I just can't stop

"Twinkle Twinkle Little Star"

For Piper's fan club - her singing debut...

Piper's rendition of "Jesus Loves Me"

I'll be shocked if this works

This is just a little video we shot using my camera to see if we could load it onto here. The suspense is killing me. It's taking a long time to load. I have nothing to say, but I just keep typing. Oh, look there it is! If this really worked, I'll get one of Piper tonight.

Let's see..

Did I mention that I am scared of heights???

The Black Canyon
I prayed without ceasing the entire time we were here.
See that little metal bar? It's the only thing that stands b/t you and a very painful death, not that I was thinking I was going to die or anything.
There was about 2 feet of dirt b/t the road and this drop off.

My favorite spot

Mr. V, our host for the week and owner of the beloved Molly, told us about several back roads to take just about 15 minutes from where we are staying. We drove 7 beautiful miles up a mountain and found the most delicious spot. We were the only people there, so we claimed the area as our own and made ourselves comfy. I love the groves of Aspens. I am trying to figure out how to pack an Aspen branch that I found - it's pretty big. Scott and Hunter went for an hour hike while Ella, Piper and me climbed rocks, threw rocks in the river and played in the snow!

Have a nice day...we sure are!

SNOW!!!

More pictures from our little slice of paradise

The Royal Gorge lookout - what you can't tell is how this little platform is literally jetting out over a drop off of what must have been millions of feet in the air, only held up by tiny little metal poles. SCARY! (In all honesty, I appeared to be the only one fearing for my life)
This was the little choo choo that took us to the look-out place of terror.
Ella and her new BFF, Molly

The end of a day spent exploring the mountains - sweet quietness.

The Garden of the Gods - Colorado Springs - our 2nd day in Colorado
The Royal Gorge bridge - was built in 5 months with no injuries. Well, except for me - I got injured just looking at it.

I think we'll just stay for the rest of the summer...

I was screaming at him to get off the logs as I was taking this picture.

Notice the sweaters - SWEET!! It's cool, it's beautiful, I love Colorado in the summertime!

So sad, the trees in Texas are so small compared to here, that Ella was scared of the forest at first - scared of trees! She quickly worked through her fear, much to our relief, and got busy throwing rocks into the river and posing for pictures.

I was really wondering how Piper would do on this vacation, leaving home for the first time since she came home 15 months ago. I was a bit concerned as the plane took off and she yelled "WANT TO GO DOWN!!!".

She's done really well. The first 2 nights we stayed in a hotel room(in Colorado Springs) and when it was time for bed she said "Go home, please." So polite! Some friends of our family have a gorgeous place just outside of Gunnison and that's where we are now. We have our own little house to stay in and it has really become our home away from home. They have a dog named Molly, who the kids love. Hunter is blown away by the mountains and the majesty of it all, Piper and Ella more so by Molly the dog. Every night as we get ready for bed, Piper yells really loudly toward the main house where Molly is, "GOODNIGHT MOLLY, SEE YOU TOMORROW!!!".

Scott and Hunter have had an absolute blast four wheeling through the beautiful, uninhabited hills around us. This afternoon we went exploring through Gunnison National Park - so beautiful. We stopped at a tiny little general store/tavern/restaurant on the way back and had THE BEST hamburgers - to die for, I'm not kidding. We are going back tomorrow - to the forest and the hamburger place. In my mind they go together now. One would not be the same without the other.

I know it's time for bed here when I am shivering cold and the only way to warm up is to get under the covers. I reached that point about 5 minutes ago. Outa here!

Latest Obsession

Let me just put it this way, I NEED A NANNY!!! (or a stiff drink)

Chondromalacia(runner's knee for you non athletic types) + packing 5 people for Colorado vacation + excited 5 year old, who cannot. stop. talking., + 7 year old boy with an ear infection + (see above), + a husband who has to work all day = me, staring into space in a catatonic stupor only 12 hours from our flight, with not one bag fully packed, posting pictures on my blog - Hello, procrastination!

I am officially switching from calling this a vacation to calling it a trip. Yes, we are going on a trip. Something about this does not feel vacation-like.

So, if you were planning on flying American Airlines tonight, you may want to reconsider. I know I am.

At least she's polite when throwing her food across the floor...

Piper was eating some yogurt, to combat some unfortunate digestive symptoms caused by an antibiotic for an ear infection, when I heard her bowl and spoon slide across the floor with impressive force. I looked her way, our eyes met, and in her sweet little voice she said, "No thank you, mommy!".

Apparently she was all done.

So far, our summer has looked alot like this...