Happy 17th Birthday Jacob!!

Today this sweet, big-eyed boy is turning 17.  I hardly know where the time went!  One minute he was outside riding his scooter up and down the driveway and building legos, and now he is a busy young man pursuing academic excellence and shooting marksmanship, reading books I can't pronounce, and saying things like "Mom, I need more driving hours to get my license..."

Yes he is definitely growing up.  

Jacob, may God abundantly bless and multiply all of your efforts this year, all your hard work, and may it be fruitful and satisfying to you.  May you grow in your strength, leadership, knowledge and ability to persevere in challenging circumstances.  May your shooting skills be sharpened and your underlying talents become apparent to you and all around you.  Most importantly of all, may your knowledge of and love for Jesus grow and multiply as you learn to lean on him during this most challenging year of your life so far, and as you learn that He alone will give you the strength you need and satisfaction you desire.

 I am more proud of you than you will ever know Jacob.  My heart is bursting with love and pride, and I hope that you have a wonderful day, and a wonderful year!

First Day of School

 As we begin school this year, and I am realizing just how old my kids are getting (grades 7, 9, 11 and post-college!)  I couldn't help but reminisce about the days when they were little.... and we did amazing field trips...  and they just loved school. Here are some shots of the three that I still have at home...

Days when petting a kitten was all it took to bring delight...

 Dressing up was fun!

Field trips to get pumpkins...

 and picking blueberries with grandma and grandpa...

Brothers hugging each other... sigh... oh to see that now!

Hannah still loves to hug her Dad.

I miss that little red wagon going up and down the driveway!!

 Legos.  That's all I have to say.  Legos.

 Doing school projects with our co-op - those were the days!!

Dressing up, costumes, oh these were special moments...

 This little face is so adorable!!!

A little soldier in the making????

Moms letting go

I can so relate to this!! Having done both with Matt, (before I homeschooled he went to Kindergarten) I have to say that going to college was by far harder... My legs are STILL wrapped around that tree!  And I am working to bulk up my arm and leg muscles before Jacob tries to escape!! haha

Jacob's First Shooting Match

Today Jacob had his first shooting match!  He didn't think he was ready for it, but he was assured by his coach that he was.  So, bright and early this morning, he got up, shoved down some waffles and flew out the door.  Actually, there is no "flying out the door" when it comes to shooting.  It takes at least 5 or 6 trips out to the car to take all his equipment with him.  He has his gun, scope, shooting stand, outfit, glove, mat, sling, ammunition, under armour, shoes, tool kit, off-hand stand, kneeling pillow, (I know I missed at least 12 items in there) and last but not least, snacks!

Here is Jacob just waiting to shoot; it looks like he is in position four.

Here he is all suited up and ready to take aim and fire.

After shooting he got a break to eat some lunch with some of the other shooters.

So, now he is an experienced member of a USA shooting team!!  Let the games begin!! (yeah, we just watched two weeks of Olympics...)  TEAM JACOB!!! YAY!!!

Colorado Springs

Week two we stayed in Colorado Springs, which is a beautiful town at the base of the Rocky Mountains. We actually stayed in a town north of it a bit in a town called Palmer Lake, which had basically nothing but a few quaint coffee shops where Danny and I experimented around and had coffee each morning at a different place.  We had a beautiful, comfortable home that we rented as our  "home base" and went around the area from there.

One of those days we drove into the neighborhood that had over 300 homes burned in the fire, and we saw signs of support for the firemen everywhere.

It was really sobering to see the homes lost... in this one all that's left is this arch...

Cars were burned in their garages...

We did go and see a rodeo in Colorado Springs, which was sorta cool, but Hannah was so affected by the poor calves getting roped around the neck and then tied up, she just wasn't enjoying it at all.  We didn't end up staying for the whole thing.

Finally a people shot! Jacob and Hannah!  But only because they didn't know I was taking it... argh...

Jacob enjoyed going back to his childhood and eating some cotton candy.  

Before we even left home, we had planned to take the kids to a concert at Red Rocks Ampitheatre, so we bought non-refundable tickets.  We nervously watched the weather for the night... what we were expecting was this...

But what we got was this.

We went anyway, and waited through one big storm, and then it started to clear up, so we thought the show would go on.  Then they announced that there was another storm cell moving through and they were waiting for that to come and go before the musicians would come out and begin.  By that point we were already soaked and disheartened.  When they told us to "hunker down" and endure the next storm, we decided it just wasn't worth the wait.  Oh well, maybe another day...

Air Force Academy

One of the biggest highlights of our trip was our visit to the Air Force Academy.  Jacob's goal is to be accepted there and attend after high school!  It is extremely hard to get in, but he has a vision  and has made goals to make it happen.  He has an extremely challenging junior year coming up - packed with challenging classes, he practices shooting regularly with the hopes of being on the shooting team there, and he runs and works out to meet the fitness requirements.  I am so amazingly proud of him for how he is determined and working hard toward his dream.  He has turned into a man in front of my eyes.

This is the famous chapel on the grounds. Absolutely beautiful...

This display in the visitors center describes the process completely.  Jacob had the dream, he is preparing, and this fall he will start the year long application process.

While there we watched the famous lunch formation - it was impressive watching 1200 soldiers march in unison to the beat of the Air Force theme song... 

Another view of the inside of the chapel...

Jacob - I am so proud of you!  I am supporting you one thousand percent!  May this truly be the path God is leading you on and may your dream come true!

Estes Park Cont'd.

This is the quaint, charming home we rented while in Estes Park.  It was quite nice, but we were there during record heat and the house had no air-conditioning.  None of us slept very well, and we spent our days in front of fans trying to stay cool... of course, most of the time you don't need air conditioning in Estes Park, but the week we were there had record high temperatures!

 Part of town...

Because of the lack of air-conditioning and the stifling heat, I couldn't bring myself to drink coffee in the morning, so I bought some iced coffee instead, and Hannah fell in love with it.  Ever since then, she starts her day with a cup of iced coffee!  

 Okay.  The food adventure of the trip  (there is always at least one).  We went to visit Danny's brother Donnie in Fort Collins and he took us out to eat at a local chain for breakfast.  It is called Snooze.  You walk in the door and are assaulted with the smell of bacon frying and the tantalizing, sweet smells of pancakes cooking.  They only serve breakfast and lunch, so they do it right!  

We had varieties of pancakes and eggs - from eggs benedict done three different ways (totally gourmet) to pineapple-upside down pancakes, red velvet pancakes, sweet potato pancakes sprinkled with pecans and ginger-maple syrup.  I am talking mouth watering, gourmet, melt in your mouth pancakes.  We all agreed it was the best breakfast food we had ever eaten!  We loved it so much we found another Snooze in Denver and went there the following week!!  

 We also took a couple of hours and went to a shooting range and shot handguns - even me!  It was really pretty cool, but I most enjoyed just watching the kids do it.