Thursday, October 29, 2009

And It's Still Snowing

Once upon a time the family went off for a doctor's appointment into the Big City. Who knew it would be blistery cold and fiercely snowing? Off they went on their great adventure in the snow. Good thing Momma has 4 wheel drive.


Stop we say! Yep.. this big fellow wasn't sure if he wanted to stop or come on through the intersection.


Could it be that on this fine adventurous day, we also visit the infamous DMV. Of course we do. What else is there to do on a snowy sort of day? Look out world, Boo has her permit!


The mighty white beast made it there and back again with no problem. A lift kit would be nice though. Hmmm.. how do I break that to my husband? Sometimes it was a little slower but we did it! The snow in Monument is about 15 inches or more and still coming down. Two "snow days".. you know, NO SCHOOL and maybe three.





Could it be that Charley Girl is looking for her neighbor friend the Lab Dixie? Please go play Dixie, Charley needs exercise!



Back porch with BIG snow drifts


So our adventure is done. Stew is in the pot and cornbread a comin' up next. The wind is howling and the fire a blazing. Well, not really cause we still have smoke issues but it sounds good for the story don't you think?


Brrrrrr... such a blustery sort of day!

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Through the Years...Happy 20th Anniversary!

October 28, 1989 is a day I will always remember. The morning was crisp with a slight mist in the air. Our wedding was at 11:00am. We arrived at the church around 8am to get ready and for an early start with pictures. Big hair and mauve were the thing of the 80's. We couldn't ask for a better day. God's presence was all around us as we celebrated the beginning of our life together.

Terrell has always been a sports car guy. This is our fun honeymoon vehicle. Talk about Love..he turned this over to me while we were dating cause I didn't have reliable transportation. Oh yes! My speedster days were fun. No tickets though. July 1990
We have a favorite spot in California. The Narrow Gauge Inn is in Fish Camp, a tiny mountain community outside of Fresno. We went here for our first date, honeymoon night, and our first anniversary. This is October 1990. I was three months pregnant with Gabe. I was so tired but we just had to go out. You don't just let your 1st anniversary pass by. And those pants Terrell is wearing..he wore those on our first date and I won't let him get rid of them. So...they hang in his closet, just for me!
We had just had Becca in August of 1992 and snuck away for a night in October in Palm Springs.

Williamsburg. We traveled together one year to the east coast for a great get-away. I love traveling with Terrell. We laugh, hold hands, talk...uninterrupted, and always, always, talk about how much we miss the kids!
Lake Tahoe. Our favorite California city.
Disneyland 2007

Lake Tahoe. Another fun anniversary trip. Terrell surprised me with a wonderful place in Tahoe. Fall there can either be perfectly crisp or blizzardly cold.

Oh the family is so young here! One October we had a Harvest Party with a bunch of friends.
Check out that RED hair! When we moved to Colorado I went red since no one knew me. It was fun while it lasted. I love the goatee on Terrell. Oh man!

Summer 2008. Still smiling. Good thing we both had braces. LOL.
New Years Eve 2008
September 2009
Same sweater! What's up with that? We celebrated My B'day in Denver this year.


So here we are 20 years, 10+ moves, 7 houses, 3 dogs, and 4 amazing children later. I love you Spike Harry Jones. So glad you're mine. Let the adventure continue.

Monday, October 26, 2009

All My Chickies are Home

We had a great family weekend together! Gabe came home from CSU and my nest was full. Ahhh..
Lina was not wanting to smile for the camera. She was finishing a cookie!
Charley went bizerk when Gabe came home. She was in her element and thrilled her Boy was back.

You may recall the sad fireplace story from last winter. Terrell figured out how to fix that thing and YEAH! we hope it works.

Look into my eyes!
Becca and I tried to do a self portrait. Silly girls.

So, the eating cookie thing was still happening. This is our serious look instead. No cookie smiley face.
Lina discovered Line Rider again. The kids were watching her successfully navigate the track.
And here I am trying to get a picture with the college boy. End of the day, just before he left, oh yes I should take some pictures before he leaves, ok stand here. Now take the picture.

All is well.

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Some Catch Up Time

The fall has been quite busy around these parts. Between school, the Men's retreat, job changes, classes, Awana, Bible studies, and then some, there hasn't been time to update this here ol' blog. Now that I finished up 3 classes and my break has begun, I am allowing myself some creative time to play catch up... starting here.


