Redbud

Mike and I decided a couple of months ago that we wanted to find a bigger place to live. We started getting things ready, landscaping the backyard, and looking and minor repairs. We figured it would be a few months before we really got serious. At least, that's what I thought until Mike decided we should tour a model home....

This is the plot of land we will have our house built on once we sell our home.



These are the floor plans for the house. Sorry they are sideways - they uploaded that way and I don't know how to change the orientation.

This is the front of the house. We chose a light tan/cream color with dark brown accents and stone. It should be really pretty. Now if we could just get our house on the market and sold....

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I'll post more pictures of our current home all packed up, repaired, and staged. :)

Where's Willow?

I bet you can't find the cat in this picture....

:)

Question of the Day

Can cats do math?

This one looked like she was trying to. :)

Maybe she was just trying to get my attention off of books.... :)

Breaking news! (sort of)

Most of you may have heard already, but Daniel and his girlfriend are going to make Mike and I grandparents! It's been a little shocking and doesn't seem quite real, but we are very excited for the newest addition to our family.

This is Daniel with his Toyota 4runner that he bought. I can't believe how much and how fast our kids have grown up. I feel a little cheated since I've only been a part of their life for 5 years. Time sure does fly though! Does anyone know how to slow it down? :)


This is Daniel and Arie (short for Arianna). She is due December 23rd and will be having a little girl. I'm having a hard time not buying a bunch of yarn and fabric to start making blankets and outfits.

Another picture of Daniel and Arie.

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For those of you who like to see what I'm creating, I've made a new blog. I did delete my other blog because I didn't know I could have two with the same info. :) Anyways, it's at http://craftiecreation.blogspot.com/. I hope you follow along on that one, too.

Congratulations, Graduates....

So there are two new graduates in our family. I finally completed my bachelor's degree this year, and will hopefully be able to start teaching in 2011 once I'm able to take my math content certification test.

Here I am with my advisor, professor and friend, Janyne.

Me and my dad. You can see the Apostle's Court in the background. This is where the graduate convocation took place. It was a really special time for me and my family. I had the opportunity to glorify God and make a personal and professional committment to Him. My speech was the verse from Ephesians 4:11-12.

Me and my mom.

This is Daniel's graduation. Mike and I are so proud of him. He has worked really hard the last couple of years to be able to get his high school diploma. His graduation was on June 18th.

This picture is from a slide show the school put together.

Mike's mom, dad, and children were able to attend my graduation dinner hosted by my college. We went to the Doubletree, and enjoyed a night of food, fun, and fellowship.

Mike and Daniel (and Mike's not looking at the camera again!) :)

Daniel and Shaelyn. They look so grown up!

This is the graduation party for Daniel and I. Many people from Mike's family and min were able to attend. It was a fun time eating, talking, and celebrating.

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Well, this is just a short post to get a little caught up. I will hopefully have more time to post again with all our events and pictures over the last 6 months.

Archaeological Find of the Century

NOAH'S ARK!

OK, well maybe it's not the real thing - but it was really cool to see. :) We went up to Estes Park for "A Weekend to Remember" conference. On our last day we toured some sights and got some pictures. You'll notice it's snowing, so we didn't get to see too much.

The ark is actually called Estes Ark, and there's a store and three levels of things to do inside. We didn't go in though, so I'm not sure what all is in there.

The only herd of elk we saw this time. We've been up once before in September, and there were elk all over the place because it was mating season.

The Stanley Hotel. This is where the movie The Shining was filmed, as well as scenes from Dumb and Dumber.

It really is a pretty hotel, although it's rumored to be haunted.

A fuzzy picture of Mike and I at the conference. We had such a good time. If you've never been, you should go. It really strengthened our marriage.

That's all for now.

Family, Camping, and Anniversaries

These last few months we've gotten to visit with family, celebrate milestones, and just enjoy life (which doesn't seem to slow down often enough).

Mike's brother and his family came out from Wyoming for a couple of weeks. This always means at least one (if not many) barbeques and games of "May I". We have such a wonderful time, which makes it hard to say goodbye when they go back home. This is a picture of our niece Kerriann with Mike's grandma, Shirley.

Drew, Grandma, and Michael. We have quite a few Michaels in our family - there's my Mike, our nephew Mike, my dad Mike, and I have a cousin Mike. :) Make's it hard to keep track. This Mike is our nephew.

Bob and Shae, matching in blue. :)

Ben, Levi, Shae, and Kerriann.

Gabriel and Levi

Kelly, Nancy, and "Mammy" Beth

Here we are playing a round of "May I". I can't believe how many cards Kelly has!

Mike and "Mammy"

My sister, 'step'-mom, and niece came out for a couple of days on their way down to Texas for a summer camp/family reunion. This is a picture of them the night before they left to continue their trip. We really enjoyed seeing them again. I wish we lived close enough for more visits.

One day we took our niece to Whit's End at Focus on the Family. We visited the Soda Shop, played on the playground, and looked all over. It was fun to see the different sides of "Odyssey" in this building.

Our niece talks quite a bit about animals, so we thought it would be fun to go to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo - and we were right! She couldn't get enough of the giraffes.

I bought quite a few crackers to feed the giraffes and only K did - she fed them as fast as they would eat them.

The whole herd - my aunt (a zookeeper in Santa Barbara) says she heard this was one of the most prolific groups of giraffes in the country. There were quite a few babies in the pen, so it must be true. :)

K looks so little compared to this giant.

Mike, my step-mom, and niece.

My sister and niece.

K and an orangutan.

This gorilla was so funny - he (or she) was just relaxing near the viewing windows. I love the smile on K's face in this picture.

K on a zebra statue.

The group - except the one taking the picture.

Mike and I only had the opportunity to go camping one time this whole summer. I'm really sad about that but am hoping for more chances next year when I'm done with school. We went up to Tin Cup Alley, and the views were gorgeous.

The dogs enjoying a break from four-wheeling.

Our church's anniversary is the same day as mine and Mike's - they had their first service on Sunday, September 18th, 2005. That's the exact day Mike and I got married. Very interesting. Anyway, our church had an anniversary celebration in September at one of the local arcade places. It was pretty fun. Here is a friend of ours playing one of the games.

Here's her husband skiing. Quite a variety of games.

A few people playing Guitar Hero - the one in the white shirt also plays for our worship service. I never did find out how he did playing the video game. :)

Mike racing.

For our anniversary, Mike and I went up to Silverthorne, CO for the weekend. I took him hiking at my favorite spot, Hanging Lake. Here are some really pretty pictures on the way up.

This rock was interesting because of the pattern in it. I'm not sure if it's from decay or actually a 'made' rock. I'm guessing natural.

Mike and the sign pointing the way up - which is really all you do. There's even a point where stairs are carved into the rock and there are handrails. Well worth it though.

I was surprised to see this butterfly (moth?) in September at that altitude.

The lake itself. Legend has it that the lake bottom fell out and this is now where it sits, complete with waterfalls. It's so gorgeous. I could stay there for hours. The lake is so clear you can see to the bottom.

Mike and I on the way down.

This was the last day we were in Silverthorne. We went shopping at the outlet mall (thanks, Hunny!). Again, more pretty scenic pictures. I liked how the mountain looked cloaked in clouds but poking it's head through the middle.

In Denver we stopped for gas and I was able to get this picture of a double rainbow. So beautiful. Well, thanks for joining us again. I'm sure there will be more pictures to share - hopefully it won't take until after Christmas to post them. :)