Alluvial Fan

Alluvial Fan was the perfect place for a picnic lunch and a great place to cool off in the summer heat.  It was another short walk up to the falls and once we were up there the kids could kick off their shoes and get wet.  The water was running really high so we stayed to the edge of the falls, but it was enough to cool off. 

 The younger kids loved building stacks of rocks.  That was the theme of the trip for them-rock stacks.  

Kelton, my mom, Nathan, and I decided to go exploring and climbed up the falls to see what we could see.  We saw more rocks and more water.  We also had a great view down below.  We didn't make it up to the very top since we knew we had littles who were anxious for us to get back down below.  

But I loved how this river just poured over all the these boulders creating such a wide flow.  It was definitely worth the stop.

Sprague Lake

It's time to get this Johnson family camping trip started!  We had so change some of our plans to accommodate Grandma Stratford and McKenzie, both of whom needed gentle strolls through the park.  Our first stop was at Sprague Lake.  It was a .75 mile walk around the lake.  There was a moose eating and drinking in the lake so we had great entertainment the entire loop.  It was also the first hike of the trip so all of the kids were happy and excited to be there.  They were skipping, playing, and generally enjoying themselves.  

Towards the end of the hike we found a ranger who had fishing poles for the kids and my kids fished for the first time.  They were torn between thinking it was fun, and being bored because they didn't catch anything.  That's pretty much been my experience too.  

After the walk we went up to Moraine Park Discovery Center where the younger kids found lots of animal exhibits to look at, and the younger kids found the most comfortable rocking chairs in the place.

Top Golf

We were supposed to go to Top Golf earlier in the week, but plans change.  Daxton really wanted us to all go do his thing, so we made it work.  Daxton had the best form by far!  The rest of us were hacking at that poor ball like we had no idea what we were doing...ok...that's partially true.  

The fun part of Top Golf is that we can play mini games.  Daxton's form was almost too good and he didn't get as many accidental points like the rest of us. So while he was near the bottom of that leader board he really should have been right there up top.  It was so awesome seeing how far he's come with that week of camp and training.  I think I need to find a way for this kid to play golf more often.  

The rest of us were just there for the laughs.

Aspenglen Campground

When we weren't driving or hiking around the park we hung out at the campsite.  The weather was a little more drizzly than is convenient but it wasn't cold so it was ok.  The kids just rode their scooters around the campground, hung out in their hammocks and built rocks galore.  The cousins were in heaven.

"Help! I'm stuck!"

We had time for so many games.  It's a good thing we packed a lot.

Snacks and food were also important.  The kids ate so many marshmallows!

Cambrie was our fire guru that first night and did great.

There were a couple of animal sightings in camp.  We had turkeys, deer, and then saw moose and elk as we were wandering through the park.

We celebrated my mom's birthday while we were up there.  Grandma Stratford brought decorations and cake Oreo cookies.  We didn't have candles, but we had my mom try to blow out the fire.  It was a good effort.

Not far from camp was the old Estes Park Power Plant.  We took a field trip with Grandma Stratford as she told us stories about her childhood growing up with her dad working at small town plants like this.

I think this is the one time the boys haven't complained about taking out the trash.  Sometimes they would ride on the back tray holding the bag so it wouldn't get everything juicy.  If only they could take out the trash like this every day.

This pic is a little out of order, but on our way into the park on the first day we stopped in Estes to enjoy some lunch, some salt water taffy, and some old book stores.  At one point Daxton was complaining about something and Kelton told him, "How can you be sad when we have taffy in our pockets?"  I thought that was a pretty good life lesson there.

Chillin' with Nathan

Nathan was our new exchange student this summer.  His arrival was a bit of a surprise and we only had two days notice before he arrived.  Our lives were kind of packed and I didn't know how we were going to squeeze in other fun, but we did all right.  Nathan was everything the boys were hoping for and was essentially their big brother for three weeks.  They really got along great and I was so relieved.  He played whatever games they wanted to play, he goofed off with them, and just hung out.  He was really a great addition to our family.  I think he was less intimidated to speak with the boys than he was with anyone his age or older.  We didn't get much conversation out of him but that didn't bother the boys.

Bike rides.  Nathan actually races BMX bikes back home and is ranked 20th in his province.

Jeremy took him mountain biking a couple of times up on some trails we've never done before.  They ended up choosing a longer trail than they had bargained for, but really had a great time.

He made us breton crepes one night and they were delicious.

We made chocolate chip cookies together, but I did something wrong with the recipe because they totally flopped.  When we pulled them out of the oven they were just one giant cookie.  It sounds like his dad is a very good cook so I really hope he enjoyed the food while he was here.

Backyard games with the boys.  He also loves basketball so we made sure we had a basketball for everyone to play with on our driveway when we weren't up to anything else.  I was just glad he was willing to jump in and do whatever we were doing.  Kelton asked, "Is this what it's like for Daxton all the time having a big brother?  He is so lucky!"  He loved having Nathan to hang out with.

 

Other activities that didn't get photographed with him: We went to see Inside Out 2-great movie.  He went to a service project with Cambrie and McKenzie.  Cambrie took him to a stake dance on Saturday night.  It was definitely a trip of new experiences for him.