Summer Break--Week 4

This was our week with our cousins and our trip to Estes Park.  It was our highlight of the summer.  It could also be known as the week of questionable wardrobe choices for me and the week when I realized that I needed to get a handle on my weight.  But more on that later.

The Perrins Family arrived on in parts on Saturday.  First we had Uncle Erik and Ethan arrive from their week of high adventure early on Saturday (around 8am).  Then Aunt Kristi, Bryn, Owen, Issac, and Maci arrived early that evening from Kansas.  I love that within 5 minutes of arriving our kids take off together and start to play.

On Sunday we skipped church since it was Stake Conference and the cousins were here.  Bree and Maci enjoyed eating at the little kids table.  Bree says Maci is her best friend.

Bree was a tad bit grouchy and was not wanting to share her special toys with Maci, but eventually she decided it was ok and they played dolls together for a bit.

Sunday evening we took the Perrins family up to Monument Rock.

Family shot at Monument Rock

We had to make it a quick trip back to the car as a rain storm was rolling in complete with lightning.

On Monday we took our time as we were driving up to Estes Park (since check-in wasn't until 6pm).  As we were driving up it started to rain but it was lunch time anyway so we stopped at Chick-Fil-A.  Our timing was fantastic as it cleared up and was quite sunny as we got to Dinosaur Ridge.

Finn in the hole where someone had cut out a dinosaur print.

A dinosaur bone fossil

Getting squished by a dinosaur track

We had a fantastic guide.  He is a school science teacher moonlighting at Dinosaur Ridge.

Reid's hand next to some fossils

Kai with a dinosaur footprint

We got to the YMCA a bit early and our cabins were actually ready--it was a first!!  There was a downpour while we were checking in, but when we got to our cabin we were greeted by this beautiful rainbow over the valley.

Reid had Kristi take this picture in front of their cabin

We had hesitated to plan out our week until we got to the YMCA.  We wanted to allow them time to look around, get a feel for the place, and then decide what they wanted to do.  So we started out Tuesday morning by meeting at the playground so they could look at the activity building (and sign up if needed) and see the craft cabin.  The cousins loved playing together on the playground!

This is Owen.  And to the right is Finn and the left is Issac.

That morning we decided to take a family fun class that was meant to encourage team work.  We played lots of fun field games and the boys had a blast.  This poor little boy in the green shirt was the only one his age in his family so he decided to join ours!

One of the games involved lowering a hula hoop while having it just lay on top of your finger.  Our group tried to have Bree do it with us.  This group got smart and let Maci stand in the middle.  Genius!

I don't think Maci is this much taller than Bree!!  She must be on a hill.  She is 6 months older than Bree and has taller parents so it's inevitable that this will be the case their whole lives, but still I didn't think the difference was this dramatic.

My cutie had to have braids that morning because Maci had them the day before.

After our morning class we headed our to the Rustic Cafe in the administration building for lunch and then went back to the Sweet Memorial Building.  There was a climbing wall guide that couldn't find her group and so she offered to take us right then instead.  After we decided to go for it, she found out that her manager would not let her as the other group had already paid and even though they were no-shows, the wall was reserved.  So, instead she walked us out to the wall to see it.  It was a LONG hike.

After walking back, the Perrins family and our boys decided to go mini-golfing and I took Bree back to the cabin for a nap.  We shared a bed this week which meant that she often did not get as much sleep as she needed and this day she desperately needed some more.  After mini-golfing, the boys came back to our cabin and then ended up heading down to the craft cabin to work on some crafts while our dinner finished up in the crock-pot.  After we finally finished up some crafts we had everyone over to our cabin for some meatball stew and dirt 'n worms.

Wednesday was a crazy full day.  We hiked to Emerald Lake in the morning and then had horse back riding in the evening.  We ended up in Downtown Estes that night for dinner.  We decided to try a Mexican place that had an awesome rooftop dining area.  Unfortunately, dinner took a lot longer than we planned (and they tried to charge us a lot more than they should have) and we ended up not having time to do the shopping I wanted.  But it was still fun.

The hike to Emerald Lake starts right at Bear Lake.

