Steamboat Springs over 4th of July

Above are some pictures taken from my camera (why do I feel like I missed out on some things) Nat - hopefully you have them on you camera and can share when you get a moment.

There is absolutely nothing better than getting together with good friends for a fun filled action packed weekend in a beautiful resort town to celebrate the independence and freedom that we all enjoy on a daily basis. Small towns seems to revel in all things related to parades and cattle runs and fire work shows and street fairs and we took them all in alone with some other fun activities.

We did the alpine slide and had a blast. A took a pretty nasty spill after trying (and succeeding) to beat her dad who was on the opposite track. She got scratched and banged up pretty good, but like the brave little girl that she is, once she was bandaged up, she went back up the chair lift and rode down the slide like a real champion.

We also took the kids horse back riding for the very first time. If you can believe it, K actually feel asleep on the horse she was riding. Luckily I was right behind her (on the same horse) and somehow manage to hold on to her (she was total dead weight) and control one very strong willed horse named Ox who seemed to only want to stop and eat all the tall grass alongside the trail. Guess it's a good thing I have been working out and have such immense upper body and arm strength. (insert Tim "the tool man" Taylor manly grunting here...auugghh auugghh auugghh)

Some of the best moments for me though were:
- setting up to watch fireworks while snuggling under 2 blankets that in now way should have covered 8 people and hoping that we were in the right spot.
- breakfast at Winona's which still has the best Chia Tea Latte I have ever had and from the bakery some pretty darn good cookies. Next trip we take in the cinnamon rolls with the pound of frosting on top.
- relaxing by the pool and catching up as girlfriends are meant to do. The only thing missing was being fanned by palm fronds and foot massages. We will save that for the next trip.
- taking the kids on a nature walk and coming back with handfuls of some of the prettiest flowers that can only grow in the wild and on a mountainside.
- watching our kids play like they haven't spent any time apart and loving that they think they are cousins.

and can I really end this post without mentioning the oh so spectacular fire work show put on by the guys with lighters in hand and the kids all bundled up in the backs of the car, quivering with anticipation for sparklers and whistles and bangs (conducted in a construction parking lot) with that fabulous array of "popper" fireworks. Seriously - BEST SHOW EVER!!

Thanks for the laughs - may they never ever end!!

Swim Lessons

So in an effort to help my girls develop more confidence when it comes to swimming and all things pool related, I signed them up for swim lessons at our gym.

A was in a class of about 6 other kids and K was in a class of only 3. The girls loved getting to splash around and learned how to float on their backs, hold their breath under water and all the basics you would expect from a beginning level swim class. The best part is that A is swimming like a fish (of course being in Florida definitely helped with that) and K was the only kid in her class that was so ready for anything and everything the teacher asked her to do.

(the other 2 kids wanted absolutely nothing to do with the teacher or the class. One kid actually never came back after crying for the whole 1st lesson, and the other kid moved over into A's class because she didn't want a "boy" to be her teacher.)

K was up for everything from blowing bubbles in the water, to getting her face wet (which most kids hate) to doing "chugga chugga" (which is where they hold on to the side of the pool and move to stairs or ladders to climb out) and literally was ready to jump in and get swimming from the very first moment.

I love her bravery and "can-do-anything" attitude. It seems that very little scares her or makes her take pause.

...ummm....should I start worrying now or later?