Summit Day

On our summit day, we had to get up very early to start our hike. It was still dark outside and cold. I was not looking forward to getting out of my warm sleeping bag/cocoon. After a quick breakfast, we begin our hike to the top of Mount Antero. The sun was coming up and we had beautiful scenery along our way.

Andy and I are all bundled up for the hike to the top.

These are some cheesy pictures we took at a stop on our hike. This was the point on our hike where the trail became extremely rocky.

Hooray! We made it to the summit!

I still cannot believe I actually did this, and definitely would not have been able to without our awesome group and guides. It was so amazing and beautiful at the summit. It was so untouched by the hands of man, so you could appreciate the beauty of what God created for us to enjoy.

Amanda, Chelsey, Savannah, Katie, Rebekah, and Sloan

All the guys

Rebekah and our wonderful guide, Katie

Mommy and Daddy with our son Kendall--we love those Mayes boys!

Andy and Robbie

Here we are with the Mt Antero sign after our hike out the next day.

Wilderness Trek was a truly life changing experience. Every aspect was incredible. Even though it was physically and mentally tough, it was so worth it. I have new appreciation for certain things in life. Each day I try to see God's beauty in my journey!

Rappelling and Hiking

On Sunday, we begin by taking down our base camp and heading to Mount Princeton to rappel. Most of us had never done that and were a little apprehensive. Andy and I were almost the last ones, so we had a chance to scope out all the others and get an idea of what to expect. We had fun when it was our turn and successfully made it to the bottom of the 100+ foot cliff. It was a little unnerving to not be able to see below you until you actually took a few steps. Robbie has pictures of us on the cliff, so I may post those later.

Andy and I hanging out before our turn to rappel.

Mark Slagle--our guide

Russell and Kendall enjoying our lunch of Goober and crackers.

After rappelling, our group hiked to Low Camp and set up camp for the night. We had a glorious meal of Parmesan noodles, canned chicken and Cheez-its. Anything would have tasted fabulous because we were starving. On Monday morning, we up bright and early to start our hike to High Camp. Here is Andy and me with our backpacks on and ready to go.

Andy and I posed with "baby" aka Santitas chips. We took turns carrying these chips to High Camp because we did not want them to get smashed.
Our group spent most of Monday hiking.
Amanda and Chelsey did a great job of encouraging everyone on the trip!

Getting Ready for Trek

On Saturday morning, we drove to Salida, Colorado to begin our Trek experience. Before we checked in, we had our last greasy meal at Sonic and a last minute stop at Super Wal-Mart. Andy and I grabbed some snacks for our trip (beef jerky, cashews, granola bars) as well as some other necessities. When we checked in, we were all oriented to the ways of Trek. We were all issued our gear as well as any group supplies that we needed to carry. I got very lucky and carried the first dinner and a fuel can. The downside was I got to carry the trash from the first dinner for the rest of the week. We all set up our tents and did a rock climbing wall. Fortunately, there are no pictures of me on the rock climbing wall. I swung a little too much after I reached the top and almost took out Zach Bradshaw. That night, we slept in tents at base camp.

Distribution of Trek gear

Setting up our girls' tent. The five of us stayed in a 4 person tent and had so much fun! Here we are still clean and smelling good.

Rebekah, Amanda, Chelsey, Savannah, and Sloan

Andy on the rock climbing wall...he told everyone he was "awkward yet efficient."

Colorado Springs

Andy and I just returned from a fabulous trip to Colorado for Wilderness Trek. We went with 18 other people from BHCC and had an amazing time in God's beautiful creation. On Friday, July 17, we flew to Denver to begin our incredible journey. Our flight left the airport at 6 am...it was a VERY early morning! Once we arrived in Denver, we drove south to Colorado Springs. After a lunch break at CiCi's, we drove through the Garden of the Gods. It is beautiful red rocks.

Then we headed to the Olympic Training facility for a tour. This is where they train athletes for swimming, wrestling, weight lighting, and men's gymnastics. It was really neat to see the time and dedication it takes to become an Olympic athlete.

We spent Friday night in Colorado Springs. Since Andy and I rarely get to see movies, we went to see Harry Potter that night. I was so tired from being up so early that it was hard to stay awake for the entire movie.

Firecracker, Firecracker--boom, boom, BOOM!

The Parkers begin their Independence Day with the Cadillac Firecracker 5K in Brentwood. Andy pushed 70+ in the double stroller and had an amazing chip time (in my opinion). I was pleased with my time, however I do it for fun not for stats.

After the 5K, there was Kid Race. Jackson did it last year and loves to talk about running races. He was thrilled to have his own number and very proud that his number was bigger than ours.

Jackson did good during the race. He alternated between running and walking.

Jackson was very proud to get his Participant Ribbon.

For lunch on the 4th, Andy's grandfather came to our house for an All-American meal. Andy grilled cheeseburgers and hot dogs for us, and we had baked beans, corn on the cob, strawberries, and chips. Dessert was apple pie a la mode. All the boys and I enjoyed our meal and time together.

Drew, Andy, Jackson, and Grandaddy

After a little rest, we headed to our neighborhood pool. Drew and Jackson had a blast jumping into Andy and swimming around. Drew can say "pool" and point toward where the pool is located.

We watched the Crockett Park fireworks with our neighbors in their backyard. Then Andy put on his $20 fireworks exhibit in the cul-de-sac for some of the neighbors. The boys loved watching the Roman Candles, spinners, and sparklers.

Preparing for the 2026 Olympics...

Church in the Park

Our class had Church in the Park last Sunday night at Owl Creek Park. It was a wonderful time for all of the families...we played, ate, had a devotional, and played some more.

Drew and Daddy relax before all the festivities.

Drew and Colton have spotted something exciting.

Brody, Jackson, and Frances had a big time watching two guys play basketball against each other. They even picked one of the players to cheer for and told me the other player was in time out when they first got there.

This is their reaction when their player scored. I love the look on their faces...Priceless!

The "big boys" (aka dads) had fun throwing the football across the playground.

Blue-eyed blondies...Libby, Drew, and Austin are too cute!

Drew is so excited about planes. He was showing me one flying over us.

Colton is so precious. He had so much fun playing on the playground.

Jackson is getting some squeezes from Mr. Jarrod (aka Mr. Jerry)