SKIING AT BEAVER CREEK . DAYS 1-2 (JAN 2-3) - not posted 

SKIING AT BEAVER CREEK . DAY 3 (JAN 4) - not posted 

SKIING AT BEAVER CREEK . DAY 4 (JAN 5) - not posted 

PAINTED MINES (JAN 20) - not posted but journaled

JANUARY SLICES OF LIFE - not posted

NORTH POLE BREAKFAST (DECEMBER 9) - not posted but journaled

MADISON, WI (DECEMBER 12-14) - not posted but journaled

EMMA'S KOKOPELLI JOXC SEASON (SEPTEMBER 30-DECEMBER 14) - not posted but journaled 

CHRISTMAS EVE (DECEMBER 24) - not posted but journaled 

CHRISTMAS DAY (DECEMBER 25) - not posted but journaled 

SKIING BRECKENRIDGE (DECEMBER 27) - not posted but journaled 

SKIING KEYSTONE (DECEMBER 28) - not posted but journaled 

SLICES OF LIFE - not posted

​It was so wonderful having Andrew home from college for Thanksgiving. We all missed him so much and were so excited to spend a few days with him over Thanksgiving break. He flew in the day before Thanksgiving and Mike and I drove up to the airport to get him. The weather was pretty bad, and it took us almost 2 hours just to get to the airport. Luckily, his flight was delayed so everything worked out. Since we ended up getting home fairly late, only the older kids were still up. On Thanksgiving Day, Madeline was all too eager to head down to Andrew’s room and wake him up. It was so sweet, and Andrew was so excited to see her. We spent the day cooking, baking, and having fun being together. Everyone pitched in and help in some way or another. Mike and the girls were happy to help with the cooking, and Andrew and Peter were happy to help entertain Madeline. We introduced Madeline to prepping the turkey, but she was not at all excited to butter the turkey. She did not like greasy hands and she actually got pretty upset at us and had a small temper tantrum. So, we washed her hands and let her help us stuff the turkey, She seemed to like that better. Her favorite thing of the day let her go play elsewhere until it was time to roll out the dough for the rolls. She grabbed her own cutting board and rolling pin and had a blast rolling out her own dough. This was definitely more up her alley.  To carry us through lunch we decided to make a cheese tray for everyone to enjoy. Let’s just say it was gone pretty quickly. That was a definite winner this year. Of course, Thanksgiving dinner is always the best and one in which we all look forward to every year.  It is not only a time to eat lots and lots of food without feeling guilty, but a time to be grateful for each other and the many blessings that we have enjoyed throughout the year. 
 

After such a fantastic cross-country season, Peter decided to continue his training with some of his other teammates so that he could compete at Nike Cross Regionals in Casa Grande, AZ. He was extremely motivated at first, but then we were hit with a few really bad snowstorms which halted some of his training outside. Then he begged me to sign him up for swim club so that he could start swimming in prep for his HS season in February. Both of those became distractions which made it hard to the train the way he did during his HS cross-country season. Still, he managed to make it to the practices that his coach offered and did as much running as he could with his teammates on the off days to get prepared to run the same course he ran in September where he PR'd and broke 17 minutes. This time it was just Peter and I who traveled to Arizona for the race. We stayed at the Marriott in Chandler where some of the other runners from his team were staying. Sean, Josh, Peter, Hayden, Rodrigo, Dan, and Lauren all ran. They ran the same course from Desert Twilight but ran in the morning instead of the night. The weather was actually not too hot, but the sun was pretty bright. Even though Peter didn't PR at this race, he still ran extremely well, finishing the 5K in 17:01.50. Afterwards we all celebrated by going to eat at In-N-Out before heading to the airport to fly back to Colorado. 

​As we were all trying to come up with what our family costume would be this year Mike had the great idea to buy something that we could wear throughout the year. We settled on a New Jersey mob family all dressed in Adidas track suits. Mike and I bought big gold chain necklaces with a big letter W on them for us and the girls wore black beanie caps. For Madeline, we found her the cutest little track suit and gave her a plastic bat. We had a great time showing up for our ward trunk or treat. Mike was totally in character, accent and all. The trunk or treat was probably the lamest one we have ever been to, but the kids still had fun getting candy. We had to do it inside since it was so cold outside. On actual Halloween night, Abby went with her friends and dressed up as a 20’s girl. Each of her friends dressed from one of the eras. Emma went with her friends and dressed up as the red M&M. Her other friends were different colored M&Ms. Peter manned the house for a bit while Mike and I took Madeline out trick or treating. We only went down 2 streets since it was freezing outside. We ended up dressing her up in a 50's poodle skirt since it seemed more kid appropriate. She had so much fun this year knocking on doors to get candy. There were a few blow up props in our neighbors' yard that scared her, but she was definitely braver this year. 

