Glendo Reservoir

Does life ever slow down?  Of course not - it's summer!!  Sunday we packed the camper and hooked onto the boat and were out the door Monday morning by 8:00am!

Our first stop was on the edge of Denver - my first appointment with my endocrinologist!  We had scouted out a location in advance on where to park our tripled up fleet and the parking lot was a little smaller than what we anticipated but it worked!!  I only had about 1 1/2 blocks to walk to the dr's office - unfortunately she was running way behind but eventually my appt was handled.  My bloodwork came back excellent so I don't have to go back for another 6 months.

Then we were off to Wyoming!  Of course the traffic was awful in Denver as we expected but it was so nice to get into Wyoming where the speed limit is 80 and the traffic is nothing like in Colorado!

It still took about 6 hours driving time and we finally arrived and found our spot - no, we didn't have electricity but brought the generator!  Our campsite was nice with some shade trees and we quickly set up!

It was pretty darn warm out - in fact, HOT!  But Glenn started the generator so we could turn on the air although the 5th wheel was so hot, it didn't get very cool!

We even had a fire that night and it was weird having shorts on by the fire because in Colorado, you are always in pants at night!!

Glenn left early to take the boat over and get it put in to fish!  And after my morning routine and a nice walk, I read - big surprise, huh?  I walked around the campground and discovered that it was a whole lot cooler closer to the water - darn, I wished we would have gotten one of those sites!  I ended up just carrying a chair down closer under some trees and caught the lake breeze!

We decided to have our main meals early afternoon so Glenn could go back out in the evenings to fish - but it was so darn hot and the generator was in the back of the truck which was parked at the docks in a different cove!  So I rode over with Glenn on the boat and picked up the truck and brought it back so we could get the air going!

I love how the trees go right down to the water!

Of course we had to turn the generator off by evening time for quiet time - it did cool off some but it was hard to get any breeze coming through the 5th wheel - needless to say, we didn't need any covers at night!

Fishing was a bust - he caught a few but only 2 walleye were worth cooking!  He was burning up on the boat and I was burning up at the campsite...........  but I managed to read 3 books!!

Wed. night Glenn decided to start another campfire - it was going pretty good but he decided to go to bed and I was ready to come in and read.  After a little while, I heard a truck pull in and then footsteps heading our way as I was sitting by an open window on the couch.  Pretty soon someone pounds right by my head and it's a ranger stating that there is a fire ban on and we had a fire going unattended - WHOOPS!!!

I profusely apologized and said we did not know that and I would get my husband right out there to put it out - the ranger waited outside while Glenn slipped into some clothes and went out and put it out!  Gosh - we are SO careful to follow the rules but somehow did NOT see the sign where it said no fires AND someone else had a fire that first night like we did too so we were just unaware!

Glenn only fished a little while on Thursday so we took the truck and drove around, always on the lookout for a better campground and spot (but have already decided we will NOT ever be coming in the summer again - just too hot - spring or fall would be much better!!)  We did find a couple of places that would work better also!

Glenn had seen the army doing maneuvers the day before and we saw all their equipment while we were out and about so stopped and talked to one of the guys - it was the reserves from North Dakota and they were practicing taking barges across the lake!

The lake is beautiful - especially over by the dam!

We packed up early Friday morning with the dreaded drive through Denver again - it was as bad as was expected and we were SO glad to get back to the mountains and the quietness of our home!

North Pole Fun - NOT

Everyone was excited last night because today was the day we would go to the North Pole for Aleah's and Parker's birthday present - but it wasn't to be as Parker woke up vomiting again!!  Poor thing - he wasn't happy that we weren't able to go but he didn't feel good at all!

SO what to do with our free day - cards and games of course!!  I can't tell you how games the 3 of us played and then later when Parker was feeling better, he joined in!  I taught them a couple of new games that I had learned and they were a hit!

The night before Glenn started a fire down at our fire pit so we roasted some marshmallows and the kids had s'mores!

It was fun having Jill's here for a while and Parker felt much better the next morning - we checked our schedules before they took off and hope to reschedule the North Pole on one of their long weekends in October!!

We had an awesome sunset that night!!

Boys Will Be Boys

Surprisingly, the boys settled down about 10:30 the night before - at least I got a good nights' sleep!  Pancakes were on the agenda for breakfast and yes, those boys can eat a lot!!

The boys were thrilled to hear that once again, they had to pick up pine cones!!  It's their yearly chore they do so Glenn will have plenty of fire starters come winter!  They always moan and complain but secretly I don't think they really mind it at all!

We played cards - mainly SkyJo, their new favorite game!!  And they're all 3 silly - here they brought up a couple of dolls and proceeded to take the head off of one!  And it's not surprising to me any more to go into the downstairs bathroom and look behind the door where the towel hooks are - usually there's a doll hanging from her neck (by Mardi Gras beads) on the hook -the first time I saw it I screamed!!

