June has been crazy busy for us, and it's only half-way through! I can't believe all that we've done already (and now I feel like I need to take the rest of the month off to recuperate!)
We started out the month with a trip to Moab UT, one of our favorite vacation spots! We haven't been since before Jayce was born, so it was a very overdue trip. Now that we have the new Jeep we just had to go and try it out! It was a short weekend trip, next time we vowed to go for at least a week, so we didn't get as much seen as we had hoped, but with three kids jammed into a bench seat for the first long trip I think it was perfect. It's an 8 hour trip, so it was definitely a test for us to get there in one day without killing each other! (Only to spend the next two days in the jeep wheeling, and then another day on the road home! what were we thinking!!) But we all survived, and it will make the 2 day trip to Indy in a few weeks that much better having the kids spread out in the van. Anyways . . . it rained all Friday night into Saturday morning, so getting camp set up and dinner cooked over an open flame Friday night was tricky, but we did it, and spent the evening hunkered down in the tent. Saturday we did a little bit of hiking, here and there, around Arches National Park. After all the rain a lot of areas were soggy and flooded, so we didn't get to see Delicate Arch and some other places we had hoped. But by the end of the day the sun was coming out and it turned into a beautiful evening. Sunday was a typical desert day, cloudless sky for most of the day, hot burning sun, gorgeous views! We went on a Jeep trail that day. Cam wanted to do the "top of the world" trail, which goes to the edge of a steep cliff. Jeeps then drive out to the edge and get a great picture of them "hanging" over this cliff on the rock that juts out. We didn't go out as far as most do, both a disappointment from picture standpoint, but a relief in every other way! (and don't worry, the kids weren't in the Jeep for that part!) That trail took the majority of the day, so we didn't get to the other trail Cam was hoping to do, but we did make a quick stop at the campground pool for the kids. I think it was the highlight of the trip for them! lol. Here's some of the pictures of the Moab Vacation:
 |
| At Balanced Rock |
 |
| Hiking to Landscape Arch |
 |
| Landscape Arch |
 |
| Double Arch |
 |
| Double Arch |
 |
| On our way to the "Top of the World" |
 |
| Top of the World |
 |
| Playing in the Colorado River |
After that we had another exciting week of summer! Riley had lego camp last week, but a little different version. This one was called Lego Engines, and it was more engines than legos! The first 2 of the 3 days were spent taking apart real engines - Literally!! The instructor brought in real moped type motors and let the kids dismantle them to see all the working parts! Riley LOVED it!! Then on the last day they got to build their own engine out of legos. And it really worked! It was really neat to see. I wish I would have gotten a video of it, but of course once we got home he took it apart to build again and it never worked right after that. Then it was Jayce's turn to learn to ride the dirt bike! Cam took the boys to get new helmets, so he put the training wheels on the bike and gave Jayce his first lesson! It was so cute watching him jerk around with the big helmet on his head! but he loved it!!
 |
| Learn before you ride |
 |
| The first jolt!! lol |
We also took a trip to the splash park with our friends the Sandstrums and Jan. It was a super hot day - the first one we had this summer, so we thought a trip to cool off was needed! The kids had fun running around, and Jan had a blast watching and playing with them! Definitely going to have to make this a regular trip!
Speaking of Jan, this past weekend we were invited to stay with her and Tim, her husband, at their condo in Frisco CO. They are both ski instructors at Copper Mountain each winter and a few years ago purchased a condo to stay in during those winter weekends when they spend so much time up there. It's a gorgeous place, and fits all of us comfortably. We spent the weekend hiking and checking out all the local playgrounds. And gaining weight on all of Tim's WONDERFUL cooking!! This guy lives to cook, and he does an amazing job. Saturday Morning the reservoir not far from them put on an airshow. It was really cool to watch all the planes doing tricks with the mountain backdrop. It was a great weekend spending time with our friends! And the best part - they wore the kids out like nobody's business!!! (And Cam and I too) They slept for about 2 hours of the 2 1/2 hour ride home! Here's some photos from our trip and the airshow:
 |
| Sapphire Point |
 |
| Lake Dillon (Dillon Reservoir) |
 |
| The kiddos with Jan and Tim |
Other news. Our garden is doing great! Well, let me rephrase that . . . our Strawberries are doing great! lol. With all the rainy days and broken sprinkler that needed to be fixed before we could plant we didn't get much planted this year. we have a few cucumber plants, some more herbs, and I think 1 pepper plant that didn't get washed away. But the strawberries and raspberries are thriving!! I think we've picked close to 10 lbs of strawberries already in the last week! We've given a lot of them away, because they are just so yummy I have to share them! But I think I'll start working on a few containers of Jam for the next couple of batches. It's still early for the raspberries, but the plants have FILLED the bed this year and I thought I saw some blooms the other day. I can't wait for those! That is going to be a big harvest!!
This week we've got some pool trips planned, and more hiking and hanging out with friends! I know we should slow down a little bit, but I just love summer and there's so much to do out here in this big state! Now that the kids are at a more independent stage, I feel like we can do so much more together as a family! And I plan on taking full advantage!! :)
Next post will probably be from out in Indiana!! Can't wait to trek home to see everyone again!