It was fun to watch Emma sing with the Silver Tones at the choir concert tonight. Emma enjoys singing but hasn't loved the teacher that is in charge of Silver Tones this year. She really misses playing her saxophone so we will probably try and switch her to band next semester. 

I love running with Dionne and Caryn and the rest of our Striders friends. Today we did short hill repeats at Red Rocks. The weather was warm enough that I took my long sleeve shirt off halfway through the workout. 

We love having lunch with Mike every once in a while in the middle of his workday. Since he works so close to home it's easy to meet up for lunch. One of our favorite places to go is Ted's Montana Grill. Madeline just loves being with her daddy.

I can't believe that we already got snow since it is only the beginning of October. The first snowfall is always so much fun.

Peter is our kid that can literally sleep anywhere and can fall asleep easily. It is not uncommon for him to fall asleep on the floor after school. 

Everyone's favorite chair in the house is the big oversized chair next to the fireplace. Emma usually can be found studying or relaxing in this chair.

After spending one summer painting and updating the girls' room, I'm sorry to say the walls remained empty for almost over a year. I had ordered the coolest vinyl lettering for their wall and it sat in their closet for a long time before I finally got my act together to put it up. The vinyl says Be.You.tiful. The girls loved it. 

​This is the time of year that I usually spend a lot of time working on the small book but this year I decided to forgo the small book and just work on the big book. I must admit it has been exhilarating to think about finally finishing a big book.

​Andrew is really good about keeping in touch with us while he is at college. He loves to Facetime me during the day and he always asks how Madeline is doing and if he can see her. Sometimes on the rare occasion that he calls when the older kids are home they love to chat with Andrew too.

​Abby had such a great time at High Trials this year. This weeklong field trip is for the 6th graders and they spend the week outdoors learning different things and bonding with their friends.

JAZZ AND ORCHESTRA CONCERT
OCTOBER 21, 2019

​

​Emma and Peter both had concerts tonight. It is rare for the Jazz Band Concert to be at the same time as the Orchestra concert. They both did a great job, It was nice to be able to see both of them perform.

​Everyday Madeline picks something new that she wants to play with. It usually involves one of the bins of toys in the basement. Her favorite toys to play with lately have been the geo tracks and trains. She usually needs a little help putting together a fun train track and then we play together.

​Peter came home from the Jazz Concert and wanted to say goodnight to Madeline before she got in bed. She was so excited to see him, and he was equally excited to see her. It just warmed my heart to see them together.

​We got our 2nd snowstorm for the month. It was a lighter snow than the first storm and I couldn’t resist a night picture. Everything just looked so peaceful.

​Since it was a snow day, the girls took advantage of being lazy and cuddled in bed with me.

​The Holley’s stopped by on their drive out east. It was so great to have dinner with them and catch up before they moved away from Colorado. We will miss having them relatively close.

​We just can’t seem to catch a break with all the snow this month.  I think this was the first year it snowed three times in the month of October. By the time this snowstorm rolled around we were all kind of over it.

​Ever since Mike and I had the cheese and charcuterie platter up at Beaver Creek, we have been so excited to try and recreate it at home. Our own creation did not disappoint. 

​Andrew and some of his friends from BYU-I spent Halloween at Fat Cats bowling and playing arcade games together. They all dressed up for the occasion. 

​There is never a dull moment with Madeline. This month she had plenty of opportunities to play in the snow as we got a ton of snow during the month of October. She loved wearing her brand-new silver coat outside and drinking hot chocolate inside when she was done being in the cold. Watching Madeline play is always such a treat. She is so creative and imaginative. She loves playing with her Little Einstein toys, her Little People figures, the eraser animals, and her stuffed animals. We continued to work on potty training and Madeline had fun picking out a new pair of underwear every day.  She leaned towards her Frozen underwear or something with pink in it. She truly is a lover of the color pink.    

