March Visit to Birmingham

Went to Birmingham in March for a visit with the Alabama Llewellyns. They have done a great job with their new home and everything looks great. As you can see from the picture, our Katie is very talented! She is also seriously cute!

We loved seeing Katie at 15 months. She is very busy walking and "dancing." Don't miss the curly hair!

Grandaddy reads Goodnight Moon to Katie. She brought him the book and was soon sitting in his lap while he tried to read it to her. She was more interested in turning the pages.

Winter Fun

Hello strangers! I hope everyone has had a great start to the year. I'm blown away thinking that spring is almost here, but we've had a wonderful winter in the mountains. Here is a look back at our trip to Estes and Rocky Mountain National Park over Valentines and my birthday...

We stayed at the Stanley Hotel for a couple of nights. The whole time I couldn't stop comparing it to Hot Springs. Our room was on a haunted floor...in fact, the room Stephen King stayed when which inspired him to write The Shining was just a short walk down the hall.
The weekend got much better when we discovered a selection of animal hats at the visitor center. They proved to be not only warm on the ensuing show shoe, but also worthy of praise from others. We got a total of 26 compliments on the hike!
Here we after finding our way back. Turns out snow is really good at hiding trails! We just needed to rely on our natural animal instincts.

It's a good thing we made it. I was so cold from taking some falls down steep slopes that my fingers froze!

On the way out, we passed a huge herd of elk. There were over 100 that we could count...just beautiful.
Most other weekends, this is where I find myself. I'm getting pretty good at snowboarding these days. My favorite feeling in the world just might be hiking up past the lifts and making fresh tracks. It is heavenly!
Hello from the mister too!

Stay warm and send an update whenever you have a chance! I am looking forward to a trip home for my dress fitting in a couple of weeks, so hopefully I can visit with you soon.

Lots of love,

Lex

Family Christmas 2008

What a meal! Wouldn't be Christmas without "the menu."

Congratulations Alexis and John!!

What talent! Christmas carols will never be the same!

Drew, you are surrounded by beautiful blondes!

Uncle Bob's Blocks - only two sets ever made!

Katie and Grandad - she is getting ready to play chimes at the next Family extravaganza!

Look Mom, no hands!

The "Cousins" - what a group!

Time to see some gorgeous baby pictures! And, the family Christmas celebrations that included a gathering for Alexis and John! Of course, we have to include"Bob's Blocks" and the Alexis and Grandmother Extravaganza!! Love to all, Lola

Engaged!

Hi everyone,
I hope you've heard the good news by now...John asked me to marry him yesterday! (I said yes.) We were on a backcountry hiking trip near Breckenridge, CO when he popped the question. We've got lots of pictures to share, but a couple for now include:

Just after sharing the news with friends (I think you can see my legs and his hands are shaking!).
The ring that John's grandfather, John Powers, gave to his grandmother, Martha, when he proposed.

Us snowboarding just before he asked me--I'm clueless, he's nervous.It was such an amazing weekend! I'm still too excited to think straight, but I can't wait to share more details and welcome John into our family.

Lots of love to all,

Lex

Halloween Goblins

What do you get when you mix two penguins, two dinosaurs, a chicken, and a doctor together? Our Halloween play group! Check out our little ghouls all dressed up for their first Halloween. Left to right (Nellie Keras, Drew, Alex Wunderlich, Virginia Phillips, Harper Behnke, Jane Keras). They only lasted about 5 minutes in their costumes, but we have the pics to last a life time.


Drew and his "chick."

Way cuter than Barney!

The two dinos. Look at those faces! I have a feeling they'll be getting away with lots over the next few years.

Boo! Kristina

Old No. 7

Hey all...it has been a fun-filled couple of weeks since I last posted... Two weeks ago, Justin and I took a day off work and headed to Lynchberg, Tennessee, where the 20th annual Jack Daniels BBQ Competition was being held. Justin's parents are master BBQ judges and are highly respected in the BBQ world...thus, Maria, his mom, was asked to be a judge this year. Teams who have won major contests in countries all over the world gather in itty bitty Lynchberg for the world championship competition...boy is it interesting!!

While we were there, Justin and I toured the Jack Daniels distillery...now I have never loved Jack Daniels but it is Justin's favorite drink (with Coke) and it was really fascinating to learn the painstaking process by which Jack Daniel's is made.

The picture below is that of the charcoal mill...charcoal is one of the key ingredients in Jack Daniels...I mean that they filter the 140 proof alcohol through huge vats of charcoal before it is bottled. I would show you a pic of this process but since alcohol is highly flammable, they do not allow pics in this area of the tour.

Before the charcoal-filtering process, however, the mash is made from three key ingredients: barley, corn, and rye. They also add natural spring water from a spring located on the property.

Of course, like wine, the whiskey sits in oak barrels for a long period of time...the oak barrels are used only once, then sold for about $70 apiece. People make all sorts of things out of the barrels...many are used again to make things like wine and hot sauce.

Each barrel produces over 200 bottles of Jack Daniels whiskey...and for $9000-$12000 you can taste (with a master taster) and purchase your own barrel and the distillery will bottle it for you, put your name on a plaque on the wall of the distillery, and specially label your Jack for you. Small price to pay, huh? Here is Justin in front of the "single-barrel Jack"...errr...which he can only dream about...

After the tour, we hung out at the BBQ competition and met teams from all over the world: Britain, Canada, and Estonia, just to name a few...everyone was very very nice and very excited about staying up all night in the rain to cook BBQ. Friday night all the teams and volunteers were invited to the distillery for dinner, music, and drinks overlooking Lynchberg...the pic below is the view...I forget sometime just how beautiful TN can be...

We had to head home early Saturday morning so I could help host a baby shower...so we did not actually see the cooking but that was ok...

We spent the next week planning our Halloween costumes....Justin was a break-dancer and I was "Partly Coudy with a Chance of Rain." Yes, I made my costume...comfortable - yes, attractive - no. Two large Red Bull and Vodkas made this outfit suitable for wearing out to a party...and I spent the evening spraying people with a spray gun...I think I better start planning something better for next year!

Love to all!

Cousin K

Curb Appeal with Lexi S.

Hi everyone!
We have FINALLY finished putting the final touches on our house. Well, there are a few more things we need to do :) but overall, we've made major progress on the porch and general look of the place. Here's a before and after so you can see the dramatic makeover...

This was our house when we first bought it. Yes, that's lime green and teal accents! It seems like a really long time ago when we ripped out that gate. And that bush up front.
And then...
Here she is now! John and his cousin did the major work on the porch, with other friends (myself included) helping with all the steps along the way. Our neighbors all love the blue--which is great because we took a little risk there. They actually wave at us now!

Looks like an inviting place for a visit huh? Hope to have you all here at some point soon.
Lots of love,
Lex