Summer hiking group fun and why Bode can stay in his BOY corner

July 16, 2013 by

One of my favorite things in the entire world is exploring and discovering trails, particularly in my own backyard. So imagine how thrilled I was to recently stumble upon some new-to-me sites intermingled with my long-time favorites.

The Hike

My church friend Dawn organized a summer hiking group on Tuesday mornings. Early-June, Dawn decreed our first hike would be the Castle Trail at Mount Falcon Open Space, which is is a great, moderate trail for younger kiddos.

One of my favorite memories is when I was REALLY pregnant with Bode, we decided to go for a hike and picnic. We were only a few minutes into our hike when our little 2-year-old cherub decided she was not walking another step. And when stubborn miss doesn’t want to do something, she will not do it. Nice parents that we are, we didn’t give in to her meltdown and so she threw herself onto the middle of the trail and raged for about 10 minutes.

We walked a safe distance away. No, we were not worried about her safety (because who would take her in that condition?) but rather, ours. We pointedly ignored the other parents who judged us while we let her scream it out. If she’d been in a store, it would have been another matter but since we were in the great outdoors, we let her roar with the mountain lions. It ended up working. She eventually gave up, jumped up, dusted herself off and kept on walking. She was a delight the rest of the day.

Here Hadley is seven years later at the scene of the crime. Doesn’t she look so much more docile?

We’ll compare notes again at this spot during the hormonal teenage  years.

The Castle/Meadow Trail had all the makings for a perfect outing: a wide trail, beautiful wildflower-strewn meadow and rocks for climbing. The boys reenacted being chased by Orcs in Lord of the Rings while I tried not to take offense of being mistaken for a sallow-skinned, fanged humanoid.

Our final destination was the stone-wall remnants of the John Brisben Walker family castle that boasts stunning views of Denver. Though the ruins are fenced off for climbing, we were fully engaged as we read about his rags-to-riches story that included the fire that destroyed this early-1900s dream home.

Parmalee Gulch

The easiest route to Mount Falcon is via U.S. Highway 285. Take the Indian Hills turn-off and follow the open space signs up Parmalee Gulch Road. On our return trip, my kids and I were stopped in our tracks at a stunning property just outside of Mount Falcon with a white fence that stretched as far as the eye could see. When we saw the “For Sale” sign, we pulled in.

Because we just happen to be in the market for a multi-million-dollar property.

As we dreamed of having a mountain retreat, we eventually wound back down to a new-to-us part of Parmalee Gulch Road, happening upon a fantastic playground within Parmalee’s town limits. “We HAVE to stop!” my son announced and I agreed.

For the next hour, we scaled logs, climbed rock walls to the top of the slide and climbed on bears at this awesome playground.

Turned out I wasn’t too good at the latter, which is probably a good thing.

Bear Creek Canyon

I frequent Bear Creek Canyon regularly when en route from Denver/Morrison to Evergreen. After driving down the canyon,  we landed in the funky mountain town of Morrison, devoured sundaes at The Blue Cow, threw rocks in Bear Creek and I then told the kids we were crossing the street to visit two shops I’ve driven past a hundred times but have never set foot.

Both were love at first sight: Sundance Sensations appealed to my Bohemian side while La Boutique des Bourdreux was a whimsical, vintage gift and clothing shop where Hadley and I were enthralled at every turn and could have spent an hour in there.

If it wasn’t for Bode.

As every minute passed, he grew increasingly inpatient. When Hadley and I started trying on the large selection of hats, I cooed, “Hadley, I want this hat.”

Bode interjected. “Mommy, WANTS ARE NOT NEEDS.”

It would seem he’s been taking lessons from his father on more than just pumpkins.

Filed Under: Bode, Colorado, Family travel, Hadley, hiking, Humor, outdoors, pumpkins, travel Tagged With: , , , ,

Adventure Girl Does Woman’s Boot Camp

July 15, 2013 by

I recently bought a Groupon for Front Range Adventure Boot Camp (you may recall I did it about five years ago) and spent the entirety of June getting my butt kicked at 6:30 a.m. In fact, I liked it so much I’m trying to figure out how to fit it into our budget starting in August.