This October has been way too cold already.  We got our first snow at the beginning of the month and our second snowstorm this week and it doesn't end there.  We are supposed to get another snowstorm next week. I was relieved and happy that I was on the ball about making sure that everyone had the clothes they needed for this coming ski season - especially Madeline.  After Abby got home from school she was so excited to go and play in the snow.  She kindly waited until Madeline got up from her nap and then went out back to play with her.  Madeline was so excited to wear her new boots and snow clothes. All of my kids are really good with Madeline, but there is something really special about the relationship that Abby and Madeline have together. I love that Abby has the patience and the imagination to play with a 3-year old.  It truly warms my heart.  They threw snowballs, built a very tiny snowman, and had races in the snow. Abby was cute and ran on her knees so it would be fair.  Those two are quite a pair.  I love watching Madeline play. She reminds me that everything in life can be so much fun. The smallest things like playing in the snow are exciting to her and that is pretty great! 

For Mike's birthday this year I booked a weekend away to Beaver Creek at the Park Hyatt for some relaxation and outdoor adventure.  Since the weather was a bit colder than we had anticipated, we left our mountain bikes at home and planned on doing some hiking instead.  We left on Thursday evening and got to the resort a little after 9pm.  The hotel was exactly like I had remembered it a year ago with some slight updates to the lobby.  We headed up to our room, which we got upgraded to a suite, and turned on a movie and ordered room service while Mike finished up some work from the day.  It was nice to just sit and watch TV together before drifting off to sleep.

The next day it was so incredibly cold and snowing and so we decided to sleep in.  We ate a very yummy breakfast in the hotel restaurant before walking over to the Allegria Spa to check out their services.  We booked a massage for the following day and then grabbed our coats from our room so we could head to the village to do some shopping.  We went into the various shops and didn't buy much except for a cute pair of ski socks for Madeline. We stopped at Rimini's for a warm ham and cheese sandwich and a Nutella and banana crepe.  It all tasted so good.  After a few more shops, and talking with some pretty great locals, we headed back in the hotel to grab our suits so we could spend some time in the outside jacuzzi.  We love sitting outside in the jacuzzi when its cold and snowy outside.  There is just something so magical about it all.  The rest of the day was spent napping and relaxing before heading to dinner at Hooked which is a seafood restaurant.  We ate the most delicious Japanese rolls.  They were like no other rolls we had ever eaten.  Then we headed out to find some yummy dessert.  We decided to drive down to Vail to grab some dessert at a local Ale House.  It wasn't quite up to par but that was ok because the fries we had were delicious.  Then we headed back to the hotel and grabbed our free s'mores kit and headed up to the room to eat the chocolate and go to bed. It was much too cold to actually go outside to the fire pit and roast s'mores. 

The next morning, we woke up to cold temperatures but sunny skies.  We ate another fabulous breakfast and then headed out on our hike up to Bear Lake.  We took the Bear Lake trail which followed the creek.  It was awesome to be able to hear the creek alongside the trail almost all the way up to the lake.  Most of the trail was snow covered with the snow that had fallen the day before.  It was actually really great to hike in the snow.  The hike up to the lake was relatively easy and we enjoyed being together.  It was super peaceful up at the lake and we enjoyed playing with two little birds who enjoyed our crumbs. We decided to head back a different way and took the Overlook trail which had us venture across the various slopes.  It was pretty spectacular hiking through dense forests before popping out on the open slopes only to cross and then hike once again through another set of trees.  This went on for quite some time and eventually we lost count of how many sections we went through.  As we looked at our watches it became clear that we needed to pick up the pace if we were going to make it back in time for our 3:00pm massages.  At one point we actually started running on the trail when we could.  With only 15 min before 3:00pm, we were getting desperate to find a short cut back. So, like idiots, we decided to get off the wooded trail, and just walk/run/slide down the last sloped mountain straight back to the hotel.  It was kind of crazy going straight down the mountain.  Mike used his hiking poles and glissaded down some of the snowier sections.  We just laughed and laughed all the way down.  We made it back to our room with only a few minutes to spare.  We spent the rest of the afternoon getting pampered and then relaxing in the 5-Step Aqua Sanitas Water Sanctuary.  It was the perfect way to unwind after our 8-mile hike.  After showering and getting ready for the evening, we headed down to the bar in the lobby area and ordered the most amazing appetizer while we killed time waiting for our dinner reservation at Mirabelle's.  We ordered the Cheese and Charcuterie Platter and it was DELICIOUS!!! Then it was off to Mirabelle's to eat some tasty French cuisine.  It was the perfect way to end a pretty perfect day and a pretty fantastic getaway to Beaver Creek!  Of course, it snowed throughout the night and when we woke up to go home it was all snow covered.  That was pretty magical!

