A Summer's Worth of Fishing

It's been a fine summer of fishing in some gorgeous locales around Colorado. Here's a sort of picture journal of my favorite trips. I'm only beginning to scratch the surface of what's available; water I used to only read about is now just a couple hours away! Of course, this first brown was taken on the Poudre right in town; it's a great stretch of water...shhhh. The Roaring Fork is home to some of the most beautiful rainbows in the state...

Jon's mom has a fancy condo on Roaring Fork so we spent a few days roughing it...thanks Janice!

Started throwing a lot more dry flies this year

Below is a pic of Jon after losing a brown over 20" on the Platte. It took him a while to shake it off. The fish took him a hundred yards down stream and he ended up swimming during the battle; he actually had the presence of mind to throw his camera on the bank before he swam! Sadly the camera did not survive the throw. That's why we call him the Moose.
Jon and Nick trying some spooky fish on the Platte...

This was one of my favorite fish of the summer: a cutthroat-rainbow hybrid. A very rare fish on the Platte and this one was hefty! He ate a big green hares ear nymph.

My buddy Scott came to visit and we fished North Park, one of the more beautiful places I've been. He took some great pics.

Can't believe summer is over.

Cousins Reunion

Corrie, Heather, and their girls (Jenna, Sophie, & Susannah) came up to Fort Collins on Saturday to visit and meet little Samuel. It was great to catch up and spend time with them. We had so much fun growing up together... playing freeze, slumber parties in "little house", surfing down the stairs on a mattress.. and the list continues. From a young age, our parents constantly dressed us up for photo shoots and it was such a strange feeling to be taking pictures of the cousins' kids together. It's official - we're old.

THEN

NOW

Me, Heather & Susannah, Jolly & Samuel, Corrie with Jenna & Sophie. I know what you're thinking.. something's missing!?! You're right! Our children, Gunner & Lucy.

THE PHOTO SHOOT

We were so excited to finally meet little Susannah! She is such a smiler.

Something new

As many of you know, we have cactus' galore at the ranch. We are constantly stickered and pricked by these unfriendly plants and it's about time they were useful for something. So after some research, I have decided to make jam. The prickly pear fruit is sweet... I don't quite know how to explain the taste but most sources claim they are blackberry-melon-like. So we'll stick with that. Wish me luck!

Our new addiction

Ryan and I discovered the library and we are hooked. Thanks to our local library we have easy access to just about any book you can imagine. We spent a couple hours yesterday perusing the aisles and quenching our thirst for information on a variety of topics.. including knitting, fly tying, home design, and more.

Fall at the Ranch

The fall colors are starting to show.

Our native grasses and Bonner Peak at the golden hour... just before sunset.

Our hops. Ryan harvested most of them... but there are a few remaining.

My dinnerplate dalias... Believe it or not, they really are the size of dinner plates.

Colorado blue skies.My delphiniums... aka "my little darlings" ...grown with care from seeds.
Our cherry tomatoes ripening on the vine.

Finnley... our adopted nephew

We adore Finnley! He belongs to our close friends Jon & Brianna, but we will claim him any day. I took these pictures of him about a month ago when we were up in Snowmass for Labor Day weekend. Isn't he a cutey!

Happy Birthday Cherie!

We celebrated Cherie's 27th birthday on Monday. Jolly, Cherie, & Samuel spent the night at the ranch and we relaxed all day. It was really nice! And of course... we had to get some pictures of little Samuel.

We think that Samuel is looking more and more like Cherie... with a Jolly nose. My favorite thing is the little cowlick on his forehead. It looks like a thumbprint.

Happy Birthday Ollie!

Ollie turned 2 on Saturday and we went to his Choo-Choo Party. Nicole made the most adorable train cake! Ryan and I were laughing at the shananagans of children's birthday parties... Our favorite part was watching Ollie try to hold 5 hot wheel cars while hitting the pinata! Great fun and lots of entertainment!

Ollie's Birthday Sweater

Making sweaters for my nephews is one of my favorite pastimes. I made this sweater for Ollie for his birthday and it turned out so cute. I made cloth buttons and lined the inside to make it more like a jacket. Nicole & I are going to do a photoshoot soon... so check back for pictures of Ollie wearing it!

Samuel at 2 Days

Little Sam is getting cuter and cuter. I went down and spent the afternoon at Jolly & Cherie's yesterday and got to hold my nephew for an hour or two while he was in his "milk coma." We decided that babys could act as an strong anti-depressant. We all sat around watching him with perma-grins!! You just can't help yourself!

Meet Our New Nephew: Jolly Samuel Jr.

We welcomed little Sam into the world today. He was born at 5:07pm and weighed 7 lbs 3oz. He is just beautiful! We are so proud!

Jolly called us at 1:30am Saturday morning to let us know that Cherie's water broke and that they were on their way to the hospital. She had steady labor all night and received the epidural at 7:30am. Ryan and I went to the hospital soon after that. Apparently, little Sam didn't like the epidural & the drop in Cherie's heart rate and the doctor was worried C-section may be necessary. Thankfully Sam started behaving himself! The remaining grandparents arrived around noon (Suzy was already there). And after a dose of Petocin, Sam was born at 5:07. I was honored that Jolly & Cherie wanted me to be there in the room. It was such a miracle!

Sadly, Nathan was unable to come. He spent the night at a friend's house on Friday and my parents were unable to get a hold of him in time. We missed him!

Three generations of Jollys. We wish that Boompa was here to see this!