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.

Springtime, finally!

Ok, settle in folks--this is going to be a long one! We have had a great month of adventure. As always it is hard to believe how quickly the boys are growing and changing. Dylan is adding words everyday, today's word is "no", that should be interesting. He loves "river, pool, boat" and anything with water. Colter keeps us on our toes with winners like "Oh for goodness sake, that's not going to work at all Mom!" And "when we move to Moab or Mexico, we'll just visit our friends in Telluride alot, Mom does it snow in Moab?" Yes, sometimes. "Oh, I guess it's Mexico then." And so many others that I need a tape recorder. Our trip to Moab was a much needed break from reality. We did something fun everyday and loved the hot weather. Outside at 7:30 am in shorts and t-shirts and we stayed there until after dark---I do love the heat! We rafted, camped, hiked, biked, played soccer, enjoyed the Roufa's house in town, played in Mill Creek down the Steelbender road, Canyonlands, Castle Valley, the amazing music park, Milt's, Milt's and more Milt's, moped rides (Dylan's favorite!), chased, caught and played with every bug imaginable, dug in the dirt, and so much more...it was very hard to head home. Funny saying that when we live in such a great place! The boys loved everything about Moab, especially all of the time with Daddy and Mommy with no distractions. We did two raft trips on the Colorado, one with Trevor's parents who joined us for a few days including Mother's Day and Mac's birthday and one full day with just the four of us. We had a nice visit with Mac and Carol and stayed busy the entire time touring the area and playing around town. Dylan isn't sold on the "updowns" on the river yet and spent his time in the waves saying "none, none...none, none...BACK!" and pointing up river. He'll come around I'm sure. It didn't help that he was taking a nap in back and a rogue wave splashed over the side and landed on his head. Oops. Colter is a bug man. We brought the bug catcher cage and he went nuts. He caught, named and took care of catapillars, ants, rolly-pollys, tadpoles, spiders, butterflies, crawdads, and anything else moving. I had no idea there were so many colors and types of ants and so many ways to squash them. He was protecting queen mommy, ya know. MacMac brought him a squirt gun and he didn't want to put it down the rest of the trip. Dylan woke up every morning, put on his "boop bops" (flip flops) and helmet and then went out to the moped and sat on it until Daddy took him for a ride. So cute. Colter is really good at starting and riding his big bike and was racing all over town. He has great balance and is building strength and stamina with each passing day. At this age, just biking or walking around town to the various parks and trails is entertaining for the boys. I hope our boys are always so happy just to be outside and enjoying nature. Trevor was able to ride his motorcycle a good bit, and I got to hike. It was very relaxing and will get us through the next few months of business as usual. I love travelling with Trevor and the boys and look forward to many more fun, family adventures!

We made it home at the beginning of the week and dove right back into work, literally. The fast and furious spring run off has been a challenge for the hydro plant. We have been putting on the rafting gear to wade through the intake pond atleast twice a day to clear rocks, leaves and other goodies from the screens. Even had to involve a backhoe twice already. So we are spending lots of time at Modee and Pappy's new house. The boys love to play there and Colter said it would be Ok if we stayed all summer. At this rate, we will be!

Easter and rafting pics

1. Rafting with his buddy Finn 2. Daddy and D rowing down the river 3. Construction Easter egg hunting, Colter dressed in his "fancy clothes" for the occassion 4. PEZ duck dispenser still brings a smile, he pointed to the camera and held it like that just so I would take his picture.

Gonna show you who's boss...

Oh the four year old mind! Colter decided the other day that he had enough and he said "mom, come over here, I'm gonna show you who's boss around here!" I truly have no idea where he comes up with this stuff, we have never said anything like that to him. Dylan is still saying new words, most requiring a good bit of translation, including "bop bop" (flip flop), dump truck, book, all kinds of animal sounds, colors, names, "moo" for yogurt, signs for turtle, shark and lizard. He is continuing on the potty training road and loves to pee off the deck---that must be a boy thing. He runs to the door and says "Ma, pee pee, ide" and strips down right there- very funny to watch, but I don't watch, I run or else he doesn't make it out on to the deck in time! Dylan's favorite word, besides Mama, Dada, Dolder, is "Owie", he screams it whether or not it is justified. He has figured out that someone will come running. We have been enjoying little bits of spring weather here and there. We helped Mom and Dad move into their new house last weekend and then went to visit Finn at his orcchard outside of Delta. Colter and Finn are such good buddies and they had a blast, one of his few friends that can outrun and outlast him! They really tire each other out. We stayed there and then went rafting on the Gunnison River on Sunday. The Trommers have two miles of river frontage and a great take-out/launch site at the orchard. It was a bit chilly, but we are looking forward to many more floats on that section. The orchard is amazing and everyone had a great time. We survived the audit, but the resulting payment (not as big as we thought it would be!) has committed us to a two week vacation in the desert close by and no big road trip around the west. Oh well, hopefully the weather warms up and we can explore Utah a bit more. On a sweeter note, Colter told me tonight that "Even though you and Daddy are different people, you are the best and I love you both!"