Part of my love for this woman’s boot camp is the owner/trainer Robyn Morrisette, who not only coaches but inspires. During the summer months, we leave the gym to climb North Table Mountain Park every Friday.

I can’t begin to share just how breathtakingly verdant this place is right now, particularly because I mountain bike its lackluster brown hills all winter.

Hadley has been intrigued by boot camp and so she asked me if she could come. I mentioned we hike on Fridays and she was game.

“But you’ll have to wake up at 6 a.m.”
“OK!”

Apparently she forgot what dawn feels like; I’m able to do it because I’m barely sleeping anyway with Denver’s blistering temperatures. To her credit when I went to rouse her that Friday morning, she popped right off the couch (we’ve abandoned our too-hot upstairs rooms) and 20 minutes later, we were on the trail.

I’ve biked the North Table Loop countless times but when Robyn mentioned there was a hidden waterfall off the Mesa Top Trail, Hadley and I set out to find it. And I’m telling you that girl did a fabulous job keeping up and surpassed everyone in the group for distance hiked that day.

After an hour, we discovered the waterfall, a curious phenomenon on that desert mesa tucked away behind lush foliage. We bush-whacked to the base and, though the upper-90-degree temps have reduced the waterfall to a trickle, Hadley doused herself with water before ultimately deciding to climb the cliff up the waterfall to a small cave.

Adventure Girl is waaaay crazier than I ever was.

I relished our time together. We spotted deer and their fawns (“they’re doing a mother-daughter hike like us!”), I discovered Hadley has learned to whistle (my heart melted as she belted out “When You’re Happy and You Know It”), tried to identify the wildflowers in full bloom and attempted to catch butterflies with her hat. We picked out our future dream home, a million-dollar horse property bordering North Table and Hadley hilariously asserted, “We need to become friends with those people.”

Two hours later, we were starving as we made our way back to the car and she suggested, “Let’s go buy a doughnut.”

Now that is my kind of boot-camp gal.

Filed Under: Colorado, Hadley, hiking, Humor, outdoors

Colorado’s Best-kept Secret: Chautauqua in Boulder

July 13, 2013 by

I have extensively traveled throughout Colorado since moving here 10 years ago—from soaring the state’s 14,000-foot peaks to its gleaming lakes. Through it all, one of my favorite destinations is just 20 minutes from my house: Chautauqua.

Located at the base of the Flatiron mountains in Boulder, this National Historic Landmark has charming rental cottages that are surrounded on three sides with open space. Its 48 miles of hiking trails and thousands of acres of natural lands beg to be explored.

I had been living in Colorado less than a year when I hiked Chautauqua’s Enchanted-Mesa Trail with my daughter and I was, well, enchanted. After my hike, I explored the grounds and was smitten by the newly

CLICK TO READ ON AT TRAVEL MAMAS

Filed Under: Colorado, Family travel, Foodie, hiking, outdoors

Hiking to non-existent reservoirs is still a day of Colorado bliss

July 10, 2013 by

Remember our adventures atop 14,265-foot Mt. Evans and how I vowed to go back to the eccentrically charming Echo Mountain Lodge’s gift shop and restaurant? Two days later, it happened.

Upon returning home, I checked my email. My friend Dawn organized a summer hiking group with gals from church and I was shocked to see that Tuesday’s hike was to Idaho Springs Reservoir and the trailhead was right at Echo Lake. We skipped swim lessons that day and I declared yet another mountain adventure was in order. On previous hikes, there were plenty of kids but no one Hadley’s age so we invited her bestie Alex along for the ride.

Besties at Echo Lake

Idaho Springs Reservoir

Though I’ve hiked 90 percent of the trails on the Front Range, the Chicago Lakes Trail to Idaho Springs Reservoir is over an hour from my house and deep in the backcountry so I was not familiar with it. As we started hiking, a mom whipped out her guidebook for directions and lo-and-behind it was Best Hikes with Kids, the book I was contacted about revising a few years ago!

