Over a year ago, Ruth began saving up to buy a guinea pig. The money was burning a hole in her pocket as she waited until Jim and I decided the time was right.

Last week, we surprised her with a trip to Petco to finally adopt a piggie.

Ruth knew right away which of the six guinea pigs she wanted. And even though Jim and I tried to get her to at least consider others, she was undeterred from wanting the little white and brown one.

That one was in a cage with another little one that Jim thought was adorable. Long story short, we walked in to buy one and walked out with two.

Cinnamon and Sugar. I was very leery about owning not just one more animal, but two. But I must say that we have had so much fun with these piggies, and they seem happier to have each other.

If I was leery, Molly was downright apprehensive about them. But over the course of the week, she has warmed up to them. I’m sure she’s thinking, “Who let these animals in the house with us humans?”

Even grandma thought they were cute.

Thanks to Jeremy, Cinnamon joined me in my quiet time spot.

I think what I’ve enjoyed most is seeing the boys interact with them. The piggies do not lack attention in this house, that’s for sure. This video was taken after Ruth was tucked in bed.

It’s hard to believe we’re approaching the end of yet another month. Every month passes quickly, but for some reason, June, July and August seem to fly by.

We’ve built a couple fires in the fire pit.

Jeremy whittled sticks for s’mores.

We got together with backyard neighbors for a picnic.

Jim smoked meat for everyone.

Not only did he smoke for the picnic, but he he has smoked meat for Meat Monday every week during the summer.

It’s been a highlight of football camp, and neat to watch these guys bond.

This girl is growing up before my eyes.

We celebrated friend Bethy’s 9th birthday.

I brought home a mini WA baseball helmet. She immediately took it and brought down her two dolls: one football, one baseball.

Here is my view when I look behind me while cooking in the kitchen. My loyal mop.

Jake was a cadre during basic training.

Here, he’s leading his element to intramurals.

One day, we looked out the front door and saw this:

It has been another month of God’s faithfulness to us.

Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness. (Lamentations 3)

Our final days in Colorado were spent walking around the village of Crested Butte and visiting the WWII Aviation museum in Colorado Springs.

We window shopped in the village, and the kids tried on lots of hats.

The mediterranean cafe–Pitas in Paradise–served up some delicious food.

There were dogs everywhere; even where you would least expect them, like behind the wheel of a truck.

Before driving home, we spent a day in Colorado Springs with Jake and Tiffany, touring the WWII Aviation museum. The guided tour began with a summary of the war.

The boys relished all the planes–actual and model. They observed that they had many of the same model planes at home, which they had assembled over the years.

We saw the actual trainer in which WWII pilots learned to fly.

A highlight of the museum was the simulator. Both Jeremy

and Ruth excelled in their flights.

That night, we stayed at Tiffany’s parents’ house. The girls were twins for the evening!

And a musical monkey made a guest appearance.

It was a great week in the beautiful state of Colorado. Until next time!

On July 4th, we decided to honor our country’s birthday by climbing a mountain. Our house was near the Collegiate Peaks, which include Mt. Yale, Mt. Princeton, and Mt. Harvard, among others. Derek and Parker decided to climb Harvard, which is the tallest and most difficult hike of the Collegiate Peaks.

Jim and I took the rest of the kids a little bit north to the highest peak in Colorado, as well as the second highest in the continental US, Mt. Elbert.

It was listed as a relatively easy hike among the 14ers in terms of technicality, though it was a hearty five-mile ascent to the top. We knew it would be challenging for Ruth, but wanted to give her a chance to do it. Ever since hiking Eagle’s Peak in 2016, she has been anti-hiking, so we hoped this would change her opinion.

The trek through the 2.5 miles of forest was fun and easy. As we rose above the treeline (around 11,000-12,000 ft), the view was spectacular. It reminded me of scenes from The Sound of Music!

Our pace slowed as we began feeling the effects of the low oxygen in the high altitude, but we pressed on.

The mountains will always hold a special place in our hearts.

It was at about this point when Ruth began complaining of dizziness and a headache. Unfortunately, altitude sickness had set in, so Jim accompanied her back down the long mountain.