The winds of change

These are just fun pictures. We are still having fun with cardboard and made both boys a snowboard the other night. They snowboarded all over the house. It is springtime, kinda. We had beautiful warm weather in Jan. Feb. and even parts of March, but not now. The weather has been cold, windy, dusty and snowy for weeks now. We are starting our spring and summer travelling. We went to Moab for my birthday week and although it was very chilly for the desert, we still managed to have some fun. Colter was very impressed with the dinosaur tracks and caves we hiked to up the Potash Rd. It is always nice to get away for a few days and always nice to return home to Telluride. We finished off the ski season with a couple of sunny ski days and a fun party at Gorrono Ranch. Dylan skiied down lift 4 to Gorrono at 20 months! Next year will be even more adventurous I'm sure. This week we will experience our first IRS audit. That should be interesting. The result of that will determine how far we travel in May. The title you ask? On the way home from Moab my little ninja, knight, pirate Colter says "Mom, you know those things that go on your cowboy boots?" "Spurs?" "Yeah those, I don't have any of those. And Mom, I don't even have a kid sized cowboy hat. How am I supposed to dress up like a cowboy?" I guess we will be moving on to another phase of costumes. "Oh Mom, just one more question" (this is his famous line that we hear every night before bed and several times throughout the day) "If God owns the land that the Native Americans lived on, then why do people sell it?" Yup, that's where we are at. Colter is incredibly thoughtful and curious and I love learning what he is thinking. Dylan is expanding his vocabulary by the hour to include "up, more, backpacck, backhoe, purple, yellow, please, book, poo-poo, yeah, ouie...." It is fun to hear his voice. Speaking of, I can hear both of their voices now and should go find out why!

Spring Skiing

1. Dylan with his favorite stackable animal train, we have parades most nights. 2.I can't believe how big they both look in this picture! 3. I hope he likes shovelling five years from now. 4. Dylan and Daddy coming down Lift 10 5. Colter and Roark skiing down Lift 10 planning the next jump.

We have had a great time skiing these last few weeks. Yesterday the four of us skiied together and then Trevor and Colter stayed longer- they got home at almost 6pm after catching the last lift. I love the spring forward part the time change. Both boys are amazing and are enjoying the slopes as much as we are. Colter continues to go everywhere all the time, jumping off of anything in his path and even took an exciting powder run with Daddy through the trees. Dylan went down Lift 10 twice on the harness. For those of you who don't ski here much, Lift 10 is a very long green/blue lift that is a favorite of all ages- just not usually the 1 yr olds! He loves it and spends most of his time laughing or taking roll call to make sure everyone is accounted for. I have been skiing for the last few weeks with the boys and my ankle is doing pretty good. It has been so nice and sunny that we all have spring fever. It will be sad when it is snowing in April and May! Most of the snow around our house has melted, very different from last year when we were still waist deep in March. Grandma and Mac-Mac came for a visit. We had a great time and the boys were so excited. Ok, Colter was super excited and Dylan warmed up to the idea. I think he will remember them this time, he has been looking for them since they left. They did lots of book reading and paper airplane making (Colter's current favorite acitivity) Dylan calls roll everyday about ten times and it has expanded to "Mommy, Daddy, Dolt-da(Colter), Titi (Tim), Momoo (Modee), Pappy, E-i (Eli) and some form of Mimi and Mac Mac after they left. Colter keeps correcting him and saying "No Dylan, it's Grandma not Mimi" We'll see where that lands later. Dylan is teething- again. Brutal for him and me, he doesn't sleep well and just screams. Can't wait for that to be done. He still loves music, books and baths- anything with water and bubbles. Colter is really a funny guy. It is non-stop and I think he will be for years to come. I don't mean like little kid cute and entertaining, I mean make you belly laugh funny that has alot of thought behind it. Today he dressed up like a pirate and had me call our neighbor (our decks face each other) to come out on his deck. So Rocky comes out on his deck with little brother Josh and Colter stands up on his chair and yells "Hey Rockstar, Joshie- or should I say Ar-Bee-Dar me scurvy pirates" He loves to dress up in different costumes for any holiday real or imagined, I guess most of them were imagined by someone originally, and we go everywhere. I think people are more surprised to see him in normal clothes in public, most are used to the ninja, dragon, pirate, monkey, zebra.......... I love it and he is dressing himself, so it's fun to see him come out of his room everyday. He also continues to have an incredible memory and spouts off seemingly random facts that he picks up all day and everywhere. We definately have to be very mindful of what he is exposed to because every commercial, song, show and book sticks in his brain. Someday I think my voice might get in there too and I will be able to stop repeating myself- very selective hearing! Right now the favorites are spiders, snakes, dinosaurs, vikings, knights, and paper airplanes.The other day he asked me if I wanted this certain dishwasher soap that was on a commercial after his show ( I usually record shows and zap commercials- I was slacking) and I said "No thanks, I've got plenty" his answer "but Mom, this one leaves nothing behind but the shine!"