Hikes and mustaches

Happy Birthday to Riley!!!  He hasn't officially turned 8 yet, at least not for another hour or so lol, but I still can't believe he is 8 years old. Where does time go? This year he wanted a "Mustache Bash" party (in fact he wanted it for his birthday last year, but I had already started work on the Star Wars theme he told me he wanted so I had to tell him to wait until this year). So we did a Mustache Theme. Thankfully I thought ahead, and ordered everything in February (when I got things for valentine's from Oriental Trading) so I had very little work to do. In fact the only major thing I did was the cake. It was shaped like a mustache!  So cool!!  It's been a while since I did a fancy cake like this for a birthday, actually since Riley's First birthday I think. So it was fun for me. And really simple. Just bake a regular double layer round cake and then cut it like a ying yang. turn the two pieces and it makes the two sides of a mustache!  (gotta love Pinterest!) All the signs and stuff were also printed off from pinterest. And since I didn't really plan any games or anything it was an easy party. The boys (And Amara) just played outside the whole time until the presents, then they were inside playing with the gifts! lol. I did set up a "photo booth" with all the kids in Mustaches and with hats/glasses/beards and such. It was so cute! And something I hope Riley never forgets, I certainly won't!

This year we gave Riley another big birthday gift (one that he again has to share with his siblings though) - A Dirt Bike!!  Cam has been wanting to get the boys riding dirt bikes since before they were even conceived! And how/why I caved on this I will never know. I just keep telling myself, if they are out having fun then they aren't getting into trouble, and if they are outside, they aren't inside playing video games. Oh well. It's a really cool little thing though if I do say so! It's kid sized, and it even has TRAINING WHEELS!!!!  So Jayce could ride it if he wanted too. And most importantly from Mommy's angle -it has a throttle stop, so the rider can't yank on the throttle and jolt off. :) Riley didn't want to ride it today (which doesn't surprise me - he's more timid about new stuff like that) but I'm sure he'll get into it and we won't be able to get him off!

But my favorite part of the whole birthday. . . . Earlier this week I asked Riley what kind of cake he wants for his birthday party. In my head I'm expecting an answer like chocolate, vanilla, with sprinkles, etc. Instead he says "Gluten Free, so Zack can have some too." Zack is his buddy from school, and he needs a gluten free diet. They've been best buds since Kindergarten. My heart melted. What 8 year old is thinking of his best friend when selecting his birthday cake?  Apparently my little soft-hearted Riley!  It was a proud mama moment for sure. And I'm so happy that he has such a considerate heart.

Ok, enough water works!  School's only been out for a week now, but we've already had a ton of fun!  Even though you wouldn't think so after looking at the weather for the past few weeks! Once again it's rained for what seems like forever out here. Rivers are still at flood stages, and while it's dried out some, everything is so saturated it will probably take the entire summer for some things to go back to normal. So on a wet chilly day after school was out we headed down to Loveland for Cam and Riley to run in Riley's first official 5K race!  It was one of those novelty runs, where running is the secondary part after the fun. You know, like the color run where you wear white and people throw colored dye at you while you run, or the mud races with the obstacle courses. Well this one was the Insane Inflatables 5K. And it was insane!!  I'm talking like 10 of these bounce houses that are spaced throughout the race, one of them being 6 stories high!!  But the guys did awesome, and more importantly had a blast doing it! Cam was surprised that Riley finished that faster than when he ran around the lake (less than a 5k) but I'm not - It was FUN!!!!  Just see for yourself - every picture he is smiling so big! And he can't wait to do another one! 

Yes even Daddy got into it! How could you NOT have fun!

So I think we are going to sign the whole family up for another similar one coming up. That should be interesting! lol.  He was so proud of his medal and he wanted to show everyone!  It was so cute. Great Job Riley!!

Then this week we attempted to go hiking. I had told some of my Mops friends that I would lead them and their littles on some hikes this summer, so we tried to make it work. The weather looked best on Wednesday, but no one was available that day. One could go on Thursday, but the weather forecast was a little iffy that day. So I told her we'd try it. But I wasn't going to pass up a beautiful day on Wednesday to hike, so the kids and I went anyways!!  We did our traditional Horsetooth Falls hike. Since springtime is the best chance of seeing water in the falls, and with all the rain we've had it should have been over-flowing!  And we were right!!  In all my years of hiking this trail since I became a ranger, I have NEVER seen so much water along that trail. Not just in the waterfall itself, but all along the trail! The creek that is usually a trickle or completely dry, the gullies that I didn't know were actually gullies, the muddy spots on the trail that aren't usually muddy!  It was crazy, and beautiful! Everything was so green, flowers were already blooming, it was incredible!  I can't wait to spend more time hiking this summer! And oh will we!!  All the kids did amazing hiking!  Riley of course is a pro now (I can barely keep up with him!!) and Jayce made the whole thing with little complaining (comparatively), even with almost getting his sandal completely lost in a mud hole. But Amara was the big surprise. She hiked the ENTIRE 2.2 miles all on her own!! What a trooper!!  She did complain a little towards the end, but with a little (and I do mean very little) coaxing she made it the whole time, and even smiled all the way at the end for a photo!! I couldn't believe it! Neither of the boys made it that far at this age. Riley made it close at 2, but I had to carry him for the last 1/2 mile or so. But not Amara - she's gonna show those boys up for sure!  :)

This is the aftermath from the mud hole. everyone made it through almost unscathed . . . except for Jayce.

Smiling right through to the end! What an Amazing little girl she is!

Then on Thursday the weather ended up holding out for us to get a hike in with my friend Keah. She has a 2 year old (almost 3) and a new baby, and was missing her outdoor lifestyle but didn't know how/where to get her daughters started in it. And I completely understood where she is coming from. That was me not too long ago! So I told her you just have to do it!  And do it again, and again, and eventually it will get easier and become a habit, then a lifestyle. So we did it!  After finding out the trail we had intended to do was closed (because it was too muddy - go figure!) we found an open trail that was fun for the kids. I ended up bringing a couple of our other friends along from across the street, so each of the Louie Kids had an age (and gender) appropriate buddy to hike with! Not to mention each one of the 7 kids did amazing!! They hiked the whole thing so well, Jayce and Amara were a little more pooped than usual, understandably after the hike they just did the day before. But there was still little complaining from everyone. They played by the reservoir, made moats in the sand bank, and shared snacks with their buddies. And everyone made it back safe and sound!

Amara and her buddy!

Jayce and his Buddy!

Digging in the mud

Making moats

So that's a snapshot into what we've been up to lately. Summer is in full swing for us, and we've got a ton of things planned. Stay tuned for the next couple weeks, it's going to be a busy June!!!  :)