While in Colorado, we stopped at the Garden of the God’s for a picnic. It was a beautiful day out, and the park was crowded! We had hoped to return and explore more on the way home, but we were unable to. It was fun admiring God’s design as we drove through it!
It is rare that all the cousins are together at one time, so we made sure to get a current picture.
Happy Anniversary Allan! I love you very much.
When we were in Colorado two years ago, Oma bought this cowboy shirt for Megan. Because the shirt still just fits her, we brought it along in hopes of getting a good cowgirl picture of her.
I think this is her “I am a rough and tough cowgirl and you can’t make me smile” look.
After reading the Little House books and a few others from that time area, Andrea wanted to make some prairie girl dresses. She planned to wear them for the traditional tea party. We also thought it would be fun to try to take some pictures in “the Wild West”, as Adrian insisted on calling Colorado the whole time we were there.
They also had fun wearing them while playing or doing chores around the house too.
While at Grandma’s house, we all enjoyed walking up down the driveway. Sometimes the kids would run, other times they would just saunter along talking.
Andrea and Mark were walking ahead of the rest of us enjoying a private conversation. I was glad that I had just taken a picture of their backs, when they turned around, saw me with the camera (caught!) and took off running.
I always enjoy visiting “Grandma’s house” in Colorado. It is beautiful there!
When Allan and I were married, we went backpacking. One of our stops was at Ogallala Lake in Nebraska. It is a park where you can camp on the sand dunes. Unfortunately, after getting our car stuck (and unstuck) in the sand, we noticed ominous storm clouds, so we ended up in a horrible hotel, made worse because we both really wanted to stay at the dunes.
On this trip, we decided to try staying there again. After exploring, we could not find anyplace that looked like what we had discovered years ago. We did learn that nearby Lake McConaughy also had sand dunes that we could camp at, so we stopped there.
The kids enjoyed camping on the beach! If we had more time, we all would have loved to stay and explore for a few days. It is on our be-sure-to-stop-again list!
We were able to take just over a week off for a mini vacation and family reunion in Colorado. We had a lot of fun! We left after work on Friday night and drove until very late, so we could enjoy a slower pace on Saturday.
We did not stop much until we saw the wind turbines in Iowa. Megan’s eyes got huge and she called them flowers.
While in Iowa we stopped at the “World’s Largest Truck stop”. If it had been earlier, I would have taken a picture of all the trucks lined up. It was a good touristy place to stop, but nothing special except for some really neat old trucks on display.
We visited a pony express cabin and reviewed some of the things we learned in history. The sod house museum nearby had just closed, so we unfortunately missed that.
The kids traveled very well. We enjoyed reading books and listening to stories on tape. The first full day flew by.
Audrey likes to have her picture taken most of the time. She likes to help me come up with creative poses and to try new things. Since we were experimenting with black and white this time, not all of her creativity turned out. So here are the two best pictures from her photo shoot. Check out her favorite picture here.
Mark is going to be a Freshman this year. We are looking forward to starting high school, but we are also a little apprehensive about it. There is so much he needs to learn!
But he is excited that we are turning the focus more. We have been praying about what God has planned for Mark and will start moving toward that goal.
As we watch Mark turn into a man, we will give him time to practice skills men need to be providers. With Daddy’s help, he built raised gardens, but he filled and maintained the gardens mostly by himself this summer. He has outdoor chores that he loves doing. He has told me often he would rather be outside moving wood then working inside.
Mark will also have time to explore his different interests. We know that making time for hobbies is a good way to relax!
I look forward to seeing Mark’s growth this year. I see him “sprouting his wings” and, while he is not ready to “fly” yet, he is getting close.