Fun times visiting

We sure had a wonderful time visiting in Colorado this summer. Just a few little shots of some of our favorite times with Ry & Mels fam. . . . Brooke and Mel canoeing the blue lake

Cam with Mel on our fabulous beach day, so great, the kids didn't want to leave. They had lots of fun building castles in the sand. Too bad the battery died before we could get any great pics of their creations. It was beautiful weather and great company which made for an all around very nice day!

Ryan and Mel introduced us to our very first drive in movie! It was a fun time and we enjoyed the first show a lot. We saw Toy Story 3... which was a great movie. We had fun making lots and lots of popcorn to bring with us. Austin might have eaten a little too much of it, since the evening ended with him puking out the window of the car and begging to go home. :-( Poor guy. We sure had lots of fun anyway though!

Brooke loved looking through the hair books with her "Auntie Watermelon" and coming up with just the perfect style. It was a great little date and she is thrilled with her new hair cut!

Also on the list of fun . . Elitch gardens, trampoline jumping, rock band jamming, hide and seek playing, crazy frog singing, boat building, and lots of quality time with some of our favorite people ever...

Thanks for all the fun Smith Fam, we miss you guys!!

revisiting the past

On our drive to Colorado we made a familiar stop along the way. I made this drive with my Dad so many times as a kid/teenager going back and forth between parents houses. It really wasn't a novelty for me anymore, since I'd seen it lots of times. It was a whole new experience for the kids and John though, which made it a new experience for me.

It was the perfect stop to get out and enjoy our first taste of fresh, cool air and stretch our legs after a long drive. Everyone enjoyed exploring the visitors center and hiking down into the old volcano. We picked up a few caterpillars and saw a lizard climbing under the rocks, but most of all, we just enjoyed the blue skies and unique scenery along the path.

Even though I had done it many times before, this stop at Mt. Capulin was special. It was really neat to watch my kids discover and enjoy something that brought back memories of my own youth, and to be the parent introducing it, instead of the kid exploring it. We couldn't have chosen a better pit stop!

Summer fun at Grandma's House!

Brooke was in constant pose mode at Grandma's house this summer. Everywhere we looked it was beautiful and "perfect for a picture." So, she smiled and posed and smiled and posed. I'm so glad she did, because it's fun to remember what a gorgeous day it was and what a precious daughter I have!

Cameron had a ball this summer exploring the great outdoors at Grandma's house this summer. He got to climb, throw rocks, pick grass, feed the goat, pet the dog . . . and the cats. He had a ball just being free to play and run outside in the gorgeous Colorado summer weather.

Can't beat that view from Grandma's front porch and back yard huh?