More of July

I'm pretty sure that I've blogged the most I ever have in a month this month!  But we've been BUSY!!  And it's just not looking like it's going to slow down either.  More of all that's coming in another post.

Justin got glasses!  He went to see the dr before our trip and he was able to pick them up when we got home.  So that meant if there was morning or evening driving I was the one to do it.  He couldn't see as well during those times of day.  While he is getting older the eye surgery he had way back in the day had just expired and it was time for glasses again.

 Sometimes you wake up with some CRAZY hair!  And you ask mom to take a picture.  See Will reading in the background?  He can be found in that chair most mornings reading before breakfast!

 My neighbor took this picture of us at the pool one afternoon.  We have enjoyed going to the pool a lot this summer.

 Some days you feel like hiding your head under the furniture!  He was sound asleep, that silly dog!

 Justin had to go on a short 2 day work trip last week.  So Caroline and I decided to rearrange her room!  I decided her dresser needed to go in her closet and that freed up so much space in her room.

 While Justin was gone Caroline also decided to get her hair cut.  She has been growing it out for a while now so she could donate it.

 9 inches donated to Pantene!  Everyone loves her with her hair cut in a bob.  She loves it because it's easier to take care of.

 If you can zoom in on this picture you will see Eric doing a dive of the high dive.  His first attempt!! Got to keep up with the big kids.

After several days (seemed like weeks) of heat warnings and temperatures in the 100's the weather has cooled to early fall temps.  This weekend the highs are in the low 80's and should continue into next week.  We were able to eat dinner outside again (a family favorite) and plan to be outside as much as possible while it's nice!

Bike Racing

July is almost over so I have to catch up now on what we've been doing after vacation!  We are still participating the the bike races that the local bike shop hosts.  The boys love them and are doing better each race!  

Eric came in 4th again but rode towards the finish line with his tongue out!  Finishing with style.

 And Will placed 2nd!!!  He was thrilled!

 Justin got in on the action and tired for 2nd!

 Justin and I have been going out on the bike shop rides during the week and the long rides they do on Saturday mornings.  It is a lot of fun and hard work, but I'm getting better each time.  He's helping me train for the Buffalo Bill Century ride in September.

 The next week there was another race.  This time Eric placed 3rd and finished a la Tour de France with his arms in the air!  It made all the parents laugh and the bike owner remixed him that in the US it's illegal to cross the finish line with your hands off the handle bars! Haha!

 And Will finished 1st!!  He was convinced that riding my bike would give him the edge he needed to win.  And I can't argue with the results.  My bike is still a wee bit big for him even with the seat all the way down.  But I practiced with him the day before on how to start and adjusting the gears to best make it work for him.

 Eric's 3rd place

 And Will's 1st place!!

 Winners!!!

The final race of the summer is Aug 2.  They keep track of the points from all the races and award a trophy.  Eric is in 3rd overall right now and Will is in 1st overall.  We'll see how the last race goes and if they keep their spots.

Day 15 (Denver to home)

Last day on the road!  It was July 4th and we had plans that evening so we got up early and high-tailed it across KS.  We arrived home around 3:30, unloaded the van and trailer, then went to return the Uhaul.  Then it was down the street to a friend's house for dinner, then to another neighbor's for S'mores, then up to our house for sparklers and fireworks!

Living at the top of the hill has it's benefits.  When exercising I don't think about the benefits, but when fireworks are involved it's pretty awesome!  We saw fireworks everywhere on the horizon.  Must have been able to seen at least a dozen different shows!  The one on post lasted over 20 minutes and we had a fantastic view for that one.  Bonus was not having to deal with traffic after!

Day 14 (Rocky Mountain National Park to Denver)

We left Steamboat Springs and headed to RMNP!!  The kids and I had been there last summer with my cousin Laura and her family and we were excited to show Justin around.  

 The drive up to the top visitor center was incredible.

 And then the parking lot was blocked off and a Park Ranger wasn't allowing anyone in.  With a line of cars about 15 deep waiting we decided to just continue on down the road.

 We stopped at the same snow field as we did last summer for a snowball fight!

 Did the same little walk as last year.

