Exploring Around Home

We arrived home after our cross country trip almost 2 weeks ago, which left us just enough time to settle in, do laundry and stock up on supplies before Jamie, Todd, and Chief came out to join us in Ouray.

We've spent the last week exploring around home with them, including trips to Telluride and Mesa Verde, as well as tours of a few ghost towns, some great hiking, and some interesting jeeping. We had a great time... even Charlie and Chief enjoyed hanging out together, although Chief seemed a bit fed up with Charlie's puppy antics at times.

The 3 of them had to head home early on Saturday, but we still had a full weekend with Rex and Jennifer's wedding and a sleep over with James, Laura, and the boys. We love visitors, but they always seem to descend upon our abode at the same time! Today we're finally feeling relaxed and enjoying the quietness of our own home. Only a few weeks left until school starts, and our calendar is definitely filling up!

Here are a few of my favorite pics from the last week... Enjoy!

Jer and I on the Petroglyph hike in Mesa Verde National Park.


Our little Element made it all the way down the 4WD high clearance road to Animas Forks!


Charlie and I exploring the fields of wildflowers around the ghost town in Animas Forks.


An amazing field of wildflowers in the alpine tundra high up in Yankee Boy Basin (12000+ ft).

Canoeing with Charlie

This week we're in the St. Louis area. We've been hanging out with friends and family, including attending an awesome gig at Robbie's House of Jazz (to hear my talented cousin Ally play the trumpet) and a trip down to the Ozarks to canoe. It was Charlie's first time in a canoe, and I can't say that he loved it. However, he was very well behaved and settled down quite a bit after the initial dunk in the cool waters.

Flying Over Omaha

After spending some time showing a friend of Jeremy's from Sweden around for a week, we headed out to Omaha to see mom and dad, and Jen and Riley met us there too! We had fun making good food, eating at some of our favorite restaurants, playing with Riley, doing some shopping, and even going for an afternoon flight trip with dad! He took us up in pairs to fly around the area. It was fun hearing the other plane chatter and seeing the land shrinking beneath us. We even got to see where the Missouri is flooding the interstate, which is why our subsequent drive to the St. Louis area was so long and drawn out!

1st Summer Camping Trip

The first week out of school we decided to join some friends of ours for a camping trip. After an attempt to get over the pass to Silver Jack Reservoir that ended with too much snow, we ended up just setting up camp at Vista Point, which is slightly closer to home. The views were amazing, the food delicious, and the company pleasant.

Memorial Day

Just back from a great Memorial Day weekend! Mom & Dad met us in Denver. We went to the Art Museum, ate some great food, went to a Cards vs. Rockies ball game, and just hung out. It was fabulous!

With only one week of school left, we are counting down the days until summer and are getting ready to enjoy time with friends and family. We're also very excited to be spending some quality time at home in Ouray, which we rarely get to do in the summer. Here's to a great summer!

Spring, 2011

It's been a while since I last posted. I guess I find it harder to post when most people see everything on Facebook now days. However, I'm hoping to get back to at least once a month posting, if not more, even it's just for myself.

Anyways, we've had a busy three months. Charlie has been growing, growing, growing. He's still super cute but slowly turning into an adult dog, rather than a puppy. He can play fetch FOREVER it seems. We're hoping to get him around as many dogs as possible and do as much training as we can on our own this spring and summer. He's been absolutely fabulous with all the children he's been around, is always well behaved with other adults, and is pretty great with other dogs (besides the excessive puppy energy, that is).

We just returned from our spring break road trip. Charlie, living up to his name-sake, was absolutely wonderful in the car. It was about 30 hours of driving from home to Fort Morgan, AL, but it was totally worth it! 5 full days on the beach, in the sun, with sand between our toes :) Plus, we spent the entire time with my family! It was the best vacation I've had in a LONG time. On the way back we stopped in TX to see Jer's family and a friend, and now we're in the Denver area visiting with his cousin, grandparents, and friends before heading home tomorrow. It was a great two weeks, but we can't wait to be home!

Here are a few of my favorite pics from the last few months. Enjoy!

Charlie attempting to enjoy our lunch on one of many stops while driving to the Gulf Coast.

The beautiful beach house we rented... right on the beach!


Even Charlie loved it!

Simmons family with Grandma and Grandpa.

The girls.


The Voytkos with Grandma and Grandpa.

Evening walk.

Playing in the sand!

Watching the waves.

Aunt Tawnya & Riley exploring the National Naval Aviation Museum.

"Look at all these buttons, Mom!"

Voytko family picture.

Jer and Rebecca enjoying their "Beer-itas" on the San Antonio River Walk.

Jer and Nora in front of The Alamo.

Jer and Charlie playing fetch in TX.

Sunday Afternoon Walk

Charlie is growing faster than I ever imagined! Everyday he amazes me with the things he can do. This afternoon Jeremy and I decided to take him on his first long walk. Usually we just walk around town for 20ish minutes, but today we decided to hit the Uncompaghre River Trail in Ridgway. He did a great job during the hour long walk, walking on a loose leash without pulling or dragging behind 90% of the time, and he even got to meet several dogs with only one minor freak out... plus we got some great pics!

Winter Update

Hi All! It has been a long while since my last update here on blogger, but it was a busy fall. We're now settling in for a huge winter storm that is forecasted to dump up to 2 feet of white fluffy stuff on us by Friday! Anyways, we had a great fall break, spending a quiet Thanksgiving here at home. We just returned from St. Louis after having spent a few days there with family and friends for Christmas. It was great to see everyone, but especially Riley! We haven't seen her in person (only via Skype) since last Christmas! Here are a few of my favorite pics from the trip back to St. Louis:






The most exciting news of all, however, is the newest addition to our family! He's a F1b Labradoodle with a cream colored fleece coat and is the cutest thing ever! We just picked him up from a great breeder in Golden, CO a few days ago, and he is settling in so quickly! Charlie (named for Jeremy's favorite book: "Travels with Charlie" by John Steinbeck) lived up to his name sake with a smooth 6 hour drive home. He has been comfortable enough with us to chow down on some puppy chow, romp around in the snow, and he even slept the whole night through on the first night home! Here are some of my favorite pics!

Fall, 2010

This fall we've been trying to enjoy as much of the fall colors as we can, especially on the beautiful fall days. There as also been a quite a bit of rain, but I'm perfectly willing to put up with those days when amazingly vibrant rainbows accompany them! Here are a few of my favorites from the past couple of weeks...

The latest trip to Mesa Verde, the weather was psychotic with ominous clouds and some rain, but there were also brief periods of beautiful sunshine! We took a hike we've never been on before to see some cool petroglyphs!

Spruce House in Mesa Verde from a new angle! As we wrapped up our hike to the petrolglyphs, it brought us out on the opposite side of the mesa top than where we usually snap pictures from.

The previously mentioned ominous clouds...

The vivid colors of changing leaves...

Alpine glow at Alta Lakes, CO...

Ouray, CO...

And, last but not least, a shot from a few weeks ago as we headed home from school...