The Incline

Jeremy and I celebrated our 12th wedding anniversary this year.  Because we are so "seasoned" now as a couple, we decided to step it up a notch in the celebration department.  No more dinner and a movie nonsense, we wanted this anniversary to stand out.  You are probably thinking we took a cruise in the Caribbean or jetted off to Europe.  No, no...we did something even BETTER than all that.  We hiked the Incline.  Yes, that's right.  Don't be jealous.  What's the Incline, you ask?  The incline is a set of unevenly spaced railroad ties or "stairs" that lead virtually straight up the mountainside.  It begins at about 6,500 feet in elevation and climbs to around 8,500 feet in less than a mile. Two thousand feet in one mile.  Wowzas.  Definitely not a hike for pansies.  But we're no pansies.  So we came...we climbed...and we conquered.  Thanks for 12 adventurous years. Love you, babe!

 The beginning of the trail.  Looks innocent enough right?

 A little over half-way up.  Can you see the trail in the background?  Yikes!

 Jeremy looking studly.

 We made it to the top.  I realize I should have taken the photo with the trail and view behind us.  But cut me some slack.  I was deprived of oxygen after hiking up 2000 ft. in elevation and wasn't thinking clearly.

Best Buddy Reunion

Really great friends are hard to find.  Friends that play "Shark Man, Sticky Man" and know and understand the rules and even draw detailed maps for this very game...well, friends like that are few and far between. :) These cute boys have been best friends since they were in diapers and it crushed Hayden and Gannon's world (and mine too!) when the Probsts moved away last year.  In fact, ALL of their close friends, except for Sam, moved away within the last year.  It's been tough for the boys, but what's kept them going is knowing that Jed and Ian were coming back to visit.  We had such a fun-filled 3 days with the Probsts and we miss them even more now than ever.  Come baaaaaccccckkkkk!

Toads, Glorious Toads

Hayden and Gannon's friend, Sam Erickson, has a field behind his house that is a mecca for little creatures, the most prized being the horny toads.  Many a day has been spent in that field searching for toads and several times, they've been found (poor little toads).  I told the boys that they could keep them for a day or 2 and then we'd take them back to their home.  For 2 glorious days, they played non-stop with these little critters.

School ALREADY?!

We have modified year-round school here and as a result, the school year starts the first of August.  We've been robbed!  Or at least that's how the boys feel having a whole month of Summer snatched away before their very eyes.  Perhaps a bit dramatic, but it just doesn't seem right for kids to be in school when the temperature is still in the 90s.  However, getting to buy new school supplies makes up for the inconvenience of going to school in the sweltering heat...but only just a little.  Here's the school boys.  Gannon is starting 1st Grade and has Ms. Pitchford.  Hayden will be in 3rd grade and has Mr. Potts.

 Doesn't Gannon's backpack look gigantic?!  It's going to swallow him whole.

 I really did comb his hair before this.  I swear.

Sadly, Bridgy Boo doesn't get to go yet, but he stocked his backpack with essentials like cars and tractors...just in case.

Planting Tiny Seeds

I've missed planting a garden ever since we've moved to Colorado.  The growing season is short here and we don't really have room in our yard for a full-fledged garden, so this year, I told the boys that they could each have their own planter pot and choose what to grow in it.  Hayden and Gannon started out with carrots, radishes and Jack-Be-Little pumpkins, while Bridger and I had cilantro and Pumpkins too.  Between Finley knocking over pots and severe rain and hail storms, only the heartiest of our plants (the radishes and pumpkins) made it through.  Here is our miniscule harvest this year.  It may be small, but the boys' smiles were gigantic when they realized that food really does grow out of seeds. We had the cutest little pumpkins at the end of August, but we forgot to take pictures.  But I assure you, they were adorable. :)

The Perfect Pillow

Doesn't Finley look like he's enjoying himself?

Adventures of Mount Rushmore

Jeremy fulfilled one of his childhood dreams over the Memorial Day weekend when we traveled to South Dakota and saw the great Mt. Rushmore. We arrived on Friday night and stayed in the town of Custer.  The weather was rainy and cold on the drive up and we were crossing our fingers and toes that it would be warmer on Saturday.  We must not have crossed enough fingers and toes to please Mother Nature because we woke up to 40 degrees, rain and thick fog.

 

 

 

 I didn't mind the weather that much because most of the day we were in the car, driving through Custer State Park.  I told the boys that whom ever saw the first wild animal would get a milkshake.  With that incentive, the boys' faces were plastered against the car windows.  We saw two buffalo, then several antelope and deer.

 And then, Bridger spotted the first "John Deere" - a rare, beautiful green creature sitting quietly up on the hill in his natural habitat.  We slowed the car down for a good look and Bridger shouted, "Whoo hoo! Now I get a milk shake."  Well done, my boy.

 

We were commenting on our good fortune of getting to see not one, but two buffalo out in the "wild", when we came upon this sight:

 They were crossing the street in front of us and coming right up to the car.

As we drove through the park and headed toward Mt. Rushmore, I kept hoping that the fog would lift, just for a moment, so we'd be able to see the mountain.  When we arrived at Mt. Rushmore, we couldn't see a thing.  There were crowds of people milling around, waiting for the fog to lift, but no such luck.

We had better luck on Sunday.   We were able to hike around the Memorial, check out the museum and since they didn't have milkshakes, the poor boys had to settle for enormous ice cream cones.  They muddled through some how. :)

We also went to the Crazy Horse Memorial.  This is a small scale model of what the mountain will look like when it is completed.

 

This is what has been done since they began in 1998.  Hard to see with all the fog, but it was very impressive.

 

There's gold in them hills, and the boys each have a vile with gold flecks in them to prove it.  We toured the Big Thunder Gold Mine and Jeremy and the boys tried to win their fortune by panning for gold.

Gannon wasn't that interested in finding gold, but was captivated by all the cool-looking rocks.  He filled his vile with his rock treasures and 1 tiny fleck of gold.  He was a happy man.

 

Trying to keep Bridger from falling out of bed at night was a full time job.  He was restless and whimpering in his sleep and I kept waking up to push him away from the edge and to cover him back up.  Even with a wall of pillows, he fell out once, but thankfully didn't sustain any injuries. :)  While I had bags under my eyes in the morning, Jeremy slept blissfully through the night, unaware of it all and was bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.  Ah, the thankless job of a mother.

I have to comment on the continental breakfast, since when we asked what their favorite part of the trip was, the boys all shouted, "Swimming at the hotel! And Fruit Loops!"  In that case, we could have saved ourselves a whole lot of time and money by just cracking open a box of cereal at home.  I'll make a mental note for next time. :)  I think they cleaned out the hotel's entire supply of Fruit Loops.

Here's Bridger, all set for the drive home.  All in all, it was a great trip!