The publisher shipped me a copy when it came out last year and I was mostly relieved I turned down the project and pleased that the author did such a nice job with it. Mind you, if I was contacted about doing something similar now, my kiddos are of a more suitable age for me to take it on.

The guidebook is thorough but here’s one thing the author neglected to mention: this hike is not great for young kiddos. For about 12 minutes, we skirted along a narrowish ledge with a steep drop. We had a few preschoolers, which made for an ulcer-inducing time. Even more stressful was I was up front with the older kids while the other moms helped the youngin’s at the back. My friend Dawn has two darling twin boys who are Bode’s age and let me tell you, those boys are mischievous. One of them tried climbing DOWN the steep cliff while the other tried to race past us while still on that ledge.

We eventually sent them back to hike with their mom and everyone was much happier. Well, except for them.

The guidebook suggested we start at the Echo Lake Campground but the host said it was quicker to commence from the north side of Echo Lake. There was a simple map in the guidebook but we had no idea how far our altered route was. We stopped a lady on the trail who had a topographical map and lo-and-behind, the Idaho Springs Reservoir wasn’t even on it. You know, OUR DESTINATION.

Echo Lake, the group at the creek and that lovely ledge.

We kept blindly hiking for another 15 minutes with glorious views of Mount Evans looming in the background. Upon reaching a creek, we opted to turn back. Who knew if we were even going the right way and we had already been hiking an hour.

If there’s anything I hate, it’s unfinished business and that is particularly prevalent with hiking. If I don’t summit, I have to go back or I obsess about it. Upon turning around, we were a few minutes from the trailhead when we ran into a hiker. I started talking to him and mentioned our turnaround point. “Oh really? You should have kept going. Idaho Springs Reservoir is only 1/4-mile from that creek.”

I guess the only positive side to that is I’ll be back.

The Scenic Route

As promised, I let the kids each pick out a souvenir at Echo Lake Lodge but opted to hold out to try the restaurant until we could return with Jamie (he was only a little bit bitter about being left behind). Then, instead of heading back on I-70, I announced we were going the scenic route via new-to-me Squaw Pass Road to Evergreen, one of my favorite mountain hamlets. My bribery? I’d buy them ice cream.

Of course, with views like this, it doesn’t take too much arm-bending. The great thing about traveling with kids is they have a radar for anything fun. We stopped at Baskin-Robbins in Evergreen and upon sitting on the creekside benches, they noticed a charming area to climb trees and play in Bear Creek so that is exactly what we did for the next hour.

Bear Creek, Evergreen

Oh, to be a kid again. But living vicariously through them is the next best thing.

96-mile journey

Filed Under: Colorado, Family travel, hiking, Humor, outdoors Tagged With: , , ,

Mount Evans: On Top of the World in Colorado

July 9, 2013 by

Colorado is blessed with some world-class vistas and there is nothing more unique than our 54 14,000-foot peaks (14ers). I’ve hiked several of them, Jamie has summitted even more and in a few years we hope to do them as a family.

Mount Evans Scenic Byway

Out of the many 14ers, only two of them are drivable. At 14,265 feet, Mount Evans is just 60 miles west of Denver and is reputed as Colorado’s “highest paved highway.” So after church, we decided to drive to the top.

That’s what I call a scenic Sunday drive on steroids.

It has been nearly 10 years since I last drove to Mount Evans because I didn’t feel like the kids were ready until now. Why not? If you’ve never been at 14,000 feet you have no idea how much the altitude messes with your head. Every time I see a family up there with young kids (particularly when they’re hiking), I want to yell at them for being irresponsible. People have become lost, dazed and even died on these peaks due to the altitude.

I read the kids Harry Potter (their summer obsession) as the road climbed through nearly 9,000 feet of elevation gain from Denver’s high plains through five climate zones, past Summit Lake to the top of the continent. It. Was. Glorious. While Denver’s temperatures were in the 90s, there was a was a 40-degree drop at 14,265 feet so we bundled up in our winter jackets.

