Apple Pick'n

Getting ready for the tractor to pull us out to the orchard.

Annie and Anna strolling through the orchard.

"C'mon sis, I'll show you were the really good apples are."

The apple-happy Hathaways.

Never too grown up for some things.

Can you believe it? Aiden's already into chicks.

Days gone by...

Say hello to Subie.

The Out-laws

The girls on our back stoop at Atherton.
Only a graphic designer could envision a cool arrangement of wildflowers by looking at our overgrown jungle fence.

Stephen was appropriately excited about getting a picture with the arch.
Stephen was also kind enough to take a turn holding up the arch while the usual guy took a potty break.
Spades is a favorite, but Settlers of Cataan is more favorite.

All hail the blog-master.

Presh.

A few more from CB...

This is Blayne and Jen's place, where i stayed while in CB. Shouldn't all houses look like this? (Thanks Blayne and Jen, you guys were awesome hosts)

View on the drive from CB to CB South (where Blayne and Jen live, and where Tyler and Janna are building their new home!). One of my favorite things about this area is that the neighborhoods are not square in the least. You just buy your plot of land and build your house facing whichever way you like.

Nice back yard.
Shhh. Don't talk. Just look.

Crested Butte-iful

Crested Butte is one of those few places on earth that looks more amazing in real life than it does on the postcards. The beauty is so dramatic that it is hard to take it all in.

Here is the Hansen family abode. It's an idyllic little log cabin (complete with front porch swing and wood stove)...

with an idyllic little mountain view (yep, from the porch swing)...

in an idyllic little mountain town.

People have this strange habit of walking just about everywhere they want to go in town - I guess it's so they can enjoy the fresh air and the beauty on every side (the mountains literally shoot up out of the ground at the edes of town). And they all seem to know each other - so they talk and stuff.

But when they want to go outside of town (i.e. "go have fun")... well, let's just say you don't see any Hyundai Elantra's in these pictures.

This storm rolled over Mt. Crested Butte as we celebrated at Tyler and Janna's wedding reception.

The Storm of '06

A vicious storm rolled through St. Louis Wednesday evening, July 19, knocking out power for over a half-million people. This was the scene at Atherton the next morning - and the scene was the same everywhere you went in St. Louis.


Our power was out for 7 nights, and the weather remained in the upper-90's all week, so we had to move out of our apartment and into a unit on-campus which belonged to some friends who were out of town for the summer. Here we are at home in our bunkbeds. I'm 6'2". The bed was about 5' 10". Oh, and my bunk had the plastic sheet for bed-wetters. Thankfully, i had a Spaceman Spiff blanket to keep me company. Hey - we had lights, a fridge, and the greatest of all things modern - AC... we were blessed.