Fall Fun: Estes Park & Nederland

Fall is so beautiful in the mountains!  Earlier this month we took a drive up the canyon, enjoying the local visual delights of the season.  Our first stop, Estes Park, is home to a hearty population of elk that are somewhat accustomed to human visitors.  In a large central park, we carefully observed them--at close range!  Obviously, a male elk hierarchy exists in the herd.  We were entertained watching a large dominant male elk repeatedly drive off all other potential male suitors from his female group.

Panorama of Estes Park and Rocky Mountain National Park beyond.

Next, we followed the Peak to Peak highway south to Nederland where we strolled through town, followed the Boulder Creek to a park, and then played on the "beach" of a reservoir.  The kids were immensely happy to be outdoors, free to frolic in natural mountain spaces.  I love that they are so easily entertained.  Ezra found a small sandbar and claimed it as his and Maren's personal island.  They used drift wood to build structures for their "town", and collected interesting pebbles for fences.  Barefoot in the mountains, playing in water--they couldn't have been happier.

Contentment.

Halloween 2016

Happy Halloween!  The much anticipated kid favorite holiday was a great success this year.  We had our annual church trunk-or-treat soup pot luck on Saturday night, and then we indulged in a little more candy tonight and went trick-or-treating to about ten houses near us, mostly neighbors we knew personally.

Maren knew two months ago she wanted to be a princess, either wearing pink or purple.  Rapunzel (from the movie Tangled) was the perfect fit: purple sparkly dress, long blonde hair, free spirit.  She was darling!  Ezra had a more difficult time deciding, but ultimately chose the lesser known Robin after reading a few Batman-Robin comic books from the library.  Something about this more gentle, loyal sidekick appealed to Ezra, and luckily we found a costume because he would be Robin and no one else.

I really enjoy dressing up for Halloween; it's a great excuse to be silly/creative and act like a kid again.  My pregnancy and growing belly gave me an opportunity to try something unique.  The internet had a few ideas, but Halloween or not, many of them were kind of grotesque; bloody plastic baby limbs and head protruding from a shirt is not my idea of cute.  After a little research, I decided to go as a prize winning pumpkin, and Dallin,who likes dressing up, but likes to keep it simple, went as the proud pumpkin-growing farmer.  A quick visit to Hobby Lobby and in one-hour of create time I painted a pumpkin face with puffy paint on a plain orange shirt, made a blue ribbon from blue cardstock, and used some stiff felt and pipe cleaners glued to a headband for the pumpkin hat.  Costume was created for about $11!

Baby # 3

Here is our cutie boy in his first photo, all relaxed and cozy.  Our new baby boy is due to arrive in early February 2017.  He is making his presence known with lots of kicks and wiggles, enough now that Maren and Ezra can feel him.  Both kids are at least slightly aware of what is about to happen because several friends and family members have recently been pregnant and now have newborns or young babies.  Maren has told me she intends to "help the baby learn to pee, help him put on his underwear, wash him in the bath, and hold him softly," among other things.

After making the birthday posts on Ezra and Maren, and processing their many strengths and differences, it is fascinating for me to consider how our next baby will be alike, and also altogether different than the other two.  What a miracle this new little person is; I am so thrilled to meet him!    

Fall Fun: Witch Scavenger Hunt

At the end of September we drove to Utah for a long General Conference weekend trip.  One of the highlights was family time/cousin time.  Aunt Sarah recommended an afternoon excursion to a darling little eclectic shopping district dressed up for the Halloween season.  We went in search of 25 hidden larger-than-life witches scattered around, above, and between all the shops.  Sarah and her kids, Aunt Molly, Grandma, and our family had a lovely afternoon together on the lookout for witches.  Each child earned a cookie from a bakery in the village for completing the scavenger hunt.  Fun times!

Maren (3 yrs.), Judd (2.5 yrs), Camryn (5.5. yrs), Ezra (5 yrs)

We love Aunt Molly! (one of the witches on top the pumpkin)

Aunt Sarah and our newest cousin, Lena, with Judd & Camryn

Five under five!  I love this picture; what a lucky grandma!

Our group (plus Dallin--photographer), wandering through the village

Fall Fun: Apple Orchard

Our state is certainly not known for apple orchards; in fact, I think there are less than a dozen in all of Colorado, and probably less than three in our local area.  But, we found a wee (historic) one not too far from home, and made a Saturday morning visit.

The big draw for Dallin and the kids were the apple cider doughnuts they advertised, and we were not disappointed--melt-in-your mouth apple-spice goodness!  We also sampled some of their homemade apple cider, meet the farm animals, and took a hay ride.  For a few dollars you could feed carrots to the horses, I did, and had my entire hand engulfed inside the mouth of a horse, which included a good deal of horse slobber.  He-he!  Cheap entertainment!!

Quintessential red doors on a historic, renovated barn

We said hello to their chickens, turkeys, and peacocks

Fed the Percheron draft horses.  Everything about them is huge.

Hay ride through the orchard, including many heirloom varieties