4th of July holiday weekend

With the weather we've been having these last few months, sometimes I wonder if we're back in Portland again. We've had more rain than I can ever remember in the years we've been living in Colorado. It's getting a bit irritating because every single outdoor activity we plan is ruined by rain; planting flowers on Mother's Day, playing disc golf at a certain course on Father's Day, and the 4th of July was no exception.

Bill had Friday off, so we planned on going out for a country breakfast and playing some disc golf at a course in the woods. We woke up to rain and mud. Frustrated that our plans were dashed yet again, we decided to go anyway. We drove to this restaurant we talked about reviewing, watching the sky look more and more scary. Just as we were pulling up, thunder and lighting started. As we were eating, it rained and poured.


By the time we were finished, the sky was blue again and everything was wet. We went to the course anyway where we fought off mosquitoes and Logan stomped through puddles and fell in the mud. He had so much fun. Bill also had a great time, shooting a hole-in-one for the first time this season. It was an impressive shot! Carter, while tired because we messed with his nap schedule, was happy in the Kelty pack and enjoyed the ride.



On Saturday I took Logan to go see the new Ice Age movie, just the two of us (after Bill said that we needed to bond after I wanted to strangle him all weekend). It was fun and he was listening pretty well. It was cute to watching him inhale the movie popcorn.

When we got home, we thought it would be the perfect time to help Logan learn to ride his bike - that he so adamantly doesn't want to ride. He gets frustrated because he peddles backward and starts breaking. So we worked with him, encouraging him and letting him ride in the street of our cul-du-sac. He did great! He went back and forth, only breaking occasionally, until he fell off his bike and landed on his head. He got some respectable road rash on his forehead. Bill and I did not have him wear a helmet because we honestly didn't think he was going to ride that far. Our mistake! But, he was fine. He shook it off and ate a Popsicle, all smiles again. Next time he's not riding without protection.


We had plans to hang out in the driveway coloring on the sidewalk, light some fire works and eat hot dogs later that night. Again, we were rained out. Carter was in bed by 5:00, Logan and I had only 20 minutes or so to color and we discovered that our town doesn't allow for fireworks anyway - only pops and lame streamers. It was dumping buckets again, so we didn't think it was a good idea to go to the park to watch the City's firework display, however, Bill did end up taking Logan to his office patio where they could watch the show in a dry place while I stayed home with the sleeping baby. Logan evidently had a blast.

I would not say that this was the best holiday weekend ever, but it could have been worse. It's all because our plans never go as, well, planned. It just sucks that we're getting rained out all of the time!

Surprisingly, I can walk
Yesterday was an absolutely gorgeous day. Bill had to work all day, so I decided that Logan & I would walk to a nearby park & trail. Bill mentioned how it was a five mile trail the day before when we were driving by the park.

"Five miles? No big deal", I said to myself. We left at 3 pm. As we were walking down there, I realized that it's probably two to three miles to get down there. We kept walking, knowing that I would end up walking close to nine miles.

The park was beautiful with big trees & little creeks. Logan was enjoying the ride & we had a great time people watching. It seemed like everyone in our little city was on this trail. Most of them were biking (it's a paved inner city trail system). I was constantly hearing, "On your left!", as bikers passed by. We kept walking & then I noticed the mile marker. SW8. I had walked 8 miles & the trail kept going. I thought, "Wow. I'm going to end up walking about 20 miles here". I kept walking until the trail passed by another park with a playground so I could let Logan run around.

We played in the park, with Logan picking up rocks, pine cones & sand. He laughed as I "chased" him. As he was giggling, he turned around to look at me. And then....bam. He fell & landed straight on his face. Right square on his nose. He let out a silent cry. That's when you know someone is really hurt. I picked him up & he cried like he's never cried before. Then there was blood. In his mouth, in his nose, on his hands. He really got scraped up. I held him & took care of his bloody nose, his fat lip & his scraped up thumb knuckle. After a minute, he was ready to jump off my lap & run around in the sand again.

It was starting to get late, so I decided we should probably get going home. We walked & walked & walked & walked. On the way back, I had to stop three or four times to stretch out my legs & hips because they were cramping up. Logan took a nap & I kept walking, even though I was starting to get stiff & slow. We got home a little before 7pm.