And yes, that made me a very happy Canuck.

When you reach the Summit Parking Area, you are not yet at the top so we hiked the 1/4-mile trail. You’d think the last 130 vertical feet would be a cinch but believe me, at 14,000 feet, your head is pounding and you’re gasping for air. But the views are out of this world.

Flying atop Mount Evans

Summit Lake, just below Mount Evan’s summit

All of Colorado’s 14ers have a solid bronze summit marker

But poor Bode felt like his head was going to explode from the altitude so we quickly made our descent down, down, down the mountain.

Note to self: give the boy a couple of years before reattempting another 14er.

Echo Lake Lodge

Near the entrance to the Mount Evans Scenic Byway is Echo Lake, a beautiful jewel-like body of water. And next to that is historic Echo Lake Lodge. Built in 1926, this charming restaurant and gift shop is brimming with souvenir clothing, glassware, collectibles, handmade Native American jewelery, toys, delicious homemade pies and breathtaking views of Echo Lake from the restaurant.

But it was Sunday and we try very hard not to shop on the Sabbath so we made a vow to return very soon for dinner and souvenirs.

Little did I know it would be a mere two days later.

Stay tuned for our serendipitous hiking adventures to nearly Idaho Springs Reservoir. Read it here http://www.themilehighmama.com/hiking-to-non-existent-reservoirs-is-still-a-day-of-colorado-bliss/

Filed Under: Colorado, Family travel, hiking, Humor, outdoors, travel

Balancing short-term with long-term needs and our lovely car accident

July 8, 2013 by

In my Denver Post column today, I was given the assignment to write about how to balance short-term family needs with long-term retirement planning.

And then en route to discuss this with a financial planner, Jamie side-swiped another car.

You can’t make this stuff up, people.

Click to read on.

Filed Under: Family Tagged With: ,

How you know you have hockey-loving Canadian parents

July 7, 2013 by

The kids and I are spending the next few weeks in Canada with my family.

Something always cracks me up when I go into my parent’s bedroom. I first discovered it last summer when I was hanging out on their bed. From across the room on my dad’s dresser, I saw a picture of me with a guy. At first, I thought it was Jamie but quickly dismissed that when I saw his sandy-blonde hair. I did a mental checklist of my ex-boyfriends and tried to figure out who on earth I was with.

Upon close-up investigation, I laughed out loud when I realized it was not my beloved husband but rather, a picture of me with The Great One, Wayne Gretzky (whom I met–and insulted–when I was at the 2010 Vancouver Games for Microsoft Office).

Even Jamie says he can’t compete with that.

Filed Under: Humor, Jamie Tagged With: , ,

Our Out-of-this-world Indepence Day

July 5, 2013 by

I usually look forward to the Fourth of July. The fireworks are shot right above our neighborhood so we shut our street down for a huge party. However, this year, our fellow partiers all went on vacation so I feared our celebrations would be a bust.

The Ice Cream

We decided to make our own fun, starting with a holiday tradition that would be an even better tradition if we remembered to do it every year: homemade ice cream. The night before the holiday, Hadley and I made the most unbelievable snickerdoodle ice cream but here’s a tip: the recipe only made 1.5 quarts.If you want to keep your man happy, you will go back in the kitchen and make two more batches. Good thing we all benefited from it.

While the ice cream was churning, we had the best time playing on the front lawn and doing shadow puppet plays with the flashlight on the porch. Hadley and I went for a walk around our neighborhood in our PJs.

Because we’re those kind of neighbors. #SunglassesatNight

The Breakfast

We always start our July 4th by waking up early for our church’s stake pancake breakfast and patriotic program.Gotta love the tongue in this one. Pancake-eating takes a lot of concentration.

The Day at the Museum

Then, because we had no plans, Jamie suggested we go to the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. Bode is obsessed with space so Jamie bought him a Living Social deal. Little dude was in his element and we were shocked that the normally cram-packed museum was nearly empty. We raced from exhibit to exhibit without any lines and delighted in the Planetarium’s Cosmic Journey: A Solar System Adventure.

