Case's 14th Birthday

Happy #14 to our first born! To celebrate, we brought a few friends home from school on Friday to hang out until bedtime. I have been picking up nerf bullets for days since. I think a good time was had by all.  

Luke, Carter, Case, Peyton and Winston

Case,

Happy 14th birthday, buddy! Year 13 brought a lot of changes ... you grew a foot (maybe literally) and are now officially taller than your mom and you sound like an adult (sometimes we think a stranger is in our house) among the most noticeable. You've also honed in on what you are most interested in and are pouring more of your time and energy into those things (band, soccer, piano, tennis and church) and among our favorite things to do is to watch you participate in those things. It brings us much joy to see you do what you love to do. It's also been fun to watch you grow into your role as a big brother (again). Maisy loves her "bubba" and it's so fun to see the two of you play together. We are so proud of you and grateful that God gifted you to us 14 years ago. We pray that as you continue to grow and mature, that you will seek God's direction in all that you do. We love you! 

Mom and Dad

Colorado

We decided to beat the miserable 100+ degree July heat in TN and head to Colorful Colorado. It was our first cross-country road trip with friends and we had a blast! And I have to admit, I thought a 18 hour road trip (each way) with a toddler was a terrible idea. But Maisy was a trooper and made it great! 

After one night somewhere in Oklahoma and a second night in Denver, it was time for the real adventure to begin. We drove up to 10,000 feet to State Forest State Park in the Never Summer Mountain Range for a unique camping experience. 

A beautiful drive through the Poudre Canyon along the Poudre River

Poudre Falls

Looking up at the crags (covered mostly by clouds) 

First hike to Lake Agnes

Dinner

This guy visited us multiple times in the middle of the night and scared us to death trying to get in to our cabin. After James pelted him with a block of wood at 2 a.m., he did not return. 

Woke up to sunshine and a great view of the crags

Baby sister had it made in the shade ... literally. 

FINALLY ... Mose spotting (including a baby)

Icing down after those 8 miles

In Fort Collins for the last few days of the trip.

Our VRBO was super neat

Highlight of the trip for all the big kids

So thankful for this friend

Adults only dinner out on our last night

The only hiccup we had the whole trip was our alternator going out somewhere in middle-of-nowhere Colorado. Thankfully we were close to an exit and Grant, at Grant's Garage was able to get us in and out in a few hours. We could have been stuck for days! So. Very. Grateful. 

Snacking while waiting on the car

Thank you, Grant. You are our hero!!