Garden of the Gods

On our way home from our camping adventure we stopped at Garden of the Gods.  Apparently everyone else had the same idea about checking it out since summer has begun and it was very crowded.  Miraculously we found a parking spot next to a popular trail that led to most of the highlights in the park.  

The girls were thrilled that they could climb on most of the rocks.  They scampered...

clung...

shimmied...

and scooted their way to the top of as many rocks as possible.  

Jeremy and I were regretting that we couldn't join the dozens of other rock climbers on the routes in the park.  We had no idea it was such a popular place.  

 Towards the end of our walk the girls started getting a little tired.  They thought that daddy could carry them the rest of the way to the car.  It lasted about five minutes.  

 What a beautiful place!

Blue Mountain Campground

We took advantage of the beginning of summer by going camping!  When I had told the girls we were going camping for our Zion Ragnar race, they were very disappointed that it wasn't "real" camping.  So when they found out that we were actually sleeping in a tent this weekend, they were very excited.  We booked a site on late notice so our options were very limited.  We found a campground near Colorado Springs called Blue Mountain.  The national park service website described it as a "primitive and quiet," but what is primitive exactly?  Apparently it's the type of campground I grew up with; water pump, porta-potties, fire pits, and no rotten tent pads.  I ended up loving the campground.  Our tent site was on the outer edge of the loop and backed up to some wonderful woods for the girls to explore.  There were big rocks for climbing, and little enough undergrowth that the girls could always see our tent.  

Setting up camp with a crawling baby was tricky.  Kelton is teething right now and feeling pretty miserable as a general rule so I had to unload the car one-handed and help set up the tent while warding off a clinging kid.  I did feel bad for the guy.  We tried to set up camp in a hurry because it looked like it was going to rain.  There were thunder clouds moving in and we just hoped they would hold back long enough to get settled.  As it turned out, they held off long enough for us to go on a short hike up to a look-out of 11 Mile Canyon, make it back home, and eat dinner before the deluge started.  It was 7:00 when the rain really started coming down so we all settled into the tent to get ready for bed.  I was a little nervous about the kids falling asleep while we were all still in the tent, but it turned out that the rain made some excellent white noise that lulled them to sleep instantly.  

The next morning the rain had stopped but we had to air out almost everything while the sun was shining.  We played a lot of games of horseshoes.  Cambrie became pretty good during our trip and she threw ringers as often as I did.  

Kelton was just dying to get on the ground and go exploring, but because of the mud we had to hold him most of the morning.  Whenever we set him down in the tent he was all smiles because he finally had free reign to go wherever he wanted.  

That afternoon we were met with another rain storm.  We all piled in the tent to play games, tell stories, and wrestle until it let up.  Three hours later we were finally free to go back outside and tried to get out as many wiggles as possible.  

The thunder made the girls nervous.

We found a dam and some fisherman on a walk, Jeremy and the girls built a house for Spotty, and the girls and I went exploring through the woods looking for interesting stuff.  Earlier Jeremy had found an owl pellet for the girls.  I didn't find anything that cool but we still had a good time.  

Around the campfire that evening the girls wanted to tell scary stories.  Their stories had us all giggling because they were spooky stories about a witch who liked gobbling up daddy.  No matter what daddy did he could never escape the witch who thought he tasted yummy.   

S'mores were super popular...obviously.  Each kid look had their own enjoyment while roasting marshmallows.  McKenzie was happy to be warm, but often forgot about her marshmallow and set it on fire. 

 

Cambrie had a marshmallow beard and had no clue it was there.  

Kelton hung out in his little high chair most of the evening and alternated between eating dirt and eating a hot cocoa cup.  

Sadly, it was time to go the next morning.  There was some really cool fog surrounding the campground that the girls wanted to check out to see how mystical it was.  

And Kelton's favorite toy of the trip were the tent poles.  Somehow he made a mess out of nothing as those poles were in a straight little pile before he got ahold of them.  It was such a great little trip and the girls are already wanting to know when our next camping trip will be.  Hopefully it will be a dry one wherever we end up!

My first grader's last day of school

Cambrie has been excitedly counting down to the last day of school.  She couldn't wait for summer vacation to start, but I had a feeling she might be a little less excited once she realized she wouldn't be seeing her friends daily.  Our day began with a farewell breakfast that the parents were invited to.  It was a great opportunity for me to come into the classroom and get a few pictures with her best friends from her class.  

Brynlee and Cambrie

Kate, Becca, Marina, and Cambrie

After lunch the kids acted out their reader's theater scripts that they have been practicing.  Cambrie's group performed The Little Red Hen and Cambrie was the narrator.  It was really cute to see all the kids performing.  Some had their parts memorized and some read from the scripts; they have all become so good at reading.  

McKenzie and Kelton and I left soon after that so the kids could finish enjoying their last day of school festivities.  

