The Long Vacation!

On May 23rd, our summer vacation began - well, sort of. We went home for Memorial Day weekend to see Roy's youngest brother, Gregg, graduate from high school. We are very proud of him. Adam, Roy's other brother, was there as well, and it was great to hang out with them.

This is Roy's mom, Linda, with Gregg. (Sorry for cutting off your head, Gregg.)

During our weekend home, we were able to spend time with two cuties: Roy's sister, Cristy, and her daughter, Keara, who is quite the ham.

My sister and her family came home, too, and so I was able to play with my John and Sarah. They thought I needed doctored; I was well taken care of! LOL

After our short trip to Ponca, we came back home to Waco, so I could finish out my last week of school. Then, we headed back to Ponca. It was great to spend time with all of our family. I even got to go to the movies with my daddy! We saw the new Indiana Jones movie, which was really great, no matter what the critics say.

While in Ponca I continued my new goal of running every day, but unfortunately, my body did not have the same goal as I did. On day two of our vacation, my left knee started hurting badly, and it did not get better. I was limping around everywhere and was in a great amount of pain. Today I went to the doctor, and he said he thinks it's a strained muscle but doesn't think it's torn. I am supposed to stay off of it (something I couldn't do while on vacation) and take IBuprofen every 6hrs for a few more days. If there is no change for the better, then I will go in for an MRI next week. I guess I'll have to figure something else out besides running...

After a few days of visiting with family, Roy and Cleo and I packed up and headed northwest to Colorado to see our friends, Cary and Melissa, and their adorable boys, Carson and Caden. As is typical, I kept forgetting to get a picture of them, so I don't have one to post. I was kicking myself all the way home... Anyway, we drove through Salina, KS, and took I-70 to Denver. It was the longest, most boring, nothingness 10hr trip I have ever taken! There really is nothing to see in KS!!! I take that back, one thing that was cool was the wind farms; we got a picture of them.

When we passed the sign saying we were in CO, I just had to get a pic. Did I mention the wind was fiercly blowing, and it was raining all the way to CO? That meant we couldn't see the Rockies when we got close, but once we arrived, it was all worth it.

Though you can't tell in this pic, I was freezing cold! My teeth were chattering uncontrollably. It gets pretty cool at night in CO, but because the weather was rainy that night, it was extra cold. We were in Castle Rock at about 6200 feet high!
We had a wonderful time hanging out with our friends and playing with their boys. Poor Cleo literally had the crap scared out of her upon arrival because Cary and Melissa's dogs ran out the door barking to greet her, but after a short time, they learned to tolerate one another. Cleo thought every ball the boys played with should have been hers, so she ruined a couple, but they really enjoyed playing with each other. We got to watch Cary and Melissa in action with their youth group, and also heard Cary preach on Sunday; we were so proud. Saturday we went to the youth group's car wash (they were raising money for a missions trip to MX), and then we met up with some of Melissa's family and went swimming. I got a bit of a burn, but I was so glad to get some color on my skin other than blinding white! That night we went to a nice Italian restaurant to eat. It was just so much fun to be with our friends. We have missed them so much since they moved from Waco to CO. During our visit I observed the many motherhood talents of Melissa. She is amazing, and I only hope that I can be as consistent and real with our kids. She is quite an inspiration.

On Sunday, we drove up to Dillon to the mountains. On the way, we stopped in Idaho Springs at a pizza place called Beau Jo's. It was super yummy pizza! The crust is fabulous, and they bring you honey to eat with it. At the back of the pizza place, there is a little water fall, so I snapped a pic. The town was really neat. It was an old mining town, and they even had a spot were you could pan for gold! A river runs through the mountains and the town, and people go rafting on it. It would be a great town to stay in for a few days.
After eating, we made our way through the mountains. We got up to 9-10,000 feet high! While taking a few pics, it started snowing! It was just gorgeous! Roy and I defintely want to move to CO after he graduates.

We left our wonderful friends and the amazing scenery on Monday, and headed back to Ponca where we stayed a couple more days before leaving Thursday. Now we are back home, and life seems boring. LOL