Grays and Torreys

On top of Torreys Peak at an elevation of 14,267 feet!

On top of Grays Peak at an elevation of 14,270 feet!

We hiked our 2nd and 3rd 14-ers in one day! A great 6 hour hike that starts above tree line. We started at 6:30 am and were off the mountains by 12:30 pm. We stopped in Idaho Spings, CO for lunch on the way home and ate a Jiggy's Cafe. Its a family owned and operated home-cooking kind of place that we'd recommend if you want good food and nothing fancy.

Friends come and friends go...

Puddle came to join the herd for her last day! What a wonderful, sweet goat!

We hiked LONGS PEAK! Now that was challenging, but we were in good spirits.

camping with friends!

Hiking with the husband!


A few snap shots of friends coming to visit us for the summer in Colorado! What a wonderful time... so sorry they had to go home! Miss you and thanks for all the wonderful memories!

Beauty in this place

baby turkeys... sadly we have lost 50% of them.

I love the beautiful flowers up in the mountains and on the tundra! Such colors!


There is a lot of beauty in this wondrous world as my husband often reminds me. We set out this past week and discovered a small sliver of the beauty in this place. From tiny chicks and turkeys grow each day to wild flowers blooming in the most hostile of places we see grace. I love getting up into the mountains and am so thankful to be living!

We also experienced the coldest and rainiest 4th of July I can remember. We went to the 4th of July Rodeo in Brush, CO. It was my first rodeo and I am impressed with the skill of the participants. I especially enjoy bareback, barrel racing, and mutton bust'in. I found I really like the western culture for its adventurous and free spirit with a zany side.

Sweet Summer Hikes: Green Mountain, Sky Pond, and Mt. Audubon

View on the way down from Mt. Audubon. What a lovely hike!

A marmot on Mt. Audubon, Cheeky critter!

John foot, Ruth foot. My boot fell apart on the way up the mountain... thankfully we had an ace bandage and in a pinch it held my shoe together so I didn't have to hike in my socks! The highest I have been in my life: 13,323 feet!

Sky pond in Rocky Mt. National Park

Green Mountain, rainy day hike in Boulder.

There sure is a lot of beauty to be found out in this wild world. Colorado has a fair share of it and John and I have been having fun exploring some of it together. We are preparing for our next big feat, Longs Peak.

Family Togetherness

This past weekend I was in Pennsylvania. My Uncle Mike had passed away and all of the family that could make the trip came in to celebrate his life, mourn, remember and rejoice in the promise of heaven through faith in Christ. Though we miss him dearly we know that his joy if now complete.

While we were in town we also moved my brother into his new house. The many hands made it light work. Here are a few pictures of the family outside the house.

Goat Kids Galor!

Snowflakes strong, healthy girl!

Zeni's twins nursing!

Momma Zeni (her first time) and her twins!

Kids playing around, they love to jump on and sleep in the igloo

So many baby goats are being born here at frog belly farm! We have lost a few.... but most of them are healthy and the moms are doing well too! In this we rejoice! Hope you enjoyed the pictures!

Chill'in with the parents

The pigs come running as mom and dad do chores for Ruth!

A little back-yard snowman build by John, mom, and dad.


My mom and dad came to visit John and I at Frog Belly farm! It snowed the whole time they were here (a reminder of why they moved to TX). I also got the 24 hour stomach bug and spent most of the time on the couch. But, it was nice to visit and relax and hopefully they don't get sick! We did enjoy a nice tour of Celestial Seasons on Friday and a celebration meal on Sunday at the PumpHouse Brewery in Longmont.

Love in the Air... XC skiing on the ground!

The awesome XC ski man himself!

A lovely Valentine's Day out in the wonderful wilderness of Colorado

We live in such a beautiful place!

BEAUTIFUL! This world is full of such wonderous beauty!

This is how I look when I XC ski! I spend 1/2 the time falling into the snow. It is so much fun though but I am really sore from our 5 mile ski on Valentine's day. We hope to scope out some more trails this week!

Playing Dress Up!

John and I went dress shopping for Candice's wedding... and had fun trying on the dresses! This one was my favorite!Hehe! Coming out to show the next dress!

Tangerine! Awesome color! LOVE IT!

Yep, John is chill'in in the bridal dress store! (I think he actually had fun)

Bridesmaid pose!

Merry Christmas with the Micks

Playing with Teri's kittens! (and wearing awesome Christmas pjs)

What does God want for Christmas? YOU!!!

Our new nativity tradition! Thanks Dad!

Stephen working on the laptop

It has been a wonderful Christmas... which we are very thankful that mom managed to travel from Lubbock to join us (even if it took her ALL day). We pushed Christmas back a day... so "Santa" made a extra special trip to Wisconsin, just for the Mick family. Hope your Christmas was blessed!

Other fun highlights of our Christmas Day:
-took a lazy run and ended up helping the neighbors push their car out of the snow!
- played N65 Tetris, RETRO!
-ate lots of goodies!

A Colorado Hike remembered

We hikes the Saint Vrain Trail up to an over-look in Roosevelt National Forest. This is the amazing sight we saw... all the way to the Rockies!

The beauty of the mountains!


John and I went for a weekend hike prior to our journey out to Wisconsin. It was a tough climb up through the snow, but the sights were worth it. We even walked a bit on the frozen creek and it was the slipperyest ice I have ever been on. Smooth as glass!

We have safely made it to Wisconsin now and are enjoying time with Teri. The freezing rain/wintery mix was not too bad to drive through but put on an extra hour of driving time. I am so glad that we stopped and visited friends in Omaha to break up the trip!

A most Merry Christmas Eve to all!

Frog Belly Farm Photos

Here is one of our pigs! They are getting BIG and FAT on bread fromUdi's, hopefully come march they will farrow for us and we'll have lots of piglets...

Yep, our dear Pearl likes the baguettes!
My most favorite goat in the whole world, Snowflake!

Those yearling goats can be so mischievous!

This is our new cow that we are borrowing from our neighbor to milk her out... she lost her calf due to the cold-cold temperatures we had here a few weeks back. She is a gentle giant.

Here is our new little calf... we still have yet to name her, my favorites include:
1- Coretta (little maiden)
2- Callie (lovely)
3- Cari (Darling; star in Orion)
4- Carisa (very dear)

Feel free to vote!
Here is Beatrice, she had her calf about 6 months ago, she really like baguettes too!

This is Bea, Beatrice's little one (who is not so little anymore!)

Our little Oxen, Zeus! We hope he grows up to be very strong (but gentle)

This is Icious, Zeus' momma... she is the boss cow and can be pretty pushy!


Sorry there is only one picture of the new calf... but all the other animals wanted a Christmas photo debut too! Hope you enjoyed the pictures of the season here at Frog Belly Farm! Merry Christmas! We are having a Solstice Winter Light Celebration on Sunday the 20th visit http://frogbellyfarm.com/ for more information!