Hitting the Trails

We had a great weekend camping.

Camp Chef

Telling yarns by the fire.

Pretty scenery abounded.

We hiked some gorgeous trails.

And met a not-so-friendly fellow.

The venomous Copperhead.

After it crossed the trail it blended perfectly with the fallen leaves.
Creepy and fascinating!

Erosion Sand Art

Sand and water!  Who needs toys?

This narrow passage was fun but adults might need to turn sideways!

The Natural Bridge.

A cozy campsite.

Hiking Buddies!

A one-way tunnel to Red River Gorge.
Our big van fit!

Our camp-site backed up to a pretty stream.
We had a lot of stone skipping contests and boat races.

Making corn meal at a living history event.

A final picnic before we hit the trail home.

Three

Our youngest turns three this week.

We have enjoyed every moment of his sweet life.

Happy Birthday Christopher!

We love you!

Summer Memories

Summer flew by......but there are few days until that first day of Autumn.

We're schooling and fall activities have taken over, but I wanted to get some of those summer memories on these pages.

Youth Club Championships in Blaine, Minnesota.

Two 2nd place finishes and an end to a high school career.

A trip downtown to meet some NFL players.

A cousin day at the park!

Creeking with our best buddies.

Cheering on our favorite baseball team.

JP learned to ride a bike!

And final goodbyes to a big brother headed to college.

It was a busy, beautiful summer.

Thank you God for our bustling, blessed life.

Final Italy Cap

Whew!  I am finishing this.....

and then I have a week to recap the rest of summer because fall is a comin'!

Team USA was undefeated all week.

The championship game was held in the Lecco soccer stadium.

Pretty views all around.

It was a tight game.

Hard fought to the end.

Nail biting for all.

Team Canada came out on top.

The two teams showing good spirit as they share a moment together.

It was an honor to represent their country.
They will never forget this.

So proud of Dom!

Milan and Lake Como

Between Ultimate Frisbee games we took some trips.

Train travel was quick and fairly easy.

Scaffolding.....repair on these very old buildings must be constant.
I can't image what it costs to up-keep the churches. 

The Cathedral of Milan is beautiful.

We were glad we snuck in a quick trip to see the city square.

On a different day we did a little touring of the Lake Como region.

I loved watching the swans.

1. funicular
2. A funicular, also known as an inclined plane or cliff railway, is a cable railway in which a cable attached to a pair of tram-like vehicles on rails moves them up and down a steep slope; the ascending and descending vehicles counterbalance each other.

And they are fun too!

Buying our tickets to ride.

And then we began the ascent on foot to a lighthouse.

It was hard work winding up and up......

I had to stop a couple of times to catch my breath.

The view was spectacular.

The air was so fresh and crisp up here.

I was ready for a nap.

But alas, it was time to descend and boy was that easier!

So many pretty little houses along our path.

The sweet cat was irresistible all curled up by the window box.

There was a "Swiss chalet" feel to all of the buildings.

Pretty Italian kitty.

What goes up, must come down.

After our cable ride/hike, we drove to the romantic city of Bellagio.

The lake views were so pretty but oh my the winding narrow roads were a trip!

Doesn't this look like the car from the movie "Cars?"

This picture was taken for my boys!

Pizza by the lake at the end of our day.