Minnesota Again!

So this past weekend, I convinced Micah that we needed to go to the Minnesota State Fair. I have such wonderful memories of getting up early in the morning and heading to the Fair with my mom, grandma and brother, that I really wanted to share them with Micah (although I must admit that I was a bit nervous that it wouldn't be all that I had remembered it to be). We had a great time wondering around the animal barns- where I learned a ton from Micah- going on the Ye Olde Mill Ride (the only ride we were allowed to go on when I was growing up), munching on Tom Thumb Mini Donuts (I'm sorry mom and dad that I didn't treat Micah to a Pronto Pup (a Minnesota version of a Corn Dog) or cheese curds... next time), looking at tractors and just enjoying a day together!

This was the biggest boar at the Fair (he was over 1.300 pounds!)... I'm not sure you can really get the picture of just how big he actually is!

Ironically enough, when we came out of the swine barn we saw this sign.... they had just about anything you could ever imagine either on a stick or deep friend and then put on a stick!
Ye Olde Mill Ride- the diorama's inside haven't changed since I was a little girls... they were pitiful even then!

This is Micah's some day toy!

On Sunday, Micah and I headed over to my best friends parent's house for a wonderful breakfast and morning boat ride. Paige and I made the most of "the narrows" and their slow speed to get caught up on the front of the boat..

Just hanging out on the boat! :)

What a beautiful day we had with such dear friends!

After our day at the lake, we headed back to David and Ashely's for a late night s'mores fest!

Mom, Hailey and Dad

Micah is a great uncle who constantly has them laughing! Here, Micah was "trying" to "help" Kelsey make her s'more....

Julie just has a sweet sense of humor that keeps us laughing!

Josh continues to be one of the happiest little boys I have ever met- especially in the arms of his mom... or with a mouth FULL of marshmallow's he's captured with out anyone knowing!

I so love getting to spend time with my husband and my family!

Paige and I had a little bit of time to finish catching up before we needed to head out on Monday afternoon...It was fun to get to spend time with Paige and her boys (Sam, 2mo. and Will, almost 3... and ok, I promise Sam wasn't crying the entire time I was holding him!)

The last day of summer for David, Kelsey (2nd grade) and Hailey (the proud kindergartner) brought time with family and a Labor Day picnic... it was a fun reminder of our family tradition of a Labor Day picnic with all of the cousins!

My fearless driver! Micah drove most of the way home which gave me time to sleep so I could head to school first thing this morning! Thanks for being such a driving champ! I love you!

Just Some Random Summer Pictures

The weekend before we headed to Texas, Winter Park hosted a huge bike race weekend. We headed up Saturday for Micah's race and then watched the free ride semi finals. There is no way you could get me to ride the things those guys ride and make look easy... I am quite glad that Micah has no desire to ride it either! :)

I love riding my bike.... on the ground.
This past weekend, Micah was up in Winter Park racing again... this time in the rain! He rode really well, especially considering he hasn't been able to train much over the last couple of weeks!

Micah, Mitch and Charlie came in one after the other...

After the race, Micah and I headed into Fraser to see the traveling Vietnam War Memorial Wall. It was pretty amazing to see the statistics of those who served, were wounded and were killed through out the battles our country has fought. It was a reminded of how thankful we are for those who have served our country and the true sacrifices they have made.

Summer Projects

This was the summer of projects! We have finished up a lot of things on our house and then found a couple of other things to make...

I've wanted to make a headboard for a while and this summer I found a picture of the one that I wanted in a Pottery Barn catalog (and it was very nice of them to give me the exact dimensions of everything on the headboard!)... so I drew it out and Micah helped me build it!

Before paint....

This was the final step before we put the headboard up... the thing weighs a ton and I've decided that if we have any more tornado warnings here we're just going to lay the headboard down and hide under it!

I know the fabric looks like butterflies from a distance, but they're not. Really.

Up close and personal...

We also decided to make a new mantle for our fireplace....

Thankfully we were able to use the holes in the brick from the old mantle (which was one of the first things we took out of the house when Micah bought it) to mount our new mantle!

Somehow a mantle seems to make the room seem like a real home..

I think this was one of the easiest projects this summer....

While I was in Minnesota, Micah decided to surprise me and put down the tile on the floor in our laundry room and downstairs bathroom!

I love our new tile!!!!! Thank you Micah for all of your hard work to make our home so beautiful!

Texas Fun!

Last week Micah and I headed to Texas. The drive usually takes around 15 hours... it took us 30. I thought that it would be fun take a different route this time since we were leaving earlier than usual... I think we hit every small town, slow down, road work section between Denver and Dallas. This was the first of several Starbucks stops...

