Cora and I are leaving soon for Michigan. We will be gone 2.5 weeks and I'm starting to realize how long that is! It dawned on me the other day that Brad will probably be eating mac'n'cheese, grilled cheese sandwiches and Burger King for 2 and a half weeks! That didn't sit well with me so I decided to try to pre-make some real meals for him that he can just throw in the oven or microwave, rather than going through the drive-thru. So as I started planning meals and making a grocery list, I realized how much work it would me to make 2 weeks worth of meals ahead of time...so he will be eating some frozen pizzas, mac'n'cheese and grilled cheese. But at least it won't be every night.
Please pray for a smooth, safe flight for us! I have some special things planned for Cora on the plane, but I know it's going to be a long flight from Denver to GR. She probably won't sleep for two reasons: she generally doesn't sleep if there are people around, and we arrive in GR at the beginning of nap-time. Out of luck, there!
My good friends here have been letting me know, in no uncertain terms, that 2.5 weeks is a really long time to be gone! They sure make me feel loved.
Lastly, please pray for our church. Our pastor just announced that he's accepting a call to a different church. New Life doesn't have any experience in being vacant and searching for a pastor so it will be a growing, stretching experience for the leadership and additional expectations for Brad. The two years in Bellflower without a pastor were really, really hard, so I'm not looking forward to this next stage in our church's life!
Friday, August 29, 2008
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
San Luis Peak: 14,014 feet
Today Brad and I climbed a mountain! In Colorado there are over 50 mountain peaks over 14,000 feet tall. They have been named "fourteeners". There's also plenty of peaks over 13,000 feet, but they get no attention. Who knows why?
Anyway, Brad has climbed two fourteeners previously, but I never have so we wanted to do one together. We dropped Cora off with Mom and Dad B. in Montrose on Monday and drove to the Stewart Creek trail head. We camped there for the night and got up at 5:30 this morning. After enjoying a few more minutes of warmth in our sleeping bags (it was 42 degrees outside) we packed up camp, ate breakfast and started hiking at 6:20.
It was 6.5 miles from the trail head to the summit. We started around 10,500 ft and summited at 14,014 ft. For the most part, the trail is a slow, steady climb. There were only a few sections that were steep, but nothing even as steep as climbing to the top of the basin at the cabin! So the trip to the top seemed pretty easy and steady. We enjoyed the sights along the trail: a number of beaver ponds, one beaver swimming around (burrr!), purple pine cones, the bubbling brook (Stewart Crk) and tons of wildflowers. We also saw a couple elk from a distance, marmots, pikas, chipmunks, birds, and butterflies. It was a really beautiful trail.
We took two snack breaks on the way up and summited at 10:45 am. We took it easy and really enjoyed the hike up. We spent an hour at the summit, enjoying the amazing view of the Rocky mountains from above. After a sandwich and some gorp we headed back down the trail. It was less fun than going up, since all the excitement of reaching the top was over. We arrived back at the car and headed home around 2:30.
It was amazing being on the top of a mountain and looking around seeing hundreds more mountain peaks in every direction. It's a humbling reminder of how small a part we are of God's creation, and what a gift this beautiful earth is for us. Just getting to the peak was such an exhilarating feeling. I hope to be able to do another fourteener some day!
Here's a link to more pictures on Facebook.
Anyway, Brad has climbed two fourteeners previously, but I never have so we wanted to do one together. We dropped Cora off with Mom and Dad B. in Montrose on Monday and drove to the Stewart Creek trail head. We camped there for the night and got up at 5:30 this morning. After enjoying a few more minutes of warmth in our sleeping bags (it was 42 degrees outside) we packed up camp, ate breakfast and started hiking at 6:20.
It was 6.5 miles from the trail head to the summit. We started around 10,500 ft and summited at 14,014 ft. For the most part, the trail is a slow, steady climb. There were only a few sections that were steep, but nothing even as steep as climbing to the top of the basin at the cabin! So the trip to the top seemed pretty easy and steady. We enjoyed the sights along the trail: a number of beaver ponds, one beaver swimming around (burrr!), purple pine cones, the bubbling brook (Stewart Crk) and tons of wildflowers. We also saw a couple elk from a distance, marmots, pikas, chipmunks, birds, and butterflies. It was a really beautiful trail.
We took two snack breaks on the way up and summited at 10:45 am. We took it easy and really enjoyed the hike up. We spent an hour at the summit, enjoying the amazing view of the Rocky mountains from above. After a sandwich and some gorp we headed back down the trail. It was less fun than going up, since all the excitement of reaching the top was over. We arrived back at the car and headed home around 2:30.
It was amazing being on the top of a mountain and looking around seeing hundreds more mountain peaks in every direction. It's a humbling reminder of how small a part we are of God's creation, and what a gift this beautiful earth is for us. Just getting to the peak was such an exhilarating feeling. I hope to be able to do another fourteener some day!
Here's a link to more pictures on Facebook.
Saturday, August 16, 2008
August is flying by
This summer has been going so fast, and it seems to just keep speeding up!
We had some rain at the beginning of the month. What a treat! We enjoyed having some moisture and cooler temperatures. It didn't stop us from playing outside, though! Cora actually seemed to love the rain and says "Raay-ee" for rain.
Cora got to try her hand at finger painting. She's got talent, let me tell you! :) It was messy, but worth it. Cora absolutely loved it. I think she was more excited about dipping her fingers in the tubs of finger paint rather than putting the finger paint on the paper. But it was fun, anyway.
