Freedom Hike

On the morning of the 4th, we drove to Castlewood Canyon and did the "Creek Bottom Trail" hike. We've done this one before and it is a great hike for kids. Fairly flat, great view of the waterfall and you follow close to the creek. This time, we hiked a little over 3 miles and 95% of it was enjoyable. Luckily, that other 5% didn't last too long. :)

These are not our usual hiking clothes Before, we would let the kids get in the water to splash around and play. .  However, Colorado received an incredible amount of rain and the creek was running too high and fast to get in this time. 

They are quite the explorers when we hike.

Emma scouring the hillside in her swimsuit, classy.

Little man enjoyed the hike from his comfy carrier.

The kids were doing so well, that we continued hiking all the way to the dam.

 On top of the dam, Emma ran out of gas and needed to refuel with some fruit, goldfish and water. :)

 Love those lips.

On the way back to our car, we stopped and dipped our toes in the creek (that was more like a river). 

Bryan managed to catch this crawdad and had us all laughing in the process to snag him.

We also spotted tad poles, water skeeters and raced blades of grass and branches in the water. It's the simple things that can be the most memorable.

Dragons Love Tacos

We love our library here. They are doing a summer reading program that the kids are excited about participating in. We have ramped up our reading time and broadened our book selections at the library to help us reach our goal. Our favorite book to read right now is Dragons Love Tacos. It is clever and cute. Both Luke and Emma chuckle every time we read it. We made tacos last night in honor of the book. We also made sure to leave out the spicy salsa.

Myles just wants to be part of the action.

A Growing Boy

Myles seems to have hit a growth spurt. At least, judging by this picture he has.

I decided to try him out in the jumper and he loved it. Never mind the messy pantry behind him. Remember that post about letting things go? :)

Tin Foil River

This was on "Luke's  Sensational Summer" Checklist. 

We had a lot of fun creating this while the other two kiddos were napping.  Once everyone was awake, all of us enjoyed playing with our tin foil river by racing different items down it. Next time, I would buy the heavy duty tin foil and make it wider so we could float more objects down it. Also, if we wanted it to be smoother, we would need to put it on the sidewalk. However, I liked the bumps and water the grass, not the cement.

Check and check.

CANON BALL!

This would be the favorite expression of Luke and Emma when we visit our neighborhood pool. Luke is more true to this phrase when he enters the water. Emma is more into being part of the action and modifies her own "canon ball!"

Myles likes taking cat naps poolside in his tent.

Something New

We tried out a new park in Castle Rock the other day. I love how it is built into the landscape and you wind your way up the hill to different playground equipment. The kids had a blast.

Nothing beats enjoying a good belly laugh with your kid.

My little sidekick and me. 

Bad mommy moment-forgot his hat and he received a little too much Vit. D. Oopsies.

We enjoyed the park so much, that we took Bryan with us when we returned a few days later. 

It was the perfect evening.

Making Up

Myles is really making up for the first 2.5 months of his life. :) It always felt like he was so sweet, but his stomach or reflux or whatever it was, was just working him over. Poor dude. Now, he is such a smiley and content baby. He is usually my little side kick wherever I go. I'm starting to find my groove with managing three kids. That's mostly me realizing to let a lot of things go. The house is not spotless, a lot of days my kids look homeless (me too, for that matter) and there are not many gourmet meals being prepared. However, I find a great deal of happiness and my own contentment in my life by letting those other things go.