One day we all loaded up in Dave's jeep and headed to 11,500 feet on Mount Princeton! We discovered a beautiful chalet that Young Life build many decades ago where we had a great picnic and enjoyed a Saturday morning together. Mae and Owen both have been able to experience their first raft trips this summer! They were in awe the first trip...and loved being so close to the water. We've checked out a local farm, goat dairy, and often go on bear hikes. A light dusting of snow is now on the mountains and the kids cannot wait for the 'real' snow to set in...they are fired up about winter. :)
Enjoying the outdoors at Mountain Meadows is a family favorite past time! Mae and Owen spend LOTS of time on the fort at the cabin. We play hide and seek in the grass, visit the cows and horses nearby, go on golfcart and jeep rides, jump on the tramp, bathe Noah, and play in the creeks. Mae is about to start Busy Bee's in a few weeks...Owen and I get to walk Mae to school as it is just around the corner from our house. Mae and Owen are enjoying the river and have been out twice for raft trips! On our most recent hike we got to see a bear! Owen can't stop saying 'see bear' to everyone we talk to. Noah's Ark is just about to close down for the winter...we are sad to not have staff dinners with our new friends and will miss playing with the other staff kids in the evenings. Julie, Kimberly, my dad, Melissa, George and Gracie made it up for a visit! We toured Noah's, went climbing, ate treats and K's, and enjoyed one another's company. So thankful to have family come from far away to visit.
Mae had an exciting fourth birthday celebrating with her mom and dad, brother Owen, and Grandpa and Grandma at her new home in Buena Vista. Swimming at the Salida pool is one of her favorite things to do and we all headed down to swim with the birthday girl. Mae mentioned a few days after she turned four that she doesn't feel any different than before. :) Owen loved watching Mae opened her gifts and singing happy birthday to his big sister! His big day is next in our family!
Feeding chipmunks who will come sit on your lap, eating yummy snacks on the bank of a mountain stream, and strolling through a neat old mining town made for a memorable day! Mae and Owen are getting used to the freezing water they get to play in. We are really enjoying our trips around Buena Vista during the week while Dave is hard at work!
4th of July in Buena Vista...we knew we were in for a treat when we showed up for the big parade downtown and all the kids were holding empty grocery bags. After a few minutes into the parade, Mae and Owen were delighted to see flying candy landing at their feet coming from all the cars, horse riders, fire trucks, and tractors who were parading through the streets! Kids were frantically gathering all the candy they could when it was thrown their way, stashing it in their bags. Needless to say, 4th of July was a hit for us. Later that night we celebrated with the Noah's staff by playing basketball, football, soccer, volleyball, eating ice cream, and played with sparklers. Can't wait for next year!
We are official residents of Buena Vista, Colorado! So far Mae and Owen love their new home...they have a neat basement to keep their toys in and we are all close and cozy. :) Owen's favorite part of his day is when we visit our neighbors across the street who are two darling girls ages 7 and 9. He hollers, 'Hi McKenna' from our window when he sees them outside. Mae is enjoying the park, has been swimming in the hot springs around town, and takes care of her little girls (dolls) every day. The photo is of our big hike on the Midland Trail just outside Buena Vista. The kids were so excited to put on their hiking shoes, find hiking sticks, and have Noah along on the journey. We made it a whole 45 minutes of hiking and everyone had a great time!