 Then kept on driving.  We stopped at a picnic area and had lunch and the kids participated in a junior ranger program for about 45 minutes.  Justin and I sat and enjoyed people watching.  Sitting there with Miles we get lots of people approaching us to pet the dog.  Miles gets lots of attention every where we go and is a great conversation starter.  Everyone knows someone that has a golden or they have one themselves!  Miles doesn't mind the attention.

 We had hoped to do the same hike past the 3 lakes but the shuttle parking was full and the parking lot at the hike was full, and with pulling a trailer, parking isn't always so easy.  So we continued on down the road to the hotel near the Denver airport.  Got checked in and walked across the street to eat dinner.  The restaurant gave the kids wiki sticks instead of crayons.  They had fun making Harry Potter glasses complete with lightening bolt!

This was the last night on the road!  Next stop home!!

Day 13 (Steamboat Springs, CO)

The big change in plans to decide not to camp (we only had planned to camp 1 more night) was a welcome relief.  We woke up in Jackson reconfigured bags for a 2 night hotel stay (so we'd only have to take 1 bag into the hotels instead of 5), repacked the trailer, and headed to Steamboat Springs, CO. Our original destination was Estes Park, CO to camp.  The hotel ended up being a better option.  The drive there was a whole lot of nothing.  Wide open spaces and don't think I didn't sing that Dixie Chicks song to Justin more than once on our trip!!  If you need a great Pandora station, try out the Dixie Chicks one!  

But we ended up going out of our way by about 30 minutes to get gas.  I just remembered this story so you get it now.  On our way from Glacier to Yellowstone we ran out of gas!  Well, almost.  The distance until empty meter on the van said 0!!!  We were in the middle of no where trying to get on I-70 (I think.)  Well the GPS (never need a map again) said we were going to turn at the next town and we assumed the town would have a gas station (as most do).  But as we got closer and had cell reception again we realized there wasn't one and we weren't going to make.  I wasn't worried because there were farms all along the road and farms have gas and farmers are friendly.  With the DTE saying 3 miles left Justin pulls over at a farm to go ask (Like I would do that!).  An old man comes around and asks if we need help.  Justin tells him we are out of gas.  Well turns out this is not the first time this has happened to him!  He owns a big gas tank down in town and has had to fill up travelers before!  HA!  So we follow him, coasting down the hill into town and get a few gallons of gas so we can make it to the interstate to the closest gas station!  Answered prayers and kindness for sure!  Caroline had to go to the bathroom so his wife let her use their bathroom too!

We get into Steamboat Springs and decide to have burgers for dinner.  If you ever go to SBS eat at the  Backdoor Grill.  Great food and we always love to eat outside.  Then we walked around the town for a bit and then off to the hotel for bed.

 The next morning it was off to Rocky Mountain National Park!  Miles loves to snuggle and surprisingly always waits until he is invited to jump into bed.

Day 12 (To Jackson, WY)

We had to get up and moving bright and early.  We had to make the short drive to Jackson, drop of the dog at doggie daycare, and get to the campground so we could meet the van that was taking us rafting!  The drive there was amazing!  We came in on the back side so to speak of the Tetons through farm land and it was amazingly beautiful.  Still wouldn't want to live there though.

 We made it in time for the raft trip but just barely!  The guy on the phone the day before told me the wrong time so we showed up when the van was scheduled to leave.  Whoops!  We were scheduled for a white water trip but the water level was too high still and it was too dangerous for the kids so we had to switch to a float trip.

 All ready to go!

 The views were incredible!

 The other family that was on the raft with us lives in Israel.  Her dad was traveling with them and he was from Winston-Salem!!

 This is right below our campsite!  The river went right beside our camp.  It was a peaceful night sleep for everyone with the white noise of the rushing river going by!

 We also drove around and went to Jackson Hole.

 And to see the square with all the antlers.

 Then relaxing with dinner and more s'mores by the camp fire.

 The next morning was a little chilly but this was us getting ready for breakfast.

While we were sitting around the campfire after the kids had gone to bed Justin I recapped the trip and talked about what we had left to see/do.  We decided that we were really tired and tired of camping so we adjusted the plans a little.  We checked out our National Parks of the West book, googled, checked for hotels, planned a new route, canceled reservations, and made new ones before we went to bed.