6 month pics

If you are busily counting on your fingers right now, you're right. Evie is actually 7 months old now, but I failed to get the 6 month pictures on the blog, so here they are now. Stay tuned for the 7 month shots.

The dress Evie is wearing is from Richard's Aunt Linda & Uncle Bill. They recently came back to the States after being on the mission field in Honduras. Isn't that dress precious??!!

Evie isn't actually horrified or upset in this picture...she's about to sneeze. (You can click it for a larger version where you can see it better) I'm afraid she gets a double dose of weird sneezes: they are powerful, like her father's, and seem to come in a set of at least 2 or 3, like her mother's.

So, we meet again.

Colorado VI--4th of July

Here are a few pics of our 4th of July in Colorado, plus Evie's first time in a ...high chair

My friend, Christy, and her lapful of girls. Here Evie is playing with her friend, Katherine (Christy's daughter). Katherine enjoys pointing out people's parts. We have to be careful though, because she really likes to show Evie where her eye is--sometimes her eyeball, specifically. :o)

I love Evie's "open-mouthed" face. It's like she's just amazed at the simplest things...and perhaps she really is. It's so neat how everything is new to her.

Richard, Evie, and I at sunset before the fireworks show. We are wearing our matching Mountain Hardware fleece caps. Richard bought Evie hers before she was born and Mama altered it to fit her little head.

Enjoying the fireworks over Lake DeWeese.

Technical Help Needed

UPDATE*** Well, it's not perfect because you get the big icon link underneath, but this is a set of emoticons that my co-workers and I found when I was still teaching. We used it for email, but it works here as well. You can click on the link to sign up for it. I probably won't use it much though bc I don't want to fill up that much space on my blog with the box they put at the bottom of each post that includes an emoticon. Huh, I say that, but after I published this I didn't see the icon that I saw before. ?? Oh well. Who knows?


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Ok, expert Bloggers (Including anyone who might be "passing through" from another blog)... How do I use Emoticons (various animated "smileys") in my blog? I searched for them in Blogger help, but when I tried to use them, all that showed up was the code I pasted in (rather than showing a Smiley). Also, is there a particular (free!) online emoticon site you trust? I'm paranoid.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Poll 2

At what age did your baby sit up by him/herself?

I allowed for more than one answer to be chosen in case you have more than one kiddo. Evie can sit up for a couple seconds by herself, but I pretty much have to get her balanced and then let go. She's getting there though! :o)

St. Elmo & Cascade Falls (Colorado V)

If you ever have the opportunity, I highly recommend you go to St. Elmo. It is a preserved (not restored) Colorado ghost town. Here's info from their official site (http://www.st-elmo.com/)

St. Elmo Colorado was officially founded in 1880. Gold and Silver Mining brought many people to the area. There were over 150 Patented mine claims inthe St. Elmo area. Populations reached a high of nearly 2000 people.The DSP&P laid their tracks up to St. Elmo and continued the line through Romley then to Hancock and through theHistoric Alpine Tunnel. St. Elmo was considered a Hub town for supplies arrivingby train. The tracks were abandoned in 1922. It is said that St. Elmo's Population rode the last train out of town and never came back.

I have to admit...I go there to feed the chipmunks and hear the zillion hummingbirds flying around. Evie was intrigued by the chipmunks...she actually kicked at one of them. ***Maybe the poll of the week should be "Would YOU let a rodent step on your baby's leg?" :o>

It's a beautiful drive. We stopped by Cascade Falls on the way back to camp.

Hodge Podge (Colorado IV)

Here are some shots of a few random events we enjoyed while in Colorado...

Watching Daddy play volleyball. Yes, his team dominated and he put the fear into several people with his powerful spike (I gots to brag on my Hubsley!) :o)

Getting a sweaty hug & kiss from Daddy between games.

Here is an adorable outfit that Evie wore one day. Christy let her borrow it from Katherine's wardrobe since obviously Evie's winter-wear is way too small now. The cute pink moccasins are a gift from Evie's Grandmama (She couldn't resist them when she went to the 4th of July parade in Westcliffe).

Poll 1

Well, in my quest to take the blog to the next level, I have added a new feature: the poll. Since I can never just answer a question without "it depends" I thought I'd include a post with the poll number (since I'll hopefully add new polls in the future) and if you would like to add more to your answer you can leave a comment (but please be sure to vote as well). You have a week to vote. I'll add the info here as well in case Blogger deletes the polls after the week's up (I really don't know what to expect). I'd love to get lots of votes! :o) Oh, I made it so you can put more than one vote.

Poll 1: If given a surprise hour free of commitments, what would you do with this free time?

