Thomas the Train, and Fall Colors

I got to ride on Thomas the Tank Engine this weekend!!! Sunday we took Greg and his Mommy and Daddy to Golden to see Thomas the Train. They had so much to do, but we didn't do it all, cuz there were a TON of people there. But we did ride on Thomas and play with the toy trains, and get Thomas Tattoos, and sit in the giant Lego Thomas, and . . . Eat Yummy Ice Cream!! (it's Dole Whip Ice Cream and they have yummy flavors!!) We also saw Sir Topum Hat, but the line was too long to get our picture taken with him, same with the big Thomas that pulled us around. But It was still fun. I hope Greg had fun too, it's his birthday in another week. We are going to his party this weekend. Wanna know what else we did this weekend? We did a lot again. On Saturday was the Birding Fair at Mommy's work. So Daddy and I went to check it out and hang out with Mommy a little. They had some live birds there (raptors - like Hawks and Owls and Eagles!) and I got there just in time to watch a Red-tailed Hawk Flying Demonstration. It was pretty cool! I'm still a little too young for all the activities they have for Kids, so we'll have to go back next year and do them. They have a lot for kids to do. Then after Thomas on Sunday Mommy and Daddy and I took the back roads home from Golden. We found a great little State Park to see the Fall colors out here (just green and gold, not all the reds and oranges like in Indy). But it was still really pretty!

Then Yesterday Mommy and I went to MOPS, and the Gourmet Godmother came to talk to the Moms. She gave Mommy some good recipes that I can help cook! I'm so excited to help Mommy in the kitchen!! (even though Mommy's a little nervous!) And then today Mommy and I went to Cheyenne. We had to pick up some Jeep parts for Daddy, and then we went to the Sierra Trading Post Outlet Store. It was so Big!! I wasn't a very good boy for Mommy, but she attributes that to the long car ride! We bought a bunch of Smartwool socks for winter, and snowpants for me, and a sleeping bag/Doggie Bed for the Doggies to fight over!! (But they're gonna have to fight me for it first!!!)

I have had so much fun these last couple of weeks!! And Next weekend is Greg's party, and maybe we will go to Estes Park for Elk Fest, and listen to the Elk Bugling!! Mommy says I have to figure out what I wanna be for Halloween soon. Anybody got any ideas?

Busy Month!

Hi Everyone!! Sorry for the delay in updates again! It has been a busy couple of weeks!! Let's see whre did I leave off . . .

Mommy and I started going to MOPS again!! And I'm in the 2 year old class now, not the nursery!! We get to do crafts and have a Bible lesson!! And Mommy is a Discussion Group Leader for her table. The theme this year is "Planet Mom", and Mommy says that's perfect, because sometimes as a mom she feels like she's living on another planet!! Then we went to Mommy's work party for the end of the year. It was at Hermit Park Open Space, in Estes Park. It was such a pretty night, and cool. But that didn't slow me down at all!! Mommy's co-workers gave me a new nickname - Velociraptor!! Which I think is cool cuz it's a dinosaur, but I guess they gave me that name cuz of the high pitched screams I always make. Mommy says it fits me!

Then we went to the annual Sustainable living fair in Fort Collins. I got to see some cool stuff. This week I am spending the entire week at Jamie's house during the day. That's because on Monday and Tuesday, when I usually stay with Mommy, she wasn't here. She got to go to a Ranger Conference in Breckenridge. She said it was so pretty up there. All the aspen are changing, and it was snowing!!! Yes, SNOWING!! Here's a picture from when they were driving up.

She learned a lot at the conference, and even got to meet Aron Ralston - the guy who went hiking alone in Utah and had to cut off his arm!! He's a "Inspirational" Speaker now, and he came to talk to them and sign books. Mommy got one for Daddy.

This weekend is going to be busy too. Saturday is the Birding Fair at Mommy's work. Daddy and I are going to go visit her cuz it's fun for kids too. And then Sunday we are going to see THOMAS THE TRAIN!!! I'm so excited!! He's at the Colorado Railroad Museum, and Mommy and Daddy got tickets so we can ride on him!!! And guess what - Greg is coming too!!! It's almost his Birthday, so Mommy and Daddy got tickets for his Mommy and Daddy so we can all go ride Thomas together!! So look for more pictures to come after that. But for now here's a few pictures of me lately. I am trying to swim in the bathtub in the first one, and I'm coloring in my Madagascar book in the second. I love coloring!!

Visitors!!

