Sand Dunes

A little detour to the Sand Dunes was just what the doctor ordered. 

 On our way home from Durango Justin surprised the boys and took an unexpected turn.

The day could not have been more beautiful.

We spent the afternoon hiking up the dunes, running, jumping, laughing and preforming tricks for one another.

"The sand was so warm and soft. I love to jump in the soft sand." -Kendall age 6

It by far has become one of my favorite afternoons of the summer.

Fish Hatchery

Justin had to go down to Durango for work and we happily jumped into the truck to go with him.

We stayed at the hotel and drank hot cocoa and went swimming while we waited for Justin to finish his work.  After he was done we decided to go tour the Hatchery.

As a child my family and I spent many a time at the Durango Fish Hatchery since it was so close to my Grandma's cabin.  I was hoping it would be just like I had always remembered.

Guess what?.... It was! 

 It had a little museum you could tour with tons of interesting animals to see.  The outside had different stages of holding tanks for fish all the way from babies to 30 year adults.

The best part was a cup of fish food that you could acquire at the front desk.

It is always shocking at first when a handful of food goes into the water.  It starts to boil like an infestation of snakes as millions of fish fight to get the pellets of food.

When the shock wears off you become a fish hatchery addict and have to feed every stage of fish while visiting each holding tank.

I love that the boys (Justin included) enjoyed the hatchery as much as I did. 

After our visit with the Trout we walked to streets of the quaint little town of Durango looking for a bell for our kitchen before we started the scenic drive home.

Wolf Creek

There is a place that is etched into my memory since I was a little girl.  Sometimes I go to this place in my head and escape the world for awhile.  Now it was time for my boys to experience the beauty of this place.

A glimpse of what heaven is like perhaps.

The air is fresh and crisp and if you look close enough there are angels flying through the meadow with content grins on their cherubic faces.

Not really but the beauty is of that caliber.

I look out and try to memorize all the details of that lovely scene and tuck it into the files of my mind ready to be pulled out at a moments notice.

And boy does this file come in handy when life is giving you lemons.

A Little Baseball...

We had a family outing to the Rockies game and let me tell you... A little bit of baseball is oh so good for the soul.

The atmosphere is always so fun.  The boys really got into the songs and little ditty's.

Dad explained the rules of the game and I loved watching the sun creep around the backside of the baseball field lining the clouds with gold.

A fowl ball landed two rows behind us and rolled down right into the hands of a little boy two seats in front of us.  Moments later a bat swung out of control helicopter style from a players hands.  It flew into the crowd to our left and hit a lady in the head.  She had to be escorted to the hospital.

Things calmed down after that and it was back to fun from there.

The boys topped the night off with some fluffy pink and purple cotton candy.

Summer Ease

My favorite days of summer hands down are the ones spent with giggles, healthy lunches, water, green grass, and cousins.

We went to Civic Green Park with Aunt Lisa, Cole and Cara and on the same day Jen, Stace, Mamie, Deb and all the cousins ended up there.

We enjoyed the splash pad, a gymnastic showdown, a football catching session, and got to relax with each other.

Another great day went down in the books.

Move Live

Gram and Barb came up to Denver just in time to have a ton little fun.

We spent lots of time swimming at their hotel, enjoying a bit of breakfast, going to the sweet shop, visiting the store for the seeing impaired, PF Changs, and going to see Derek and Julianne Hough perform.

Now,  I know that these ladies are in a much more wise age bracket but it didn't stop us from having any less fun.  In fact, I think the laughter was heightened from the magic of the night.

I will never forget "Whoopi," or the way that Julianne could shake her stuff and Gram and I would laugh, or when Derek came into the isle next to mom and picked up a lady- forgot she was in a skirt and twirled her for the world to see.  

But there is one image etched in my head...

At the end of the show they released huge giant white balloons and the crowd would punch them high into the audience.  There was a gentleman in front of us that had the misfortune of not noticing the heavy round latex object knock his head to Paris.

Gram and I looked at each other and went into convulsions laughing and could not stop.

That was fun.

And so was watching the show and being with Mom, Barb, and Gram.

Airplane Park

 A mini train whistle sounded off in the distance. We claimed our spot under a big shade tree and started pulling out our blankets, camping chairs, juicy watermelon and pasta salad.

The kids ripped off their shirts and ran to the stream only to be called back so the moms could slather them all with sunscreen.  All but Tanner.  He was under the weather but was a good sport to park himself on the blanket, rest, and watch.

It was relaxing to listen to the other moms (Jen, Kaylee, Martha, and Sara,) talk about the happenings in their lives.  I stuffed good information in the files of my brain and enjoyed some good laughs.

I felt an overwhelming joy the whole time as I reflected on two years ago when I had come to this exact park.  I was so sick and I remembered how I thought I couldn't possibly take another step towards the tree.  My body was shutting down and I was pushing with all my might to give my boys just one park experience that summer.  The boys had their arms full of towels and bags trying to make my load lighter just so I could make it.  I just sat under the tree and cried tears of pain.  Mentally and physically.

Now, I also cry but tears of joy.  My body is healing and I can feel it getting better and stronger.  I can see the circle and boy am I grateful to be on this side of it.  Slow and steady wins the race.  So grateful for all that I am learning, my family, friends, and I am thankful for the strength I feel through my Savior.

I am enjoying every millisecond of this amazing park experience.

Massey Draw

We decided to have a family adventure and hike up Massey Draw.  We all went but Nathan and Papa.  Nathan was having a "come-and-go" stomach ache and Papa was more than willing to stay home with him.

It was fun to cross a bubbling brook and to hike up a steep path.  It was challenging yet easy enough for kids. There was some pretty rough terrain where Uncle Doug and Justin had to lift kids up boulders and crevasses.  I was proud when all the kids were able to do it including a pregnant Sara.  The boys were proud too and would occasionally show us their strong mussels.

I would definitely give this hike a 5 star rating.  

The view was breathtaking and the memory created was priceless.

Water Balloon Shenanagins with Papa

 

The kids all look forward to a little water balloon fun and it most always involves Papa.  He is a terrific sport, climbs a top of his ladder and perches right on the top step.

The perfect target.

And at the end of Papa's turn, Uncle Doug took one.

We each had a case of Perm-a-grin the entire afternoon!