Bree's story--Our hike was rough.  We started out with my two boys fighting for first in "line".  They wanted to lead the hike and were pushing, running, etc. to do it.  It was a rough first half a mile.  We finally got it figure out and around the one mile mark we pulled over for snacks.  We were packing everyone and everything back up to continue our hike and Bree ended up tipping over in her backpack while she waited for us to be ready.  She fell face first into a boulder and hit her head hard!  She was inconsolable (being very tired did not help) and she was scared of the backpack. I told the group to continue ahead of us and Bree and I would stay behind with a radio while I watched her and decided what to do (continue and catch up or wait until they came back to head to the car).  We didn't have any consecrated oil with us, so Reid just snuck up behind her (while she was screaming) and gave her a blessing that she would be alright and be able to calm down (by this point she had a very large goose egg already visible on her head and was refusing to hold ice from our water bottles on her head).  Nearly within a few seconds of the blessing finishing, she calmed down.  And then her Uncle Erik approached with someone else.  He had been standing by the trail (we were a few feet off of it so we wouldn't be in the way while eating our snacks) and saw someone walk by with a BYU shirt on.  He asked the man if he happened to have any oil on him.  He did not have oil, but he was a doctor.  Leave it to our BYU alumni!  Anyway, the doctor came over and talked to Bree and assessed the situation.  He felt that she was fine and did not have a concussion.  He did say she was going to have a nice bruise (which she did).  That made me feel so much better and by this point she was calm enough that she wanted to continue on the hike.  I was grateful for the doctor's assessment as within 20 minutes or so of continuing the hike she fell asleep in the backpack.  She needed the rest and I was grateful to know that I didn't need to wake her.  She woke up when we got to Emerald Lake and was in better spirits.  But she remained quite scared of the backpack for the rest of the trip.  Who can blame her?!

We finally made it to Emerald Lake!

Grabbing some snacks before the hike back down

If you look closely over my left shoulder you will see a moose grazing in the field. 

All ready to get on some horses!  Bree was excited to ride as a double rider with me.  Finn, Kai, and Reid each had their own horse.  

Poor Finn was at the front of the line and just could not get the hang of kicking his horse hard enough to get him to listen to anything.  About 5 minutes into the trail ride the guides gave up and just hooked Finn's horse to the guide's horse and pulled him along.  That worked much better as poor Finn just couldn't get it done on his own.  This beginning should have given us a bit of warning as to what was to come!  (The horse turned the wrong way and just stood there.)

It's really hard to hold onto reins, hold onto your 3 year old, and take a selfie.  But we did it!

On Thursday morning there was more mini-golf, more crafting, and a trip into town for shopping, etc.  Our family decided to have lunch at our cabin and then get dessert at Dairy Queen in town.  The cousins had lunch in town and then hit the grocery store.  When we got back we rented some fishing equipment (that was another ordeal, but we figured it out) and went fishing in the lake.  I highly doubt that there was any real fish to catch, but my kids loved learning to cast (Finn and Kai tried that) and holding the rod as if they were doing something.  And then they got to reel it back in.  Oh, and Kai even put a worm on a hook!  Brave kid!

Kai hooked it!  Unfortunately, these worms were huge and didn't want to stay on the hook.  Instead of catching fish, it turned out we were releasing worms!

Finn got pretty good at casting.

That afternoon we had an archery lesson.  It turned out we did not get many tries at actually shooting, but it was fun.  It was my first time and I was proud of myself that I was actually hitting the target with my last couple of arrows (we only got to shoot 6).

Nope, I'm not Katniss!

The little girls were sad that they couldn't do archery and so the group leaders gave them this target and some arrows and they were allowed to punch the target with the arrows.

Reid is a good shot.  I don't think he missed even once.

After archery we went to back to the Perrins' cabin for pizza and birthday cake for dessert.  Friday was Ethan's 16th birthday and so we celebrated a little early so we could do it at the cabins.  We sang Happy Birthday and had ice cream cake.

Friday morning before checking out we picked up Kai's craft project.  He wanted to make a nightlight that looked like the butterfly nebula.  His vision was different than ours as adults, but he did this himself and we are proud of him.  There were moments of frustration and melt down but he was eventually able to pull himself out of it and create this night light.  

Saying goodbye to the YMCA.  Until next time!

