Birthday bash

Malorie and Mom with the cupcakes (there was a bit of batter testing going on!)
Me and Mal frost the cupcakes

the birthday boys

Here are a few pictures from the birthday celebration we held in our backyard last weekend. The birthday boys were my dad and brother. My niece Malorie, my mom and I were in the kitchen all day making fun things to eat- including cupcakes and banana pudding!

Radishes

Molly really loves radish leaves. She eats the radishes, but she prefers the leaves. So I grew some for her this summer. We picked the first batch at the end of July but our second harvest is almost ready. Yum!

Lake City, continued again

This is the last post about Lake City- I promise! There are a few more adventures that I just had to share, then we will get back on track with Molly's adventures (not that she has too many, but there have been a few). The Gentrys have a tradition of visiting the Lake City Soda/ice cream shop daily. They have great flavors and generous servings. Here is a picture of Burke getting some of Kirst's scoop. He loved it!
We had a fish fry on Thursday night with all the fish everyone caught. We had it outdoors in the wonderful weather. Here are some shots of the snacking and kid watching.

Ana was super excited that her fish (with the head still attached) was being grilled. Adam was very patient and amused by all the status updates that were required!

Here is an action shot of me, Bennett, and Ana rolling down the hill in front of our cabins. The grass is so incredibly soft there! We had lots of fun, you can tell. Boy- did I get dizzy!

On Friday afternoon, four of us went up a mountain to see what we could see. We visited a mine's gift shop (the tour would have taken too much time- but it is on the to-do list for next time) and stopped to see a few bridges. Here we are posing against the beautiful scenery.

Saturday morning arrived and it was time to bid farewell to friends and Lake City. So naturally we took lots of pictures! Here are all the Gentrys, the Cairns, and the Smiths. What special company- friends for so long and growing relationships too.

Next up: lifelong friends Jennie and Aaron and now spouses too!

Aaron makes light of most situations and this was no exception. Here we are being silly, in between the tears of renewed friendships and goodbyes.

Mark summed up this vacation so accurately with the word bittersweet. So many new and different things. So many memories recalled. Lots of laughter, lots of tears. This was a vacation never to be forgotten. Thank you to everyone who make this trip memorable and a special thanks to Mark and Evette for making it happen.

Lake City, continued

Finally, back to blogging. I left you with Aaron feeling crummy and the glory of Lake City left unexplored. The next day we went up to the famous lake of Lake City (that I didn't know existed- all I had seen were rivers!). For the sake of our marriage, Aaron did not teach me to fly fish. Instead, Mark and Evette attempted to instruct me the ways of the fisherman. After a gallant effort on their part, alas, I do not think I am cut out for this. Oh well.

Adam, Kirstin and Burke showed up later that day. We visited and a great dinner. Wednesday morning dawned and Aaron felt a tiny bit better. We all traveled up the mountains a little to get a look at Lake San Cristobal. Here we are at the impromptu photo shot.

A few miles up the mountain and we arrived at a place called Cathedral. It was a beautiful campsite and full of steams. Aaron headed straight into the stream and had a great time. I hung out with Ana and Bennett and my new friend Paula. Ana discovered a rustic, do it yourself seesaw (boy did my knees hurt!). We played and ate lots of snack while all the others fished.

Aaron caught his first fish in 9 years! It was a little small and he threw it back, but still . . .

Meanwhile, Burke fell into the cold, muddy water and had to change from his fisherman outfit. Then we all had lunch.

Different needs for different people had us all going separate ways: to nap, to fish, to keep kiddos entertained on their first trip to the mountains of Colorado (this one includes me). The Smiths and I went to a place called Deer Lakes. This was a peaceful and beautiful area as well.

Ana was the only one patient enough to pose with me!

Colorado- the first few days

Aaron sleeping just before we headed to the Medical Center

Well, we traveled to Colorado Springs without much fuss. We had a fun stop at Del Taco for 50 packs of hot sauce. Then we had a nice quiet evening with Mark and Evette. On Friday, Aaron worked on the new computer while Evette and I did some errands and packed for the trip. That evening Adam, Kirst and my favorite nephew Burke came for a visit and we ate at On The Border. I hadn't been there for years and it was delicious!

We loaded up the next morning and were on our way, with brief detour to the Young Life office. The Colorado scenery was great- mountains, plains, lots of rivers and streams. We arrived in Lake City and settled in. We promptly went to Dan's Fly Fishing store. Then we met our dear friends the Cairns and the Smiths downtown for some ice cream. We then helped them to unpack and then went to dinner.

Unfortunately, this is where the trouble begins. . . just after dinner, Aaron came in, laid down, and started shivering. Then he got hot. He had chills and fever all night.

