Camping 2017

We decided to try camping again this year. I reserved two nights at Cheyenne Mountain State Park in Colorado Springs.

The campsite was really nice since the park is fairly new.

They even had special metal boxes to place your food and toiletries in to keep them away from bears. There was a bear sighted in the campsite next to ours when we first got there!

Dan gave Mia a lesson in learning to light a lantern.

They played on rocks, hiked around and played with the boy in the campsite next to ours.

Anna stayed closer to home which is why I have so many pictures of her!

Of course we had s'mores!

The next day was soooo hot and we had no shade. We decided to go to The North Pole, a small amusement park about 30 minutes away, thinking there would be shade trees and it would be cooler at a higher elevation.  

It was really hot there too! And there was so much wind at the campsite that Dan and I could not sleep at all!

I had a headache the whole time were at the North Pole. I don't know if it was the altitude, not sleeping, the heat or the wine around the campfire the night before, but it was irritating! And then it got worse when I went on a couple of spin rides. Yeah, stupid.

I did not feel anywhere near good while taking this picture, but hey, we made memories!

Needless to say, we did not stay the second night in the campsite. We are now 0 for 2 in staying for the two nights we paid for when camping!

And For the Rest of May...

Anna had a little kindergarten graduation and end of the year picnic.

She really loved her teacher, Mrs. Chardon.

We sat with her friend, Veronica.

We took a little hike with the Maciols to a bird sanctuary. It was a nice level 1/2 mile hike for Oli, even though he wasn't in the picture!

We have the most amazing libraries here with programs all summer long. We visit the library about once every week or two in the summer.

We went on our first hike to Castlewood Canyon with our summer hiking group and they swam in the creek.

Here is Mia with her partner in crime, Claire.

Michelle took some pictures of Mia for her First Communion. It may look calm, but we had to wait in a shelter for a clear few minutes from the storm to take this pic.

I took this one right before the photo shoot.

The day before the last day of school was Field Day!

As is usual, May can be very rainy, even snowy, around here. So a trip to Chuck E. Cheese with Rylee was ordered.

On to June!!

Climbing Castle Rock

This is our second year of hiking with a few families from our old homeschool group. In May, we hiked Castle Rock. In my wild dreams I did not envision we would also climb Castle Rock.

After hiking the trail that leads up to the base of the rock the kids played and we took pictures. 

The caves were pretty cool.

They were enough adventure for me.

But then a few of the kids started climbing the rock and finding a passage to the top of it. My kids followed. And then some moms thought they better go up so no kids fell off the rock cliff. And before you know it, I was the only one not at the top.

So I put on my big girl pants and faced my fears, just like at Mesa Verde, and made it to the top!

It was much scarier coming down because we had to pass some of the little children down in an assembly line! Can you believe we climbed that rock and were up there!

Cross that one off the bucket list with a permanent marker.

Brittany's Graduation

In May we went to see Brittany graduate from college with her B.A. and teaching credential! The ceremony was on a Saturday night.

So glad we got to be in California for this celebration.

The next day there was a party for Brittany and her sister, Mikayla, who graduated from high school.

As you can see, it was fun for the kids!

We whacked the piñata a few times and then had to head out for the airport to get home.

Congratulations Brittany!

Leadership Award

In May Mia received one of two Leadership Awards for the third trimester of second grade. They acknowledged her resilience and tenacity. This year was extremely challenging for her and we were so happy that she was recognized! 

She was shocked when they called her name!

Mia and the principal, Mrs. Norton.

Mother's Day 2017

On Mother's Day I woke up to this fantabulous gift. They had seen this necklace when they got their ears pierced and made Dan go and buy it.  We are trying to remember to wear them every Sunday although Anna's chain has already broken.

After church we went to brunch with Becky and Oli. Arek stayed home with Maks who was sick.

Sisters.

Mia was happy despite the picture look. For the first time, we let her go and choose her own food. She did great and actually got some vegetables and fruit.

Let them eat cake!

The next day I went to a Mother's Day tea at Anna's school.

Mrs. Chardon, Anna's beloved teacher and, Crystal, Anna's best friend at school.

Both Joey and Beth called to make it a perfect Mother's Day.