Summer 2014!!

One week until school starts! Ack! There are times where I feel like summer went by too fast, but when I look back at all the fun things we did I know we made the best of our time.

First was the realization that we've been here two years now! This came full circle to me when we ate some pizza at the PX the other day. We rarely visit the PX here as there are other places to shop, but this used to be a frequent outing in Korea. I would buy one large slice of pizza from Anthony's and share it between the two boys, and cut it up with plastic forks and knives. Now they're big kids eating their own giant slice of pizza, no cutting needed!

 Since Alex's birthday we have had a lot of summer fun.

There were bubbles-




Bug experiments-



Cub Scout Camp-


Fun with mom while brother's at cub scout camp-

Glow Golf!

Dippin Dots!

Camping in the backyard-


Playing with friends-




Fourth of July concert (and rain afterwards)-

Fun with family in Denver-
My sister Valerie flew up from Phoenix for a weekend and we got some time with the 3 siblings and my mom without grand kids. We hit up Estes park, a movie and an antique shop!

Summer Reading Programs-

This is a puppy couch at our library that Alex loves. The boys read A LOT this summer!

Date nights-

For this date we went to the Skirted Heifer (a yummy burger joint), and a summer jazz concert!




Rained out summer concerts-
The next night after our date the Colorado Symphony was doing an 80s themed concert in the park. Weather was not in our favor and it only stopped raining long enough for us to eat our KFC, and then it started pouring again. We got cold and grumpy so we left :)








And more rain!
It has been a very rainy summer. The last two summers Colorado has been on fire, and this time we're getting a ton of thunderstorms. This pic is of us after getting caught in a downpour outside Walmart


Piano lessons-

Cade started lessons this summer and is doing great! He'll kill me for this picture, but he always sticks his tongue out

Puppy time! Can't get enough of this awesome pup!


Visiting Grandma and Uncle Kevin-




Fun crafts at the Space Foundation-

I built something!

El Paso County Fair-

Alex was all alone on this ride, and though he said he had fun, he looked terrified!

And our last camping trip for the year at the Great Sand Dunes National Park-

The weekend that the kids and I went up to Denver, Dan did a road trip on his motorcycle out to Utah. He visited with family and stopped in some fun places on his way to meet us at the Sand Dunes.

I highly recommend a visit to the Sand Dunes NP. We had a fantastic time. Our weather was cool and rainy much like the rest of Colorado. This made for awesome dunes weather since the sand never got too hot, but it made for cool camping nights. Our second night there we even got caught in a hail storm. It was pretty intense and the boys' tent didn't fair as well with the rain and their sleeping bags got pretty wet. We realized that 6 out of the 8 camping trips we've had since living in Colorado we have had inclement weather. Careful if you camp with us!

Ready for an easy and tasty camping recipe? Buy a bag of frozen Rhodes cinnamon rolls, put them in the dutch oven over night and then warm them on the fire the next morning! These were SO tasty!!!

Some of the pictures are a little blurry because my phone was in a ziploc bag. We were SO covered in sand that I didn't dare let my phone get sandy too.

Playing in Medano creek. Usually by July the creek has dried up, but not this year!

Can't have rainbows without rain!

Dan made some awesome fires to keep us warm!

This summer was all about making memories and I think that was a success. We've got some friends visiting us this week to complete our summer of adventure and memories and then it's on to another school year! I'm always excited to watch my kids learn and grow. Can't wait!