Sunday Hike

Sunday we headed up to the Rocky Mountain National Park for a hike. The one we had chosen was up to Bridal Veil Falls. It was a total of 6.4 miles (3.2 miles each way). We arrived at around 9:30 which we felt was fairly early. It turns out we almost didn't have a place to park. Granted, there weren't a lot of parking spots to begin with. We were able to squeeze our little car into a spot with barely any room to spare. We pulled our hiking gear out of the car and prepared for our hike.

Before we could begin, we had to use the restroom of course. We make Campbell use the restroom before any hike, because she hasn't mastered peeing in the woods yet. The parking attendant (I'm not sure what he was so we'll call him the parking attendant) told us that they restrooms were at the beginning of the trail. After searching for almost 30 minutes, we finall found the restrooms about a quarter mile down the trail past the cabins. Everyone tinkled and got slathered in sunscreen and we were off.

Most of the trail was not difficult. It had a slight uphil grade but was not too bad. The last 1/2 mile or so of the trail was up rocks and became a bit more difficult. We tuffed it out though, and it was definitely worth it. We reached the top and had our lunch at the bottom of the fall. The kids got to splash and play in the water. We spent a good amount of time there just playing. As we were getting ready to go, Campbell, while trying to put her socks and shoes back on, dropped a sock in the water. Of course, the water was rushing so there was no catching that sock. It's a good thing we all keep an extra pair of socks in the hiking bag in case our socks get wet!

The hike back went much quicker. The lunch seemed to give us all more energy and the slight grade was now downhill. We got back to the car, loaded up and headed home. The only real wildlife we saw was the elk at the edge of town. We decided that we wouldn't go all the way to the Interstate. Surely, 287 would be quicker than the interstate. Note: the Denver "area" is very expansive!

14er Sunrise

Last night, Aaron informed us that we all needed to be up and ready to go by 4:30am. We were going to be doing our first 14er. A 14er is a mountain with an elevation above 14,000 feet. There are 55 of these in Colorado. Today's destination was Mt. Evans.

We got up and headed out. We were trying to make it to the top before sunrise at 5:31am this morning. We were a bit late. When the sun came up we were about 14 miles from the top. It turned out to be a spectacular drive though. We had to stop and take pictures of mountain goats in the road. We also saw a whole lot of marmots. These things look almost like beavers, their tails are just different. We also saw a herd of elk along the road.

Just before reaching the top of the mountain, Campbell started to suffer from a bit of motion sickness. It was really no surprise considering the twisty turny road we were on. Campbell has now vomited at sea level and above 14,000 feet. I'm sure that has some sort of significance.

At the top we saw more mountain goats. There were a few big goats and two of the cutest little baby mountain goats. They have apparently become very accustomed to seeing people around because we were standing about 10 feet from them taking pictures. We also discovered that while it may be 90 plus degrees down here in Denver, it is freezing cold above 14,000 feet.

After viewing the wildlife, we headed back to Idaho Springs where we had breakfast. We were home from our adventure by 9:00am. It may have been early, but we all agreed that the views were worth the early wake-up call.

Tinyness and Golfing

Yesterday Nanna and I took the kids to the teeny tiniest place ever. It is called Tin*y Town. It's about a 20 minute drive from here. Thankfully it is that close, because the kids and I will definitely be going again.

The place is a little town. The hitch is that all the buildings are kid size. Campbell was taller than most of the buildings in the town. They had a few of the buildings set up so that kids could get inside and walk around. Caleb thought this was the coolest thing ever! Campbell's favorite was, of course, the library. We spent about two hours going through the little town. We were even able to take a ride around the entire town on a miniature train.

