RMNP with My Man

 

Tuesday was a great day. Grandma and Grandma took the kids so spouses could get a day with each other. Yeah! Here they are before they head off on a day of adventure.

 

First stop: Rocky Mountain National Park. But wait- where are the kids?

 Oh, there they are. :)

They went on a small hike back to have a picnic.



 While the kids were off with grandparents and cousins, Brandon and I were excited about our day. What to do, what to do. However, when Brandon asked me what I would like to do, it wasn't a tough decision. I wanted to go back to my favorite hike from our honeymoon, almost 12 years ago. It wasn't hard to convince him since he loves hiking.

The bonus of the day: D and S were doing the same thing so we saw them along the way. They were here at the sign, so D took the picture for us. How nice.

 

Green Mnt. Trailhead leading back almost 2 miles to Big Meadows. My quiet, peaceful place.

 The hike was more uphill than I had remembered, but it was great to be in nature - talking about where our life had been in the last 12 years and where it was leading.

And then we arrived. Ahhh...

Looking one direction from my little bridge

 

And looking the other direction. You feel like you are in the middle of nowhere. (However, it did have great cell service. Who knew?)

 

Pretty sure Brandon wasn't using a cell phone 12 years ago  to take a panoramic picture.



Me in my happy, but not so green anymore, place. 

 

Again we met up with D and S. How fun to see them there!

 

 

Brothers and Best Friends

 

 

We looked for moose along the hike and saw one laying down, but we couldn't get a good picture. But I got a good picture of my hubby with his binoculars. Makes me laugh.

 

After our 5 miles round trip hike, Brandon wanted to drive up to the Alpine Visitors Center. I had forgotten how beautiful it is. And I am so glad Brandon drove. :) Here we are ascending and looking out over the valley where we had started. Pictures don't do it justice.

 Along the way we saw people pulled over, which usually indicated wild life. Yeah - a mother moose and her calf! Love!

 And we saw several elk.

 

At the top looking out

 

 

On our way back down the mountain, I decided to put on my ipod. The songs that played as we came down were worship songs. Nothing unusual, but singing them while in such an amazing place of God's creation about brought me to tears. I hope to never forget it.

 

Tuesday night meal was provided by D and S - pasta and salads. Mmm...another good one! And after the kids were tucked in, Sarah and I relaxed in the hot tub overlooking the mountains and valley. The moon and stars were stunning. We enjoyed talking and relaxing and loved having Sarena able to join us for a bit. I think I could use some of that hot tub experience again now. :)

Monday out West

We had plans for Monday morning, and I was excited about them. I have a college friend that lives close to wear we were staying, so I let her know that I would love to see her. Her son happened to have swim lesson as a rec center close by, and it was someplace we had wanted to go. Perfect!

We loaded up the girls, their swimming things, lunches and headed 15 minutes away to the rec center. We all had a lot of fun!

 

Sadie loved the shallow end where she felt comfortable.

 

Brandon spent the first 45 minutes in the gym shooting hoops. Once he came to the pool area, the girls (esp Analise) had a lot more fun. Here they are in the lazy river.

Maisie liked the shallow part, too, and then she headed over to the "deep end" (all 3 feet) and jumped in over and over and over...

 

There was a fun slide that Analise fell in love with, thanks to dad. Ya know, this mom sat in a chair talking with her friend and taking pictures.

Here comes Brandon; he had lots of fun. My friend's hubby was there, too, so the two men were like two boys going down that slide. The slide had a timer to let you know how long it took you to get down. Brandon was out to beat his record each time he went down.

Look closely, and you will see Brandon's feet.

After we left the pool area, we hung out in the gym for a bit. And there happened to be a volleyball laying around. Analise and I played with it, and I did some serving; I haven't served a volleyball for probably five years. And not only could I still do it, but I could also serve it to specific zones. Ahh...this 34 year old felt like I was back  in college. Well, almost.

Here I am with my fiend, C, who was due any day. Doesn't she look cute?

 

Monday night dinner was provided by S and D, but mostly Dave. We had a taco bar night  - yummy! The kids played great, and we got them to bed at a decent time. And then a storm rolled through. The girls weren't too thrilled (aka scared) of this. And then the power went out. Oh yeah...girls were even more nervous. Thankfully the girls finally fell asleep, and the power came back on as the adults went to bed. Brandon was the good daddy taking care of the girls while this mom was upstairs reading on her Nook. No power outage affected my reading abilities. :)

Family Trip West

The last week of July had been set aside for the last year; we had plans to head west for a family trip. Brandon's parents celebrated their 40th anniversary and monumental birthdays by taking everyone in the family to a house up in the mountains.

After a pretty busy summer, and having just recently completed VBS, it was extra nice to get away.

We haven't been back in the mountains for almost 11 years. The girls had seen them but never been through them. We were quickly reminded why we love it so much.

We left on a Saturday morning and made one extra stop as Bass Pro before arriving at our home for the week.

 

When we made our first pass through the mnts, Brandon explained why trees couldn't grow above timberline; they don't have enough oxygen.

Little did we know that comment would cause Analise to be concerned; she was afraid she wouldn't be able to breathe up there.

So as we drove above timberline and made our way back down, she announced, "I was breathing!"

What a relief. :)

I got a kick at what our GPS looked liked; it sure doesn't look like this at home!

 

Our view from the kitchen window. Again - nothing like home.

There were two wild mustangs that were on the property for the week. Analise quickly named them Chocolate and Vanilla. She LOVED those horses!

Here she is on one of the several decks looking at the horses.

 

 

UNO was the game of the week. 

We also had fun watching the hummingbirds.

Our mountain home

 

Grandma and Sadie feeding the hummingbirds.

