Over, but not forgotten . .

Memories of our vacation still linger. The kids enjoy talking about the "good times" and they seem to get more exaggerated as time passes. Here we enjoying a water break at one of the lakes we hiked to. . .Nymph, Dream, Bear, Hiyahah. . .it all runs together. My family began hiking. . .well, before I can remember. It has just always been. I am thankful that our hikes have shortened now that all the grandchildren have arrived. Pre-kid days were full of long hikes that became longer. . . my pop has the gift of making the first hike of the season twice as long as it was supposed to be! My favorite was in Canada when we set off with a jug of water and a snickers bar. . ."we're almost there" for about 11 extra hours! Paul still wonders why we hike. . .sometimes I wonder too. Is it a white thing? I only see white folk hiking. . .thoughts?
Rebekah Claire, Hannah Esther, and Rebekah Ruth became hiking buddies. Hiking is more enjoyable with lots of cousins.
Rocket science. . .always a blast! One of the favorite classes that the cousins enjoyed that week.
Nine-year-olds are awesome "mommy's helpers"! Thanks so much to Emily and Elizabeth for loving on Hannah and Naomi. They were so patient with the little girls and here they pose for a quick shot after putt-putting.
One of the favorites was just climbing all over the big rocks and setting up forts and camps and using their wondering imaginations. Rachel, Elizabeth, Rebekah Ruth, Rebekah Claire and Sarah strike a pose.
Granddaddy with Baby Jael. Grandpa is an expert whistler and always keeps the babies amazed and amused!
Elijah, Joshua, and Jonathan (perhaps Ethan is in the back?) retreat into their fort. With only 4 boy cousins to 10 girl cousins, these guys had to stick together for protection! They had quite the set-up.
The ratios continue in our family, as well. 3 boys versus 6 girls! The men have to stick together and act tough!

Sleeping Beauties. . .

Since this is my "on-line scrapbook", there are other photos I plan on including from our trip to Colorado. (Yes, I do have a bin in the garage of all the creative memories stuff I was convinced that I would utilize.) While we have moved on here and have other happenings to share, I thought I'd continue on a bit with a few photos of our sleepy heads on the drive home.
Sweet dreams! Snoozing helped the time pass more quickly. Naomi spent quite a few hours trying to escape her car seat. Looks like she made some progress before tiring out!
Sweet little Tweety bird head! This is deja vu - Jael has the same profile as Hannah. Does she look white to ya'll? We are still waiting for her pigment to come in! Personally, I think she's a white Paul. Strange. Good thing she's got a handsome Daddy.
Jonathan concocted his own sleeping method, resting his head on the shoulder belt. It looked very uncomfortable, so I tried to put the pillow rest in for him. He didn't seem to mind. You can see some of the exciting scenery we enjoyed. This is the nothing land of Nevada and Utah. Sometimes I think even Kansas might be a nice change! Naomi seems to be missing at this point. Fortunately it's difficult to lose her in the car, but this is somewhat mysterious.
This shot was taken in our room at the YMCA Camp in Estes Park, CO. Somehow the "roomies" both ended up in the queen bed before officially starting their day. I loved that they were sleeping in the same position. I think I need to frame this one for their room.

If the room looks small, it is. It hosts a full/queen bed and two sets of bunks. There is a sink in the room and a small bathroom. With a pack-n-play and 9 people, it was cozy. My folks had some of our children listed in their room and had planned on taking a few, but what's a family vacation without members of your family?!? So, it was really like a big slumber party every night! I think someone ended up in our bed almost every night! After living like the majority of the world for a week (actually, better. We only had nine in the room and it was a furnished room with carpet and running water.) we felt like our home had tripled in size!

It definitely tripled in heat. We left Estes Park at a chilly 43 degrees and my the time we unloaded at the hotel in Mesquite, Nevada that evening it was a toasty 112 degrees! Our house was 88 degrees inside. Home sweat home. I mean, home sweet home!

Original Sin, oops, Senns!

Here's a photo of the three amigos. Little brother, Tim on the left. Big brother, Jonathan in the middle. And of course me. The flower after the thorns. I loved being sandwiched between two brothers, but I have prayed for years for a sister. (Keep praying Emily Jean, my niece!) God has richly blessed me with 5 daughters, though!

Reunion Fun!!

A HUGE thank you to Gray-Gray and Papa (aka Daddy Warbucks!) for making the whole thing happen! They were the mastermind and wallet behind the 2008 Reunion. We love you! They look very happy with their 14 grandkids! Sarah is the oldest (her claim to fame) and Jael is currently the youngest. . .
Definitely the highlight of the trip was having incredible times with cousins! Everyone has at least someone close to their age and the three little Micu girls were popular with their older cousins. What a super time together! The four boys stuck close . . .
Bekah and Abigail are hiking buddies. . .

Naomi hitches a shoulder ride from Uncle Jonathan! We "got by with a little help from our friends. . . "







Gray-Gray takes a turn carrying sweet Baby J (who seems to think that Grandma's walking stick is pretty sweet. . .or salty? Yuck!)

Stop and Go

Snuggling in together at the hotel! What a treat - a TV in the room! The kids were sooo excited.. . .the staff was so sweet to us and even sent goodie bags with the kids for the remainder of the trip.

Jonathan meditating pool side!

We spent the night at a Country Suites and it was a blast! The kids all loved swimming and soaking up the hot tub.
We enjoyed a super time at Casa Bonita, http://www.casabonita.com/, upon entering Denver. It was like a Chuckie Cheese, Rainforest Cafe, Mexican restaurant, Disneylike setting all rolled into one. What a fun place to relax and eat!

The kids had a lot of fun just counting how many "millions and billions" of years ago this world just banged into existence! Creation demands a Creator!

All summer it seems we've been saturated with Creationism. Our VBS centered around it, see http://www.answersingenesis.com/. We listened to Jonathan Park CDs on our trip across the states, http://www.jonathanpark.com/ or http://www.visionforum.com/. So, when we were had to time to stop at a Dinosaur Museum in Fruita, CO, it was a thrill to again realize that this all didn't just "happen" but was created by a loving and holy God!

Road Trip!

Here we are traveling across this great country of ours to the Senn (Amy's side) Reunion. All I can say is, we miss that Big Red Van!!! We're all smiles here! I think it is a family record so far - no barfing! Yippee!!
Jonathan and his little friend pass the time. . .What a traveler!