Thanksgiving 2010

We had a fantastic trip to Texas for Thanksgiving. We took our time on the drive and stopped a couple places on the way. First was Cadillac Ranch in Amarillo just before sundown!


It's amazing how these cars are still in tact (mostly). They're covered with layers and layers of spray paint! There were several people there painting them while we were there - I had to warn the boys to be careful where they sit!






Next, we pulled over at a cotton farm and "borrowed" a little of the cotton to see it up close. That's homeschooling in action!


Here's a close-up of how cotton looks before it pops out of the bud and after.

Mom and Dad took us to the oil museum near their house. Yes, more homeschooling! It was very interesting...


We stopped by our friend, and former bus driver, Gill's house to say hello!

And finally, we had our annual feast with family and friends...


The rest of the trip was spent out at Grammy & KooPop's house just horsing around! Chan and Kay came with us and added to our fun.

...aren't they goofy?



I don't think I ever posed with Mark this way?? How sweet...

Handsome Jon Chandler...

And beautiful Kaylan Nicole...

Mason needed a haircut. :) But he always has a wonderful smile.

We were all amazed at this photo of Morgan - he posed it all by himself (thanks to yearly practice by Lifetouch, I'm sure), and we think it is probably the best photo we've ever had of him! He's actually SMILING and it looks so NATURAL!

It's virtually impossible to get a natural smile out of this one... but this was the best I had.

Some time at the park finished off our incredible week with family...


Mom wouldn't let me down!!




Grammy with 5 out of 9 of her grandkids... precious photo.

We hope you, too, had a fantastic Thanksgiving this year!!

Michele

Halloween 2010

Carving pumpkins is part of every Halloween!

Cory the Fish

One night last week, Michael and the boys wanted to watch a movie before it expired on the "on demand" system. Since it was during the day, they politely requested that Maddox and I vacate the premises. So we did... we weren't interested in Iron Man anyway!

Well, on our little outing, we picked up a new member of the family! Meet Cory Evan Force, Maddox's new pet fish... Maddox named him, but he tells us we can call him Cory for short.

Maddox just loves having a pet of his own... he lovingly watches over him.

...and makes sure he always has something to eat. (We've warned him, though, about what too much food can do)

A new pet fish = a very happy boy.

...and if I don't have to clean another litter box, well then, I'm a happy mom.

Michele

Peaches!!

You saw our wonderful raspberries... well, in August, we look forward to a case of scrumptious Colorado peaches!

I can't tell you just how good these beauties are! You'll just have to plan a trip out here in August sometime so you can taste them yourself!

And believe me, we serve 'em up just about every way we can... peach cobbler, peach ice cream, peach jam, peach salsa, peaches in our salad, peaches & cream...

...but perhaps the best way to enjoy them is to just cut one up and pop it in your mouth!

Michele

The Treehouse... Revisited

You've seen pictures of it before, but the treehouse continues to morph into something bigger and better... and finally stained.

And yes, that is another platform you see there in the upper left corner. One that now allows my husband to raise the bar on backyard thrills... but more on that later. Let me show you where Michael's second office is:

Cozy, huh? And if he decides to take a nap, he can just mosey on inside to the loft:

...or the fold up bed:

We also put a cot under that bed so it acts as a bunk bed. Plenty of options for some good ole' backyard fun... which brings me to the next part.

So we've had a little zip line, right? Nothing much... just a wire with a handle that you hold onto and coast on down a few feet. Not too high... if you couldn't hold on, that's okay, you'd only drop a few inches to the ground and land safely on your feet. Easy, peasy. Maddox has already mastered it.

Okay, so now back to that new platform. Well, it's the starting point of a much taller zip line. One that you have to HARNESS into. And guess who Michael always asks to be the guinea pig on such endeavors? Yup. Little ole' me. Cuz, you see, HE'S too heavy and he doesn't feel right sending his kids down first. Gotta make sure it's safe. So Michele, give it a try, will ya?!

Hold it... let's get a closer look:

Well, you still can't see the true emotions... let's get even closer:

There... that's it. The look of pure excitement, huh?! Having a blast, don't you think?! Oh, and I forgot to mention his last words before I let go: "Keep your feet and arms in tight because it gets pretty close to that tree down there." Brilliant.

Well, needless to say, I made it down just fine. But I hate to think what he's gonna build next... I keep telling him I'm not sure how much more those poor trees can handle! (let alone his poor wife!)

Michele

Post script: I feel compelled to mention that I've been down that zip line several times now and it really is fun. Won't you come give it a try?!