The kids love swimming at Flying Horse because it isn't really crowded at all. With all the new restrictions we had a few hours in the afternoon time slot to play and have fun together. 

After over 4 months of not being able to meet with our congregation for church, the girls and I enjoyed being back at our church building for sacrament meeting while the boys were away.

Abby was so excited to go on a bike ride with her brand-new bike. The girls rode 8 miles up into the newer part of Cordera. They both love their new bikes.

With Peter and Emma both taking the growth hormone test a few times I thought it would be prudent to have Abby get tested just to make sure she was producing enough. She was a little nervous about the IV but she did a great job (update...she found out that she is deficient in producing growth hormone so she will be on GH shots for the next few years).

I love how sweet Madeline is with her grandpa. Most of the kids when they were younger always snuggled up to just grandma, but Madeline snuggles with her grandpa and her grandma. It is so cute. 

For our 22nd Anniversary dinner we headed to Prime 25 and had a delicious steak meal. It was nice to go out somewhere fancy to celebrate our special day.

​I bought Peter a funny sweatband earlier this year and he decided one day to wear it and be super goofy. It was hilarious.

After sending Andrew off to start his mission I was a little sad, so Mike took me over to Tesla where I got to test drive the Model Y. It was so much fun. 

​We got a call from Andrew on his first day of online MTC. It was so good to see him and hear his voice. We are so thrilled that he gets to do his online MTC from grandpa’s house in VA.

​I came home from running one morning to find Mike trying to do Madeline’s hair. It was so cute that he was trying. I swept in and gave him a little help and he was so relieved.

​One of the most annoying parts of Colorado summers are the random torrential rainstorms that create intense flooding. On the way home from a canceled cross-country meet I witnessed how badly some parts of the town were affected by the previous down pour.

One of my greatest joys is watching my older kids read and play with Madeline. I loved watching Emma and Madeline read together. 

​The air quality has been so bad this month due to all the fires in CO, UT, and CA. It has made it really hard for Peter and Emma to run well in cross-country.

Madeline loves to play pretend and had so much fun doing Peter’s hair. He was a good sport and played along with her. She was beyond happy to make him look pretty.

​I took care of the grilling for our dinner kabobs and I was amazed at how well they turned out. The kids were super impressed that I could grill as good as Mike.

​With all the fires that we have been having in and around Colorado, we do get some pretty awesome looking sunsets.

Abby tried out for PPA swim club after being unhappy with swimming with Rapids. She was so excited to be placed in Group 3 with some of her other friends. 

I hate picking weeds and all summer I stayed on top of it so it wouldn't get that bad. I took a 2-week break from weeding and then I spent over 3 hours picking some of the most stubborn weeds. It was pretty awful. 

​Abby is such a good sister to Madeline. Madeline frequently goes into Abby’s room to find little treasures and although Abby doesn’t like Madeline going through her stuff, she still manages to be kind to her.

After Abby failed her growth hormone test, the next step was getting an MRI done to make sure her pituitary was working correctly.  She was a bit nervous, but the techs were so good about making her feel calm and safe.

On our walk we saw a double rainbow in the sky. It was only brief that we saw the double rainbow. By the time we made it halfway down the block, the second one had disappeared.

​Madeline had so much fun during the summer. Throughout the summer she spent lots of afternoons at the playground with Peter. Her favorite park was definitely the new playground in Cordera. Madeline also loved to go to Flying Horse and swim. It seemed like every day she asked if we were going to go swimming. She played mostly in the kiddie pool section and she went on the big waterslide with the older kids a few times.

In June we took a trip to Steamboat Springs. While we were there, she went on her very first bike ride in the Burley trailer and she loved it. In the middle of our family bike ride we stopped and went on the Alpine slides. She went on them twice and had a blast. She loved riding up in the chair lift just as much as she loved riding down the slides. When we went to Steamboat Lake Madeline rode on the paddleboard and went for a ride in the double tube for the first time. She loved sitting in between my legs on the paddleboard and taking photos with the Go-Pro. 