Of course their passion is to get on the computers and play games together!  I have accepted the fact that this is what they love to do - Papa's not quite there yet - he still thinks they need to be outside playing at ALL times!!

But the boys did go outside and play corn hole - they could be on teams since Papa played with them and they did play a lot of games!

I took the boys into the pool on Wed. right after lunch!  Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of the 3 of them - but here's a couple of the boys as they wait their turn for the obstacle water course!  They had a great time at the pool!

And after a couple of hours of swimming, Jaime and Rayna picked up Kylan and Evan and headed to Iowa!!!!  The Keppys were following the next day!

This exhausted Nana brought Parker back home where Aleah and Jill were waiting for us - a fun time with the boys and a relaxing evening ahead!

Boys Week......

was not to be for the first day!  Parker woke up vomiting - whatever he had on Sunday was apparently back and he didn't look good at all!  After checking the calendar to see if boys week could be rescheduled, it was decided we had to go ahead with it in the hopes that Parker would feel fine the next day!

Jill and Aleah were already planning on coming down Wed nite as we were going to the North Pole on Thursday for their birthday present from us.  So Jill decided that as long as Parker was better, she would just come down a day early and meet us in Co. Springs (where I was taking the boys to Dart Warz).

We met Jessi in Denver so we could pick up Evan and after we arrived home, Kylan came over!  I set up a table in the basement for their electronics and later moved it back up to the office because they talk SO loud when they play, I could hardly hear the TV that night!!

Kylan had to leave for a few hours that evening as he had soccer tryouts so Evan and I played some corn hole!

Jill texted early Tuesday and said Parker felt fine and they were heading out - HOORAY!!!  We met in CS and soon arrived at Dart Warz for the boys' special outing!!  Evan had brought his own gun and I upgraded the other 2 boys so they had good ones too!  Evan and Parker ended up being on one team and Kylan was on the other team!

I stood at the window and watched them for a long time - it actually looked like a lot of fun!

Kylan's team ended up winning most of the games!  They were actually in there about 1 1/2 hours and in between games music would be played and the boys danced - it was a kick to watch them!

We stopped at the ice cream place in W. Pk on our way back up (after picking up pizza) and the boys got their fill of ice cream and toppings!

Kylan and Parker both play chess and since there was a chess table there, they had to play a game!

After pizza that evening, (and yes, Jill and Aleah were there but pretended not to be since it was BOYS time) we played some cards before they started in on their electronics!  Jill and Aleah slept in the 5th wheel so it worked out great!! 

Taking The LONG Way To Ft. Collins

If you recall, 4 of the grand kids headed to LVR for the week - Lutheran Valley Retreat!  After much planning, we decided we would pick up the kids and head to Ft. Collins for the weekend so Jill and I could celebrate our birthdays and we could see Parker's baseball game - and then bring boys back for boys weekend!!

IN THE MEANTIME, Jessi celebrated her birthday - Happy Birthday Jessi!!!

Friday afternoon we headed to LVR to pick up Kenzie, Aleah and Parker.  Brad was there to pick up Kylan so we were well represented!!  We watched the kids do their skits, ate dinner, and then packed up to head north!

We stopped in Denver to take Kenzie home and Jessi presented me with CINNAMON ROLLS for Jill's and my birthday - they were so yummy!!

It was almost 10 before we pulled into Jill and Robby's place - a LONG drive since LVR is about 45 minutes from our place!  But we made it safe and sound!!

Saturday was our birthday - Happy Birthday Jill!!  We enjoyed the cinnamon rolls that morning and they sure tasted great with coffee!!  After playing a few card games with the kids, Jill and I headed to the theater and saw "Yesterday" - it was great and the music of course was awesome!!  We enjoyed popcorn at the theater and afterwards went to DQ for blizzards!!

It was HOT - I love the picture of this squirrel in their backyard!

The birthday girls!

 Parker wasn't feeling great when he got up the next morning but he rallied later in the day for his baseball game!

They played 2 games and Parker got a hit every time but one - so fun to watch him.  Just as they were finishing up their last game, the lightning and thunder started in and they shut the games down so we could get to our cars!

And Monday morning it was time for Boys Week!

This 'N That

FINALLY we got to take a day to head to Buffalo Peaks and try the Razor out, hoping the dust wouldn't be as bad as the last time!  And it wasn't!!!  There are 2 places at Buffalo Peaks to ATV - but one can't be accessed from the other!  We were planning on going one place but when we got there, the highway was blocked off and closed - we had no idea why!  No problem - we headed to the other place and we were off!

