Goofin' Around

Erica sending her binkies up to the sky. She wasn't too sure about this.

Bye, bye binkies!

Justin introducing Marie to Pink Floyd & Muse.
It put her right to sleep.

The girls, naked as always, picking cherry tomatoes out of the garden.

Our little diva

Arrrr...

Estes Park

Last weekend, we took a family trip to Estes Park for a visit with David and Gail Skinner. They have a beautiful home with guesthouse on the mountain side. They were gracious enough to give us a tour of the Stanley Hotel and take us on a riverwalk through town. We also went to Estes Lake in hopes of swimming and bike riding, but the weather did not cooperate. We had a great time, though, and hope to make this trip a yearly tradition.For those of you that don't know, Erica is named after their son Eric, who passed away. Eric was a close friend to Justin and went to school with both of us. It was great to finally get to know his parents and share in some of their memories.

The back side of the Stanley Hotel

Erica and Gail on the riverwalk


David and Justin at the playground


Trying on hats at a western hat shop

Elizabeth in front of Estes Lake

Pat's Retirement

My Aunt Pat retired from nursing this summer, so we all got together for a celebration. Even family from out of town made it for the occasion, including a surprise visit from her grand kids. As usual, I didn't take enough pictures, but here's a sample.

Pat opening gifts

Aunt Susie and Uncle Dave

Natalie hamming it up

Playing the kids version of street ball

Justin and little Ben hanging together

Cheyenne Mountain Zoo

We were able to make it to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo a couple times this summer. As always, the summer flew past us and we didn't get to do half as much as we wanted to. Anyway, here are some of the fun things we did and saw.

Jade with a Cockatiel at the Budgie Buddy Center

Petting a baby wallaby

Hanging with the elephants

Wow. What a size difference.

The Petting Zoo Area

Joseph and Erica on the Carousel

(Joseph wasn't too sure about this ride)

Crossing the "secret path"

Jade and Nathan