Ramblings...

We literally live in the trees, pine and aspen trees. A forest if you will. There are times I miss cement sidewalks and the jingle of the ice cream truck, but on the whole, living in the woods offers our kids a backyard full of imaginative and creative play.

Yesterday, Em and Syd and their good friend Emma played in a lean to fort for 3 hours. When I sneaked up on them I saw a scene straight from Little House on the Prairie...in their verbage, dress and character. It was one of those moments that I wanted to capture and put in a bottle because I know all too well that in a few years, they will be way beyond dress up and acting like Laura and Mary from Walnut Grove. Here are a few pictures of their time together...

It is warm and sunny today and yet we are thinking ahead to the cold snowy days that will come in a few short months. Jeff has been working hard to get us stocked with firewood since it is our main source of heat in the winter. He heads out to the woods in his Ford F-150 with his chainsaw and country music and gets busy!

By far one of the girls favorite things to do during the summer at camp is the waterslide. As guests have dwindled here in the last few weeks, they have had all kinds of fun breaking all the rules when it is just our family and other staff kids... walking UP the slide, doing trains, damning up the water...

The other day, Emily and Emma were given $5 and the chance to roam the metropolis (ha!) of Westcliffe for an hour. They bought an iced coffee (a girl after her mama's heart) to share and then split their money to buy their siblings and mom and gift. Below is a pic of our goodies... PS Emma's mom Jill is my "live life with" friend. What a gift.

Finally, as I close this VERY random post...can I just say we love living in a place where ranching and haying is a major way of life. We clearly don't know a thing about how to do it ourselves, but we have grown to really appreciate and admire those that do. Emily's horse riding teacher is part of a 3rd generation ranching family here in the valley, so we have gotten to see up close the amount of devotion and work involved in that kind of lifestyle --- and for harldy any money, I might add. They do it because they love it - what a thought. Below, cattle grazing and a tractor at work with Westcliffe behind.

Final Days of Summer

Some photos from our summer activites...

As far as playing, recreational activities, being outside, staying in PJ's til 10am - it has been a fabulous summer. The girls have had wonderful weeks to simply be kids and enjoy this amazing place called home. Jeff has had plenty of work stress, but we have, as a couple and as a family, decided to truly embrace and enjoy each day.

The summer staff will be out-o-here next week which always makes this place feel like a ghost town. But we have relished our old relationships and have enjoyed the new ones. It is always such a treat to see our girls look up to and learn from these college kids. Sad to see them go. Our interns as well will be leaving and unfortunately, Horncreek will not be continuing the program this fall. That is a big loss to us personally, especially Jeff but to the whole camp as well.

Last month we were able to go to Ute Trail near Lake City, CO while Jeff spoke for a family camp. It was great to be on the "other side" of camp life and we had a ball playing and relaxing together. It was a highlight to our summer. We also had a fun visit from my brother and his family for a week - they were a sight for sore eyes since living in Africa for the last 2 years. The cousin time was priceless.

Other summer tid bits...the girls were flower girls for a former intern's wedding. Jeff officiated, putting his MDiv to work. Ziplines, western nights, fishing, waterslides, tea parties,

Life at the camp pool: Emily has learned to do a flip off the diving board while Syd has mastered her freestyle stroke. Both still love to sprawl out on the hot cement to warm up - didn't we all do that as kids? Wouldn't it be weird if we did that as adults?

Jeff is still a maniac - his last "outing" was a 16 hour hike across the Sangre de Cristo mountain range, climbing 11 peaks. He could barely speak, much less walk when it was all said and done. He is training for a 180 mile relay with 4 other crazies (team name: Daddies Gone Wild) in September... He is loving all of it.

And me...gonna savor each and every last day of summer. Love to lounge and read with the girls in the morning sun on our deck, have no agenda, let each hour come and go... Will be gearing up for another year of sub-ing at the best school ever this fall. Life is sweet right now.

Blessings to those reading.