Fall Fun

We were so lucky to actually have a fall this year and we were able to spend a lot of time outdoors. Here are a few pics that captured our fall fun.

Up bright and early for the Balloon classic launch in September

Justin dressed up as his dad for Halloween

Anyone who has seen his dad knows how scary this is!

Jade was a ninja and Erica was a medieval princess

Playing in the leaves

"Watch out...here I come!"

It's Football Season

Rather than play soccer this season, Jade decided to give football a try. As you can see from the pictures, Jade is the only girl on the team and by far, the smallest. But she sure is fast. She isn't aggressive enough for offense or defensive line, so she primarily plays safety or linebacker. At first she wasn't so sure she had picked the right sport (and neither were we), but with a little practice and some help from dad, she has figured things out and really enjoys playing. We'll see if she decides to continue next year.

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

June 2010

I can't belive it has been a month since I have been on this. Summer is finally here and June completely flew past us. I took a trip with the girls to the Royal Gorge (with a little help from Luke) and on the Royal Gorge train ride. Jade had Vacation Bible School the second week, and the third & fourth weeks were spent at the pool for some fun & swim lessons. We also celebrated the birth of our newest neice, Marie Adelaide on June 13th. At the end of the month, we went camping with Sean and Kathy at the Sand Dunes. Justin's Aunt and Uncle visited from Florida and treated us all to a wonderful fish fry. Our friend Nana also visited from New York during the same week. And now June is over, and we are already celebrating the 4th of July. This month should be much slower, thankfully.

Jade lost her first tooth

Trip to the Royal Gorge

Petting zoo at the Gorge

Rebecca & Elizabeth on the Sky Coaster

Arriving at the hospital to see baby Marie

Marie Adelaide

Nana and Justin

Sean, Kathy, Emily, & Nathan at the Sand Dunes

At the Sand Dunes

Mesa Verde

A few weeks ago, I took a solo road trip down to Mesa Verde and Durango. I had not been to Mesa Verde and had been wanting to go for many years. It was an incredible experience. Ancient architecture has always been a passion of mine and to see it in person still amazes me.
After a six hour drive, I arrived in Cortez, CO on Thursday evening. I had dinner and relaxed the rest of the night. I got up early Friday morning (because of course I couldn't sleep in) and headed into Mesa Verde Park. I spent a majority of the day there touring around and purchasing gifts for the family. Then, again, I spent a relaxing evening at the hotel. Saturday, I drove up to Durango where I stayed with friends, Mike and Wendy. I got a tour of Durango and the surrounding area and then went back to the house for a BBQ. I returned home Sunday afternoon (mother's day) to a beautifully cleaned house and was treated to dinner. I wish I could say my battery was recharged after the trip, but I've been going so hard before and since that I don't feel much different. But I am still very glad to have gotten away and I was very happy to return.

Cliff Palace

One of the largest cliff dwellings in the world.

An open Kiva

A place used for religious purposes.

A Kiva still intact.

Ancient artwork

Jade's Musical & Field Day

Jade had her first musical a few weeks ago called Nuts. In it, the kindergartners were nuts (Jade was an acorn) and first graders were squirrels. I think Jade had a bit of stage fright because her lips did not move much and she had a deer-in-the-headlights look most of the performance. She did know the actions to the songs, though, as she participated in that without any problems. It was really cute.

Jade finished school on Thursday. Wednesday was field day and everyone's families were invited to attend. I remember that being one of my favorite days of the year. I think it will be Jade's too.

Jade's [awesome] teachers: Mrs. Moore & Mrs. Metke