4th of July Camping Trip

We went camping for our 4th of July weekend. We left the house just after noon on Thursday. (that was a miracle in an of itself!) We went up to the Meadow Ridge campground. It is right by the Rampart Reservoir. We set up camp and got down to the business of having fun! We were joined by 3 other families...the Leftwich's, Birrell's and the Zelasko's

(a total of 22 of us...the majority being teenagers)

Unfortunately, it rained the first night...it was a little cool out, and our tent had a little "leaking" problem. We got dripped on ALL night! We decided that SOMETHING had to be done!!

On Friday, we went to Guffey's Gorge for some cliff diving... (SCARY for mom!) The scenery was beautiful!Wayne climbed up to get the pictures from on top...
Here is Chase & Austin going for a back flip.Here is Ryan getting ready to jump...he did MANY jumps!Here is Jessica being "coaxed" down in order to jump. After much coercion, Chase talked her into jumping WITH him...he grabbed her hand and made her GO!Here is Wayne doing his 2nd jump! (what a brave man!)Later that afternoon....the clouds came in. Yep, it rained the rest of the evening! Good thing we stopped at Walmart and purchased a new tent!

Saturday morning dawned bright and clear. Ryan went with Chase, Austin and Steve (a parent) around the lake on mountain bikes. That would be a 14 mile ride. Poor Ryan missed the last turn off and went a little farther than necessary, but he did make it back to camp safely.

Wayne headed out with Chipper, Chris, Jessica, Tiffany, Nate, Jeremy, Scott, JD and Brenda (a parent). After going part way, Brenda, Nate & Tiffany headed back. The others went on. Wayne talked them into going all the way around the lake. Well...the weather did NOT cooperate with them. They had to deal with marble sized hail. They found a cave to wait out the hail...they noticed that there were some rather large feces in there. The story goes that someone threw a rock down the hole to see how deep it was...they heard a growl. Then Chipper started to growl. We don't know exactly what was in that cave, but they all decided not to wait around to see!!! They found another cave that didn't seem as dangerous. When the hail stopped, they continued hiking in the rain. It wasn't any ordinary rain...it was a DOWN POUR!!! At camp, we were experiencing MAJOR flooding. The tents were so saturated with water that we were all leaking at the seams. Even our new tent was leaking. Our camp area became a "lake".

When everyone arrived home WET...everyone piled into the Leftwich's 5th wheel...thank goodness they had a warm HUMID place to get warm.

Here are a few pictures of the after effects of the rain that day during a break in the rain!

The break didn't last long. The rain continued. Everyone was WET. All of our clothes were wet! Chipper was WET. After dinner, we decided to go home for the night so that we could get Chipper dry, and get DRY clothes.

We returned early Sunday morning to yummy crepes! Since it was a beautiful day, we all went for a little walk...

Oh and here is the BIRTHDAY BOY! HAPPY BIRTHDAY WAYNE!

Once again...the clouds came and it started to rain. The kids watch a movie in the trailer and then ended up playing games at the camp table. Here they are playing "slap jack"...I understand there were many bruised hands afterwards.

We also had some "friendly" arm wrestling contests.

The birthday boy got a special dutch oven dinner...

Then for Dessert...we had a dutch oven Mississippi Mud Cake

Jessica happened to not be present when we sang "Happy Birthday" to Wayne....so she did a solo and sang to her daddy!Later that night, Brenda brought out the "glow sticks". The kids all played "capture the flag" in the dark. Since quiet time is at 10:00, they played their last game in "silence". Ok, so they weren't that quiet. They sat around the fire and talked and laughed until after 12:30. Yep...that was in the AM! We got up Monday morning, had breakfast and loaded up!

We are still attempting to dry all the tents out in the back yard...we will then SEAL the seams. Hopefully the next time we camp, we will BEAT the rain!!

Memorial Day Hike

Memorial Day is a wonderful day to remember our loved ones who have gone on before us, fallen soldiers, and how important family time is! Early this morning,(ok, so it wasn't real early...alright, so it was 8:00) we woke up our children. We asked them if they were interested in a hike. The forecast reported a 60% chance of rain in the afternoon. That meant that we had to HURRY! (Remember...we have teenagers) Lucky for us, we were able to leave by 9:00. ..even picking up an extra teenager (Chase Leftwich). We decided to head north east rather than west (that's where most of the storms usually are). We went to Castlewood Canyon National Park. This is an interesting park because it appears out of nowhere!!! As we drove east and north, we encountered rolling hills and basically plains. There were lots of cows and horses to look at. We drove for about 1/2 hour. The kids thought I was nuts...there couldn't be hiking out here!! BOOM! Right before our eyes, the park appeared.

It is an unexpected beauty!

We started out our hike in GREAT spirits...believe it or not...we ended that way too!

Here is Jessica, Chase & Ryan.

This was the first bridge that we came to...Wayne, Jessica, Chipper, Chris, Tiffany, Ryan & Chase...we don't know the guy in the blue shorts!
The trail went down into the canyon and then followed the stream. We were amazed at how many people were there with us!
There were lots of rocks to climb on. This is a FAVORITE pastime for
Wayne, my children & my dog!
Sometimes it is a little scary to watch them hop across the rocks with no thought as to how far DOWN it is in between.

Here are my 2 girls hugging on their daddy! Chipper is keeping watch to make sure his "boys" are alright.

What is a hike without a pose? Here is Chase showing off his massive muscles.

Did I mention that my children and dog LOVE to climb on rocks. I wonder if they read the sign that said to stay ON the trail...not NEXT to the trail.

OK, so you caught me...I joined the family on the rocks...see, I'm trying to hide behind Ryan!