In July we took a trip to Utah and Madeline got to go on two more bike rides in the trailer. She played at the biggest park we have ever been to in Grand Junction. She had the most fun going on the zip-line. While in Utah, Madeline loved playing in the splash pool that Grandma Anne bought for her. She played in it every day while we were there. Back at home in Colorado Madeline began to become interested in the little puzzles and figured out how to put them together all by herself. 

In August we took a trip to California and Madeline had a great time flying on an airplane, staying in a hotel (which is what she called the little house we stayed at), going to the zoo, and playing at the beach. At the zoo she loved the giraffes and pink flamingos, but she was the most fascinated by the jaguar that kept pacing back and forth in the indoor exhibit area and the lazy baboons. At the zoo she got to put several coins down the donation coin funnel. Then Andrew gave her a quarter so that she could smash it in the machine to get a souvenir coin. Back at home in Colorado Madeline had fun riding her bike around the neighborhood, doing some "mountain biking" down the steps in the front of the house. She also had her dentist appointment and did such a good job sitting still getting her teeth cleaned. Madeline did lots of playing in and around the house playing on her rocking horse, her doll house, and jumping on the trampoline. Madeline tried a pickle for the first time this month and she loved it. 

I spent a lot of time biking this month in preparation for my big ride up Pike's Peak. Dionne and I met a lot to ride up Cheyenne Canyon Road and Gold Camp Road. We even saw a bear during one of our intervals up Gold Camp Road. Mike and I also went on a long Anniversary ride from our house all the way to Garden of the Gods and then back home. It ended up being 44 miles. The more I get to road bike the more I just absolutely love it. 

I didn't totally ignore my running. The very beginning of August I ran up Barr Trail to Barr Camp with Dionne and made it to Barr Camp in 1:50:43 which was faster than I did it last year. I also went on some fun runs with Dionne up towards Captain Jacks, a Bear Creek run and the Incline with both Dionne and Caryn. It was definitely an adventure month for running. 

​The first day of school was online this year. None of us anticipated that this school year would look this way, but COVID-19 has really shaken things up. The kids will start a hybrid learning format the middle of September! They will attend in-person on certain days and online learning the other days. So far online hasn't been all that bad. I get to be a fly on the wall to see and hear what my kids are doing and learning. I loved listening to Emma and Peter play their instruments during Jazz. Even on another level of the house I can still hear it and I love it. One added bonus is the ability to login to class from any remote destination. Emma took advantage of the Teams app on her phone and logged into class right after her doctor apt while she was still in the car. How cool is that? During their 5-minute breaks I get cool insights into their day. That is something that I don't get very often when they are in the classroom at their school. As for Madeline, she just goes with the flow. She is loving having lots of school time with me and quietly helping me clean up the house while the kids are studying. Eventually they will need to get back into the classroom, but for now, we are looking at the positive side of online schooling during this COVID year.
 
ABBY: 
7th grade, Team 714, PPA Swim Club, Art, Language Arts, Drama, Spanish, PE, Pre-Algebra B, Music, Science, Social Studies, 7th grade Tech
Excited about wearing pajamas to school while it’s online    
Most concerned about getting good grades
Favorite class is Drama
 
 
EMMA: 
9th grade, Freshman, Cross-Country team, Swim Club, Run Club, Violin, Piano, Jazz Ensemble, Honors Lit, Honors Biology, Honors World History, German 1, Geometry, Seminary, Study Hall
Excited about German, Science, and Cross-Country    
Most concerned getting good grades
Favorite class is Honors Biology 
 
 
PETER: 
12th grade, Senior, Cross-Country Team, Swim Team, Swim Club, Pit Crew for Theatre, Cyber Patriot, German NHS, Seminary, AP Euro, AP German, AP Calculus, Senior Lit, Civics, Advanced Jazz Ensemble, Rocky Mountain High PE, Business Law
Excited about Cross-Country and Swim Seasons       
Most concerned COVID ruining everything
Favorite class is Rocky Mountain High

