Lauren just had Daddy pull her loose tooth - her 2nd molar to go. It took a lot of working-up-to, and there were quite a few tears (before any actual pulling happened, mind you), but it is out. She told us that she understands the expression now "It's like pulling teeth" - about how you dread something so much but then once it is done, it isn't such a big deal, and it is a big weight off your shoulders. :)
Anyhow, she is writing a note to the Tooth Fairy. She is kind of hoping that the Tooth Fairy will make Muddy have her puppies tonight as Lauren's reward for the tooth. So, anyhow, she is drawing little pictures of teeth along the top of her note like a little border, and she just said, "Mom, will you come look at this? Because I was trying to draw teeth at the top here, but I think it kind of looks like dancing toast instead!" :)
I love that kid!
She's writing her note on a hot pink notecard, explaining how our dog is pregnant - hint, hint! I wonder what kind of response she'll get from the Tooth Fairy. She writes the sweetest notes to the Tooth Fairy - makes sure to ask her questions about how she is doing, tells her that she hopes she is having a good summer, and so on. She told me once that she thinks most kids don't ever think to do that, and she wants to be a good friend to her, instead of just some regular kid who isn't thoughtful.
Again, I love that kid.
Friday, July 23, 2010
It has begun
It's 9:10 p.m.
Do you know where my 9-year-old is?
And has been for the last 45 mninutes?
Outside, talking on the phone to her "bestie", Rachel. Because there is, apparently, not enough privacy in the house, so the 98 degree heat is preferable for her conversation.
I didn't realize that 9-year-olds did this. I remember being in this situation, but I think I was 16.
During the time that she was in the house and I was in earshot, they were talking about the noises that rabbits make and whether Darby, Rachel's dog, likes to lick people's feet. :)
Do you know where my 9-year-old is?
And has been for the last 45 mninutes?
Outside, talking on the phone to her "bestie", Rachel. Because there is, apparently, not enough privacy in the house, so the 98 degree heat is preferable for her conversation.
I didn't realize that 9-year-olds did this. I remember being in this situation, but I think I was 16.
During the time that she was in the house and I was in earshot, they were talking about the noises that rabbits make and whether Darby, Rachel's dog, likes to lick people's feet. :)
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Swimming lessons
Lauren is taking swimming lessons this week - today is the last day, actually. She was INCREDIBLY nervous before they began - the kind of nervous that doesn't allow you to sleep, weighs on your shoulders, etc. Dreading it. However, getting that first day over with was good for her, and she was much less nervous about the next couple of lessons. Every morning she would say, "I am nervous and excited about swimming today." So I was feeling pretty good about the decision to have her take lessons. She is taking private lessons from someone locally, at their home pool. I don't have ambitions for her to be a phenomenal swimmer, I just want her to be able to not drown if she gets into water that is over her head. So, as I said, I was feeling pretty good about things. We had the library swimming party on Tuesday night (after 3 days of lessons) and she was going underwater to pick up toys and floating all over the pool using a noodle when it was over her head and having a good time with a friends - a significant change from typical pool experiences until now.
Then, yesterday, day 4 of lessons...
I've been sitting in my car during lessons for at least part of the time. I think that she is braver if I am not there for her to run to. But I don't want to drive all the way home, sit for a few minutes, and drive back, so I've been reading in the car. Occasionally, she has come to get me to have me watch her do something new. So yesterday she came to the car and I figured she had mastered something and wanted to show me. Nope. Her teacher was asking her to try sit-diving off the edge, and Lauren was freaking out about it. She wanted me to come into the pool area and stand near her, which was fine. But she sobbed the entire time, and had a really hard time calming down. It is so hard for me to watch her be so distressed - my instinct is to not make her do it. I don't know that sit-diving is critical to the swimming process - I can't do it - but I was trying not to undermine her teacher, so I sat near L on the side of the pool and talked her through doing it. Twice. She was such a tense little trooper - I could literally SEE in the set of her shoulders that she had realized that no one was going to save her and she was going to have to find a way to make it through this nightmare before we could go home. I felt awful.
So we finished up, went home, cleaned the house, had a friend over to play, then she went to the friend's house to play, went to Book Cooks class, and came home. She asked if we could cuddle together in the chair, and told me that she was dreading tomorrow, because she doesn't want to sit-dive any more. As it turns out, it was freaking her out that she had to do it in the deep end, where she can't touch, and can't swim on her own. She thought that if she failed at it the first time, she would drown. Which I think is a fairly valid concern when you are little.
So, I am going to ask her teacher to skip the sit-diving today, or at least work on it in the shallow end. I have the gut instinct that I am bailing her out of something that might be character building...but I just can't bear to put her through it when she won't be learning anything important from it.
