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!