Our tickets included an IMAX. We really wanted to see Great White Shark 3D or Galapagos 3D but the show times didn’t work for us so we reluctantly settled upon Flight of the Butterflies 3D. It. Was. Unbelievable. IMAX always does a great job not only telling a story but sharing a journey and this one literally had me in tears…as I marveled over butterflies. Go see it; you won’t be disappointed.

The Party

Though 99 percent of the world bailed on us for our evening festivities, we had our good friends pull through. Bonus: they have six kids so that means it’s an instant party wherever they go. My friend Eva is an unbelievable cook so brought a full spread of food and we threw in our ice cream and made patriotic dessert pizzas (delish recipe here) for good measure. It turned out to be a fun night of great conversation, croquet and fireworks.

And the biggest announcement of all? We slept in the next morning, which rarely happens. I’m usually awake between 5:30-6 a.m. and crashed until 8:45 a.m., Hadley slept ’til 9:30 a.m. and Bode achieved a personal “high score” for sleeping: 10:24 a.m.

It was a winning holiday for all. Happy Independence Day, everyone!

Filed Under: Bode, Family, Hadley, holidays

The Johnson Family’s Shortest (and worst) Camping Trip Ever

July 1, 2013 by

I have tried to instill a love of nature in my kids–just last week we went hiking four times, my daughter recently returned from YMCA of the Rockies’ traditional overnight Camp Chief Ouray and at the end of July they’re both enrolled in Avid4Adventure’s Survival Skills Camp. We are an outdoor-loving family!

But my favorite childhood memories are of camping and that is one area in which we’ve fallen short with my own family.  There is nothing like the sense of community at campgrounds, playing with new BFFs, eating tin foil dinners and s’mores, exploring and exploring some more, and telling stories around the campfire.

Here’s a recap of our camping trips since having kids.

Trip 1: Hadley had just turned 1 and was a horrible sleeper so she wailed all night long two nights in a row. Our campsite at Golden Gate Canyon State Park was on a slope. Hadley had just learned to walk so was falling over every few feet and when she wasn’t face-planting, she was trying to crawl into the fire pit. Our three-day weekend was cut a day short.

Trip 2: We took a few years off from camping to get pregnant and have our son Bode. When he was 2, we joined our good friends at Eleven Mile State Park. Never been? Keep it that way. I’d read about it in FamilyFun magazine and it was a huge, barren disappointment. In addition to camping, capsizing and crying, my baby had the most disgusting, explosive case of diarrhea and I spent hours at the camp laundromat cleaning out his car seat and clothes. (Ugly details here).

Trip 3: Waterton Lakes National Park, Canada. This is my favorite place on earth and I was ecstatic to introduce my kids to this wonderland that borders Glacier National Park. Sure there were minor hiccups (such as near-hurricane-strength winds) but it was our best camping trip to date.

Trip 4: Bear Lake State Park. Last year, Mile High Mamas partnered with Coleman for the Great American Campout. It had all the fixins for an amazing weekend with horseback riding, games, gourmet camp meals and kayaking. But do you remember that record-breaking 105-degree day last June? ‘Nuff said.

Trip 5: Camp Dick last weekend. This was going to be our year. The kids are 7 and 9 and the perfect ages for camping. Check-in wasn’t until 2 p.m. so we had a few hours to kill when we arrived at this campground set in a glacial valley just off the Peak to Peak Scenic Byway.

The kids caught butterflies and threw rocks in the adjacent Middle Saint Vrain Creek and we hiked a portion of the Buchanan Pass Trail.

We have been united with our fellow Coloradoans in praying for rain to defray the horrible wildfires…we just didn’t want the drought to end right then. All was going shockingly well until we felt our first raindrop. We’d waded through near hurricanes and diarrhea; a bit of rain wasn’t going to deter us.

