Even more Pictures!

Seth's biggest fish yet, as you can see by his excited facial expression!





























































New Lego headlamps were a hit, thanks Kevin and Kristi!

More Pictures!

The view was literally breathtaking all around us! Not sure if the pictures do justice, but here they are!

Our not so perfect camping trip

We can add another memorable camping trip to the list! They can't all be perfect, in fact none are, and in reality these are the trips that we will always remember and wonder how we made it through! These are the trips that slow us down and in the end make us stronger and more appreciative for the little things we often take for granted.... like our health!

This year we decided to venture to the Rio Grande National Forest outside of Alamosa, our longest car trip by far at 6 hours of driving plus bathroom breaks. The kids did great which proved to us that longer car trips are now a possibility, an exciting prospect for many future trips!

This area was the most beautiful landscape I have ever seen in person! It was so peaceful and the campsite we finally decided on was perfect (We visited 4 other campgrounds before reaching our final destination, Camp Fork)! Besides the large amount of constantly swarming bugs, we were literally in a paradise.

Well, Alyssa was our first sickie...... some type of stomach bug hit her during our first night there. Luckily, she was able to rest and recover within about 12 hours and was back to herself in no time! Jacob was our second little sickie and unfortunately he didn't have as quick of a recovery..... he had a fever for about 12 hours and had no energy. The next morning we discovered that Jacob had blisters all over the back of his bright red throat (he kept saying his tongue hurt while eating)!! We were able to keep him hydrated with Gatorade, hot chocolate, and oatmeal which was somewhat bearable for him to swallow! Finally, the bug hit me on our last night and let's just say that the drive home was made even longer by my need for sudden stops along the side of the road! Although we were exhausted and feeling somewhat defeated by all of the excitement, we finally made it home! (Blake got sick the following night, Seth was the only one to escape the bug~ and luckily Kevin and Kristi too!)

Despite what I have made sound like an awful trip, overall we actually had a great time.... the kids were amazing and really proved what troopers they are! Seth, Kevin, and Blake caught a lot of fish on the Conejos River and although Kristi and I we were pretty much stuck at our campsite with one sickie after another, we still managed to enjoy the beauty around us and somehow stay sane despite all of the bugs, crazed chipmunks, and our loss of a wine opener when it was needed the most! In fact, the humming bird feeder and river provided hours of entertainment for all of us!

I think that we were all forced to enjoy a different side of camping this year. Although we didn't get to hike and explore much of the surrounding area like we normally do, we were able to savor our time lying around and relaxing with one another, which is unfortunately a hard thing to come by nowadays with our busy grown up schedules!

Thanks to Kevin and Kristi who still stick with us year after year, we have another adventure to add to our long list that will continue to grow over the years. We are so thankful for our friendship, which is much more like a family thanks to experiences like these! We all love you both and can't imagine our lives without you! Here is to many more memorable trips and experiences!

Can't Stop Now!

Well, as we all know time seems to fly by faster and faster every year and the kids are growing up in the blink of an eye!






This was proven to me once again this week when Jacob and Alyssa both took another big step towards "growing up" a little more. Alyssa is now training wheel free and loving it! As soon as Seth took off the training wheels she was off. I couldn't believe it, I thought there would be crashes, tears, and frustration before she triumphed. But before I made it back with the camera to document all of the above she was
already riding around with a proud smile on her face!

Jacob also had a big moment this week when he started sleeping in his big boy bed! We weren't sure how he would handle his new found freedom, so we left the crib up just in case! At bed time we put him in his new bed, closed the door, and waited for him to realize he could just get up and play (his train table is only a foot away)! However, after an hour and no word from him, we peeked in to find him fast asleep just where we had left him. In the morning instead of getting out of bed when he woke up, he patiently stayed there and yelled "mom", "mommy" until I came and got him (thank you Jacob for letting me hold on to that a little longer)! We took the crib down the next day!

That being said, it was a big week for us all! When I ask the kids to please stop growing up so fast, Alyssa looks at me and says,"Sorry mommy, once your five you can't stop". Well, I guess she is right but I will take this as another reminder to savor the little things everyday because in the blink of an eye they are ready and willing to grow up a little more, a little too fast for me!

These other pictures are from our trip to the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. Blake was really in his element in the Discovery Zone by taking all the building blocks that were scattered around and even getting the other children to help him build a fort.

Well, our first 3 night camping trip in a tent with no bathrooms or running water was AMAZING!! The kids did great and we all had a wonderful time enjoying the outdoors, the quietness, and each other! The river next to our site provided hours of entertainment even though it was FREEZING COLD!!! We also made the short drive up to Rocky Mountain National Park on Friday and Saturday to enjoy some hiking and fishing. On Saturday, we hiked to Cub Lake and back which was a 4.6 mile adventure that really pushed us all in new ways! Once we reached the top we took some time to enjoy the lily pad covered lake and played with the overly friendly chipmunks while chowing down on some much needed snacks and water! All in all the trip was a huge success and we are excited to visit again soon!