The Shack Across the Street

We see this little place every time we leave our neighborhood.

Simple little place, wouldn't you agree? Certainly nobody lives in it... but it may be nice for storage, or possibly a horse?

Then what the heck is THIS doing bolted to the side??

That's one pampered horse.

Michele

One of the Best Days Ever...

Maddox and I went to a local safety exhibit this morning, and we had the BEST time! Maddox got to do all sorts of cool stuff...

For starters, he rode a 4-wheeler his OWN size!

Then he got fitted with a new bicycle helmet (only a $5 donation - can't beat that!)...

...and he went for a spin on their cool tricycles. He's just beginning to pedal on his own. Next week we'll have him on the 3 Sisters ride with the big boys. :)

Then he got to sit inside a firetruck!

But it got even better, because the COOLEST thing he got to do was dress up like a REAL FIREMAN!!


Then the fireman took him on a training course where he had to help drag the person to safety...

...and carry the hoses...

...and even put out a fire with a REAL hose!!

High fives all around! Don't let his serious expression fool you - he was having a BLAST!

For a boy, this had to be one of the best days ever.

...and it wasn't so bad for Mom, either. :)

Michele

Momma's Little Helper

The big boys are used to having a list of chores to do each day, but on a good day... on a VERY good day... I can get an extra little helper.

And when this little guy decides to help, it is HANDS OFF, Momma. In other words, he either does it ALL or nothing at all.

Beggars can't be choosers, I guess!

Michele

Our Future Cyclist

Michael was getting for a ride one day and then here comes Maddox to find me...

Apparently, Maddox wanted to get some gear on too.

Those of you who know my brother, Mark... well, this is just about what he looked like when HE was 2 years old. This is definitely a Guvernator kid!

Michele

Buffalo Bill's Wild West

Here we are at Buffalo Bill's grave site. We got lucky when one of these lookout thingies still had some time on it.

The boys enjoyed getting a birds eye view of Denver down below...

Well, two of the boys did, anyway!

Once inside the museum, we learned all about William F. Cody, aka Buffalo Bill. We watched a movie on him and saw all sorts of memorabilia from his wild life. The kids even got to dress up like him!

Okay, so not exactly like him, but we had to work with what was there.

Maddox had a great time on this horse... until some old ladies came along and wanted a turn. Darn them!

And then here we are at the actual grave site of Buffalo Bill and his wife Louisa. It is quite surreal to stand here knowing that thousands of people paraded up the mountain to pay their last respects to one of America's best loved sons.

His burial in this location was quite controversial. The town of Cody, Wyoming - the town that Buffalo Bill helped establish - thought he should be buried there, and an early will stated that's where he wanted to be buried. But he later changed his will and left his burial arrangements to his wife, Louisa. She claims (and has substantial backing) that Buffalo Bill changed his mind and that his final wish was to be buried on Lookout Mountain overlooking Denver - the city where he died in January of 1917. Once he was buried, there were threats that his body would be stolen and returned to Wyoming, so they stationed a tank next to the grave for safekeeping.

Interesting stuff...
Michele

Hiking at Lookout Mountain

Once again, Daddy took a break from work and we went on a little morning field trip. This time we drove up Lookout Mountain and visited the Nature Center up there - it's pretty neat! There's a little trail outside of it, so we hiked it. Here's a couple of good shots from that hike.



While we were up there, we visited Buffalo Bill's grave site. I'll show those pictures to you on my next post.

Michele

One Happy Dog

This is our dog...

Her name is Abbey and she's almost 6 years old. Our 4-1/4 acre haven here in Colorado has made her a very happy, happy dog.

I believe she has lost at least 6-8 pounds since we've been here. Wanna know why?

You see that black thing she's looking at up the tree? That's an Ebert squirrel. Here's a picture of one (I did not take this photo - I found it online):

Strange looking little creatures, but they are very good at taunting our dog. She'll chase one up a tree and then it'll come down just out of her reach to flick it's tail at her. They also chatter at her... perhaps it's their way of laughing!

Drives her nuts! If she could - just - reach - one...

Alas, she never catches one. So here she sits... just waiting for the next squirrel... or deer... or rabbit... or elk... or basically anything that moves.

That's one happy, happy dog right there.

Michele

Look What the Rain Brought Us

We've had quite a bit of rain these last few days - something we're told is very unusual. But it has certainly turned our brown yard very green indeed! And very green grass has lots of furry admirers.

This was just one of about 6 in the near vicinity... and as you can tell by the stairs to the left, this one was RIGHT out our back door!

Although this sight is quite common up here, it's still fascinating to us "city-folk"! And I can tell you that no one is more intrigued than our dog. Can you imagine her surprise at seeing THIS creature at her back door! More on Abbey later...

Michele

Hi-Ho Cherry-O!

We're a big game playing family, and as you can see, we start 'em young! These photos speak for themselves... just wanted to share.


We'll have him playing chess with the big boys next week.

I'll have you know, Morgan kept Daddy playing for a good half-hour or more!

Michele

My Boys... the Architects

If you know my boys, then you know how much they love to build things. One day last week, I came downstairs and saw this contraption:

They made a swing for Dottie and Sampson, their beloved animals. Where do they come UP with this stuff?!

Michele

The Calm Before the Storm

After church, Michael showed Mason how to cut the grass with the tractor.

It's a right of passage that every boy must encounter.

Mason was all too eager to learn! Morgan is learning to use the push mower since he's not quite tall enough to keep the tractor running (have to put weight on the seat or it shuts off). Was a lovely morning, but it wasn't two hours later that this happened:

A nice little hail storm!


See it accumulating in the yard? When I had Mason hold it for this picture, he said it reminded him of something...

Dippin' Dots!! (You know, that "Ice Cream of the Future" that's kind of become the "Ice Cream of the Past"?)

Michele

All Dressed Up For Church

I love it when the boys get dressed up. Here they are this morning, all ready for church:

Granted, we're not too fancy, but this is considered "gussied up" in this house. Plus Mason got a new pair of shoes last night!

Now, I must mention that Maddox does, in fact, have arms. But when I asked him to put his arms in front of him, this is what I got:

His display of "Awwww, MOM. Do I HAVE to?" Notice the slumped shoulders and sour expression.

I think I liked him better with no arms. Oh well. Sometimes it's just better to let Maddox be Maddox. :)

Happy Memorial Day, everyone!
Michele

Sneak Peek at Lookout Mountain

Several days ago, the boys and I drove up Lookout Mountain just to have a... well... look! (Everything is so appropriately named here... "Red Rocks", "Lookout Mountain"... Michael's been riding the "Lair of the Bear" trail... do I have cause to worry?!) We didn't hike any of the trails on this mountain yet, but here are a couple of nice shots from our sneak peek up there.

Before we got back in the truck, I wanted to get a shot of Maddox in front of the view. After a couple of unsuccessful shots, I finally got this one.

The funny thing about this one - do you see how he's pointing? Do you see his cute expression? Well, on the ground in front of him just happened to be a package of his favorite special candy - Smarties. I don't know where it came from, but it was just so strange that it found it's way in front of MY son. Of course, he had a hard time understanding why he couldn't HAVE his newfound treasure. But I promised him a clean one when we got home, and down the mountain we headed.

Michele