Then it started down-pouring so we raced back to the car and ate lunch. Earlier, we’d spotted the remains of the previous night’s hail storm but miracles–the weather broke a half-hour later and we still had plenty of time to explore before we could set-up our tent.

Adventurous Hadley (who no longer falls every few feet and cries all night), discovered a faint trail on the other side of the creek so we bush-whacked our way to my children’s version of wonderland: a massive boulder field. We spent the next hour free-climbing these rock monsters and Hadley and my husband braved a steep slope to a cossetted cave. I hung back with my more-cautious Bode who called out encouragements such as “you know you can crack your head open and slide all the way down.”

Kid needs a lesson or two on pep talks.

Then all hell (or rather, hail) broke loose and it could not have come at a worse time. We were forging back through the forest when Bode slipped and hurt himself. Not even 5 seconds later, hail started pounding us and blinded, we lost the trail that was already barely there, forcing us to wade over a swamp land and practically toss now-hysterical Bode across the creek.

When we arrived at the road, we still had over a mile to where we’d parked our car at the trailhead but our soon-to-be acquired campsite was right around the corner. “I’ll run and get the car and you go to camp,” I bravely volunteered. Come hail or high-water, I would lead my family to safety!

I raced through the campground, hail pelting and drenching every inch of my body. It seemed like an eternity before I reached the car but I raced back to our campsite and saw my poor little family hunkered down under a tree trying to shield themselves from the frozen sheets of ice.

“We’ve taken a vote,” my husband announced.
“What is it?” I already knew the answer.
“We’re ready to go home.”

I looked at our campsite, the mud puddles thick from the previous night’s storm were now filled with snow. We could have toughed it out if we were staying in a camper but there was nowhere to setup our tent.  And most importantly, the sky ‘s furry was just getting started.

We called it a day at 1:30 p.m., just 4.5 hours from the time we left our house.

Better luck next year.

Filed Under: Canada, Colorado, Family, Family travel, Favorite Posts, Hadley, hiking, Humor, Jamie, outdoors, travel Tagged With: , , ,

June Travels: Our Crazy Life According to Instagram

June 30, 2013 by

My work-life balance has been nil with waaaaay too much playtime with the kids. I’m hoping to write about all our hiking adventures (and believe me, there are MANY) but until that time, my iPhone tells the story of our first month of summer break.

Chautauqua in Boulder

Our month-long party started with a glorious getaway to Chautauqua in Boulder complete with a charming cottage, emerald hikes bursting with jeweled wildflowers, a gourmet meal at the Dining Hall and Snow White reenacted by Theatre-Hikes Colorado.

Chautauqua in Boulder

Chautauqua meadow outside of our cottage

Snow White Theatre Hike!

With a kickoff to summer like that, it’s hard to go wrong. And we haven’t.

Giving Back

One day, we did a tour of the Food Bank of the Rockies where we learned about their kid’s program Kung Food Fighters to teach kids how to help fight child hunger.

Food Bank of the Rockies

But obviously not how to do Kung Foo moves.

Kicking It

Then there was the Colorado Rapids, our first-ever professional soccer game.

Colorado Rapids

We expect greater things from our soccer-playing son now.

Cave of the Winds

OK, technically our trip to Colorado Springs and The Broadmoor was late-May but I need to fit in our awe-inspiring cave tour of the 500-million-year-old Cave of the Winds, which was discovered in 1881.

Cave of the Winds

An exciting new addition to the already-cool caves is the Wind Walker Challenge Course. This three-story obstacle course is located on the rim of a 600-foot drop into Williams Canyon and has a challenging maze of steel beams, swinging ropes and ladders. Bode barely met the height requirement and I was proud of him for trying.

Wind Walker Challenge Course

Though it may take him a few years to recover from it. #Scary

Utah Fun

While Hadley was at Camp Chief Ouray for a week, Bode took his first solo flight to Utah. But then I crashed his party on the last day by scheduling a business trip in Park City where I also crammed in a quick hike to the Living Room, roller-bladed the Jordan River Parkway for the first time in 10 years (we’ve both changed!), had a cousin sleepover with the edible twinnies and storytime with Grandma.