In the afternoon, we met Daddy at the put put golf course. His office was having a team building day. Campbell had never been before, so we took her. It was so hot though, that we almost ditched Daddy and headed to the water park across the street. Both kids had a blast! We will definitely be going back there, too. Caleb mostly enjoyed putting his ball on the ground and picking it up again. Campbell had a great time, although she didn't quite get the concepts of aiming and getting as few hits as possible. We played one round and then left Daddy with his co-workers. After we left, they apparently had a pushup contest, which Daddy won (at a price).

First Day of Summer

Around these parts, Campbell always wants to know when the first day of each season is. Well yesterday was the first day of summer. She had Nanna set the alarm so that it would go off at 12:06 pm, the exact time that summer would begin.

To mark the first day of summer, we had record breaking heat here in the Denver area. The temperatures reached 99 degrees. That broke a record that had stood since the 1920's. Yes, it was hot! Because it was so hot, we didn't dare take the kids outside to play, lest we all shrivel up like prunes in the hot, dry air. Instead, we went to the fancy mall and let the kids play on breakfast food. Really, it's a play area in a mall where all the play equipment is in the formation of a breakfast food. They have sausage links, waffles, eggs, a bowl of cereal, and bananas. Campbell and Caleb mostly played in the cereal, but did some running around too. It sure was nice way to break the heat.

After dinner, we were able to convince Daddy to get us a watermelon. Caleb was stripped to his diaper. Both kids were sent to the deck. Then we broke open the watermelon and had a wonderful before bed snack. It was a nice way to welcome in summer.

In not so good news, Campbell got word that one of her friends in SC was seriously injured the other day. Apparently she was riding a scooter when she fell off and fractured her skull. We are hoping that she recovers well from her injuries. It does serve as a reminder to all of us though, to make sure we put those helmets on our precious children as they go out to play on their bicycles, scooter, etc. Keep safe this summer, Everyone!

Interpreter Needed

"Campbell, what is Caleb doing in there?"

"Just watching a movie."

Apparently, I need to practice my translation skills a bit because it seems that "just watching a movie", translates to "painting himself with a brown marker"!

Visitors and a Birthday Celebration

This last Wednesday, Barabara came to visit. It was our Mother's Day gift to her. She will be here for ten days. The kids were both excited to see her. She was able to see Caleb do his last swimming class, which she enjoyed. She has also been taking Campbell to the pool almost daily. She gets to exercise while Campbell plays. It works great for both of them. Barabara and Campbell also went to the new Nancy Drew movie on Friday. Campbell loved it and can't wait to start reading the books.

On Saturday evening Uncle Pooky came to visit. He was in Golden working on a project for his job. Friday was his 30th birthday, so we fixed him a wonderful dinner of porkchops and a great berry shortcake. Again the kids were both excited to see their uncle. I hope that the airplane rides didn't make his arms hurt too much the next day! After dinner, Aaron and Adam went out and had some drinks. It was nice for the brothers to get some time together.

Barbara will be here for the next week. Adam comes back on Friday for another weekend visit. He really comes for work, but it's nice of him to stop in for a visit with us. We'll update again on our adventures with Nanna.

Father's Day - A Day Late

Yesterday was Father's Day. We had a pretty relaxing day. Aaron got to sleep in late and then he sat around relaxing. He got his Father's Day gift on Friday. In true Aaron fashion he got himself a new tatoo. When Campbell was about 2 he got her name in Arabic tatooed on his chest. This year he got Caleb's name in Arabic tatooed on the other side. He also got the writing on his old tatoo covered.

In the afternoon, we took the kids over to Cheesman Park in Denver. We grabbed some salads and sandwiches and had ourselves a fun little picnic. After lunch, the boys played ball and climbed trees. It was a beautiful day to be outside. We let Aaron cook his own Father's Day dinner; because let's face it, if I had cooked it we would have had something burned or ordered in. Aaron and I endeed the day by going for a nice run together. We don't get the chance to exercise together very often, so we too advantage of the babysitter.

Happy Father's Day to all the fathers in our lives!

