post-op bandages and using a dremel to file down fungal toenails. We do a lot of diabetic foot care as well (I've seen some pretty scary feet in the last couple of days). We just got a new machine that I'll be learning called a Doppler which is used to detect circulation in the legs. Yesterday I got to watch the doctor unwrap a skin graft that he did in surgery last week.

Dr. Cade has been wonderful to work for so far. He's been very kind and extremely patient. Needless to say, it's new and exciting and there's a ton of stuff to learn. Who knew there was so much to learn about FEET? Chuck came in at the end of the day today to meet Dr. Cade and I gave him a tour of our office. We're located in the office building at the north-east end of Summerlin Hospital. Click HERE to see our website (hopefully we'll get an updated picture soon since three of those people are no longer there).

Wish me luck... and please remember me in your prayers.

Dr. Randy Gubler

(Dr. Cade's business partner who is also in our office)