You know that quote about how once you have kids, a part of your heart lives outside of your body? Case in point.
Then, yesterday, day 4 of lessons...
I've been sitting in my car during lessons for at least part of the time. I think that she is braver if I am not there for her to run to. But I don't want to drive all the way home, sit for a few minutes, and drive back, so I've been reading in the car. Occasionally, she has come to get me to have me watch her do something new. So yesterday she came to the car and I figured she had mastered something and wanted to show me. Nope. Her teacher was asking her to try sit-diving off the edge, and Lauren was freaking out about it. She wanted me to come into the pool area and stand near her, which was fine. But she sobbed the entire time, and had a really hard time calming down. It is so hard for me to watch her be so distressed - my instinct is to not make her do it. I don't know that sit-diving is critical to the swimming process - I can't do it - but I was trying not to undermine her teacher, so I sat near L on the side of the pool and talked her through doing it. Twice. She was such a tense little trooper - I could literally SEE in the set of her shoulders that she had realized that no one was going to save her and she was going to have to find a way to make it through this nightmare before we could go home. I felt awful.
So we finished up, went home, cleaned the house, had a friend over to play, then she went to the friend's house to play, went to Book Cooks class, and came home. She asked if we could cuddle together in the chair, and told me that she was dreading tomorrow, because she doesn't want to sit-dive any more. As it turns out, it was freaking her out that she had to do it in the deep end, where she can't touch, and can't swim on her own. She thought that if she failed at it the first time, she would drown. Which I think is a fairly valid concern when you are little.
So, I am going to ask her teacher to skip the sit-diving today, or at least work on it in the shallow end. I have the gut instinct that I am bailing her out of something that might be character building...but I just can't bear to put her through it when she won't be learning anything important from it.
You know that quote about how once you have kids, a part of your heart lives outside of your body? Case in point.
Monday, July 19, 2010
Lauren and Grandpa
Upcoming "Additions"
So it appears that we'll be having puppies at our house in the very near future. A few days ago, we realized that our weimaraner was looking different. Weimaraners usually have fairly extreme tucks, but Muddy's belly was rounding out and she's been extremely lethargic. So we started doing a little counting-backwards math and realized that, yes, the last time she was in heat would be about 8 weeks ago. And yes, that was the day that she was left tied up outside in the shade, not in her pen, and there was a boy dog in our yard when we got home. Oops.
So we spent yesterday in a frenzy of preparation, because her physical changes have been happening so rapidly that we keep moving up our totally-guessing-even-though-we-aren't-professionals due date. Stuart made an AMAZING whelping box. It is even air conditioned, since the heat index has been around 110 degrees every day for the past week, and looks to be that way for at least the next 10 days. He even painted the box to match our garage, since the whelping box sits up against the garage. Lauren said this morning that she thinks we should contact the Guinness book of world records, since she is sure there has never been another whelping box as nice as this one. :)
It is 6 feet tall at the back and 4 feet across - yesterday Stuart, Lauren and the dog were all hanging out in there together, so it is plenty big!
We filled the bottom with rags and fabric and let Muddy in. I think she's come out about twice since then! That dog knows when she's got it good!
Lauren had swimming lessons this morning. It was day 3 of her lessons, which she had been markedly unexcited about initially. However, she has a great teacher and she's enjoying them more and more each time. Not enough to take 2 extra days of lessons (which the teacher offered to us this morning), but I'm thrilled that she is enthusiastic now. We have a swimming party tomorrow night, and after lessons today she was disappointed that the party is not today, because she can't wait to show off her new knowledge to her friends! I've been sitting in the car during her lessons so that she doesn't watch me for my reactions to things. I think that she is braver when I am not there as a possible "safety net". But she came to get me from the car today, excited, for me to come watch her pick up toys from the bottom of the pool. And then her teacher had her float on her back all the way across the deep end! She was practicing keeping her face in the water while she did arm strokes, and also jumping into the pool and remembering to blow out through her nose, so that she doesn't get water up her nose. I can't believe how much she has learned in 3 45-minute lessons! It's unbelievable to me that she has come so far in such a short time - I'm so proud of her!
So we spent yesterday in a frenzy of preparation, because her physical changes have been happening so rapidly that we keep moving up our totally-guessing-even-though-we-aren't-professionals due date. Stuart made an AMAZING whelping box. It is even air conditioned, since the heat index has been around 110 degrees every day for the past week, and looks to be that way for at least the next 10 days. He even painted the box to match our garage, since the whelping box sits up against the garage. Lauren said this morning that she thinks we should contact the Guinness book of world records, since she is sure there has never been another whelping box as nice as this one. :)
We filled the bottom with rags and fabric and let Muddy in. I think she's come out about twice since then! That dog knows when she's got it good!
