Larry's 50th Birthday!

Larry turns 50 on Monday! We celebrated by having a party at the Wyncoop Brewery last Friday and we had friends come and play pool and offer a birthday toast for his new lease on life.
We had the 50 birthday balloons and great conversation. Thank you to everyone who showed up and made his birthday such a fun milestone!

Rebecca gave him a heart rate watch for his birthday. He had wanted this ever since he left the hospital after his heart surgery. Here's to his continual good health!

So if you haven't done so, drop a line and wish Larry Happy 50th! You can respond to this blog or email him at ldzent@gmail.com.

Larry's Defibrillator Check-up Results

Larry had his last defibrillator check-up this morning. All went well! They informed him that his heart rate will need to reach 188 before the defibrillator will go off. This higher than most. Older adults, usually have it set around 160. So, he shouldn't having any trouble hiking next summer!
Cardio therapy will help him push his heart rate in a healthy manner. He looks forward to getting started with that in the next week or so. He longs for a heart monitor watch to guage his heart rate when exercising.

Rebecca's 34th Birthday

My birthday yesterday was relaxing and beautiful. The weather was 80 degrees with a great breeze, and sunshine. We had breakfast out and then went up Flagstaff Mountain. We hiked a bit around, and Larry did superbly! Then we went to our favorite spot, overlooking the Indian Peaks and took photos. It was a spur of the moment idea to go, so we didn't bring a picnic lunch or any real water bottles. We hope in the upcoming weekends to go back and take a drive on the Peak to Peak highway in hopes to see the Aspen change. We'll definitely bring a picnic then.

I actually was dedicated enough to make it to the gym and get in a 5 minute workout. That makes five times to the gym in one week. I'm making progress.

Our friends Deb and Grant had us over for burritos and card games. Grant's recipe for the burritos was delicious! They were made with ground turkey, hominy, spinach, cerano chiles, and cheese. They were dynamite! As usual, the girls won at canasta again and Deb won at piles. She's really lucky at cards.

Overall, it was a great day. We all need days like that!

Life Lesson

Everything has its wonders, even darkness and silence, and I learn whatever state I am in, therin to be content.
~ Helen Keller

Sorry for all the life lessons. But I learn from others and their profound outlook on life. -Rebecca

Life Lesson

I care not so much what I am to others as what I m to myself.
~ Michel de Montaigne

I still believe that to serve is the biggest reward anyone will receive in this world. However, there is a certain strength in knowing who you are. Both for yourself and with God. -Rebecca

Jane Lessons

This is a "twist' on Life Lessons. I'm a big fan of Jane Austen nd I've decided to entitled these blurbs, Jane Lessons. - Rebecca

If any one faculty of our nature may be called more wonderful than the rest, I do think it is memory. There seems something more speakingly incomprehensible in the powers, the failures, the inequalities of memory, than in any other of our intelligences. The memory is sometimes so retentive, so serviceable, so obedient; at others, so bewildered and so weak; and at others again, so tyrannic, so beyond control! We are, to be sure, a miracle every way; but our powers of recollecting and of forgetting do seem peculiarly past finding out.
~ Jane Austen, Mansfield Park

Life Lesson

We have all a better guide in ourselves, if we would attend to it, than any other person can be.
~ Jane Austen, Mansfield Park

More Photos From The Wedding

Catherine dancing with her Uncle, Tom Branch. He really knows how to cut up the dance floor. And he was honored to read a limerick he created just for her and Robert.

Sarah exhausted after the wedding, taking cat nap with her father, Craig. How precious is this!

All family got to hang out at Katie's house after the ceremony. What a great way to end a perfect day...

Larry and Rebecca got to take a peak at the Japanese Gardens. (not nearly as nice as the one in Portland, OR)

Larry before the wedding, asking why Rebecca is taking his photo.

Rebecca holding Edwick before the ceremony. He's just too cute!

Cousin Catherine's Wedding

Rebecca's cousin, Catherine Cleary, married Robert Maunton on Saturday, September 1 at 11:30am at the Denver Botanical Gardens. The weather was beautiful for the ceremony with sunshine and a few clouds. The Romantic Gardens was the venue for their vows, and how romantic it was! What's great about going to Rebecca's family weddings, is that it's a great opportunity for a family reunion. All her father's cousin show up and it's a blast to reacquaint yourself with the family. Another great bonus, is that they know how to throw a great party and are extremely hospitable.

The ceremony was led by Cousin Sarah, Raleigh's daughter. We all missed Raleigh tremendously on this day and will always remember the rainy "rehearsal dinners" she always hosted. Perhaps it's a good luck charm. Needless to say, Raleigh was not forgotten on Saturday, as Sarah brought her legacy into the ceremony. Sarah is a new mom, and Edrick, her four month old son, was the life of the celebration as well. A true depiction of how life comes full circle.

Edrick immediately took to his younger cousins, as they cooed and fussed over him right before the ceremony. He's such a joyous little one!

Even Robert was tickled by Edrick sleeping so peacefully in his arms, while mom was having a photo shoot.

The ceremony began with Catherine's brother, Bill Hewlitt, playing acoustic guitar and her cousin Betsy playing the violin. This is traditional for our family. It's a great touch and fabulous rhythm!

Sarah presented Catherine to Robert in such a way that was honorable, romantic, and spiritual all at once. The vows were similar to ours, as the foundation was borrowed from Sarah's wedding over 4 years ago.

Lauren, Catherine's daughter, looked beautiful in her tailored-made, sage green dress. And Catherine was radiant in her wedding gown, her design. It's hard to imagine Lauren grown up into a mature woman, after seeing her skiing competitions at 13 and having her give her first toast at her graduation party. She is a delight to behold!

The wedding party consisted of mostly family members:

Cousins Bill and Betsy ~Music

Cousin Lauren ~ Maid of Honor

Robert's Best Friend, Larry ~Best Man

Cousin Katie ~ Scripture Reading

and Cousin Sarah ~ Minister