Vail 2013 - A Rafting Trip

The boys had a lot of fun while I was at work in Colorado. They went to playgrounds, biked, hiked, went "exploring", visited a local science museum, visited the local library for story time and even did some swimming. I have virtually no photos of all of this fun, since I wasn't there and S didn't take photos. I do, however, have photos from the one other event we took in as a family - a river rafting trip! Here are the photos:

We were in a raft like that one. There was water in the bottom of the raft, so your feet got wet.

When you went over the mild rapids, other parts got wet, too!

The scenery was quite amazing, of course.

These are mud nests made by a certain kind of bird.

A train passed us by on the river!

For the first part of the trip, the boy was on the opposite side of the boat from me.

Some geese!

An example of our mild rapids. 

They got a little wilder than this, but not by much.

We passed several sets of fly fishermen.

And kayakers.

We stopped and walked around for a bit a little past halfway through.

So I took some wildflower photos.

Of course.

And the boys waded in the water.

And they also used the binoculars.

This was our able and wonderful guide.

After the pit stop, the official photographer caught us together on one side of the boat.

After rafting, we went to a ranch to eat and there were a few games to play.

It was a fun day.

See you soon!

Vail 2013 - The Beaver Creek Rodeo

The first night we were in Vail, after everyone was checked in to their respective hotels, S, LM and I went over to Avon to check out the Beaver Creek Rodeo. We went to this rodeo last year, when it was VERY COLD and VERY WET. This year, it was very sunny and bordering on hot. All in all, for a rodeo, this year's weather was better. Here are some photos:

Since it was good and warm...

...snow cones were in order!

The rodeo princesses rode the flags around the corral.

And this year's clown was WAY better than last year's clown.

One of the cowboys lost his boot...

The boy and me.

And most of of the boy and me here...

Just me w the silly grin.

 

The kids in the calf races.

Clearly, S had the camera a LOT this night.

Barrel racing.

 

Aha! I got the camera back!

A good night at the rodeo.

We watched a bit of the mutton bustin', but then we left before the steers, because we had a tired boy and it was a bit warm out there. Luckily, after one more day of warmer temps, it cooled off and was really nice for the rest of our stay. 

See you soon.

Anthony's 3rd Birthday

LM, Max, Anthony

The weekend before we headed for the hills, so to speak, LM was invited to Anthony's birthday party. It was at a place where the kids could paint something. On the way there, LM fell asleep, and I realized I did not bring my camera. So, when we arrived, LM was a little shy and not too sociable, and I checked for the purse camera. Dead battery. Thus, all photos were taken with the camera phone. And, eventually, the boy warmed up.

 

You will see, however, that he did is work away from the group.

Here is was telling me to help him.

There were some real masterpieces in the bunch!

Then there were snacks and cake!

Then everyone took a home a balloon.

It was a fun day.

See you soon!