Since big brother is camera-shy again these days, Elliott has had to be such a trooper while I snap photo after photo of her.

I made her this dress a month or two ago with the intention of doing kind of a dreamy-feeling little photo session with her.  It’s been hanging in her closet ever since.  Until today.

The dress is simply a variation of my halter top tutorial.  I used leftover quilt squares from when I made her rag quilt and pieced together the skirt.  Then I added folded layers of tulle over the bodice and a little tulle ruffle at the hem.

We in North Texas are in a terrible state of drought and most everywhere you look, it’s brown.  Dead and dying vegetation doesn’t make for pretty photo backgrounds, but I managed to find a pretty green spot for her to have a little tea party.  I turned her loose and she helped herself and her friend Squishy to some tea.

Not pictured: Squishy.

Also to be noted: Squishy is a large stuffed elephant.

This child of mine doesn’t stay put for long, though.  The tea party soon ended and she was all over the place.

I am a sucker for these pretty little feet!  Long, thin, dainty and lovely.  They dance and they dance and they dance.  I love to think about all the places they’ll take her over the years.  Maybe one day they’ll be in pointe shoes.  And what will her first pair of heels look like?  What kind of shoes will she wear to her wedding?  I picture these feet grown and shoeless, pacing for hours in the middle of the night in circles around her dining room table, desperately trying to soothe a colicky baby.

Or were those my pacing feet?  And was she the baby only a few years ago?

Oh.  Oh, my baby girl.

Oh no.  Now I’m all verklempt.  Talk amongst yourselves.

My Alex:

My Elliott:

My step-daughter Mazzy:

The three of them:

And some of my cousins’ kiddos:

Porter:

Porter’s little sister Molly:

Anna:

Cason:

Gavin:

And Gavin’s mommy, Kelly.  While she’s not a kid, being around her makes me feel like one.  She’s my cousin, but more like a sister.  We grew up as each others’ other neighbors way out in the country and spent just about every waking moment of our childhood together.  We’re 8 months apart (yeah, yeah–I’m the older one) and have been BFFs since we were bitty.  She’s rad and I love her.  Since I’ve been feeling extra sappy and extra bonded with her lately, I had to throw her in the mix, too.

So there you have it — my amateur photography and just part of my beautiful family.

Meet SneakAway, aka “Sneaks”.

My little model couldn’t stay awake for pictures.

I cannot handle the sweetness of itty bitty kitty paw pads!

And, oh!  The itty bitty kitty nose!

And floppy kitty paws slay me.

Turns our our sweet Ginger girl cannot resist him, either.  Ginger is almost 2 years old.  We adopted her from the Humane Society 11 months ago and she’s been nothing short of angelic ever since.  As you can see, she’s fully taking on the role of his Other Mommy.  He nurses.  She lets him.  They’re both getting emotional fulfillment out of the arrangement.  It’s good.

And they live happily ever after.

On our last day in the mountains, the kids and I went horseback riding at Triple B Ranch.

A) The ranch is lovely.

B)  The horses on the ranch are lovely.

C)  The people on the ranch are lovely.

Seriously, we were thrilled with every detail of our visit and ride at the ranch and I hope to go ride with them again sometime.  Good people, I tell ya.

As long as you’re over 48″ tall, you can do the trail ride, so while the older two kids and I met our horses, Elliott waited for her turn to ride around the arena.

First, I met my horse.  Her name is Misty and by the end of our ride, I was begging the wrangler to just let me ride her back home to Texas.  She was perfect, sweet, and beautiful and nearly lulled me to sleep in no time.

Then, Alex met his horse.  Her name was Cookie and she was pretty awesome, too.

And Mazzy rode Star.  Star was the sweetest little slowpoke!  She’d stop and rest and just take her time.  If I lived where she lived, I’d probably not be in too big of a hurry, either.

We got our instructions from Kelly, the best wrangler in the world.

And we headed out.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Elliott met and fell madly in love with her horse Lexie.  Note the pink leading rope (that is a leading rope, right?  My horse knowledge is beyond rusty.) that thrilled Elliott to no end.

She rode circles in the arena with the other best wrangler in the world and managed to discuss every topic under the sun–and maybe even more–with her while they rode.  Elliott and Lexie became the best of friends.  I think Elliott has a lot of cowgirl in her blood.

She had to give Lexie lots of love before saying her goodbyes.

We spent the rest of the afternoon getting lunch and doing touristy shopping in Manitou Springs before we headed home to the cabin to pack up and head out.

And that, my friends, is that.

Thanks for sharing our Colorado journey with me.

We stopped in first at their visitor information/old jail and the girls threw on some jailbird outfits and put on their best pouts.

Then we drove up to American Eagles Overlook which stands at 10, 570 ft above sea level and overlooks that active gold mine I mentioned in my previous post.

Up top, there is still some of the old mining equipment and what’s left of the old blacksmith shop.

West of us, the clouds were putting on a spectacular show.  Absolutely gorgeous!

As we headed back down to Victor, we encountered one of the enormous mining trucks.  Look at how tiny the driver’s face looks in that monster!

