2012 Family Vaca

Gondola ride near Telluride

We stayed pretty close to home for this year's family vacation. We spent the holiday and the remainder of the week with Nate's dad and stepmom in Montrose. It was an action-packed, fun trip. We camped the first night out at a gorgeous, idyllic campground called Monarch Park between Salida and Gunnison. The kids did not disappoint in their camping skills.

On the Fourth of July, we woke up early to meet Mike and Katrina (Papa Knucks and Kat to the kids) for a boat ride on the Colorado River in the Black Canyon. Gorgeous scenery, only broken up a few times by a rambuncious toddler. We spent the better part of a day in Ouray, soaking up the rays at the Ouray Hot Springs and then ventured to Telluride for a ride on the gondola and lunch downtown.

Some of my favorite memories of this trip...
1. Benny and Lila entertaining each other in the back seat (Lila is forward-facing now - yeehaw!).
2. Lila chasing after the dog and cat telling them to "Come here."
3. Benny using goggles to dive under water by himself.
4. Benny eating like a champ for EVERY single meal.
5. Lila eating again in general.
6. Meandering down the Colorado River while Lila ran up and down the aisle on the boat with another rambuncious toddler.
7. Enjoying cooler temps and air conditioning.

This is the first year we won't be embarking on a longer trip to Iowa or taking a parent-only trip. There's really no reason other than our schedules filling up too fast and desiring to spend some more time camping in the mountains of Colorado. It doesn't hurt that it saves us money and time!

Heat Wave

Fair warning: I'm going to be complaining about the heat for the next 60 days or so - or until we get a break from it. It's been in the 90s for the past few weeks. And it's not going to get any better.

I ran the Slacker Half Marathon near Georgetown this weekend. Even in the mountains, the heat was nearly unbearable. Couple that with running 13.1 miles, and it didn't make for a spectacular race. I did manage to run it in 2 hours 50 seconds, which isn't too bad. I was hoping for -2 hours. What with the heat and having to walk the first half mile, I'm pretty happy with my time. Plus, I wasn't training for time, so I didn't do any timed runs. The highlight of the entire race? Seeing the kids and Nate at mile 12.5, cheering me on with big smiles of their faces and giving me high fives. Benny yelled after me "Mom, are you tired?" Yes, Benny. I was very tired :).

After the race and post-race festivities (Benny and Lila eating my post-race goodies), we headed to the mountains by Winter Park and set up camp. It was hot there too. And sunny. With no shade in the camp ground. We tried, and failed, to give the kids a nap in our tent. The fire ban prevented us from grilling brats and corn on the cob. Instead, we opted for burgers in town. The kids were amazing - and all sorts of tired. We caught a band across the street from the restaurant for a few songs. Back at the campground, we wrestled Lila to bed (literally having to hold the wild child down to get her to slow down). Benny, on the other hand, is a camping pro. He crawled into the tent and passed out in his "cocoon." Nate and I enjoyed a beer and each other for an hour before we both fell asleep.

All the complaints about the heat aside, we had a fantastic time. The kids had their moments, but they were consistently fun. Great campers. And we beat the heat in our house for 24 hours or so.

First Annual Brown Boys Camping Trip

Last weekend, all four Brown boys embarked on their first backpacking trip together. By all accounts, it was a good time. Apparently Benny declared, "I love camping," more than once.

The Great Outdoors

We went camping for the first time with Benny a few weeks ago. Although I had my reservations, Benny proved that he is, indeed, a mountain man. He loved hiking in the rocks, splashing in the stream, and exploring in general. We had to help him go to sleep, but it only took him about five minutes to let go of wakefulness. He slept much better than both Nate and me. We'll be going again when we have a free weekend.