June in Seattle, I mean Telluride

Ridgway Riverfest and Colter's first kayak. Blue faces from blue snowcones at Bluegrass.

Sparkly snake at Bluegrass. Hanging out having a snack in the teepee at Modee and Pappy's

Blueberries at Bluegrass (seeing the theme yet) and crazy dancing in Elk's Park.

A little hula fun at Bluegrass. A fun day in the dandelions on the Valley Floor.

Cute boys playing in the kitchen. One of first fish that Colter caught--ever! He was so excited.

June has been a blur. Can't believe July 4th is this weekend. The weather has been less than nice, quite crappy actually. It has been rainy and cold almost every day this month. I can write about it now because we have had 3 days in a row with more sun than rain and we are feeling very hopeful that summer may arrive for a while. The activities continue and we have been enjoying them. Bluegrass was four days of music, food and fun. Uncle Dave came to town for the festival and he hung out with me and boys all weekend. Colter caught his first fish and then about ten more at the kids pond. He was so proud and excited, it has been a goal for months to catch some fish. Next we have to catch ones we can keep and cook for lunch. We have been spending more quality time in Ridgway with the hydro. The boys are excited because Modee and Pappy have two new little kitties. Colter has been training them to share and take turns, ya know Mom stuff like that. We have been working on compassion and empathy lately and it is amazing to watch my kids learn and process things that are challenging for them as well as things that come easily. He is so good with animals and loves to hold and cuddle the little kitties. He and Eli had several discussions before naming them Smokey and Daisy. The negotiations were intense! Colter really wants a pet for his birthday, he is thinking kitten or salamander, I'm thinking goldfish. We'll see. Colter's mind is still in continuous motion and his questions and curiosity are endless. I love it, we are using the internet to find answers almost daily. He gets frustrated when Trevor and I don't have all the answers, "Mom, you should just know this!" "I'm sorry honey, I don't remember how many different types of ants there are in the world. We can look it up when we get home." I guess honesty is nicer than saying 'umm 46 types of ants" or Trevor's favorite answer to the "What" and "Why" questions, "because it's not a tomato". Colter would bust me on it within a few days anyway.

Dylan is so full of words these days. Today it was "all right" and "good night". He loves to parrot what Colter is saying. Also in Big Boy News, we went to the store and picked out Dylan's big boy underwear. He is doing good with the potty training thing, it has been so easy. He gets so proud of himself and has to tell Daddy or Colter everytime he goes. I am so excited to almost be done with diapers! It has been years-------on to the next chapter. We are going to gymnastics every Monday, swim lessons on Wed., festivals on the weekends, ahhh... summer. Our friends Kathleen and Everett are in town for a while and we are so happy to see them. Dylan has a train playing buddy and Colter is excited everyday to see Kathleen (one of his all time favorites) and lead Everett around to play. We went to the Ridgway Riverfest and Orvis last Saturday and to Lucia's and Reece's birthday party yesterday. Colter can fit in one of the kid sized kayaks. He is so excited about this fact and would like to try one out. Looks like Mommy might kayak again someday afterall. Lots of fun with friends in the sun! Dylan was skinny dipping with three little girls and going down the slide into the little pool laughing so hard he could barely stand up, wish I had pics of that---so cute! The kids rode horses, did the slip and slide and had a great time.

Next up, 4th of July parade and maybe some camping at McFee Reservoir.

Ten years later...

This past weekend contained two major milestones in our lives. Trevor and I celebrated our ten year wedding anniversary and we had our first family trip that included one of Colter's friends without his parents! I can't believe that we have been married that long, the time has flown by- mostly. I am glad that there has been more good times than bad and that we are still happy, healthy and enjoying our life together. It was a great weekend of rafting and camping on the Gunnison River outside of Delta. Colter and his buddy Finn had so much fun and I have never seen boys so dirty! They found a burn pile and painted themselves with ashes. They both learned what "go ahead and have fun, but you're going to get dunked in the river when you are done" means. Dylan struggled to keep up the entire time and did an amazing job of climbing, chasing and staying just out of their way, they were very nice to him and helped him out when he got stuck somewhere. Colter and Finn are so cute together and they are great buddies. I love the imagination, questions, activity, creativity and resourcefullness that is a four year old boy. They found all kinds of bugs, snakes, built "super bridges" across small creeks, climbed up the side of the hill to find the 'secret cave", climbed trees, hiked to tall bridges, and so much more. We all fit in our tent and all kids slept through the night- I wasn't expecting that. Dylan is getting right into two year old-ness, good and bad, wow where did my little baby go? He is terrorizing his brother and can throw a great foot stomping fit. Colter says "Don't worry Dylan, I used to do that, you will get bigger and learn." On that note, Colter asked me today "Mom, how do you make your dreams come true?" and "Mom, do foxes have foreheads?" We are back to the daily chaos that is our life these days and looking forward to more breaks to go and play. The last pic is Dylan with his Baby. It is one of my Cabbage Patch kids that my mom saved for the last 25 years! He loves this little baby and sleeps with it every day and night. So cute.