Camping Trip

At long last we took a camping trip!  It was a beautiful, sunny weekend at Hermit Park, and we stayed in the rustic Aspen Cabin.  We blew the dust and spiders off the camping gear in the basement and packed up Merida (the new blue Highlander) for the weekend.

I think the only thing of note that I forgot this time was butter, but a quick stop at Safeway in Estes Park fixed that.  I also grabbed a bag of intensely stale marshmallows out of the back of the cupboard.  But Alex swore that he liked them that way, even eating one raw.

The kids had a great time all weekend collecting "crystals" (all the bits of quartz rock they could find).  Everyone loved the bunk beds in the cabin, and the private pit toilet next to the cabin was immaculate!  Dana and I even had a few brief opportunities to relax and enjoy the mountain air, in between frantically getting food ready, keeping kids safe and happy, and sleeping.

On Saturday we stopped into town to swim at the indoor Estes Park pool, which was all but deserted.  It was like a giant bathtub, warm and full of water toys.  The much-needed hot shower afterwards was an added bonus.

Now my mind turns towards how could we do this sort of thing more often?  How could we have more fun, with less effort, and in more seclusion?

Growing

Today I had a strange experience. Dana was called in to work on a patent, so I took the kids out for some Saturday activities. First we stopped at Target to pick up Genevieve's new glasses. Her doctor gave us a prescription for the time being, since he doesn't think it is time to operate yet on her cataracts. She picked out a pair of pink glasses last week. As she puts it, "they're pinker than that!"

Then in true weekend-Dad form, we stopped for a donut at Donut Haus in Loveland.




Then it was off to the Bounce! house in Loveland to bounce out that donut energy. This was actually a special treat for Genevieve, because her "star chart" was all filled in. Thanks to some heroic work by Ryanne last week, Genevieve has started using the potty! So G has had this "star chart" for several weeks now. She designed it and it has stars on it that she can color in when she uses the potty. Now finally she had completed it, warranting a special treat.




We have been taking the kids to this Bounce house since Alex was about 1. It is very familiar, and comfortable. But in all that time the kids have wanted us near them, in fact would not bounce without one of us bouncing with them.

Today, however, much to my surprise and amazement, as soon as that had their socks on, Alex and Genevieve were off and bouncing on their own. They were happy to have me around, but now perfectly comfortable on their own. After 4+ years of dependence, the time had finally come for me to sit aside and enjoy a cup of coffee, semi-peacefully, while they played. This, combined with Genna's newfound potty skills, and new glasses, really underscored these changes. They really are growing up.

After the bouncing we trekked a few miles south to Beethoud to have lunch at our old haunt, A&W. Then we took a "Daddy hike" around Berthoud to see what the kids remembered of it. By the time we walked past the old house the kids were clearly tired, and Alex asked, "can't we just stop here at our house now?". I was pleased to note both the Santa Rosa plum and honey crisp apple trees were happy and full of fruit.

A visit to auntoh's house

Two weeks ago we drove out for a quick visit to Ali and Eric's. As we did the previous trip, we rented a minivan from Avis to make the trip easier and more fun. Alex loves getting a new car, especially one with as many nifty features as the recent Dodge vans. The Avis vans all seem to come loaded with Rear DVD, satellite radio, and other niceties.

Among the other highlights of this visit, we toured the massive Kennecot Utah copper mine near AE's house, and had a delightful Father's Day dinner with Eric's parents. But most of the time we spent following Olli around, between his naps, as he explored the house on his new-found crawling hands and knees. Both Alex and Genevieve were fascinated with his baby toys, perhaps reliving their youths.

Alex at one of the many nearby playgrounds:



Running thru the sprinklers!



Some (mostly) peaceful front porch sittin' with Auntoh Ali:



Somewhere in Southern Wyoming; the after-effects of a busy weekend at Ali and Eric's:



A very worthwhile detour to the Hobo Pool, a free, hot spring fed public pool in Saratoga, Wyoming:



Too bad the excellent nearby Thai place has closed :-(

Speaking of great road food in Wyoming, we came across a great brewpub in Rock Springs, Bitter Creek Brewing. And stopped again at our new favorite almost-home spot, Lovejoy's in downtown Laramie. Always a good Sunday night special.

Genna enjoys a real fruit smoothie at Bitter Creek Brewing on our way out Thursday evening: