Rocky Mountain High

Heather (while driving): "Ooh!  We're getting ready to go into the mountains. Hurry--grab the John Denver CD and put it in."  Yes, we visited Colorado this past weekend to visit Doug's sister, Natalie, and her family.  We had a great time.  Due to Doug's injuries, we didn't do all the hiking and biking that Doug had been dreaming about for weeks, but we managed to have a great time enjoying the area with less 'foot' action.

We wandered downtown Grand Junction on Friday morning and fell in love with the city and the people.  They had cool things for kids to crawl on as you walked the main street and did a little shopping.

We visited the splash park before heading home for naptime. We thought Syd would be in heaven and Ethan would rather wander the streets, but boy were we wrong.  It was the opposite and Ethan was adorable to watch. He was screaming with excitement for a pretty solid 20 minutes in the water.

Friday evening we went on a short hike that wasn't too challenging for Doug's ankle.  It was just near their house and so much fun.  Doug and I wonder if Ethan will hike a few miles at this age. He had NO desire to be held and wanted to walk the entire time.

The view from Devil's Kitchen was spectacular and there was the longest echo I've ever heard. 

We managed to take a group photo after gathering kids from all around these rocks.

Saturday we headed to the hills near their home again but this time to lush green forest for a little canoeing.  They were so kind to us there and friendly. We paid $3 for a little picnic area for the day and all the kids recieved Smokey the Bear pencils and Ethan and Sydney inherited a plastic Snoopy dog that had been left by another child earlier...a little dirty, but a nice gesture!  Ethan and Sydney had their first experience in a boat and were a little nervous at the way it moved.  We made sure we had a third passenger to row while they were gripping tightl to us.

We had a great time that day with the Dave and Natalie and their kids.  You would think they had lived in the area for years, not months. They knew some great fun spots to visit.

While Ethan was running around the the day camp site, Sydney was content to sit in the stroller and asked me to put on her sunglasses.

Ethan couldn't stand to sit still and shortly after he sat in the stoller he attempted to climb out on his own...it didn't work well.

We ended our visit with a Saturday night BBQ at her church. I had a blast putting a little mohawk in Ethan's hair to match his shirt.

The downer of this visit was losing my wedding ring Friday afternoon and scouring the house trying to find it unsuccessfully. Thanks to Natalie and her family for helping me look. I was completely embarassed to find it while unpacking our bags today. I ran and hugged Doug before telling him I had found it and said, "I am so excited! I don't want to talk right now, just give me a minute."