Peter had the MOST INCREDIBLE cross-country season of his high school life so far.  After a roller-coaster season last year, this was such a reward for probably the hardest working athlete I personally know.  After his swim season ended in May, Peter quickly jumped right back into running and started running with his high school team during the summer.  He attended BYU cross-country camp in July and had a blast learning some new techniques and tips for his upcoming season.  His goal for this season started small...it was just to make the varsity team.  He did that, barely, on the time trial at the beginning of the season the second week in August.  He came in at number 7, earning him a spot on the varsity team for the first meet of the season.  In order to keep his spot he knew that he had to run well during each meet and stay in the top 7 for the boys team.  Probably one of my favorite parts of this season was watching the utter determination on Peter's face when he raced.  He had such excellent focus this season that showed not only in his times but also in his face. I can't even begin to describe how exciting this season was to watch.

AUGUST 30, 2019
​WIDEFIELD INVITATIONAL
WIDEFIELD HS
5K - 18:10.00

The second meet was the Widefield Invitational at Widefield HS.  After some hard work during training, Peter was determined to finally break 19 min.  That is just what he did at this race.  He started out his race like he normally did, hanging with Hayden until about halfway through the race.  Then after the halfway point he started to pick things up a bit.  With some hills in the mix, he was able to keep pushing a little harder until the end was in sight. He was moving at speed.  I was floored when I saw him round the track at the finish.  His time...18:10. He was so shocked when he looked at his watch at the finish that he accidentally slowed down enough that the guy next to him beat him by a hair.  It wasn't a huge deal but a lesson learned to not look at the clock but run hard right through the finish.  Needless to say, Peter was extremely happy with himself at this race.  He came in 6th for his team and 25th overall.  The boys team also finished in first place for the meet.  

SEPTEMBER 7, 2019
​LIBERTY BELL INVITATIONAL
HERITAGE HS
5K - 17:28.70

After last week's amazing race we were hoping that Peter would have another great race on one of the fastest courses of the season.  We went out earlier that week to buy him some racing spikes but the store was all out of blanks, which he would need for this course as it was mostly pavement.  Unfortunately we weren't able to find any before the race so he just wore his regular running shoes.  That clearly didn't stop him from doing really well on this course.  He started out similar to all his other races and kept picking up the pace the second half of the race.  When I saw him come down the last 200 m stretch of the race I looked at the clock and I couldn't believe it.  He was going to break 18 min.  He didn't just break it by a little, he destroyed it.  His time for the course was 17:28.70 which was now his all time personal best.  I was so glad that everyone supported Peter at this race.  The entire family came up to join him.  Even Andrew was able to see him run before heading off to college.  

SEPTEMBER 19, 2019
COUGAR CLASSIC
MONUMENT VALLEY PARK
5K - 18:25.66

The varsity boys and girls took the week before this meet and rested from racing in the Rock Canyon Invitational.  It was a great break for these kids who had been training so hard.  Coming into this race Peter was a little nervous since this isn't his favorite course.  It's hilly and the trail is usually exposed to the sun.  This race always feels pretty hot.  Still, he ran a great race and wore his racing spikes for the first time. His previous time on this course was 19:10 from last year.  This time he destroyed that time and came in 4th for the varsity boys and ran it in 18:25.66.  Wow...what an improvement from last year.  The advice his coaches gave him for next meet on this course was to push it at the top of the hill the second time around and pick off people the last flat and downhill part of the course.  Great advice!

