A View Well Worth the Hike

About two and half miles in we were wandering if this Panorama Point would be worth the tough hike. (The challenging part we knew lie ahead when Sean would want to be carried... the last half mile was a steep incline) The hike was mostly through the forest, down one mountain and up the next. I probably told Sean a dozen times, just a little bit farther, we're almost to the top where you can have your snack. Well the top finally came, and it was well worth the work! An exceptionally wide and clear view of the Continental Divide from two well placed nice wooden decks (that Sean proceeded to run around until we began the descent... at which point of course he was ready to be carried!) We had the zoom lens on the camera so even though a picture can't do it justice, this one doesn't even come close because you can only see three peaks. We did end up carrying Sean the last half mile... up hill... but it was worth it, and I'm sure we'll do it again!

An Almost Hike

We set off for a trail outside of Boulder yesterday. It turns out that we parked in overflow parking of sorts  (a mile or so from the trail head). The kids were ready to turn back when we reached the actual trail, which I'm sure does require overflow parking at times as it was a beautiful site! The trail it self is actually over 7.5 miles long... I guess we'll have to come back and do that one without the kids (or with overambitious attitudes ready to carry them 1/3 of the way or more). It was fun anyway and Sean got a chance to wear his new Camelpack and share it with his friends. 

Saying Goodbye to Uncle Jacob

We drove to Fort Benning in Georgia with Jason's parents last weekend to say goodbye to Uncle Jacob who is left for Iraq on Monday. He was off base for our whole visit so we had lots of quality and good laughs. Sean particularly enjoyed running around the hotel and asking when the pool would be open. Despite the fact that he was exhausted from the drive, he did find some great smiles to pull out in his photo shoot with Uncle Jacob in the their matching uniforms, especially when the bunny was allowed to join him in the picture posing as Jacob's hat. We will pray for him often and anxiously await his safe arrival home in about 15 months. 

The Long Awaited Wedding Performance

After much practice and too much anticipation, the wedding day arrived and the children performed their duties wonderfully. Molly was very fond of her flowers and asked to keep them, Hays insisted that his single blue glove matched his white suit and that he should be allowed to wear it (Jason was able to convince him to put it into the pocket on the inside of his suit coat) Hays was quick to retrieve the glove as soon as the service was over. And Sean would have preferred to dance down the aisle, but Hays held tightly to his hand and managed to keep him in line. Oh, and the bride was stunning, making the groom a very happy man!

Triumph!

Sean has loved puzzles ever since Grandma Jones introduced him to the challenge. Recently he has gotten into the more challenging puzzles like this one. The puzzle he did today was without any help! 

A Little Spring Cleaning

Ever since we set eyes on the house, we saw the need for some yard work, a little trimming around the edges. Well, five hours into the project with all four adults and three children hauling bricks in their dump trucks, and it seems that we have more than "some" yard work to do. A picture of the yard couldn't communicate our progress, so we thought to post a picture of the trash pile. Thankfully Denver picks up all the trash or yard trimming you can bundle (as long as you follow the directions.) Unfortunately for us, we ran out of twine to bundle branches, so... waiting for us next Saturday is the other half of the yard and the pile of branches the size of a VW bug.

Hiking in the Cold

It seemed like a chilly day on its way to warm.... but we never got to the warm. And the chilly didn't get any better at 75oo feet. But, the view, oh the view! This last weekend, Brian chose Mount Falcon for our weekly hike and it was pretty outstanding. Hays was rendered incapacitated by the temperatures while Sean refused gloves because "I like to be chilly". Molly skipped a lot and every one three and under triumphed over at least a dozen rocks. Brian and Hays will be the only ones hiking this weekend, Jason will be visiting his brother before he ships off for Iraq, Jenny, Elizabeth, Sean and Molly will be in Texas and Carson is visiting Jammie and Poppin. We will reconvene with great expectations in two weeks.