Laying Tile

We couldn't let Ed the Contractor and his crew have all the fun. We wanted to share in the joy and thrill of laying slate tiles too ... that, and save a little money in the process. So Paige took lessons from Tito, one of Ed's crew members, on how to prep, mortar, and grout 12" slate tiles. The end result? A beautiful laundry room, bathroom, kitchen, and fireplace floor! 

... and the best part is that Paige came away with all 10 fingers!

Stock Car Races

The town of Cortez (about 20 minutes west of us) has a great 1/4 mile dirt track that has occasional car races on weekend. Tyson and Cody went to check them out one night and had a GREAT time! Tyson had so much fun that he was ready to go down on the track and jump in one of the modified stock cars himself and drive. In fact, when it was all over, he asked Cody if he could drive home. Uh ....

As it turned out, he did drive home and he did a fantastic job of staying within the speed limit and avoiding any wildlife on the highway. He's going to be a great, responsible driver.

Renovation Loan Begins

One of the delays in the purchase of our house was working through the details of a 203K loan. A 203K loan allows a homeowner to purchase a house and include the renovation/remodeling costs into the same mortgage (up to 110% of the value of the home). So while we're still living in our rental home, we had Ed the Contractor come in and do about $20,000 worth of renovation projects.

Over the course of the next few weeks, Ed and his crew will replace the hardwood floors (they were infested with beetles), carpet the bedrooms, add an exhaust fan in Tyson's bathroom (thank goodness! :), finish the exterior, restore the sheds, and so much more! It's an older house that was built in the late 1800's but was renovated by the previous home owners. They didn't have a chance to finish everything ... which is where Ed comes in. When it's all said and done, it'll have the charm and character of an older house with the beauty and conveniences of a newer house.

Homeowners Again

We did it! We're officially homeowners again. Around the first part of August we signed the papers to call this cute little house ours. We initially started the paperwork on the house back in April but there were a number of hoops to jump through including the short sale paperwork, FHA inspections, waiting for a lien to be released on the title from the IRS, etc. It was certainly a test in patience ... but in the end, we can't help but be grateful AND excited.

Photography at 13,000 ft

Last week, Cody had the opportunity to spend the day off-roading with a friend up in the mountains above Silverton and Ouray, CO. Waterfalls, wildflowers, ghost towns, and more! There's no better place to spend a day with a camera than driving around the mountains at 13,000 feet. Pictures below ...

Family Fishing Trip

Our family escaped to the lake and mountains to avoid the unseasonable temperatures that have been around all summer. Unfortunately, we got to our campsite at Vallecito Lake on the same day that the state of Colorado issued a statewide campfire ban. So we cooked our tinfoil dinners, S'mores, and chili cheese dogs on a propane grill. Mmm ... kinda. And have you ever walked through a campground when there's no campfires? It's like walking through your local neighborhood when the power is out. 


We borrowed a fishing boat from a friend of ours and spent hours and hours out on the lake where the fishing was great ... but the catching was horrible. In fact, when it was all said and done we caught "0" fish. We tried worms, lures, salmon eggs, fly fishing, trolling, etc. but all to no avail. Oh well ... we still had a great time together making family memories. 


We had smoke to the east of us from a fire burning near Pagosa Springs ... but on Friday afternoon, we saw smoke rising to the west of us. Come to find out, that was from a new wildfire that had started just 5 miles south of our town of Mancos! Ah ... so this is why there's a statewide ban of campfires.

More Colorado Camping

A weekend never goes by without some form of outdoor recreation. Shoot ... we even recreate outside during the week! It helps that we've had nothing but "Chamber of Commerce" blue sky weather. We've forgotten what clouds look like ... but we could sure use the rain!

Fishing at Joe Moore Reservoir.

Target practice with a 9mm Beretta ... BAM!

Cody, Tom, and an off-roading dune buggy.

Sitting in the mist of Bridal Veil Falls near Telluride, CO.

Kyle & Cody relaxing near timberline.

Kyle & Cody at Trout Lake.

Ty up in the "amphitheater" high above Ouray, CO.

Ty sitting in front of Cascade Falls.

Blue Lake in the San Juan Mountains.

3 Weekends of Camping

Three (3) weekends without a blog ... but that's because we've had three (3) weekends of camping!

• Weekend No. 1 ... Our family went up the road to Mancos State Park and spent a night amongst the tall Ponderosa pine trees. 
• Weekend No. 2 ... Tyson Ty and Cody went and spent the night at Junction Creek west of Durango, CO and then did a little hiking along The Colorado Trail.
• Weekend No. 3 ... The family camped along the West Fork of the Dolores River. The boy tried his hand at fishing, but that only lasted for a few minutes before he gave up and reverted to skipping rocks.

So what's next? It might be a few weeks till you hear from us again because it's that most beautiful time of the year to be enjoying the great outdoors. After all, that's one of several reasons we moved to where we did!