After two months off, it’ll be hard to remember all the funny things of the summer.
After dinner, the boys melted down around 9pm. We entered our tents and the boys crashed. I thought they’d be scared but I guess they were too tired to be scared. Later on, I was awakened by folks screaming at the fire about an animal and learned that it was a huge fox who was trying to steal the garbage that we didn’t have locked up in a car. It was a good lesson learned that I need to be more hands-on with that stuff as it’s a good thing it wasn’t a hungry bear rummaging through camp due to the smells.
We left early the next morning after Eban rode around on the quad bike with another neighbor. The boys couldn’t stop talking about how awesome camping was on the long drive home and I now know that they can do it. I also know that I need to be more prepared and bring a tad more toys so that they are more entertained at camp….
In late July or early August, Grandpa took the boys and me on a little train ride via the Georgetown Loop. It’s an old steam train that goes from Georgetown, Colo., to a little town called Silver Plume and back. This is 
an open air car and a covered car, and it’s a sweet little trip talking about mining and the area. It was Jack’s first trip and he’s our little homebody so I didn’t know how he’d do.
Well, lo and behold, both boys LOVED it and they each had their heads stuck out the window looking at the sights. Th
e trip is particularly pretty in the fall when the leaves are changing colors, but it was still well worth it. The boys would cover their ears at each toot of the train whistle and then they giggle like mad. 
The also loved the white steam and the fact that we could see the conductor the whole trip as he stayed in our train car. 
Following the trip, we headed down to Idaho Springs for pizza as they are known for their “pie”. The trusted spot had a 30 minute wait, and well…that wasn’t going to do so we found another little mom and pop place to have a pizza. We polished off a large pizza and my father was floored…he couldn’t believe how much my two little ones ate, but they were starving after the early morning excitement of the train trip. I wish I took a picture of this huge pizza so you could marvel in my boys’ stomachs, but you’ll have to trust me when I tell you it was GINORMOUS.
The boys continue to grow like weeds and Jack is still not interested in being potty trained. He actually pleaded with me and begged the question, “Mom, why do you want me to grow up so fast?” Talk about guilt trip. Meanwhile, deep down I’m thinking savings on diapers, savings on wipes, savings on having the boys at one school instead of two…but then again, he’ll grow up fast enough and I’ll want this stage back, so I’ve eased up on him. Smart kid to ask such a meaningful question.
After Tutu left after helping me to recuperate (even though I feel as though it was a faster recuperation than my other surgeries), we decided to go camping. I can’t remember if Ryan was out writing his thesis or where he was, but the boys and I headed up to the Never Summer Mountains in Colorado to go camping with four other neighbors and their respective families.
The easy drive was on
ly a five hour commute. The mountain range was northwest of Granby and due west of Rocky Mountain National Park. Eban constantly provided feedback that he did not like the brown trees he was seeing. I had to explain that the pine beetle was ruining a lot of Colorado’s forests and he said he was going to make a plan to fix it. I asked him his plan and he said, “I’m going to take leaves and green needles from other trees and glue them to the brown trees when I’m five and a big boy. Once I’m done with fixing all the trees, you can just pick me up.” He mentioned this plan over and over and over as he was really dead set on fixing the state’s problem with the pine beetle. I thought it was quite empathetic of him as I typically don’t see that with him too much. Jack tends to be the empathetic child.
Once we got to the campground (Click on this to see where it was on Bing Maps
), the first thing Eban wanted to do was ride the quad bikes. He hopped on with one of the neighbor’s and off they went. Jack said the four-wheelers were scary so he stayed with me at the camp. We set up our tent, our bags and helped with the rest of the camp.
Eban returned more jazzed than ever as the quad bikes were “SO COOL MOM” and then we went on a little hike. After than we collected wood for the campfire and the kids enjoyed this piece of the campout as we
ll. After lunch, we headed up to a little creek to futz around and the kids LOVED it. The horse flies and the mosquitoes were h
orrendous, but the kids loved it. Jack had the 
biggest welt on his upper shoulder blade and he boasted that a big blackfly bit him. Eban boasted that the bugs didn’t get him. I guess they each had appropriate bragging rights.
After dinner, we drove around the national forest (I think it was Routt National Forest), and looked for wild life. We saw several moose, badgers, and some other critters. The moose were certainly the highlight and I learned that when moose were introduced to Colorado, that they were introduced in the area where we were camping and thus that is why we saw so many
. I wish my pictures were better but the two that we saw at dusk were simply massive….and I was trying to alter the setting on my camera so I could capture the image for all to see. You’ll have to settle for the attached pictures of our night time moose hunt…yet again, this was another huge highlight for the boys. 