After two days playing at the beach, we were all a little tired and somewhat burned so we took it easy all morning. By the time we got the energy to get out the door we weren't quite sure which beach we wanted to go to, so we drove past Corona Del Mar and it was super crowded. The parking lot was completely full. We decided to head south on Rt. 1 towards Laguna Beach. Right before we made it to Laguna, we saw the most perfect section of beach, so we made a U-turn and headed back north. The first parking area we tried was also full. In fact, most of the parking lots were full but we got lucky and right when we came to the intersection for the southern end of Crystal Cove Beach, the parking lot opened up. We headed in and found a parking spot close to the trail leading down to the beach. The views from this beach were absolutely amazing and there was a ton of space to play on the beach without feeling like we were right next to someone else. The waves at this beach were also enormous so the girls didn't go on the boogie boards. Peter and Mike, however, tried to dominate the large waves. Peter had a few attempts and a few successes, but his back got pretty trashed by some of the waves, so he gave up boogie boarding and instead played soccer and frisbee. Andrew decided to build a downhill ball track in the sand that emptied into a giant pit. Everyone had a great time helping out and Madeline rolled the ball down the hill several times before the track was eventually destroyed. After 3 straight days playing at the beach and getting plenty of sun, we were all happy to chill out at the house for our last night of watching movies while eating cookies and ice-cream. 

Mike and I got up early and went for a nice long run down Ocean Blvd towards Rt. 1 and into Crystal Cove State Park. We ventured on a path towards the water and then a bit northward. We eventually made it down to the water and had fun walking around the tide pool area and the quiet sandy beach. Mornings like this make you wonder why you don't live in California. 

We spent the rest of our day back at Corona Del Mar Beach. We found another great spot, although it seemed more crowded than it did the day before but that is probably because it was Saturday. The kids did more of the same things they did the day before. This time Peter wanted to be buried so we spent time making him cozy in the sand. We even covered Emma and made her a mermaid. We took all the shells we had found the previous day and decorated her tail. It was pretty cool looking. By the early afternoon the Partridges made it to the beach and spent some time with us there. Then we headed back to the house to change our clothes. Just the adults headed out to grab some hamburgers and shakes and sit at the park and chat it up without the kids. It was so awesome being able to be with Adam and Myisha again. It was just what Mike and I needed. We were definitely sad to say goodbye later that night. The kids loved spending time with them as well and we promised that we would get together again when we could. Being able to spend time at the beach was awesome but spending time with our good friends was the cherry on the cake. There is nothing quite like amazing friends. We are lucky to have the Partridges in our life!

This morning we let the kids sleep in while we went to the grocery store to stock up on food for the next few days. Then we took Madeline for a little walk to explore the area around where we were staying. She was so excited to play at the little park across the street from our cute little condo. Eventually we all got our swimming suits on and gathered all of our beach things and headed to Corona Del Mar Beach. We didn't walk too far along the beach before we found the perfect spot to set up our beach tent and chairs. There were lots of people at the beach, but we tried to keep our distance the best we could. Madeline spent most of the time playing in the sand, jumping the waves, running away from the waves, and just having fun with her older siblings. Abby and Emma spent most of their time on the boogie boards while Peter just played with Madeline in the water and then frisbee with Mike. He stayed out of the water for the most part because of his skinned knee from the day before. Andrew enjoyed sitting in the warm sand while we buried him really good. He probably spent a good two hours just chilling in the sand. There just isn't anything better in the California sun than being at the beach and having a blast together as a family!

