Ranger Lake State Park

We got in a camping trip!! (July 2010) We camped at Ranger Lake State Park outside of Gould on the west side of Cameron Pass. The campground looked a little sad as they had done a bunch of tree removal due to that darn Pine Beetle. We wanted to teach the boys some skills so they got to help with the campfire and cooking dinner. Justin also showed them how to widdle, they were very excited to finally use the pocket knives Uncle Ryan gave them. Alayna was great at helping gather firewood. Corbin made the whole outing a bit, well, interesting. We recently started potty training and he's been doing OK. I just didn't want to mess with any wet clothes or bringing lots of extra clothes so I put him in a diaper. He figured out he was going to stay dry so we found him on many occasions 'relieving' himself! Fortunately it was not right in our campsite. Oh the advantages of being a boy.

After dinner we took a walk to scout out the lake. After all, this was supposed to be a great fishing place. It was a very clear and shallow lake, you could watch the fish swimming. Until the rain started to fall! We continued to hiked all the way around the lake, and got to see a deer. It was not a very long walk, but the rain and thunder concerned the kids (we didn't even get that wet.) But once we got back to camp it started to come down pretty good. We found ourselves waiting it out in the van. The rain didn't last too long but we found out it was enough to get our bedding a bit wet! Camping is full of surprises. 

In the morning we were up bright and early.

The kids couldn't wait to fish, I think we made it to the lake before 6:30.

It was a gorgeous but chilly morning and I couldn't couldn't take enough picture of the mist rising off the lake. I love the mountains!

Coltin disappeared on me while I had the camera out and I never got a picture of him fishing.

Corbin's first fish!

 He reeled it in good and couldn't wait to touch it.

Coltin was so nice to help get the hook out.

This was the second one he caught! Have to give Mommy a little credit for helping him. I guess Alayna was the only one that did not catch one but she got to help Dad reel in a few.

Swimming

We have some great friends that continually invited us to their pool. The kids have had a lot of fun swimming. They all improved in their skills (unofficially). Corbin has always liked the water but after the second time going he was extremely comfortable. Jumped in, didn't need me to catch him and would swim alone with only the wings on, he did great. My fearless two year old! We had many fun times.

5th of July Outing

Our 4th of July kinda got rained out. Bummer  :(   But we totally made up for it with a fun-filled day after. First hiking over 5 miles in RMNP, followed by a lovely drive up Old Fall River Road to the top. Our kids were not sure if they wanted to go the full distance to see Ouzel Falls at the end but we made it and it was awesome! (I love waterfalls. Wish I could visit more.)  The trail followed the river so we saw many other falls on the way up. What a fun day it was being in the mountain forest with my family.

This one was Cascade Falls.

Ouzel Falls - you can see people on the top of the rocks on the left side. We did not hike up there as there really wasn't much of a trail and it wouldn't have worked with the baby pack. Guess it was more like climbing. Plus it was time to head back.

Top of the world.

I love the Trailridge Road drive, everytime I go it still 'awes' me.

New Pet

Back in July we had a new pet. Well really a visitor, as we only kept her for a few weeks. When we got home from our Utah trip we found a little lizard running circles in our office window well. It was great timing since the Friday before I had bought a small reptile cage at a garage sell, so naturally we decided to catch it! Lizzy, as we named her, was a 6 striped runracer. She was not even four inches long, and had neat stripes. We kept the cage in the main upstairs bathroom for all, even the cats, to enjoy. It was fun watching her dig and move about but it all had to end. She was set free, never to be seen again. Hope she survived.

July

Ok here's what happened in July -

Celebrating July 4th in Grand Lake has been a long standing tradition of ours. Every year we have such a great time. Their fireworks display only seems to get better. We also hiked up to Adams Falls. Alayna just loved watching the falls, she sat on the wall and was not scared at all. Oh and of course we also went fishing. The best part about fishing was that Alayna caught the biggest fish! I think this was her first time to fish vs. just playing and watching. All three limited out and we had a great fish fry lunch. (Thanks Dad!)

The next weekend we decided to send the 2 big boys out to Utah with Papa Dennis. They had a great time. We joined them 2 days later and loved playing in the new water park and hanging out with family. It's a bummer we can't all be together more often. The kids also enjoyed playing riding the 4-wheeler with Kassie and her friend Kyle.

Kyle had a few kittens running around, Alayna had fun loving them.

A fun milestone for Corbin was teaching him to clap on the drive home. I just love the way their little hands try so hard to slap together, and the way their face lights up when it works! At the end of the month he started taking steps while holding onto my fingers, and then would let go and just stand. He is good at standing, all alone, not moving, just there in the middle of the room... and then boom he sits down. It is so cute. You tell him "good job" and he claps. He is such a joy at this age it totally makes me smile!