We Have a Birthday Here!!

June 13th never comes soon enough in the birthday celebrations! When your little brother and older sister both have birthdays, then you wait another 2 months... it can  be tough. But let me tell you, we don't just flippantly say, "Hey kid, happy birthday!" We CELEBRATE! Because of this it is now June 15th and the partying hasn't stopped. Whitney's party with friends is tonight, thus the reason I haven't posted. Let me give you a little snapshot at the celebrating she has done so far!

A Birthday donut! We sent her off on a sugar rush to volleyball camp!

I surprised her at the camp with cupcakes!!

Whitney was super happy to have Reagan home for her birthday.

We picked her up from her European adventure, then to a birthday dinner at Red Robin.

Whitney loves giraffes! She got an Eiffel Tower giraffe from Paris.

Tennison "got" Whitney a flat screen TV for her birthday!

It had one of her fave shows on, Geek Charming.

It even has a power button & a wish for a Happley birthday!!

June 14th included a family BBQ!

She asked for a carrot cake, YUM!!

The celebrating will continue tonight! Can't wait Whitney!!

We LOVE you so much!

Next year is the doozie.

She will be 13, on June 13th, in 2013...

her golden birthday in her golden year!

41,000 acres, zero containment...

The High Park fire is now "56 square miles, or roughly the size of Pittsburgh." That is a horrible description. However, the fire fighters said they are making progress and now "feel like we are players and not opponents".

Sunday morning.

Sunday afternoon from our house.

Sunday night in Old Town at the Taste of Fort Collins.

The ever changing smoke clouds...

In the midst of it all we went to the Taste to see Mat Kearney in concert.

It felt weird to go when you knew what was going on behind you.

It was crazy having ash fall in our laps.

48 hours after the fire started (by lightning) I was at the pool for Tennison's swim lesson, dusting ash off a lounge chair. There was only a hint of smoke in the air. The winds, still blowing, died significantly. The smoke clouds barely visible. When we saw the smoke coming "down the mountain" we began to wonder what was happening. Unfortunately it is heading closer to the Horsetooth area. The sunset was more normal than it has been the last couple of days. It has only been close to three days, it feels like a week.

Tonight we spent time with the Sky Corral owner and his crew. We were able to put together a weeks worth of meals for them in a matter of no time. I love being part of a community that joins in so quickly. The ranch has been spared so far, news we are all so happy to hear. 100+ structures have been destroyed, one life lost. The end is no where in sight. Continue to pray for all who are effected.

High Park Fire

Northern Colorado has had an unusual amount of fires this Spring. Again today we have another one. As Whitney and I were driving out of our neighborhood we spotted a billowing cloud above Horsetooth Rock. As the day went on, and that billowing cloud grew, we got more details. It is in an area called High Park, which is near Sky Corral, the family camp we attended last summer. We are planning to go again in July.

This is the lodge we did all of our fun activities with the camp staff.

The beautiful surroundings.

The horses were transferred to stables at The Ranch

- the evacuation location for the large animals in the area.

The Happy Campers who are praying for safety as well.

View from our driveway of the smoke this afternoon.

This is my tree... boy was it crazy big at this point.

Coming home from Windsor tonight we saw the sun setting behind the smoke.

It looked like a red ball of fire. So eerie and sad.

As the horses get tucked into their new surroundings tonight, our hearts go out to the firefighters who are tackling yet another large, out of control fire. We are praying for the families in the area who have been evacuated and for their homes. Mostly our hearts are heavy for Kelly & his family, who run Sky Corral. What an overwhelming experience for them as they evacuate a camp, get the animals to safety, and care for the staff who are mostly college students. Jesus bring them peace tonight.

Parisian Prep

I learned from my Mom how to send a kid away from home in style. I was the Queen of Homesickness and needed the love from home. (I couldn't hardly make it a full night at a sleepover until high school.) For longer stays she never let me go without a note or 12 tucked in my suitcase. Every note had a piece of Freedent gum. How funny is that? That gum will always have a special place in my heart. So I ran to the store to grab some of our favorite snacks, Nibs (bite size Twizzlers) and put some in a baggy instead of Freedent. Reagan is always telling Scott & I that she loves us more than... So there she has it! I love her more than... I bet those were devoured before she landed.

                           

Then I enlisted Scott to help me write a notecard a day from both of us.

Whitney and Tennison added more notes to that.

If you can tell what that is... it is the "Ifall Tower".

Hoping nobody falls from the Eifel Tower!!

When the kids had breakfast on departure day they were surprised with crepes!

Nutella filled, banana filled, powdered sugar topped!

Not sure the powdered sugar is Parisian, but Ten towered it high!

 

I know the kids love the extra time we take to make their time away not so hard. I know the notes will help Reagan in those few moments of homesickness. They always helped me.

Love, The Homesick Queen

Bon Voyage!

It has been a year or so in the making, and the day is finally here. Reagan left for her Parisian adventures an hour ago. We have been hustling around shopping for last minute items and for sure...

... going to She She nail salon to get her nails done.

This was an 8th grade graduation gift - shellac nails.

She even found a super cute carry on bag!

The piles were high and the list was long.

But the suitcase had room to spare... good for storing treasures.

If you can't read the purple, it says,

"Oh my goodness! 93% excited 7% scared"

Gathered in front of the school, ready to load up!

Reagan and her best friend Mykaila!

She is going to be missed.

And she'll miss us... a little bit!

Have a blast Reagan!

We'll miss you!!

A huge Thank You to all of our friends and family who helped Reagan get to Paris and Barcelona. Through your support - wethere it was buying Pizza Palz, giving us cans to recycle, having her babysitt to make a few bucks... - wow, my eyes are tearing up. It is a blessing to have you all support her like this!! 

To be continued...

National Donut Day

What a great day our nation celebrates!! Because I truly am a...

Today is the last half-day of school, so we went nice and early for our FREE DONUTS at the best place in town... Lamars.

Dig in!

Look how cute they are!

Reagan had her best friend over last night so they could go to the last day of middle school together. Brace yourselves for blogs on how I'm going to deal with high school... I was just in high school a few years ago myself. Ok, it just feels like it.

CHEERS TO SUMMER!

Wow, that is a beauty!

DENVER, COLORADO May 29, 2011 – On Friday, June 1, National Donut Day, LaMar’s Donuts nationwide will offer one free donut to each guest, with no purchase necessary.

National Donut Day, celebrated the first Friday of every June, dates back to 1917, when women Salvation Army volunteers known as “Lassies” made donuts for soldiers on the front lines of World War I.

“On National Donut Day, we invite everyone to help us salute the Lassies and the military men they served by enjoying a LaMar’s donut on us.” LaMar’s spokesperson Kayde Pierce said. The offer is good for any regular donut available at LaMar’s. (LaMar’s Bars, Bizmarks, fritters and other products made without a center hole are exempted.)

Free donuts with a purpose is even more exciting!

Happy Summer Vacation!!