Lauren had swimming lessons this morning. It was day 3 of her lessons, which she had been markedly unexcited about initially. However, she has a great teacher and she's enjoying them more and more each time. Not enough to take 2 extra days of lessons (which the teacher offered to us this morning), but I'm thrilled that she is enthusiastic now. We have a swimming party tomorrow night, and after lessons today she was disappointed that the party is not today, because she can't wait to show off her new knowledge to her friends! I've been sitting in the car during her lessons so that she doesn't watch me for my reactions to things. I think that she is braver when I am not there as a possible "safety net". But she came to get me from the car today, excited, for me to come watch her pick up toys from the bottom of the pool. And then her teacher had her float on her back all the way across the deep end! She was practicing keeping her face in the water while she did arm strokes, and also jumping into the pool and remembering to blow out through her nose, so that she doesn't get water up her nose. I can't believe how much she has learned in 3 45-minute lessons! It's unbelievable to me that she has come so far in such a short time - I'm so proud of her!
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Running
Tonight, I started the Couch to 5K running program. Again.
I started jogging a few weeks ago, in an effort to lose a few pounds and not sound like an elephant when I have to hustle anywhere for very long. Lauren has been very enthusiastic about tagging along with me - in fact, more enthusiastic than I would prefer, to be quite honest. For the first several nights, she came with me and we walked/jogged around town, then we made the connection that we could walk to the high school, run on the semi-squishy track, and then walk home - if my knees could talk, they would be saying "ahhhh" right about now. So we did that for several nights. But Lauren doesn't run as fast as I do, and she doesn't want to run as far as I do, but she doesn't want me to leave her behind. So she was cramping my style. :)
She was perfectly comfortable with the idea of walking to the track with me, playing in the infield while I ran, and then walking home with me. And, in theory, I'm fine with that. However, in practice, there are other people there. People I don't know. People who PROBABLY are not wierdo child-snatching stalkers, but I'd hate to be wrong about that. So I keep making her walk & run along with me - I'll run ahead, then turn around and run back to her, then walk with her, then repeat the process.
Finally, one day, after my patience was wearing thin, and it resulted in Lauren crying because she didn't want to make me feel impatient, she and I struck a deal - she'd come with me every other night. And I also realized that my mom has a treadmill, so I could go run over there and Lauren could play while I run. Jackpot! I've been loving running on the treadmill because it doesn't let me slack off. It forces me to keep running at the pace I set, AND it counts my calorie burning. That's very motivating for me. I need a chip in my wrist that shows me that at all times. :) I bet I'd mow the lawn more often.
So I was feeling good about the fitness plan, and my running stamina, and fitting into some shorts that I couldn't fit into earlier this summer (or all of last year). And then we went away on vacation. And then it was raining all the time. And we had 4th of July celebrations in the evenings. Ugh. I totally got sidetracked from the running program. And I was doing some crazy vacation eating, too - you know, the whole "calories don't count if you aren't at home" mentality.
So, today, I started fresh. Well, okay, to be really honest, I stared with a piece of my mother-in-law's chocolate cake for breakfast. Because it is pretty much criminal to let that go to waste. But after that, I started fresh. I had Rainier cherries for a snack - one of my favorite foods ever - and Subway for lunch, and a chicken sandwich for dinner, with no other snacking. Fairly reasonable.
With the knowledge that I'll be eating cake at my sister's baby shower tomorrow. But then I'll run in the evening. Balance, right?
I started jogging a few weeks ago, in an effort to lose a few pounds and not sound like an elephant when I have to hustle anywhere for very long. Lauren has been very enthusiastic about tagging along with me - in fact, more enthusiastic than I would prefer, to be quite honest. For the first several nights, she came with me and we walked/jogged around town, then we made the connection that we could walk to the high school, run on the semi-squishy track, and then walk home - if my knees could talk, they would be saying "ahhhh" right about now. So we did that for several nights. But Lauren doesn't run as fast as I do, and she doesn't want to run as far as I do, but she doesn't want me to leave her behind. So she was cramping my style. :)
She was perfectly comfortable with the idea of walking to the track with me, playing in the infield while I ran, and then walking home with me. And, in theory, I'm fine with that. However, in practice, there are other people there. People I don't know. People who PROBABLY are not wierdo child-snatching stalkers, but I'd hate to be wrong about that. So I keep making her walk & run along with me - I'll run ahead, then turn around and run back to her, then walk with her, then repeat the process.
