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| Three English riders walk into a Western barn.... |
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| To celebrate her birthday, Mia invited Tilly, Maddie, and Luca to go on a trail ride. It was a gorgeous day and we had a great time! Seeing the girls in their English boots made me smile. They kept comparing the styles of riding and felt funny in the huge Western saddle. |
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| They all three LOVE to ride. |
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| We went to dinner afterward and then home for dessert. |
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| Happy 12th kiddo! |
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| When I think of this year with Mia, this picture says it all, a whirl of lovely speed and accomplishment. Perhaps a bit of a blur, as all years tend to be. Mia loves riding now and watching her fetch a horse from a field with total confidence, untangle a mess of a leather bridle, saddle up effortlessly, ride with precision.....I just see how deeply capable she is. When I was younger, I don't think I understood what a compliment that was, to be capable. It didn't sound pretty or exciting. But here I am, watching this girl in awe, realizing that being capable is one of the best attributes one can have. I see her getting older and just see more of this amazing quality unfold. Happy 12th to my girl! |
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| I took this photo somewhere in Wyoming on our road trip this week. A beauty.
We had a great day out celebrating her birthday as a family. She chose to head downtown to tour the Molly Brown house, have lunch at Crepes and Crepes and then stop into the Brown. She was in for a treat there.
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| A cake with horses, mountains, and a Colorado flag....perfect for Mia. |
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| Nana came over for dinner and gifts and then we watched a movie on the couch. I'd call it a pretty great birthday! |
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| This is the best we could do. Windy (VERY windy), cold, and a beautiful blazing sun that made it hard to even see what we were photographing. Our little family is home though. Fall Break 2018 was awesome. |
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| Mt. Rushmore is much more stunning than I imagined. To be honest, I wasn't expecting to feel much when I saw it. But walking up the sidewalk flanked by flags and seeing the massive faces made me understand the weight of it. A great museum is onsite and the kids loved learning about how it was created, and why. |
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| After we visited Mt. Rushmore, we drove over to the Crazy Horse monument. See that small mountain to the right of my hat? That's the head of Crazy Horse. That long part of the mountain jutting out under the head is going to be his horse and outstretched arm. They are anticipating it will be done in 40 to 50 years. A remarkable story is behind the creation of this monument....one of friendship, trial, and tribulation. We all loved learning about it. The money you pay to enter goes not only toward continued work but also toward a University of Native Americans right on site. You better believe we were so happy to know we were contributing. |
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| This is in the town of Keystone, just a small town in the Black Hills. Almost everything was closed for the season but we managed to find a fudge shop and some funny bar stools. |
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| Our hotel had an indoor water park attached and V gets the award for most devoted parent. He rode those slides 100 plus times with the kids. |
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| We hit the road for fall break and decided to go to Mt. Rushmore. |
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| It's a manageable drive, about 6.5 hours. I didn't realize there would be no internet connection most of the way, and with nothing actually downloaded on any of our devices, we drove old school....just chatting and looking out the window. It was a drive I'll always hold in my heart. |
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| The kids used my camera to document some of the fun they had in the backseat. |
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| A strange snow storm blew into the front range the evening we arrived in South Dakota. So, it was freezing. We were prepared though, we knew it was coming! |
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| V's birthday is in September and one of our neighbors gifted him great seats at the Rockies game! |
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| Of course....cotton candy. |
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| Mia was on the track team this year and LOVED it. She has found another sport that she adores. She placed 6th in the district in the 800! She also loves the 200 and the 400 relay. This kid has got steam. |
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| I'll miss these warm evenings. Vince is the best about coming home from work and playing with the kids. They drag out the goal and play street hockey, baseball, football, tennis...you name it. |
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| My sister had this delivered to my work "just because". That's the kind of love she exudes. She is generous and the most thoughtful friend. They arrived the day after I had just told her that I was feeling tired and sluggish. With those beauties around, I felt fantastic! |
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| Nana invited these three over for a sleepover at the beginning of fall and they all had a ball together. They went to church, dinner, and an arcade. Bravest Nana in all of the land to embark on an arcade! Such special memories. |
