Traveling for Global allowed me to work on my photography. Although far from a pro -I'm posting at www.buzznet.com under the screen name of "paralithodes". And the Rockies have a lot to offer as well - we made a point of visiting new parks; Eleven Mile, Paint Mines, Teriall, Spinney, Jackson and Yellowstone. Although these pictures were more portraits than landscapes.

Climbing took a back seat to skiing this year as my girls now have the skills to keep up in the powder. Nothing quite so fun as watching your kids laying fresh tracks in the infamous "Back Bowls" of Vail. I know that's Erin's favorite also but Lindsey prefers the warmer weather, late spring corn snow, the beach games, and barbeques of A Basin's spring breakers.

However, while at Camp Red Cloud Lisa's sisters Joni & Emily wanted to spend some time hiking. We snuck out of camp about 5:00 am to grind up a four wheel road to the old mining town of Carson. Leaving the truck there we headed straight up and managed two "thirteeners" before Noon on the Fourth of July. Great trip with good company!

As the house ages we find ourselves acting as surgeons, removing non functioning parts, splinting broken framework and most often attempting cosmetic surgery. This Fall we were busy replacing floors and carpets, fixing the deck, and moving trees. And then there's the barn with all those four legged termites. I'm sure that siding & 2x4 s aren't as tasty as grass but the horses must get something out of it. So yes I frequently carry a hammer and no I'm really not a carpenter.

How the focus of life changes as your children reach each new stage. Like most parents I'm astounded at how fast time passes and have mixed feelings as you watch them gain self confidence, explore further, and start spending more time with their friends than with you. All in all 2007 was rewarding year.

Lindsey

Hanging on a tree!



Me and Auntie Jonie were hanging out under the falls at Camp Redcloud!

Not much has happened to me this year... Although I FINALLY started middle school. I love middle school and have tons of new friends. I also got a cell phone! Texts galore! Dance is still really fun for me and I'm in tap and ballet in my dance school and poms and hiphop in our dance team at Sagewood Middle School. Savvy is still the best dog ever! Basically I'm loving life!
Tapping away!
Dancing on the Fourth of July with Charlotte!(above)
Up at Yellowstone in front of Old Faithful and moose spotting!(Below)

Erin

Mom: AAAAAAAH! Erin is driving! And through a herd of buffalo no less!
Erin: Hah!!! I can drive! That's right! Watch out buffalo, here I come! I have my permit now- ever since May of 2007. I am pretty thrilled- I can't WAIT to buy my car!
Unfortunately, I waited two months after my birthday in March- but that's alright! The alternative was a class during spring break, but my spring break was spent in Boston with my daddy! Me and dad hung out in Boston and wandered around for a week- I got my ticket as a birthday present! It was so much fun! We walked the Liberty trail and explored about a hundred museums. We also were there for the biggest blizzard Boston had seen in March for a long time! It was pretty crazy, but it pretty much convinced me that Harvard is not an option for a college because of those stinking snowstorms. California sounds nice... =]
government, college algebra, trig, chemistry,Speaking of college, I've only got two years to go! This year I'm a sophomore at Ponderosa High School! Go Mustangs! I'm taking lots of classes that are pretty exciting, including and a couple more.
I'm not playing any sports this year, but I am hoping to get in a whole bunch of ski days this year! I also run and bike- lots of fun!
Lets see... what else did I do this year...
Mom covered the highlights of the summer- xlazyf, family reunion, nana and bumpa's house, and camping.
Fall break in Yellowstone WAS a lot of fun, but I might have to admit that driving on those Wyoming highways gets a little old... a little... and trust me, mom and dad were thrilled to pass off the driving privledge to me. Yippee. =] We did see a lot of wildlife though- and that was really cool! I love that kind of thing.
This fall I was in a play at the high school, but I got a job, so my schedule limited my ability to commit to the play. Speaking of my job- I have one now! I tutor several children for a family who lives nearby. Its a lot of fun- and its going to help with the purchasing of that car... =]
Halloween was spent as a trio of leprechauns with my friends Mary and Veronica, and since then school has been crazy getting ready for finals. We three also went to homecoming with each other- we had a blast being the belles of the ball, so to speak.
Sorry if this is confusing! I'm typing in the order I'm thinking, which is clearly a rather spontaneous order. Who reads these things anyway? The pictures are the cool part. =] That sums up my year so far- I can't wait for Christmas and I can't wait to be an upperclassman next year!
Merry Christmas! Have a great new year!
xoxox
Erin

=]

"Erin! You're such a goof ball!"