Utah!

Talk about a memorable trip!

Carnivores Unite

Then, Bode and I headed straight up to YMCA of the Rockies near Winter Park where we got a tour of Hadley’s camp and had some fun adventures of our own. Sane people would have turned around after picking her up but not us. We headed further west into the mountains for our Father’s Day tradition: the Frisco BBQ Challenge where we met up with carnivore-loving Jamie.

Golden Breckenridge

But the fun didn’t stop there during that masochistic week (I crammed in four trips, but who’s counting?) Breckenridge is just a 15-minute drive away from Frisco and if we were to have a cabin anywhere, it would be there. It was like coming home as we spent the morning at Peak 8 Fun Park, which boasts the most awesome line-up of summer activities of any of Colorado’s ski resorts with an alpine coaster AND slide, gold panning, a maze, bungee trampoline, miniature golf and a bounce house.

Breckenridge Peak 8 Fun Park

We were thrilled to be in Breckenridge during Kingdom Days, which celebrates the town’s colorful history.

Or rather, lack of color as you can see from this old-fashioned photo. Note to self: Next time stay and watch Kingdom Days’ uproarious Outhouse Races.

Breckenridge was founded back in the 1860s thanks to the many gold discoveries. I have always wanted to go on a mine tour and was thrilled when Country Boy Mine Tour was a part of our itinerary.

Country Boy Mine Tours

There is still gold in them thar hills but it costs more money to extract it than it is worth. Following the tour, we panned for gold and Hadley unearthed a real sliver of gold, which I then proceeded to lose.

So much for our chance at millions.

Breckenridge is part of an extensive paved trail system that connects to mountain towns Frisco, Dillon, Keystone, Copper Mountain and Vail. That evening, Hadley was exhausted after her week at camp so Jamie stayed behind while Bode and I took to the trail. I had an epiphany: almost exactly two years ago, Hadley took her first solo flight to Utah (like Bode) and she first tested out her new mountain bike on Breckenridge’s trail system, just as Bode and I did that evening on his newly-minted mountain bike.

New bikes on the Breckenridge bike path: Hadley (2011) and Bode (2013)

His ride went smashingly on the dirt trails…until he ended up slowly smashing into the bridge. Luckily he made a quick recovery.

Party Boy

For the past few years, we have been in Canada for Bode’s July birthday, which has resulted in a number of “pretend birthdays” leading up to the real deal. He wanted to celebrate with his buddies at Big Time Fun Trampoline Center and it was the cheapest, easiest party I’ve ever thrown: Invite friends, buy cake, show up.

Big Time Partiers

Why have I been killing myself all these years with parties, food and entertainment at my house?

Finally a Fish

For the third year in a row, I organized summer swim lessons for some of my good friends from our ward. It is a two-week pool party for the kiddos and a lot of fun to hang out with the Real Housewives of Jefferson County.

And most noteworthy? Bode has finally figured out how to swim and graduated from Squids, which is the first time he has ever passed a swim class. There may be hope yet.

Camping Disasters

I was looking forward to our camping trip yesterday to Camp Dick in the Roosevelt National Forest. Like so many of our adventures, it started well with blue skies, beautiful hikes, creek-playing and boulder-scaling.

Camp Dick

But then ended so very, very badly. Details tomorrow.

Lyons Soda Fountain

But I suggest you drown your sorrows with ice cream sodas, floats, freezes, phosphates and classy sundaes at Lyons Soda Fountain, one of the state’s best preserved and oldest soda fountains in Lyons, Colo. Because ice cream makes everyone feel better.

A Little Bit of Magic

Lest you think we haven’t had any downtime in June, think again. Every chance we got, whether we were at the park, in the car driving 14,265 feet to Mount Evans’ summit or in the basement, I was reading the kids their newest obsession: Time well spent in what turned out to be a magical month.

Filed Under: Bode, Colorado, Family, Family travel, Hadley, hiking, Jamie, outdoors, travel, Utah Tagged With: , , , , , ,
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