I walked for nearly four straight hours. I walked pretty much the equivalent of a marathon. I was exhausted. I thought I was going to be crippled this morning. But much to my dismay, I feel great. It was like I never walked the trail. I'm only sore in my chest from my lifting routine on Saturday. I may end up walking this trail every Sunday now. Even though it makes me feel like Forrest Gump.

33 weeks & on another hike!

Since Bill has an awesome schedule, we had some time to go up in the mountains again for another hike yesterday afternoon. We went up a few more miles from the place that we hiked last weekend. We drove up to Roosevelt National Forest & just picked out a trail. The trees were starting to turn more than just a couple of days ago. The weather was perfect & the hike was a great workout. We were all in much better moods, so it was a lot of fun. Logan had a good time hanging out in the pack, checking out the view.
I swear Logan's going to be a personal trainer when he grows up. Every time I stopped on the trail, he would start kicking my butt (literally) & grunt, as if he were trying to tell me to keep moving. It was hilarious.
Bill took some more great pictures too. He read the manual that came with the camera (something that we probably should've done when we bought it) & learned some new tricks. He also downloaded a new program that compliments Photoshop, so he can do some really neat stuff to his pictures.
We decided that next summer is going to be a camping & fishing summer. Logan will be old enough to eat hot dogs & smore's (maybe) roasted over the campfire. Bill asked for fly fishing gear christmas & we drove by some beautiful fly fishing spots that we would want to check out. I am so excited. It's been years since we've been camping. I was an avid camper in my early teens with church outings & girls camp. I love being out there & roughing it. We're going to look into getting some protection (a gun was mentioned) from black bears & mountain lions. Both have been running around the area (even close to home) & have been caught by wildlife services. Scary!

The weeks ahead are going to be full of hiking adventures because the weather is gorgeous in the early fall. It's one of our favorite times of the year to hike. Logan does really well in the pack too. He's such a cute little boy scout already!

Allergies? A Cold? Who knows.
Logan is sick for the first time. He's had a runny nose for a few days now. He's not really acting sick though. Not really coughing, maybe once or twice. He's been sneezing, but not excessive. No fever. Eats well & sleeps well too. He doesn't have itchy, water eyes. They are red after he sneezes every now & then. No swelling. He's not even grumpy. He's been his cute, little trouble maker self. Active & getting into everything. Bill seems to think that Logan has be "blessed" with our family allergy issues. I swear, we need to live in a plastic bubble just because of it. Bill has been having a hard time with his allergies right now because the pollen count is so high, so it makes sense.

Yesterday we decided that it's confirmed. Logan says "Mom". Again, he only says it when he's really upset. The day before yesterday, Logan was crawling around in the kitchen, trying to pull himself up onto everything he could grab. Chairs, table, high chair, the metal railing that separates the kitchen from the den on the garden level. While he was holding onto the railing, his feet slipped out from underneath him & he fell on his head. It wasn't too bad of a bump, but he cried. And then he cried out "Mom"! It was clear as a bell & it startled me a bit.

I picked him up to cuddle & kiss his head better & he stopped crying. "He just said Mom", Bill exclaims. "There's no doubt. He really did", I said wide eyed. I always thought that when I heard Logan say "Mom" or "mama" for the first time, I would burst out into tears. I was so shocked & busy comforting him, I didn't cry. I haven't cried the other few times he's said "Mom" in the last two days either. Mostly because he's only calling me when he cries. I don't think it would comfort him anymore if I was there crying along with him.

We went on a hike to Gateway Mountain Park yesterday afternoon. We've wanted to get up in the mountains to see the Aspen turn yellow. I think we were a little early. The trees are just starting to turn. It was nice up there nonetheless. We didn't get any good family pictures because we were hiking during Logans' nap time. He was a little grumpy & so was I. Not a very good Kodak moment. Bill took some nice pictures of the area though. We'll have to go again this next week if the weather permits & we're all in better moods.

31st week & going on a hike

Yesterday we decided to go for a hike around Horsetooth Reservoir. Logan is old enough & strong enough to use the "big" back pack now. It's a Kelty pack that Aunt Ju-Ju & Uncle J got us for christmas last year. It was great, even though we really didn't do that much & I wouldn't have called it a "hike" by any means. Logan had a blast bouncing around & pulling on my pony tail. He "talked" the whole time. It was a lot of fun.