Finally, one day, after my patience was wearing thin, and it resulted in Lauren crying because she didn't want to make me feel impatient, she and I struck a deal - she'd come with me every other night. And I also realized that my mom has a treadmill, so I could go run over there and Lauren could play while I run. Jackpot! I've been loving running on the treadmill because it doesn't let me slack off. It forces me to keep running at the pace I set, AND it counts my calorie burning. That's very motivating for me. I need a chip in my wrist that shows me that at all times. :) I bet I'd mow the lawn more often.
So I was feeling good about the fitness plan, and my running stamina, and fitting into some shorts that I couldn't fit into earlier this summer (or all of last year). And then we went away on vacation. And then it was raining all the time. And we had 4th of July celebrations in the evenings. Ugh. I totally got sidetracked from the running program. And I was doing some crazy vacation eating, too - you know, the whole "calories don't count if you aren't at home" mentality.
So, today, I started fresh. Well, okay, to be really honest, I stared with a piece of my mother-in-law's chocolate cake for breakfast. Because it is pretty much criminal to let that go to waste. But after that, I started fresh. I had Rainier cherries for a snack - one of my favorite foods ever - and Subway for lunch, and a chicken sandwich for dinner, with no other snacking. Fairly reasonable.
With the knowledge that I'll be eating cake at my sister's baby shower tomorrow. But then I'll run in the evening. Balance, right?
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
An Anniversary, of sorts
I'm always posting a day late...
Yesterday, July 5th, was an anniversary of sorts for us. 12 years ago yesterday, Stuart asked me to marry him, sitting on the futon in the living room of my apartment in Hutchinson. I had long since made up my mind that this was the man God intended to be my partner, so it was a blessing to be able to joyfully say yes, with no reservations! What a blessing to have been married to my amazing husband for these past 10 1/2 years and to be raising my daughter together with this man who is committed to being a role model of moral and Christian character traits.
Going away on vacation this last week was such a gift for us - a reminder of how much we enjoy spending time together. It's so hard when we are both working, and when Stuart is so pressured by keeping his business afloat, to squeeze out that time to spend together, just enjoying each others' company. Spending that uninterrupted time as a family reminds me of how much I cherish my husband and daughter and how much I appreciate the minutes that we spend together.
Yesterday, July 5th, was an anniversary of sorts for us. 12 years ago yesterday, Stuart asked me to marry him, sitting on the futon in the living room of my apartment in Hutchinson. I had long since made up my mind that this was the man God intended to be my partner, so it was a blessing to be able to joyfully say yes, with no reservations! What a blessing to have been married to my amazing husband for these past 10 1/2 years and to be raising my daughter together with this man who is committed to being a role model of moral and Christian character traits.
Going away on vacation this last week was such a gift for us - a reminder of how much we enjoy spending time together. It's so hard when we are both working, and when Stuart is so pressured by keeping his business afloat, to squeeze out that time to spend together, just enjoying each others' company. Spending that uninterrupted time as a family reminds me of how much I cherish my husband and daughter and how much I appreciate the minutes that we spend together.
Saturday, July 3, 2010
Friday, July 2, 2010
I'm actually writing about this on Saturday - the day was so busy yesterday that I literally fell into bed at night and fell right asleep, and didn't even think about writing about the day.
We started the day in Estes Park, mailing the postcards that we'd been writing all week. Then we walked around some more on the main streets, checking out the little stores, looking at the river that runs through town, and shopping a little bit. Lauren and I spent some time in a Nepalese shop, looking at beautiful clothing, but Lauren couldn't find the skirt she wanted in her size. We bought some hand-carved animal beads there for Lauren and I bought a Buddha necklace. Then we had pizza at a little pizza shop where all of the bricks inside had been written on - people's autographs carved/drawn on them. We got some treats at a candy store, too - chocolate covered strawberries, handmade caramels, and chocolate-cherry fudge! Lauren also bought a turquoise pendant at the Science & Nature store (which I could have spent HOURS in, exploring all of their stones/gems/geodes).
After that, we went to Fun City on the edge of the main area. They had a go-kart track, and that's the first thing we did - it was one of my favorite things that we did on vacation. They had 2-people karts, and single carts, so Stuart and Lauren drove together. They had clearly outlawed bumping other karts, however, so we were well-behaved. Lauren and Stuart went down the enormous slide, too, but I opted out of that.
