End of Summer Round Up

It's back to school and back to work season for FFM and me. We started mid-August and spent the last few weeks of summer vacation relaxing and fitting in a few last adventures and field trips.

We went to see the Chihuly exhibit at the Denver Botanic Gardens. Twice. In one week. We'd probably have gone a few more times if school hadn't gotten in the way.

 Cousin Katie came to visit and kindly brought her lovely parents along with her. FFM is so in love with Katie that he almost can't stand it. As she grows up she just gets to be more and more fun. These two kiddos have an abundance of personality on their own, you can imagine what it's like when they team up.

 We spent a few days up in the mountains and got to see the super moon rise over the peaks.

 I refinished a crummy old dresser that's been sitting in a closet for years with my newly acquired decoupage skills. You can fall asleep dreaming of Beaver Creek and Vail trails you'll ski the next morning.

 Granny Annie drove us up to the top of Mt. Evans (highest paved road in North America you guys!) with our pals the Rushers. The weather was perfect and I stood at 14,265 feet and there wasn't a lick of wind. You could see a hundred miles in each direction, it was a postcard perfect day.

 Travis mentioned we'd been in our house for nearly 5 years and I realized that the rug under the dining table that I bought at a consignment shop as a stop gap measure had been on the floor for nearly 5 years. I never liked the rug very much, so set forth to find a replacement. My mom recently put carpet squares in her basement and we liked the idea of being able to replace a square when it gets dirty/stained/worn out. Travis flexed his design muscles and came up with a layout we really like. Putting it down was trickier than we expected, one of the color/pile choices we made wasn't the best for beginners.

 The first day of school came and went. I'm back in my role in the office and FFM started 2nd grade. He's got a great teacher with a teaching style that suits him very well. Two weeks in and it's already a totally different year than last year. He requested a giant laundry list of activities but after lots of family and parent discussion we're sticking with piano and swimming for the most part. We agreed he could add in 4-6 week classes periodically, and right now he's taking a hip hop dance class that makes him so happy his smile looks like it's going to swallow his head.

 We did some camping this summer and realized our tent wasn't going to fit all three of us for much longer. We have a pretty good sized tent and Travis just fits lengthwise. Our strategy was to pile all our gear below F's feet since there wasn't really any room by my feet or T's feet. Not only is F's gear getting bigger, but the space below his feet is getting smaller! We looked briefly at giant 6+ man tents and then spent an afternoon looking at campers. We were unimpressed until we found our perfect camping solution. The size, beds, and floor plan sang to all of us and the next thing we knew we were the proud owners of a brand new pop up camper.

 Turns out we all still like to feel like we're in a tent, the hard side campers didn't hold any appeal for us. It's awfully nice to be able to stand up to get dressed and to have amenities like cubbies for clothes instead of giant piles at F's feet. We took it up to a campground about an hour away and did a test run. FFM is so enamored that he'll rope you in and tell you all about the finer points of our camper just like a mini salesperson. Our neighbors all deserve medals for their gallantry while listening to his running narrative.

It's finally FOOTBALL SEASON! We kept all our preseason tickets this year and took FFM to the games. He's turned into a rabid fan and has a good grasp of basic rules and the flow of the game. He hollered more than anyone in our section and is campaigning to go to some regular season games, too.

Go Broncos!

 Our neighbor's peach tree survived the last frosts this spring and is producing some of the best peaches ever. Travis has been eating them and canning them as fast as he can. He remarked that they are so big this year he's getting about 1 peach per jar.

 After a successful and better than expected GI procedure I was cleared for activity just in time for Labor Day weekend. We joined my Mom and Eric at Dinosaur National Monument. My Mom and I were the only ones that had been before long, long ago. After sleeping most of two days I was feeling good and we did lots of hiking. Normally this time of year we'd expect high 90-100F days. Our temps hovered in the low to mid 70s. Such luck!

Hiking to petroglyphs.

 Hiking the box canyons.

 Sunset from our campsite.

 Travis asked about scenic trips nearby and we spent half a day at Fantasy Canyon. Strange and bizarre rock weathering so far off the beaten path you can still walk right up and touch them.

It's back to work and school for all of us tomorrow. Tuesday is hip hop dance class day!