Fall Colors on the train

My mom has been here visiting for the past week. Today we took advantage of the "Valley Special" (half-price tickets) and rode the Rio Grande Scenic Railroad to La Veta and back. This was my third trip on the train but the first for my mom. The aspens were a few days past prime, but the colors were still amazing. I took this same trip last year and took over 200 photos, yeah...I took another 200 today. Absolutely gorgeous!!!

One happy mama

Jamie has never before shown an interest in basketball, although he loves baseball, soccer & football. I have always been a huge basketball fan. Jamie's birth father played semi-pro basketball so I have secretly hoped that Jamie would pick up on the vibes and develop a passion for hoops. I was SO excited today when he said he wanted to shoot baskets. I even called Parks & Rec to get him signed up for the youth basketball league. Yep, I'm one happy mama!

Now I remember...

I remember one of the reasons I'm reluctant to update our blog...dial-up internet! UGH! It takes forever to upload photos! Thanks to Coleen, though, I've now installed the Microsoft Power Toy to easily resize photos. It cuts out the time I used to spend editing and resizing in Photoshop before trying to upload.

A Super Hero kind of day!

We went to Albuquerque over the weekend and I made sure to hit a couple of thrift shops in search of various Halloween costumes. Jamie and his friend, Parker, love to play dress up (any time of the year...not just Halloween) so I try to stock up when I can find lots of costumes for a good price. I scored a Batman, Robin, Dash and a Hot Wheels Race Car Driver costume! Woo Hoo! Since Parker comes home from school on Tuesdays with Jamie, I had the costumes (new and old) out for them to play with.

Parker (Dash)


Jamie (race car driver)

We made a Sam's run while in Albuquerque and picked up a case of T.P....who knew that the empty box would provide so much entertainment?

Jamie (Mr. Fantastic) & Parker (Robin)


Jamie (Batman) & Parker (still as Robin)

Blogging

I've been thinking about starting a blog/newsletter in conjunction with my meager Stampin' Up! business. The reality is that I don't update our family blog often enough, so to try and use one as a business resource at this point would be absurd. So, I am committing to not only routinely updating our family blog, but also to going back and filling in the HUGE gaps where I have failed in the past. I'm discovering that blogging, not unlike scrapbooking, is easier if one starts with current material. Instead of stressing about what I *haven't* blogged, start with now and go forward and fill in pieces of the past when I can.

Fun things to do in Wichita

Museum of World Treasures
(info from AAA TourBook) A variety of exhibits contains pieces from forty collectors. The Hall of the Ancients has 3,000 year-old mummies, rare bones and fossils from prehistoric animals, including a Triceratops skull. Among the museum's 10 dinosaurs is a Tyrannosaur Albertosaurus skeleton. Crown Royal jewels dating from 1200 can be seen in the Hall of Royalty, which depicts the grandeur of European monarchs. The Hall of America presents an extensive collection of weapons and uniforms from the Revolutionary War through the Vietnam War, while the Karpeles Historic Manuscript Library features historic letters and documents. Other exhibits contain frontier-era, music, sports and celebrity memorabilia.

Jamie & Shelby stand by an actual piece of the Berlin Wall


This museum had scavenger hunts for the kids to complete with questions about exhibits from the entire museum. They had different age levels so Jamie's was different from Shelby's. One of the things on Jamie's scavenger hunt was to rub the laughing budda's belly...something that everyone should do anyway.


Shelby working on an answer to a question about Egypt on her scavenger hunt.


They had a kid's play area with costumes and props. Shelby was the queen and Jamie was a knight.

When the kids completed their scavenger hunts, they received souvenir shark teeth.

After the Museum of World Treasures, we dropped mom off at an antique mall and Bill, Jamie, Shelby and I went to The Exploration Place.

The Exploration Place
(info from AAA TourBook) Has hands on exhibits exploring flight, Kansas and imagination. Exploring Flight and Design traces aviation history since the Wright brothers' historic 1903 accomplishment. Exploring Our Only Home looks at the state's geography, beginning with it's prehistoric days. A miniature display about mid-1900's Kansas architecture and exhibits about tornadoes and meteorology are other highlights. A three-story castle in the Kids Explore area sparks the imagination of children.

We all had a great time at the Exploration Place. There were lots of hands-on exhibits and geared to kids and adults. We watched "Chirpie's Amazing World Adventure" in the Cyberdome Theater.


Jamie soaring over the dunes & shorelines of Kitty Hawk, N.C. on the horizontal flight simulator.


Shelby using the full-motion flight simulator to try and land a plane.


Leaf rubbing


and more leaf rubbing


playing and exploring in the three story castle


The castle was fun, they even had costumes for the kids to dress up. The interior of the castle was a series of mazes. There was also an insect and reptile exhibit that I thought was neat, everyone else rushed through it so either they weren't impressed or they were tired and hungry. Actually we were all tired and hungry.


Shelby, Jamie & Bill stopped to play with these building sticks while I went to the gift shop to scope out items that would be in the kids' price range for souvenirs. We bought souvenirs and went back to pick up mom at the antique mall. We ate a late lunch/early dinner at Granite City Food and Brewery. We were so hungry and the food was yummy. We were disappointed, though, that they didn't have fresh brewed root beer.


After eating, we headed back to the hotel and the swimming pool. The water felt so good!

We went to Jan & Leon's house after swimming to help them light fireworks. They hadn't been able to light them until now because they, too, had received lots of rain. Shelby & Jamie had a great time with the fireworks!! Oh yeah...we ate ice cream and watermelon. We'll be back through Wichita towards the end of our trip and will actually stay at Jan & Leon's house. It's so fun to connect with old friends!

Kansas Here We Come

Here we are...ready to hit the road and head to Wichita, KS. It has been raining excessively in Oklahoma so the temperatures have been cooler than usual but the humidity is off the charts. That's why we look so exhausted in this photo, even though it was taken at 11:00am. This photo was taken at Julie's Uncle John's & Aunt Jean's house in Ada, OK.

We, of course, had to stop for the obligatory photo of the state sign. We'll be doing this a few times on this trip.

This is our first hotel (of many) on this trip and it's nice. It is a suite with a separate bedroom and a full kitchen. And the swimming pool is right out the door. We'll be staying here for two nights. We found a Papa Murphey's nearby and brought a pizza back to the room to bake for dinner. Uncle John sent this yummy watermelon with us.