Nancy and I spent an entire week in the mountains of Colorado with three of the greatest children on earth.  We anchored in Denver and then traveled about the area.  We visited the Air Force Academy-scaled Pike’s Peak in a cog railway, learned to snowboard at Winterpark, and hit a Denver Nuggets game.  We came home exhausted, but fulfilled.  I hope the kids had a great time as well.

This is the ski village of Winterpark, Co.

We are at the summit of Pike's Peak--14,000+ feet.

Balancing rock at the Garden of the Gods.

Carter took this picture of his sister, Joy. Great shot.

Snowboarding is not as easy as it looks. Concussions are frequent.

Joy looks like a pro.

I was in awe at these amputees flying down the slopes no one leg. What spirit!!

These boys are rabid Nuggets fans.

Go "Birdman".

Great dunk you "nugget".

We just returned from a great trip to North Carolina. What a beautiful state. We spent the first half playing golf and the second half soaking up the scenery. I thought you might enjoy seeing some of the images.

This was our Headquarters at the Pinehurst Resort.

One can just imagine what the first settlers to America thought when they saw this scene.

Your humble blogger and Nancy.

The color was breathtaking.

And you thought Lost Maples was beautiful.

Peace and Tranquility

Beautiful scenes like these abound all around the Smoky Mountains.

Carl Sandburg's home near Asheville, NC.

As the story goes Mrs. Sandburg called Stuart Udall, Secretary of the Interior a couple of weeks after Sandburg died and donated the entire estate to the National Park Services. She packed her belongings into a suitcase and moved out. The house is exactly as it was when she left. Cigar butts still in the ashtrays.

We had  two great meals at Pinehurst and Angela, our waitress treated us like royalty.  By the end of the evening she was Nancy’s new best friend.  As we left the Carolina Room she caught Nancy and gave her cookies for a midnight snack, a deck of cards so she could play solitaire while I slept and commemorative matches for her collection.

Our humble abode for 3 days.

Nancy and her new best friend, Anglea.

Fall off the bone ribs for an appetizer.

Angela's iceberg lettuce specialty for our salad.

Succulent Prime Rib

Salmon over spinach and fingerling potatos.

As a recent West Point grad, Dave received orders that he was going to Afghanistan in December. He and Carolyn had be dating for 8 years. They were going to have a large wedding but military orders changed their plans, so they gathered Carolyn’s parents, and a few other family members and headed south to Pinehurst from New York for a quick wedding. Nancy and I were killing time waiting for our dinner reservations when we came upon this family wedding and noticed they did not have a photographer, so we offered our services. Unfortunately we had missed the wedding ceremony but were able to capture a few images for them to remember their wedding day. It was the least we could do for a couple whose career will be to protect and defend our nation. It was a true honor for us.

We hadn’t seen my niece in several years so when we heard she was bringing her daughter, AnneMarie, to Austin to play in her first national tennis tournament we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to go watch her play. Heather, Carter, Jackson and I couldn’t believe our eyes when we saw this tiny 7 year old girl rip the ball across the net. She was phenomenal! Oh, and did I mention she has juvenile diabetes? YES! She has to stop sometimes 2 or 3 times during a match to check her blood sugar. This little girl is mature beyond her years. She reached the semi-finals in the consolation bracket before losing to a girl 2 years older.

Anne Marie checks her blood sugar before her match.

Anne Marie with some of her "fans."

Great grandma gets into the action!

It was a treat for Anne Marie's great-grandmother to see her play.

Carter and Jackson with their Great Uncle and Grandfather. What a treat for the old guys.

In full stride!

Pull her wide and she still gets the return!

Anne Marie is all smiles after the tournament.

Ripping a forehand down the line.

A portrait of concentration!

Nancy and Joy tried their hand at photographing Caroline, Heather’s 4th child, in the Pumpkin Patch.  She is a little handful wanting to play in the sea of orange and not smile for grandma.  But I think she did a great job and captured some super images.

This was her 1st venture into the pumpkins.

Joy was a great help keeping Caroline entertained.

"I found one just my size."

"This is so much fun!!"

Life is good when you can enjoy it with your grandkids!

It is a rare Saturday that I don’t have a wedding,  so it gave me a great opportunity to see Jackson (Heather’s 2nd born)  in action-hey that’s a cool name “Action Jackson.”  (I bet no one has ever thought of that before.)  Jack was key in many of the plays.  He not only runs the ball but on occasion he passes it.  Good game “big guy.”  Keep up the good work.  His team won 18-6.  His sister Caroline (middle picture) is his #1 fan!