After Fun City, we decided to head for Denver. The 1 1/2 hour drive seemed like nothing, compared to all the driving we've been doing lately! We headed for the Denver Zoo, since it's ranked really highly in the list of U.S. zoos. We got there about 4, and they closed at 6. I thought we wouldn't have enough time to take it all in, but it wasn't such a great experience for us. It was HOT, so that took some of the fun out of it. And the employees were preparing for some sort of special event being held at the zoo that night, so no zookeepers were around, and, worst of all, no employees were around to run the carousel (crushing disappointment for Lauren). So, we did some looking around and then headed on out.
Our next stop, and the best part of the day, was Casa Bonitas! I didn't really know what to expect, but it was really fun. We got seated in the room where the magic show was held, and we got there about 5 minutes before the show started - perfect! The show was great - Lauren said, "That guy could be a professional comedian!" And they had amazing sopapillas for dessert - to cover with honey and eat hot - yum... Then we went to watch the cliff divers. We got to see him dive a couple of times, and he swam up to the side of the pool and gave all of the kids high-fives. We walked around the restaurant, went through Black Bart's Hideout, and then got to see a 2nd cliff diver show, with a bad pirate and a good guy and a princess in a red dress. They had a sign on our table that said they can hold 900 people at a time in Casa Bonitas, and they were PACKED - it's hard to wrap my brain around that!
We headed for our hotel after dinner - it was around 9:15 by the time we got there. Lauren and I went swimming for a little bit in their outside pool, then cleaned up and went to bed (in the king bed in our suite - it was a really nice hotel room!)
And then today is Saturday, July 3rd, and we are actually home as I write this. We left Denver this morning at 9:15, and we got home about 6:15 this evening.
We had an amazing vacation, and I'm so glad that we got the chance to build these memories with Lauren. I'm thinking that our next vacation needs to involve less driving, or at least driving in a more comfortable seat - maybe an RV. But I just can't beat the idea of going to explore some of the nation's most historical sites with my family!
We started the day in Estes Park, mailing the postcards that we'd been writing all week. Then we walked around some more on the main streets, checking out the little stores, looking at the river that runs through town, and shopping a little bit. Lauren and I spent some time in a Nepalese shop, looking at beautiful clothing, but Lauren couldn't find the skirt she wanted in her size. We bought some hand-carved animal beads there for Lauren and I bought a Buddha necklace. Then we had pizza at a little pizza shop where all of the bricks inside had been written on - people's autographs carved/drawn on them. We got some treats at a candy store, too - chocolate covered strawberries, handmade caramels, and chocolate-cherry fudge! Lauren also bought a turquoise pendant at the Science & Nature store (which I could have spent HOURS in, exploring all of their stones/gems/geodes).
After that, we went to Fun City on the edge of the main area. They had a go-kart track, and that's the first thing we did - it was one of my favorite things that we did on vacation. They had 2-people karts, and single carts, so Stuart and Lauren drove together. They had clearly outlawed bumping other karts, however, so we were well-behaved. Lauren and Stuart went down the enormous slide, too, but I opted out of that.
After Fun City, we decided to head for Denver. The 1 1/2 hour drive seemed like nothing, compared to all the driving we've been doing lately! We headed for the Denver Zoo, since it's ranked really highly in the list of U.S. zoos. We got there about 4, and they closed at 6. I thought we wouldn't have enough time to take it all in, but it wasn't such a great experience for us. It was HOT, so that took some of the fun out of it. And the employees were preparing for some sort of special event being held at the zoo that night, so no zookeepers were around, and, worst of all, no employees were around to run the carousel (crushing disappointment for Lauren). So, we did some looking around and then headed on out.
Our next stop, and the best part of the day, was Casa Bonitas! I didn't really know what to expect, but it was really fun. We got seated in the room where the magic show was held, and we got there about 5 minutes before the show started - perfect! The show was great - Lauren said, "That guy could be a professional comedian!" And they had amazing sopapillas for dessert - to cover with honey and eat hot - yum... Then we went to watch the cliff divers. We got to see him dive a couple of times, and he swam up to the side of the pool and gave all of the kids high-fives. We walked around the restaurant, went through Black Bart's Hideout, and then got to see a 2nd cliff diver show, with a bad pirate and a good guy and a princess in a red dress. They had a sign on our table that said they can hold 900 people at a time in Casa Bonitas, and they were PACKED - it's hard to wrap my brain around that!
We headed for our hotel after dinner - it was around 9:15 by the time we got there. Lauren and I went swimming for a little bit in their outside pool, then cleaned up and went to bed (in the king bed in our suite - it was a really nice hotel room!)
And then today is Saturday, July 3rd, and we are actually home as I write this. We left Denver this morning at 9:15, and we got home about 6:15 this evening.
We had an amazing vacation, and I'm so glad that we got the chance to build these memories with Lauren. I'm thinking that our next vacation needs to involve less driving, or at least driving in a more comfortable seat - maybe an RV. But I just can't beat the idea of going to explore some of the nation's most historical sites with my family!
