More cousins

All the cousins on the Franklin side got together one last time before we left Colorado. 

 We sure did have a great vacation!  Until next time Colorado!!

Shooting Guns

TJ and his parents took the kids out shooting in the desert.  They usually try to shoot rabbits, then TJ brings them back and they skin them and fry them...ewwww...not something up my alley.  But, the kids had a good time.  It was Brena's first time shooting.

 She sure looks serious here!

 Tyler trying his hand at getting a rabbit.

I don't remember if they caught anything that day or not, but they sure had fun!

Boats

Not sure where Tyler or Derek are in these photos...probably playing Wii...silly me, why'd I even ask?

Another favorite thing to do at grandma & grandpa's house is putting boats in the ditch.  The ditch runs in front of the house.  The kids like dropping their boats in the ditch, then either waiting for them while someone drops them further up, or running with them so they can catch them.

 Samuel Fisher Lionberger - don't you love his name??  His brother Derek Hunter Lionberger is probably with Tyler Benjamin Franklin playing too much Wii...

 The three little kids having a blast in the ditch.

Stampin' Up! Convention!

I was so thrilled to be able to attend the Stampin' Up! convention this year!  I hadn't been able to go since July, 2007!  It was a blast, just like I knew it would be.

It was so good to see my good friends I hadn't seen in a long time!  Jenn and I spent way too much time talking into the wee hours of the morning when we should have been sleeping!  Oh well, that's what convention is all about!  And, that's what is so great about good friends - it doesn't matter how long it's been since you've seen each other/talked - you always have stuff to talk about!

 As usual there were thousands of crazy stampin' people there!

 Our fun group.  Can't wait for next year!

Salt Lake City

My mother-in-law, the kids and I hopped in the car Monday afternoon and drove to Salt Lake City.  I needed to be there for my Stampin' Up! convention on Wednesday, so I thought it would be fun to go over a couple of days early to hang out.  We got there and had just a few minutes to look around Temple Square before it closed.  I have always loved Temple Square.  I have memories as far back as I can remember of my family going over there every Christmas to look at the Christmas lights and shop.    This was Brenalee's first time there.  Tyler hadn't been since he was a baby.  I am glad we made it!

 The next day we got up and went to Lagoon!  It was so much fun!  The kids loved the rides.  It sure was hot that day!

 Thanks, Carol for taking us and having a good time with us!

Hike

On a whim Saturday afternoon I decided I wanted to go hike Hanging Lake.  It's about 1 1/2 hours from my parents house in Glenwood Canyon.  Luckily my sister and mom are adventurous enough to go along with my last minute whims! 

It is a tough hike - do you see the caution in red?  It was tough.  It was 1.2 (or 1.4?) miles straight up and then back down.  I think it took us about 1 1/2 hours to get up to the top, then only 1 hour to get back down.  The scenery was breathtaking!  I love those mountains!  So beautiful.

The Colorado River runs right through the canyon as you can see in this picture below.

 The start of the trail - we are excited to get going!  It had just rained so it was muddy.  The kids were filthy and we adults were pretty muddy too.

 This is what the trail was like - climbing up big boulders 99% of the way.

 Tyler was a little slower than the girls - those 3 were way ahead of us most the time. 

 At the top - right before we went to the lake - amazing.

 Hanging Lake.

 The water is such a gorgeous blue/green color!  You could see right to the bottom it was so crystal clear.

 Mom and Steph taking a break.

 On the way back down - a cute little cabin.

What a great family hike!  Very tough, but worth it!

The farm aka mom and dad's house

It was such a pretty night and I decided to walk around and take some pictures while everyone played ball. 

The pigs - Babe and Wilbur - no idea who this one is.  They sure are funny!  They won't be around much longer though...

The horses aren't actually my parents.  They rent their land out for people to put their horses on.

 The massive garden - yum!

 And the orchard - which I'm still upset by because I didn't get any peaches or any other fruit for that matter because I was there at a time when nothing was in season!

 The red barn - I love the moon that was out that night.

We love this place and tell my parents if they ever move we will never talk to them again :)  And I forgot to take pictures of the chickens!  Brena's favorite thing to do every day was to go out to the chicken coop with her little basket and collect the eggs.

Playing in the backyard

Everybodys favorite thing to do at grandma and grandpa's house is to play whiffle ball in the backyard!  The kids love it.  The only bad thing - all the mosquitoes!

What a fun night!

Takiah's Birthday celebration

While we were in Colorado we celebrated Takiah's birthday.  My sister made her this cool peace sign/tie dye cake.  Takiah is infatuated with peace signs right now.

 So we found a cute peace sign swim suit and thought she would love it - she did.

Happy Birthday Takiah!  We love you!!