Now that Logan is crawling, he keeps me busier than ever. Like this evening while I was trying to fold & put away the laundry. Every five seconds I had to stop & grab him because he was crawling away (& fast) toward the stairs or into other kinds of trouble. This afternoon when I was hanging the laundry out to dry, I brought him along to sit in the grass. He instantly crawls off with a mouth full of dirt & a handful of leaves.

We've been working on signing a bit more. I've focused on two signs (that are very similar). "Bye-bye" & "popcorn". I don't know if the popcorn sign we're doing is the right one, but I've sung one of my favorite childhood songs about popcorn to him since he was born.

I looked out he window and what did I see?
Popcorn popping on the apricot tree!
Spring had brought me such a nice surprise –
Blossoms popping right before my eyes.
I could take an armful and make a treat,
A popcorn ball that would smell so sweet.
It wasn’t really so, But it seemed to be
Popcorn popping on the apricot tree.

Every time I say "popcorn", I do a hand gesture. I think he's catching on. When I start the beginning of the song, he does the "popcorn" gesture, but it's a little backward. I'm really going to have to sit down & study up on the signs now.

This is such a fun age that Logan is in right now. I'm loving every minute of being a Mom & I don't think I could be any happier.

Outdoor adventure at Cherry Creek State Park

The weather was a lot more predictable today so we took advantage of it. We've wanted to go to all sorts of different places, but Bill decided that he wanted to check out Cherry Creek State Park. This park is right in the middle of the city & it's actually across the street from Bill's gym. Kind of crazy, if you ask me. I wasn't really impressed with it. There wasn't the kind of hiking like we did last month & there wasn't really any wildlife other than birds & one carp that we saw in a beaver pond (without any beavers).

After a little nature walk around the pond, we headed over to the reservoir & hung out on the beach. We saw some pelicans & played in the sand. It was fun to just sit around & hang out in the sun (with Logan slathered in SPF 45 sunscreen & his bucket hat that rarely left his head).

Logan was really cute out there. He watched the birds fly around & stood in the sand. I think he had more fun playing with his dad though. It was really nice to get outside & enjoy a little bit of nature.

Colorado has strange weather.
Friday morning we were supposed to go to the chiropractor for another adjustment. Bill woke up at 6 am because he thought he left the car windows down & he left the car parked in the driveway. When he came back in it started to snow. When Logan & I woke up at 7:30, there was snow everywhere. If I have a choice when it comes to driving in the snow, I choose not to. I hate being cold. I hate the snow. I hate winter. Funny that we live in Colorado when that's what it's all about! Bill called later that morning to say that he was glad that we stayed in. He was slipping all over the freeway on the way to work. Scary!

So with the snow, I thought our plans for a fun weekend would be pushed back again, just like with the rain the weekend before. We woke up Saturday morning to no snow & 70 degree weather. I swear, mother nature is bipolar here. I was so excited that we could go hiking & get out of the house. We looked at some of the national parks that were close to the house. A friend told us that we should go to Castlewood Canyon.

It was gorgeous! The weather was nice with the sun shining & everyone & their mother was out hiking. We hiked about 10 miles or so while Logan slept pretty much the whole time in the Baby Bjorn. He did great. We were there for a solid 5 hours & I stopped to nurse him by a waterfall. When he was awake, he looked around in amazement. He really is our little boy scout. It was a really great workout as well. I had to turn into the "trainer" at the end as I looked up at the incline we were about to climb & here I had this 11 lb. baby strapped to my chest. "Oh crap, (G-rated version) This is crazy!" We booked it up the canyon wall, out of breath, wrinkled nose & Bill calling out, "Hang in there, we can do it" (I thought I was supposed to be the trainer). It felt incredible once we got to the top & on our way back to the car. I love it!

Bill brought the tripod along to take a ton of pictures. He found a new graphic design program a few days before & wanted to get some pictures to play with. They look really cool. I'm really happy that he's getting back into photography & graphic arts. His creativity & talent were some of the qualities that initially attracted me to him. This is one of my favorites.

Our first family hike was awesome. Weather permitting, we will be hiking every weekend. It's a chance to get out & enjoy ourselves, workout a bit & take some pictures. With us living in the Rocky Mountains, I'm sure we'll have all sorts of new outdoor adventures.