With all of the cousins

After checking out of the YMCA on Friday we headed to Lake Estes.  This is something I had wanted to do for the last couple of years but we had never gotten there.  It turned out that doing it with our cousins was the best way to go.  We rented paddle boats that hold 4 people each.  If it had been only our family we would not have been able to do it (because you would need two adults to paddle but couldn't leave one kid behind unattended by the lake).  But with the Perrins' 7 people and our 5 it divided out perfectly.  We had the 4 adults and Ethan and Bryn paddling and then we put Issac and Finn together in the back of one boat and then the 9 year olds (Kai and Owen) each had a 3 year old (Bree and Maci) to keep eyes on in the back of their boats.  We were out for a half an hour and had a really good time.

After lunch at a KFC/Taco Bell combo we went back to the lake to walk on the "beach".  It was really rocky and not super comfy on the feet but the kids had a good time and were enjoying throwing rocks into the water.  Unfortunately it came to a quick end after we found three different fishing hooks just laying on the beach.  My anxiety level went way up with the finding of the last two hooks and immediately wanted shoes on my kids.  So, that ended that.

On the way back to our house Friday afternoon we stopped at a place on the north side of Denver called Mid-Air adventures.  It was described as in indoor zipping line place for smaller kids.  And it was fun!  Since we got there at 4pm on a Friday, it wasn't too crowded and they allowed the adults to play for free, too.  At first we thought that Bree and Maci would be too small to participate and would just play on the ground, but when we arrived they told us that anyone 2 and up could zipline.  Well, our girls did not want to do. But after watching their siblings have such a good time for a half an hour, Bree was ready to go.  And when Maci saw Bree harnessed up, she was ready to give it a shot, too.  My kids had so much fun!  There was no waiting and they were able to zip and then speed right back up to the platform and do it again.  There were 3 ziplines (small, medium, and large) and three swings.  Bree started by trying the small swing while attached to me and then she moved on to doing the swings by herself.  And then she wanted to zipline while holding my hand, so we went down side by side.  It was a blast and worth every penny!

Finn on the left in the light blue and Issac on the right

Ethan at the top of the climbing wall

If you look a little to the left of center you will see Bree getting ready to jump off the platform for the medium swing.  I'm in the pink behind her as I helped her to jump at the right time.

A selfie before one of our jumps

Finn flying high on a swing

Right before we left I gave the climbing wall a try.  So, this was my most questionable outfit.  We were running short on clothes and this shirt wasn't working with the garment tops I had so I threw a white shirt under it, but I regret that choice.  As for the weight, up until this week my weight had been steadily going up since mid-May.  It was really frustrating.  I had gained a good 5 pounds in that time and it didn't seem to be slowing down.  I got home from the trip knowing that something had to change.  I was struggling to dress my weight the way I wanted and I was not happy with how I looked.  Since this trip, I have worked hard on changing my diet and making sure my activity levels are up.  I am currently down about 4 pounds since this picture.  But I still have another 8 or so I would like to lose.  When you are only 5 feet tall, just a few pounds make a big difference.  There are other pictures from this trip that I look just bad in.  I'm glad we have them, though, because I want my kids to know in the future that while I wasn't always happy with how I looked I was there to have fun with them and take pictures of it.  And it might help them, if they have ever have the same struggles in their mid-30s, to know that their mom had the same fight and was able to step up and own it.  I can't believe how much my metabolism has changed since I turned 35.  It's requiring some serious changes!

After Mid-Air Adventures we headed to The Old Spaghetti Factory for dinner.  It's such a nice atmosphere at the one here in Denver and we enjoyed it with our cousins last year.  This year was no exception.  From there we headed back to our house where we got in late and just in time for bed.

The Perrins' family original plan was to head home on Saturday.  However, after a long, fun week, they decided to stay one more day to rest up before heading back to Kansas on Sunday.  We spent Saturday playing at our house, resting, and a few of us went shopping.  Kristi, Bryn, Ethan, Bree, and I went to World Market, Costco and Hobby Lobby to grab a few things and some dinner.  

We had a great time this week.  We were so glad to have our cousins come with us to one of our favorite spots.  I still don't know how they felt about all of it and as we were driving up I kept thinking that Estes Park really is a poor man's Disney World.  But I know our family had a good time and enjoyed being with family.