1. Update your blog
2. Go browse at Barnes & Noble
3. Curl up with a good book
4. Lunch with a friend
5. Pamper yourself (pedicure, for ex.)
6. Other

Have fun!
P.S. This is really easy to do (at least in Blogger): Just go to Customize, Add a Page Element, then click Poll.

Takin' it to the Next Level

Since Evie has been a good napper today, I've had time to add several posts to the blog, as well as look at others' blogs. Time is a dangerous thing, my friend. I've gotten inspired. Richard called a few minutes ago and I told him, "I think I want to take the blog to the next level." His immediate comment was, "So you're turning into at least 85%, right?" (as in 85% addicted to blogging...see post: My Blog Addiction). Hee hee!



So, I'm not sure exactly how to take the blog to the next level, but I'd at least like to customize the decor more. Any ideas on how to do this? Until then, I'm off to Google "customize blog." Oh, wait...I hear a little girl waking up. It will have to wait 'til another day...

The Heavens Declare the Glory of God

My husband really amazes me. He is so passionate about photography and he takes advantage of every opportunity to get neat shots. One time he even made a "star tracker" which tracks stars as they move so you don't get a blur. He admits that might be kind of nerdy, but I think it's pretty cool. When we were dating (or were we dating yet??), he went to Lake Powell for a wakeboarding trip. They rented a houseboat and I asked him to take a picture of the stars for me. True to his word, he came back with a beautiful shot of the stars.

Here are a couple of shots he got in Colorado:

The moon:

Jupiter plus 4 of its moons! (there's a bit of blur since he didn't have the star tracker with him). I can't believe he got that with a camera!!

Take a Hike! (Colorado Trip--Part III)

Let me explain a little about "Summer Camp." Basically, a group from our church heads to Horn Creek Christian Camp and we worship God together through singing, Bible study, and simply enjoying His beautiful creation there in Colorado. Since we go to a really big church, this is an awesome way for us to spend extra, more focused time with friends, as well as get to know people that we normally wouldn't really see at church.

A group of us did an "acclimation hike" on one of the first days at camp.

Look at Mother's smile...what a trouper!

I enjoyed talking with my new friend, Belinda, by the stream.

Capulin Volcano & The Great Sand Dunes (Colorado Trip--Part 2)

On the way to the camp in Colorado we stopped by the Capulin Volcano (in New Mexico). It was really cool to see all that lava erupting. Just kidding--it's dormant--I just wanted to be sure you were paying attention and not just looking at the pictures. ;o)

After that we went to the Great Sand Dunes National Park (in Colorado). Richard and I hadn't been in a few years...it got upgraded from a "national monument" to a "national park." We weren't able to get a room at "The Lodge" like we usually do (the only lodging close by), so we stayed at a hotel about 45 minutes away. Richard and Mama ("Mama" = my mom, "Mother" = Richard's mom) got up at the scrrrreeeech of dawn (3:45 am!!!) to go take pictures at the dunes. Evie, Mother, and I decided to sleep instead and check it out later in the day. At a glance, doesn't it look like Richard is somewhere in the Arctic instead of the sand?

Colorado Trip-Part I

Our Colorado Trip was so eventful that I know it will take several posts to get it even partially covered. So, that said, it will probably be spread out over the course of several days, some with lots posted and others with just a little (depends on how much I can devote to it). So, keep checking in, and be sure to scroll down in case I manage several posts in a day.

Richard, Evie & I just got back from a trip to Colorado. We went to our church's "Summer Camp." This year, we even took our moms with us (my dad had a class so he couldn't make it this time). I find it funny that we invited them every year, but the year there's a granddaughter they were both suddenly on board. :oP

Here are pictures of the very start of our trip:

1. The packed to the gills Toyota Sienna that we rented. After seeing how much he could stuff in it, I think Richard might be on the minivan bandwagon. We were already planning on getting one, but now he might actually like it! Our top contender was the Honda Odyssey, but we really liked the Sienna, too.

2. Richard's mom (Nana) with Evie.

3. The flooding we passed in Wichita Falls! Texas has had an amazing amount of rain this year!

4. Evie being her sweet, cheerful self. She was SO GOOD the entire trip! She didn't really have a breakdown until we were on our way back, about to get to the hotel in Amarillo (and by then I was about to have a breakdown myself!) :oP

My Blog Addiction

72%How Addicted to Blogging Are You?

Mingle² - Online Dating

You've probably already seen this (since I know at least 2 of my blogging friends already have it on their blog), but it's a quiz you take to see how addicted you are to blogs (you don't have to have your own to qualify).