Do I jump?

This fall we spent a lot of time in Leadville. This picture is from one of our hikes. Lolly thought it would be great fun to run, jump and splash through mud puddles on our hike.

It's Aloha Friday

We waited in the car today to listen to "Aloha Friday" before going into schoool. She wouldn't leave the car until they sang the song. So on the way into school Lauren is singing "Aloha Friday, How is your Monday?" She doesn't always get the words right but she sings them anyway.

All the talk at our house for the last day has been about mummy's and The Blob. What are mummy's? Where do they live? Do they live in California? Yeah, I don't know.

On a sad note - This has been a long week for us. My mom called me and let me know that my uncle Mark passed away. It was a shock because he wasn't too old. We knew he had a heart attack over the weekend but they thought there might be hope. Our prayers are with his family during this time but we know that he is in a better place. We know that Grandma, Grandpa and Gary are taking care of him and showing him around.

love - Trish

Being a girl is tough..which princess shall I be for Halloween?

Starting October 1, I have been informed each day that we need to go and get a Halloween costume. So we put Lolly off for a little while because she was a little unsure of who whe wanted to be. So after much consideration and changing our mind (20 or so times) we have finally decided what princess to be. But let me give you the low-down on the progression. First we thought about Glinda the good witch from the Wizard of Oz but after looking for a costume, we found none to be had. So then we set out sights on Aurora (aka Sleeping Beauty). And that lasted a while. But we came across a dress for Cinderella at a thrift store. And Lauren took everything under consideration and decided that she was the most beautiful. So on Halloween night, Lauren will be one of 300 hundred Cinderellas asking strangers for candy. But she will be the most beautiful! Picutres to come.

Boggs the Cat

Introducing Jocelyn Jean Stumpff..my new niece

Ain't she purdy....

Hair today, gone tomorrow ...part deux

We finally made it to Great Clips and they were wonderful. Lolly sat nicley while we got her hair cut. We decided that since we needed to do a correction, that we would go all the way and do a grown up cut. So she got a wedge cut.

Hair today, gone tomorrow.

Last night, Lauren decided to play beauty

salon after her bath. While she was supposed to be reading books, she cut her hair. So here are the effects of that faithful night.

We didn't even know it. She came out to say goodnight and I was combing her wet hair and chunks were coming out. Then we noticed the bangs - all 1/4 inches of them. So we will be heading to Great Clips today to see if we can fix the mess.

Great Beauty!

I am not great an writing great stories to go along with the pictures. I just want everyone to see how fast Lolly is growing because it just amazes me everyday to see her. We are starting to read. She can read the first couple Dick and Jane stories all by herself. I really thank God everyday for the beautiful girl that I was blessed to look after.

Another note: My sister, Sara and her husband, Chip, had thier new little girl the end of August. Here they are. They named her Jocelyn Jean Stumpff. She joins Quentin and Flash (aka Ian). Congrats on the new little one! We love you!

Merry-go-round

Over Labor Day, we headed out to Lakeside Amusement Park. I rode with Lolly and took some pictures. She is getting very brave. She rode all kinds of rides - Tilt-a-whirl, Scrambler and other stuff. She had such a great time. We went with a friend from school - Samantha.

A horse of a different color...

Well, we like to visit and feed the horses across the street from the cabin and this is the guy that comes to visit. He posed for this picture like a pro.

Vacation Bible School

We just finished up a very rewarding week of VBS. I taught the older kids and Lolly had to be in her group with Mom or Dad. She did wonderful. My group was full of girls that had not been to our VBS before and some not even to church. Each girl touched my heart and I hope that thier heart was touched as well.

Lakeside Amusement Park

She went on all the kiddie rides by herself. These aren't the only rides she went on. She was really brave.

Merry-go-round

Ferris Wheel

Spaceship ride

Rollercoaster

Roller Girl...

Oh, they skated so fast, they were a blur. (not really but Lolly didn't even need to hang onto the wall.)

We (Lauren, Samantha, Leona and I) took the girls skating. This was Lolly's second time. Lolly did great. She is a natural on the skates (just like grandma meyer)

Bowling for Fun!

Lauren went bowling for the first time. Tom had his best game ever. It reeally helps having the bumpers in.

Lolly and her mom!

Alright, I haven't posted a picture of me. But here it is, in all its glory. It was HOT HOT HOT at the canyon.

Stickin' it to ya!

where the deer and the antelope play...

The Black Canyon of the Gunnison on the Western Slope. This shows its expanse.

This shows its depth. It was really deep.

This is looking up from our campsite. We stayed below the rim of the campground. The round rock at the top looks like a sad man. Tom thinks I am nuts.

And yes, there really were deer - walking right through the campground.

Lolly liked "her music" (old mcdonald etc) on her headset. So she listened to it a lot.

We all relaxed in different ways. It was really hot in the canyon and taking a nap was a good way to beat the heat.

These signs were all over the area. But we didn't see one single bear - not even Yogi or Booboo.

After camping for 3 days, we felt (and probably looked like) Pigpen from Charlie Brown. So we stayed in a hotel in Grand Junction one night to relax (in air conditioning) and swim our little hearts out.

Lolly spent a lot of time in the pool. She likes to swim.

We finished our vacation in Leadville with some fishing. Didn't catch anything to eat.

Daddy and Lolly time

Lounging at the cabin

Lauren is just hanging out in the front yard of the cabin. We spend most of our summer up here in the peace and quiet.

Bailey

Cowgirl Chic

Grandma Meyer and Cousin Quentin visit

From the mouth's of babes.

Last night Lolly and I were in the backyard getting ready to water the lawn. Lolly pointed out some dog poo. So I go the scooper to pick it up and clean up the yard. Lolly told she would help by pointing out the poo I needed to pick up. As we were walking around cleaning the yard, she said

"This is like Easter egg hunting for poo!"

I guess she was right but definitely not as fun.

First Camping Trip for Lolly...

Here is Lolly on her first camping trip. She really had a great time. Her favorite part...eating outside for all her meals. Who knew it would take so little to keep her happy? We were a little worried about Lolly not wanting to use the valut toliet but we had no issues.

We are all looking forward to the next trip... Black Canyon of the Gunnison for 2 nights end of June.

Here is Tom setting up the tent when we arrived at the campgroup. It was early for camping (May 11) but we headed down south where it was a little warmer. We only shared the campground with 3 other tents. The campground was on the South Platte River. It was very peaceful.

At the park

The weather has been good lately. We spent an afternoon at the park. Here is Lolly giving me a smile as she climbs up to take another trip down the slide.

Bente, Samantha and Lauren

Here are the girls in the class practicing. Everyone seems to have a great time in the class. Lolly is really enjoying being there.

Here is Lauren and two of her friends in Ballet class. Aren't they lovely? And Lolly has to be the one to pose. : )

Fun at the Park!

Here is Lauren and Tom playing soccer on one of the first nice evenings this spring. That is great part of Colorado - evenings are beautiful.

Easter in Colorado... Snow!

We went and collected easter eggs at church but Easter Sunday was snowy. Lauren is an easter egg finding fiend! If you are not careful, she will elbow you and knock you down to get an egg.