There are lots of still-standing, turn-of-the-century buildings that are really interesting.

When we got back to town, we stopped in at the museum so the kiddos could do some gold panning.  At $2/kid and basically unlimited panning, this was cheap and wonderful entertainment for them.  They didn’t even want to stop for lunch!

Papa and Elliott teamed up.

Grammy and Mazzy were at the opposite end.

And Daddy and Alex found some treasure together.

After we grabbed some delicious burgers and absolutely to-die-for homemade pie and cinnamon rolls in the local cafe, we headed back to the cabin for naps and walks.  Elliott made friends with this little guy and toted him around for awhile.

The kids all loved the tiny pine cones.

And Elliott, of course, picked us some more flowers.

We spent some time on the deck and Daddy helped Alex out with a game on his iPod.

This little bunny would visit down by the lower deck of the cabin almost every morning and evening.  This particular evening, I was able to slowly inch closer to him and snap this shot of him.  Precious little dude, huh?

To Be Continued….Again…But…just one more.  I promise.

What I didn’t mention yesterday was that while we were at the cabin, Alex lost a tooth.  A very cantankerous tooth that refused to come out even with the permanent tooth 90% of the way in.  It was a problem tooth and it was a huge deal to get that sucker out of the way, so when it was out, Alex decided that rather than toting the tooth back to Texas, he wanted to bury it down by the pond.  He wanted to always remember that there’s a little part of him in Colorado.  Pretty cool kiddo. That night, the tooth fairy came.

Once that chunk of cash was tucked safely in his wallet, we headed out for the day.  About 10 miles from our cabin, we passed this enormous, still-active goldmine (more on that tomorrow….).  Look at that.  Years and years of mining for the shiny stuff all stacked up into its own kind of mountain.  It gave me a funny feeling in my tummy.  I feel for our planet, BUT…we exist and none of us want to stop existing any time soon, so…what do ya’ do?

Annnnnywayyyyyyyyyy…

As we passed through the cute little town of Cripple Creek, Shayne and I got so tickled at this sign that he u-turned so I could grab this shot.  How can you not laugh at that??

Donkeys at large.  *snort*

And my giggles didn’t stop as we passed this sand sculpture…

79th Annual what?  I don’t know.  I was just quick enough to get the shot without seeing what it was all about.

We kept on our way to Woodland Park and the scenery was, of course, magnificent.

We visited a little, very kid-friendly dinosaur museum.

And then we headed to the incredible Garden of the Gods.

I fell in love with the Kissing Camels.  Can you spot them?

Everywhere you look in the Garden, you find more and more amazing formations.  Just when I thought I couldn’t love our planet more….wow.

More wow.

The kiddos:

And some more wow.

And Mazzy…

And Alex…

And Elliott.

We climbed up to Balancing Rock.  700 tons of rock formed millions of years ago.  Just hanging out.  Not falling.  Just doing it’s rock thing.

700 freakin’ tons of rock.

Love this view as you leave the park.  One more ‘wow’.

If you’ve never been…..go.

Again, I say:  To Be Continued!

After our first night’s sleep at the cabin, we decided to spend the day at the cabin and exploring the forest around us.  After a delicious breakfast, we headed out for a walk.  The kids were all very thrilled to find trees, plants, flowers, rocks that were so different that the ones they find near home.

“Mommy, take a picture of this rock!”

“Mom!!  Did you see this tree??”

“Take a picture of this flower, mommy!”

And that’s why I came home with 1401 photos on my card.

Anyway…

We headed out and Elliott immediately picked a flower for Mommy.

And one for Grammy…

We set off down the path and enjoyed the sunshine, the fresh air and the trees.

Elliott tried to catch every bug she encountered.

And everyone took joy in all the tiny pieces of beauty that the forest offers.

Beauty…life…the forest is good.  The forest owns my heart.  If human beings would spread out, get out of the clusters of chaos we call cities and just…be, I think the world would get back to its roots and be a much more peaceful, much more lovely place to be.

And if we all slowed down to giggle and blow dandelions sometimes, we’d probably tend to breathe a little easier and feel a little more free.

And nibbling wild strawberries just can’t be a bad thing.

Now this stump is….just a stump, I suppose.  But the perfect shape of it, the moss growing on it and the way the sunlight was hitting made me feel like gnomes hang out beside it and party.  Or maybe a fairy lives inside of it.  Or…or…some other magical little forest creatures.  Either way, I loved this stump.

As we wound down around the mountain, we had a great view looking up at the cabin.  It’s a lovely cabin and I would highly recommend it spending even a small fraction of your life there.

This little patch of life was one of my favorites.  Just hanging out.  Being beautiful.  On the side of a rock.

We arrived at this little pond.  Judging by tracks and…well, other evidence, it is the watering hole for deer, elk and bears.  And an unfortunate place for ducks to hang out.

Don’t ask.

The kids all needed to toss in some rocks.

We wandered on and when we came upon this, the kids declared it “The Crocodile Log”.  Good stuff.

Miss Mazzy took a break.

