Iron Horse

The kids participated in their first Iron Horse bike race this weekend. No, it was not the full 47 miles to Silverton. It was a couple of laps on Main Ave. They both earned a medal and had loads of fun. There were kids ages 3 - 8 in the race and the skill level ranged from tricycle to full on road bike. Neither of our kids are very competitive so they just took it easy and had fun.

Dylan and Holli showing off their race numbers.

Holli speeding past.

Holli is very proud of her medal.

There goes Dylan and Drew. Dylan's age group was a "parent assist" race so Drew ran along side him. Dylan was very nervous to ride by himself.

Celebratory bagel!

Good job!

Trials and Swimmers

We had a nice time biking the river trail today. Biking is something that we all enjoy doing together as a family.

While we were riding we came across a Trials Competition. We always enjoy watching trials. It's amazing to me some of the things they can do...jumping from one rock to another on just one tire.


When the kids grew tired of the Trials we turned to the kayakers playing at Smelter. We saw a couple of people in an inflatable kayak swim through Smelter. That was kind of fun. The kids kept hoping to see someone else flip and swim but everyone else made it through safely.

Holli watched the boater from up in this tree.

While we were watching we saw this guy on a boogie board. He was pretty good. I don't think this is something I would like to try. I prefer to be in a boat.

Last Day of School

Today is the last day of school. It's been a great school year and has flown by. We have met so many new people and have really enjoyed being part of the Park family.

Now, we are ready for Summer. Next week we leave for Florida. We'll get to spend a week with my family at the beach and then Holli goes to KC to spend some time with Grandma and Grandpa. She is so excited! Happy Summer!

3 Billy Goats Gruff

Holli's class put on the play Three Billy Goats Gruff. Holli played one of the goats. This play was very important to Holli and she fully embraced the role of 'goat'. She found every piece of clothing she had that was white and she became a goat. Um...kind of.

I think Holli's cuter than a goat.

Goats are pretty cute.

Performing with her class.

Goofin off with Dylan.

Bones for Breakfast

Each morning the dogs like to take themselves for a little hike in the woods behind our house. This morning Winnie came home with a treat...a deer leg. She was very proud! I'm thinking I won't want any kisses from her today.

Pump it!

Holli listening to Cat Stevens, getting pumped for her final soccer game.


Poster we made for the 'After Party'.

Happy Weekend!

Taste of the Animas

The season of festivals has begun. I've said it before and I'll say it again... Durango has a lot of festivals. I love it! This past weekend was the Taste of Durango which is one of my favorites. You can try food from restaurants that you have never been to or stick with your favorites. And what better way to arrive at the Taste of Durango than by raft?

When I was in high school my parents and I would come to Colorado every summer for some adventure. My favorite activity was always rafting. Now I get to live in a town that has a river flowing right through it! Wow! Some morning I wake up and can't believe out fortunate we are. And our kids? They'll never know any different.

Back to this weekend... Sunday morning we put in at 32nd St and rafted to 9th St. We "parked" the boat and enjoyed a couple hours at the Taste of Durango.

This was the Children's House booth at the Taste. They were helping kids plant seeds in a little container to take home. Dylan was so shy. He really wanted to do it but was scared. He finally worked up enough nerve to talk to her. She was so nice and helped him with his planting.

With full bellies we got back on the raft and headed down stream.

Going through Smelter. Poor Dylan did NOT like this part.

It was a great time and I look forward to many fun days on the river this summer.

Don't Microwave your Glue Gun

When I was in college I took a course called Chemistry for Consumers. One of the things we talked about was why you should not eat your smoke detector. I think it had something to do with radioactive material Whatever the reason, I thought it was a no brainer. Why would anyone need to be told not to eat a smoke detector? Just like I never thought to have the conversation with my 4 year old on why you should not put a glue gun in the microwave.

This afternoon Dylan asked if he could use the glue gun. I was on the back deck fixing a gate. I said yes, and as soon as I was done with the gate I would help him. He came back outside and said the glue gun wasn't working. I explained that the glue needed to be heated up before it works. A few seconds later he came back outside and said the glue gun was on fire. WHAT?!? How is the glue gun on fire! I came inside to find the glue gun inside the microwave ON FIRE! Poor guy just wanted to heat up the glue. Thankfully no one was injured. I think the microwave even made out okay.

Souvenirs

We couldn't leave the San Juan without some Souvenirs. Lucky for us Holli was on top of it. We managed to make it home with no less than 100 Gypsy Moth Caterpillars. There was one accident with the bucket in the car on the way home but I think we retrieved all of the stray caterpillars. There was another accident Monday while Holli was at school and Oliver got quite a few of them. They are now resting safely in our Butterfly habitat. Holli has left me written instructions on how to care for the little guys while she is at school. I am to feed them 1 slice of orange in the morning, midday and after dinner. Not sure how well they'll fare with this cold spring weather we're having. We'll see what happens.

Caterpillars in transit

Holli with her caterpillars.

I'm starting to see a pattern... Holli with cicadas - 2009.

San Juan River Trip

We just returned from our 3 day raft trip on the San Juan River. We had a fantastic time! We went with two other families and we couldn't have asked for better company. We had 7 kids between the ages of 1 and 6 and they all played so well together and loved being on the river. We rafted a total of 26 miles over the 3 days.

Drew and Dylan in the kayak. The Downey's are in the raft next to them. Most of our gear had to be carried in the other 3 rafts since we just had the 2 kayaks. The water on San Juan cannot be filtered so we had to bring enough water to last the 3 days.

Holli and Billy in a kayak by themselves. They loved having their own boat. The kayak was tethered to the back of a raft so they couldn't get to far away.

First night of camping on the river. We did camp the night before we put in but this was our first night after rafting all day. Every one enjoyed the Hammock that Bill brought.

Some tired kids! Waiting for the boats to be loaded for day 2.

The majority of day 2 was in a canyon. This meant narrower river and more rapids! The river has about 4 class II - III rapids. This is Holli and I going through Four Foot Drop.

Holli jumping off the rock! She wasn't scared to jump off the rock... her only fear was being bitten by a catfish!

Dylan riding with Marissa and Ralph.

Holli and Billy playing in some shallow water at the end of day 2.

Relaxing at camp on night 3.

Day 3 on the river... the "girls" boat. Abby, Marissa and Holli.

Mexican hat. This was the end of the trip.

This was a great weekend and I couldn't have asked for a better way to spend Mother's Day!

Desserts

Doesn't that all look delicious? We are going on a 3 days raft trip this weekend and I am in charge of desserts. We will be on the San Juan River with 2 other families. The dessert menu will consist of brownies, Oreo Cupcakes (w/out frosting) and S'mores. I also picked up some M&Ms just in case we need a treat during the day. Dylan and I will have some fun baking the next couple of days.

Holli and Red

Red is the horse that Holli has been riding for her lessons. He is the sweetest boy. Unfortunately, he is retiring at the end of the month. We hope to find another horse that is just as sweet.