Writing farewell love notes to Ms. Fleming

Later that afternoon as we were waiting by the doors for the bell to ring, I couldn't help but feel a little nostalgic that this was my last time picking up a first grader.  The bells rang and Cambrie came out with tears in her eyes.  "I'm going to miss my friends!" she sobbed as she ran to give me a hug.  Ms. Fleming stepped out and wasn't much better.  Everyone was sad to see their friends go.  Ms. Fleming has been such an amazing teacher for Cambrie.  It's a little scary turning your six-year-old over to someone for seven hours a day, but after that first day when I saw Cambrie walk out of school holding Ms. Fleming's hand I knew she would be okay.  Luckily for us Ms. Fleming knows about Cambrie's lemonade stand so we should be seeing her a couple times over the summer.  

I flipped through the Shutterfly pictures of Cambrie's school year and was shocked to see how much she's grown!  Here are a couple highlights.

At the farm field trip

The kids each got a candy cane grown by their elf during Christmas

Pajama Day

The Valentine's Day party

Dr. Seuss read-a-thon

Gold from their class leprechaun

Music and sound activity

1st Grade math night

100th Day of School party

All of the summer birthdays were celebrated together last week with an ice-cream sundae party.

Field day, this is noodle tag

And this is tug-o-war (Cambrie is at the end...pulling backwards....or is that forwards?)

Mother Goose Preschool Grad

McKenzie, Addi, Izzy, Madison, and Merrick are all Mother Goose preschool grads.  

I have really liked Mother Goose because it is a co-op preschool set-up and I get to teach her class.  I love being involved in my kids' education; it is so exciting watching them learn!  I am disappointed that I won't have that opportunity next year.  This fabulous group of kids is splitting up to attend other local preschools next year, which means I have to send McKenzie off to preschool without me.  I am really having a hard time with that actually.  So instead I am trying to remember all the cute things she accomplished at preschool this year.  

She knows the names of all the letters in the alphabet and knows the sounds of most of them.  With help she is learning to sound out word families like cat, hat, sat.  She can count to 100!  She can write her name with no help at all, and when she practices her other letters she is spot on.  She is so proud of her coloring jobs and loves that she is learning to stay within the lines.  Her favorite part of preschool was making the projects each day.  She knows what order the days of the week go in.  She is a great listener and sits patiently on her mat during circle time.  She raises her hand to answer questions and nearly jumps to her feet when she knows the answer.  I am so proud of what she has learned this year!

She looks way too grown up in that cap and gown!

What do you do in the summertime?

There still may be three more days of school, but that isn't stopping my kids from already enjoying the summer weather.  So my question to you is, what do YOU do in the summertime?  My kids get out the sidewalk chalk and draw flower gardens.  

Practice their hula hooping.  

Crawl all over the sidewalk chalk getting as dusty as possible, and THEN decide they want to stand up instead. 

 

Eat forgotten sidewalk chalk pieces.  

Roller skate.

Go on lots of walks.  

And break out the slip 'n slide for the first time.  We are off to a great start!

Mother's Day

Mother's Day ranks up there as one of my favorite holidays.  Growing up I didn't really appreciate the holiday.  I still loved my mom, sure, but I thought we should celebrate Kid's Day instead.  Now as a mother who gets run ragged by the end of each day, I get it.   My girls have always been super sweet to me on Mother's Day.  I  get some cute handmade cards each year...actually, I  get a LOT of them.  They appear on my nightstand.  They appear on the kitchen counter.  They appear on the fridge.  They appear on my bathroom counter.  They appear taped to my bedroom windows.  I love those sweet little surprises.  Jeremy also treats me like a queen.  I don't have to step foot in the kitchen all day except to eat whatever fabulous meal he has prepared (this year it was yogurt and mango filled crepes, and an island pork tenderloin salad.)  I also get to lay in bed as much as I want during the day alternating between napping and reading a good book.  The gifts this year were really thoughtful.  Jeremy gave me a day at the spa.  It was advertised as Heaven on Earth, and I have to say that it came really, really close.  I had a massage, a facial, a bodywrap, and a float in a float tank.  I couldn't believe how relaxed I was when I came home.  I was truly spoiled.  But I also received a bonus gift this year too.  Instead of flowers in a vase, I received a bunch of flowers to plant in the front garden.  I have been wanting colorful blooms out there since we moved in and I am really excited to see how they grow.  They look beautiful.  I am grateful that I have a family full of beautiful and thoughtful kids, and a husband who loves me no matter what.  Thanks for a wonderful day everyone!

Super Stars

This year Cambrie's soccer team named themselves the Super Stars.  I have to say that it rolls off the tongue much more easily than the Sparkle Kitties on game day.  Almost all of the girls on her team go to Meridian so she was able to see them all the time.  She also had a couple of great coaches this year who taught her so much, so it was a great season.  Here are some pictures from her final game.

She became a much better dribbler and passer this season

Waiting for the other team to get set up.

She also became a lot better about her positioning and knowing where she needed to be.

It was always so exciting to see her take the ball down the field. 

One last team cheer

Team photo

And her favorite part of the season...getting her trophy!