Cannonball!

Man was it hot today! Our thermometer read 101. 101!
I don't know about you, but to us that means slipping into our swimming suits, heading over to the local public pool, letting off some steam (literally), and goofing around in the nice cool water! Whew. Whoever invented the swimming pool is a genius!

C'mon Scholarships

Emma has been doing research on colleges she'd like to attend. She based her decision on the English, History and Creative Writing departments at each school.
Here are her top choices so far:
CU
Washington College
Sarah Lawrence
Oberlin
Middlebury
Kenyon
Amherst
Brown
Yale

No one ask to borrow money from me. Not now. Not ever. I have none.
I'm saving my pennies to fund big dreams.

Booyas!

Julia's softball team played their final game of the season today. She loves softball and all that practice has really paid off! She can't wait until next year!
(that's her up to bat--Go #6!)

yum

While I was at work and Emma was at orchestra camp today, Bob, Sophie and Julia went to the strawberry patch/farm near our house. Unfortunately, the strawberries weren't in season...but the mosquitos were. So instead, they quickly picked some in-season black raspberries (3 pints of them) and escaped before nearly being eaten alive. Way to go, team.

Then I made this...black raspberry banana bread with mini-chocolate chips on top (isn't everything better with chocolate chips on top?!?)

wheeeeeee!

Here is what we did today

No, that's not Lombardi Street in San Fran, that's our very own alpine slide in Winter Park. Unlike Lombardi Street, you speed down this bad boy on a well-used sled and hope that you don't
a) fall off the sled onto the track or
b) go flying off the sled into the grass or
c) get behind someone who is afraid of flying off their sled...as seen here:

Sophie was having fun but taking her sweet time after seeing several people doing a. and b. as she rode up the chairlift to take her turn. It was just unfortunate for the folks behind her who were experiencing c.
Emma managed to go down first and missed the big bunch-up (and thought she was smiling--a family curse passed down from her mother--having that face when you think you're smiling)

We finished off the trip with a little picnic lunch

a quick hike


and some miscellaneous shenanigans


before making a required pit stop here on the way home

17

So...my 17th wedding anniversary is coming up next week. What? Hardly seems possible--I can remember it like it was yesterday--or maybe the day before.

Anyway, as I was uploading some of Emma's camping photos, I ran across this shot she took...which I love.

Please don't pay attention to my crazy Red Hat Society hat or my enormous derriere or my 95-year-old-lady white socks pulled up to my knees.

Please do note the smile on my husband's face.
I did.

I don't remember being especially witty or charming during my attempts at fishing. My outfit obviously didn't have that "come hither" vibe.
I do remember that day as being utterly enjoyable and the most relaxing day I've had in ages...spending a little quiet time with my groom by my side.
It's nice to see he felt the same way.

Maybe I'm reading too much into the picture. Maybe he was smiling at the girls splashing around in the water next to us or maybe my not-too-stellar casting tickled his funny bone.
But whatever--I'll take it.
He gets a pass on diamonds and jewels for our anniversary this year.

This was enough for me.

And you thought (hoped) I didn't have any more camping photos

Majestic twelver, Mt. Sopris (I stand corrected-12,965 ft)

Eating cake by the fireside...what could be better than that?!?

Emma on Chapman Dam (where we later caught our fish)

Hiking



My hat while hiking...all together now...ewwwwwwwww

The Camping Gang-Chapman Dam

who's that tripping over my bridge?

said the troll

The Hills Are Alive

with the sound of screaming...

Karen and I took a little hike to check out a nearby brook. As we were walking back to the lake, we noticed the raft was drifting away from shore...with Sophie inside!

In our absence, the guys were in charge (our first mistake--haha). Sophie got in the raft & they turned their backs for one second to grab life vests. The wind picked up and carried poor Sophie out to sea (ok--out to lake--but that doesn't sound as dramatic). I'm sure her screams of terror could be heard for miles and miles but by the time we made it close to shore, Mark (who had ripped off his Clark Kent clothes and put on his Superman swimsuit) lunged out from the truck, jumped into the cold water, swam out to Sophie's raft and pulled her back to safety. Our Hero! Whew! Drama on the high seas...er...lakes.



but then everyone recovered nicely

and life-vested frolicking resumed


(and for the record, Bob also quickly got his suit on to rescue little Sophie but decided that Mark had it under control...once he got about knee deep and felt the icy chill of that lake water. And I wasn't just taking photos as Sophie was drifting away--in that first photo, Mark was already on his way--he just wasn't in the pic so don't go calling CPS on us-hahaha.)

Random Flora & Fauna

Magnificent

Karen and Mark took us on a hike to find Magnificent. The whole area was truly magnificent, but there was this one specific rock...a boulder of magnificent proportions...aptly named "Magnificent." As we hiked along, the girls spotted several large boulders and wondered aloud if they were Magnificent but it turns out, they were just Magnificent's distant cousins, "Mediocre," "Just-So-So," and "You Wish." Finally, our search for Magnificent was over--it was well worth the hunt!
Truly Magnificent!

MagnifiDog

Mack was a natural at camping. Since he had a former life before we found him at the shelter, we're not sure of his camping resume but he got right in to hiking and fishing (he leaped off the edge of the lake to pounce on a jumping fish near the shoreline). He wasn't too sure about swimming but we could tell he definitely wanted to be in splashing around with the girls. Maybe next time he'll try again. He also got to sleep in multiple beds (his fav), lie by a warm campfire (his second fav), frolic in a mountain stream, roll in elk poo, and just be his awesome self. We were glad he scored an invitation to join us!

(anyone with a Lunchable is automatically his very favorite person in the world)

Cuddle-Buddy

Did someone say there would be S'mores?

Gone Fishin'

I have a theory that fishing is a lot like playing BINGO. I came up with this theory while fishing. You have a lot of time to think while you're fishing and the mind tends to wander. That's the awesome thing about fishing...and playing BINGO.

You buy all the gear--poles, bait, license etc. (Bingo card and marker)

You cast your line and wait (Wait for the caller to call any number on your board).

A fish takes a little nibble on your line, slyly eats half the worm and swims happily away (You need N32, the caller calls N33 and the old lady next to you yells out "BINGO").

You have a brief rush of adrenaline which quickly subsides but like a trooper, you re-cast your line and try again (Clear your BINGO board for another round).

But finally...you find a sweet spot, the numbers are all in a row and...
BINGO!

(Julia caught the first fish--a brook trout and Bob caught the second--a rainbow trout).

And they cooked up nicely tonight!