Nora's 5th Birthday Party

We kept things simple for Nora's party, given how close it was after our trip and return to school and work. We ate hot dogs and chips outside and enjoyed a lovely late summer evening with grandmas and grandpas and Aunt Heather. 

And this adorable birthday girl couldn't have been happier. 

She picked out some balloons that were our centerpieces.

And she helped me make chocolate cupcakes with pearlescent princessy sprinkles. 

And the gifts... oh she was so happy to get her Elsa and Anna dolls. Thanks Grandma Carlile and Aunt Dynna for making that happen! 

And the doll stroller from Grandma Loertscher was a wonderful surprise. She has been driving her baby doll, Anna, and Elsa around in the stroller ever since. 

It turned out to be a very Frozen party, with the princess dolls, a Frozen coloring book, Elsa apron, Frozen pajamas, and Frozen legos. Those who didn't do Frozen did Iron Man, which she was just as excited about. 

Things I love about Nora: her need to learn new things and new skills, her willingness to be my helper around the house, her interest in both dolls and cars, her love of singing and dancing, and how she is super excited about just about everything that interests her. Specifically at her 5th birthday: she can't wait for kindergarten, she loves dolls of all kinds, she is starting to draw more on her own, she reads simple sentences on her own, and she wants to build buildings when she grows up. I'm so glad she's mine!

First Day of School x2

We had 'the first day of school' twice around here this year. 

Zeke started third grade. 

He was sort of excited to go back to school. Glad to see his friends, not so glad to have to get up early in the morning and do homework in the evening. We are getting into the school groove pretty quickly, so that's making the less-than-fun parts a little easier. 

He's getting so grown up so fast. I'm so proud of him for being such a great student.

Nora started Kindergarten. 

She was (and still is) so incredibly excited to be in kindergarten. She loves it all! She is so happy to go to the same school as Zeke. 

Colorado Road Trip

We went to the Fort Collins area of Colorado before, about 6 years ago. For that trip, we took I-80 through Wyoming because it is the fastest. It wasn't bad, but it was boring enough that we decided we wanted to try a different route, even if it did take longer. We discovered US-40 goes over the top of the Rockies, while I-70 has almost a 2 mile long tunnel under the Rockies. At the mention of a tunnel, the kids were hooked and looked forward to that almost as much as staying in a cabin with their cousins. So, we took I-70 out so we could go through the Eisenhower-Johnson Memorial Tunnel. It would cost us extra time, but we were okay with that. 

Aaron planned our route to include stops about every hour. At least every other stop was a park where the kids could play for a few minutes. This was the best idea ever! A few minutes at a park did so much to help the kids deal with sitting in the car for hours. There were only a couple of times where we went a few hours with just quick bathroom stops rather than park stops, and we could tell the difference. 

We stopped for lunch at an adorable pond-themed park in Meeker, CO.

We expected to reach I-70 within an hour after lunch. An hour or so later we realized that we were headed north rather than south and were about to join up with US-40 (again). We still don't know what went wrong. We were following google maps directions and the GPS and both of us thought we turned correctly.... but obviously we went the opposite direction after lunch! 

So, we regrouped. Aaron and I knew the kids' hearts were set on the tunnel, and we discussed whether to try to drop down to I-70 now or to go that way on our way home. Ultimately, Aaron set the GPS for Denver and we headed south yet again. We merged onto I-70 about 10 miles before the tunnels.

It's a very weird experience seeing this gigantic mountain towering above you and knowing you are about to go under it.

The tunnel was awesome. We all loved it.  I don't recommend zig-zagging across the desolation (and construction) of middle Colorado, but in the end it was worth it. I'm so glad we didn't skip out on the tunnel. 

On the way home, we took US-40 over the Rockies. It was so beautiful and, again, worth the extra hour or so compared to driving through Wyoming. The road was narrow and winding and I was glad Aaron does the driving. In addition to trees (many, many trees!), lakes, rocks, snow fields, and blue skies, we also saw this herd of elk right next to the road. 

After we got down out of the mountains, the road wound us through a string of small towns. This lake town was cute. Zeke loved the boats. It reminded both me and him of quintessential New England harbor towns. Aaron and I decided this trip that US highway driving is the way to go. You may not go as fast as you do on the interstate, but there is so much more to see as you pass through the little towns on your way. Also, it's easier to make a quick stop in town because you can see the park, grocery store, or gas station rather than trying to figure out which exit to to use. 

We went just slightly out of our way in Vernal to see the Vernal Temple. It was beautiful.

The kids really did great on the road. They colored a bit, watched movies, ate some fun snacks, and played 'I spy' or 'I'm thinking of something....' with us. And we're still playing the license plate game. 

One other funny thing we learned this trip is that our GPS can't be trusted. We set it to home as we left Estes Park. Of course it wanted us to go to Wyoming, so we muted the directions. We figured it would eventually decide to follow the route we were on. Well, that darn thing kept re-routing us to Wyoming until we turned off US-40 in Heber about 3 miles from home. We were in disbelief. But it definitely kept us entertained!

Colorado Scenery

Our first out-and-about trip of our vacation was a hike around Lily Lake. It was a gorgeous little lake with an easy walking path around. 

The first thing we saw as we got started was a duck family with mom, dad, and 4 little baby duckies. The kids were smitten. I should have been videoing all of the "Awwww, look! They're sooooo cuuuute!' But I got this cute picture instead. 

Most of us chose to extend our hike a bit and take the optional trail over the top of a nearby mountain. It wasn't too hard, although it let us know we were getting good exercise. All of the kids did great, and the views from the top were amazing. 

Once everyone had gathered at the end, we got a super nice ranger to take a group picture. 

There was beautiful scenery right around the cabin too. The Big Thompson River ran right through our cabin village. Zeke and I walked down to explore a bit on Sunday morning. And he added plenty of rocks to the river. 

And, when you get on the edge of the cabin complex, you realize you really are up in the mountains in the pines. 

Our drive out took us through Rocky Mountain National Park. Even though we didn't do any hiking or exploring, I count this as part of our sightseeing because it was breathtaking. We started out in dense pine forest, then gradually the trees thinned out. 

After that, the road goes above the timberline and it's just rocky, with a few low plants. And you feel on top of the world. I suppose you pretty much are -- we crested the mountain at about 12,000 feet! We feel like we live up in the mountains, but that's double what we are used to!

One thing I absolutely loved about this part of Colorado was the little lakes that seemed to just appear out of nowhere.  Zeke took this picture for me while we were driving home.