Navy Family

This past weekend was Aaron's Drill weekend. On Saturday evening, one of his Cheif's hosted a unit gathering at her house. She provided hotdogs and burgers and everyone else brought a dish. I guess you could call it an old fashioned potluck dinner. It turned out to be a whole lot of fun.

The whole thing was put together kind of last minute. The first e-mail went out on Thursday, two days before the gathering. Still though, almost everyone showed up, even the Chief who is getting ready to be deployed came with his daughter. It was a true reminder for us, that people who live in the culture of the Navy really do pull together and become "family".

Campbell spent the evening playing with the Chief's youngest son who is almost 7. They had a blast on the trampoline. Caleb had a good time "playing" with a little girl who will be 2 in July. Two year olds don't really play though. There is a whole lot more "mine" and "no" than actual playing. Caleb was good though. He's such a good natured child that anytime Addie would yell "no" or say that something was hers, Caleb would just hand it to her and move on to the next toy. He certainly isn't that way at home with his sister, but at least he puts on a good front in public.

We ended up being there for about 4 1/2 hours. We all had a good time and can't wait for the next unit gathering. Aaron really does drill with some good people.

ER Visit

Edited: Update - The hospital called while I was out today. According to Aaron, the doctor said that Caleb has a virus consistant with one you would get from a petting zoo. Since we haven't been to a petting zoo, it's assumed that he picked it up from a park bench or the playground.

At about 5:30 this evening, I took Caleb's shirt off to clean him up from dinner. It was at that time that I realized something was wrong with him. On his back he had a bright red patch about the size of my palm. It looked like he had a sunburn in that one spot. I thought it was strange so decided to keep an eye on him. Over the next hour and a half he started to develop more rash patches over the rest of his body. It had spread to his stomach, arms, legs, and the rest of his back. Of course this was the evening that Aaron was out for "team building". Luckily he called at 7 and said he was on his way home. Upon his arrival, he confirmed that I was not just being paranoid and we should take him to the ER. I packed him up and headed over.

The hospital is less than a 5 minute drive from our house. This is one of the nicest ER's I've been to, not that I've been to a lot. They have a seperate ER for children. In the children's area they have doctors who are pediatricians and nurses who know how to work with children and keep them calm. Anyway, we went to triage. As I unzipped his pj's the nurses, Debbi (who had the cutest British accent) and Jo (who was the sweet grandmotherly type), both stated that the rash didn't look too bad. That is until I pulled the pj's completely off and they saw his back. That's when they pulled out the paperwork, gave him his id bracelet and asked for the insurance card. They also gave him a cute little stuffed dinosaur that someone had made. They also gave us acute little handmade bear to take home for his sister who was waiting at home with Daddy to find out what was wrong with her brother. They were both very sweet nurses.

We got all checked into our room, which had a tv with cartoons. We turned on The Incredi*bles movie. They also had a basket full of books to read. The room was very clean and had an actual door. This was a real room and not a cubicle. About 10 minutes later the doctor walked in. She looked at Caleb and said that he looked fine but to go ahead and take off his pj's. She too thoughth that the rash looked fine until she saw the patch on his back. "Interesting" was the word she used. She checked all of his vitals and swabbed his throught for a strep test. Suprising he didn't fight her on the strep test at all. He probably though she was just trying to feed him.

She returned 5 minutes later to tell us that the culture was negative. She said that rash definitely looked viral and we should watch it for the next few days. If it develops blisters or doesn't start to heal then we need to take him back to the doctor. Until then we let whatever it is run its course. All in all, we were in and out of the ER in one hour. That has to be a record! I can't get in and out of the regular doctors office for a scheduled appointment in one hour.

Swimming Lessons

We decided that since Campbell's swimming lessons went so well we would sign Caleb up for some Mommy & Tot classes. Yesterday was our first day. The first day didn't go so well...