After sleeping in we got ready and headed over to the San Diego Zoo before it opened. We were amazed at how long the line was to get into the zoo. It kind of felt like we were at Disneyland, except the line went pretty fast. Once inside, it did not feel crowded at all. We headed first to see the flamingos. Madeline was fascinated with their pink feathers and how some of them stood on one leg. Then it was off to see the giraffes, but not without stopping first to grab some waters and a refillable cup for fun drinks. Madeline loved the giraffes as well but kept asking if we could feed them since we can do that at our zoo in Colorado Springs. It was fun to get super close to the giraffes and many of the other animals we saw. After wandering through the rest of the Urban Jungle, we wound our way through the Outback where we saw the cutest koala bears. Of course, most of them were sleeping with their heads tucked into their chest. There was only one that was awake and moving around. The further into the zoo we went the bigger animals that we saw. We saw monkeys, apes, gorillas, baboons, elephants, jaguars, lions, polar bears, ant eaters, colorful birds, and hippos. We met up with our good friends, Adam and Myisha, after lunch and had fun walking around the zoo together. One of the highlights of the zoo was seeing the baboons. When we got to the viewing window there were two baboons just sitting there against the glass. Madeline loved talking to them. She was so cute and tried to touch them through the glass. It was super fun to see them up close. After walking for most of the day we decided to head over to the shops to find something fun for Madeline to take home. She picked a baby kangaroo and a sequin snake as her souvenirs from the zoo. Then all the girls piled in Myisha's car and the boys and Madeline piled in the minivan and we all met up by the pier where we had fun playing at Waterfront Park. The kids had fun running around in the water and Madeline ended up getting soaking wet so on our way to dinner we stopped at the car and changed clothes. We walked to Puesto's where we had the most amazing Mexican food. We sat outside in the courtyard and enjoyed a casual dinner together and just had the best time. We just love Adam and Myisha and wished we lived closer. After dinner we headed back over to Waterfront Park where we picked up some dessert and ate it by the water. It was a great way to end an amazing day.

Our last big family trip of the summer would be heading to southern California to enjoy some time at the beach relaxing and visiting with Adam and Myisha in San Diego. Madeline was definitely the most excited for this trip. She has become obsessed with staying in hotels and flying on airplanes. When we are done with one trip she asks when we are going to stay in another hotel again. She gets easier and easier to travel with as she gets older and it is so fun to watch her excitement over the smallest of things. She loved looking at all the planes when we were waiting to get on our plane. She loved running down the runway to get on the plane and she was thrilled to have her own seat where she could watch movies on the iPad with her pink headphones.

We were super impressed by our airline in cleanliness and sanitization. It made us feel a lot more comfortable flying during COVID. Everyone was handed their own personally sealed sanitized wipe. We used those to wipe down the arm rests and tray tables and our general areas. Masks were obviously required during the entire flight and I was amazed at how well Madeline did with keeping her mask on. From the time we got on the shuttle to the first time she asked me if she could have a break from the mask it was almost 3.5 hours. I'm not sure many 4-year olds could do that without whining. When we got to LAX it was rather late at night, so we all piled in the rental car and headed down to San Diego to stay the night. All four big kids shared a room where they watched TV and enjoyed some food Andrew ordered from Grub Hub. Madeline slept in the adult room and well, we pretty much went to bed.

I spent a good deal of time trying to decide if I wanted to hire a photographer for our family photos this year. I even researched photographers in southern CA to do them on our upcoming trip but I never really found someone that was good enough for my standards and within a reasonable price. I decided to just bite the bullet and take our family photos myself. I wanted to go somewhere totally unique and remembered our adventure to the Painted Mines earlier this year. I knew that would be a perfect place where I could get even light and not have to fight big crowds. After procrastinating for several weeks in July I finally picked a day where the weather wasn't too stormy. We got extremely lucky because the afternoon thunderstorm that was projected never happened and when we got to the spot I had planned on doing our photos, another photographer was just finishing up a photo shoot. We had the small cavern to ourselves. The kids were well behaved and we got all the photos we wanted before the light started to fade. I was so relieved to find so many photos that I liked, especially because this family photo would be the one up on our walls for the next 3-4 years while the boys serve missions. I feel incredibly blessed to have been able to take our family photos and the best part was I didn't have to pay a dime to do it!

