Father's Day '09

We met my parents at Nutty Brown Cafe on Father's Day. Unfortunately, I guess we didn't get a pic of Paul and the girls while there, but here are some of the girls with Mimi and Pa.

Mimi and Kaylee.
"Cuca!"

Dad and Chloe

DON'T try this at home... We wish we hadn't.

We had a little excitement around the ol' grill tonight at supper. It all started with our good intentions to eat more healthy. (Paul successfully redirected me, while he was standing in HEB looking at meat and I said "get hamburgers!!", and he said "no, let's grill tuna steaks instead"). Well, regardless of meat choice, I'm afraid the result would have been the same. After grilling the tuna, a small grease fire in the grill turned into a full flame, sirens and lights, adrenaline pumping evening. As Paul drained our fire extinguisher with little effect on the fire, I called 911. Luckily, our neighbor Mike is a fireman as well, and was home when he smelled suspicious smoke and came outside. Mike kept a garden hose on the house as the propane tank continued to fuel the fire. Bey the time the local FD arrived, the propane tank had emptied and the flames were finally dying down. Mike let them know that they didn't need to pull out their hoses. The FD did check everything out to make sure we were safe before heading back to the station. While I was too frantic to get pics during the flames, I did grab the camera and took a few pics towards the end:

Here comes the firetruck!

The firemen used this cool "gun" to check for any hotspots on our house. Take note of the ceiling fan!

Our grill. Costco will take anything back if you have a receipt - think we should try it?? lol

Kaylee got to tour the firetruck, and the men deputized her and gave her a hat and sticker.

A few more pics from Colorado!

Our friends Matt and Amy gave us a copy of their pics, so here are a few more to share!!

We had a fox outside our condo door. He visited everyday, morning and night. Kaylee and Kasey named him "Sox" (maybe because they couldn't say "fox"??). Sox-the-fox was just another highlight of a great trip!

Kaylee and Kasey spent a lot of time just like this - looking for Sox.

Isn't Sox beautiful??

Looking for his daily treat... "is anyone home??"

Sox on the back patio.

Christy, Kaylee and Chloe at the river in downtown Breck.


Another hike, another pic of the fam.


Kaylee and Kasey in the dandelions. Dandelions in Colorado are HUGE - about twice as big as in Texas!! Unfortunately, these are about the only wildflowers we saw at this time of year.

More of Colorado

(Remember, you can click on any of these pics to see a bigger, more detailed view!!)

On Tuesday, we drove up Boreas Pass with our friends, Matt and Amy, and their 2 little girls, Kasey (almost 3) and Korey (8 mo). There is a log cabin at the top of the pass that can be rented by cross country skiers, but is locked up through the summer. The girls enjoyed exploring around the little settlement, and we (of course) took a few pics...

Kaylee has learned how to say "cheese" every time she sees the camera...

The whole group at the top of Boreas
(Matt & Amy, Kasey and Korey, Paul & Christy, Kaylee and Chloe).

Christy and the girls finding something (flowers??) in the terrain.

Paul and Kaylee on Boreas.


Kasey and Kaylee discuss what they are going to order at the Quandry Grill.


Kasey, Kaylee and Christy look for fish in the Maggie Pond
while waiting for lunch to arrive at the Quandry Grill.



Some cute pics of Chloe, wrapped up in the blanket
"made with love" from Baba (Paul's mother).

On Wednesday, the sun was out and skies were blue. Paul and I rented ATVs and went on a guided tour around the Leadville mining district, and along the Continental Divide. Matt and Amy were kind enough to watch Kaylee and Chloe for the morning.

Paul and Christy in the Leadville Mining District on their ATV ride.

More ATV pics...

Paul in an Aspen Grove.

Wednesday afternoon we hiked along a trail right outside of our condo. Kaylee picked several flowers, and we put them in her hair. I know that we are not supposed to pick flowers in Colorado, but I'm finding that hard to explain that to a 2 year old. Several times she picked them before I could stop her.

The fam.

Christy "practicing" riding the chairlift (this lift was not operational at the time)
with Kasey (on the left), Chloe (in the Bjorn), and Kaylee.


Kaylee describing how big the mountains are...
(or possibly wanting someone to pick her up!)

Thursday was a little bit of a rest day for Kaylee. She was pretty worn out. We took our time in the morning, and then bummed around town a little bit. At noon, we made a point of getting Kaylee back for lunch and a nap (Paul needed a nap too). While they were napping, Chloe and I drove to the top of Hosier Pass (elevation around 11,500) and took a hiking trail from there. We weren't able to complete the full loop due to some big snowfields covering the trail that I was not comfortable crossing with Chloe on board in the Bjorn, so we just hiked in and out. Our top elevation was around 12,500, and we felt like we were on top of the world. It was windy and a little chilly, but we were prepared with our jackets and hiking gear.

The trail loop was covered with snow on this section,
so we ended up just going out-and-back.

