Last Friday marked the beginning of our annual trip to Monarch, CO for three full days of excellent snowboarding at Monarch Mountain and incredible hospitality from Waunita Hot Springs Ranch.

Kicking-off the trip, Friday morning was spent shopping for food and supplies to feed 35 people for the next 3 days. After dropping a bundle of cash at Sam’s Club, I headed home to organize and pack everything up. It took 15 cases of drinks, over 200 sandwiches and countless snacks to ensure we had a well fed group. Departing from Wichita at 4:30 that evening, the bus drove all night, ensuring our arrival at Waunita’s around 4am Saturday morning. After some room assignments and a short nap, the group was set to go.

The next three days (Saturday – Monday) were spent eating, swimming, relaxing and, of course, snowboarding in an incredible amount of powdery goodness. To everyone’s delight, there were no serious injuries, just minor aches and pains. Everyone seemed to have an great time and I know Juli, Mikayla and I are already looking forward to next year.

Above are some photos of the trip. Enjoy!
Want to see more photos, check out the photos from Amy’s Monarch Ski Trip 2010 set on Flickr.

Last Sunday we packed up the Pilot and headed West to Denver for a few days to visit The Felixes. Among the multiple activities we took part in the most enjoyable was simply sitting back and watching the kids play. Here’s our pictorial story.

Juli and Stacy finished their half marathon in San Antonio about two hours ago. They both did a great job and are glad to be done. In the photo above they are holding up their medals and showing off how awesome they are.

Juli finished the run with a total time of 2 hours 25 minutes 14 minutes and 33 seconds (Juli informed me she had to take an 11 minutes break). Stacy came in just behind JJ but I’m unsure of her total time at this point (but I’m sure it was awesome). Great job ladies, it looks like you are having a great time. Can’t wait to see you back in the ICT.

Want to share your congratulations with them, share your comment and let them know.

During the past week our family has been apart of some serious Halloween celebrations. The fun started off last weekend with Fun Night and ended last night with trick-or-treating. Enjoy the photos.

Tuesday marks the start of a new school year at the McClure house. With backpacks, notepads, pencils and erasers (among other school supplies) locked and loaded, Kennedi and Mikayla are eager to begin another year of school, see their friends, and expand their craniums.

Mikayla will be entering Mrs. Kampling’s 5th grade class while Kennedi will be rejoining Mrs. Sponsel in 4-year-old preschool. Kennedi will be going three times  a week, this year, in the mornings.

Last night was the ice cream social at school and we were able to walk around to the classrooms, meet teachers and drop off supplies. Mikayla was happy to see her new teacher and Kennedi put on her finest fancy jewelry to look her best for Mrs. Sponsel.

Jodi and Justin (now referred to as Mr. and Mrs. McAninch) got married last Saturday! Pretty much the entire family was involved in making a beautiful and successful day. Below are some photos of the event. I took the majority of the photos, but some were taken by Kennedi (not bad for a 4 year old). Enjoy!

Over the July 4th holiday, we took a trip to visit The Felix family in Littleton, Colorado. The trip started off Wednesday night after I got home from work. As I arrived, Juli had the Pilot packed up and ready to roll. We packed up the kids and the dog and off we went. Arriving in Littleton around 2am Thursday morning, we all went in and dropped like flies.

On our first day, we hit the pool and loafed around the house trying to recover from the 9+ hour drive the previous night. That night we ate Chinese food for Jackson’s birthday and topped it off with an ice cream cake from DQ. On this morning we introduced Lucy (Amy’s dog) to Andi (our dog). Initially Lucy dominated the relationship (even though she is a MUCH smaller dog), but after a few hours of socialization, Andi understood that Lucy just wanted to play. From then on, Andi was the alpha-dog and REALLY enjoyed Lucy’s playful manner.

Day two was a bit more adventurous with a trip to the Denver Zoo. After 4 hours of looking at animals and walking around the park, the kids were exhausted (and it showed). We headed back to The Felix house for naps and relaxation. That night was Jackson’s birthday party with the whole family. We had a great time catching up with family and playing games. The night ended with fireworks and fun. View Our Photos

Day three started off with intentions of a hike, but after the women headed to the flea market, we knew there just wouldn’t be enough time. That afternoon ended with a trip to the park, with lunch and then back for naps and relaxation. That night we headed up to Opa’s place for a live band at the Red Rock Country Club and to watch some fireworks. The kids had a blast dancing and watching fireworks in the sky. View Our Photos

The morning of day four we all jumped in our cars and headed up I-70 to St. Mary’s Glacier for a nice hike to the top. Once we reached the top we stopped and ate sandwiches and enjoyed the view. Snow was still ontop of the mountain and we hiked up a bit further to play in the snow a bit before hiking back down. That night we headed over to Melissa and Lance’s place for food and entertainment. View Our Photos

The fifth day we went to the park in the morning to try and wear out the kids before packing up the car and driving back to Wichtia. We left Littleton around 1:30pm, pulling into our driveway in Wichita around midnight. After an exhaustive drive, I passed out in anticipation of returning to work the next day. View Our Photos

After all the traveling we’ve done lately, I’ve finally managed to get the photos off the camera and onto the computer to share. Follow the link below to see some great photos from Kennedi’s 4th birthday party. She had a great time. In her own words (that night), “I had a great time seeing my friends today!”. It doesn’t get better than that.

View Kennedi’s 4th Birthday Party Photos »