County Fair Parade

Today was the Larimer County Fair parade. C, M and I headed downtown to watch. M thought the parade started a half hour earlier than it did, so we got there in plenty of time to get a front row seat.M was looking at the camera, but a motorcycle cop had just passed so C and I were focused on him.

What county fair parade would be complete without a couple tractors...

horses....

a donkey.....

a four-wheeled cycle....

a marching band....

a 4H float....

The local minor league hockey team Zamboni......

and of course an old-fashioned fire truck!It was the first parade C had been to and my first local parade (the only other parade was in Disneyland almost 2 year ago) and once C figured out that people were throwing out candy, she was excited to go and pick it up.Our stash got pretty tall near the end. Most of it will be sent to Uncle W in Afghanistan. M was actually surprised at how long the parade lasted. There were lots of horses, floats and people throwing candy. By the time we left downtown we had been there over 2 hours. But it was a great way to spend a beautiful Saturday morning.

Loveland Sprint Triathlon

Last week M did a sprint triathlon. In order to prepare she had to train running, swimming and biking. Aunt R helped her with the running up at the Y on lunch breaks. I took her to the lake and reminded her to swim at the Y pool and C did her job by taking her biking a few Saturdays before.

M's transition station. All set to dry off from swimming and grab the bike for the next 13 miles. Since this was only M's second triathlon she didn't invest in a proper road bike and had to make do with D's mountain bike.

The was only about 250 athletes total. Small sprint triathlon only 4 miles from home.After the race....maybe even ready to do it again someday!M's original goal was 2 hours. She figured it was doable but not too hard to accomplish. When she got on the beach after the swim and looked at her watch and saw 15 minutes, she redid her calculations and figured 1 hour 45 minutes was the new goal. The swim was a little short due to the 300 meter run back to the transition area--up the beach, the length of the parking lot and up the grassy knoll. So by the time she got back to the transition area and crossed the chip timer another 2 minutes had passed. But as you can see from the link below, M accomplished her time goal.

http://results.virtualroster.com/results/index.cfm

She has room to improve, especially on the bike portion, and has decided that she had at least enough fun to do another triathlon some day. Maybe even the Loveland one again next year. Since this race she has gotten a road bike given to her, so she is excited to start training again. Maybe not too soon though!

Daddy's girl

C has always been D's girl. Even now she says D and P with ease, but still refuses to use M or G regularly. I guess she just likes the men in her life.
Although I usually prefer to have M put me to bed at night, I have my moments when I am all D's girl.
Curling up with D at G&P's house after a swim in the pool.
Curled up on D's side of the bed with his stuffed lion and my I love D pjs.
I guess I really am D's girl.

Cheyenne Fun

Before M's friend C and her family moved back to Iowa to finish up their last year of seminary, we got together in Cheyenne for a day of fun. We went to see a train engine and after that adventure only lasted 5 minutes we decided to spend the rest of the 90 degree afternoon at the lake bordering the park. It wasn't a swimming beach, so at first M didn't put our swimsuits on and told us to stay close to shore. You can see how well that worked out......after we both completely got wet, M decided she might as well put our swimsuits on and give our clothes a chance to dry.

C and S enjoying the lake.

The longer we stayed, the braver S got with the water.After an hour or so playing in the water, we spent time at the adjoining playground before finishing our playdate with supper at "the old farm" (McDonald's for those of you who need a translation).

Friday night camp-out

Since we couldn't go camping, D decided we should have a camp-out in the basement. So we gathered some end tables and some blankets and built a fort.

I'm ready to sleep in the fort. D slept on the couch and M&C slept upstairs in their beds.

It took me a while to settle down since I was so excited, but I once I did it was a good camp-out.

Fun at Gramma's

Thursday nights when we go and visit G&P we entertain G. Sometimes G&P entertain us though. A few weeks ago, P found the Kangaroo shoes Uncle B. left. He took me and C for a ride.

Then G found a clown's wig to show off.

We even have time to serve tea and treats.

Funny Kangaroo shoes.

Company Picnic

Two weeks ago D's work had their annual picnic. We went to eat some BBQ and play some games.
What a good hot dog!

It was a hot day, so we cooled off with some sno cones.

C was helping all of us eat them.

Then we played some games.

We even took pictures by Buster the School Bus.I climbed the bouncy mazes and went down the slides.

C climbed through her own tunnels.

C even found some balls to play with.

What a fun day staying cool in the shade and enjoying the games and activities.

Fourth of July Weekend

For the long Fourth of July weekend, we headed up the hills to camp again. It was absolutely gorgeous--sunny and hot almost all weekend. M did have a little trouble with the pine pollen, but after a few doses of medicine she stopped watering like a fountain and just succumbed to head stuffiness.
What's wrong with this picture? G was using her wheelchair as a walker, so C decided to hop a ride around the campsite!C and I had lots of fun with a butterfly net. We didn't catch very many butterflies, but we did catch a few other things!

It even worked well as a leash for C!

The campfire circle is always the best time on any camping trip.

G even took one ride with us. It was out to admire a dead tree in a rock that P had found the previous trip to the area.

P&G in a friend's new toy.

G&P and all the grand-kids who camped all weekend.

The whole gang!

Even though the pine beetle is taking its toll on the trees, it was still a beautiful area to camp in.

Happy Fourth of July everyone!

Who's Ready?

The other day, M looked all over the house for C and found her in the bathroom, on the kiddie toilet seat with toilet paper in hand. I guess somebody is ready to start potty training!So this past camping weekend, the potty chair was brought and an area set up near the fire just for the ease of potty training. We got some important concepts down like pulling down & up the underwear. Still need a little work on the timing, but we will try again next camping trip when it's OK to run around in underwear and a t-shirt and any accidents that happen just help to water the plants!

Dad's Birthday

M, along with G's help, spent a great deal of time recently with her head and thoughts in the toilet--only to try to come up some really good ideas for a Fortieth Birthday party theme. Since D, Uncle L and Aunt J were all turning forty this year, M decided to needed to throw them an unforgettable party. It just so happened that a cousin happened to visit the party weekend we was only a couple months younger, so she was included in the party also!D.

Uncle L.

The roses were for the lovely ladies!

In addition to the Fortied theme, we also celebrated G's 21st birthday (40 years late).

We also made sure that Seth was honored for his recent accomplishment of graduating with a Bachelors of Arts in Religion degree when means he can attend Seminary starting in the fall.

All the food was centered around the bathroom....

...animal droppings...

...even the punch looked a little like a used toilet bowl. Just lemonade with tootsie roll ice cubes.

I even had a corner of the yard to celebrate my birthday!

Birthday honorees!What a turnout.The twins in their matching underwear!