24 Hours and counting.....

Not a lot happens in our neck of the woods. I spend entirely too many weekends doing absolutely nothing! So we get a nice letter from a Chrisitan radio station that Casting Crowns is coming to our area and we buy tickets. Then Collin's coach plans a scrimage and then a neighbor (I'm loooong over due visiting) invites me to a jewlery party.

Collin insisted that we go to the concert (esp since we saw him scrimmage last week), so we will be surrounded by awesome music this time Saturday night. Our friend Christi is coming with us and I will have camera in hand. It's general admission so we are going early, but I'm not sure how early is early enough for good seats so we'll have to see what we get! We're excited!

Scrimmage

Now it's not only official, it's real... my first "baby" has now played his first scrimmage. (is that 1 m or 2?) He did OK, but I sense that he was a bit uneasy on the field and he seemed hesitant. Chris gave him a big pep talk about how that really looked "lazy" or uncaring. Collin was bummed because he did not get to play as much as he'd hoped and he did/could not catch the only pass that was thrown to him. Here they are, the last time before official uniforms on Saturday.

We need one of these hitting bags at home!!!!!!!!

A football player in the house....

We are now entering the realm of contact sports...eek! Collin has been begging to play football since 3rd grade, but we said NO! Well, when he started campaigning last year we decided maybe it was time. We like the coach, we have time, the younger kids are old enough.... so here he is in his practice jersey and shoulder pads. He had Hans help him "run his routes" this weekend and Chris threw some passes so he could practice catching with his hands (as opposed to his body).

I was pleased with Colling between regular practice and a camp the Rec put on he practiced every day and some times 2x a day last week and he did not complain once! Now it was only 80 degrees, so they were not dying in the heat which I am sure helped.

They start full pads this week... gulp!

Lacey was keeping the pressure on! It was rather amusing!

And they're off....

August 14th seems awfully early to begin school, but here in the midwest it seems to be the norm! We had a mad dash to get things caught up after Colorado, but here they are: ready for the bus. Alan is not happy. He is repeating kindergarten and is a bit pouty still.

We were ready so early there was time to be silly....

And then Erin and Hans realized they forgot something, so they made a mad dash inside and barely got back in time..

Abby and I were just so sad that we were in such a quiet house all alone...

NOT!!!!!

Can you guess who this is?

Fishing and Hiking and Chip and Munk!

The locals gave us the insider's guide to where to fish to catch fish!!! So we headed to Mt Elbert and fished the forebay first and then hiked the trailhead on Mt Elbert. We were very thankful for 2 furry chipmunks (affectionately named Chip and Munk) who came to play with Erin, making her fishing trip much more enjoyable!

The water was like glass so the reflectioons in the water were stunning!

We found a little area where they had been clearing firewood, so we made a small campfire and roasted hotdogs and marshmallows for lunch. Then we headed up the trailhead to Mt. Elbert. I just loved this area of Aspens, it's one of the few pics of me!! We heard water and found some run off water heading down the mountain, it was loud. So we had to stop for the family pic!

We did not make it up Mt Elbert, but we did go for a van ride up to Indepence pass for another photo op. Pluse we picked up ideas for future trips. OK enough CO pics, thanks for looking!

Day #3 More Fishing at Turquoise

We made the difficult decision to break camp and get a hotel room for the next 2 nights. The forecast for rain was just not good! We headed back to Turquoise Lake and the guys had a good fishing day! Each of the boys caught some nice and tastey trout! Erin did not want to fish although she did watch Chris' pole while he was going from one boy to the next helping them get fish off their line. I like to catch photos rather than fish and I was perfectly happy to watch and snap shots of the boys fishing! The girls also stole a few winks in on the big rocks, since we did not sleep well in the cold! Erin was just miserable! She'd caught a cold or allergy in Denver and it was much worse at night. Overall it was a good day. The way we like it on vacation: relaxing!

Here we are roughin' it back in the hotel room with the hot tub and some John Wayne!

Vacation Day #2
Chris seriously wanted mountains this year and fishing! So we headed up to the Leadville CO area where it was in the 70's during the day and low 40's at night. The scenery was beautiful and then it started raining! It was not just the afternoon CO rain, it rained and rained and rained! We made it through one night of roughing it in a tent with cold temps and lots of rain.

We fished Turquoise Lake and caught one the first day and then everyone caught some fish day 2. The kids loved the big mountail rock to climb on! Collin fished from behind one to get out of the sun.

Erin was altitude sick so she did not have a very good time either day!

Warming himself up with his pancake. Why do pancakes on the open grill taste so good?

Vacation Day #1

On our way! After Collin returned from receiving his football equipment we loaded ourselves into the already packed car and headed out! I love how Collin and Erin made their own divider. One of these days we'll get a newer van, but until then they have to settle for the laptop for dvd's and blankets for dividers! They travel well!

A newer KS windfarm on our way, I do not think they detract from the scenery any, but now there's talk that they may "steel" the wind. Some days, that would be OK with me!!!!! First stop is to visit Chris' family in Denver. With Grandma turning 98 last week, we dare not head to the hills without saying hello! Alan tries to entice her with McDonald toys, but she is not necessarily impressed... patient, but not impressed.

Time for a tender moment: Years ago when the kids were babies they hated having their picture taken with Great Grandma who they only saw 1x a year. This year I noticed more than before a desire to spend some time with her, I saw a tenderness in their hearts towards her and that touched me so. She was sad that we did not stay longer and I must say I cried a good amount, torn between our schedule and a dear woman of God. I'm so glad they have grown fond of her and I hope their hugs, brief that they were, touched her heart! They certainly dug trenches in mine!! And Grandma, we have already started reading the book you gave...it's so precious!

Wayne and Sue are such gracious hosts and take on our family of 6 like pros! Thank you for all you do!

We did not spend enough time in Denver to visit all our family there! Bob and Mar, Jen and Simon, we are truly sorry we did not see you and hope to see you soon!

Chris and I provided special music in church the end of July. We did a song by Casting Crowns called Slow Fade. You can see the professional version at http://www.castingcrowns.com, but for now here is our amateur version. We spare you the whole song because I really just want you to see how well Alan and Hans did doing the tag at the end. It was a precious mommy moment!
http://www.mydeo.com/videodownload.asp?YID=1588&CID=211341

Head Gear!

Some have heard me share that our Hans was up for some big changes this year. Towards the end of the school year we discovered that he was having problems seeing and the teeth on the left side of his mouth were very crowded. Well he is set for school with a mouth appliance, head gear (10 hrs a day/ night) and glasses. What a trooper! Hans has really matured this year and it is exciting as his mom to see it happen. He is beginning to know what it really means to live life for and with Jesus! He is gaining more control of his temper and more compassion towards others! I just love the baseball appliance.. his first choice was a cross, but this just was too cool to pass up!

Catch up post:

I have some serious catch up to do! How can it be August 8th when my mind is really back in June or July somewhere? This summer in particular has been so hard to keep track of, not sure why?!? The beginning of July was so busy and then the second half was figuring out vacation and realizing that when we get back from vacation it will be time for school! How does this happen??????

I start with some 4th of July photos, we enjoyed all the fun small town KS has!

We had the trampoline fixed which is always a good investment! See our sweet corn in the background? Don't look at the weeds! Just a few pics of how we spend our eveings when we are home: walking, biking, jumping, splashing.....

The Man is 40!
And it's a good thing too, I was getting tired of "you're 40" jokes from a 39 year old! Welcome to the club! The children and I made sure to make him feel special with gifts, friends, family, fellowship and cake! We put together a little slideshow to remind him just how old he is getting! Love ya babe!

The Man is 40