"Mommy... Erin hurt herself again..."

"Fearless Geyser"
=]

Animals

Esta the barn cat now has the neighborhood record for length of life at 15. She does a great job of sleeping on the haystack, but not a much else.

Pippin - still the world's largest Brittney. Erin had a good time with him in 4H last year. They are at a level now which requires Pippin to jump, which is a major accomplishment for him, since he is also one of the laziest dogs you will ever meet (not your average Brittney).



Savvy - Lindsey now has gone off leash in 4H classes, which means Savvy can more or less decide for herself if she is going to stay in the ring or not. Lindsey has a great time with her and has become very relaxed about the whole winning/losing concept as Savvy has a tendency to go for the cute points instead of the obedience points.



Winston - Winston is .... well, the reason Savvy is spayed now. Actually we don't know what we would do without him, which is good because his personality takes up more room than both other dogs combined.



Horses - Three of these also. Yikes. Joy is more or less retired now. Gracie was a dressage queen this year as was Demi. Lisa and Erin were part of a quadrille team (4 horses and riders), which was a lot of fun for horses and riders alike. There aren't any other teams competing in this area so we won every show we entered. (This is a little like buying your ribbons, but it's fun). Erin is on the bay mare (Demi), second from the left, Lisa is on the right end (Gracie).



We skipped hogs this past year because we had too much vacation time scheduled, but maybe next year.

Work life

Lisa is still co-exec. dir. for learning technology for the Colorado Community College System. Essentially that means she runs CCCOnline (www.CCCOnline.org). We're over 10,000 students every year now and still growing. She has a fantastic Co-Director in Rhonda Epper. Rhonda pretty much takes care of all the boring stuff and leaves the good stuff for Lisa.

Lisa managed to go to a several fun conferences in Boston, Atlanta, and Estes Park. Really the job itself is a lot of fun, which is kind of weird and probably related to the part-time aspect of it.

Loren spent the first part of the year working for Global Seafoods, but left them in August. He's back to brokering for himself and looking around for something else he might want to do (other than ski of course).

Erin tutors two evenings a week and really enjoys having a steady income. Lindsey babysits fairly regularly for the same family Erin tutors for and also enjoys earning her own cash.

2007 Vacations

X Lazy F Ranch

We spent our usual week up at X Lazy F Ranch in the Colorado Mountains. Loren's brother Norsen and his wife joined us again this year. I think they might count as part of the usual crowd now.

We rode horses, fished, hiked, lazed around, etc. No change there, just a nice break from real life.

Everyone is sitting on the tree they just tipped -- tree-tipping is a big sport at XF.

Camp Redcloud, Lake City, CO

After XF we gave the girls to Lisa's parents for ten days (WOW!), then met them and all of Lisa's family at Camp RedCloud above Lake City in more Colorado Mountains. It was a great family reunion and a good time was had by all.












Music at Camp Redcloud.

Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks

We dashed up to Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks for fall break. That turned out to be a great time to see Yellowstone especially -- we had the place pretty much to ourselves. We hiked a lot, but for what it's worth, you really do see all the animals from the road.























We even saw a grizzly bear! (We saw a black bear while we were at Camp Redcloud, so it was a bearish sort of year.)











Other than that we camped a little and skied a little (Loren skied a lot).


(Elevenmile, Colorado)

Silly Girls

Almost forgot....

Loren passed an age-based milestone