We also took some time to hike a less busy trail than the usual Bear Lake, so we opted for Sprague Lake this time. Good Choice! The kids loved it, it was nice and easy, and great photo opportunities along the way! It was a great family centered day. I love being able to spend time with this crew, especially outdoors! And then of course we went home to our typical Father's Day dinner of Grilling Meat and Corn! Yum!!
That next week we spent some more time at the pool with Jan. The kids are really gaining their confidence! Riley became such a pro at the diving board the week before he opted to try the high dive this week! And I was so proud of him for conquering his fear!! he was nervous at first, you could tell, but he kept going back up and doing it again and again! Also Jayce gained strides too! He has always been my little octopus, I say because he literally hold onto you in water with legs and arms wrapped tight around you! I bought him a life jacket 2 years ago hoping it would help him learn he's ok on his own, but that hasn't happened until now! After back to back weeks at the pool, he was floating in the jacket on his own and "swimming" (doggy paddling) back and forth between things/people. I'm so proud that he has grown so much in such a short time! It's amazing to watch them grow! So I'm thinking about getting him some water wings (the new kind with the chest support) and passing the life jacket down to Amara. Before too long they all will be swimming on their own, and I can finally lay at the side of the pool with a book again! :)
Later that week we left for Indiana, but I'll leave that trip for another post entirely. Too much to fill this one up with! So I'll skip ahead to July 4th. We were still driving back so it was more laid back than usual. Of course I ran to the grocery for some meat and corn to grill for dinner though! But we didn't even buy any fireworks or sparklers to do at home this year. But we wanted to make sure that we were home in time for Windsor's Firework Show. They have always done an amazing job, and I swear it gets better every year! Over the lake again this year, and I was able to get some really amazing photos! I'm happier with these than I have ever been!!
This week has been a little crazy, even though I swear it was more laid back than last month. Wednesday it was POURING down rain, so we took a trip to the Denver Museum with some of the Sandstrum boys and Jan. It was the perfect day to be indoors, and apparently everyone else thought so too . . . it was crazy busy. But that's alright. We got to see some cool things, and the kids had a blast!
Thursday was Cam's birthday - 35!!! Unfortunately he had to work on his birthday, but not just a normal work day. He had a maintenance day. And so he spent 17 hours at work that day. Not my idea of a special birthday. So I had to get creative to make it special for him. We went out to lunch with him, to egg and I, and the kids picked out candy to give him. I love that the kids know what Daddy's favorite candy is, and prefer to pick HIS favorites rather than theirs when they know it's going to him. Makes me proud! But then we didn't know if he would be home for dinner. He is supposed to get off at 6 on those days. but that NEVER happens. So I knew he wouldn't be home for dinner, even though he kept saying he didn't know. So the rest of that afternoon the kids and I made him cupcakes and lasagna (his choice for dinner that night), then took it to him at work! :) He was busy and didn't really get any, but it's the thought right! So we celebrated Cam's birthday on Friday night, with another birthday dinner (this time pork chops and parmesan/herb potatoes) and his always requested lemon dessert in place of birthday cake. The kids got him a new waffle maker (since the old one is crapping out). He is the waffle guru of the family, and loves making them. So this time around we opted for the fancy one!! It flips over and does an excellent job with all sorts extra bells and whistles than the old one. (we tested it out this morning, and yes it works really good!!) And his other present isn't here yet. I purposely ordered it late (I can explain why after it comes) but after I ordered it I learned it didn't matter anyways. So now I just feel bad that he has to wait until tomorrow at the earliest to get his gift.
We played in the slip n slide this week too. the kids have played in the sprinklers a couple times, but we are so randomly home all day long, that we don't often go outside to get wet. It is always so cute to see them get so worked up over a little bit of water. lol. I love it!
Yesterday though, was the busiest day of the week! Riley was supposed to have a Go Cart Camp earlier in the week. But it was rained out so we had it on Saturday. It was really cool! The local putt-putt place has all that good stuff, and apparently they do Go Cart Camps in the summer. How cool is that! So we signed him up. They taught him how to drive, how to follow the rules, and how to react to others who don't follow the rules. Then they each received a driver's license at the end. Riley had a BLAST!! Now of course he's old enough to drive them on his own, and he can't wait to go back!
After that, we met up with daddy at Horsetooth Mountain Open Space. He was finishing up an early morning run, so we picked him up (to save on the parking issues for a saturday) and he took Jayce and Amara home, leaving Riley and I at the park. The two of us set out to hike to the top of Horsetooth Rock! He's such a great little hiker, and rock climber I knew he could do this hike no problem. It's almost 5 miles, more than double the other hikes he's done, and over 1700 feet of elevation change, but I felt it was totally within his abilities. So we loaded up with a TON of water since it was a super hot day. And hit the trail. Of course he was whining about 5 minutes in, and for the first mile or so I was all but dragging him up the mountain. It was the hottest part of the day, and there is little shade on the first half of the hike. He was complaining almost the whole way and saying his leg hurt. I told him to get to the top of a set of stairs I knew was coming up (about the halfway point) and we would "discuss" turning back. I really thought he would make it, but at that point I was starting to think maybe I had over estimated him and we should turn back. So we finally get to the stairs and he sees that they are smashed between 2 walls of rocks. So he decides that he would rather climb up the walls than take the stairs. Of course I'm thinking, you little snot, you have been complaining this whole time! So I tell him, if you are tired enough to quit then you should take the stairs, but if you climb up the wall then I know you have enough energy to make it to the top. And guess what, that little booger climbed up the wall!!! But I couldn't be mad at him, I was just happy that he realized what I already knew - that he could do this hike and have fun doing it! So of course he was fine after that, since there were plenty more rocks to climb on. And we made good time after that. He made it all the way to the top!! I was so excited to see him accomplish something like this! And we had fun doing it together. He even made it down with very little complaining (even though my legs were shot and I thought I was going to collapse on the way down. Time for Mom to do more hikes!!) Great Job Riley!! I can't wait to go on more hikes with you!
And last night we did our annual trip to the drive in! I love that this town still has a drive in theater. It's such a great piece of history that most people MY age never got to experience, much less kids these days. So the fact that we can go every weekend if we wanted in the summer here is so amazing!! And the kids love it too. taking their "movie bags", eating candy and snacks, and staying up SO LATE!! Of course we are all paying for it today, but it's worth it. (oh, and we went to see Minions, but don't ask Cam or I how the movie was, both of us slept through half of it! lol)
And now we are up to date. for now. :)
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