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Today was an amazing day - definitely worth all the craziness that we went through yesterday! We woke up this morning and opened our blinds and got our first view of Estes Park and the Rocky Mountains around us. We got to have a lazy start and then head to the hotel restaurant for breakfast. It was so nice to be able to leave our luggage in our room for the day, and not have to check out again right away this morning. We headed out to our car then, and had an interesting experience - there were some college boys outside smoking marijuana in the parking lot. Lauren kept saying, "It smells funny out here. Kind of like burning trash." Yep, sure enough.
Anyhow, we headed into downtown Estes Park and spent the next few hours wandering around downtown, checking out all of the little stores. One of the things that we noticed is the huge amount of dogs in this town - they are welcome in many of the stores and so many people are walking their large dogs on leashes as they shop. At the place where we parked, there was a horse tethered nearby in a small nature preserve in the middle of town, with a small stream running through it. Lauren, of course, was smitten with that whole experience. We walked all the way down the main thoroughfare, and spent some time in the glass-blower's shop at the far end - we could watch him work and make specific pieces for customers who came in with a request. After wandering around for quite a while, we had ice cream from one of the little shops, and then headed into the Rocky Mountain National Park.
We had decided that we wanted to go to the Continental Divide (although, to be honest, at that point, we hadn't looked at a map yet and didn't realize how far into the park it is). That drive was the high point of my day. I detest driving up mountains when there is a sheer cliff on one side, so for me to have enjoyed it is quite a feat. It was unbelievably beautiful. Lauren wasn't quite so enthusiastic about it at first, since she loves sheer sides about as much as I do. However, there are many pull-off stops, and we got to do quite a bit of walking around. We got to feed chipmunks about 1/2 way up the mountains (yes, I know, you're not supposed to do that, but they were sniffing our hands for food and Lauren was squealing with delight. So I let her feed them a Fig Newton).
It was amazing to see how the land changed when we reached the tree line - the sign called it the Alpine Tundra - only little scrub bushes instead of the huge towering pine trees. And then we got up into the snow, and we got to go play in a big snow field, which was fun. It had clouded over by then, and although I had been hot in Estes Park in the morning, we were all wearing sweatshirts by this time.
As we continued, we saw herds of elk by the sides of the road. There was road construction for about the last 1/4 of the way, off and on. We passed the visitor's center on the way to the Continental Divide and decided to stop there on the way back instead, since it looked like it was going to rain. And sure enough, while we were at the Divide, it started sprinkling. By the time we got back to the Visitor's Center, it was raining - but it wasn't exactly rain, more like a cross between rain and snow - slushy. It was fun to have snow accumulated at the bottom of our windshield in JULY! We waited in the car for a while before heading in to get a few postcards and get a Junior Park Ranger book for Lauren. And I got a sweatshirt that shows that I made it to the top of the highest point!
On the way back down, the weather cleared up and was just sprinkling in patches. We stopped several times to do some climbing and hiking. We stopped by a snowmelt "waterfall" on the side of the mountain to put our hands in the cold water, climbed some big rocks (okay, I personally did not climb, I took pictures!) where Lauren got bitten by a big red ant that didn't want to let go, and explored near the stream that meanders down the mountain and has cutthroat trout. We could see them swimming around - Lauren wanted to try catching them by hand, but it started raining again. When we stopped to climb the big rocks, we saw 2 badgers in the scrub bush nearby, which was pretty exciting.
We headed back into Estes Park after that and headed to Subway for dinner (Lauren's first choice of all of the options!) We were hoping to head out and do a little more window shopping after dinner, and get some chocolate for later - there are little mom-and-pop homemade candy shops all over the place - and then head to a go-kart place. But it started pouring, and it looks like it's going to rain for the evening. So we're back in our hotel room. Lauren and Stuart are watching "Wipeout" - their favorite show, which they love to watch together. And I think Lauren and I are going to head to the hotel pool in a bit.
Tomorrow we are going to do a little more window shopping, I think, downtown here and then head to Denver. We want to take Lauren to eat at Casa Bonitas, and maybe go to the zoo. I really want to go to the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, since they just opened the King Tut exhibit, but we'll see how many hours are in our day!
Anyhow, we headed into downtown Estes Park and spent the next few hours wandering around downtown, checking out all of the little stores. One of the things that we noticed is the huge amount of dogs in this town - they are welcome in many of the stores and so many people are walking their large dogs on leashes as they shop. At the place where we parked, there was a horse tethered nearby in a small nature preserve in the middle of town, with a small stream running through it. Lauren, of course, was smitten with that whole experience. We walked all the way down the main thoroughfare, and spent some time in the glass-blower's shop at the far end - we could watch him work and make specific pieces for customers who came in with a request. After wandering around for quite a while, we had ice cream from one of the little shops, and then headed into the Rocky Mountain National Park.