Terrell had a great opportunity to go to some faraway parts of Colorado and experience an all day ride with some guys. He loved it! He has barely skimmed the surface of all that Colorado has to offer for cyclist.

Then in October the projects began.. ones chosen and NOT chosen. T and my brother, Rob, did a minor lift fix on the truck to equalize the "look" and ride of the truck. Turned out great and they had greasy fun doing it. Argh! Argh! Argh!

Then we both got new tires for our trucks. Another VERY exciting time for my husband. Hence, the picture to send off to Gabe. Isn't is beautiful??




I stole these from Robby's Facebook page and they turned out really tiny. The next project was lifting Rob's jeep. They had another greasy fun time til 3 in the morning mind you on a week night, lifting his truck. It turned out great! Oh yes...Argh! Argh! Argh!

Awana kicked off in September and I am again a team leader. Love Awana and what the kids receive through the Word each week. Here's Lina and Aspen dressed up for "wounded night".


And I am back on the wagon.. week 4 to be exact of a yeast free, sugar free cleanse. I have dropped inches and pounds again, much needed I may add. My closet was screaming at me and my hips were too. This is a scrumptious yeast free, sugar free pizza. So de-licis! I am feeling motivated to get back to where I like to be. My weight has always been a battle since I had my last baby. Now that I am so busy with school and sitting so much in front of this laptop, it is even worse. Anddd.. we'll be married 20 years this month. More motivation.

The weather was nice one particular Sunday afternoon and off we went to the park. The girls are like their dad and love volleyball. Angelina is in a league through the Y starting in November. Love the NO FEAR in my girls. Love it! No, I am not out there. Balls hit me in the face and I really don't care to be hit, so, no... I won't play.

I love this picture!
In October, I had two weekends I had to be in Fort Collins for class. The first one, Becca came with me and spent time with her brother. I love the picture of the two of them. Gabe's dorm room is awesome! He's doing well. It is always great to reconnect with your kids. With that said he is adjusting well to college life and looks healthy. Healthy is hard to come by in college some times! Gabe has a long board to get around campus, plays soccer for intramurals, and has a great roomie. Both times I visited, the door was left wide open and lots of "hey" or "what's up" were shared. Yep.. he's still my social guy.
Terrell co-lead the Men's retreat this year for our church. They had a great time together and saw God do a great work in many lives. He was a busy man this fall don't ya say? Oh and the whole fall was plagued with noise in the back ground of his job and another round of cuts. I am happy to say, he in employed still!

I also started a Home Economics class for these sweet girls. I have not been on top of my game with this class. The cooking unit was fun though and they made a great meal for the parents to feast upon. Isn't homeschooling just the best! I also have these girls (and many more) in our Thursday night Bible study. I co-lead with my sweet friend, Laura, a high school girls study. On this side note... Boo and Kat lead us in worship every week. Kat is multi-talented with instruments and Boo plays the guitar now. They're really good.

We had a freeze this month too. It was gorgeous outside. Love the weather here in Colorado. Can't beat it really. You can be cold one day and hot next. Love the versatility it brings to life....
Like this! A pipe froze outside and in due to our forgetfulness to unscrewing the hose. The flooding of the storage room led to this big mess and a $175.00 plumber bill. Remember projects NOT chosen....this would be it.

and some funny trivia.... you gotta throw that in right? Check out the box. T bought some new clippers and this big ol' box had a tiny box inside. Advertising at it's best.

I took a much needed break with my girlfriend, Tina and went to the park with the kids. She helped me in the storage room adventures. It was time to leave and catch my breath. Well. and I was avoiding homework too. This fall I spent 30 hours in the classroom observing and many more doing homework. I have become a fan of train photos. So another train picture for you from the park.



So off to Fort Collins again for school. All day Saturday and all day Sunday. I stayed with some friends in their marvelous house. This view is from their porch. I loved all the corn fields and crops, the white fences, and the mountain back drop. Fort Collins is really a beautiful town. I also loved that I had dinner with my son again. He took me to a fun hang out he likes near campus.
What else can I share about the fall so far? I changed my major, my shoulder/neck is way worse, Terrell and I celebrate our 20th anniversary this month, I got some really cool black boots for my birthday, my calves are bigger than I knew, I wish my mom would come visit me and my dad for that matter, we have pitiful pumpkin patches here (all the nice ones are in Fort Collins) and last but certainly not least, God is growing a new dream up in Terrell and me. We aren't sure what it will turn out to be but we know it's happening. More on that in another blog post. :)
Well... Happy October Everyone! There's my life in a few short lines.