Since we were taking a different route, we decided to stop in Guyman, Oklahoma where Micah used to live. We were able to see one of his childhood homes (the new owners even let us wonder through the house!) and visit with his old neighbors! It was fun to have a glimpse of Micah's childhood! Thank you Mr. and Mrs. Fowler for your hospitality!
Once we finally made it to Tyler, Texas we decided to get back into the car and drive to the small neighboring town of Jefferson. Jefferson is known for its old southern history and some fun antique shops...

Much to some people's surprise, I had never had ribs until last week. We decided to enjoy some true southern barbecue while we were in Jefferson. Ironically, the restaurant was called Joseph's Riverport Bar-B-Que!

My first plate of ribs...

Ok, so really we aren't into matching clothes, but it's not often that you find t-shirts with your last name on them...

Since we hadn't spent nearly enough time in the car over the past several days, we headed down to Columbus, Texas to see Micah's sisters at camp. It was fun to get to meet the people they work with and see the joy that they bring to the camp families each week! We also got special permission to swim in the lake and play on all of the big inflatable toys! Ok, so it was mostly fun, until Micah jumped on the blob and ended up in the ER with whiplash!

We decided to give the girls a night away from camp and headed to Katy, Texas for a night of Mexican food, Starbucks and air conditioning!

(Micah, Betsy and Betsy)

Shannon and Abby

It's hard to get a serious picture with this crowd...

Betsy, Micah and Caleb

On our drive home we happened upon a giant rubber duckie! You really can't just drive by something like this and not take a picture :)

This trip seemed to be the trip of barbecue... Shannon and Caleb took us to their favorite barbecue restaurant the last night we were in Tyler and sent us home with some special sauce!

Micah and Caleb

While we were in Tyler, we were able to get a couple of projects done... we finished up a fence that we started at Christmas and built another fence along the side of Shannon's house...

Thank you Shannon for such a wonderful week. Thank you for all of the laughter, joy and encouragement that you bring to our lives! We love you!

Ok, so I have a husband who is amazing in so many ways. While we were in Texas, Shannon took us to one of her favorite antique stores and I fell in love with a beautiful old cabinet. Micah packed it up, tied it to the roof of our car and drove it all the way home without any complaints at all -even when we were packing it up outside the store in 90+ degree weather with what I'm sure was 120% + humidity!

The cabinet made it all the way home in one piece with out any broken glass panes!

I love my new cabinet! Thank you Micah (and Shannon for your negotiating)!

Minnesota

I was able to got to Minnesota again this summer to visit my family. Since my sister-in-law's birthday was approaching, the girls decided they wanted to make her small pillows. Kelsey even sewed her's together! :)

Sewing is always serious business! (Kelsey and Hailey)

I think the pillows turned out rather well, if I do say so myself :)! Happy Birthday Ashely!

While I was home I was also able to spend time with just the grown-ups, well almost just the grown-ups (Josh was the only one too young for Vacation Bible School so he got to hang out with us while the girls were gone). As a birthday celebration for David and Ashley. my parents took us to an awesome Japanese restaurant which provided quite the entertainment for Josh (who I have to say is one of the happiest kids I have ever met)!

The "grown-ups" plus one.

(David, Joseh, Betsy and Ashley)

While I was home, I was also able to visit the Minnesota Zoo. It's a really neat zoo with lots of trails everywhere! We were even able to feed a giraffe (Josh wasn't the least bit nervous to stick a cracker on the giraffe's tongue!

It is always fun to get to spend time with family!

(David and Ashley)

Grandma and Kelsey

I sure do treasure my time with such precious nieces and nephew! I love you Kelsey, Hailey, Josh and Julie!

Breckenridge 70

So amongst the crazy things Micah has decided to do, usually at the last minute and with out much specific training, (for example, competing in a triathlon in the pro category last summer after not having swam for over a year), one of the craziest has been riding at 70+ mile mountain bike race! The race lasted over 6 1/2 hours from Breckenridge to Como, Colorado over some of the most beautiful mountain bike trails!

While Micah was out racing, I hung out at the start and waited to cheer him on as he passed through after his first loop... even though it was a long wait, I certainly couldn't complain about the view! I'm not sure I've ever seen Micah quite so exhausted after a race!

Micah can in 3rd in the race! Pretty impressive, especially considering the fact that he hadn't actually trained for this particular race!

Racing and Workin' on the Jeep

This year the pro field at the Winter Park Mountain Bike Series has been 50 + pro's each race which is almost double what it was last year! Micah has been racing really well this year against some of the very top mountain bikers in the country! He continues to work and train hard and I am so very proud of him!

Micah's friends Drew and Carrie extended their family vacation and were able to see Micah race! I know it was very encouraging to have them there and cheering for him! I enjoyed the company during the race :)

After the race Micah and Drew went to work on the Scrambler... there were almost able to get it running after staying up ALL night working! Drew finished up around 4:30, showered and headed to the airport at 5 (in the morning that is)! Thank you Drew for all of your hard work and encouragement!

Drew and Carrie... you are welcome anytime! Thank you for your friendship!