The rest of July

After returning from Colorado we were looking forward to having down time and relaxing some. Then our AC went out and had to be replaced. Of course it happens during one of the hottest weeks of the year. We ended up using points and staying in a hotel because it was horrible to be inside. Not the most fun thing to deal with but that's the way home ownership goes.

A more fun activity...swim lessons! We went through Olathe Parks and Rec again and had the girls in the same class. Jane did okay but didn't seem quite ready and Anna (who did awesome last year) barely participated. We're thinking that she will do better in a class where we aren't there so that is the plan for next year. It was still fun though!

We had a fun neighborhood reunion party with all the neighbors that I grew up with. I managed to get zero pictures but the girls had an awesome time swimming. 

Kevin was gone one evening so the girls and I went for out to eat and had fun playing in the playhouse. Jane is getting a little overly confident and wants to do everything Anna does. We went back about a week later and she managed to fall and bonk her head. She cries and then wants back up immediately. I'm in trouble. 

Anna started Activity School at a local gymnastics place. It is not a gymnastics class but essentially just keeping these kids moving constantly for a couple hours. They play outside, run laps, jump, climb equipment, build blocks, play with balloons, play dress up, and more.  I was a little nervous since this is the first time she's gone and done something without me there unless with family. I stayed to watch the first session and it was pretty rough at first. She cried hard for the first 30 minutes and then whimpered and looked very sad for the next 30 minutes. The teachers took turns walking with her and kept encouraging her to participate. Finally she warmed up and had a great time. Afterwards she told me she wanted to go back to "tivity cool". Overall she's doing awesome and seems to be loving it. 

She is now enrolled and goes once a week. I'm no longer staying and it's nice having a chance to run an errand or just spending time with Jane. Last week she was more upset than usual and pouted for about 10 minutes before accepting that she was there so she might as well have fun. Hopefully this week gets started a little more smoothly. 

Some puffs spilled on the floor and the girls beat me to them and began eating them off the floor. I let them. 

It was such a fun month. Now on to blogging about August before the month ends!

Final days in Vail

During our Colorado stay we had one afternoon where Mom, Hailie, and I were able to break away and get to Vail Village for some girl time. We took the shuttle bus and had a great time walking around. 

It is so pretty there and I can see the appeal for staying there to ski in the wintertime. Except for the fact that is a pricey place. We were in one store and I was trying on a leather jacket for fun (It was almost $1000) and the lady told me they try hard to not carry anything in the store over $1000. So affordable. Another store had a zebra/alligator purse on sale for only $5,000 and bracelets for almost $2,000. Fun to look at all those things though!

With the girls I don't get very much distraction free time with this Hailie so that was nice to have. 

Mom made us take this picture a ridiculous number of times.

A pretty fountain. 

That night we took a break from cooking and eating at home and went out to eat at a brewery.  

Seth wasn't impressed with the smell of the beers.

On our last day we decided to go on a short hike that was in walking distance from our condo. Dad was still hurting from earlier in the week so he actually went into urgent care for some pain relief. He did take a picture of all of us before we started though. 

 Seth basically complained the entire hike (it was a very short hike). I told him to look around at these mountains and just think about how massive and beautiful they are. This is the face he gave me. 

Jane enjoyed it though!

He eventually got into exploring nature a little bit.

Anna always loves being outside. 

Back at the house the girls were ready to play. They had so much fun playing with both Hailie and Seth all week. 

That evening we took my parents up on their offer to watch the girls while we went out to dinner. It was so nice having a few hours for just the two of us. Our most recent date with just us was on Valentine's Day. Long overdue! We went to Vail Village and instead of eating at just one place we had a little bit at three different restaurants. First saki and sashimi at a sushi place, then fish and chips at an Irish pub, and finally dessert and wine at a little German place. So much fun!

We left the next afternoon and made it to WaKeeny, KS for the night. It was the only hotel we could find and it was their last room (there was some fair nearby that weekend) and it was awesome. There were a bunch of cute older ladies working in the morning and they went nuts over the girls. We slept late and missed out on the hot breakfast but the ladies loaded us up with a bunch of cereal, oatmeal, muffins, fruit, etc. They all loved the girls too.  We got some sleep and had time to go swimming the next morning before hitting the road and heading home. An amazing week spent with family!

Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park

The day after the hike we drove some to get to Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park. There are a couple caves you can go into and a mini amusement park that we thought the kids would enjoy. From the parking lot we had to take a tram ride up. 

I thought maybe Anna would be a little frightened of the tram but she loved it. 

Jane loved it too!

We had some time before the cave tour and we were waiting for everyone else to finish up a ride so we grabbed some lunch. 

Cutie bug. 

Jane was just happy to be able to walk around. 

We caught the end of a kid's music show that the girls loved. 

Cool chick. 

A gorgeous view of the valley from the park. 

Dad skipped the cave tour. He was hurting and not up for a bunch of stairs. 

The caves were awesome! I had Jane in the carrier and she wasn't loving it but Anna seemed to enjoy it. 

This picture cracks me up. Anna and Jane wanted DOWN and Seth wasn't into a picture either. 

Finally free to explore!

