Whew. I have never felt more exhausted than after our last round of visitors. It’s official – the months of June and July have finally worn me down! Surprising, I know, but every week in between was full of busyness so though I LOVE always being on the go, I’m glad that we’ll have the month of August to recuperate a bit. On the agenda? Taking advantage of my flex-time by relaxing at the pool! I’ve only been there about five times all summer and I need to make the most of the pool access before we move to our rental condo Lakewood.
Anyway, we did have a great time with our Midwesties so here’s our week with friends! (again bullet points for easier reading…you’re welcome)
Day 1 – Friday (7.23)
- Jordan, Matt and Micah arrived earlier than expected and showed up at our door bright and early Friday morning. Ryan and I had an appointment so we left them to their own devices for a couple hours.
- While Ryan worked (sorry honey!) we all went out to hang out at the pool. The boys challenged each other on the tubes we’d purchased for Clear Creek, breaking them in with just a little too much fervor. However, the $3.14 tubes managed to survive their torture, so we felt confident they’d take us down the white water park with no trouble.
- I went to work for the evening while Ryan entertained the crew and then we all settled in for the night.
Micah is excited about Golden.
Day 2 – Saturday (7.24)
- Again, I had to work in the morning (boo hoo…now I know what Ryan felt like when I got to entertain while he slaved away), and Jordan was left all by her lonesome when the guys took off for Granby for a visit to Micah’s brother, Joel, at Snow Mountain Ranch for a rock climbing and hiking trip.
- When I got back early afternoon, we ladies did what we do best – hopped into our swimsuits to bask in the sun and read…poolside.
- Then we took my favorite local driving tour, the Lariat Loop and grabbed some dinner in Evergreen at the Wood Cellar. Yum!
Hiking Devil's Thumb.
So jealous of their hike!
Seriously, a long way from home.
Lovely shot Ryan.
The lovely stop along Lariat Loop.
Day 3 – Sunday (7.25)
- Jordan’s cousin just moved to the area, so she spent the day with relatives while I did my youth group thang then caught up on some design work.
- Laura and Jared (and Ollie) came down to spend the night, so we did some grocery shopping before Jordan and the boys got back and made lunch for the whole group.
- Guess what we all did next? Jumped in the pool! Again, water battles on tubes ensued and other general mayhem.
- When it was time to settle in, it was a hot and steamy night with all our bodies in such small living quarters, but we managed!
Day 4 – Monday (7.26)
- Coors tour and tubing down Clear Creek! Best summer activities ever. I’ll let the photos speak for themselves.
- Then Woody’s for a pizza buffet dinner, always a good choice.
By far the best find in the souvenir shop.
Ready for some white water action!
Enjoying the ride, whilst dodging boulders.
This is a better version of a lazy river.
Day 5 – Tuesday (7.27)
- Since Jordan and I hadn’t gotten much more action than floating in the water all weekend, we voted for a trip to Rocky Mountain National Park. It was unanimous.
- We hiked our staple hike around the three lakes, but then decided to do a little more rock scrambling over to the waterfall on the other side of the last lake. There we splashed a bit in the falls before heading back to take the scenic drive around the park on Trail Ridge road.
- Still as awesome as ever.
Da boys.
Senior portrait session.
Aaand just one more, among the Columbine.
Rock scrambling to the waterfall.
The view from the other side...pretty!
Day 6 – Wednesday (7.28)
- Headed out to Garden of the Gods, with a stop along the way to Littleton to visit the Columbine school memorial. Sad, but beautiful.
- Hiked around just a bit in the park before continuing our journey to Buena Vista to set up camp before the rafting trip the next day.
- Arrived at the campsite as it started raining, so we shared uncomfortable jam-packed seating for just a while longer while we waited out the rain.
- Tents got set up but because it was still drizzling, the fire had to be postponed. So we played random word/photo games in the tent and gorged ourselves on junk food.
- Food and fire, then sleepy time. Since we forgot sleeping mats, we all shared in what will be deemed, The Most Uncomfortable Night Ever. Ugh.
Good group.
Hanging in the tent.
Day 7 – Thursday (7.29)
- I was a party pooper and opted out of the white water rafting trip. Crazy, I know, but I’d gone last year and didn’t have as much fun as I though I would’ve, so I decided to save us some money – sleeping in and watching Sadie while the others thoroughly enjoyed the rapids.
- They actually got upgraded due to how low the water was. Wish I would have gone, but had zero energy for that type of behavior, mostly due to lack of sleep, so it was best that I hung back.
- We were all exhausted upon our arrival home, so we just plopped down to enjoy a couple of our favorite shows and then finished our sloth with a movie, which nearly none of us made it through.
They look ridiculous.
Action shot!
Day 8 – Friday (7.30)
- Sadly, the crew headed out early leaving us to go see Mount Rushmore on their way home.
- Since Ryan still had the day off he wanted to do something else eventful, but I put the kabosh on that due to my sheer exhaustion. It’s tiring being such great hosts, you know! (haha) So we just took the Barker for a walk along Clear Creek.
- And I didn’t even think about cleaning.
So that was our week with some more Midwest friends! They are of course already missed, but we’ll be seeing them again soon over a fall or winter break now that school dictates our schedule.
And we spent the rest of the weekend relaxing, with a Rockies vs. Cubs game on Saturday night with two of our friends (Brad & Sarah).
Well, since I am determined to get my Europe journal electronically written before the end of the century, I am actually going to be devoting much of my blogging/writing time to that venture. So needless to say, there will be a lack in posts for just a bit. A girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do. But I promise to have updates again soon.
Lots to do, so little time…
Laura