A Day Trip around Colorado

This weekend we packed the kids and the puppies into the car and headed north.  Our destination was unknown, but we knew we wanted to have dinner at one of our favorite burrito joints--Big City Burrito in Ft. Collins.  We ventured through Denver up towards Longmont, where we had lunch at Noodles because the kids wanted to see if it had the fancy soda machine that allows you to create basically any flavor of soda you want.  It did!

 

Then we headed west through Lyons, CO.  We'd never been there before.  While we didn't stop to explore this very cute little town because Craig wanted to keep going towards a hike near Estes Park, we definitely will be coming back to explore this place!  Considering there was some kind of festival going on I am glad we didn't stop.  I prefer to explore new places when it isn't packed wall to wall with other people. Call me anti-social if you so desire, but I really do enjoy solitude much more than I enjoy crowds!

We wanted to try a hike called the Ouzel Falls Trail but upon our arrival we learned that it was in a state park.  In Colorado, dogs are not allowed in state parks.  Ughhh...

Fortunately the gentleman collecting the fees at the entrance gate was super friendly.  He told us about another place we could try that was pet friendly and free! And ironically is was on Lily Mountain.  I guess Lilly and Quinn would get the humor, but we sure enjoyed it!

 Lily Lake...way to crowed with people and the hike around the lake was for people only...no pets.  Took a picture for posterity, but ventured further up the road a bit

  

The hike was great!  So many friendly people along the way.  Perhaps it was because of these two that attract so many oohs and awes!

We didn't quite make it to the top.  Storms were threatening in the distance and Quinn was a bit sensitive to them.  He started whining quite a bit after the thunder started so being the protective parents we are we headed back down to the car.  I think we had less than a half a mile to the top but the safety of our brood is much more important!

We managed to wrap our way through Estes Park and tried a back road down the mountain towards Loveland. 

So glad we did this.  The drive was breathtaking and would highly recommend it!

Made it to our ultimate destination!

Yummy!

As we started home, Craig remembered he wanted to stop at a truck stop called Johnson's Corner.  Apparently they make these awesome cinnamon rolls which are sold in many of the convenience stores he orders, so he thought it might be fun to go to the source and try them there.  While it was a bit disappointing that the display was just a shelf or two located in a remote part of the store (apparently he thought they'd have a whole Krispy Kreme kind of experience or something!) they did taste pretty good.  We wouldn't drive 100+ miles to get them again but they were tasty.

The  highlight of this stop was the peaches.  Palisade Peaches being sold from some random farmer who has a huge passion for what he does!  Love that.  We unknowingly completed two classes while listening to the gentleman sell us these delicious and juicy peaches.  Peaches 101 was how to each a peach--bend over and take a bite so the juices don't run down your chin!  And Peaches 102--how to freeze and thaw peaches so they taste like a fresh peach picked right from the tree.

The day was a nice reprieve from doing projects around the home!  It's always fun to see new things and we look forward to the next adventure!

Tetherball anyone?

Looked out the window to find this happening.  I wonder if he realizes he needs a partner to play this game?!

The Fair

 

Tonight we took the kids to the county fair.  We really aren't fair people--if there is such a thing.  We went to the state fair last summer, and we were not that impressed.  However,  Craig got free tickets from work, so we figured now that we live in the country we should probably take them to the county fair. 

We saw Katie Armiger warm up for her late night peformance.  We had no idea who she was until we googled her and realized she is an up and coming country singer.  Sorry--no pictures.

We saw an amateur rodeo.  Again, no pictures!

We ate crazy fair food--turkey on a stick, nachos, cotton candy!  What?  No Pictures?!

But we did get a picture of this beauty!  We contemplated taking him home, but just because we own five acres doesn't mean we need to go all crazy and buy a ton of critters to roam the land!

 And of course, Caleb begged to play a carnival game.  Fortunately he won the first time around or else we would have had to spend a small fortune for a stuffed snake to bring home! Ema was content to have a caramel apple instead of a game.  But of course, we did not take a picture!

 Thanks guys!

Our Summer Vacation

It is true.  We did not travel this summer.  I can't remember the last time we went the entire summer without going somewhere.  But this summer there were far too many projects to be done around the homestead and raising the puppies did not allow for any long distance trips.  However, the kids were thrilled when they found out we were going to Denver International Airport to pick up Nana.  They didn't even care that we weren't going to be getting on a plane, they just wanted to go to the airport.  I know...these kids need a life!

 Where should we go?  Home, you say?

 Who doesn't love to go up and down the escalators at the airport?!

This old bug is covered with over 2 million beads.  Incredible!

 Watching all the people go thru screening...secretly wishing we were boarding a plane and not just picking up Nana!

Enjoying a refreshing treat while waiting for Nana.

A Refreshing Break

 While tackling our next project, I took a break to enjoy a nice refreshingly cold Pepsi.

The Summer of the Never Ending Projects...

Since moving into our new rundown, dilapidated foreclosure fabulous five acre property we've had several projects that we've undergone.  It started with the major overhaul of the inside before being able to officially move into the place in November with lots of inside touch up painting and tons of decorating during the winter months.  Then came spring.  The fence needed to be torn down and rebuilt which took us just about three months given that we only had energy on the weekends to work on it.  And of course for Craig's vacation we rebuilt the barn! 

For my birthday we came to an agreement on revamping the deck.  The trees around the deck needed major trimming back and many of them were simply removed to make room for our new and improved version of what was already there.  The funds didn't exist for what what I truly wanted, so we had to make do with what was available.  And here's a peak of what we've done!  

 cutting down the big guys!

 a new view

 finding out we had to replace all the support boards because they were rotting away...that was a bummer...

 old entry stairs...

 

new entry stairs

 tons of painting needed to be done...

 but it was worth every ounce of sweat equity--especially since Nana helped with many of the pickets and the kids helped keep the puppies out of the way

Mind you it's not complete.  We still need to build handrails and replace a couple broken steps on the back side, paint in between all the floor boards, and add rock walkways and patios.  Plus we will need to revamp the concrete walkway up to the front door, but that will have to wait for when we build Nana's addition in the fall so we only have to pay for one concrete truck delivery as opposed to two. And naturally I want add a bit of curb appeal with cute cushions, plants and other homey items!

And if you take a close look at the picture with the front door, you will see signs of an upcoming project...let me give you a hint.  It involves lots more paint!!

I'm still deciding on the perfect color, but we are hoping to decide soon so we can check this project off the list as well.  Oh...the many wonderful redo's this house has allowed us to conquer!

It's a dream!

 

The Many Morning Faces of Caleb

What a handsome little guy!