Aug 6, 2012 - A Beautiful Morning

It's going to be hot all week here so we took the opportunity when it was somewhat cooler this morning to go to the Denver Botanic Gardens. We waited till the traffic subsided and left about 10 a.m. It was only about a 20 minute drive to the gardens. Because I am a member of the Marie Selby Botanical Garden in Sarasota, Jerry and I were admitted for free. There are hundreds of Botanical Gardens in the country that offer reciprocal arrangements allowing for free admission. It's a great deal! The gardens cover 23 acres and include plants...

Jul 30, 2012 - Questions Answered

Questions questions Hi Folks, Well just like last year we've had a lot of you asking about the bikes and equipment we are using. I'll try to give those who don't play with motorcycles all the time a better idea of what we use. [cid:AA7F5D74-D2E8-47B0-AA58-2859DA8C4072] Unlike last year we're traveling primarily off road on everything from U.S Forestry Service roads, old railroad beds, mountain mining access roads, historic byways (Oregon Trail, Pony Express Route) and high plains ranch roads. Our weapon of choice this year is the BMW GS...

Jul 16, 2012 - Ready to board!

We are waiting to board our flight to Detroit...then, it is off to London Heathrow. Carol and Christopher graciously got up early on a Monday morning ;) and brought us to the Denver airport. We are MORE than excited, and very thankful for this opportunity to visit Aaron and Deanne in their Rwandan home!!

Jul 11, 2012 - Denver Aqurium show

We ate breakfast real early and left the hotel around 7am. Nana said it's gonna be another long ride to our next state. We checked in the hotel and we waited 30 minutes before going to the hotel pool. When we got there, it was so dirty so we left. We wanted to go to the water park but it was closing soon already so we just went to the aquarium. We saw lots of fish. We had dinner at a restaurant in the aquarium place. While we were eating dinner, they had a mermaid show. The mermaid went into the water and swam. Thatvwas pretty cool. After...

Jul 7, 2012 - A Long Day of Travel

It's been an interesting morning already. Dustin couldn't sleep at all, and Josh thinks he might be sick. Not really the ideal way to start a vacation half way around the world. Oh well! Turns out that Dustin's friend from NY is going to use his apartment while he's out of town, so we were able to con him I to driving us to the airport. Awesome! Also, I love having airline status... No line to check our packs, get into the airport lounge for free, get on the plane with lots of carry-on space, it's awesome! Now I jus have to hope I get...

Jul 6, 2012 - Raining Gold!!

We had to wake up our tired travelers today at 9 am so they wouldn't miss breakfast at the hotel. After we ate, we went to Idaho Springs, Colorado for a gold mining tour and to pan for gold. While we were waiting for our tour, the kids fed chipmunks with some sunflower seeds. They came right up and ate out of their hands. They loved this! The chipmunks' cheeks were so full, but they kept on eating - it was really fun to watch! It started to rain as we all put on our hard hats and toured the gold mine. When we were finished it was still...

Jul 1, 2012 - Big Top Makes the Big Time!!

We were surprised and very pleased when our friend Shan told us that Big Top had made the front cover of a new magazine in Colorado entitled Colorado Life. We found several copies and sent them to family and friends. The cover photo was taken in Steamboat Springs, CO. The full picture in on page 64 with a small article about the Hot Air Balloon Rodeo in Steamboat. Ironically, the event was cancelled this year due to fire danger.

Jun 28, 2012 - Colorado Fun

Woke up and mom made egg, ham, and goat cheese sandwiches…YUM! We packed everyone except Taylor in the car and headed for Dinosaur Ridge. I remembered Dinoridge having so many more fossils, but I guess that was just my impression as a kid. It was still really cool to see the footprints and bones that the road makers found when cutting through the mountain to get to Red Rocks. We hurried home to pack for our raft trip and sent the boys with my dad to get their teeth filled. Katie and I picked up the numb and groggy Trevors and headed up to...

Jun 27, 2012 - Colorado Fun

Woke up to yummy muffins and coffee and got ready for a fun bike ride to Platte River. The way back was ALL uphill and we were all dying from the altitude, but it was pretty funny. Then we ate lunch and headed to REI. Katie got fitted for her new backpack by a cool guy named Cash who was newly married and loved the Lord. After REI the boys made a video on the New Jerusalem at Denver's capitol building. Then we headed to my dad's office for dental appointments. Poor boys- Trevor had five cavities and TLee had 1 while Katie and I were good to...

Jun 26, 2012 - Colorado Fun

Woke up early being so happy to be home in my old bed with my hubby :). Had coffee and breakfast with everyone and Katie and I went to Bible study with my mom. We talked about Genesis 2:26-28- having the image and likeness of God and having dominion over the earth to subdue it. We have been given such a privileged position to express God on the earth! The boys ran some errands while we were gone and then we met back up at the house for sloppy joe's. Then we headed to Red Rocks Amphitheater for some light hiking. We saw some awesome...

Jun 23, 2012 - Denver..the sunshine state

Okay, first thing is first, Nebraska is the worst state ever to drive through--FACT. We were in the car forever!  Our destination was Denver, and we were so excited because we got to stay there for 2 days!  We didn't have to wake up and drive for hours at a time, we could sleep in and relax.  We were staying with a good friend of mine from high school's place, Obie!  While we were on our drive, there was literally nothing.  Once we crossed into Colorado from Nebraska...the corn fields just turned into dry almost desert-like terrain.  We saw...

Jun 19, 2012 - They Make TCAP's Look Like Nothin'

As I write this entry, I sit before 64 students busily writing for an hour and a half long English test. The students at Gulu High are taking their mid-term exams. Tests are all this week and three days next week and they go on ALL day long. We (teachers and students) have a break at 10 am to take tea and eat Chapatti (an Indian flatbread that I just so happen to LOVE). Once tea is over, it's back to test taking until lunch at 1:30 pm. Tea time is quickly becoming my favorite part of the day. The tea here is very hot and very sweet....