 

We all arrived (except the DS family) on Saturday evening and spent the time making supper and getting everything situated in the house.

Sunday we just hung out at home. We had good friends N and J join us with their two kiddos. It was a nice, relaxing day just catching up with family and friends!

Sadie helped Grandma make Stromboli for lunch. Always the helper.

 

Our kitchen, where we spent a lot of time. Each family was responsible for making dinner one evening. I (I mean my family) was in charge for Sunday evening. I made pork roast, cheesy potatoes, corn on the cob, spinach salad and homemade rolls. Thankfully the DS family had arrived in time for dinner.

 With our friends. Thankful they could come!

 



School Starts; It's a New Season

Note: this was written 8/16

I interrupt my not-so-current posts because I want to keep this post current. Otherwise it would be another three weeks until I got to it.

School begins today, ready or not. And some moments I am ready; other moments I am not. I have loved summer with the girls. Sure, we have had our share of whining and not getting along. But more than that, we had moments of sheer fun and togetherness. So I will miss that. However, this last week has reminded me that it's time. The girls need a new schedule, to be away from each other for a few hours. I need a break from the whining. But even then my heart is having a hard time letting go today.

I am sending Analise off to 3rd grade. This should be old hat, right? Not when I am sending her off to a new school. She knew three other girls (from church/school) that were going to be in her grade. All three ended up with the other teacher. She's struggled but handled that well. There are 16 boys in her class and eight girls. I hope and pray those girls reach out to  her today and that Analise feels accepted. I know she will be fine at recess when she meets up with her friends, and I am thankful for that. I don't think 3:10 can come any too quickly today so I can hear how God went before her.

And now to Maisie. My middle child going off to Kdg. Not sure I am ready for this. I am again SO glad I waited another year to send her, and that she is almost six. She is excited and doesn't seem too nervous. Though last night at her school open house, she had a glazed look on her face when she walked through  her classroom. Sending her off is a little harder on me than  it was to send off Analise. Analise was just so ready. Maisie is just so Maisie. My head knows she will be fine; my heart worries. I told Brandon I wanted to write up this paper to the teacher explaining who Maisie is. She's smart, she memorizes quickly (don't play Memory with her unless you want to lose), I think she will be really good in math. But she struggles phonetically sounding out words (she just memorizes), her speech is behind, she gets frustrated so easily, she's been hitting/pushing Sadie around (and dear Lord I beg you that Maisie doesn't hit someone at school!), and yet she can be the sweetest most delightful little girl! I like to think she is sweet with a little spice. 11:40 can't come soon enough today so I can hug my kindergartner again and know she survived day one and had lots of fun.

I want to make this our school verse for the year, just as much for me as for the girls.
Joshua 1:9
Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified, do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.

I know God brought these girls to this new school for a reason, and I have to trust in that. Give me a week, and I, too, will be adjusted to this new season of life. Until then, I hold fast to God's promise from Joshua.

I did well walking Maisie to her classroom and not breaking down in tears. I did get teary eyed when walking to the car, but I kept it together. My SIL texted me to see how I was doing, and even in texting back I did fine. And then a bit later, my friend, L, called me to see how I was doing (since Brandon was out of town all week) and I lost it on the phone. I could hardly pull myself together. I guess that's a sign of a good friend; I know I can cry and be real.

Th girls have now been in school for over a week. Maisie had half days for the first two days, and then last week was all day. Most days she is excited to go. Last Thursday morning she was in tears; she didn't want to go. I think there were two reasons why. 1. She'd sat between boys at lunch and didn't have a good experience. Nothing against boys; I just think these two bothered her some how. 2. She was just plain tired...and post birthday. Thankfully she has a good church friend in her class, so they buddied up, and Maisie had a good day. She is always happy about her day when I pick her up. And she must be hungry because in the five minutes we have waiting for Analise to come out, Maisie always opens her lunch bag to finish her lunch.
Analise has done well with the transition. There was only one time she asked me to go back to her old school. Since then I hear about new friends, and she too plays with a church friend at recess. She loves her teacher, and I knew she would. Everyone does. Analise is now taking AR tests for books she reads, and she thrives with this. Her teacher didn't want to overwhelm Analise or discourage her so she gave her an obtainable goal for the quarter. After the first week, Analise is 33% done! :)
Analise is doing a nice job of walking Maisie in each morning and making sure she gets to the right spot. It helps this mama's  heart. And both girls are always thrilled when they see a cousin throughout the day!
And not to forget Sadie...she doesn't seem to miss her sisters at all. She is such a mommy's girl, so I think she likes having me to herself. And I like it, too. The last time I was 1 on 1 with a daughter, Analise was 2. It's fun going places with her, and she helps me around the house. We have one more week before preschool starts, and that will be good for her.
A week into this new season, and I think we are off to a pretty good start!

Stunning Sunset

This was our sunset one evening. Of course the picture doesn't do it justice, but it was breath taking. And I love the steeple.

Thank you God for this part of creation!

A Day for the Girls

One Saturday this summer, we tried to make it a fun day for the girls. We first started by going miniature golfing. The girls had earned this as a reward. We practically had the place to ourselves, and so they could go as fast or slow as they wanted. They had lots of fun, and since we don't keep score there is no disappointment.

After lunch I pulled out the slip n slide and a small pool. They were soooo excited. Again - it's the simple pleasures of life.

Analise chose to get a slushy with her dad as a reward for being responsible. No one ever says, "I want to go for a slushy with mom." I guess that may have something to do with the fact they are with me almost 24/7. And I think it's great they have that time with their dad.

After the excitement of the slip and slide wore off, they moved it over to the slide. Does that make it a slip and slide slide?

And the fun isn't complete without Caramel!