6 down, Eternity to Go!

Last week was our 6th Anniversary! This weekend Sara and Brian offered to watch our kids so we could have an overnight get away. It was so fun for just the two of us to be able to spend time together. I am going to spoil Sara big-time when her baby is born to repay the favor. Needless to say, the kids had a BLAST with Braxton and Kambree and they both wanted to go back to the Loveridges today. So THANKS YOU TWO!!
Rusty and I went to Red Feather Lakes, which is about 45 min outside of Fort Collins. It is a BEAUTIFUL little desserty mountain town with about a million little lakes. The first thing we noticed when we got there was the Quiet. Seriously--it was the kind of quiet you imagine after a nuclear bomb has hit the planet. We stayed in these cute little cabins called "Hilltop Cabins" that were right on the edge of a lake. That night we took a walk by the lake, went to dinner and Del-Rae High Country Restaurant (can we say FRIED FOOD???) and then got ice cream and watched the Olympics all cozied up by our cute fireplace. On Sat we did a little more hiking and then rafted down the Cache La Poudre River. The river was beautiful, but the ride wasn't quite as wild as we had hoped. Lots of very calm floating, and not so much white water rapids. But we still had a great time. We then picked up the kids from Sara and Brian and drove home. Sara called just a few min after we got home and told me I had left my purse at her house! GOOD GRIEF. So, being the kindly folk they are, they drove all the way to our house to bring it to me. In her prayers that night Halle said, "Thanks that Braxton and Kambree could come give Mommy her purse so we could have just a little bit more fun."

Two 14000' peaks with Pops

Hi y'all, Rusty here. Last week my Dad was in town so we decided to hit a 14er while he was here. We were going to hike Longs peak, which is the big one you can see from my house, but a freak August snowstorm blew in on Saturday and buried everything above 12000 feet in snow. Longs peak is pretty technical. There is a part called the keyhole followed by the trough where you are scrambling up slick granite over a 1000 ft drop. This is challenging when it is dry, but if it's covered in snow you need climbing gear (which I haven't invested in). So we decided to do something a little less technical but just as close, Gray's Peak and Torrey's Peak. These are two 14ers about a mile apart. As you can see from the pics, it looks like we could have been hiking in January. This was 14er number #9 for me (I have already done Grays) and 14ers #1 and #2 for my Dad. Good times!


Starting the ascent of Torrey's



Hiking in the snow up to the saddle.



Summiting Torey's Peak



Dad's first 14er



Going up Gray's Peak



Two 14ers in 2 hours



View from the top - This is the supposed to be the hottest, dryest time to hike!

Begindergarten!

Halle's first day of Preschool 2008 was today!! She was so excited to get back in her preschool routine and reconnect with friends we hadn't seen all summer. When I asked her what her favorite part of preschool was she said, "We looked at real bugs with a magnifying glass." WOW. Halle is doing so great at reading. We got this series of books called "BOB" and they are awesome! I highly recommend them if you have a kid just starting to read. I already LOVE preschool--it's in the afternoon this year right during nap time so I have 2-3 glorious hours all to myself. Think of all the hobbies I can take up! Grandparents--check out the side bar for a cute first day of school video

Racing Day

The "Coal Creek Blaze" 8k race was this Thursday. The weather couldn't have been more perfect. The rain threatened to make things interesting, but it held off until after the race. I love racing--hate training, but love the race. I came in a little faster than my goal time and I was able to take 1st in my age group, and 4th overall, which was exciting. There was a fun little kids race after and Halle ran the whole way!

Me and my running buddy Allison. I love running with her because she pushes me to go a little faster than I would do on my own. Our friend Joanna also ran the race--I don' know where she was at picture time!
Halle and her friends Autumn, Taylor, Jude, and Levi at the starting line.
My little racing pal

High On a Mountain Top

We love Utah!! Here's the top 10 countdown from our trip.

10. Liberty Land--overpriced but the kids had a blast. Their favorite ride was the pirate ship

9. Roasting hotdogs and making smores up AF canyon with the Banks Family and the Cornell Family. Josh could not get enough of throwing rocks into the river, and Halle loved playing with her cousins.

8. Running. I got to do a lot of running on this trip thanks to babysitter Grandma, and oh the scenery! I got to run up around Mt. Timp Temple, and then I also did a few runs up near the mouth of AF canyon where the view is BREATHTAKING (There is also a HUGE hill that is quite breath-taking)

7. Halle's sleepover with Grandma Banks. They got to color, watch movies, and go buy Purplicious.

6. White the Kitty and Indy. Both animals actually behaved quite well this trip as my kids tortured them. White only bit Halle once!

5. Playing with the Aunts and Uncles. The kids were constantly pulling Michael and Nat out to the tramp to jump and play "attack." I think Michael even got roped into a Polly Pocket session. And Josh about had a heart attack every time he saw Danny and Carlie because he was so excited.

4. Buzzing Josh's head. Carlie gave him the cutest little buzz while my watching mom was about in tears over the end of his babyhood. My dad said he looked like a Chemo baby, but I think he is ADORABLE.

3. Josh playing Tennis with Grandpa Banks. Josh was so fascinated by the ball machine, and although he didn't hit very many he sure had fun trying!

2. "micnic" (or picnic to those of us with a firm grasp of the English language) with Grandma Cornell.

1. And the #1 highlight of the trip was HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL (the broadway play). Sharon and her friend Tina took Lindsey and I out for a WONDERFUL girls night out. We ate at Barbacoa inside the Hotel Monaco and it was delicious! At dinner we were talking about Kami and Brett and the triathalon they had just done. Kami had encouraged everyone to try a triathalon because of how much fun she has and how awesome she feels at the end of the race. Sharon said that nights like the one we were having--good dinner, great show--were her equivilant of a triathalon. I loved that! The show was really cute and a lot of fun.

SO YEAAA FOR UTAH!