Cliff Palace

Our first major stop was Cliff Palace.  We definitely began our adventure with the best stop.  We waited with our tour guide ranger to guide us down the mountain and to the cliff dwellings.  

The kids were chomping at the bit to go exploring but they did a good job of waiting patiently and listening.  I tried explaining something to Daxton that the ranger had said and he turned to me, "Shh.. I'm trying to listen." Ok then! 

 Dropping down to the dwellings wasn't too difficult and it was impressive looking at the scale of this village.  These are some really determined people.  It's almost disappointing that they only lived down in these dwellings for a few generations before moving on.  

  

Climbing out of the village was a little harder for Grandma Stratford.  We had some ladders to scale and scampering to do.  

We could feel the heat of the day as soon as we climbed out of the canyon.  Quick, take us back down to the shade!

Morefield Campground

We've decided to try to go camping more with our Johnson cousins.  This year we chose to go to Mesa Verde.  We stayed at Moorefield Campground and here are some of the moments we enjoyed while we were there.

Cambrie wanted to capture this beautiful sunset so she can paint it later.  This was her view...

This was my view.  I couldn't figure out what they were doing.

There were three trailheads that left from our campground.  It meant that Jeremy and I had some excellent choices for our morning trail runs.  I honestly couldn't chose a favorite if you asked me.  They all ended with spectacular views from the top of mesas.

The first night my mom and Grandma Stratford set up camp in a site near the bathroom, but they wanted to be closer to us.  So in the morning all of the kids helped carry their tent down the road.  It's a good thing they are all about the same height.

We had lots of room to set up the hammocks.  A lot of the cousins even spent a night or two sleeping in them.

Dinner time!

S'more time!

Craft time!  Camille brought beads so we could all make bracelets.

Hatchet time!  Time to chop wood kiddos.  Let's see your skillz.

This kid looks good chilling in a camp chair.

We were lucky to learn that there was a scavenger hunt that we could do around the campground.  There were thirty different crossword trivia questions we needed to find the answers to.  The younger kids only needed ten, but they were happy to help the rest of us find what we needed.

As a reward, each kid got to choose something from the treasure box.  McKenzie ended up with a Barbie doll.  Her first ever.  She spent the rest of the day accessorizing her and brought her along on our remaining adventures.  She loves the feeling of the wind in her hair.

On our final night we pulled out the glowsticks and had a dance party.

Double digits

Kelton turned 10!  What on earth is this madness?  Double digits are a big deal-it makes him a big kid.  He was greeted with a balloon party in the backyard.  The trampoline was full of them which made for some fabulous jumping.  

There were also balloons hanging all around the yard waiting to be targeting by his BB gun.  When he shot them they would explode in a puff of white flour.  It was very satisfying. 

It was his year for a family party but it's always more fun when you get a friend to join in the festivities.  Kelton invited Garrett to join us at Water World.  This year the boys are big enough, and brave enough, for all of the rides. They just wanted to keep going and going!  They were even bold enough to each go on the Peaks, which are the tall white drop slides.  I was so proud of each of them.

 It was a day full of fun at the water park. We could have stayed at the water park hours longer, but McKenzie needed to get back for gymnastics.  We also needed some ice-cream!

Back at home we finished off with some delicious ice-cream cake and presents.  

Honestly it was a perfect stress free celebratory day.  Happy birthday to the sweetest 10-year-old I know.

Sweet 16

Sweet 16.  This girl has been counting down to this day for a year.  It was a day that marked freedom for her.  Getting her license was the most important part of the day.  She didn't worry about the decorations, the cake or the presents that night, she just wanted her driver's license.  For better or worse, she had no choice but to enjoy her actual birthday because she couldn't take her driving test until the next day.  She worked all day on her birthday and I dropped in with donuts to share with her camp kids. She was appropriately embarrassed, which was fun.  

That night we enjoyed some cheesecake and some gifts.  

The next morning she went in to take her driving test and passed, despite her biggest fears.  We ran into a small problem when we realized that we couldn't get an appointment to the DMV that day.  No!  That just would not do.  We called every DMV in the state to see if anyone had same-day appointments available.  We found one...up in Sterling...which is a two-hour drive towards Kansas.  Well, ok then.  The two of us hopped in the car and started driving.  

When we arrived we couldn't find the DMV.  Finally we found it.  It was a double-wide trailer tucked behind a Dairy Queen.  Inside there was only one employee and an security guard.  They were both very happy to see Cambrie.  It was a huge difference from our local DMV and I have to say I enjoyed the experience a lot more.  We only spent about five minutes inside as they checked her papers and took her picture.  Done!  She has her license!  The smile on her face was worth the crazy four hours spent in the car.  I can't wait to see how this girl continues to blossom into herself.

Off she goes!  This is so WEIRD!

 

Little fish

It's funny how covid still pops up occasionally and disrupts our lives.  I realized that the boys haven't had swimming lessons in at least three years because of covid pool restrictions.  Kelton has had a lot of practice at activity days so he isn't completely helpless, but I really didn't know how far he could swim.  Daxton is the same way.  Can he float?  I don't know.  Can he swim to the edge of the pool?  I have no idea.  I actually paid attention to the registration deadline and signed the boys up for lessons all summer long.  I also committed to taking them to the pool other days during the week to keep working on their skills.  Well, we are halfway through the summer and I love what I am seeing.  Kelton can swim all the way down the pool doing either freestyle or backstroke.  He is also a champion at treading water.  Daxton is still working on his side breathing but can swim across the width of our neighborhood pool doing freestyle, and can kick on his back the whole width also.  We are still working on his backstroke arms.  I knew they could do it, we just needed to practice.  

I've really enjoyed spending all this time at the pool this summer.  Maybe we should make it a habit.  

Kelton and I were surprised to see that his handprint is still at the rec center from when he was in preschool five years ago!