Back to Fall

We rocked the Fall this year.  Lots of mountain tripping, hiking, pumpkin patching, hot cider drinking, jack-o-lantering, trick or treating, leaf diving....it's all just bliss for me.  Bliss.  

 He wasn't successful.  Much to his dismay and shock.

 How's THAT for an appropriate cabin match?

 When you're stuck in 400 square feet on a rainy mountain day....

 God.  Just plain God.

 Isn't he lovely?  

 Speaking of lovely, Denver was bomBARDED by butterflies this Fall.  Our butterfly bush sported a swarm for weeks.  Watch the video for evidence.

 Sometimes they allow each other the grace to be close enough to touch.  Doesn't happen often.  

 So much of this child's life is spent just like this.

 The Guatamala boys had never experienced leaves like this. 

 Carving large orange gourds?  This about put these boys over the edge.  The gagging and drama was too much.  

Our Merry Christmas Blog Post

I don't know what happened to me this year, but Christmas cards did not come to be.  It's a first in 16 years of marriage and there is no explanation.  Maybe we just didn't have the right pictures.  Or maybe spending money is nauseating after finishing our basement.  SO, here she is.  The Vogel's Christmas Blog Post.  It's an update, a visual masterpiece and is only taking 47 minutes of my day. 

What has 2017 brought to our household? 

• We've had a 15 year old foreign exchange student from Guatemala staying with us for the past 7 weeks.  He leaves tomorrow.  Interesting experience!  Rodolfo attended school with Squirt and while he didn't have many words to offer, he seemed to really get a kick out of life in the US of A.   

• We finished our once gloomy and concrete basement, complete with a living room, apartment with mini kitchenette, bathroom and storage space.  SO worth the SO much money spent. This is where Rodo lived.  And where little children are sent to play.
• Tim started a new job a while back (9 months), so that's newish.  He's liking it (ish) and dreams of the day when he can start his own business and act on the entrepreneurial passion living in his soul.  He wouldn't be quite so dramatic about it, but it's my interpretation.

• I'm doing a paid Parent Fellowship through Children's Hospital and University of Colorado here.  It's focused on children with disabilities from a clinical standpoint and I'm loving it.  I'm learning a lot and offering the family perspective to all the clinicians in the program.  It involves one day of class per week, a major project, and lots of conferences/workshops/research studies intermingled. My project is writing a full book proposal for Rylan's recent art show, which focused on what if feels like to live in his brain. 

• Rylan is in 5th grade at the same public school we've called home since Kindy.  We're already morning the loss of his loving and supportive environment and tremble at the thought of middle school. How's that for truth?  He was elected for Student Council, which was amazing for all of us.  He's joy incarnate and graces this world with his complex presence every day.

• Reagan started 1st grade at Denver Christian this year and is doing fantastic!  It's awesome to watch her little brain learning at a rapid pace and seamlessly make friends with everyone she comes into contact with.  She now has 14 babies she teaches and attends to daily with remarkable passion and sternness.  Hard to believe she'll be 7 soon.  
•  I'm still doing Interior Design with my partner, Dara.  We've been blessed with really fun clients and just enough work to keep us busy part time.  
• Tim raced his way through a number of weekend races this year, alongside his racing team mate, Mike, and their trusty race car, who now has a trailer she calls home.  And has been stolen once. 

• We did our first year of family camp at RoundUp River Ranch, which is a PHENOMENAL FREE camp for kiddos who live with chronic conditions.  Ry went last summer for 5 days on his own and this year he opted for family camp.  Blog post to come soon on that experience. 

Our year has been packed with blessing and countless opportunities to thank God for all He offers us each day.  Our 2017 cup overfloweth. 

Merry Christmas friends.  This Christmas you can find us on the Florida sand this year for 7 lovely days of nothingness.  We're counting down the days.  Have a wonderful holiday.     

Michigan. She Treats Us So So Good.

If it weren't for the drudgery of her Winters, we might consider moving to the Mitten.  She is so so lovely and has given us white glove service summer after summer after summer.  We adore her lakes, her farm land, her produce, her sand, her edible small towns...she screams relaxation and stillness to my summer self.  We spent 10 days with her this summer and I've hesitated to upload these photos as they cause me to crave her.  Tim's oldest brother and his beautiful wife hosted the entire family at their cottage this year and we rented another across the street to accommodate the 11 children and 8 adults.  Every day was a taste of summer utopia.  The kids mixed and mingled, we swam, built castles, biked, golfed, golf carted, hiked, ate and ate and ate, slept soundly and woke up to do it all over again.

Following tradition, Dude left a few days early to be pampered by Nana and Papa in Chicago.  This is a tradition that has become cherished.  By all parties involved.  

 Perhaps these men are brothers.  Yes, perhaps they are.

 The GANG.  Quite the gang they are.  

 Dude has always had an infatuation with buois.  Since he was 2.  He spent the longest time way out in the lake, trying to release this particular buois to take home.  No joke.  Squirt finally decided she should help the cause.  

 

 

 

 Cranes, our favorite fruit picking, pie eating, home cooked meal eatin' place.

 Would it be vaca without it?  Not sure what's goin on with the Pirate eye.

 Please ignore the fat leg angle.  Focus on the fact that my sweet niece sat next to me "reading" Danielle Steele for a good 15 minutes.

 Just 5 six year olds, cousin' it up.  

  We left too soon and are already counting the days until we get to go back.  Thanks Nick and Caylie!