Estes Park 2012

We're slowly recovering from post-vacation depression around here.   We extended our stay a couple of days, but reality had to be faced sooner or later.  We preferred 'later'.   Also, there was the small matter of our cat to think of.  He is royally ticked-off whenever we leave town.  His caterwauling continues for days after our return.  You know, just to make sure we realize we left him behind and understand how NOT happy he is about it.

The kids each attended day camp with their particular age group for a couple of days, but we staggered the schedule to provide a one-on-one day to hike and relax with them individually.  I think that worked wonderfully.  While they were each excited for day camp activities, they were pretty enthusiastic about a day with mom and dad all to themselves - and really that's not going to last from what I hear, so we're taking advantage of it now.

Day camp consisted of swimming, hot dog cook-outs, wall-climbing, horse-back riding and all sorts of mountain goodness.  And kids came home tired.  Yay!   

We took advantage of opportunities in the afternoons and evenings to do a few unusual things.  Listening to a  Bluegrass band, watching Cars al fresco, origami lessons, tennis, mini gold, and a bird banding demonstration were a few of our adventures.  Below, Miss S is holding a hummingbird that had just been banded.  The little bird sat a few moments in her palm and then flitted away.  She was pretty ecstatic about the whole experience.

We took things easy the first day, acclimating to the elevation, and climbed Alberta Falls with Bubs 

and Miss S.  

On our day with the girl, we hiked Cub Lake.  She was a trooper and hung in there all 6 miles.  And she would like anyone to whom she has not already mentioned it to know she hiked 6 miles.  Got that?  Six miles.  Six point zero miles.

Cub lake was covered with lilies.  The sweet momma duck came up with her ducklings on the rock where we lunched and they all settled in for naps in the sun there right next to us.

 Wonderboy fit in a few climbing excursions.  On bolle!

 Plaid Fanny.  Ha!  Preppy meets outdoor adventure, I guess.

 When we had Wonderboy to ourselves, E had a fly-fishing excursion arranged, so the boy and I hiked Loch Vale and Mills Lake.  We were exhausted - 8 miles and huge elevation climbs - but dang was it worth it.  Lock Vale in particular was probably the most beautiful place I've ever been.  Breathtakingly beautiful.  We passed a guy 'trail-running' this particular hike.  I made the universal sign for crazy as he went by.  I don't think he minded.  The thin air up there does things to people.

 Lock Vale

 Our last big hike was to Bear, Nymph, Emerald and Dream Lakes.  Perennial favorites of ours.  And we get up into the snow so that always makes the kids giddy.  Because, you know, we don't have enough snow in Chicago.

 Monkeys.

 Proud of their catches.

The Scandinavian Midsummer Festival is a 'must' for us when we're in Estes.  We plan our visit to coincide with the Festival weekend.  And we leave about five pounds heavier due to tasting too must of Denmark.   Good thing we hiked all those miles.  Things balance out somehow.  And really, how often do you watch grown men in knickers dance around the Maypole?  It doesn't happen a lot around our neck of the woods.  We drive a thousand miles to see it happen.  

The end.

A Project

I do love me a good project, and once in a while I even finish one I've started.  I can't even remember how I got obsessed with Singer 15-91 machines (circa 1940s).  But I did.  It's a little problem I have.  Obsessing over things.  Eric would be enthusiastically agreeing with me and rolling his eyes, except he has the same problem.  We're quite the pair.   It's especially awesome when we both obsess over the same thing, at the same time.  We're really fun to be around then.

Anyway, Singer 15-91.  Awesome work horse sewing machine.  Beautiful straight stitch.   Particularly fantastic for quilt piecing.   I texted E and told him to look at what I'd found on Craigslist.  He interpreted my message as "look at the listing I found."  I intended it to mean, "look at the listing I found, and then drove to West Chicago to load up and bring home unsure of whether it worked or not, or whether I could refurb it."  Our communication skills are awesome like that.  "What is that?" was his greeting as he walked in the door from work.

I pulled the machine from the table, did a little stripping and refinishing, recovering the bench, and then tore the beast apart to clean and completely rewire the motor.  The process took a couple of weeks since I worked on the machine mostly at night.   I was using a soldering iron and I figured Bubs would be more than happy to be my 'helper' and then all I could imagine was one or both of us with third degree burns and an old Singer chucked out at the curb.  

I didn't take pictures before starting the overhaul.  Dang it.  But this is what it looks like now.  By the time I got the grime, grease and dust off, I realized I'd found a machine in great condition for its age.  And it really is a beast.  I've got a queen size kaleidescope quilt on the rack right now that will take another, oh... two years at my current rate of progress to finish quilting and then I'm going to put the beast to work.  

Back! And things happening.

I haven't been able to edit or post to blogger for several weeks now.  And this is serious, because I'm thinking this is it?  My random and sporadic efforts to document life around here are effectively over?  That will be my final post?  Ever???  Lame.

And then I went away for a while, more or less unplugged in the Rocky Mountains, and came back to open blogger and find that, yes! I can resume my ramblings.  Which is awesome if only because Bubs has declared  the hard copies I've had printed of my blog, sitting on the shelf, 'The Funniest Books Ever".  Those kids giggle themselves silly reading about...themselves.  And that's pretty fantastic in my opinion.

So.  Wonderboy hit double digits.  And wow, what can I say to describe this amazing kid...he's witty, sensitive, a voracious reader, master Lego builder, hilarious, a little bit mischievous, a lot kind, a great soccer player, and a dedicated pianist.    We planned a quiet celebration at home, but Bubs had a panic attack when he realized we hadn't made a birthday crown.  He frantically gathered the necessary pom poms and sparkles and crafted a pretty festive crown for the birthday boy.  Wonderboy's birthday request?  A long board.   When they say it goes by so fast, they aren't kidding.  Boy, they aren't kidding.

Miss Fia has officially become accountable.  Eight, that is.  Her baptism will be in a few weeks.  (And she would like you to know you're all invited, by the way.)  She's SUPER excited. She was counting down the days and minutes until her meeting with the Bishop.

We celebrated a little early, before heading out for vacation, so she could have a little time to adjust to her new bigger bike.   At eight, she's our sweet little nurturer, serious animal lover and prolific artist.  Ants freak her out.  She loves swimming, tennis, soccer, and shopping.   And she's a helper.  You need help, she's your gal.    

And then Bubs.  Oh Bubs.  His transformation into a little boy is kind of hard for me.   We celebrated the final days of preschool by releasing the butterflies they had been watching and learning about.  He is always so sweet and proud when I can join him in class.  I sat in the pick-up line on the last day of school and found myself  hit so hard by the realization that he's not my baby anymore.  I don't know why I didn't realize it before that moment.


He's got a bit of a neat-freak instinct, of which I'm so proud.  At least one of my offspring shares my fondness for vacuuming.   And he's got interesting passions.  Like the giant pickle jar he keeps his pennies in. And he loves that jar because it smells like pickles and he can sniff it whenever he wants to smell pickles.  Or his obsession with tires.  If he finds he can remove the tires from a toy car, he does and then he lines the tires up on his book shelf in collections.  When I check his pants pockets before starting laundry, it's a 'tire check' I'm doing.  


He's also very good at reminding me not to wear ponytails.  He tells me "You might want to take that out mommy, you don't look very good like that."  Oh well.  One day I'll chop it all off and really freak him out.  Just you wait little man.