Christy with Chloe in the Bjorn, all snugged up in the wind and chill,
on top of the top of Hoosier Pass.

I LOVE these little, tiny mountain flowers - the grass around them is only slightly bigger than bermuda blades, to put their size into perspective. I zoomed in to get some of the detail... it is amazing how tiny and how perfect they are. The yellow flowers at the top of the picture are about as big as the flowers get at this elevation. The conditions are not condusive to anything larger.

I was hoping to get Paul to hike a 14er (14,000+ feet) with me. Mt. Quandry is located close to Breck, and is one of the "easier" 14ers to conquer - so originally I had that on our schedule for Friday. Unfortunately, Quandry presented with a quandry - it was still capped with snow, and the trail was not really accessible for flatlanders like ourselves. I think Paul was relieved...

Mt. Quandry, covered in snow... no hiking it on this trip!!



For supper, we decided to go to Burke & Riley's Irish Pub. Coloradians have either no tolerance for disabilities, or a good sense of humor. This was the beginning of the "wheelchair route" to the 3rd floor - no jokin'. I really don't know how a wheelchair would get up all the stairs.


Outside the pub, listening to some music, sitting by the fire.
Kaylee was dancing with some
granola-lookin' dread-lockin' mountain man college kids -
wish I had that on video!!

So, instead of hiking up Quandry, we decided to spend Friday morning on the Alpine Slide with Matt and Amy and their girls. We were all curious whether Kaylee and Kasey would be "up" for the chairlift ride up the mountain, and were pleasantly surprised to find that both girls really enjoyed the ride up, as well as the slide down. We traded off watching the babies at the bottom, and taking the "big girls" up on the slide. It was another gorgeous day - 65-70 degrees, and sunshine with blue skies and white snow-capped mountains. The contrast in colors in the mountains is really remarkable. I wish our camera could capture the fantastic feeling up here...

Kaylee and Kasey waiting for their jackets to dry so they can go ride the slide!!

Kaylee's first-ever chairlift ride. She did awesome!! I held her the whole way, an she watched all the sliders below us... and kept saying "slide!!" and pointing to the sliders.

Looking for daddy.

Coming in to the bottom after her first slide run!!
(We are the ones on the right-hand track).


Second run with Daddy...



And the third run with Daddy...


Sadly, we have to leave this beautiful place tomorrow. It has been a great trip!
We plan to see Anne (my great aunt) tomorrow in Denver for lunch...
then on to the airport to return to Austin
(also a beautiful place, even if it is 105 degrees!!)

First Colorado Hike... is that snow??

We took the girls on a 4 mile hike today to Lily Pad Pond (elevation: 11,500). Kaylee hiked most of the way in, and mama carried Chloe in the Bjorn. We were sooo proud of her!! When we got to the ponds, we sat down to take a breather, eat a power bar, and take in the view. The scenery consisted of beautiful beaver ponds covered in Lily Pads, snow covered mountain peaks, aspen tree groves (Christy's favorite tree), and... dark clouds building over us. Within about 10 minutes of laying out our picnic, it was clear that we needed to pack up and high-tail it outta there! By the time mama got Kaylee on her back, Paul tucked Chloe in the Bjorn and daypack on his back, it was starting to sprinkle a little. Then, it started to SNOW HARD (Colorado's corn snow)!! Kaylee was crying out "RAIN! RAIN!" (her snow experiences are very limited), and Paul and I jogged along the trail. Pretty soon, the snow/rain softened, and we finished our hike at a pretty brisk pace. While loading up back at the car, the sun came out and there was a rainbow over one of the nearby valleys. That's Colorado in the spring for you! Needless to say, we were all a little wet and a little cold, but it was a fabulous morning of hiking in the mountains. Now, we are back at the condo and everyone is taking a little nap... swimming/hot tubbing to follow this afternoon! Here are some pics from our hike this morning...

Wait for us, Kaylee!!

Mama with her girls...

The whole family in the woods!

Uh oh - here comes the corn snow.

Snowing hard!!
Paul on the trail with Chloe in front in the Bjorn.

Snow is over - but it is still chilly for the little ones.
Chloe's hiding in the Bjorn on Paul's chest,
and Kaylee's hiding in mama's backpack!


Paul navigating some downed timbers with Chloe.

Christy and Kaylee at the trailhead... Kaylee's all done!!
Time to get back in the car, dry out and warm up!

Breckenridge

We just arrived in Breck for the week - Christy grew up visiting this area with her family and grandparents, and it is one of her favorite places in the world. Our flight arrived late into Denver, immediately following a hail storm. We had to sit on the tarmack waiting for a gate for about an hour while DIA officials checked every plane for hail damage before flights were allowed to leave. We arrived in Breck around midnight (1am Texas Time), and were pretty wiped out. Today we are mostly acclimating to the altitude and getting settled into the condo... Kaylee had fun playing with her friend Kasey at the condo - here are some pics.