Magis Night (Friday and Saturday, February 27th and 28th, 2016)

Our dear friend Dawn works for Arrupe Jesuit High School, which is a very unique and impressive high school in the Denver area. It makes a college preparatory education an attainable goal for a diverse group of students who may otherwise not have access to that opportunity.

Each year Arrupe Jesuit holds a fundraiser night, called Magis Night to help raise money for the school.  This night entails a cocktail hour and silent auction followed by a dinner and presentations, a live auction and opportunity for straight cash donations.  

The staff at Arrupe work for months in preparation for this night. Planning the event, getting speakers, accumulating items for the auctions, securing the venue, and the list goes on and on.  And when it comes down to the final hours, some extra help is always greatly appreciated.  So each year Steve and I and at least one of our girls helps Dawn prepare for the silent auction portion of the evening. 

This year, on Friday morning, I arrived at Dawn's house at 7:30 to help her load up the U-Haul moving van that we use every year to move silent auction items from her house and the school to the Sheraton Hotel in Downtown Denver where the event will be held. 
But when I arrived this year, the truck was already loaded. Dawn and Steve had been up late the night before waiting for the arrival of out of town guests (who were also here to help with the silent auction), and they had loaded the entire truck, so that made our morning very, very easy.

Since her guests arrived so late last night (after 24 hours of travel), they decided to sleep in instead of heading to the Sheraton early with us.  So Dawn and I jumped in the U-Haul and headed to the school where we would pick up more items.  

When we arrived at the school, everyone jumped into action, including staff and many students, helping to move boxes and boxes of silent auction items from the school to the moving van, but it became clear very quickly that we were not going to have enough room in the moving van, so Dawn also grabbed her truck so we could load it up too. In addition to that, it also required two SUV's to move the more fragile items.  Whew!

Once we got to the loading docks at the Sheraton, there was another crew waiting for us there, to help unload all of the precious cargo we had hauled downtown.  They immediately went to work, unloading all of the vehicles and loading everything onto the freight elevators to be once again unloaded on the correct floor and then moved to the event area.

As always, this huge freight elevator got a really good work out!

It is amazing what a well oiled machine this is.  Everyone knows what to do, and they all do such a fantastic job keeping everything moving!

Decorations in waiting

And so much assembly, especially in the children's section

Once Dawn took care of everything she needed to do, we headed back to the high school and I took her truck home for her so it wouldn't be stranded at the school.  I was not part of the Friday evening setup, but there was definitely a lot happening behind the scenes while I was away.

The ballroom was set up for all of the guests, and the speakers were practicing their speeches

The registration table

Silent auction items were beautifully arranged and ready for the guests.  Steve and our oldest daughter do some last minute preps in the kids section

The  wine table items are beautifully arranged with bid cards

Every table is meticulously designed for the ease of the guests

Steve and I excited and ready to help with the silent auction

The beautiful centerpieces in the ballroom

And the ballroom is starting to come to life

The guests will be greeted by the themed display at the entry

Look at this amazing hand painted item for bid at the silent auction

Each year many of Dawn's friends and family come to help her with this huge event.  These are amazing people, and I love everyone of them!

Many years an artist paints during the silent auction, his finished product will be auctioned off during the live auction at the end of the night

Each of the volunteers is responsible for an area of the silent auction.  We mingled with the guests, answered questions, and work hard to see that the silent auction is running smoothly.  All of the attendees are such amazing people, and so much fun to talk to. We really have a fun job!  

Dawn puts all of the kids to work selling raffle tickets during the silent auction, so this is where our oldest daughter stepped in.  This also gives them a chance to talk to all of the guests, and enjoy the night.  They also helped with the live auction at the end of the presentations.  They always have a great time, and feel good about how they spent their evening.

Each volunteer has a bidding number and is able to bid on all of the items up for auction.  Steve, our daughter and I worked hard for several items this year, but were outbid multiple times on all of them.  So even though we didn't get our items, we are happy that they went to a good home, and that Arrupe benefited from our loss. We have actually been successful bidders in year's past, and have come home with some really nice items. 

Hundreds of guests enjoy a fabulous dinner and presentation

And when the silent auction is over, and the guests are all seated, we begin to move all of the silent auction items into the pickup area.  This job requires a lot of teamwork and organization to make sure that the right items go to the correct people.  Dawn is the most organized person I know, to be able to organize all of us volunteers and flawlessly deliver the silent auction items to their rightful owners year after year! 

Our oldest daughter and I organizing the jewelry after the silent auction has closed 

Organized items waiting to be delivered to the pickup room

Once all of the silent auction items are moved to the pickup room, they are organized for delivery.  The silent auction volunteers then take on new roles of delivering items, helping guests, collecting name tags, clean up, and so many others.  

Steve, our girls and I have been part of this amazing event for the last five years.  It truly brings joy to our hearts to think of all of the deserving kids who will benefit from the generosity of others!  We feel very honored and privileged to be included!  Thank you Dawn for another great year!

For more information about Arrupe Jesuit High School, which we obtained from their website, please feel free to keep reading.  The success rate of their students is a testament to the quality of this school!