They made the most of it when they finally got to the bottom.

Meanwhile, the two boys and I continued up. The higher we ascended, the less oxygen our lungs took in, and the slower our pace got. But our attitudes remained positive, and we were able to use the experience as a metaphor for life. Despite how difficult the trek was, we were determined not to give up–and we agreed that it’s no different in life.

We saw several unique sights along the way. Some were snapshots of beauty

while others–like the friendly, squeaking marmots romping around the rocks–were downright amusing.

We thought about Derek and Parker throughout the climb, knowing their hike was longer and much more difficult. We assumed they wouldn’t summit Harvard until we were well on our way back down Elbert. We were wrong. They reached the top while we were still early on in our own ascent.

Here’s what they saw on their adventure. Just beautiful.

After five hours (that’s averaging one mile per hour!), we made it to the summit. I was so proud of those two boys.

We really did feel like we were on top of the world, as we saw mountain peaks in every direction. I felt like it was more beauty than one pair of eyes can behold.

We did not linger long at the summit, as we could see storms developing around us and wanted to get below the treeline before they hit. The descent was nearly as difficult, and I felt like I was crawling at times. Peter, on the other hand, bounded down the mountain and then would stop and wait for Jeremy and me. This was a common scene as he waited.

We reached the base, exhausted, but feeling pretty good about our accomplishment. And I would do it again in a heartbeat! Speaking of heartbeat, I wore a fitbit during the hike, and at the end of the day looked at the stats. Only in Colorado.

By awesome deeds You answer us in righteousness, O God of our salvation,
You who are the trust of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest sea;
Who establishes the mountains by His strength,
Being girded with might (Psalm 65)

While we did a lot of activities while in CO, we also spent a lot of time just relaxing at the house. A Johanik vacation tradition became a Johanik-Neathery tradition: jigsaw puzzles. We brought one from home that we had completed a couple years ago.

It didn’t take long for our large group to complete,

and once we finished it, we moved on to another one, which we found at the house (with the vexing missing pieces),

and another. Three puzzles in five days!

We played many board games. Among them were Monopoly

and a favorite of both families, Nertz.

Jake, who was in the midst of basic training as a cadre, was able to drive into the mountains to join us for just over 12 hours. We were all quite happy to see him.

We decided that the star of the week was Neal’s Traeger that he hauled in his car from Michigan. It provided every meal, and even some desserts. These are some meat-loving children here.

Ruth was occasionally Neal’s helper.

A couple family games we played were the “Old”lywed Game (because we parents are definitely not newlyweds) and the Sibling Game, both played like the Newlywed Game. Thanks to the Neathery kids, this brought some friendly competition between families.

Jim took some Neathery family pictures. Their kids are all in college, out of the house, so this time together for them was especially sweet.

Peter made breakfast one morning in the expansive kitchen.

And we girls enjoyed hiking on the mountain near the house.

Our friends invited us to join them on a trip to Colorado, staying outside of Buena Vista. I looked up what Buena Vista means in Spanish: good view.

I believe this is an understatement. This was the “good view” from the house we stayed in for the week.

Behind the house was a swiftly flowing creek. Here, Ruth is standing down by the creek with the house in the background.

One of the first days we were out there, all the guys went fishing.

In order to get to the lake, they had to hike a pretty steep and rocky mountainside with their gear.

It was worth it once they arrived, though, as the water was clear and the backdrop was gorgeous.

After many hours of waiting, and watching the trout pause at the lures then swim right by,

they came home with a whopping total of three fish. We ladies were hoping they would bring home dinner, but instead we ended up with appetizers. Delicious appetizers, I might add! After cooking the fish, certain family members enjoyed examining the head.

More to come later on our CO trip!

Jeremy was busy with Legos a while ago. After much time passed, he came down with a smile on his face and placed this on the kitchen counter:

It was a snapshot of our family, with a Lego version of each person, symbolically doing something we each are known for.

Jim playing with Molly,

me taking pictures,

Jake reading a book,

Derek lifting weights,

Peter baking,

Jeremy playing baseball,

and Ruth painting.

I’d say he nailed it.