Boating @ the Lake

Some friends invited us to go boating last weekend, the last warm weekend of summer!  It was a gorgeous day, and perfect for being outdoors.

Our friends have a beautiful lake house and a beautiful boat, so we were really spoiled for a few hours.

The kids had a great time meeting new friends.  Each had a long ride on the inner tube, and plenty of snacks afterwards.

The kids are now begging to go back there again to play some time, and are bummed they just met at the end of summer.  The moms talked about getting the families together for years, so it's nice we finally did!

Reaching New Heights

My son is reaching new heights, and has achieved that important milestone of surpassing his mom.  I now have to look up to him.  I'm not sure how that happened so quickly, as just last month I was still beating him by a quarter of an inch!  Here are some pictures taken his first few days at school.

Friday Night Football

It's our first home game of the season, and our first ever televised game!  The stands were full, and all parking lots overflowed as the stadium had a record number in attendance.  It was the first time our new high school had all 4 grades represented.

All three of our kids were begging to go to the game.  The entire town must have been there.  Once Eric & I walked through the gates paying admission for the family, the kids took off.





After grabbing our seats, my first task was to find the little one and keep an eye on her. Whew!  She was with some little friends from school playing down front.

Next I wanted to find our oldest.  After 15 min of combing through the student section very discretely, finally found here in the back row cheering on the team.  Notice how I'm not making a scene by taking this picture.  That is very important in the world of teens.




Then for the elusive boy who never shows up unless he's hungry and needs money.  Found him far off in the distance with my zoom lens on (again, so he doesn't notice I'm taking a picture).


Whew, all kids accounted for, now I can sit back and watch the game.  Well actually, Eric watches the game.  I chat with other moms as we scour the stands and concessions every 15 min taking notice of the kids, and keeping an even closer eye on the little one.  It's time for fall!

Wine & Design

Mommy had a fun night out with some friends at a local art studio.  It was "Paint your pet day", but since we don't have a pet, I borrowed the neighbors.  The painting turned out much better than I expected, and was so much fun!

School Days

Summer was over WAY too quick, and the kids are back in school.  The girls got up excited and ready for the day, but our son needed a few more days of sleeping in.  Here's to another great year of learning, projects, homework, and of course, growing! 

The Badlands

The edge of the Badlands, where lush prairie meets a desolate landscape.  We could have detoured an extra 4 hours to drive all the way through it, but we needed to continue our drive through South Dakota, Nebraska, and back to Colorado.











This area is similar to the Grand Canyon, except it's not quite as deep and there is little color variation in the layers of the rock.  Your depth perception plays tricks on you looking into this canyon.











The kids had fun posing for pictures here.  Although it may look dangerous, they are not very close to the edge.  My guess is that many lives, or cattle, have been lost here over the years.  If you do accidentally fall down, it's all gravel, and too loose to climb back up.













One last family picture (without the photographer, of course).  There were a few local Indians selling trinkets at the top of the hill, but we didn't bother them to ask for a full family photo.  It was time to hit the road for a long drive back to Colorado.







But the kids were troopers with all the driving.  As the little one would fall asleep, we enjoyed peace & quiet for a few hours.  Then, when it was time to wake her up, we played "Call Me, Maybe" through the car speakers and a little voice would start singing under the blanket.  Precious!

Mount Rushmore

As we left the grasslands and headed toward the center of South Dakota, the terrain quickly changed again to rolling hills and granite mountains.  It was evening, so the picture isn't as bright as I'd like, but still beautiful.

Close to the hotel was an indoor water park, fed by a natural hot spring.  The boys decided to "plunge" into the water while the girls toured a mammoth site.

At the water park, Eric was the only person in the Tarzan ring challenge to make it halfway across the water.







Early the next morning, we finally got to see Mount Rushmore!  From a distance, it looks small, but still very detailed.  Just in case you didn't know, the 4 presidents are:  Washington, Jefferson, Teddy Roosevelt, and Lincoln.  It was constructed during WWII, at the time that FDR was president, which is why you can always remember it's Teddy on there, not FDR.

As we hiked along the Presidential trail, the little one spotted a billy goat grazing on a shrub.  Once we stopped to take some pictures, undercover FBI started talking into their imaginary microphones alerting their partners of a distraction in the park.  Hmm, I would think they'd focus on more threatening terrorists.  But, I appreciate them keeping us safe.





One last picture of the presidents during the closest part of our trail.  Here, we could actually see the spectacles on Teddy's eyes.  The original plans were to carve full busts of each president, with their coats, arms, hands, etc.  However, after seeing the labor, costs, and time involved in just the faces, he stopped there.