Random Pictures from Colorado Trip

Unfortunately, these smiles in the car were not always there! We had some good times in the car, all 7 of us packed in so tight that some times we felt we couldn't breath, and . . . some horrible moments, that now we can look back on and can make fun of how unreasonable we got with each other!

We traveled to Colorado from Texas, taking it slow with a 1 year old, stopping half way at a hotel to get some rest before hitting the road the next. The total driving time was about 14 hours. It should have been 13 but we got turned around for a bit before asking for help.

Anyway, these pictures are going to be posted in two parts, because I'm too tired to post them all at once. Also too tired to put them in much of any order. Maybe you'll see someone you know from our trip!

This was taken at a park in Denver that us gals used to meet at when our little ones were little, little. Of course as you can see, Peggy and I are still having our kids. From left to right: Jamie Shanks, me, Amy Stark, and Peggy with baby Wyatt.

These are most of our boys acting like boys and getting to know each other all over again.

They hadn't seen each other for 2 years!

Here are our oldest girls! Molly (the second from left), Veronica and Olivia are all 14 years old and they used to play together when they were all about 4 years old! It was surreal to see them together and as teenagers too. Olivia Stark, on the far left, is a younger sister to Veronica (in the middle). She is now 12 and has changed so much too. Wish we had more time than an evening together.

Here is Julia with Anna Shanks and their new dog, Lily. That dog was a hit with Julia. She is a true animal lover!

Ok, these are really out of order. We went to Colorado Springs first off and when Rich had some free time, he took the boys to the Air Force Academy to look around. This is the inside of the chapel.

Here is the pipe organ! Can you see it? I've still never been there but it looks amazing!

I don't know what to say about these pictures because I'm so not into this but I wanted those who love the Air Force to get the full effect of the Academy.

We stayed at my girlfriend's house, Wendy Warren, for a few nights in Colorado Springs. I've known Wendy since Jr. High School! Julia and Wendy's daughter, Lindsey, hope to write to each other. They are both 9 years old and really loved being together.

Wendy and I being silly. Thanks for a great time!

Family shot in Larkspur at another friend's house.

We had lunch at this place! Isn't it fabulous? The couple who live here used to be Rich's college group leaders at South Hills Community Church in San Jose. Rich hadn't seen them in over 15 years. We connected up with them right before our trip through Facebook.

They live on 35 acres.

Meet Brad and Kim Oaster. She cooked us a wonderful lunch and we sat out on their balcony and ate. One of the things I really wanted to do while in Colorado was just be outdoors! It's so hot in Texas and the mosquitos are so thick that we haven't been outdoors much this summer.

Enjoying the outdoors on their balcony. Thanks guys for a marvelous afternoon!

Well, this needs some explanation. This was taken on our way to Colorado in Amarillo, TX. For those who have never heard of this place, this is Cadillac Ranch. Some strange guy owns this land on the out-skirt of town and he has half buried all these Cadillacs.

It's a little bit of a walk to get out to them from the freeway but we welcomed getting out of the car.

So you are supposed to buy spray paint and add to their flare.

We weren't going to go to all that trouble when they were already painted so nicely, but others were adding their own touch when we were there.

Taken at Red Robin Restaurant, one of our favorites in Colorado.

After a long day in the car, they are still smiling! Micah is not a car sleeper. We traveled for 6 hours, not including stops, and he only slept for 40 minutes! Amazing! He did really well considering he missed his naps both days we traveled.

Well, I'm headed for bed. Until later . . .

Howdy ya'll

I promised a "part II" of our friends visit to Texas. We had so much fun visiting downtown Ft. Worth. This is the stockyard area where everything is about Texas cowboys. Lot's of shops and steak houses. Let's not forget bull riding!

Becky got both of the guys to ride the mechanical bull! First Rich went. His eyes kept bugging out of his head, but he rode as well as he could keeping his balance with his arm in the air.

Next went Chris and all he could do was yell! He just kept saying "ouch!" He tried to stay on but after just a few minutes he got off and said it hurt too much! He was so vocal about it that we could not stop laughing! I hope to post the video soon because it was really funny! The picture below is what he did right after he got off! I still laugh when I think about it! I guess Chris is not cowboy material!

Next we drove over to the downtown area of Ft. Worth. It is really nice with lots of little white lights. It was a beautiful night to walk around and look at all the great architecture.

We wanted to go up to the top of this office building but it was closed.

This is a theatre and I loved the angels and their horns coming out of the side of the building!

So cool!

Here is another view after dark

We had to go to Rita's rooftop for dessert. This was a restaurant on, well, a rooftop! Great ambiance! We could not decide which desserts to get so we got one extra and shared them all. What were we thinking? It was a splurge for sure!

Great picture of Chris and A.J.! I stole this from Chris!

This is how Micah plays with baby-dolls. He tries to eat them!

Ummm, I think I'll bite his head off.

Not bad tasting, when you are teething. He has cut a tooth since then.

On the 4th of July we wanted to make sure the kids understood what we were celebrating so we decided to have Chris read to them about our journey to freedom as a country. He is a 6th grade teacher so we picked him to be our teacher.

He did a good job. Thanks Chris!

This is Becky with Julia and Micah.

Later that day we went to a friend's house to fellowship and barbecue. It was so hot! This is Olivia with her red, white and blue ribbon in her hair. A good picture of her without glasses.

A.J. learning to ride those new skateboard things. I don't know what they are called.

I'm not a very hip mom.

He did pretty good. I think he was getting the hang of it by the end of the evening.

Another night we had a little talent show.

Rich plays this goofy song called the laughing song. He basically laughs through the whole thing and gets everyone laughing. I know it looks like he is crying and he kind of was.

You know how you laugh until you cry sometimes?

We had too much fun that night. I wish I had more pictures of the evening because we played late into the evening. There were many more performances even by our guests!

The last day we went to GFA so that Chris and Becky could pick out India bags. These bags come all the way from India and are handmade. The missionaries there carry gospel literature in them when they walk or bike from village to village.

This is Chris evangelizing Becky. She's not saved yet.

Reece being the "ham" that he is! Taken in the cafe' at GFA.

We had a great time with Chris Scharmen and Becky Lee! We really hope they come to visit again sometime. A couple of our kids broke down in tears the night they left. They really get attached to our guests sometimes. One day we will all be together for eternity and there will be no more goodbyes!

Until then, we'll just say "ya'll come back now, ya hear!"