Quote of the Week

Brought to you by Noelle: 

"Oh Mom, something smells inhorrigible!" 

Fifteen Things Friday {Special Colorado Edition}

#1. Colorado or Bust! A 12 hour car ride to Breckenridge. We departed at 11:00am on Wednesday, August 4th! 

#2. We arrived very late Wednesday evening and when we woke up Thursday, this was the site in our backyard! Gorgeous... 

#3. We shopped...

#4. We rode the lifts to the top of the Alpine Slides! Definitely a highlight of the trip for all of us! 

#5. We ate... Empire Burgers, Downtown at Eric's, Breckenridge Brewery, Butterhorn Bakery...

#6. We enjoyed spectacular views...

#7. And time together... 

#8. Noelle loved to sit on rocks and pose for photos... I heard this often... "Mommy, how about I sit on that rock and you can take my picture!" Do you know how many boulders there are in Breckenridge? :)

#9. We biked... 

#10. We hiked...

#11. Favorite quote from the trip... "Just deal with it!" 

As we were hiking, the kids were leading and we had to make them turn around because we decided to go a different way than the way they were leading and we hear Noelle say "Just deal with it!" to the other kids... lol! 

#12. We played...

{Breckenridge Amphitheater Park}

and played... 

and played...

and played! 

{photos taken at the Mountain Top Children's Museum}

#13. There were wildflowers a-plenty... at every turn, everywhere...  

#14. We saw a black bear, oh yes, we did... in the middle of the road right out in front of the house... 

#15. And of course... you can't be in the wilderness without a night of roasting marshmallows and eating S'mores!!! 

We're Back!

We pulled into the driveway about 10:00 last night and although it feels good to be home we truly miss the mountains not to mention the 30-35 degree cooler weather! No joke, as you can see we were wearing jackets and pants in Breckenridge! The weather was absolutely gorgeous!!! There were several times yesterday while driving home we wanted to just turn around and go back!!! We are already looking forward to our next trip to the mountains, hoping it's soon! 

Today we are getting back into the routine though... Rodney is back and work and the kids and I are unpacking, doing laundry and just enjoying being back at home despite the fact that we can't just run outside and go for a hike in the mountains in our jackets and jeans! :( 

I'll share more photos from the trip soon! 

We are preparing for a family trip to Colorado, we're leaving tomorrow and I am SO ready! 

Ready for family time, ready for cooler weather (highs there are mid 60's, highs here are mid to upper 90's!) bring it on!, ready for crisp mountain air, ready for hiking, biking, shopping, campfires, ready for being one with nature, ready for watching the kids see the mountains for the first time, ready for a break from the mundane routines of everyday life, ready for a date night with my hubby while we're there, ready for fun, ready to make new memories! 

Hoping that I can get over (or at least mostly over) this cold before we hit the road, hoping no one gets altitude sickness (or any sickness for that matter) while we're there, hoping it's not too chilly, hoping I don't forget to bring anything, hoping for sunshine and little or no rain, hoping I still want to stay another day when it's time to leave because, it's always better to wish for more time than to be ready to go!

{Above photo was taken in Estes Park on our last trip to Colorado in 2005}

Lake Weekend

Just wanted to share some photos from our lake weekend! We had a great time with our friends the Kaeb's & Jones'! 

The kids both LOVED riding the jet ski's with Daddy

Noelle & I had fun riding the tube a couple of times as well. 

She definitely had a great time and was always ready to go... if we couldn't find her, chances were she was sitting on the golf cart, buckled in, waiting for everyone else to join her and head to the lake or pool! 

Although Parker loved riding the jet ski & the boat, he was not a big fan of getting into the water. He did however love throwing rocks into the water off the dock! He and Noelle spent a lot of time doing that. 

He also caught his first fish with Daddy on Sunday afternoon before we left! I was not at the dock with them so the actual fish is not caught on camera, but it was caught on video so you'll know it's not a "fish" story! ;) Hopefully I'll figure out how to share the video later, it's still on Rodney's phone. 

And there you have it a summary of our lake adventure last weekend! :)

Five Things Friday

Wow! It's been a while since a 5 Things Friday post!!! We have had a busy, busy July!!! After this weekend things should slow down a bit... anyway, here's a few things from this (and previous) weeks. 

#1: Noelle and I have been on a High Seas Expedition with our church's VBS this week. We've had a great time! I've had the joy of leading her group of kids (her and 5 boys!). We've learned new songs, played games, made some fun crafts, eaten some fun snacks and learned a lot about our God! We've learned that God's Word is true, comforting, surprising, life-changing & for everyone! 

#2: Rodney and I both got new iPhone 4's in the mail this week! We've enjoyed playing with them, but I think our favorite feature is the face time. We can call each other and see each other as we're talking! It's really quite Jetson's-ish, but oh so cool!!! 

#3: Today we are headed to the lake with these friends, this photo is from our trip with them last Summer. Thank you Kaeb's for inviting us again! Always a good time! 

#4: A fun photo from our 4th of July {Parker, Cousin Jack Euston & Noelle} at Grandma & Papa Johnson's farm.

#5: Noelle told me the other day that she loved Parker the best; the best out of who I'm not sure but it just goes to show how great they are as brother and sister. They have their moments, but they really do love to be together and play together! What a blessing!  

A New Do

Noelle decided about 3 weeks ago that she wanted her hair cut short, well after making sure that's what she really did want, making sure she knew she would no longer be able to wear ponytails or pigtails we finally got it cut on Tuesday! Isn't it cute? She looks even older now, but still so adorable (yes, I know, I'm biased!) What's even better, she seems to like it too which makes me happy! :)