Visit to Grandpa & Grandma Neville's

We found some affordable direct flights to Denver on Frontier Airlines and were able to go visit the grandparents.

After arriving, we walked to a nearby breakfast restaurant. Then we drove just over an hour to Estes Park, to stay at my Dad and Sandy's mountain house. What a treat!

We explored the neighborhood, played at the playground zipline, and enjoyed the scenery.

That evening, the Neville's treated us to dinner at The Post restaurant next door to the famous Stanley Hotel. I ate one of the best burgers I've ever had!

On the way home we saw big some elk with antlers!

Saturday morning view from the deck.

Walking around Lake Estes.

Ready for paddle boating!

I think this was the kids first time. Nice views all around.

We LOVE seeing wildlife! There were elk everywhere.

My favorite picture of them. We even got to see several babies.

I LOVE that my boys are friends. It is such a blessing and I hope they stay close as adults.

Later in the day we witnessed a minor CO hail storm.

Evening walk. The highlight was seeing a deer with her two fawns. They still had spots.

On Sunday we went for a hike in Hermit Park called Kruger Rock Trail. Flowers!!

The view from half way up. We could even see their house from here.

The top of Kruger Rock, just 4 miles round trip.

The most adventurous part of the hike was this rock scrabble. Even the grandparents did it!!

Another gorgeous view of Estes Park on a cloudy day.

Benny holding an elk! He's so fun.

Sunday night we went on a wildlife drive in Rocky Mountain NP. And besides TONS of elk we got to see a MOOSE!!!

The moose was at a place called sheep lake.

It walked around and went in the water. So cool!

Then we stopped by to see the Alluvial Fan. I had no idea what to expect but it was so neat. The waterfall was flowing from the recent rain.

Addy and Josh crossing the bridge. What a beautiful place!

No way! Another MOOSE!! Now that's what I call a successful wildlife drive.

So many elk, even a few bucks! We barely made it back to the house for a delicious homemade dinner and homemade cookies.

Monday morning, we woke up early to hike in Rocky Mountain NP.

The boys sporting their new hiking backpacks! I got them the bigger 20L size vs their usual 10L which look tiny on them now. FREE to take on the plane.

We hiked one of the most popular areas off Bear Lake Rd. This is Dream Lake, one of several along the trail. Josh and I had done this hike on a previous visit.

I knew there would be snow and Benny's only goal was to see some.

The hike starts at 9400K. By the time we were half way up, the trail was covered.

The kids LOVED it!

Another view of the lake. Thankfully we didn't get rained on even though it was in the forecast.

Emerald Lake, still mostly frozen, only 3.2m total. The high elevation was no problem!

The 2nd highlight of the trail, besides snow, was seeing a marmot!!

He walked around so CLOSE to us! It was so amazing.

The hike back down.

Sliding when slippery was the preferred method.

Benny could not stop himself from playing off trail in the snow drifts.

Posing by Nymph Lake.

Before leaving the park, we decided to drive Trail Ridge Rd to the top of the continental divide. The views were awesome on the way up.

But once we got near the top, it was not as nice. This is around 12K and above the tree line. I don't like it up so high. There's not enough oxygen to breathe!

We drove back to Denver and stayed our last night near the airport. The boys playing so nicely together. LOVE!

A veiw of our mountains near Asheville on the flight home.

Thank you Neville's for hosting us!!!

Spring Break Sacrifice

We stayed home for spring break this year to finish remodeling the office.

Annual indoor egg hunt.

And baskets in our room.

After church we went to Mimi's for more Easter festivities.

And a delicious homemade meal.

My favorite azeala bush did not disappoint. It grows bigger each year.

Josh and Benny planted our annual garden.

My studly boys playing basketball after dinner one night.

We got to hang out with friends. Playing disc golf at the Eager Beaver course.

Addy found the smallest turtle ever.

The spring weather was beautiful.

The gang got together for airsoft.

At the end of April, Addy attended her senior prom. I was so proud of her for wearing the same dress as last year. She looked even more beautiful.

Mother's Day! We went out to eat then had dessert at Mimi's house.

Blessed to be a mom of these 4 special souls. I LOVE them more than all other things.

Benny got a ribbon in the Waxhaw art show!

Jackson's amazing picture was also featured. We think it should have gotten a ribbon too.

Another cool Jackson original from his sketchbook.

Benny had an end of the year band concert. He's front and center.

The 6th grade band is huge. I'm so amazed a child of mine can read music and play an instrument.

Our one and only beautiful daughter graduated on June 2nd!!

The ceremony was held at school on Friday night.

Addy was ready to be done with high school so it was a happy day.

Here's everyone that came. Sorry Kristie and Norah!! You should have been there.

I'm so proud of my girl. I LOVE the kind, loving person she has grown to be and I think she's ready to face this crazy world.

Here is Addy another day opening her graduation gift from us.

It's a laptop and she is already using it for her 2 summer courses. Her happy face is the BEST!

Summer 2023 has officially begun!!