Guadalupe Peak

We took advantage of our last free weekend before we had to go back to work by taking Cate on her inaugural trip to Ft. Stockton. She seemed to like it alright, and her grandparents certainly liked having her there. That weekend was also historic because it is the longest to date that Jessica and I have been away from Cate. We decided we could leave the her long enough to make a quick drive (three hours) to Guadalupe Peak, climb it, climb down, and drive back (three more hours) back. Our motivation was that Guadalupe Peak is the highest point in Texas and we had never climbed it. Jessica and I hadn't gotten to do any hiking together in awhile, and we really like the Davis Mountains area and wanted to check this also. We had intended on leaving early while Cate was still sleeping, but Cate wasn't doing a whole lot of sleeping that night so we didn't hit the road until around 11:00 am. We headed down I-10, stopped briefly at Sonora to gas up and get some Subway and then headed on to the peak. It was a pretty nice day for a hike, and we made it up and down in pretty good time. The peak is a part of Guadalupe National Park, and we'd love to go back sometime and do some camping and explore it a little. We'll have to add that to the list of places we want to visit when we can put Cate in one of those baby packs. On a side note Jessica noticed this tree covered in more lady bugs than I've ever seen; I included a few of those.

Colorado

In July I had an opportunity to go back to Colorado to do some hiking almost exactly five years after the first time I made this trip. My wife graciously let me go on about four days notice and I met my friend Mike in Denver. We hiked everyday shorter and longer hikes. Unlike last time I was there, the weather was not cooperative. It rained more than usual, making us change our plans. We had to cut out one of our climbs and almost had to cut the second (see the first Long's Peak View picture) but the weather changed for the better (see the second Long's Peak View picture). We still had a really good time and I got to take some pictures (not as many as I would have hoped). These are a few of the pictures that jumped out at me so far, I haven't really trimmed them done and have only played with a few of the images so far. This trip also inspired Jessica and me to finally get around to climbing the highest peak in Texas, Guadalupe Peak (can you find it on a map?).

P.J.'s and a Boxer

Many people ask us how our dog is fairing after the baby has arrived. We make an effort to let him in the house as much as we can, walk him and play with him. But the overall all amount of attention he's gotten has diminshed, and he knows it. His vying for attention will take the form of whimpering sometimes but mostly he tries to put his head or paw on your lap to remind you he's there. This is what kind of happened here. We were taking a few pictures of Cate in her P.J.'s when Clive thought it was high time that someone noticed him. Actually Cate has started to notice Clive the last few days and has started reaching out for him, I'm sure he looks like a giant stuffed toy to her. Also thrown in are a few of Clive playing in the back yard.

The Lake Part II: Grapevine

We had a chance to get out on Lake Grapevine in July. We were on a two level barge full of Jessica's family with a huge slide and a top deck perfect for jumping off of. It's always nice taking pictures out on the water and as an added bonus the sunset was great.

Reunion

Cate made her first trip to Buffalo Gap for the annual family reunion. She spent a little time by the pool, hung out in the mess hall with grandparents, aunts and uncles and a whole bunch of cousins.

Cate Pre-Lake

Here are a few of Cate getting ready to go the lake. She mostly hung out in the chair while I gathered a few things.

The Lake Part I

One thing that had eluded us the first part of the summer was an oppurtunity to go to the lake. We have had several chances in the last month or so and that has been nice. Here are a few from our first trip out at Lake Allen Henry getting to get on the water a little bit.