Mom needs a shower

I took the kids to Wal-Mart this morning so we could get some supplies for Dylan's birthday tomorrow. He picked out all Star Wars themed items... plates, napkins, cups and a tablecloth. When we were driving home he was studying the plates and this is the conversation that followed...

Dylan - "I'm going to give a plate to Holli, I'm going to give a plate to Grandma, I'm going to give a plate to Grandpa, I'm going to give a plate to Daddy and I'm going to give a plate to Oliver. I'm not giving a plate to Mom"

Me - "Dylan, that makes me sad. Why do I not get a plate"?

Dylan - "I don't like your smell"

Well, I guess it could be worse. I'll go take a shower and see if he changes his mind.

Surprise Visitors

We were so happy to get a call from our friends, the D'Amatos, from Overland Park yesterday. They were passing through Durango as part of their National Parks tour. We met up for some ice cream and got to chat for a bit. It was really great to see them all. Holli loved playing with her friend, Devyn.

At 4am this morning we had a different type of visitor. Drew and I were woken by some loud noises outside. It sounded like something banging on our trash barrel. There's only one animal that does that... a bear. We went down and watched from the garage window for several minutes. That bear sure wanted that trash barrel open. He banged, bit, knocked it over and stood on top of it. I'm glad we pay the extra $2 a month for a bear proof trash can. If not, we would have had quite a mess to clean up. After a few minutes a car drove by and scared the bear off. He went trotting off through our back yard and into the woods. The kids were pretty excited when we told them we had a bear in the night. Below is a picture of some bite marks on the trash barrel.

BP Coffee Spill

NPR was talking about this video yesterday. It's pretty good! This is what happens when BP spills coffee!

Epic Ride

The kids and I went for a great bike ride today. We rode the Animas River Trail starting at the Humane Society and ending at the Fish Hatchery. It was 10 miles all together and Holli rode the entire way. Dylan caught a ride on the back of my bike.

Dylan posing next to this very large Black bear at the fish hatchery museum. The bear was hit by a car last year. The Dept of Wildlife decided to stuff him and put him in the museum because he was so big. He looks more like a Grizzly than a Black bear.

After our ride we cooled off in the river. Holli found a dead fish and took him home for Oliver to eat. Ever since we went fishing in Florida she's been asking to catch a fish for Oliver. I'm glad she finally got one. She hasn't given it to Oliver yet. She's waiting for Drew to get home so he can see the big event. Unfortunately, this was the last photo I took before I dropped the camera in the river. Ooops! Hopefully it will dry out and come back to life. Sorry, Drew!

On a positive note, we did get a free fishing pole. DOW was giving away fishing poles!

River of Tears

Holli, Drew and I had a great time on the river today. Poor Dylan didn't enjoy it so much and spent most of the time crying. Holli and I were in an inner tube and Drew and Dylan were in our 3 person raft. The little raft was a bit too scary for Dylan. He prefers the large 16 ft raft that we were on last weekend. Our little raft is a lot bumpier and you get a lot more wet. The water is very cold but you get used to it. The rest of us had a great time. Here are a few pictures from our river trip.

Here Dylan is very excited before we even got started.

Holli and Dylan checking out the water.


Drew and Dylan in their little raft.

Abby and Holli cruisin' in the inner tube.

Happy 4th of July

I hope that everyone has a happy and safe 4th of July. We have a busy day planned ... BBQ with friends, parade on main street followed by a street dance and finally fireworks. I predict that we'll all be exhausted by the end of the day.

Black Paint and Scissors

We seem to always have more trouble coming up with birthday gift ideas for Dylan than we do for Holli. This evening I asked Dylan what he wants for his birthday. He replied "my very own black paint and my very own scissors". What a goofball!