Hiking Flying J

Yes, another hike... there are SOOOOOOO many wonderful trails to hike, it's going to take us a year to see them all! This was a quick one that the boys and I went on last week... it's just a couple miles down the road from us.

I decided to chance this hike with the 2 year old AND the dog... without Michael. Big mistake. It was not a stress-free hike by any means, but it certainly was BEAUTIFUL!



Some Colorado education for you here... this is the state flower - the Columbine. It's actually on the endangered list right now because so many people pick them. There's big signs at all the trailheads warning hikers NOT to pick them. It was hard convincing Maddox that this flower needed to stay in the ground.

And for my parting shot... one of my all time favorites.

...to think I live just a couple miles from this exquisite beauty!!! God is good!

Michele

Mommas Can Drive Tractors Too!

I never liked cutting the grass... but that was before we had a riding mower and 4 1/4 beautiful acres to cut! (but we don't cut all of that - a lot stays natural). In any case, Michael came out and caught me in the act one day.

Smile, Momma! You're on candid camera!

It's not just another chore... it's an opportunity for me to get in touch with my masculine side! ...now if I could just coax the men in my life to get in touch with their feminine side by cooking and cleaning... or even just changing a diaper every now & then!

Hugs,
Michele

Rice Krispie Treats...

Now that we're in the mountains, we're discovering that groceries don't necessarily like being at 7,800 feet of elevation. For instance, it's nearly impossible to open a yogurt container without it "spitting" yogurt all over the place. New bags of chips? They are so puffed up and tight that you'd think they're going to explode at any moment. And many times, the extra pressure in bottles gives them a rounded bottom and they won't stand up. Just something to get used to!

But this one topped them all... I bought the ingredients to make my boys some Rice Krispie treats the other night, and when I went to retrieve them from the cupboard, this was what I found:

I assure you, it was NOT like this when I bought it! I guess that last few hundred feet from the grocery store to my house put it over the edge... literally!

Oh well, it still made for some good Rice Krispie treats!

Michele

EJs Visit

My oldest nephew, EJ, was in the Denver area for a Young Life camp and he accidentally scheduled his flight home to Dallas a day too late. But that was great news for us!! I went and picked him up at the airport and we got to visit with him for a day before he went back home! It was great to see him...

And as always, Maddox was quite taken with his big cousin. In fact, he was infatuated with how EJ always wore his hat backwards. After EJ left, I saw that Maddox discovered a whole new "look"...

It was great to see you, EJ... you're welcome here ANY time!!

Aunt Miki

Concert at the Lake

Yes, this is my fourth post today... and yes, it's my birthday (for about another 52 minutes). I don't have any birthday photos to share with you (I had a wonderful day)... but I'm so far behind on posting that I need to crank these out! I hope you enjoy the catch-up...

Evergreen puts on some summer concerts out at the lake... we went to one while Tyler was with us. It was VERY crowded, but a beautiful evening was had by all.

I love watching Michael & Maddox wrestle...



Tyler's just another big brother as far as Maddox is concerned!


Mason & Morgan WERE there with us, but they were out mingling with all the people and apparently unavailable for photos. :)

Michele

Tyler's Visit

A couple weeks ago, we had an opportunity to host Tyler Thomson for a whole week! He's the oldest son of our neighbors back in Allen... great friends whom we miss terribly! In any case, we were thrilled to have him... and as you saw from the two previous posts, he did some hiking with Michael and the boys while I was at the homeschool convention. But here are a couple of shots of him here at the house enjoying our great outdoors.

He helped us with a lot of yard work... hauling slash (tree limbs) and working on our 4-wheeler trail:

...and then just messing around on the zip line for fun:

Tyler, we thoroughly enjoyed having you... Debra & Scott - thanks for letting him come!

Michele

Red Rocks Ampitheatre

As I mentioned in the last post, the boys went to the famous Red Rocks Ampitheatre after their trip up Mt. Falcon. We've hiked here before, but didn't make it up here... as you can see, it's quite a trek and Maddox was already tired.

See Mason waving?! It's a long way up there! But look at this cool NATURAL ampitheatre... it's hard to see in this next photo, but Mason & Morgan are standing in the middle of the stage. Michael was halfway up the bleachers and he said he could hear the boys talking in their regular voices. Pretty cool!




Someday soon we plan to go and watch a live concert here! Wanna join us?

Michele