I love having people come and visit us!! Mommy's Friend Camie, and her boyfriend Patrick came to visit us this weekend. We had so much fun together!! Friday Mommy had to work, so they rode along with her. They went to see Devil's Backbone, and climbed all the way to the top of Horsetooth Rock!! Mommy was so proud of them!! Not bad for flying from near sea level only 7 hrs before!!

After that we took them to Old Town, and got Rasta Pasta and Ice cream. They are really good at playing 1, 2, 3, Swing!! On Saturday they went to Rocky Mountain National Park and Drove up Trail Ridge Road. It sounds like they had a lot of fun there too! Then on Sunday Daddy took them Mountain Biking!! They had Mountain biked in Indiana, but this was their first time in actual Mountains!! They did really good!! We took them to Hewlett's Gulch, a fairly easy trail (for the mountains).

While they were biking Mommy and I played in the Poudre, and hiked a little down the trail!

After biking we drove up the Poudre Canyon a little ways so that they could see the sites. Then we came back home and had a BBQ on our new patio!! We don't have any furniture yet though, so everyone was huddled around my picnic table!! It was fun!! Yesterday they left to do an overnight backpacking trip. They went up to Emmaline Lake, and the Mummy Pass, where Mommy went when she did her Pingree Park class. I hope they are having fun, and not getting to wet, (it rained a little yesterday). Yesterday Mommy and Daddy worked in the yard again. They got some flowers pretty cheap at the Fort Collins Nursery Sale, and planted them in Mommy's new Flower bed, and the border around the fence. Daddy says no more landscaping this year!! hehe Now it's back to the routine! I hope everyone had a fun Labor Day weekend!!

And if you wanna come visit us like Camie and Patrick did, just let us know!! WE LOVE HAVING VISITORS!!! (not enough people take advantage of our spare bedroom!!)

I MADE IT!!!!

Long's Peak: 14,255 Ft above sea level. And I made it to the top!!! I am calling it a Horrendously Wonderful experience, because it was both horrendous, and wonderful!! I told Cameron when I got home that I'm very glad I did it, because now I don't ever have to do it again!!

I met my fellow climbers (Jacob, Zack, and Mike) at my Fossil Creek Office at 12:45 am. We then drove the hour and 15 minutes to the trailhead at 9,504 ft. We were on the trail by about 2:20 am and hiked in near pitch dark until sunrise about 6:30 am. In that amount of time we reached the Boulderfield, a camping area 6 miles up the trail, just below the Keyhole. It was a beautiful sunrise over Mt. Lady Washington. Then came the treacherous climb over all the rocks. The last nearly 2 miles is all rock scrambles, separated into about 4 distinct sections: the Ledges, the Trough, the Narrows, and the Homestretch before reaching the summit! It took us nearly the same amount of time to traverse these sections as it did the first 6 miles!!! That's how difficult they can be!! The Trough is indeed the worst of them, because there are MANY loose rocks in this steep section. In fact after reaching the summit Mike severely sprained his ankle, and I learned today that another gentleman who also summited yesterday with us was hurt in this section and had to spend the night in the Trough and be helicoptered out this morning. You can read that story here. Mike was a trooper though and after Zack (an EMT and Army Medic) wrapped it well he continued down with only hiking poles to help him!! So Long's Peak is not a mountain to be taken lightly!

We reached the summit around 11:15, after taking a 20 minute nap in the sun before the Homestretch section. We then spent about an hour and half on the summit taking pictures, enjoying the beautiful views, calling loved ones (Yes, I had Cell Service!!), signing the registry, and listening to Zack play the bagpipes!! That was the best, and everyone else loved it as well!! He did say it was very difficult to play the bagpipes at 14,000 ft, but he did it, and it was something I will never forget - definately check out the video of this! The decent was just as difficult, and especially hard on my knees!! By the time we reached the boulderfield again I was traveling at the same pace as the injured Mike (did I mention he was a Trooper!) And the 6 miles from the boulderfield were just horrendous: we thought we would never reach the trailhead again!! But we did finally, around 6:30 pm, after many false signs of hope (waterfalls and signs we remembered from the way up, and a false "sighting" by Jacob!!) We then went to Subway for dinner in Estes Park, scarfed our food in complete silence, and drove home!!

All in all it was something I was so happy to experience, but am content with only 1 of these experiences!! We had beautiful weather!! Minus the "smoke haze" (visible in the photos) from the California wildfires (and the cause of my sorethroat, wheezing and coughing). And came away with only many very sore muscles, and one sprained ankle!! Check out the pictures and videos, which I hope to have posted soon (tomorrow at the latest).