After Tutu left after helping me to recuperate (even though I feel as though it was a faster recuperation than my other surgeries), we decided to go camping. I can’t remember if Ryan was out writing his thesis or where he was, but the boys and I headed up to the Never Summer Mountains in Colorado to go camping with four other neighbors and their respective families.
The easy drive was on
ly a five hour commute. The mountain range was northwest of Granby and due west of Rocky Mountain National Park. Eban constantly provided feedback that he did not like the brown trees he was seeing. I had to explain that the pine beetle was ruining a lot of Colorado’s forests and he said he was going to make a plan to fix it. I asked him his plan and he said, “I’m going to take leaves and green needles from other trees and glue them to the brown trees when I’m five and a big boy. Once I’m done with fixing all the trees, you can just pick me up.” He mentioned this plan over and over and over as he was really dead set on fixing the state’s problem with the pine beetle. I thought it was quite empathetic of him as I typically don’t see that with him too much. Jack tends to be the empathetic child.Once we got to the campground (Click on this to see where it was on Bing Maps
), the first thing Eban wanted to do was ride the quad bikes. He hopped on with one of the neighbor’s and off they went. Jack said the four-wheelers were scary so he stayed with me at the camp. We set up our tent, our bags and helped with the rest of the camp.
Eban returned more jazzed than ever as the quad bikes were “SO COOL MOM” and then we went on a little hike. After than we collected wood for the campfire and the kids enjoyed this piece of the campout as we
ll. After lunch, we headed up to a little creek to futz around and the kids LOVED it. The horse flies and the mosquitoes were h
orrendous, but the kids loved it. Jack had the 
biggest welt on his upper shoulder blade and he boasted that a big blackfly bit him. Eban boasted that the bugs didn’t get him. I guess they each had appropriate bragging rights.After dinner, we drove around the national forest (I think it was Routt National Forest), and looked for wild life. We saw several moose, badgers, and some other critters. The moose were certainly the highlight and I learned that when moose were introduced to Colorado, that they were introduced in the area where we were camping and thus that is why we saw so many
. I wish my pictures were better but the two that we saw at dusk were simply massive….and I was trying to alter the setting on my camera so I could capture the image for all to see. You’ll have to settle for the attached pictures of our night time moose hunt…yet again, this was another huge highlight for the boys. After dinner, the boys melted down around 9pm. We entered our tents and the boys crashed. I thought they’d be scared but I guess they were too tired to be scared. Later on, I was awakened by folks screaming at the fire about an animal and learned that it was a huge fox who was trying to steal the garbage that we didn’t have locked up in a car. It was a good lesson learned that I need to be more hands-on with that stuff as it’s a good thing it wasn’t a hungry bear rummaging through camp due to the smells.We left early the next morning after Eban rode around on the quad bike with another neighbor. The boys couldn’t stop talking about how awesome camping was on the long drive home and I now know that they can do it. I also know that I need to be more prepared and bring a tad more toys so that they are more entertained at camp….
In late July or early August, Grandpa took the boys and me on a little train ride via the Georgetown Loop. It’s an old steam train that goes from Georgetown, Colo., to a little town called Silver Plume and back. This is 
an open air car and a covered car, and it’s a sweet little trip talking about mining and the area. It was Jack’s first trip and he’s our little homebody so I didn’t know how he’d do.Well, lo and behold, both boys LOVED it and they each had their heads stuck out the window looking at the sights. Th
e trip is particularly pretty in the fall when the leaves are changing colors, but it was still well worth it. The boys would cover their ears at each toot of the train whistle and then they giggle like mad. 
The also loved the white steam and the fact that we could see the conductor the whole trip as he stayed in our train car. 
Following the trip, we headed down to Idaho Springs for pizza as they are known for their “pie”. The trusted spot had a 30 minute wait, and well…that wasn’t going to do so we found another little mom and pop place to have a pizza. We polished off a large pizza and my father was floored…he couldn’t believe how much my two little ones ate, but they were starving after the early morning excitement of the train trip. I wish I took a picture of this huge pizza so you could marvel in my boys’ stomachs, but you’ll have to trust me when I tell you it was GINORMOUS. 