SEPTEMBER 27, 2019
DESERT TWILIGHT
CASA GRANDE, AZ
5K - 16:46.17

The most coveted race of the season is the Desert Twilight XC Festival down in Casa Grande, AZ.  Only the top 7 runners for boys and girls who had been consistent up until this point were asked to join this trip.  Peter was so excited to be able to go and run in AZ at lower elevation.  Mike and I left the girls with friends and flew down to support Peter in this race.  Our team ran in the Sweepstakes race, which was the most competitive race of the night.  They boys ran at 9:30pm which made for an extremely fun and exciting race to watch.  Before the race Mike told Peter about the time he ran cross-country in high school and went out with a fast first mile of 5:10 (what he didn't tell him was that it was by pure accident...he crashed the rest of the race).  I don't know what it was about what Mike said but Peter took that as a challenge, and he ran his first mile in 5:09.  The course ran straight out on grass and some dirt paths and then wound back, zig zagging back to the finish like switchbacks on a mountain.  This made it so much fun for the spectators who got to see them a dozen times throughout the race.  Once they passed us on one straightway, we just ran across to the next straightway until eventually we were down to the last two and ran as fast as we could to see the finish.  Peter looked strong the entire race and was extremely close to Josh who he normally is 20-40 sec behind.  As I was watching the finish, I saw Josh and thought I had more time before Peter came in.  Then in a split second I glanced across and saw Peter on the other side from where I was, only a few seconds behind Josh. I couldn't believe it.  He ran such a great race and had an incredible time of 16:46.17 and was 4th on his team!!! At the beginning of the season Sean and Jackson told him that he would be able to break 17 min.  Sure enough, they were right.  

OCTOBER 9, 2019
5A METRO LEAGUE FINALS
FOUNTAIN FORT CARSON HS
5K - 18:58.03

After an amazing experience at Desert Twilight, Peter knew that coming back to elevation would be tough.  The varsity kids had another week of no meet so that was nice coming off a really fast race in AZ.  Unfortunately, two of the varsity boys were not doing so well.  Caleb, their number one runner, was already out for the season with a stress fracture.  Jackson and Taylor both had small injuries and Jackson didn't end up running in this meet.  The weather was kind of nutty on race day.  It was extremely warm and very humid for Colorado and the wind was pretty strong. The race was moved a day earlier due to the predicted snow storm. No one had a particularly great race during this meet.  Peter said this was the hardest race of the season so far for him.  He came in 3rd for his team and ran the course in 18:58.03.  This definitely wasn't his best time of the season but a personal best for this course.  

OCTOBER 17, 2019
5A REGION 5 CHAMPIONSHIPS
MONUMENT VALLEY PARK
​5K - 17:45.00

Today was the final meet of the season and Peter was determined to run this faster than last week and the last time he ran this course a few weeks prior.  With the advice in his mind from the last time he ran this course, he was determined to end his season well.  He looked good the entire race.  I decided to cheer him on at different points of the race.  I made it a point to be at the top of the hill so I could remind him to push it at the top just like the coach had told him.  I could tell Peter was in the zone because I'm not sure he even saw me or heard me cheering him on.  After the last push up the last hill I booked it to the finish.  He did what he set out to do and finished his cross-country season with another great time.  He ran this course in 17:45.00, beating his time a few weeks ago by almost 40 sec, placing 3rd on his team.  He was extremely happy with his time and his performance but a little bummed that some of his fellow teammates didn't have great races, landing their team in 7th place overall and not making the cut to go to State this year.  With all their teammates healthy and uninjured they were between 3rd and 4th for the region.  Only the top 4 teams are eligible to run at the State race.  At least there is always next year for Peter to make it to State.   

​I’m not sure whether we are just optimistic parents or just plain nuts because we decided to take Peter, Emma, Abby, and Madeline on a 14er up to the summit of Mt. Huron.  Mike and I hiked this last summer and thought it was one of the easiest 14er's so we figured our kids would have no problems.  Emma and Peter really didn’t struggle at all during our hike while Abby and Madeline definitely had their moments of dislike for us on the trail. The weather was a little cooler when we started and since it was the fall with no worry about afternoon thunderstorms, we knew we could leave later in the morning.  We were on the trail by 9:30am and started our adventure with Madeline out of the pack and walking right with us. We put her in the backpack to begin with but she was quick to tell us that she wanted to walk.  She hiked for the first ¾ of a mile up the trail and just had the best time.  We didn’t stop that much the first mile.  It was uphill, of course, but the trail was mostly straight. By the time we made it to the switchbacks we put Madeline in the backpack and Mike carried her through the 16+ switchbacks.  We did stop a few times for snacks and to remind the kids to be drinking plenty of water and to just rest our legs from the mildly rocky and steep switchbacks.  Mike was really good about letting Abby know when we would be done with the switchbacks. It was important to give her updates about the upcoming sections of the trail.  Up until this point most everyone was pretty happy and doing quite well on the trail.  Madeline had a few moments of sadness, but it was probably because she wasn’t used to sitting in the pack for long periods of time.  We tried to entertain her by singing songs and at one point I turned on some kid songs from my iPhone to keep her spirits up.  That lasted until we popped out up and onto the meadow area of the hike.  ​

