13

Emily Bronte said it perfectly,

     Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same

So the traditional and modern gifts for the 13th anniversary are lace and "textile furs." Try as I might I just couldn't find anything for Travis this year. Next year is animals or gold jewelry. I'm hoping I do better next year.

Pawnee National Grasslands

The final camping trip of the summer is behind us. We waved farewell to our new toy and this weekend Travis hauled it to the camper store for winterizing and warranty work. We made our last trip to the hot part of the state, AKA the eastern plains.

It turned out to be a glorious time of year to be there, the days were warm but not hot and the nights were comfortable. On the way to the campground we watched a massive lightening storm light up the east and in our rear view mirror we watched the sun set over the purple mountains.

Pawnee National Grasslands are a haven for birders, and I think we were the only ones in the campground that 1) Slept past dawn and 2) Didn't walk around with binoculars and a camera around our neck all day.  We opted for some light duty hiking instead.

The Pawnee Buttes. The Pawnee Indians were present in this area of the state as were some of our earliest settlers.

Very comfortable campsite with a dry stream bed / hiking trail just behind us.

We went on an evening hike through the grass land and watched the sun set behind the grasses.

F remarked that the grass was taller than him, and Travis remarked that some of the grass was just as tall as him!

Camping often lures me to bed early, but fall camping means night falls sooner so I could stay up to enjoy a twilight camp fire.

SAHM?

I'm back to work again and for the last few weeks I've felt like I just can't catch up. Laundry, chores, errands, and cleaning (hah!) all seem to be extra hard to get done. It finally dawned on me that I'm trying to maintain our family's stay at home mom lifestyle without actually really being a SAHM.
I work a few, very few, more hours this year than I did last year and the hours I work shifted a little in the day.  Those two things in conjunction have altered my daily schedule enough that my efforts to preserve the family SAHM lifestyle are slipping. So, I'm letting it slip. Dinners are simpler so I'm not in the kitchen all night and FFM can get to bed in time. Travis is pitching in on laundry duty and FFM has picked up a few extra chores, too. The house is perpetually dusty and I'm working on letting that not bother me so much.
If you've seen me lately and are thinking all this work has made me a little grayer you'd be part right. Mid summer, after nearly twenty years, I decided to stop coloring my hair. I'll try going gray for a few months with a few low lights tossed in to help things blend. So far I'm much happier, for the last couple of years my hair has shown roots about ten days after my monthly coloring. If all else fails and the gray drives me nuts I'll go back to full color, but for now I'm sticking with it!

Fall and Fibers

It seems like summer is almost over, the light is shifting to the south, the days are getting shorter, and it SNOWED! Early, it seems, and not very much, but in between our 80F days we had two days of near freezing temperatures and a little flurry.

Having a camper has extended our camping season. When it dips down into chilly temperatures at night at 10,000' in elevation we can hangout somewhere warmer than around the (legal this year!) campfire. Last weekend we headed to the back side of Pike's Peak and camped at a State Park full of great hiking trails. The view from our campsite was breathtaking. We had some unsettled weather and watching the peak change with the clouds and light was mesmerizing.

The garden and yard are slowing down, tomatoes are almost done producing and with the shorter days and near freeze last week most of our veggie plants are shutting down. That means more time for knitting! FFM loves home made stuff. This spring he picked out some blue chenille yarn that I thought would make great snuggley mittens.

 And on the way back from an earlier camping trip we had a lunch stop that included a parking spot right in front of a yarn store having a sidewalk sale. I picked up some soft red yarn with reflective tape wound into it for half price. The request this time, a soft fuzzy hat with flaps and a pom pom on top.

This weekend was the 3rd Annual Yarn Along the Rockies yarn crawl. I picked up some good additions to my stash and will have to get knitting more!

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!