Then Shayne grabbed my camera and snapped this shot of a fly sitting on a broken tree.  What we both failed to notice were the black hairs in there.  Seems this may be a scratching post for Mr. Bear.

While digging in the dirt & rocks with the kids, I flipped over a leaf and fell in love with the tiny droplets.

Elliott just had to climb a tree on the way back to the cabin.

And we found this guy grabbing a snack at the front porch.

To Be Continued…

We arrived home last night around 9pm and I immediately plugged the camera into my computer and uploaded the 1401 photos I took along the way.  Yes, 1401.  Colorado is just pretty, okay???  And…and…and our kids are cute, too, k??

So, while I won’t spoonfeed you 1400 pics, I will be sharing lots of photos in the coming days.  Hey, it’s better than watching your grandma’s vacation slides while she pinches your cheeks.  I think.

First up:  the drive.  We left out of our North Texas hometown last Monday morning.  For those of you that are unfamiliar with North Texas/West Texas, I know you feel my pain when I say the drive up to the New Mexico/Colorado border was…um..rather bland in the scenery department.  There were lots of typical small Texas towns and lots of this:

We stopped in Amarillo for lunch at The Big Texan.  You know, the place where if you eat a 72 oz steak, you get it free?  It was featured on Man vs. Food, so we couldn’t resist stopping in for some steak.  The place is over-the-top-Texas-stereotype fun and the food was super yummy.   While none of us had the guts to attempt the 72 oz challenge, we sat near the stage so that we could watch a fellow patron give it a shot.  Love the 1 hour timer that keeps people sweating while they try to choke down the steak, baked potato, 2 jumbo shrimp, salad annnnd a dinner roll to get their free dinner.  Wow.  The guy we watched had to call it quits with 10 minutes left on the clock.  I admire his ability to know when to quit….or when to make a break for the bathroom.

I couldn’t resist snapping a pic of the beast as it was being cooked.  That.  Is.  A. LOT.  Of.  Meat.

The kids all got cowboy hats with their meals.

I love this shot that Shayne got:

And I just need to clarify that in this next one, the kids are not crying….they just have a mean case of the sun squints.  Or maybe they were crying for steak-guy’s stomach.  Or maybe they weren’t.  That sun was brutal, man.

Annnnd….back on the road.  More Texas to be seen…

I can’t remember if this was still Texas or if we had crossed into New Mexico already, but I just love that sky!

The scenery began to get a little more interesting…

And we saw lots and lots of trains along the way…

And finally…Colorado Springs.  But, we were too early (we split the trip, stayed overnight in Raton, NM and arrived in Colorado Springs before lunch on Tuesday) to check into the cabin yet, so we spent some time at Cave of the Winds.

While we waiting for our cave tour to begin, we enjoyed the scenery.

Breathtaking.  I wish photos could do it justice. If you’ve never been, be sure to go.  You won’t regret it.  Unless you’re afraid of heights.  Or mountains.  Or breathtaking beauty.

I love caves.  Sure, I’m a bit claustrophobic, but I seriously can’t think of anything cooler than being inside of our Earth.  It’s just not something we can experience every day.  Thinking about when and how the structures inside the cave were formed just sends shivers down my spine.  Our planet is flat out amazing.  Unfortunately my cave photography is not amazing, so here are two decent enough shots:

We grabbed our key and began what turned out to be a very long journey to our cabin.  I mean, we knew it was going to be really far from Colorado Springs, but what we didn’t realize was how completely isolated it was from all of civilization.  It was more than Elliott could take.

Fortunately those of us that remained conscious, the scenery was fabulous.

And we got to see quite a few abandoned gold mines that really brought us in touch with American history.

The country was teeming with wildlife.

And finally…we were at the cabin.  Whew.

To Be Continued…..

The Texas Capitol Building is a thing of beauty and if you ever have a chance to visit it, I highly recommend it.

The kids couldn’t wait to get inside.

A view of the inside of the dome:

After exploring the building for a bit, we headed outside and couldn’t resist going for a carriage ride around downtown.

Then we met up with my very dear friend Josh.  He is a friend from my days in Atlanta.  Since then he has lived in NYC and recently moved to Austin.  I’m so glad that he is in Texas now!  I’ve missed him so much.

We walked around Zilker park and enjoyed the warm weather.

I love how alive Austin is.  It’s a city with a lust for life.  There’s a passion for the outdoors that runs rampant and every park is full of people enjoying themselves on any given day.

We dropped off Josh and headed down to catch our bat boat.  The guide on the boat pointed out how the Frost Bank Tower looks like an owl.  Love it!

As we approached Congress Bridge, we could hear the bats waking up and preparing for flight.  This is where they hang out during the day:

The sun was beginning to set as we passed under the bridge and the kids tried to catch a peek at the bats.

Then it was time to turn the camera off and enjoy.  Getting decent pictures of the bats is near impossible, so I just sat back and enjoyed.  I don’t know how many times I’ve seen the bats take flight now, but I love it each and every time.

The trip left the kids very satisfied, but I’m left craving lots more time in Austin!  Have you ever visited this great city?  What do you love about it?