The meadow section is such a fun part of the trail. It’s not steep and it levels out quite a bit.  We told Abby it was flat, to which she replied, “This is not flat AT ALL.”  I replied, “This is as flat as you get climbing up a mountain.” I’m not sure she loved that response, but it was true.  It was flat enough that you didn’t feel like you had to work very hard.  Peter, Emma, and Mike went ahead while I walked with Abby across the “flat” meadow trail.  We only stopped a few times to rest our legs for only a few seconds before continuing on.  We finally made it to the end of the meadow where we met the others at a large rock at the bottom of the next big push up the mountain.  We stopped there for a good 10-15 minutes to actually sit down and have some snacks and hunker down out of the wind.  We ate grapes, various cheeses and crackers.  It felt good to eat and to sit.  At this point it was either turn around and head back or push it to the top. We decided to keep on pushing. Mike continued to carry Madeline, for which I was super grateful.  The wind started to pick up and so we decided to grab the bigger blanket we had brought in our packs and put it over Madeline’s pack so we could cover up her legs.  Her pants kept riding up and so there was a small section of her leg that was exposed.  As strong as Mike is, I could tell that this was taking a toll on him.  With the extra weight from carrying her coupled with the ridiculous wind it made our journey quite hard.  Madeline was not a happy camper by this point.  We had her all bundled up in the pack, but I could tell she was tired and a bit cold. At one point we took her out of the pack and took turns just carrying her in our arms.  I could literally only do it for 20 ft at a time.  It became frustrating that we were not moving very fast. Where once our hands were nice and warm, the wind started to turn our hands numb and cold.  I’m not going to lie; this was a much harder ascent this time around.  Between Madeline and Abby, Mike and I were struggling to keep their spirits up and our own.  We let Peter climb ahead since he is such a fast hiker and Emma even took off. She ended up coming back down the trail several times because she didn’t want to get that far ahead.  Other travelers along the way told her, “You will have hiked more than anyone else as you go up and down and up and down the trail.”  She got a chuckle out of that.  Once we made it to the cathedral spires, it was the last rocky scramble to the summit. With only 400 ft of rocky scramble we were too close to quit.  I think we all cried a little bit as we made our way to the top.  Abby had several melt downs and Madeline had fallen somewhat asleep from all the trauma from the wind.  I kept checking on her and calling her name just to make sure she was conscious. She was ok; just tired and a little cold.  At one-point Abby refused to go any further.  Another hiker was making his way down and stopped to give her some of his oxygen. She immediately perked right up. She and Mike took turns getting some more oxygen in their lungs before continuing on.  That sweet traveler let Abby keep the remainder of the oxygen to use on her way up.  It was really sweet.  We all did make it to the top and stopped very quickly for a quick photo.  Peter had been sitting there for an hour by the time we arrived.  He was pretty cold, but he hunkered down behind some rocks to wait for us.  He is pretty experienced with climbing 14ers so we knew he would be ok.  The views from the top were pretty remarkable. It was too bad it was so windy because we really couldn’t spend very much time up there.  
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Our first adventure on our mountain getaway was going for a hike on the Willis Gulch Trail right next to Twin Lakes.  The trail was only a 10 min drive from the cabin. The weather was pretty great and although we started out with coats, we quickly shed those as we warmed up on the beginning of our hike.  The most amazing thing about this hike were the views of all the aspen trees and their brightly colored leaves.  It was like walking in a wonderland of yellow and orange.  We hiked along the Willis Gulch Cutoff trail until for about a mile until it ran right into the main part of the Big Willis Gulch Trail. Madeline walked a good portion of this trail and had the best time in her new hiking shoes. She was quite the chatterbox while she was hiking.  It really was quite impressive that she could hold a steady pace while hiking uphill.  Along the trail we had great views of the Twin Lakes, a sweet waterfall, and yellow line pathways full of fall aspen leaves. As we neared the junction where our trail met up with the main trail, we had a few options.  We could have kept on hiking upward towards Willis Lake, but it was another couple of miles and we thought it was better to keep today’s hike shorter since we planned on doing a bigger hike the next day.  That turned out to be the wise choice.  We cut down on the main Willis Gulch trail back down the mountain to make one big loop. We found a few good spots to stop and eat lunch but every time we sat down to eat our lunch, a few bees quickly smelled our sweet sandwiches and swarmed us.  To say that Madeline is scared of bees, flies and pretty much anything that buzzes is an understatement.  She literally freaked out, so we packed up our lunch and ate it on the move.  The last beautiful section was 100 yards long of the most beautiful yellow wooded area.  It was magical.  We could have spent all day playing there.  