• Arrupe Jesuit serves an ethnically diverse group of over 380 adolescent boys and girls. 
• 90% of their student body is Hispanic, 1% African-American, 2% Asian, 3% Caucasian, and 4% of other nationalities.  
• Nearly 78% of Arrupe students qualify for the federal free/reduced lunch program. 
• Arrupe Jesuit charges the lowest tuition of any private high school in Denver and is the only school able to fund 100% of families’ assessed financial need. 
• 93% of Arrupe Jesuit students receive financial aid to offset tuition.
• Arrupe Jesuit is preparing students for success in college and beyond.
• All 85 members of the Class of 2015 were accepted to at least one college or university of their choice, with 92% being accepted to a four-year institution. 
• 92% of the Class of 2014 were the first in their family to attend college; 44% were the first to graduate high school.
• Members of the Class of 2015 were accepted to 43 colleges and universities across the country, and are attending 21 different schools this year. 
• The Class of 2015 has earned over $6.23 million in scholarships to date.

Arrupe Jesuit High School is a response to a critical community need. Fewer than half of Colorado’s African-American, Latino, and American Indian students graduate from high school, versus 75% of white students.

In 2004, 78% of Colorado’s white students scored proficient or advanced on CSAP reading tests, compared to only 40% of Latino and 47% of African-American students.  In 2002 only 22% of Colorado’s low-income students went on to college, ranking the state 35th in the nation; only 11% of 18-24 year-old Latinos were enrolled in college at the time.

The Corporate Work Study Program provides a financial backbone that makes Arrupe’s education possible. Students work at over 120 area businesses, including law firms, health centers, banks, government offices, and nonprofits. Students earn approximately 65% of their tuition by working five days per month in an area business and a modest tuition contribution from their families. Corporate sponsors have responded enthusiastically to Arrupe Jesuit’s program.  I obtained the above information from Arrupe's website which is located at http://www.arrupejesuit.com/

A Quick Stop in Mesa (Tuesday, February 24th, 2016)

While we were in Havasu, we decided that it would be great to stop in Mesa, AZ for a few days on our way home to see my parents. Since my mom was sick for our oldest daughter's graduation, it has been a long time since we have seen them.  So we left Monday morning and enjoyed the four hour drive from Lake Havasu City to Mesa.  There were a lot of wild flowers in bloom, so it was really pretty!  

We had a nice dinner out with my parents on Monday night, and enjoyed a low-key day with them on Tuesday.  Steve and my dad had a chance to play a little pickleball, which my dad had never played before, so hopefully he enjoyed it enough to play again.  I was a little under the weather again, so we spent some time out on their back porch just enjoying the weather and picking citrus fruit to bring home.

My parents had purchased tickets to a show that they enjoy with their friends each year, so when we called to say that we would be coming for a short visit, they picked up a couple more tickets for us as well.  The show is called Bernie and Red, and is a musical comedy duo that travels around the country entertaining snowbirds. They are from Liverpool, England but currently reside in Canada. They recently celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary and have spent their entire married life entertaining others.  They have 16 different shows that they perform in different places, throughout the year.  

We met up with my parent's friends at one of the manufactured home parks in Mesa where we would be watching the show.  I meant to get a picture of my parents and their friends, but just forgot.  Darn!  But here are a few pictures of the Bernie and Red Show.

Such a cute and talented couple!

We really enjoyed the show, and the company of my parent's and their friends.  They are all such great people, and I am so happy that my parents have found them.  The following morning Steve and I left to return to Denver.  The stay with my parents was much too short, but we have commitments in Denver on Thursday and Friday that we have to be home for.  

It was an easy drive with no weather issues, which is always a relief.  As we entered New Mexico from Arizona, we drove into a fog bank, which came and went through much of New Mexico.

Fog and freezing temperatures make for an icy wonderland

The Sandia Mountains in Albuquerque.  The fog had lifted for us, but was still hanging in the foothills

As we passed through Santa Fe, New Mexico, there was no fog, but there had been a snow storm the day before, so we got to see the beautiful aftermath from our car windows.

Quite a change from what we had been experiencing in Arizona!

We see a lot of wind turbine blades on the roads, but I'm always amazed at how big they are

And as we came back into Colorado, we are greeted by the Spanish Peaks once again!

We made a quick stop in Colorado Springs to see the progress of the house that our oldest daughter and her husband are having built. It has a long way to go, but we're making progress.

Now to get settled back in at home, and get ready for our next adventure!

Playing in Paradise and Desert Big Horns (Saturday, February 21st, 2016)

I often talk about how much there is to do and see in Lake Havasu City, so I thought I would share a few of our adventures these last few weeks.  It is almost a little unfair because of the amazing weather we have been having, so I am leaving out boating, jet skiing, paddle boarding, etc. to keep it a little bit more realistic of what a person might do in February in a typical year.