We got to the recreation center and got our suits on. We went out and as soon as he saw the water, he would not let go of me at all. He suddenly became glued to me. And it was not any old glue, it was industrial strength super glue. He eventually let go with one hand, however the other hand was gripping me very tightly. I was very concerned that this little boy with sailor parents was never going to like to swim. Until today...

Today was the second day of lessons. We had a huge breakthrough. As long as he could have his floating turtle and octopus he was great. When he discovered that we would let him throw said toys in the pool, he was overjoyed. Suddenly, he had no problem letting go of me to throw and then grab the toys. He even let me lay him on his back to do a backfloat. He just kept throwing his toys as we handed them to him. In the baby pool he had no problem letting go of me and running all over the pool. He didn't even want to get out when I said it was time to go. The boy found his innner squid today.

Here's hopining the next 6 lessons go just as well.

People*s Fair

The kids and I got up early this morning to head to downtown Denver for fair. They call it the People*s Fair and it is held every year on the first weekend in June. It's in a wonderful location near the Capitol.

We decided that we would take the train rather than drive into town and fight the traffic. This was Campbell's first experience on the train. We parked our car bought our ticket and waited. Being a weekend they don't have as many trains running so we did have to wait a bit, but the train did get there. We jumped on and Caleb quickly declared that we were on a "BUSSSS". Both kids really seemed to enjoy the trip. Campbell especially like the fact that we had to get off at one stop and change to a different train. I don't know why, but that was exciting to her. We got off at our final stop about four blocks from the fair directly in front of "national coffee chain" store and got our caffein for the day.

At the start of the fair we purchased our food/drink/ride tickets. We then walked through all the vendors where Campbell got her face painted. This all really reminded us of the Arts Festival we went to every year in Greenville. It really made us miss our friends. Campbell was able to go on the big blow up slide which she enjoyed, of course. We ended up getting water and tacos for our little lunch. We finished with walking through some more vendors. There are some very talented artists in this area. We took some business cards so that we can plan some more trips.

After just a couple hours at the fair we went back to the train stop to return home. Campbell was introduced to city life in a major way. A bum was passed out at the bus stop. The cops were surrounding him and the ambulance came to take him to the hospital. We had to have a quick little talk about poverty, illness, and other such things that cause people to become homeless. Boy, that is a tricky conversation without causing her to become judgemental. You sure do have to watch your words closely. But, it went over well and she declared that she would like to help people like that. So all's well that ends well.

I was going to post a cute picture of Campbell with her face all painted, but she washed it all off before I could get the picture. Instead here's a picture of Caleb feeding his cousin some "juice".

Pictures

For those of you who want to see them, I have finally figured out how to add photos. I have gone back to the privous posts and added some photos. Go check them out if you want.

Visitors

We have been extremely busy with visitors. Last Friday, my mom, my sister, and my brand new nephew showed up at my house. The baby was born on May 17 so we have had a newborn in the house for the last week. Caleb absolutely adores the baby. He has to check on him every morning as soon as he gets up. Campbell enjoys him, but is not as interested. Suprisingly Caleb has been very gentle and loving with the baby.
Since the baby is so new we haven't done much. We went to the zoo Monday afternoon. On Wednesday we went to the flea market. My mom wanted to check it out. Today we went and had portraits done of the 3 kids.
The neighborhood pool opened last weekend as well. We have spent several afternoons at the pool. Campbell has been showcasing her new swimming skills that she learned in swim class. Caleb has been showing his dislike for cold pool water.
Last Sunday Poppie came into town. He popped in to spend the afternoon with us. We grilled some hamburgers and took the kids to the pool. It made for a great afternoon. The kids sure do love to see their Poppy. He came back today and took Campbell out to get her some running shoes. Both kids had a great time visiting with him, even if it was a quick visit.
Aaron left on Tuesday to go to Indiana. He has been busy earning his paycheck. He will be back on Monday, the same day my family leaves.
Anyway, that has been our week. I hope to get back on here soon with some more exciting adventures to update everyone on.