Birthdays

Since April I had been telling M that I wanted to celebrate my birthday at the Train Park everytime we passed it after dropping C off at daycare.  It wasn't until the week that M realized that it would be the hottest day of the year as it was forecasted to be 103 degrees.  But since I was so determined, M decided to go forth with the Train Park.  Luckily everyone was trying to stay out of the heat, so we didn't have a crowd to fight at the park at all.  We got three tables all in a row and in the shade! I had invited a few friends from my Y school, but that morning a fire started in Estes Park (1 of 6 fires which started that day in CO bringing the total fires burning on that day to 12 in CO) and one friend's aunt was evacuated so they couldn't come down.  Needless to say that fire dominated the adult conversation as 2 attendees worked with M up there and it was only 2 miles from the Y and the road was closed going to/from for emergency vehicles only, so they were trying to figure out if they would even be able to get to work on Monday.  The crazy thing--the last time a fire was that close was 5 years earlier when M was in the hospital with me and the SMR facility had a 5 acre fire on property.
My best friend P was able to come since she also lives down in Loveland.

 Waiting patiently for the train to let us board.  Proudly holding our tickets!

 The D's rode the train with the little kids in the open air car.  We got to go on two rides so one time I was in the boxcar and the second time i was in the caboose with my friends.

 

We went through 5 gallons of cool-aid, but as long as you stayed in the shade it wasn't completely unbearable, just uncomfortable!  Next summer M will plan a water party of some sort!!

The next week we helped D celebrate his birthday.  Before having company over to our house, we had to go visit G's gravesite and leave our birthday momentos for her.

 Happy Birthday to a wonderful G that is very missed.

 When we got home, we all changed into our Bronco gear.  M said that D had his girls trained well.  They both picked those out on their own accord for D's birthday!

 After we finished lunch and the adults were enjoying the shade in the backyard, C and I jumped in our new bouncy house I got from G&G for my birthday.  It was lots of fun, even more so after M figured out how to plug up the extra air hole!!

We had a good birthday season, with M celebrating hers with just a family supper at P's house.

Growing up

Our little oak tree is growing tall.  It even has enough leaves to give off a little shade.

 M likes comparing how tall we are getting against the oak tree, so below is our annual growing up pictures!

 The pretty girls under the tree!

 C so big at 2 1/2.

 The big 5 year old!

Day Camp

Last week was C's first time at Day Camp.  I had been giving her lots of good advice for the weeks leading up to day camp.  

First:  you need to make sure you get a good night's sleep, because we walk everywhere and it will tire you out.

 Second:  You need to eat a very good breakfast (or in this case leftover chocolate covered doughnuts from Sunday morning!)

 Third: You need to make sure you wear the right attire.  When it is pony riding day you need to make sure you wear your cowboy boots!

 

Fourth: You need your lunch and water in your backpack.  Be sure to take lots of drinks throughout the day!

 

And the final piece of advice:  Make sure you have lots of fun.  The dirtier you get, the more fun you had.  In C's case, an arm full of sap from trying to climb a tree tells the story of her first couple days at camp! 

 Lucky for C I was still at Bennett her first week of day camp, so I took really good care of her and helped her get all adjusted.  This week I moved up a level to my "Kindergarten" group now that I'm a big 5 year old!

Georgetown Loop Railroad

On Saturday, D told us we were going to go crazy.  Since we couldn't go camping (due to the fire) we were going to go do something else fun.  M&D had 2 choices, but it came down to temperature and call for rain that made them choose the south option. So to Georgetown we went!  We got into town and found a very small pizzeria to eat at.  Then since we still had more than an hour until our surprise, we drove up Grunella Pass.  It was about 12 miles to the summit, which was a popular hiking spot.  M got out to take a quick picture just as the thunder roared, so in the car she jumped and down the mountain we went.

Now it was time for our surprise!  A really big train!

We stood on the platform and watched the train approach over the bridge on its way into the station.

