I met Ashley over a year ago at an art exhibit, & I was so happy when she called me to schedule a family photo shoot! The whole family was adorable & the gardens were beautiful! Enjoy!
The photo below melts my heart every time. 
This little guy is going to be a handful when he grows up. Yes, he posed himself.
Do not be fooled. These are NOT engagement photos. Amy & Drew were troopers though, putting up with how many people thought that’s what we were doing. Nope, these two are just great siblings who wanted nice photos for their parents’ birthdays this year. Good job, guys. Good job.
Last day in Colorado! Again, we leisured. Sunday was mine & Andrew’s last full day in Colorado. Since he only had one class to miss, he & I flew back to Houston on Monday. We loaded up in the car again on Sunday & drove out to Georgetown, an old mining town that’s full of antique & souvenir shops. We stopped at the Visitor’s Center & was told that all of 6th Street had no electricity, thus there were only two restaurants to choose from. Since Euro Grill didn’t sound like they had any American food (mom decided) we ended up at the Alpine Cafe. I have to admit that it was a great choice. I decided on the Guanella Panini, ham, monterrey jack cheese, tomatoes & mayo on homemade bread. Delicious.
The town was extremely deserted, which made it kind of creepy. Because it was really windy & it was beginning to snow, mom stayed in the car while the rest of us wandered around taking photos (me & dad) or shopping for soap (Andrew).
This is ALMOST my dad’s name! Verlon!
After the family photo (above) we turned around to see dad halfway up the hill. When Andrew decided to follow, mom threw her jacket in the air & pretended to run after them.
After they climbed the hill we saw this sign.
Breaking more rules!
The fourth day of Colorado was a free for all. My parents decided to not plan anything for Saturday or Sunday, so we ended up taking our time shopping around Breckenridge on Saturday. We slept in til 11 (well, some of us did) & had a leisurely lunch at Fatty’s Pizzeria. I was the only one who had pizza. It was delicious. We checked out a few of the shops & I found a boutique that I wanted to buy everything. If only I had had space in my suitcase. After our stroll, we drove back to Denver where we lounged the rest of the evening. The silly hotel didn’t have free internet, thus my late posting in these photos.
Apparently it’s still Christmas. I’m ok with that.
Mandatory mirror shot.
Dad & I conspired to get Andrew in front of the Y. It worked.
Happy St. Patty’s Day from Fatty’s!
We left for Denver & stopped at this one pass for some pretty photos of snowy mountains. It. Was. So. Windy. Thus, cold.
Yesterday. Was. Exhausting. Considering we didn’t go skiing, we were all falling asleep at dinner. The four of us spent our morning driving up to Pike’s Peak, a drive I would never want to make myself. I was content to be in the back seat where I could close my eyes when I needed to. From Mr. French’s ticket booth to the top was a 19 mile drive filled with impossibly tight turns. Dad took them like a champ. Unlike him, I did not grow up in the mountains/hills. I grew up where everything was less than flat.
Those 19 miles took about an hour & we emerged at the top victorious. I am not joking when I could really tell a difference in the amount of oxygen. I couldn’t seem to satisfy myself no matter how many deep breaths I took. It was either little oxygen or an overabundance of sugary sweet molasses smell inside the gift store. Not sure what was worse.
Brace yourself for a few photos of rocks, mountains & more rocks.
View from the top!
After a much needed lunch at Chili’s, we found our way over to the Garden of the Gods. This wonderfully free park was filled with beautiful natural wonders. Many locals could be found rock climbing or jogging through. Many tourists could be found gawking at those rock climbing. At least I was. Rock climbing has never been my speciality. I have only attempted it once, on the back of a cruise ship, & I didn’t make it to the top. I’ll just blame it on all the people staring at me waiting for their turn.
Andrew: This is me on a rock.
The sun was incredibly bright & it made the shade too dark. Me & the sun played this nasty tango all afternoon trying to get the perfectly exposed photo & zero squinty eyes. It wasn’t easy.
Andrew: This is an authentic ancient Indian arrowhead. I just know it.
I kind of missed what happened, but apparently dad accidentally sat down on one of those scraggly bushes, then Andrew almost fell over laughing at him. All of this made mom laugh. Obviously.
Hey, look! Rock climbers!
Dad trying to ruin my photo.
At the entrance to the park is this massive balanced rock. I have to admit that I felt a small moment of anxiety when I watched a very small boy climb underneath this thing. I just saw it falling & that was something I didn’t want to witness. By the time we made our way up there, all fear was gone & I placed myself under it as well. Although, I didn’t lay down like Andrew…I wanted to be able to scramble away if I needed to.
Andrew was thrilled to finally not share mom & dad’s hotel room with them. He usually gets the short end of the stick while Ellen & I get our own room. Ellen is playing big girl right now & couldn’t make the trip (hence, her absence from the photos.)
The day was a success & was complete with hilariously awkward conversations using the street name “Janitell”, making up pretend comments about a lunch we didn’t have at “Hell’s Pizza”, a family trip to Target which resulted in the three of them staring at me while I shopped for a new book (or two), & an overly complicated drive to find the McDonald’s. We collapsed in our beds & I dreaded getting up early so we could leave by 9:30. Bring on Breckinridge & snow mobiling.