What a beautiful day to ATV!  It felt great to be out in nature and see the beautiful scenery!

There was only a couple of people out on the trails - we stopped and talked to an older couple and asked about the highway being closed - they told us that portion of Buffalo Peaks isn't open anyway due to the fire last year!  Good to know!  Check out all the snow still on the mountains!

I did forget to mention that the day before we headed to Crested Butte to pick up a small fishing boat!  Glenn has been looking for a specific type of boat ever since we came back from Mexico - it's a welded boat instead of having rivets.  They are hard to come by!  He finally found one and immediately emailed the guy but the guy told him another guy was mailing him a deposit already.  Fast forward a couple of weeks and the guy emails back and says the deposit never came so the boat was Glenn's if he still wanted it!!  Glenn was thrilled - the boat also already had the beach wheels so it would be easy to get to the water - I LOVED that fact as it was a pain getting our neighbor's boat to the water last year!

So we drove over and picked up the boat, had a nice lunch at Almont and then headed back home.  Since it's 3 1/2 hours one way it took up the whole day!

I took Rayna over to the Butte Theater in Cripple Creek to see "Grease" for her birthday!  We had great seats and the show was awesome!!

The lighting on this next picture is awful due to the back lights but oh well!!  We were all smiles!

Last but not least, here is the plaque the girls got us for our birthdays!  Doesn't it look great?

Outdoor Games

Sunday - our last day all together!  I had individual outdoor games planned along with a few team games and Jessi had a fantastic indoor game set up!!

I had each of the adults "man" a game station for the individual games - no contest - just moving from game to game to play it!!  I was the timer as each kid had 3 minutes at each station and then I'd blow the whistle and they would move to the next one!

Glenn manned the water pistol station - squirting empty bottles off the picnic table!

Jessi handled the hula hoop and bubbles!

Jaime took care of the ring toss game!

Robby played catch with the sticky ball!

Jill manned the station for the plastic clickers with the little balls!

Brad took care of ladder ball.

And Gary manned the bag toss game!

All the kids (and adults!) had a great time!!  Then I divided the bunch into 2 teams and had them play several games!  The game below was to be the winning point as the teams were tied but unfortunately the game didn't pan out as planned!!  The teams were to squirt water into a plastic cup that was held on by fishing line from one tree to another!  One side worked fine but the other side didn't do what it was supposed to - oh well, the teams ended up being tied!!

Jessi had set up the indoor game - a relay challenge between two people with several different things they had to do on the island!!  The last thing was to roll a yahtzee!!!  It was great fun and we all loved doing it!!

Jessi was in charge of lunch and made campfire tacos for us all - there wasn't any left if that tells you anything!!

And before we knew it, all 3 families headed out to take kids to LVR Bible Camp!!  Whew - what a great 4 days!!  Lots of fun - lots of memories!!

Pictures, Tea and Presents

It was the day we've all been waiting for - family pictures - 9:00am sharp at Jaime's!!!!  We all met down by their pond and Stacey Zaiger, whom we've known since 4-H days was our photographer!!
We were thrilled when she said she could take the pictures on 4th of July weekend but she was on a time schedule so we knew everyone needed to be on their best behavior so we could get through pictures in a little over an hour!!

And we did it!!!  Despite the wind when we were taking pictures on some rocks, everything went extremely well!!  Once again each family dressed in a different color and I thought we all looked amazing!!!  I can't wait to see the proofs!!

After pictures, we had cinnamon rolls and coffee and a little bit of time to just relax before the 5 of us headed to C. Crk for tea!  The guys were in charge of all the kids for lunch - hot dogs and brats - simple and easy!!

Tea was wonderful!!  We all enjoyed picking out what flavor of tea we wanted and eating the dainty sandwiches and the delicious desserts!!  The owner knows us well by now!!

After tea it was back home to grab the manicotti and salad for that evenings' dinner along with Jill's lasagna!  I do love these meals that are made ahead of time and then just baked in the oven!

After dinner, it was present time with MANY occasions to celebrate!  First up was Glenn for his birthday and Father's Day!

Then an extremely late present for Rayna!!

Aleah's birthday which was July 4th!

Jessi's upcoming July 10th birthday!

Jill's upcoming July 13th birthday!

And my upcoming July 13th birthday!  Glenn and I got a dual gift - a sign to hang above my bulletin board which has all the kids pictures on it!  The sign reads:  Our Favorite People Call us Nana and Papa!  It's so cute!!

Somehow I didn't get a picture of Kylan whose May 25th birthday we also celebrated!!  So Kylan and Aleah got to pick the desserts:  chocolate cupcakes and strawberry shortcake!!  YUM!!

It was a striped night - ha!!

What an amazing day we all had - and by the end of it we were all pretty darn tired!!  But one more day to go...............