 

Waiting somewhat patiently to board.  The cars behind us our the parlor cars--with tables and snacks.  We had tickets for the coach seating which was more open air (ie. better views!)

So excited for the ride to start.

The Georgetown Loop is called so because the track loops over itself as it climbs in elevation.  The stations are only 2 miles apart but a 600 feet elevation difference.  In order to keep the track grade at 4% or lower, the track was built in loops and curves.  So what is only 2 miles takes 4 1/2 miles of track to follow.  The other interesting thing about the Georgetown Loop is that it is the only loop railway whose loop is in the open.  In Europe, when they built loop railways it was all through tunnels, so you never saw the track below you.

We stopped at the turnaround station for about 15 minutes while the engine switched ends.  Because there is no place to turn the train around the engine switches rather than trying to figure out how to get the whole train flipped.  Enough time to get out, stretch our legs and get back on in a car all to ourselves.  There is a Silver Mine halfway between Georgetown and Silver Plume that the train stops at and lets guests off to tour.  So there weren't as many people on the ride back.

Crossing Clear Creek River. In the 4 1/2 miles of track you cross the creek 4 times.  Again just one of many ways they used to keep the grade at a manageable descent/ascent. 

Steam Engine #12 did a very good job leading us down the mountain.  On the way up it was assisted by a big diesel engine.  

The whole train in front of us as we cross the bridge again on the way back to the station.

The station below us.  We are over the track we started on, but the loop takes us around another mile or more before we pull into the station.

 

We had a great adventure!  A great way to get ready for my birthday party at the train park next week.  M just hopes that little park train ride is fun after such a big adventure on a real big train!

Backyard fun

On Sunday, after it had cooled down a couple degrees (enough for M to be able to stand being outside!!), we went and played in the backyard in our pool.  It kept us cool and M tried to stay cool in the shade on the patio.  If you look closely in the background you can still see the smoke from the High Park Fire.  It has already burned over 60,000 acres in just over 2 weeks and is only half contained.  M thinks it will burn until the first snowfall of the winter!

 

Can you see me in the tree?  Our tree has grown and so have i this last year.  This coming Saturday is my 5th birthday.  I get to go to Kindergarten next year.  M&D aren't ready for such a big girl, but I tell them I just can't stop growing!!

C hiding in the Willow tree.

Then showing off in front of the Oak.

All those clouds are the smoke.  The sky was clear blue otherwise.  Please continue to pray for the firefighters and all the displaced people as hundreds are evacuated and 189 homes have been lost already.  But as you can tell, we are trying to live life as normally as possible even with the smoke looming over us.

Just another day in paradise!

After sleeping in this morning and taking a couple hours to clean house and do laundry, D took the whole family on a hike.  We decided to stick close by and not drive too far, but we maybe didn't go high enough as it was still 89 degrees in the Big Thompson Canyon.  We made the most of it and it was a very good 2 mile nature hike to an overlook.

C trucking up the last steep hill to get to the overlook.  That little stretch really tuckered her out.  Just the dangle of a snack at the top kept her going.

 Waiting for D and C to catch up to us.

 At the overlook shelter, we took some time to rest and have some crackers for a snack.

 What great troopers in the mid-day heat.

 On the way down, C & I had some one-on-one time to discuss the upcoming Day camp season.  She starts a week from Monday and I am busy trying to teach her everything she needs to know.  This hike was good training for her since at Day Camp we walk everywhere all day long.  She has been practicing at home carrying her backpack around so she will be all ready in a week!

 After getting back to the car, we headed across the road to the park for our picnic lunch.  The parking lot was full, so we headed back to Loveland and found a great little picnic area right by the river.  However the view wasn't the brightest---the small smoke plume we had noticed leaving Loveland had grown to a billowing cloud in the 1 1/2 hour we had been hiking.  We decided to finish lunch quickly, go get ice cream for dessert and head home.

 This was the view from our backyard all afternoon.  Driving home, C fell asleep so M took a nap also.  When they got up we went outside to play in the pool and enjoy the 95 degree weather and sunshine.

 Staying cool in the heat!