We did a couple little rides like the Ferris wheel but then Jane was done with it all. Kevin stayed with my Mom, Hailie and Seth to do the rest of the rides at the park and Dad came back with me. It was an hour drive so the girls crashed in the car. I dropped Dad off back at the house and drove around so the girls could get a really good nap in. 

Kevin had a blast the rest of the day at the park and I think everyone else did too. They did all the rides and even played laser tag. My Mom even played laser tag. I wish he'd taken a picture of this. Apparently Kevin enjoyed convincing them to team up and then turned on them and shot them over and over again (there were no designated teams). Now Kevin is on a major laser tag kick and has played at least 3 times since we've been back. 

Once the girls were in bed we enjoyed another movie. It was so fun hanging out with this goofy guy. 

Dorky faces!

Booth Falls Trail

On the next day of our vacation it took a little bit for us to get going. Gave Grandpa some reading time with the girls. 

Eventually we left the condo and made our way to a trail not far from where we were staying. Kevin and Dad had heard about this hike from the ranger the other day (the same ranger that gave us bad directions the day before).

Once we arrived at the trailhead Seth told us he wasn't feeling well so Dad ended up heading back with him. Anna wanted to walk for a little while so we loaded Jane in the hiking carrier. She loved it. 

It was a little overcast but beautiful. 

The trail started to get a little rocky and steep so I convinced Anna to get in the other carrier. 

We'd been walking for some time when we realized that the falls were going to be too far away for us to go with the babies. It had started sprinkling so we opted to head back. When the rain picked up we found a sheltered area and let the girls get out for a snack. 

The hike made us really miss our hiking days in California. One of the things we miss the most from our time out there. 

Back closer to the bottom of the trail we found a spot where you could see a small waterfall. My Dad had come back and he and Kevin decided to go ahead and continue the hike (despite Mom and I questioning whether Dad should with his bad knees, feet, etc) while the rest of us went back.

This is when things got a little interesting. Kevin and Dad were gone for a really really long time and we were beginning to get worried. I had tried calling numerous times but no answer. Hours later they came back and Dad wasn't looking so good. I guess the hike was longer then they thought and at one point my Dad told Kevin to go ahead and go on. Kevin went up and saw the waterfall and then started back down. My Dad wasn't where Kevin had left him so he went all the back down but couldn't find him so he started back up the trail. He began asking people if they'd seen him and several of them told Kevin that they'd seen him up by the waterfall. Kevin was immediately concerned and hurried up as fast as he could. They eventually met up and Dad was hurting pretty bad. I guess it was pretty rough getting back down and they hadn't really brought enough food or water with them. Luckily there were lots of people of the trail and they were willing to help them out. 

Before the hike

I was pretty annoyed at the whole thing but glad that they made it back okay. Boy was my Dad in pain that night. We took it easy and played cards and watched a movie. 

Road Trip!

We were up bright and early on July 5th to start the 9 hour drive to Vail, Colorado. With two kids we knew there would be lots of stops so we wanted to get a few hours under our belt before the kids woke up. Normally we would have tried to be more rested before attempting something like this but it just wasn't possible with everything going on. That led to a few stops when we would have preferred to have continued on. Then our check engine light came on. Luckily we were near Hays and the girls were waking up so it was a good time to stop for breakfast. 

 While Kevin investigated the car issue, the girls and I finished breakfast and played in the awesome playhouse that the Hays McDonald's has. It was great that the kids had some place to run around inside since it was definitely hot out. Kevin was able to troubleshoot the car but we lost a TON of time. The 9 hour trip ended up taking us more like 12 hours and we were very happy to make it to the condo! My parents arrived not long after us so we got settled. Then my Mom and I went to the grocery store to get ready for the week. We wanted help unloading the car and this is how these goofballs came outside to help. (It had been raining)

Everyone was pretty tired the next day and my Mom had altitude sickness so we took it pretty easy. We decided to go for a walk around the neighborhood and check things out. 

Anna screamed and threw a massive fit while Kevin was trying to get the carrier adjusted. She did NOT want anything to do with it. Once he had her on his back though she was ecstatic and didn't want to get out. 

Group shot with Vail Valley behind us.  

Another one. 

It was wonderful to have such a relaxing day after the craziness of the previous week. That and just being able to hang out without having to be somewhere for a change. 

Later that day we loaded up and attempted a drive to this hike that Kevin and Dad heard about from a Ranger. The directions were a bit strange and we couldn't drive the entire way so we got out to walk and never made it to the waterfall promised. It was still fun walking but I had only packed Deet-free bug spray for that particular hike and that stuff does NOT work well. Luckily Anna and Jane didn't get bit but mosquito's and other bugs always get me first. Whenever I'd see a mosquito on me I'd make everyone re-apply bug spray. 

In the past Seth hasn't really interacted with my girls much. He's into his video games and he's always worried about them chewing or slobbering on his stuff. Over the past few months he's been a little more involved and enjoys it when he makes either Jane or Anna laugh. Over the week Anna and Seth really bonded which was fun to see. 

Anna keeping her eyes on Seth

We enjoyed staying in with a movie that night after the girls went to bed and rested up so we'd be ready for a hike the next day!