Morraine Park

At the end of June we headed up to Rocky Mountain National Park for some camping.  We went to the same campground, Morraine Park, that we went to last year, and actually only a couple camping spots over.  It is so beautiful up there, we just love it.

The boys were excited and once again loved the set up and exploring.  Zach was good at helping carry things from the car.

Austin has this little backpack that we got free a long time ago.  He calls it his backpack and LOVES to pack it up and wear it around.  He actually packed it very smartly for camping:  binoculars, a toy phone, a flashlight, a toy compass, and a book.  I couldn't get enough of him wearing it.  Adorable.

Austin loves to help put up the tent.

Typical of the Rocky Mountains, we got our afternoon rainstorm and got some tent play time again.

Lots of play.

And lots of races around the campsite.

We headed over to the same river area as last year to throw in rocks and hike around.

There was a good sized herd of elk in the same meadow we were exploring.  There were lots of babies.

There was a fire ban, but we attempted smores anyway.  I'll just tell you that roasting marshmallows over a coleman stove is just not the same.  We caught most on fire.  Ah well...  We tried.

Getting the boys to sleep was not pretty.  Austin just bounces around the tent.  For a LONG time.  So Zach started bouncing around the tent...  After a long (unsuccessful) attempt to calm them down, Cal strapped them both into their carseats.  It didn't take them long to fall asleep and then we moved them to their sleeping bags.  After that, they slept really well.  We all had a great time!  We went on a nice hike the next day, but that will have to be another post because this one is already so long.

We love getting camp and play and spend time together.

Brainard Lake

At the end of June we enjoyed a visit from Grandma and Karl.  One of the days we went up to Brainard Lake and had a nice picnic and explored and played by the lake.  It was over 100 at home, so it was nice to get up where it was a bit cooler.  It was crowded, so we weren't the only ones with that idea.

The boys used a magnifying glass to help Papa find bugs to take cool macro pictures of.

Austin was thrilled to open and close the cooler repeatedly.  It is so funny how he is so obsessed with things like that.

We waded out into the lake a bit.  The water was cold but it felt good.

We tried to keep the boys from getting too wet by rolling up their shorts...  

It was so fun to go up there together and to get to spend time with Grandma and Karl. 

June Tidbits

Summer has been busy so far, and out of laziness I'm not going to separate all these pictures into different posts.  Sorry for the long post!  There are so many little things I want to remember.  So here is a long glimpse of some of the day to day things we've been up to.

Zach took swim lessons at our neighborhood pool.  He did great and should have been in the next more advanced class.  It was 4 days a week for 2 weeks.  It was a bit intense to go to the pool every day, but it was fun.  He loved it and we are looking forward to the next class which starts up next week.

I was nervous about how Austin would do during the lessons, as he loves the water.  I had taken him with me to Zach's lessons at the Louisville Rec Center when he was younger and he would throw major fits wanting to get in too.  He did really really well and was content to hang out with me on the side.  (I was so relieved!)  He would sit and watch and eat snacks and play with the chairs.  He is so mechanical minded and fascinated with how things work, so he would put the chair up, then down, up and down, messing with the adjustment on the back.  When he put it up he would say, "There!  I fix it!  Look mom!"  He is also obsessed with keys and locks and anything that opens and closes.

I think it also helped a lot that most days we would get to go swimming after the lessons were over.  I purposely signed up for the last class time before open swim so that we could stay and play.  We had a lot of fun and it was a good way to get us there.

Playing at the park.

I found the boys one morning in Austin's room behind the chair reading books together.  Zach was reading books to Austin and it was so adorable.  I asked Zach what he was doing and he told me, "I'm just playing with my brudder (brother)."

I've gotten to do some early morning (6am) mountain bike rides.  We have an amazing trail about a mile from our house.  I've got a couple of girl friends that I also get out with when we can coordinate.  So fun!

It has been a ridiculously hot summer, with abnormally high temperatures early in the year.  I'm no fan of hot weather, so some days we play a lot in the basement during the hot times of day. 

Blocks and cars

And basketball

Zach would make a basket and yell, "Zach scoooores!"

Trips to the library

Playing with friends

Painting pictures for Cal for Father's Day.

Somehow Austin ended up naked...

Zach often sings little songs while he is concentrating on something.  He especially does this while working on art projects by himself, or while building blocks.

Among the many fires in Colorado, there was one above Boulder.  My parents were in a pre-evacuation area.  They packed up lots of things and I went and got a load to bring to my house.  We were anxious for a few days as the news kept mentioning that it could turn into a fire like in Colorado Springs, which burned about 350 houses.  We were so so grateful that the fire didn't get too bad and never really came down the front of the mountain.  There were a lot of circumstances that came together in our favor. 

The view from near my house

View driving into Boulder.  You can kind of see the smokey canyons at the top of the mountains and going off to the right.

We've had fun with the boys playing on the balance bike and scooter.  They have been improving and it is fun to see them try new things.