Bike Ride with Trace

 

Trace asked for a BMX bike and helmet for Christmas and has been enjoying going to the skate park when time allows. I had heard about a cool bike path at Jonathan Dickinson Park that has trails rated like ski slopes: green, blue and black according to difficulty. So on this extremely hot and humid July day, Trace and I headed there. Despite the heat, he insisted on wearing his new helmet, which has poor ventilation and as it looks more like a motorcycle helmet. The course was super fun and challenging, but as predicted the helmet with the high temperature, left Trace overheated. We ended up having to trade helmets, so he could make it to the end of the trail. Thankfully, neither of us had heat exhaustion. We'll have to do it again in cooler temperatures. 

Rex

 

Kianna has proven to be the best bearded dragon mom. She loves Rex so much and takes amazing care of him. She feeds him crickets, collard greens, yellow squash and meal worms. She takes him out regularly to cuddle him. She loves dressing him up. She's the best mom for Rex.

Anna Maria Island

We timed our trip home, so we could end up on Anna Maria Island and join the Langfald's there on their vacation with the Snyders. We were honored they invited us and as usual we had a great time. We stayed in a beautiful hotel on the Gulf of Mexico that had a gorgeous pool. Our big adventure for the weekend was letting the kids experience parasailing for the first time. They all enjoyed it. We also went to a farmers market and ate at some nice restaurants, in addition to pool time. 

After traveling 5,719 miles through 14 states, sleeping in 10 different beds, boating in lakes, floating down a river, hiking mountains and parasailing in the ocean we finally made it home to our puppies! We are so thankful to have been given this opportunity to take a month long road trip.

The Wenzel Farm

We drove from Colorado Springs to St. Louis, MO before crashing for the night at a dumpy hotel along the interstate. The next morning we completed our drive to Finger, TN to visit our dear friends, The Wenzel's. Sally grew up on a farm in Illinois and has always been a farm girl at heart. 

They bought a house in the middle of no where, along with acres of land, and their own pond. They have since bought cows, goats, chickens and a pig. They seem to love their country living. Our kids loved seeing the animals and riding around on the ATV. I loved spending time with Sally and catching up with my dear friend. It was a great day! Now off to Anna Maria Island, Florida.  

Colorado Springs

On our way from Estes Park to Colorado Springs, we stopped by my brother, Rick's house in Thorton. Krystal made us a delicious breakfast, which we thoroughly enjoyed. Afterwards, we went into their basement and played ping pong, pickle ball and fuse ball. We had lots of laughs and it was great catching up with them and seeing their new home.

From there, we made it to Colorado Springs where we spent the next four days with Debi and Dan. Katie and Jonathan drove from Breckenridge to spend the weekend with us. Libby, Kevin and Addy live nearby, so spent a lot of time with us as well. We loved meeting Addy and getting in lots of baby cuddles. She's such a sweet little girl. We played lots and lots of peanuts, along with some Skull King as well. We went on neighborhood walks, threw axes in the backyard, worshipped with them on Sunday, ate lots of yummy food and just enjoyed being together as a family. 

We also visited the Flying W Dude Ranch, where we had a delicious cowboy meal and listened to western music. It had just reopened after being closed for years due a forest fire. It was fun being back there, since I had been there multiple times over the years. On our last day, we enjoyed a fun hike to a gorgeous lake.  Our time in Colorado Springs was so special. We loved our time with family. Now off to Finger, TN to visit the Wenzel's.