Conversation With Beau

Beau, “I’m being kind of quiet because I don’t want to waste all my jokes before the party tonight. I want to save all my jokes for Honor’s party.”
Me, “You think you’re going to use up all your jokes? ” And then I chuckle.
Beau, “Seriously. I only have, like, 100 jokes a day.”
Me, “And you’ve already used up a lot of them?”
He nods, very serious, “Yeah, like 50 or 60.”

Air Show!

Ear protection at the air show.

My little one executing the “duck lips” look much better than a lot of the other attempts I’ve seen… 😉

Stationary Blue Angel, with brothers in the air.

Five of the 6 Blue Angels.

Happy Daddy, terrified Rory. The F-18 was quite loud. Haha.

All of us in one shot! Amazing. 😉

We are angelic too… though, not blue. 😉

And a big thank you to our Uncle Keith who gifted us with tickets! We had a good time, and we love you Uncle Keith!

This summer seems to be the summer of day trips for us.  We haven’t taken an actual vacation (though, the more time wanes on, the more I realize we’re in dire need of one.) We actually haven’t take that many day trips, either, just two. Perhaps that is why they have seemed so significant to us.
So back on Labor day, I talked my hubby into another one. I was overwhelmed by spending so much time IN my house with all four kids, by myself. (Kevin has been incredibly busy with work, which is a GOOD thing, but it does take it’s toll in other areas of our lives.) Thankfully he consented, and we went on our way, and both of us were the happier for it at the end of our day.

The trick for us is choosing some place that is close enough that we don’t have to drive all day, and far enough, that we still feel like we got out of town. Other requirements are beauty, good food, and some sort of suitable entertainment for the kiddos.

On Labor day, we chose to head east to a place that has a lot of sentimental value for me, Ruedi Reservoir and the Frying Pan road, and then on up to Aspen, because we still think it has the best skatepark in Colorado, among other attractions.

I was born in a cabin at the Dallenbach Ranch, which we discovered is now up for sale. (Wish we had the money to buy it, we would in a heartbeat.) The picture above is not that cabin, but the cabin that I lived in for the next 3 years of my life, being a tiny vegetarian hippy with my parents. Of course, the hot-tub was not there when I was, and neither was new roof. There was an “out-house” where we went outside to use the “bathroom”, and there was a huge swing-set that my dad had made for me out of wood.

The last time I was up this way, was over nine years ago. It was on my birthday, and I was pregnant with Drew. I remember stopping at the Dallenbach Ranch to visit Peppy and Wally, who were great friends and mentors to my parents. She was worried that I was planning a home birth too, and asked if we were planning on having our baby at the hospital. I guess my mom’s delivery of me at her ranch scared her a little bit. (And no wonder, my mom was in labor for 3 days!)

We decided to get out and tromp down to the lake for a little bit. The kids desperately wanted to put their swimsuits on, but we had decided we weren’t going to stay for long. We like to keep moving. Though we did stay long enough to skip some rocks, and find a few crawdads. (Or crayfish, as it were.)

Then it was back down the Frying Pan road and on up Highway 82 to Aspen.

Drew has been pretty passionate about skateboarding lately, and I was impressed when he crawled right down in the big bowl and just went for it.

Rory and Selah amused themselves by sliding down the concrete, and now that I think about it, that must be where the holes in the bottom of Rory’s undies came from (!)

The kids had a lot of fun climbing all over the little play area in the town center in Aspen.
Then we had to go and eat, at no other than Boogies, of course.

Always reasonably priced and kid friendly, and of course, you must have a shake while you’re there too. 🙂

After dinner, we went back to the park, and then back down to the skatepark, where the boys skated until the sun went down (which happened pretty fast!) And then we took our happy little brood home, and remarked on how content we felt all the way home.

Falling Asleep at the Wheel

This one could probably still take a nap every day. She consistently falls asleep in the car when we’re out, when her 2 year old sister is awake as awake can be. She has such a sweet and gentle spirit. I’m loving watching her grow and learn and become her own little person.