Teenager in the House!

We are officially now the parents of a teenager! We try to do something special for our kiddos on their birthday, and this year, Mason chose a vacation to nearby Glenwood Springs - something ALL of us could enjoy!

Our first stop was at the Georgetown Loop railroad. A beautiful ride - and not too long. A lot of history.


The reason it's called the Georgetown Loop is because the valley it runs up is too steep to go straight, but too narrow to do switchbacks. So they created a loop where it goes around and then crosses over itself, as you can see in the following photo.

Then on we went toward Glenwood Springs. The next morning, we took a GORGEOUS hike up to Hanging Lake. It was only a couple miles to the top, but they were pretty treacherous miles... full of rocks and steep grades. Oh, but it was SOOOOO worth it!




There were plenty of places to stop for a rest...

But not for long, as this is what was waiting for us when we reached the top:

Needless to say, photos would never do it justice. On the way down, we were so proud to pass all the people going up who would look at little Maddox and say, "He made it all the way to the top?" to which we smiled and said, "Yes, all by himself!"

The trip down also brought about a hiking mascot. Morgan held him for a long time until he finally felt comfortable enough to come out.

Okay, enough of that gorgeous hike... we've got lots more to do. We took a trip up to Adventure Park and found something new this time - a Spelunking Box! This thing was wild - a huge "box" with slat sides so you can see in/out, and it's basically a maze to train people how to go caving... or to see if they can HANDLE it!

I was small enough to be able to do it, but I didn't get 3 feet in there before I made the kids behind me get back out so I could escape! I could already feel my heart pounding and didn't want to get in the middle of it and panic!

The boys (all 3) loved it, though, and went through it many times.
While at the park, we also tried out some mechanical bull riding!



After the park, we took a swim in the hot springs... what a GORGEOUS place...

And then we had a special dinner for the birthday boy.

Our last adventure for this trip was to rent some bikes and go for a fun ride through the canyon. The original plan was for the older boys to ride a tandem, me ride solo, and Michael to pull Maddox in a trailer. Well, the tandem was too big for the older boys - and even too big for me in the front, so the only way it would work was for Michael to pilot the tandem, which forced me to pull the trailer. Whew! Let's just say I burned a few calories that day... been a long time since I pulled a kiddo on a bike.



Overall, a wonderful, wonderful trip... like all of ours usually are!

Michele

Mason is 13

Happy birthday to our new teenager!

Reunited!

A recent trip back to Dallas allowed me a much-needed opportunity to reunite with some of my favorite gals!

From left to right, this is Carey, Jazen, Jill, me, and Angie. The only one missing was Stacey, who lives in Mexico now. The six of us together made up a Bible study group... and I use that term loosely because we tended to socialize more than study... but we were together for a long time. Some of my favorite memories include our annual Fall retreats out to Canton where we'd do some serious shopping! Of course, we'd stay up all night eating and gabbin' too... what else would you expect from a group of girlfriends?!

Miss you girls!!
Michele

CBS Leadership Retreat

I was asked to join the Leadership team for CBS (Community Bible Study) this year... I will be one of the children's teachers. They have a retreat each year before the season starts, and this was our group:

From Back to front (I can't remember everyone):

Ruth M, ?, Marilyn B, Patty R, Lorri B 

Melissa W, Martha, Kathy L, Kathy H 

Kim H, Heidi, ?, Deb D

Joy R, me, Lara Z, ?, Paula J

Nina, ? (she was the area director)

Maddox Turned 4

We had a lovely celebration for Maddox's 4th birthday - starting with an early visit from Papaw Larry, who has been working in the Denver area. He brought Maddox a fun new Horton Whoville game that we all (including Dad & Papaw!!) enjoyed playing.

Maddox opened the rest of his birthday presents in the morning...

We always get fabulous new shirts from our dear friends in Scotland! I swear, these are the only clothes my boys wear! Thanks, Auntie Audrey!

Curious George is currently a huge part of Maddox's life.

What could be better than Toy Story Legos?!

...but the BIG present was his new Kettcar! He saw this in a bike store a few months back and we never heard the end of it.


We gave Maddox the choice of what we would do on his birthday, and he chose to go to the "Butterfly Kabillion" (aka: Pavillion). We've been there a couple times already and it's such a fun place to go... Maddox is now brave enough to hold Rosie the tarantula every time.

...and take a look at this gorgeous specimen!

Afterwards, Maddox chose Chick-fil-A for his birthday dinner!

And back at home, he enjoyed his birthday cake that Momma made SPECIAL for him (no milk or eggs)!

In the morning, his big brothers helped him put together the Toy Story Legos... it was wonderful to watch that.

And lastly, here is the masterpiece that big brothers made for him with all the leftover boxes!

What a wonderful time... we are so truly blessed. We love our little guy...

Michele

Backpackin' With Dad

Michael and the big boys have been getting their fair share of outdoor time together this summer. A couple weekends ago, they went backpacking up on Mt. Evans. You saw how they looked when they were preparing to go... well, here are some photos from their trip.

They hiked in a couple miles and then made camp here. Michael said that the stream next to their tent got so loud at night that he started to think it was going to carry them away!

The next day, they took a day hike... 10 miles or so.



Beautiful, isn't it?


Hopefully Maddox will be ready for some backpacking soon... I'm ready to go with them!
Michele

A Boy and His Cat...

There is definitely a special bond between our beloved Katie and Morgan. It's been there since he was a toddler and Kate would snuggle up with him in bed. You can refer back to this post to read more about it. But these photos capture their love for each other beautifully.

In the afternoons, we often find Kate sunning herself at the back door. Her fur becomes so soft and warm...

Katie is in kidney failure now. She's 15, and we don't know how much longer she'll be with us. I will cherish these photos forever.

A special kittie... and a special boy... sharing a special bond. Priceless.

Michele