Fruita

In late October, all five of us (plus Abbey) took a trip out to Fruita, Colorado to do some mountain bike riding. 

In this next photo, you can see in the distance where our friends, Trey and Heidi, camped.  We hung out with them during the day, but we spent the night in a hotel in town. 

It may not look too pretty from that photo, but here are a couple shots of the beautiful fall color.

Maddox and I hung out a lot while the big guys were out riding... most of it was way too hard for us! Morgan had to hang back too, since his knee was all bummed up.  Here's a shot from a fun loop that Maddox could do all by himself while Abbey and I walked:

Morgan's Bummed Knee

During a mountain bike ride with Dad and Mason, Morgan took a tumble and boogered up his knee pretty badly.  It required medical attention, and since they were at the top of the hill and sundown was quickly approaching, Morgan bravely decided to coast his way back down to the truck.  Michael took him to the ER, where he bravely endured all that they had to do to him in order to get it stitched up.  He ended up with 21 stitches - 4 internal and 17 external.  I won't show you the "before" pictures, as they are quite gruesome!!  But here he is all stitched up:

While he was healing, Morgan had to wear a knee brace for about 2 weeks to keep his leg straight.  During this time, Mason had to help out with simple tasks like putting on Morgan's shoes and socks!

 Finally, here it is right before the stitches came out.

Family Portraits

We hired a photographer this season to get some good shots of the family - and she delivered!  The fall is the absolute best time for color here in the mountains, with the aspen trees just exploding in gold.  You have probably seen most of these photos since I used them on our Christmas card, but here is the complete set.

 

Living History Day

Twice a year, an organization called Visionheirs puts on a fantastic day of history for anyone to come enjoy.  We've been twice now, and it never fails to disappoint!

In addition to amazing re-enactments of pre-Civil War battles, there are booths set up outside to teach kids how things "used to be"... which is right up my alley!  They teach kids how log homes and furniture are built - BEFORE power tools.  Below, the boys are working with an old fashioned planer and watching a man make a candlestick on a foot-powered lathe.

Here, we are learning how to dip candles.  We went home with three nice tapers.

The boys especially enjoyed the booths on gun making.  Below, they were trying their hand at starting a fire with a piece of flint.

 And our day wasn't complete until they each got to hold a chicken.  :)

Papaw & Lois Visit!

We had a pleasant surprise the end of September when Ed & Lois called and said they were in Colorado!  They took some time out to come visit us, and we enjoyed their company by having lunch on the patio.  Aside from the pesky bees (they were bad this season!), we had a lovely time!

Mason Turns 14!

Mason's birthday began with presents in the morning.  He received goodies from Scotland, fun toys from his brothers...

 ...and then the big surprise - the Death Star Lego set!

He was completely surprised by this gift, but super excited to get started!  Take a look at the size of the instruction book!

 He and Morgan got started right away...

Mason chose to have swiss steak for dinner, and the weather was so pleasant that we ate out on the patio.

His birthday cake came from Baskin Robbins.

 On a separate night, we took him to the Melting Pot - a restaurant that the boys have been dying to go to!  The big boys started off with some fancy yin-yang cocktail (can't remember the name, but it actually had a yin-yang on the top!).

They loved experiencing the art of fondue, but the best was dessert, starting with this fancy birthday sundae for Mason.

 

Back at home, construction on the Death Star continues.

And here it is finally completed!

Guvernator Reunion 2011

When mentioning the highlights of my life, I would have to include our biennial Guvernator reunions in Oklahoma.  They mean more to me than I can express with words.  Here are some group photos from our reunion this year... there are so many snapshots I'd like to include, but it would take an entry way too long!  You can visit our Shutterfly site if you want to see all of them.  Contact me for the link.

Guvernator Family Reunion 2011

First Generation

First Generation and Spouses

The Jim Guvernator Family

The Muenks Family

The Ken Guvernator Family

The Obermark Family