He woke up the next morning pretty worn out. So, we visited the Lake City Area Medical Center. The hours were 2-4 on Sundays, so we got there just after 2. Around 5 pm, the nurse asked me to come back into the patient room with her. Aaron was getting back from a chest x-ray and starting to get chills again. The results: pneumonia or a blood clot. So, the very kind doctor* and nurses gave him a shot and put an I.V. in him. *Really- they were great~ I don't know what I would have done without their kindness. It is pretty hard and scary to see your husband hooked up to an I.V. and be helpless to do anything.~ We didn't leave until 7 pm. Needless to say, we took it easy that evening, visited, and went to bed early.

Aaron had a follow up appointment the next day at 10. We left at 12, ate lunch with everyone and then headed to Gunnison to get another antibiotic prescription filled. Nothing to exciting to report from that trip- but we did stop at Sonic. I got a vanilla coke- yum! That evening we visited and I played Uno with Jennie and Steve while Aaron sat around trying not to infect anyone with his pneumonia.

That's about it for the first few days. To be continued . . .

Birthday Baby

Eating the cake- she never got very messy
Chloe was a little more interested in the envelope than the present

Aunt Leslie and Chloe

Before I start blogging about our week in Colorado, I wanted to share my niece's fun birthday celebration. Chloe will be turning the big ONE next week! Here are a few pictures from the family party we had this afternoon.

Off to Lake City

somewhere around Lake City-- this is obviously borrowed from Evette!

Hello from Colorado! Aaron and I arrived in Colorado Springs yesterday and we are off to Lake City in the morning. The highs are going to be in the high 60's to low 70's with lows in the 40's. I am a little apprehensive. . . I have never been there before, I don't know how to fly fish and I am not overly fond of eating trout. However, there will be great company (and our favorite nephew Burke) and I am bringing lots of books.

What I'm Reading

It has been a while since I have updated my "reading" posts. I have read a few books, but the most interesting has been The Boy in the Alamo by Margaret Cousins. I had intended to read it before I visited the Alamo, but didn't get around to it. I did read it right after we got home and enjoyed it even more than I thought I would. It was great to have a picture in my head of all the structures and history that they talked about in the book. While this book is classified as fiction, it is heavy on actual history and great learning tool. I know all you Texans out there are familiar with this time period, but for a Mississippi girl like me, this was a great chance to learn some wonderful history about the Republic of Texas!
*copyright amazon.com

Hide and seek, sort of

Malorie and Aunt Leslie at the birthday party that she planned for me!

Tonight I was invited to play hide-and-seek with my niece Malorie. First I counted and she hide behind a tree. Then she counted and I hid behind a car tire. But Mal went inside to look for me and stayed there until I went in looking for her! So, it was my turn to count and she hid behind a bush. Then she counted and I hid by the front door. But, again, Mal went inside to go to the bathroom and left me wondering what was going on! Well, after this rough start we played a few more rounds without incident. What fun!

Our trip to Texas

Here was our first stop in Texas: Tyler. Mimi took us to my favorite place- Mercado's. Then we had some banana pudding- Mimi sure does love her grandson! We had a good sleep, went to WalMart, then ate at Taco Bueno (yum!).

We then drove to San Antonio. We checked-in to our hotel, then met our friends Jennie and Steve for dinner. We went to La Fogata and had a great meal. They had great outdoor seating and fun fountains. We then went on a tour of San Antonio and ate ice cream. Then off to the theater to see Star Trek.

Aaron went to his conference on Thursday, then we went out to Boerne, TX, to see the Smith and Cairn families. Here is a fun picture of them all together. We had a great dinner and wonderful fellowship together.

On Friday, Aaron was again at his conference and I went to Sea World with Jennie, Ana and Bennett. The above picture when we were waiting for the Shamu show- we even got splashed at the end! The water park was very fun and I only got a little sunburned on one shoulder.

That evening we (Aaron's conference group) were given a private tour of the Alamo. It was quite impressive, even if a little warm.

After our tour, we met the San Antonio Gentrys for dinner. We walked down to the river and had some great bar-b-que. Here we are: Sally, Leslie Marshall "Marsh" Gentry, Leslie Nicole Gentry, and Aaron. I had only met them a few times, but it was a great chance to fellowship and learn about each other.

On Saturday, Aaron wasn't feeling too good but went onto the final conference meetings. We were then off to Houston to the Brack's. We were happy to see, not only Collin and Amanda and the kids, but also David and Betty! There was a great Italian meal and pictures of the Brack's trip to Europe. Aaron felt terrible on Sunday morning and had a fever of 102. Amanda thought he might have the flu- swine flu! But the test turned out negative and so we were off for home.

I had to drive all the way home from Houston. This was not an easy task because I usually go to sleep as soon as I get in the car! But we made is home safe and sound after lots of stops to keep me awake. We had a great trip but are glad to be home. I will update you on our July 4th celebration later.