vail

We've been quite the travelers lately.  Last week before camping, we got to go to Vail to get together with Bob's whole family...including our two sweet grand-nieces (who I had never met before).  It was great fun hanging out with the family and nice to have babies around again...my girls were in heaven being the "big kids" & helping out!  Emma even changed a diaper (and then decided her babysitting service will only include "already potty trained" kids...

most excellent camping adventure

We just got back from our second annual Most Excellent Camping Adventure courtesy of Karen & Mark.  The campsite was gorgeous, the food...delish, and the company was second to none!  Here's how we roll...

 ...a little hiking

 ...some fine dining

 ...a bunch of basking in cool mountain air

 ...a little swimming

 ...and some treasure hunting

 And then there was the bit with the cows blocking the road

 ...that leads to swampy trail that ends up at these cool old railroad coal ovens

 ...and some homestead foundations where my amateur archaeologists and I uncovered...

 ...some more very cool treasures (even a couple of old buttons & handmade nails not pictured here)

And we did all of that surrounded by all of this!

See what I mean?  Excellent!

how to catch a fish (or three)...the Julia Method

first--pick a spot and relax.  Never let the fish see you sweat

 next--let your dog happily swish around on the shoreline (herds the fish out towards your baited hook)

 third--reel in fish after fish (after fish) while your dad and sisters whine about not catching anything

 last but not least--share your bounty with everyone (they'll think you're super nice as they admire your excellent fishing skills!!)

finally

...at least someone gets some use out of that pilates machine in my room!

Actually, that's sort of what I look like when I use it too...

happy birthday!

We had a fun early birthday party for dad over the weekend.  Mark was nice enough to share his Alaskan Halibut bounty (was that the 180 pounder we ate btw?!?).  It was a yummy birthday feast!!  Happy Birthday, Dad!!

theory

Teenagers are like toddlers.

That's my theory.

I'm sure someone else somewhere has realized this. And they probably wrote an award-winning, money-making book about it. But I just figured it out in my head. And I think it's they key to understanding the world.

Toddlers are on the brink of childhood. Teens are on the brink of adulthood. Toddlers get frustrated at their insufficient language skills. Can't make those darn parents understand what they need. They cry, throw tantrums, need quiet time alone. Teens get frustrated at their insufficient communication skills. Can't make those darn parents understand what they need. They cry, throw tantrums, need quiet time alone. Toddlers know it all...and want it all. Teens know it all...and want it all. Toddlers try to see what they can do...and what they can get away with. Teens try to see what they can do...and what they can get away with.

Kids in both stages are just trying to stretch their wings and grow...trying to see what the big, wide world is all about. Getting themselves ready for the next big stages in life...toddler to child...teen to adult.

See? I've got it!

I see history repeating itself. Albeit in different ways...and a much larger shoe size. But really, it's all the same. My babes made it from toddler to child fairly successfully (if I do say so myself). I'm just hoping I can remember the coping skills I used with my toddlers, apply my new-found theory, and navigate the upcoming teen adventure before me!

(p.s. That's my teen's Teen Vogue 'Cowboy Chic' fashion photo contest entry.
She's 13 going on 23. Her 8-year old sister took the photo.
Toddler...toddler...toddler...toddler...toddler...toddler...
thinking that is not really helping...toddler...toddler...toddler...)

cantaloupe & cucumbers

July is the best time around here to start raiding our local farmer's market.  There is really nothing better than a Rocky Ford cantaloupe & sweet corn for dinner...great with everything from fish sticks to filet mignon...or just all by themselves!!  This melon we bought today smelled great on the outside and looked beautiful on the inside...a summertime work of art!

Sophie & Julia also begged us to buy a cucumber...a weird request since they don't really like to eat cucumbers.  It all became clear once we got home & I stepped into a luxury, cucumber-laden, home spa extravaganza!

I, apparently, signed up for the deluxe cucumber, double massage, cat-scan, canine leg warming treatment.  It's a wonderful life.

soph

random vacation weirdness

Here's when the deer in my last post decided that playing with antelope is for losers & crept up the hill to snack on the hotel parking lot trees.  He caught me & Sophie stealthily poking our heads out the side door to take his photo.  We weren't really this close to him--I have a long zoom on my camera.

This carved-log in Craig, CO wins the prize for creepiest rendition of our old pal, Ronald.

road trip

We just got back from our fabulous Wyoming/Utah olympic fossil-hunting road trip.  Awesome--and well-worth the tedious, antelope-filled drive through Wyoming (the official tally was 107 antelope from the "Welcome to Wyoming" sign at the border, to our little hotel in southwest Wyoming). 
Yes, we kept an antelope tally. 
Oh, and there were three badgers spotted also. One living and two, well, not so much. 
Wyoming is a little odd.
But we have proof that it is, indeed, where the deer and the antelope play...in case you were wondering...

 

These two weren't included in our tally because we spotted them after arriving at the hotel so they didn't count.  I think they were miffed about that because they really gave us the stink-eye.

they did what? where?

I know that's what you're asking yourself. 
We went fossil hunting, folks. 
And it was dirty and dusty and hot...and fabulous. 
And we found (and got to keep) a bunch of totally awesome 50-million year old fish fossils.

To get to prehistoric river-bed, fossil-hunting fun from Denver, drive 6 hours and pass through Kemmerer, home of the JCPenney Mother Store...

...drive over 4 cattle guards keeping these guys at bay...

...turn left here (no kidding)...

...and finally...you have arrived. 

But then you have to examine the quarry, pick the perfect rock,

...grab your chisel & hammer & start splitting...

 Sometimes teamwork is the key...

It's dusty...and I mean dirty, dusty work.  But check out the results!  We rookie paleontologists excavated these all by ourselves...

...and it was so cool!