​Sometimes it is quite necessary to get out of town and just go to the mountains.  Lucky for us we live relatively close to a plethora of mountain ranges.  We thought it would be fun to spend the long weekend at a cabin up near Twin Lakes, CO.  We rented the coolest cabin on VRBO that was tucked nicely up nicely along a mountainside and only a 5 min drive from Twin Lakes and 20 min from Leadville.  Since the kids didn’t have school on Friday, we headed up on Thursday evening and stopped at Rudy’s to eat dinner.  We drove the Sienna and the 4Runner so we could do some off roading in Mike’s car. We got to the cabin a little after 9pm and although it was dark, we could tell that this would be a ton of fun for the weekend.  It was an actual wood cabin with all the amenities for a comfortable stay. Peter got his own room on the main level while all the girls joined us up in the loft.  In the loft there was a bunkbed for the girls, a fun living area, a giant bed for me and Mike and a spacious bathroom area.  Madeline slept in her little pack-n-play.  The rest of the cabin was cozy and spacious.  In the basement was a pool table and a foosball table with another set of bunkbeds.  It wasn’t until morning that we saw how amazing the views were from the cabin.  We woke up to the most amazing sunset and we didn’t even have to get out of bed to enjoy it because we could see it from the tall windows outlining the back of the cabin. The girls had fun in the morning grabbing their coats and exploring outside the cabin.  There was a fun little firepit and lots of rocks to play on.  We had a lazy morning and enjoyed stuffing our faces full of Mike’s amazing French toast before heading off on our first adventure!

 LABOR DAY AT FLYING HORSE
SEPTEMBER 2, 2019

​We stayed in town for the long weekend, so we headed on over to Flying Horse for Labor Day. The kids had so much fun swimming and eating yummy food by the pool. 

​There was so much to organize and pack for Andrew’s adventure to college. I spent several weeks helping him gather supplies.  We laid everything out in the dining room in all the IKEA bags that I could find and packed his suitcases and ski bag in the piano room. There was definitely more to think about since he would be staying in an apartment and cooking his own food.

​It was time for a pillow upgrade in the family room. Mike never loved the end pillows that I had chosen so I spent some time coming up with something I thought he and I would both like. I’m pretty happy with the way they look.

​I took Abby up to the Air Force Academy dermatology clinic to get her red spot lasered off her face. It has been bugging her for quite some time. She was so nervous and almost decided against it, but we got her to be brave enough to do it.

​Mike and I have enjoyed being able to bike together at Section 16 in Black Forest. Since it is still light so late at night, we have found that a quick evening ride is really fun.

​After we dropped off Andrew to college and Mike left for a conference in New Orleans, I went to Find My Friends and thought it was crazy that we were all over the US. 

​I love running with my Striders friends...especially Dionne and Caryn! This month we have been all over town running in different locations such as the Santa Fe trail downtown, the Shooks Run trail, and the track and Manitou Springs.

​We frequently get to talk with Andrew on Facetime. Sometimes he calls when the other kids are home and they get to see and talk with him. He usually asks to see Madeline first. He even called when the girls were at their cross country meet so that he could tell them good job. Being able to video chat is the greatest thing ever!