Life-long Friends

Our good friends, the Browns, have been visiting for a few days this week! It's been fun catching up with them, touring a bit, and just hanging out and letting the kids play together. Isaac and Griffin, the two oldest, are only 6 weeks apart and were friends in the womb, known back then, as "Elmo" and "Oscar!"
Here are a few photos from the past and a few from this trip.


Best Buds, from day one (2004)

An outing for the boys (2004)

Picnic with the newest member of the Brown Family (2004)

Adriana, Eric, Griffin, Kurt, and I (Isaac in womb VERY near term)(2004)


Visit to the Air Force Academy with the Browns, 2009


Griffin, Isaac, and Austin near the Academy Chapel

A picnic on January 2nd!

Today, like every other Saturday, was Pancake Day! This is a tradition we began when Isaac was barely one. After about an hour of making pancakes and about 45 minutes of the kids devouring them, I had about an hour of work to do, but then we decided it was a day for a family hike. The weather looked good - a bit cool, but a beautiful sunny, blue-skied Colorado day. We packed a lunch, filled our camelpacks and were off to Rock Ledge Ranch for a quick picnic before a hike thru Garden of the Gods.

As we pulled up to Rock Ledge Ranch, we noticed an ominous-looking cloud coming over Pikes Peak and it seemed that between parking the car and getting to our picnic spot, the temperature dropped 10 degrees. We thought nothing of it. We just zipped our jackets up a bit more, pulled our hats down lower, and moved a bit as we ate. Well, within 10 minutes of our hike the clouds were overhead and we had snow, with quite the wind. The kids thought it was great - just like a REAL BLIZZARD! It was cold! They were disappointed to have to turn back, but we promised them hot chocolate at home, so that made up for it all. You really never can tell what the weather is going to do here, but at least we got out for a little bit!