We had one windy day while we were down here, so we met up with Steve's brother Dennis and his wife Cyndi at Rotary Park, which is on the mainland side of the channel at the south end.  Dennis and Steve both brought their stunt kites (two-string) for a kite flying day.  We started out in the baseball fields, but decided that the wind was too gusty, so we moved down onto the beach.  The only problem with kite flying on the beach is that when the kite goes down, it's likely to get wet, and then muddy, but that was a risk we were willing to take.  I actually prefer flying on the beach because I just love the surroundings so much more.

Steve, Dennis and Cyndi.  Even though it was windy, it was still nice and warm!

Later in the day, we decided to stop by our friends house to check on their dog.  They have been out of town for a few days, and although they have a feeder and water for their dog, we were afraid she might still get lonesome, so off we went to see her.  When we got there, she was so excited to see us, so we played ball for a while and just loved up on her.  But within about 20 minutes, she had played enough, and went up on the porch and was done with us.  So cute!  As we were leaving their house, we noticed a roadrunner on the roof of one of the neighbor houses.  We thought this was odd, because we didn't realize that roadrunners could fly.

So when we got home, I did some research, and to our surprise, roadrunners can fly!  My internet research lead me to this beautiful picture of a roadrunner in flight.  Obviously, this is not my own picture, and I appreciate that the internet can help by providing such a beautiful picture!

Our next adventure was remote control float planes.  Steve's brother Dennis is very into radio control planes, and on Tuesday mornings the RC plane club of Lake Havasu was doing a float plane fly out at Rotary Park, so Steve and I decided to go down and watch them for awhile.  As we were waiting for them to set up, we got to enjoy an incredible sunrise!

Looking across Thompson Bay toward California

Looking back toward the Bridge Water Channel at the San Bernardino Mountains

Looking straight across Thompson Bay to the Nautical Inn

Dennis and Steve with Dennis' float plane

Bringing in the plane rescue boat and hoping it's not needed...it was!

We also discovered pickleball while we were down here this time.  It's probably been around for years, but we didn't know there was a club here.  They set up three nets on the basketball courts by the dog park on the island.  They play everyday except for Monday and Wednesday from 8:30 am to noon.  There are also a few indoor locations where they play, but half the reason we play is to be outside, so the outside courts caught our eye.

They only had two nets set up at this point, but there are usually three

Steve and I went down and played with the club one day, and they invited us back to play in a round robin tournament that they were holding later in the week.  So we signed up for the round-robin, and went back later and played.  The round-robin was men first from 8:15 to 10:15, so I dropped Steve off and went to the gym, then came back to the island for my turn.  The women played from 10:30 to 12:30.  It was the perfect thing for Steve and I because almost everyone that signed up was at about our level, and we got to know a lot of new people.  This is definitely something we will start doing while we are down here.  We're not sure if they play in the summer or not, but we'll get it figured out.  

Our next big February adventure was a hike at Sara Park.  Sara Park is located on the south side of town, and is where we went for the fireworks show earlier this trip (see our post "Pyros in Paradise, Feb 12th and 13th). We parked back by the rodeo grounds and took the "Crack in the Mountain" trail. For this hike, you follow the yellow markers, and it will take you all the way down to the lake. Most of it is a normal desert hike, but it has an area about half way down that has some really fun narrows to hike through. 

When we arrived at Sara Park, we realized that there was a mountain bike race happening, and we were not able to park in the normal parking lot.  So we parked down the road and made our way over to the trail.

The race course was on the ridge above our trail for part of the race

Approaching the narrows

I had a bandana on to protect my chest from the sun.  It burns easy!

There used to be a ladder here, but now it's a rope and a Carabineer

My first time repelling.  I'm glad it wasn't too far!

We're almost to the lake.  We are glad as it is hot!

And then after a brief stop at the lake, we started back into the desert, but this time we took the blue trail up and over, instead of through the narrows to take in some different scenery.

You can see our trail from the lake

And then we ran across this family of desert big horns.  It appeared to be a mom, two yearlings and a baby.  Although we really don't know!  They weren't afraid of us at all.  They must see a lot of hikers.

A yearling and the baby

Yearlings and baby

Mama and baby

 What an incredible reward after a nice desert hike!  Everytime we hike in the desert we are amazed at the beauty it holds for us to see.

The next day we caught up with our friends Tim and Cheryl and Brian and Kathy for a trip up main street for the Winterfest Street Fair.  Vendors come in from all over the area and set up a huge craft show for all of us to browse and enjoy.  There are food vendors available, but since it's on Main Street, there are also restaurants that you can duck into for some food or drinks. 

Kiln fired wine bottles!  They're Awesome!

Metal yard art.  I LOVE it!

Cheryl and Kathy enjoying a desert martini (a beer with an olive in it)

Check out this yummy looking food stand!

I loved this sign that was on display.  It truly describes my life!

And here we are ducking into the No Name Public House.  It's new, and I thought it looked sketch, but once you are inside, it is a warm friendly neighborhood bar

It's a boat car!  You can drive it on the road or the lake!

Winterfest was a great end to a fabulous two weeks in Lake Havasu City.  Now we must once again say goodbye to our home away from home, and start thinking about moving on.