28 November, 2010

LH and I were due to head back to her college campus on Sunday, but we still insisted on taking the ATV out for one final spin before returning to civilization.

This rustic little tire swing seemed entirely too artistic for me to pass up. Unfortunately, I somehow accidentally took this photo with the internal memory on my camera and I hadn't brought my cord with me. And thus, I am only now making this post.

Finally deciding that we needed to get everything packed up and loaded into the car, we put the ATV away. A couple hours later, we were going down the freeway, heading for college.

I've often seen this massive windmill and wanted to take its picture. As we hit a traffic jam, I was able to through the window of the car.


Once we'd unloaded the car and gotten settled into the dorm room, one of her college friends joined us. As I'd met her in October, I was happy to get the chance to see her again and chat with her a bit. After supper and chatting with said friend for a bit in her own dorm room, LH and I headed back to her dorm to hang out. Her roommate didn't get in until late, so we stayed up long enough to let her arrive and get settled in.

Note: Time stamp faked, since I'm being a bit OCD and want this post to show in the month of November, not December.

27 November, 2010 - LH's Birthday

Yes, I got to spend LH's birthday with her! Which was actually a big part of the reason for timing this visit when I did. Our day started with a family gathering that LH and her parents invited me to. They were a fun group, full of laughter and corny jokes, which made it easy to enjoy watching them interact.

Seighin in the early morning light. He's such a photogenic kitty.


LH, her brother and I headed home before her parents, where we then baked a cake. Well, sort of "we". LH is very efficient in the kitchen and I am not a mind reader, so most of it was easier for her to do without my assistance. (I'm not a big cook, so that was fine by me.)

When the cake was out of the oven and cooling, we took off on the ATV again. Their dogs like to run with the ATV and will absolutely throw a fit if they are left inside while someone from the family takes the ATV out. So, for the first ride, we took the dogs out with us, so that they'd be worn out for our other rides and leaving them at home wouldn't be so horrifying to the poor pups.

Riley and Kaia running in front of us. Riley is a ridiculously fast runner, so the little black speck that you see right before the bend is him.

Fortunately, LH is very tolerant of photographers, so she was very obliging when I asked her if she'd be able to drive slowly, carefully and cleverly enough that I could get a picture of Riley in motion. My camera isn't professional equipment at all, so it was not an easy task, but I think this shot turned out well.


We stayed out until there wasn't enough light for us to see by, occasionally pausing when we saw a pretty view of the sunset.

This is their mountain home, nestled comfortably between the typical Colorado foliage and overlooking the plains that stretch across the landscape as you move out of the foothills. I love this state! God has blessed me by allowing me to live here and constantly renewing my love of His creation.


We then spent our night inside, with our main focus being LH's big project for one of her classes. (Well, her focus was the project. My focus was helping her maintain that focus.) We finally hit the sack when she took pity on me (I kept falling asleep sitting up) and shut the project manufacturing down for the evening.

Today, we head back to her college. After a bit more ATVing, perhaps...

26 November, 2010

My stay with LH has finally come! My mom, sisters and I drove down here (LH's parent's place) yesterday morning. We then proceeded to spend a few hours chatting, riding the ATV and generally having fun with her family. My family stayed for dinner, but then needed to head for home.

A portion of the mountain road leading to the house.

One of their dogs--Kaia.

LH whipped up some pumpkin bread during the afternoon. It was quite tasty. (In fact, now I think I'll have to go grab a piece.)

Seighin, LH's kitty. One of four of their cats. (And one of the two cats that I adore.)


After the family had left, LH and I helped her mom with some crafts, did some stuff in the kitchen, I raced her brother (on their Wii), we chatted a bit and finally hit the sack.

25 November, 2010 - Thanksgiving Day

Jennifer and I woke up early enough to watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade before we had to start preparing our part of the meal. As the afternoon faded into evening, we headed over to my grandparents' house and helped with putting the finishing touches on the rest of the meal.

(My attempt at getting a clever shot of the table and food.)


After we finished eating, my sisters and I assisted my grandmother with a sewing project. Together, we got much more done in a much shorter period of time than one person would have alone, which made all of us happy, I do believe.

24 November, 2010

A day full of staying at home.

My mom purchased some bagels for us to have as lunch. Our favorite bagel store happens to sell "doggie bagels", so we enjoy buying a few every now and again. I took this particular shot right after Wisdom had buried her bagel at the foot of my bed, underneath my body pillow.

23 November, 2010

A day full of errands.

22 November, 2010 - CB's Birthday

We went to Red Robin for CoolBreeze's birthday dinner. Since September (the last time we visited that restaurant), they have obtained these neat gadgets. With them, you can view the special items on their menu, play games and even pay your bill! I have honestly never seen anything like them.

21 November, 2010

I've been meaning to take some photos of my family's oldest dog, Dosser, for a while now. I have taken several photos of my dog, her sister and her mom since I got my camera last year. Dosser, however, is not a very willing photo subject, so he's tough to work with.

20 November, 2010

Whoops! I've allowed myself to fall behind on my blog posts again.

Saturday was basically my useless day. I seriously did nothing but dishes, computer, reading and going with my dad to pick up supper. I still had to take a picture, though, so I photographed my current read.

19 November, 2010

Every time I go on a walk around our neighborhood, I pass a tree that has quite the accumulation of pine cones under its lowest boughs. The sheer number always amazes me. So, today, while I was out on a walk with my mom and CoolBreeze, I finally decided to stop and take a shot of some of the many pine cones that call the hard ground under that tree home.