Camping in CO Photo Dump 2

The day before we left, we went on a hike near our campsite.  There was a trailhead just a 2 minute walk away.

Dead trees from that beetle

Elia being the trail leader.  That is definitely an action shot of me looking for
Poison Oak, which thank the good Lord we did not touch any!

Chis switched out little girls in the 1 backpack so they could go longer.

Near a beautiful waterfall.

My pretty pretty little girl.

I found a recipe on pinterest on how to make just 2 cupcakes and Grandma found a tutorial
online on how to bake cake in hollowed out oranges.  Happy Birthday to Chirs!

Chris ate one bite and the girls devoured the rest!

Leaving our camp, this is the view.  Gorgeous!

Boy's Overnight

Uncle Vince, Chris and the Rowles boys did a 24 mile hike while we were out in CO. There was a trailhead closeby so they set out early Wednesday morning and hiked 9 miles. They woke up early Thursday and hiked around and back another15 and back to meet us at camp around dusk. It rained most of the day on Thursday so they were super cold. They radioed us an hour before they got to camp so we could start to boil water for their showers. Although it was hard work, CHris had a fabulous time.

Aunt Jenny and Phoebe helped drop them off at the trailhead.

 

 

Some og these views are just breathtaking!

Camping in CO Photo Dump 1

This car was packed!

Hot chocolate, the only and best way to start the day!

Hanging with cousins

Watching for bears

Cousin Love

Probably my 2 fave action pics

Fishing

Telling scary stories!

Family Picture by the fire

Bug hunt in our jammies.

More to come...

My Last Day as a SAHM

Today is the day before we leave for a week long camping trip to Colorado.  We are meeting the Rowles and Albas out there to party all week.  11 adults, 4 young kids, and 5 dogs.  Highs right now are looking to be below 70 almost everyday!  Our highs in Dallas this week go all the way up to 107!  Grandma and Grandpa are taking the girls back to CA with them for a week and then when they get back I will be working everyday until school starts!  So today was the last day to do something extra special.
We all got dressed up and in the car, and I told them we were going somewhere special but I didn't say where.  When we pulled up to GiGis Cupcakes, Gianna was so excited!  She wanted to go there for her birthday, but poor Elia got sick so we wanted to get home asap.

It is a cute little cupcake place, and the cupcakes look AMAZING!  I couldn't finish mine because it was so sweet, but Gianna almost finished hers!  Elia ate all the frosting and was done.

Afterwards we went to their cooking class a little early so we could play at the Rec Center first.  They love the air hockey.

G wore her apron and Elia wore the matching chef's hat.

This was the last cooking class too, so Ms. Jill, their teacher had a party with ice cream and games instead of actually cooking.

Their favorite thing to do afterward- play on the rocks.

Love my sweet girls!

Chick Fil A Appreciation Day

After our last playgroup this morning, (out of town next week, then trainings until school starts!) we headed over to Chick Fil A to appreciate them.  Now granted, we were going at the lunch hour which is always busy, but I could not believe how crazy busy it was!  The drive-thru was backed up outside the parking lot, they had someone directing traffic, AND the line was out the door!

It was hard to get a good pic of the girls.  We ended up eating outside becasue it was so packed inside.  There were so many people there and orders were getting mixed up and missing items etc. but I didn't see one person get frustrated or angry.  Everyone who worked there (including the poor guy directing traffic in this awful heat) had a smile and were so polite!  This is what Chick Fil A should be known for and talked about!

A quick Visit from Grandma

Why am I so bad at taking pictures when it is important?  Grandma Rowles came in town for the HomeSchool Conference so we were able to spend some QT on Sunday.  Saturday night we met her out at Bass Pro Shop in Grapevine so we could stock up for the big camping trip next week.

This was as good as the zoo for them!



 Then we headed over to Rain Forest Cafe.  The line was long, so we sat at the bar and got seated right away.  Pretty cool chairs, eh?

We are so lucky this summer!  We have seen Grandma twice in a month and will see her again while we camp, plus the girls will be out in CA for a week while I train and prepare my classroom the week after we camp.

Bunk Beds are bunked!

While we were in St. Louis, Chris officially bunked the beds.  There is so much space in their room now!  Thinking a little rearrange might eb in order.  The girls want to sleep in each others bed.  I like that they aren't too tall so an injury is less likely.

St. Louis Trip Photo Dump

My mom stayed in AtL for a few days and then we drove back to StL on Wednesday.  We stopped at Patty's, a restaurant in Kentucky that we always stopped in growing up after family reunions.  I felt like it was a right of passage for my girls to be there and eat!  It is very old time, they serve drinks in mason jars, have the most wonderful fried pickles and strawberry butter, and their bread is baked in flower pots!

We were only in StL for 72 hours, but we packed it in with a visit to the zoo, play time with Baby B, and lots of quality family time!

G said the bread grew out of the flower pot!

The girls helping Grandma make hamburgers.

Tummy time for baby Brendan

Photo-op at the zoo!

New Sea Lion exhibit that Uncle Tom's firm helped build!

This orangutan (sp?) got so close to Elia!  Their faces are so weird looking!

Bobby, the ever patient and fun loving Uncle, teaching G to pump gas. 
She held her nose the while time!