B.A.T--Big Ass Tires

Looking forward to hauling my grandsons Kaleb and Grayson and soon to be Kaden (due to make his arrival in August 2009) down to the Palmer Lake "RockHouse" Ice Cream parlor...just put these 35" tires on so they can bust-a-move to get some ice-cream in the summer!!

The jeep already had a 4 inch suspension lift and I just put on extra 1" body lift to accomodate the bigger tires...What I didn't figure on is getting back in to the garage with the extra height!!As you can see....just barely!!
These guys are ready to have some fun!!! Soon we are heading to jeep trails like the one's below...I hear their mothers are telling me to wait about 10 years...so in the meantime their Dad's will have to come out and play!!



This is a picture of Pastor Dyer (our Pastor)and Matt...he is giving Matt some spiritual counseling!

So if you are reading this...come to Colorado this summer and PLAY!!! and get some ice cream!!!

Back In Colorado...Snow Storm of April 18th,2009

Well I am back in Colorado...they called for a spring snow storm...forcasted over 2 ft of snow where we live...our house is at 7300 ft.... Woke up this morning...it had been snowing for about 8 hours...and as I write this it has been snowing for over 16 hours...

Looking out over scenic Palmer Lake...with a good cup of coffee...listening to piano solo's by Jim Brickman...fireplace lit... and NO WOMAN!!!! Get your French derriere" home Linda!!!!

You can see the edge of the firepit (right of the picture)...it stands about 16 inches high. This snow drift extended out and was about 3-4 ft deep at one point.

Here was a brave snow plow soul solving and creating a problem all at once...(see below)

This is the most snow I have seen fall in my 3 years in Palmer Lake...it will all be gone soon...70 degrees forcasted for 70...what a snow melt mess it will be... I had to shovel...and shovel...and shovel...thanks to the MONSTER snow plow...the end of the drive way was easily 3 - 4 feet deep.
Here is the back side of the house where all the snow accumulates...

Linda...see what you are missing...

Viva la' FRANCE!!!

Pepe's Final Words:
"You know, sometimes I ask myself 'Ees eet worth eet?' and I answer myself 'YEEEEEES! EET EES WORTH EET!' VIVA L'AMOUR!!!!"
As the final blog of our "French Experience"...there is no way you can just call this a trip...Linda and I both want to express our gratitude to all of our family and friends that have made this such a memory! You made us feel special...and everyone of you are special to us!

Simone (Moulie)...you were right...I was going to love France...especially the family...

I am coming home to the USA to "dry out" after 25 days of consecutive alcohol (wine and beer!!)...detox my body to rid myself of the caffeine (coffee' was supercharged)...but I did eat a salad everyday for 25 straight days!!!

Thanks again to our missionary friends, Mike and Susan Morykon for allowing us to use their house as a base camp for many of our excursions...Blessings on your ministry there in Lattes!

Out trip got started smoothly as Linda's Aunt Ella and her husband Gerald took care of us...Thank you for the Veronique Sanson CD...we have French Music now in Colorado!!!...we will always remember our time in Italy!!! and to Maru...I thank you for the wonderful meals and letting us use your bed the first couple of nights...Good Luck in School...Hopefully someday we can host you in the USA!! Thank you Nadia for being such a wonderful host and putting us up for 3 days...the Kuskus was fantastic...Hopefully when we come back we can spend more time to together...maybe go dancing!!
Franck taught me the one phrase in French to say that covers all situations..."C'est pas grave"...which basically means "no big deal" in English...I used it over and over...and heard it being used everywhere I went. Franck...your hospitality knows no end...Merci Beau Coup!!!

Come to Colorado...we will have some fun...I will take you and your family here in the Jeep...

http://www.traildamage.com/trails/index.php?id=9
http://www.traildamage.com/trails/index.php?id=10
http://www.traildamage.com/trails/index.php?id=50

Christian and Francois...thank you for putting together a marvelous weekend...from the family dinner to the weekend in Villadperdrix...Christian gave me an old "skeleton" key...he said it was the "key to the city"...it turns out to be over 300 years old...I am now claiming to have the oldest artifact in Palmer Lake, Colorado as of now!

Nicola, Odile, and Tomas...thank you for the case of wine!! It is all gone!!!

Katherine...Jean Paul...Good Luck in the upcoming buiness season...you both are allot of fun! Thank you for giving me my adopted French name"Jean Cleg"... he thanks you for making him feel like he belonged there!!!

Max and Sylive...what can I say that the video below won't...you guys loved us like you love life!!
Sylvie...I am saying this very...s l o w l y....so you...u n d e r s ta n d....!!!!! (inside joke!)




Raymond and Marceline...Mark and Cecile...thank you for hosting a great meal and introducing me to the rest of the family...in total I met 32 out 34 family members!

Eric, Dominique, Raphael, and Sandra...thank you for arranging O'bama and Sarkozy to be in Strasbourg the same day we were there...Eric you added to the level of excitement when we went out to watch a anti-NATO potential riot and you asked me if I had a scarf to fend off the "tear gas"...you are also an awesome chef!

Dominique...we are going to kidnap you if we ever make it to Greece (Dominique has the equivalent to a PhD in Greek History). You have a wonderful family...and your kids are amazing!
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Thank you for taking the time to share our experiences in reading this blog...we will update it often to share with you what is going on in our lives...

Another Great Weekend in Strausborg!!

Pepe's Morning Outlook:

"She want to play in the lover's chase, it is the little girl in her."

I think this is about how much red wine we have had. If having a glass of red wine every evening prolongs your life span...I should live to about 200 years old...!
I had to take a picture of this Frenchman (I think he was 200 years old!) while standing in line while waiting to get into Chateau du Haut Koenigsbourg.

This weekend the Chateau had real life demonstrations of what life was like in the Middle Ages.

This had to hurt if you were on the wrong side of the person using it.

These little spikes were laid down outside hidden in the leaves in order to stop intruders (check out the picture)...I believe they were pretty effective...I think we could sell these on the Internet...looking for a supplier...

The presentation of the food was always a priority wherever we went...

Linda's neice Sandra...cute as can be...and smart...in the car she was doing math problems in German...at 12 years old!

These are shots from Ribeauville...they had a Spring Festival going on at the time.

This is Linda's Sunday afternoon way to enjoy...French cafe's, outside...people watching!!

Notice the castle on the hill in the background...an imposing structure to say the least.

Shopping at the festival...another of Linda's pastimes.

THIS IS STRASBOURG!!!

The Cathedral at Strasbourg was incredibly detailed with statues, ornamentation, etc...on the exterior...nothing else came close to the attention to the detail.

Life resumed to normal after the NATO meetings....

This is a neat place...

Linda with her cousin Eric, his wife Dominique, nephew Rahael, and neice Sandra...they treated us like royalty!!!

All of these swans were following me down the river....made me feel important, until they turned to where someone fed them.

Heading home in 3 days!!!