We went up to Flagstaff this past weekend to get away from the heat and get some climbing in at Priest Draw. We crashed with our friend Linda at her campsite the second night and it was BEAUTIFUL. Surrounded by huge pines and aspen trees. It was a fun time and we plan to go back in a couple weeks to actually send some problems. 🙂
Henry eating some grapesFirst nights campsite - not too bad but kind of muddy
Tommy, Keto and HenryKeto, Henry, Chico and DanaHenry making a new friend, Brett, at the bouldersSecond siteGorgeous aspens
Henry catching a meal with Uncle Joe before bedtimeGetting some more foodPlaying around downstairsStealing my camera caseBeing goofyLooking innocentOk enough...but he's just so cute!!!Remembering our heroes on June 28thGodspeed, warriorsHenry and Great Grandma HelmHenry screaming at the poor birdsPlaying with our good friend ChrisHenry having trouble getting the yogurt in his mouthFourth of JulyPlaying in the bird bathA snail moving around after the rainHere's my girl Amanda shooting her shotgunFalling in love with my KimberTim throwing some leftover skeet for JoeTim showing him how it's done
After Tom and Matt went back to Tucson, it was time to get to work on the project I went home for – mounting new gutters around my moms house. She had called a contractor to do the job but he never called her back (probably because it was just too much fun) and so I thought “why don’t Joe and I just put them up? It can’t be that hard right?”
Well…let’s just say that this being my first ever project of putting up gutters, everything that could have gone wrong DID go wrong and it was a major undertaking.
First off, all of the home improvement places in Alamogordo (the town closest to my mom) did NOT stock the color we needed which was brown. We had to drive about an hour and a half away to get all of our supplies which burned valuable time that we needed. Then it turned out that the ladder my mom had wasn’t tall enough to get the job done – so we had to buy a new one…however we found out later that it was still somewhat useless when trying to put it on the slopes around the house. THEN the drill that she had was older than time and didn’t work so we had to buy a new one. Then mother nature decided to mess with us and poured rain during the first couple days of the project…and then decided to let the sun shine through so it could heat up the shingles on the roof so hot, we couldn’t even sit down on them.
I was starting to stress that we weren’t going to get it done in time and worked on the damn thing until the day before I came back. Honestly, I was miserable the entire time but it got done and now it’s over. There are still a few things left to tweak but the afternoon after it was finished, it rained like crazy and water was gushing out of the down spouts instead pouring off the roof…Yee haw!
Removing previous hardware Same thing on the other sideSuper hot up thereSince we can't be up on the roof (too hot) we fixed my mom's bay window - some guy had tried to break in to the house and messed it all up!Putting them togetherLong runMe and my little manWorking on a cornerBack porchGetting the slope rightJoe doesn't like heightsJoe trying not to fall off the ladderTrying to balance and attach at the same timeMaking a few adjustments - yes I am a total perfectionistFinishing touchesWorking on the last piece - Tim and Amanda came over to helpHenry loving on AmandaFinal push - Tim helping me on the roofPain in the ass! That corner was so exposed - scary!Everyobody helping!Now just details...HOORAY! Joe and Henry celebrating
We invited our friend Matt to come to NM with us for a fun little get-a-way weekend from the heat. We were going to ride motorcycles, play paintball and shoot, but the plans fell through and so we were left trying to find something to do. So, instead, we climbed, had a barbecue out at White Sands, got dressed up for some old fashioned photos and went shooting in the canyon. Action packed and a lot of fun.
Highway from Hell - our viewMaking my way up the shady side on Bandit 5.11Starting to get pumpedAlmost done - super funMatty taking his turnTommy tearing it upTommy getting ready to clipGetting some exposure in Mid-Town on the warm up route 5.9Reaching over the lipMatty showing his stuffGetting highHeel click at the finish!Tommy brings it homeView of basinWhat we see at the top - scary!Pancho Villa, a gambler and a saloon girlPancho Villa is a little drunk in this pic
Time for toys! Henry, Lenni and Lex at the sandsLenni and Lex getting wind blownTommy, Henry and Matty chilling outThe little ones playing aroundMe and Lenni catching upMattHenry loving the sandsLots of peopleDifferent ViewBeautiful SunsetMessing aroundChasing after LexHaving funThe boys getting ready to shoot - Tom, Matt, Tim and JoeJoe and his XDMatt and his XDTim and his GlockJoe and the .44 mag - that "Can blow your head clean off" - name that quote?Tommy showing us all up with his KimberMe and my KimberTim and his shotgunMatt and his brand new BenelliJoe getting in on the shotgun actionLong range practice - HARD!Tom checking out the new scope on the SKSThe gang
April had a great idea for this Father’s Day. Let’s all go up to Mt. Lemmon and let the boys climb while we watch the babies. We met up at 7:30, got some coffee and muffins and headed up the mountain. Paul and Tom did really well and we all had a lot of fun. After we were done climbing, we came back home and then later met up with Grandpa K for dinner and dessert. YUM-MY!!
Paul, Tom and April heading up the trailJuniper foliage along the wayCactus flowerMy favorite boysChecking the gearPaul leadingBuddies - Silas and Henry hear Morgan comingTommy's turnHenry lovin' on April - so cute!Beautiful boysGrandpa's famous chocolate wafer dessert - DELICIOUSThe whole gang