Indiana

This weekend my cousin Holly got married in Indiana. I begged Ross to come with me so that I could show him around the places that we used to visit when I was a kid. Usually every summer we would go to Indiana to visit my grandparents so it was nice to show him around even though things have changed a lot. I enjoyed seeing lots of cousins and siblings while we were out there. We were also able to see three of my aunts, some cousins on Ross' side and one of Ross' friends from high school. It was a very successful trip. Ross, Madison and I drove down to Denver to meet Emma to get ready to fly to Indianapolis, Indiana. We rented a car and drove to Fort Wayne. Madison did great traveling and she really enjoyed playing with lots of cousins. 

Ross and Madison driving around King Soopers. This was the night before we left. She was so excited that night that she couldn't sleep. She kept saying "airplane tomorrow?" It was pretty cute. 

 This is actually before we left Laramie. Madison has been really enjoying dresses lately. She has always loved tights too. I thought the converse looked nice with it. 

 Ross, Madison and Smurf on the airplane. 

 Ross and Madison after setting up for the wedding. 

 Ross, Madison and I in front of my Opa's farm house in Fort Wayne.

 When I was little my Opa used to take us Grabill to buy candy. We decided to go and let Madison pick out her own candy. She was really excited to buy the candy buy herself and eat all of it. She felt like a big spender even though the grand total was 54 cents.

 We also went to see my Omi and Opa's grave. I was there about ten years ago at my Opa's funeral. It was nice to go and see it again.

 Addison, Drew, Madison, and Anneli 

My Aunt Cathy had the coolest toys at her house. Madison loved driving her "tractor" around. She also enjoyed wearing the frozen hat with the braid. 

Emma and I took a selfie in front of my grandparents old house. I love this house so much. 

 Every trip that we go on with my family it seems like Ross always being tackled by the kids around. Holly's son Peyton kept calling Ross old man and I was old lady. It was pretty funny. 

 Madison, Maddie and Anneli playing on the ipad. 

Anneli, Madison and Drew. These kiddos seriously love playing together and I love to watch it. It is pretty hilarious. 

Madison, Ross and I in front of Wiona Lake. It was such a beautiful location for the wedding! 

Madison and Drew loved dancing together. 

 I loved the cake! I thought the ribbon was a really cute idea. 

 The amphitheater was located in a beautiful park across from the lake pictured above. Behind the amphitheater was this beautiful house and so it was an amazing setting.  

 Addison and Madison. Before our trip I kept trying to teacher Madison the names of the people we were visiting. When I said Addison she said "Oh Madison!" It was very confusing to her that there was an Addison, Madison and a Maddie. I couldn't blame her it was confusing for me too. 

 Whenever I wanted to take a picture of Madison she would pull out her blue phone and take a picture. She did this all evening long. It was pretty funny. Ross overheard some other kids asking why she kept taking selfies. 

 More pictures. 

 Madison dancing with Uncle Will. They both had some pretty good moves. 

 Emma caught the bouquet. We were all very proud of her for that. She did have a good height advantage on everyone else. 

 We all enjoyed dancing at the reception. Madison really enjoyed it. 

 All the siblings that made it out. 

All the family before we all went our separate ways. It was pretty sad to leave them since we had such a good time together. 

We took off to Indianapolis to spend a day with Ross' cousin Seth, his wife, Amber and their kids, Tydal (my spelling may be off) and Elsie.  

Emma and Madison playing in the playhouses at Seth and Amber's house. 

Ross and Madison battling it out. I wonder who enjoyed that toy more.

Madison enjoyed her ride on the carousel at the zoo. She hadn't been on one before so that was fun. We really enjoyed going to the zoo. I think the highlight for us was the dolphin show. It was really neat to see the dolphins. I wish I could have taken some pictures of them. 

Madison really enjoyed playing with Tydal and Elsie also. At one point at the zoo we walked a little bit ahead of them and she yelled "My Friends!!!" at the top of her lungs. It was cute. 

Now this is how we all feel. Madison especially. We will be trying to recover quickly since school starts for Ross on Monday. 

Colorado Springs

Last week we decided to visit Colorado Springs, Colorado. We decided that we would visit the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo and ride the Cog railway up to the top of Pikes Peak. Neither of us have spent very much time in Colorado Springs so we were excited for the adventure. 

 Madison and Ross were both very excited to visit a new zoo. I think it one of our favorite activities when we go to new places. I especially enjoyed this zoo because of the location. It was set on a mountain so it had all sorts of natural scenery and it was a good walk around. 

 Madison loved seeing the monkeys. She is a big fan of Curious George. There were these cute little black monkeys that she loved. She was just giggling when she saw them. It was fun. 

I really enjoyed seeing the giraffes because you could feed them. For a few dollars they would give you lettuce and the giraffes would lick you. It was really neat. 

 Madison was a little to scared to feed the giraffes but she didn't mind being close to them. I thought she was going to get really scared. 

 Her face really says it all in this picture. 

 I have never seen a giraffe drink before and it didn't look very comfortable! It was neat to see though! 

 Madison has been obsessed with trains lately so we decided that instead of driving up to the top of Pikes Peak we would ride the Cog Railway. I was especially grateful that we didn't drive when they said there was 156 hairpin turns and NO guardrails on the 20 mile drive up. 

While Ross was on his mission in Peru he served in a town that was about 14,000 feet high. After being up there I couldn't believe it. I could really notice a difference up there. I didn't think I would notice much of a difference since we live at 7,220.

Ross and Madison with our choo choo train! 

 Family picture at the top. 

 I couldn't believe how beautiful the view was from the top. I think they said that one of the peaks that was visible was actually in New Mexico. 

 Cute Madison with some crazy hair! 

 Ross and Madison

 This is one of my favorite pictures of Ross and Madison. I love the way that she is showing him something. I wonder what she is pointing out. 

 Recently, I have discovered a fear of heights. Ross was very brave taking Madison over to this look out point and I was very grateful to just be the cameraman. 

 Madison loves giving Ross rides lately. They don't make it very far though. 

 Ross and Madison on the train. The train ride up was about an hour. There were beautiful views up there. It was a really neat experience. 

Madison wouldn't really smile very much that morning. She enjoyed it a lot and has been talking out her choo choo train ever since. It was a fun little family vacation. 

I love seeing the beautiful things around us. Everyday I am so grateful to God for this world that we live in. It brings me so much joy to see the beautiful earth around me.