Nicholas goes to Colorado ... without his parents!

The last week of June, my dad drove out from Colorado to attend North American Convention of the Church of God on the Anderson University campus. Since campus is just about a 1/2 hour drive from our house, Dad stayed at our house and drove back and forth. We got to spend quite a bit of quality time with Dad, playing Wii Fit--or watching HIM take "just one more turn" at the game he was playing, and then working hard to beat his high scores while he was away at camp-meeting!!

Anyway, when he was finished with his meetings, Dad and Nicholas loaded up the Town and Country and headed west ... TOGETHER! This was Nicholas' first time away from home for any length of time without a member from his household with him. He had SUCH a good time ... the following pictures are ones taken by my mom and dad while they were up in the mountains camping together over the 4th of July weekend:

Nicholas and Monna on a log

Nicholas cheesing on a walk with the dogs

Nicholas tuckered out ... with his stuffed moose and cowboy hat ... both gifts from his Pa-pop!

Notice what is hanging from the truck. My father is warped.

The truck and 5th wheel that they stayed in

The highlight of the trip was the horseback riding! Before he went out, it was the main thing he mentioned to anyone when he would tell him he was going camping with his Monna and Pa-pop--something my dad had promised him early on. Pa-pop delivered!! Nicholas rode a horse named "Buck", and loved every minute of it!!

They also did quite a bit of fishing. My mom told me that Nicholas was ready to give up when he couldn't cast correctly the first couple times, but dad kept encouraging him, and before long, Nicholas had the hang of it and could cast without any help!!

I'm not sure if this was the first time they fished or not, but Nicholas caught one, regardless. One of my dad's rules is that you have to clean what you catch ...

my mom took this picture of Nicholas' face while dad was showing him how to clean a fish! Needless to say, Nicholas thought it was pretty gross!

The week went off without a hitch ... all except one. Dad and Nicholas were walking down the hill below ... Nicholas was going too quick, and Dad told him to slow down, but Nicholas didn't put the brakes on fast enough and tumbled, HEAD OVER HEELS, down the hill. His fall was stopped by the willow bushes below ... I added the white marking on the picture to show you where he fell. He ended up with some bangs and bruises ... minor scratches, but that was all. The way my dad tells it, he was surprised there were no more serious injuries. I'm just GRATEFUL!!

So, that was Nicholas' big week! It ended with me flying out to spend a few days with my family, and then we flew home together. I was very proud of both my parents (I mean, they're getting old!) and Nicholas--they had a great time, behaved well (except my dad, but you can't teach an old dog new tricks ... he's lucky Nicholas isn't going around asking everyone to pull his finger, among other things!) and enjoyed being together. We're so blessed to have a family that not only loves each other so much, but also so WELL!!