Brad, Cora and I took a hike last weekend in the Colorado National Monumen called "Liberty Cap". Cool trail, good distance, beautiful views.
Here is a link to more hiking photos.
We also went camping with our friends, the Stephens, up above the Monument near a reservoir - the west's version of a lake. It was a phenomenal camping location: elevation of 9000 feet which means a nice, cool temperature; lush and green with trees for shade; near water for fishing; almost no bugs; free; only 30 miles from home! Also, we saw a few deer from our campsite, heard coyotes howling at night and an elk bugle. On the drive home we saw a herd of about 50 elk about 200 yards from the road. Cora worked really hard at saying "deer" and "elk".
.JPG)
We saw the deer just before dinner. I took a glance at them but was busy getting the food ready...and seeing deer in Colorado is only a little more exciting than seeing squirrels in Michigan. So I kept preparing food while Brad and David took Cora closer to see the deer. She was ecstatic and came toddling back to me, urgently calling for me. She came to me with a look on her face that said "Mom,you HAVE To see this!" She started saying "doooo, dooo" (deer, deer), grabbed my hand and started pulling me back to see the deer. Her enthusiasm made seeing those deer a memorable experience!
If you're a facebook friend of mine, look for the video of the elk herd on my profile. Here is a link to more camping pictures.
We had some rain at the beginning of the month. What a treat! We enjoyed having some moisture and cooler temperatures. It didn't stop us from playing outside, though! Cora actually seemed to love the rain and says "Raay-ee" for rain.
Cora got to try her hand at finger painting. She's got talent, let me tell you! :) It was messy, but worth it. Cora absolutely loved it. I think she was more excited about dipping her fingers in the tubs of finger paint rather than putting the finger paint on the paper. But it was fun, anyway.
Brad, Cora and I took a hike last weekend in the Colorado National Monumen called "Liberty Cap". Cool trail, good distance, beautiful views.
Here is a link to more hiking photos.
We also went camping with our friends, the Stephens, up above the Monument near a reservoir - the west's version of a lake. It was a phenomenal camping location: elevation of 9000 feet which means a nice, cool temperature; lush and green with trees for shade; near water for fishing; almost no bugs; free; only 30 miles from home! Also, we saw a few deer from our campsite, heard coyotes howling at night and an elk bugle. On the drive home we saw a herd of about 50 elk about 200 yards from the road. Cora worked really hard at saying "deer" and "elk".
.JPG)
We saw the deer just before dinner. I took a glance at them but was busy getting the food ready...and seeing deer in Colorado is only a little more exciting than seeing squirrels in Michigan. So I kept preparing food while Brad and David took Cora closer to see the deer. She was ecstatic and came toddling back to me, urgently calling for me. She came to me with a look on her face that said "Mom,you HAVE To see this!" She started saying "doooo, dooo" (deer, deer), grabbed my hand and started pulling me back to see the deer. Her enthusiasm made seeing those deer a memorable experience!
If you're a facebook friend of mine, look for the video of the elk herd on my profile. Here is a link to more camping pictures.
Welcome, Leyton!
Leyton James Gritter is our new nephew! He was born last week to my sister and her husband. He's healthy and we praise God for him. I'm so eager to meet him in a few weeks, Lord willing!
Tuesday, August 05, 2008
If you were a fly on the wall
If you were a fly on the wall in our home this summer, you would often hear a conversation like this:
Cora: "Daddy? Daddy? Daddy?"
Me: "Cora, do you want to see Daddy?"
Cora: "Daddy."
Me: "I'm sorry, honey. Daddy's at work right now."
Cora: "Ch-ch?" ("Church?")
Me: "That's right, Daddy's working at church."
I was so amazed the first time she made that connection!
Cora: "Daddy? Daddy? Daddy?"
Me: "Cora, do you want to see Daddy?"
Cora: "Daddy."
Me: "I'm sorry, honey. Daddy's at work right now."
Cora: "Ch-ch?" ("Church?")
Me: "That's right, Daddy's working at church."
I was so amazed the first time she made that connection!
Camping in Ridgway, CO
Last week we had the blessing of camping at Ridgway State Park. This was our first time out camping together this year! Our previous plans were thwarted by the vehicles needing to be fixed so we were thankful to be able to get away this time.
Brad and I both give Ridgway State Park two thumbs up! We stayed in Elk Ridge, Loop D. This part of the campground is up a little higher than Dakota Terraces and has some nice pinyon pines that offer a little bit of shade from the hot afternoon sun. The sites are spacious and fairly private. There are nice playgrounds located in different areas of the park, a number of short (less than a mile) hiking trails, a great bike path, and beautiful views! We took advantage of all these amenities, except the bike path. We are definitely taking the bikes and trailer next time we camp here.
There is also the wonderful Ridgway Reservoir which offers plenty of space for water activities. We went out on the kayak a little bit and spent most of Wednesday relaxing and playing on the beach. We saw lots of water skiers, a wind surfer, sailboats and wave runners out having fun on the water, too. 
We also took a day and went hiking above Ouray, just below Red Mountain pass on the "Million Dollar Highway". The place where the trail head was supposed to begin had a "no trespassing" sign. So we tried to figure out another way to connect with the trail. It seemed hopeful, but we didn't reach our aspired destination, the railroad old turntables.
However, we had a nice hike and saw amazing vistas of the mountains around us. After hiking we spent some time in the Ouray Hot Springs - another great place to admire the creation. God sure did something special when he made the San Juans!
So if you're looking for a family-friendly vacation spot with lots of variety in available activities that includes both mountains and water, Ridgway State Park is the place to go!
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