We had decided that we wanted to go to the Continental Divide (although, to be honest, at that point, we hadn't looked at a map yet and didn't realize how far into the park it is). That drive was the high point of my day. I detest driving up mountains when there is a sheer cliff on one side, so for me to have enjoyed it is quite a feat. It was unbelievably beautiful. Lauren wasn't quite so enthusiastic about it at first, since she loves sheer sides about as much as I do. However, there are many pull-off stops, and we got to do quite a bit of walking around. We got to feed chipmunks about 1/2 way up the mountains (yes, I know, you're not supposed to do that, but they were sniffing our hands for food and Lauren was squealing with delight. So I let her feed them a Fig Newton).
It was amazing to see how the land changed when we reached the tree line - the sign called it the Alpine Tundra - only little scrub bushes instead of the huge towering pine trees. And then we got up into the snow, and we got to go play in a big snow field, which was fun. It had clouded over by then, and although I had been hot in Estes Park in the morning, we were all wearing sweatshirts by this time.
As we continued, we saw herds of elk by the sides of the road. There was road construction for about the last 1/4 of the way, off and on. We passed the visitor's center on the way to the Continental Divide and decided to stop there on the way back instead, since it looked like it was going to rain. And sure enough, while we were at the Divide, it started sprinkling. By the time we got back to the Visitor's Center, it was raining - but it wasn't exactly rain, more like a cross between rain and snow - slushy. It was fun to have snow accumulated at the bottom of our windshield in JULY! We waited in the car for a while before heading in to get a few postcards and get a Junior Park Ranger book for Lauren. And I got a sweatshirt that shows that I made it to the top of the highest point!
On the way back down, the weather cleared up and was just sprinkling in patches. We stopped several times to do some climbing and hiking. We stopped by a snowmelt "waterfall" on the side of the mountain to put our hands in the cold water, climbed some big rocks (okay, I personally did not climb, I took pictures!) where Lauren got bitten by a big red ant that didn't want to let go, and explored near the stream that meanders down the mountain and has cutthroat trout. We could see them swimming around - Lauren wanted to try catching them by hand, but it started raining again. When we stopped to climb the big rocks, we saw 2 badgers in the scrub bush nearby, which was pretty exciting.
We headed back into Estes Park after that and headed to Subway for dinner (Lauren's first choice of all of the options!) We were hoping to head out and do a little more window shopping after dinner, and get some chocolate for later - there are little mom-and-pop homemade candy shops all over the place - and then head to a go-kart place. But it started pouring, and it looks like it's going to rain for the evening. So we're back in our hotel room. Lauren and Stuart are watching "Wipeout" - their favorite show, which they love to watch together. And I think Lauren and I are going to head to the hotel pool in a bit.
Tomorrow we are going to do a little more window shopping, I think, downtown here and then head to Denver. We want to take Lauren to eat at Casa Bonitas, and maybe go to the zoo. I really want to go to the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, since they just opened the King Tut exhibit, but we'll see how many hours are in our day!
Wednesday, June 30th
Well, as it turns out, today wasn't quite the day that we had planned. Before we went to sleep Tuesday night, we had decided that we were ready to move on to Colorado today. We did some looking and decided to head to Estes Park, and made a reservation for tonight. So we got up in the morning & had some breakfast at the hotel. Lauren's been starting a cough/cold, and she had a big coughing fit in the middle of breakfast. It was a little scary to me because she was shaking afterward, like having tremors, and went right back to the room and got back into bed. I was worried that she was getting sick, but I think that she had just scared herself, because in a couple minutes, she was fine. So we headed out and went to Bear Country. It's a drive-through park with wolves, elk, bighorn sheep, and about 100 bears. They can walk up to your cars - there's a rule that you have to keep your windows closed, and we noticed that they were washing some people's windows/grills before they drove in. We realized the reason for that when we got into the section with the bears. Several times bears walked close enough that we could have touched them, just meandering around in their section. It was amazing to be that close to a big bear. Then after we drove through the park, there's a portion called "Babyland" that you walk through. We got to see all kinds of animals in a more zoo-like setting, but the best (by far) was the baby bear cubs - about 20 of them, all playing together. So cute!
