food storage? what?

we were given the challenge at church on sunday to live solely on our food storage. what? we are to pretend that a big snow storm has cut off all access into the eagle and gypsum area, which could really probably happen (not the best sentence, i know). well, okay...




got any suggestions?

and if you think we have plenty of pepsi, think again. this has to last shawn TWO weeks. and we cheated and bought milk.

actually, i think we will survive two weeks pretty okay. i have been working on food storage little bit by little bit. i bought milk simply because we don't even have powdered milk--which is on my list now.

and cold cereal needs a stocking-up. mikey told me he is getting bored of stuff we have. okay.

and seeing as how anna has strep throat, i have learned that i need to stock up on over-the-counter meds. i have gone to the store to get motrin (the bishop said we should not go to any extremes with this challenge).

and i am hoping our toilet paper lasts--i am limiting everyone to four squares per number one and eiaght squares per number two. and if you come visit this week or next, bring your own tp or go before you come or hold it.

that's all for now. i wil maybe keep you updated.

october fun: part HALLOWEEN

 

we had a great halloween. here are some photos of the day. highlights of the day:

*school parties

*trick or treating trot in vail village with friends

*lighting our jack-o-lanterns

*neighborhood trick or treating with friends

we all had a great night. and i even think that the kids were in bed and asleep at 8:17...earliest time for the week. mikey even put himself to bed.

october fun: part III

 

here we are carving our pumpkins. we have taught our children well in the proper usage of sharp knives...

october fun: part II

 

actually, this should probably be part I because it happened first. but, i am not that organized.

we hit a pumpkin patch in silt a few weeks ago. the kids had fun. the cat made me want to be a cat that day. perfect. mikey kept trying to throw the pumpkins like a ball. and anna was the boss of the wheelbarrow.

october fun: part I

 

last saturday was the annual halloween fest up at beaver creek. we went up for the fee ice skating. the kids love it. it was a beautiful day for ice skating. i even donned a pair for a little bit.

just in case you forgot what we look like...

these were taken just up the street a bit. thanks to my friend kathy for taking them.

mt. evans, my only 14er...

here we are at the top of mt. evans. we went on july 26th when my parents were in town. it is simply beautiful. although i wish it had been a clear day.



a view of a bunch of other 14ers around.


these little baby mountain goats sure captured mikey's attention.


another view.


the line on the mountain is the road...creepy!


the sign (obviously): america's highest auto road.


a yellow-bellied marmot:


a little lake part way up:


if you click up close, you can see my dad driving up the mountain:


shawn & mikey at the summit (only he and shawn climbed up to the top):

friday night fun

we went up friday night to yeoman park. it's about a little ways up the road here. beautiful.

 

shawn made some super yummy dutch oven pineapple upside-down cake.




de-lish!

sweetwater lake

seriously, even when he is so dirty he looks like that he could be my little black baby (check out his legs), he is the cutest ever.

we went camping over the weekend to sweetwater, a place just about an hour away. the highlights:

*my camera died after the first picture i took (which turned out blurry). so, i have no pictures. this one came from loren who came with us and who shawn works with.

*ticks were EVERYWHERE...thankfully none embedded.

*those who went: us, the federicos, the mcclurgs, the becerras, and loren & mary. all people shawn works with...19 of us all together--9 kids, 10 adults.

*we rented a canoe & a row boat and went out onto the lake...sweetwater lake. absolutely beautiful (mad that i didn't have batteries for my camera). i was a bit nervous for it my first time in a canoe. shawn, tucker and i went out. next time we will leave tucker at shore. he rocked the boat a little too much, especially when he tried to paddle along.

*shawn's dutch oven cooking was a hit! sprite pork ribs and coke chicken--yummy!

*as the picture indicates above, this was seriously the dirtiest camp ground EVER! a fine, black dust covered everything.

*loren tells great campfire riddles...

*our tent: the super 8

*the federicos tent: the four seasons

we really had a great time. i forgot how much works goes into camping. and cleaning up after. but all in all, we had a great time. and i now have a charged camera battery for my trip to utah!

moab--here we come...

we are off to moab today. shawn is running in the half marathon on saturday. i am a bit excited. he has only raced once (in midvale's harvest days' 5k run) since we have been together. he has trained hard and i can't wait to see him run--go shawn!!

as a side note: many of you may know that i hate running and thus mostly hate runners. shawn is the exception probably because i am married to him.

how much is that doggie in the window...

mikey's primary teacher's golden retrievers (noah & ally) had pups on superbowl sunday. we went to see them last night and fell in love...




she had seven--6 boys and one girl



i think one would really blend into our family well...except alice might not be too appreciative.




they are only four weeks old...i have some time to think about it. i suppose ultimately it will be up to alice.