Estes trip, part 2

The second half of our week in Estes we stayed down around town - we rented boats, picnicked, biked, shopped, took naps, did lots of reading, went swimming, ate lots of homemade ice cream from shops downtown and took walks around our cabin. There was some excitement when a chipmunk got into the house one evening, especially since my dad had just broken his glasses and was wandering around blindly in the living room with a big stick. :)

I think our boys' favorite day was when we packed a lunch and headed to the park to play...some neighbor boys joined them, the nerf guns came out, and all of a sudden there was a major nerf war going on. All the boys against Dave and Nate. And then the sprinkler system came on... it was boy heaven. ;)

The day we spent at Lake Estes was beautiful. We rented a pontoon boat and a fishing boat for a little while and went a few times around the lake.













Camp fires and s'mores also make little boys happy. :)























And playing cars outdoors. It doesn't take much, really. :)

I was so very thankful for the gift of this vacation. It was a chance to escape the heat {which, for this pregnant momma, was simply amazing}, but the family time was so precious too. I love that our kids are old enough to really do things with now. They all love being active, and it makes me excited for the future and how much fun we are going to have together. Even Clare was such a trooper on our hikes - she is one strong girl!

I don't have any pictures of Michael on this trip or Aaron Quinlisk, but they were there with us Sunday through Tuesday. My kids adore their uncle and view him as a big playmate - thankfully he's a good sport. :) Aaron too.

We're home now and the temps in Kansas have been soaring. Well above 100 every day. Makes Colorado seem all the more dreamy right now. :)