After Bear Country, Lauren and I took some Dramamine and we headed out to Jewel Cave. We knew we'd be driving back though the windy roads in the Mount Rushmore area. We stopped in Custer and ate lunch, and I have solidified my opinion that Custer is the place to stay if we ever take this vacation again. So after lunch we headed for the cave, which is the 2nd longest cave in the world, and has formations that look like jewels. Lauren was pretty excited about this cave, due to the "jewels", of course! The cave does have 723 steps, though, so she wasn't too excited about that - Wind Cave had about 300, and she felt like that was a lot. However, when we got there, they were having elevator problems, which is their method for leaving the cave, apparently. It was 1:20, and their next cave hike started at 4. We decided that if we were going to head to Estes Park, we couldn't wait that long. So we walked around their Park Ranger station, checked out the gift shop and headed out.
And that's where things went downhill! We crossed over into Wyoming and hadn't gone too far - I think about 30 miles, when all of the traffic ahead of us had stopped. There was a sign on the side of the road that said "Wreck ahead". We sat (it was about 95 degrees outside) in line for about 1/2 hour, then used the atlas and the GPS to look for a backtracking route. If we went back around 15 miles, there was a road that would angle back and get us back onto the main road that we were on. So we turned around and headed that way. However, that angled road was a rutted gravel road that we didn't want to take in our rental car - it didn't look passable in a car. So we headed back and got in line again. Many people were out of their cars and walking around, walking their dogs, etc. After a while, maybe an hour, there was a sudden exodus of many of the cars. We couldn't decide what to do - whether to cancel our reservations in Estes Park, whether to drive back to Hot Springs and try a different road, etc. We spent a total of about 2 hours waiting, and then a police officer came along and recommended that we go back and take that gravel road - he said it was passable in a car. So that's what we did. It was such a crazy experience and Lauren was a total sweetheart the entire time - no complaining, no whining, being such a little gem.
Anyhow, we headed to Cheyenne, and stopped there around 10 p.m. and had some dinner. Lauren didn't feel well, so she didn't eat anything, and fell right asleep when we got in the car. We got to Estes Park around 11:30, checked in to our hotel, and Lauren climbed right into bed in her clothes and fell right asleep.
And that's where we are now - it's Thursday morning, and Lauren is reading the newspaper in bed next to me. We're trying to find information about that accident in the paper, so we can find out what kind of wreck would close the road for a few hours.
After Bear Country, Lauren and I took some Dramamine and we headed out to Jewel Cave. We knew we'd be driving back though the windy roads in the Mount Rushmore area. We stopped in Custer and ate lunch, and I have solidified my opinion that Custer is the place to stay if we ever take this vacation again. So after lunch we headed for the cave, which is the 2nd longest cave in the world, and has formations that look like jewels. Lauren was pretty excited about this cave, due to the "jewels", of course! The cave does have 723 steps, though, so she wasn't too excited about that - Wind Cave had about 300, and she felt like that was a lot. However, when we got there, they were having elevator problems, which is their method for leaving the cave, apparently. It was 1:20, and their next cave hike started at 4. We decided that if we were going to head to Estes Park, we couldn't wait that long. So we walked around their Park Ranger station, checked out the gift shop and headed out.
And that's where things went downhill! We crossed over into Wyoming and hadn't gone too far - I think about 30 miles, when all of the traffic ahead of us had stopped. There was a sign on the side of the road that said "Wreck ahead". We sat (it was about 95 degrees outside) in line for about 1/2 hour, then used the atlas and the GPS to look for a backtracking route. If we went back around 15 miles, there was a road that would angle back and get us back onto the main road that we were on. So we turned around and headed that way. However, that angled road was a rutted gravel road that we didn't want to take in our rental car - it didn't look passable in a car. So we headed back and got in line again. Many people were out of their cars and walking around, walking their dogs, etc. After a while, maybe an hour, there was a sudden exodus of many of the cars. We couldn't decide what to do - whether to cancel our reservations in Estes Park, whether to drive back to Hot Springs and try a different road, etc. We spent a total of about 2 hours waiting, and then a police officer came along and recommended that we go back and take that gravel road - he said it was passable in a car. So that's what we did. It was such a crazy experience and Lauren was a total sweetheart the entire time - no complaining, no whining, being such a little gem.
Anyhow, we headed to Cheyenne, and stopped there around 10 p.m. and had some dinner. Lauren didn't feel well, so she didn't eat anything, and fell right asleep when we got in the car. We got to Estes Park around 11:30, checked in to our hotel, and Lauren climbed right into bed in her clothes and fell right asleep.
And that's where we are now - it's Thursday morning, and Lauren is reading the newspaper in bed next to me. We're trying to find information about that accident in the paper, so we can find out what kind of wreck would close the road for a few hours.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)