When I was a child, I loved riding the Seattle Ferries to and from Bainbridge island.  I mean, just look at the photos below. It's one of the great things to do on this Earth. I just love standing out in the wind, watching the city grow bigger and bigger. On clear days, you can see Mt. Rainier and its just perfect. On a beautiful summer day, the Pacific Northwest is the best place to be on the planet. I was so glad we could be there.  

One of my other favorite memories is the Big Country Breakfast at Salish Lodge. I used to go there with my mom. I remember going there with our whole family when Jacob was a baby and my mom gave him whip cream without Kim knowing. It was a great moment. The hot chocolate there is divine. The meal takes 2 hours to get through. By the time you are done, there is nothing to do except sit fat in the foyer of the hotel and take a nap. Sometimes, we'll venture down to see the waterfall, but sometimes, you just sit fat. It's a beautiful thing. If there is a heaven on Earth, then it is breakfast at Salish Lodge. I'm so glad my boys enjoy good food. It makes it a lot easier to plan fun excursions. 

Once we were done, we drove over to the Japanese Gardens. It's always wonderful to just enjoy the peace and quiet of a Japanese garden. We love the winding paths, the ponds, and the stepping stones. It speaks to our love of adventure, exploring unknown paths, and enjoying peace and quiet.

With time winding down before our flight back, we headed back downtown for Ivars one last time. We also took in the Aquarium, which was pretty cool. Again, it was nice to see stuff without a lot of tourists. It made the whole experience a lot better. Once we were done with the Aquarium and eating our fill of clam chowder, cod, shrimp, and fries, we headed back to SeaTac and hopped back down to Denver. It was an incredible trip with some incredible kids. I'm so glad that they are a part of our family.  

Written by Mike
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We woke up in Forks. And yes, they still sell Twilight T-shirts there. We packed up our gear and headed back down the road to the Hoh rainforest, another magical place that never disappoints. While there are grand hikes to be done there, the little nature hikes are pretty great. We are definitely hiking in the woods people. Especially, when it is green and majestic. It's crazy how much more green everything is when you live somewhere that's super dry like Colorado. It's also amazing how being out in the woods brings out the best in the boys. They instantly gravitate to climbing up and down logs, crawling through gutted out trees, balancing out over the water, and enjoying everything that the woods has to offer. It was the perfect morning to be there because it was sunny and warm, instead of cold and rainy.  That is a rare treat in one of the wettest places in the United States.

After the rainforest, we went back to the beach. We headed this time to Rialto beach which is also super cool. When we got there, there was quite a line of cars waiting to park in the parking lot. We witnessed a great moment when some Seattle dad in a minivan, cut around the guy in line in front of him and stole the next parking place. The other car (a Subaru) being driven by a bunch of Millennials (the dude was like 22 and had his toe nails painted) went and talked to the guy and he told them some long story about the rules of parking lots in National Forests and in the end, they just sucked it up. We went and talked to them afterwards to get the full story. It was a fascinating study in Human Behavior. I wish we had it on tape.  

Once we got parked, we walked down to the beach and then over to these little islands that are only accessible during low tide. We tried to climb around to the far side, but the danger factor was pretty high.  I wish we had our kayaks!  It was so much fun to explore the tide pools, walk across the logs and rocks (to get there you had to do a 1/2 mile walk across old logs and rocks, it was so fun!). I really enjoyed watching Peter spring board off this log that was sticking out over the water. It was just a cool place. Too bad we don't have something like that in our backyard!

After we were done at the beach, we drove over to Sequim. We had dinner, and then we stopped by our good friend's house, The Turellas. In case there was any doubt, the Turellas are the coolest people ever and so incredibly talented. They have all these amazing devices to 3-D print stuff, laser cut stuff, and so forth. Their Halloween costumes are unreal and their ability to make cool things super fun. It was really fun to see what they have been up to and just to reconnect with friends from days long past. It was honestly one of the great highlights of the entire trip. Thanks Turellas!

After we left Sequim, we headed over to Bainbridge island to stay near the ferry terminal. We did so much in such a short time.

Written by Mike