Whatever happened to our blog?

This morning Mara asked me about our blog and its status. Let's just say mommy got really, really busy. Nothing like a kid's comment to get you back on track. Amazingly, I remembered the password :) Summer 2011 has been filled with fun so far. We started off with a 1700 mile trip to the following national parks: Bryce Canyon, Zion, Capitol Reef, and Black Canyon of the Gunnison. Boulder, UT, won the Best Small Town award. Tucked in a valley on Utah's winding US 12, it is beyond remote. We stayed at a fantastic lodge with a restaurant that was recently written up in the New York Times. The restaurant is co-owned by a Mormon and a Buddhist and the food was phenomenal. The majority of the food is grown locally by the very Mormon community.

Since that trip we treated ourselves to the Ringling Bros. circus (worth every penny), spent a weekend camping with our good friends from Denver at Chalk Lake (with a dip at Mt. Princeton Hot Springs afterward), have done numerous bike rides and hikes, CC basketball camp, and art class. Ian is also doing t-ball, the equivalent of watching paint dry. Picture this: Ten daddies on the field with ten boys, five of whom are messing in the dirt. Doug sent me out to replace him the other night to show a little gender equality.

Last Saturday the girls and I ran the Panoramic two-mile race. Although it was hot, the trail was delightfully shaded and the massage afterward made it all worth it. We toured the farmer's market with Doug and Ian next. Ian cherished his cantaloupe juice while the rest of us feasted on fresh goat cheese, Palisade peaches, tamales, tomatillo salsa, lemon chocolate bread, and cherries. Because the fun couldn't end there, the kids and I went to the community day at the Olympic Training Center. What a treat! Athletes signed autographs, various sport demonstrations (we watched aerial skiers, table tennis, fencing, BMX, swimming, women's wrestling), played rugby with some athletes, and then enjoyed the live band and free BBQ lunch and smoothies. Next year's plan: Get there earlier to stand in line to "spin the wheel" for free Olympic gear. The line was 45 min. - 1 hr. long and unshaded. It was hard to walk away from the Vancouver sweatshirts, towels, blankets, t-shirts, and hats. Our highlight was getting the girls' picture taking with Colorado Springs' very own 2010 Olympian, figure skater Rachael Flatt. What an inspiring day!

Omaha Trip

We survived a very quick trip to the big O for Kellin and Samantha's wedding. They did a lovely job with all of the details. The wedding was at the Renaissance Mansion which was originally the residence of the Storz beer bottling family. The house was just a bit older than Grandpa Herb.

Our hosts were great but I must say that the insides of my knees are still bruised from attempting the unicycle. I guess more lessons and serious body armor are in order. The cousins played hard and it was great to see everyone.

Since then we've been at softball games and a swim meet. Although Mara swam hard, Grace's and my favorite part was the little boy in his black Speedo. We giggled every time he walked by.

This weekend we'll be camping with friends at Chalk Lake near Mt. Princeton in the Buena Vista area. Weather looks to be superb but we bought a canopy just in case. Last year we had to wait out six hours of rain, mostly in the tent. Gives a whole new meaning to family bonding. On our way home we hope to splash around at the hot springs pool/slide with Mt. Princeton hovering over. Hope you all have a nice weekend.

Summer Daze

Summer vacation has officially begun! We went from winter to summer weather overnight. Purple iris stand gloriously out front and the smell of freshly-cut grass reminds us how much we really enjoy summer and persevere through the winter. We planted a garden and have already been consuming red leaf lettuce and our beans, cucumbers, bell peppers, and carrots have all sprouted.

Our summer routine isn't as much a routine as it is a smattering of fun. We've had friends over for barbeques, gone on bike rides and hikes, and spent several days at the pool. Mara does swim team in the early mornings and has added softball and Writing Club (by a teacher from Chipeta with a nice group of girls). Tonight brings her first softball game. I was asked to play catcher at batting practice last week. Took me several pitches to finally track the ball with that cumbersome mask on. Three days later I was still sore from squatting for 200+ pitches. Mental note: Avoid catching.

Grace is in the middle of two awesome camps. She is doing the west side soccer camp and has sore Achilles to show for it. She's not competitive at all. Did I mention there's four girls and 20 boys? She works her tail off. Nighttime finds her at a volleyball camp at Colorado College. Separated into nine age-appropriate groups, they rotate skills stations for three hours. I was so impressed by it all that Mara will go to the July camp.

Ian stays busy keeping up with everyone else's schedule. In the meantime, he has masterminded an irrigation ditch than runs under the trampoline to the fenceline complete with meandering path and bridges. A little boy's heaven. He will do swimming lessons in July.

Doug is in Dolores, CO today trying to secure a master plan for a school district. Dolores is not a straight shot - took him nine hours to get there! He hopes to return late tonight. Last week he was finishing up on a deadline so the kids and I went camping at the Crags (just 34 miles from doorstep to camp site) on the back side of Pikes Peak. We hiked partway to the Crags the first day and the second day we went up toward the Devil's Playground (a rock formation). The kids love to hike and Ian and Jack were our leaders. My friends think I'm crazy for camping with the kiddos alone. The girls have camped enough that they can nearly pitch the tent themselves. Their favorite part (besides Smores) is unrolling their sleeping bags and giggling in the tent. Ian fell into Four Mile Creek just once. Digger fell in and Ian tipped in going after him. Ian claims he had to hug a tree until Mara rescued him but that's the embellished version. More accurately, Mara drug Ian out while Grace and I rescued the beloved digger.

Time to discover parts for the evening's activities.