Baptisms

Our church home is in Colorado. We may be godless heathens the rest of the year, but while we are there, we are at the church every time the doors are open. The minister from this church flew to Texas with his wife to marry us. They are like family. It was only right that he do the honors at Z's baptism. How gorgeous is that little bald baby girl?



Q was a charmer, too. Our family minister had moved to a larger congregation, but was still able to attend the ceremony. Check the tiny bow tie! Could you just die?

Man, my babies have some big round heads!

Babies on Mountain Passes

We are raising some hardy chillies. Both kids went over 13,000 foot passes at +/- six months. As you can tell from the pictures, the kids were thrilled. Or not.

Stoney Pass, 12,624 feet, in case you can't read the sign.

Snow on Engineer Pass. In August, no less. That is just WRONG.

American Basin

American Basin is a gorgeous flower-filled basin on the Alpine Loop that we visit every year. T proposed there. We have had our picture taken on that rock every year.

This was taken my first year in Colorado, 2001. Look at us! We were puppies! Puppies, I say!

Here is our proposal rock. This may even be proposal day... I had not perfected my digital photo filing system back then...

OMG! Dying from the cuteness that is Z on her first American Basin visit!

Q was not digging getting back to nature that day. Actually he was mad that we wouldn't let him stay and play driver in Daddy's Bronco.

Engagement rock again. We are such dorks.
Family portrait. I was trying to get a good one for the Christmas card, but I never got a shot where someone didn't look like they'd been hit with a brick.


There is my little nature girl! Again! With the cuteness!

Colorado

We are leaving tomorrow (at the butt crack of dawn) on our annual trek to the family's cabin in Colorado. I wish I could get more excited about it, but the fact is I am the type of person who likes to go to a different place every year. Instead of the same place eight years in a row... Or 37 years in a row, in my husband's case.

Anyhoo, as I am going to be gone for two and a half weeks, I decided to share some of the sites we see in Colorado. Every year. While I am gone, I have scheduled several photo posts of our many adventures in the southwest corner of Colorado. Actually, putting together the pictures softened my Colorado-bound heart. I guess it is kind of like the office Christmas party. I dread going, but generally have a pretty good time once I get there. And there is much less danger of over indulging and/or copying body parts. Not that I would do that. Ahem.

Let's start this photo journey out with pictures of some of my favorite places!

Wheeler Geological Site:


These pictures were taken in 2002. Check the full beard on the hubs! Total Grizzly Adams. I love Wheeler. The hoodoos (real geological name! I guess geologists have a sense of humor) look like something out of a Disney movie. They have to be seen to be believed.

Silverton:


Silverton is an old mining town (surprise!). We must make the trek there at least once per summer to eat lunch at the Grand Imperial Saloon, with the bar complete with historic bullet hole. Then we shop the historic streets street, get ice cream and go home. It is only a short trip over the mountain, so this is an easy day trip.

Gold Hill:
This little mountain was Z's first Jeep trip. At the top of the hill, you have a gorgeous view of the river valley. We usually go up there for a church pot-luck - if we don't get rained out!

Old Carson:



Another mining town. I guess the mine blew up or played out and they moved the town down the mountain a little. Very creatively, they called the new town... Carson (see below!).

Carson:
There are several buildings left in Carson that are safe to explore. One is a hospital; one is a stable; I think one is a boarding house. The hubs and his folks helped the historical society with the restoration of the area, so they feel a particular kinship with the town.

Pagosa Springs:


This is actually a picture taken on Wolf Creek Pass on the way to Pagosa Springs, but I don't have any pictures of the actual hot springs. The best part of our vacation to Colorado is that T and I get to take an overnight trip ALONE. We usually go to Pagosa Springs. With no kids! To do things adults like to do! Like soak in freaking hot natural mineral springs until your bones melt and SLEEP. And, you know, other stuff we won't talk about because this is a family blog. Ahem.


Up next: American Basin

Button (or Header!) Giveaway!

The good news is that the gypsy's line was busy, so my children are both still in residence. We went to playgroup with the cousins and got ALL tired out, so we had a pretty pleasant afternoon.

On to fun stuff! My BBFF (best blog friend forever), Jamie, the Fashionista of Foolishness herself, is celebrating her one year blogaversary on August 15. She asked me to join in her foolishness and donate a custom button or header from The Button Box. Since Jamie was the one who badgered encouraged me to start my bloggy biz in the first place, how could I refuse?


Here is what Jamie has to say about her foolishness fab giveaway!

My first blogoversary is in 10 days. Woot Woot! So, what better way to celebrate than to get smashed seven ways to Sunday to give something away to my favorite readers?!

I have teamed up with my bloggy guru Rae Ann from Critical Mass and The Button Box to give one lucky reader of my foolishness a Rae Ann created, never duplicated, so dang popular her town of Wester is gated, header or button. Seriously, can you stand it?

Here is how you can WIN...
in the true tradition of a great party, I'm sure we would have had a couple of shots of the Mad Dog 20/20, straight from the bottle, chased by some Purple Passion and be feeling pretty good by now. Of course I would be telling you how much I love you and how we would always be best friends. Then I would recall an awesome story from our past and we would laugh and laugh and hug. Then you would hold my hair as I puke and I would KNOW we were BFF&A.

So, to win my blogoversary giveaway you MUST dig into my bloggy past and find a story that you love. Come back to this post and leave me a comment about it. That's it, you're entered to win some Rae Ann bloggy love.

But, if you're a binger like me you're not gonna stop with just one chance to win, you'll want more. Well, who the heck am I to stand in your way?

Earn extra contest entries by

• following my blog
• following Critical Mass
• following The Button Box (make sure you scroll down to the very bottom)
  
• blogging about my blogoversary giveaway on your blog
• tweeting about my blogoversary giveaway OR
  
• placing an order with Rae Ann at The Button Box

That's seven possible chances to win big! Please remember to leave a separate comment for each entry. Each comment is your ticket to win. Please also remember that you must follow the directions for your entry to be valid. Non valid comments will not be entered to win. Even a drunk like me has to play by the rules!

Giveaway ends at 8pm Est on August 15th, my blogoversary! I shouldn't be too hammered by 8, but just in case I am, the winner will be drawn with the assistance of Random.org. The winner will be contacted via email on August 16, if your email is not available on your blog or in your profile, please include it in your comment on my blog. I'm not Publisher's Clearing House, I'm not going to show up on your door step with balloons and tell you and your pink bath robe you've won. Then again... I suppose that could happen if I have toooo much to drink during the blogoversary bender celebration.

Anyway, Good luck!

So there you have it! A fun giveaway with tons of ways to enter. I am particularly looking forward to the heartfelt bathroom emoting and hair holding. See you at the party! Good luck!

1-800-GYPSIES

For sale: 2 small blond people; very cute; too smart for own (or mother's) good; are comparable to forces of nature in their destructiveness, both of physical surroundings and parental sanity; limited dietary needs: currently on same diet as air plants; will include ear plugs to drown out incessant whining; one is fully house broken! Did I mention they are cute?

Oh, noes!

So the one time my post-chemo dad comes to visit in two years? I give him the plague. He called me up this evening (unheard of as we had our weekly chat yesterday) wanting to know my symptoms. Fever? Check. Headache with neck pain? Check. Nausea? Check. And he has the added fun of stomach cramps. Sigh. I told him to stay at the hotel! The good news is that by the time the vomiting kicked in, it was almost over. Maybe he has just skipped to the fun parts and will be done tomorrow. Man, I hope so.