Chris decided that he needed a little rest and found a little cave to relax in.

(He called it his "bomb shelter)

Not to be out done, Tiffany found an even DEEPER cave.

Then there was that "Dam" historic trail.

Don't forget to put the emphasis on the "Dam".

Here is Jessica attempting to add a letter to the end of that sign...and Wayne ...

well the picture says it all!

Here are the Dam ruins Here are all the kids on the Dam...after hiking up the Dam Historic Trail...

ok, even I couldn't stop saying it!

Going to the Dam Ruins wasn't quite far enough, so we went on to what they called the "falls". It really wasn't LARGE falls, but it was fun to play in. Here is Tiffany & Chris hopping rocks.

Look...Chris is relaxing while Wayne is trying to catch up to him. ha,ha.

Unfortunately, we didn't get the picture of Jessica falling into the water. Lucky for her...Chase lent her his socks. (Is that sanitary?) I also didn't get pictures of the boys laying down on the rocks and "cooling" their heads off in the water. We went back to the car after that. Notice how there are no pictures....it was all UPHILL on the way back!!!!!! We ended up walking a little over 4 miles and really enjoyed ourselves! What a great way to spend time as a family!

Locks of Love

We have had several in our family participate in Locks of Love. Basically, it is a non-profit organization that provides hairpieces to financially disadvantaged children in the US and Canada under the age of 18 suffering from long-term medical hair loss. There are requirements...you must donate at least 10 inches, hair cannot be bleached..etc.

Jessica had 12 inches cut off...Here is her ponytail that was cut. Doesn't she look ADORABLE in her new haircut?

Here is the back.
It ended up being shorter than she originally thought, but she LOVES it! She also feels that it is going to a GREAT cause!

If you are interested in joining Jessica in donating your hair...here is the link http://www.locksoflove.org/

Tiffany's Clarinet

As most of you know, Tiffany will be playing the clarinet. I looked into renting one, but it was $20.00/month. I asked what kind of clarinet they rent out. Armed with that information, I went onto Ebay. I lost several bids....and eventually one one. I only spent $56.00 on it. How cool is that!?! When it arrived, we had our neighbor (who plays the clarinet) come over and show her how to put it together. He went with us to the music store to buy reeds and a book to play from. After getting home, he helped her to play it with correct form. He tried out the instrument with his mouthpiece and he said we got lucky and got a good one!! That first night, she played for SEVERAL hours. She is able to play at least 2 songs. I think her piano playing has helped her move a step forward.

Here she is "posing" with her new instrument...

Here is a picture I snapped while she was playing.She has a strong desire to do well...I think she will make it!!!

Wordless Wednesday...Pets love each other

Flashback Friday

Here is Elvis (rest his soul) basking in the sunlight!

Musical Family

Music has always held a special place in my heart. I have always tried to encourage ANY kind of music. Each of my children have had piano lessons...some more than others. All of my children have BEAUTIFUL voices (ok, I may be biased) I would like to brag about the musicians that my children are....

First we will start with Jessica...she plays the piano very well. I enjoy listening to her relaxing by playing the piano. I believe she finds that it is a "stress reliever". Recently, she has begun voice lessons. Now, I am graced with hearing an angelic voice practicing her music ALONG with playing the piano.

Ryan has always been talented when it comes to music. He started by taking piano lessons. While he could play it, there wasn't a "draw" to the piano. He has always LOVED the guitar. As a toddler, he would ask if he could have a "violent guitar". When he was around 4 or 5, we gave him a junior guitar for Christmas. I was amazed at how well he took care of it...I believe he still has that original guitar (minus a couple of strings). In 5th grade, the school offered free guitar lessons. We invested in an acoustic guitar AND a classic guitar. Wayne and Ryan went weekly and learned the guitar. It was quite the bonding experience. In the 4th & 5th grades, he was selected to participate in the Colorado Springs All Boys Choir. He also participated in the school's honor choir. Ryan has ALWAYS enjoyed singing. Once he entered middle school, the band took over. He began his "band career" by playing the French Horn (my personal favorite). Part way through his middle school career, he switched instruments...he then played the Tuba. He currently plays the Tuba in High School. Recently, he has returned to his guitar. He has continued to learn (on his own) how to read tablature (not sure of the spelling). He is able to play many songs. His favorite is to play songs from the band "America". Maybe one of these days, we will get him his "violent guitar" or electric guitar. I also love sitting by him at church and listening to his rich bass sound as he sings!

Christopher also started out with the piano. He was able to play, but like his brother, he wasn't drawn to it. He participated in the elementary school's honor choir also. Once in middle school, he took up the trombone. His talent was obvious. We had him take private lessons and Chris took off! He has been the first chair for most of his middle school career. He also tried out for the Jazz Band this year. He didn't expect to get in since the majority of participants are 8th graders and he was just a 7th grader. He made it into that band, but the teacher switched his instrument to the Bass Trombone. So, currently, Chris is playing 2 instruments...in band, the regular trombone and in Jazz band, the bass trombone. Chris is also quite the singer, however, with his voice changing, I don't get to hear it that often!

Tiffany started out with piano lessons like the rest. She has gone in and out of interest in the piano. It has been hard for her to stick with it. However, you can find her sitting at the piano playing and singing along. Like the majority of her siblings, she too has participated in the elementary school's honor choir. She has quite the mature voice for a child her age. I believe singing will be her strong point. The other day, we took her up to the middle school to figure out which instrument would suit her. She tried pretty much all of them. She could get sound out of all of the instruments, however, when she played the clarinet, it sounded like MUSIC! She is excited about starting this chapter of her music career.

Music brightens my day! It warms my heart that my children ALL have a love for it!