Summer Bounty

So the bike was not running up to par recently and would seize up at high temps so I pulled it apart and found the cam was a bit buggered so got to get another one of those.   I also got to check the rings now that it is apart, as that was probably the actual culprit. Such a bummer I am not riding it while we have the most perfect weather for riding we have had all year.

Notice the grooves in the end....it should not look like that.

The other night we headed out for a late afternoon drive over to Manito Park.  The roses are so nice this time of year.

Notice the bump.  Brenda must have had a big dinner.  She loves to look at the dahlia's.

Can you believe this park is free and not swarming with people.  It is such a nice park

James loved to run around the fountain in the middle of the gardens and ham it up for the camera.

He is curious like all kids.

He can get so excited he shakes uncontrollably.

Here is my buddy and me hanging out.

James and Brenda went to a friends place last week and was able to get a bunch of peaches.  James really loves to eat them, but we are careful now to take the skins off first.  notice I said "now"... since the first time when he ate them with the skins there was quite the coughing fit.

Summertime in Greenacres means there is zucchini to go around for all.

Not the greatest picture of the garden, but you get the idea.

The pumpkins are starting to get big and I am stoked to see what will happen.

Blackberries are getting ready as well.  James loves to eat about anything ripe.  We need to regulate him though...you know what happens when you eat to much fruit.

And to bring this post to an end, we have a routine sight at the dinner table.  James can be a stinker at the dinner table, but generally he is a great eater...and kid.

Vacation Part 2

Part 2 starts out as we are arriving in Rocky Mountain National Park.  Well, actually, before we entered we stopped by the pharmacy to talk to the pharmacist to see about James rash he got.  His entire body was covered in a rash and we suspected the chlorine from the pool in Pinedale and after talking to the pharmacist, he thought we were right.  Tylenol and lotion should fix it.

Brenda's first time in the park and she was pumped.

Look at the nice alpine area.  The road went above 13,000ft and it was a lot of fun to drive.

James was a bit tired and not sure if he liked the park

We got him out and made him enjoy it...like any good parent would do.

The first night we got next to no sleep as James also got a suspected fever (did not bring the thermometer, but it was a fever, a trip to Urgent Care in Estes Park corfimed it the next day) and could not sleep more the 40 minutes without waking up.  The next two nights after that also proved to be doosies and not all the Tylenol in the world would help...believe me I tried.

We headed up the bear lake road.  It is closed for construction after 9am so you have to get up early or you have to take a shuttle bus.  Shuttle bus was not going to happen since we have a screaming kid, and I hate them.  We were up all night anyway so we had no problem getting up early.

Went on about 4-5 miles of hiking trails and got to see 4 picture perfect lakes.  James was pretty much lethargic and did not walk for three days, but the backpack was just the ticket to get out and see the sights.  Nothing a little fresh air won't cure.

James again not wanting to even smile.

Taking a break from hiking to eat.  He was very picky and seemed to only like the pringles.  Can't say that I blamed him, they were good.

Anytime we got in the car he slept, so we did end up driving a lot so he could get his rest, but that also allowed us to see all the great places in the park.

Then it was off to Denver to see our good friend Joel get married.  We know Joel from San Jose and were very glad to see him find a girl to settle down with.  We also got a good chance to catch up with Kevin and Lyndsay Schenk.  Luckily the day we went down there James had just about returned to normal and from there on out he slept like a rock every night and was a pleasure to be around. 

The woman and I at the rehearsal dinner.

Not quite sure what is happening here, but I hear this is common in some cultures.

Here is Joels brother (one of the two best men) writing a speech for the toast....about 20 minutes before the ceremony.  Two nights before we had about 10 guys camping and swapping Joel stories and it was a pretty good time.  Plenty of beverages were on hand to celebrate the occasion and it was a great time in the woods with the men.

Here I am with one of the bridesmaids.

Brenda of course got the party started and did not let it die till she said it could die.  This is one wild woman I am married to.

The happy couple in the middle....oh and each side to.

Kevin and I had a great time.  We are generally very alike and have the same sense of humour.  He often can finish any punch line I start and we loved making our wives laugh so hard they cried.

Party still rocking and Brenda is rolling

At the end of the night it was time to pack up and head out.

The next day we took off about 9am and booked it to Bozeman to spend two nights with my rents in the new stomping grounds.  After church on Sunday we went out for a hike to a great waterfall.  I really liked the Bozeman area and see why so many people like to live there.

Dad and the boy hitting the trail.  Many years ago that was me up there.

The area kind of looked like Devils Postpile in the eastern Sierra's, but with a waterfall.  Of course even here you have some idiot who hiked to the top and threw a couple rocks at the bottom.  I was a long long way, and if I had a gun I would have scared the crap out of him.  I felt bad hoping to see him slip and fall down the cliff, but I got over it.

Oh, and here is a video Brenda shot.  I am so simple minded I thought nothing of her recording me  changing a diaper, but you guessed it.  Kiddo number 2 is on its way and due the first week of February.

Latest vacation...part 1

So here it is, part 1 of a 2 part photo log of the vacation we just got back from.  An old friend of our was getting married in CO and that was just the excuse we needed to go out on a camping trip and good old family road trip.

Before we left, we had to strip the garden of the ripened fruit.  The Raspberries were awesome this year and we got about 3 gallons off of the bushes.  James has gotten really good at picking the ripe ones, but has yet to grasp the idea of putting the berries into a bucket.  That kid can really eat when he gets a mind to. Take note of the long hair...more on that later.

Double handed picking technique at its best.

He also likes to work with tools.  Any time James sees a tool he basically screams until he can get a hold of it.  Pretty annoying and usually gets him into a bit of trouble.

Before we left Brenda thought it prudent to get him a haircut.  He was getting quite the mullet and I agreed, but he looked so much different with the haircut.

Still super cool though.

On day one we left Spokane and headed to Jackson Wy.  We made it about 10hrs and then found a state park outside of WY in Idaho which was recommended by a friend.  It was the perfect time to stop and we got to try out the new tent.

Camping is such a good time.

But, even camping is no excuse for not brushing your teeth.

This is the only night we had a campfire the entire 5 nights of camping.  Most of the time we were too tired or in the National Park, where you cannot scavenge wood, but have to buy it.  I refuse to buy wood, so that settled that.

The next day in Jackson we forgot that it could be so touristy.  I don't think I would ever want to live in that town, but soon we were off to Pinedale...the old stomping grounds.

James liked the old school park toys in Pinedale.  He is a sucker for a steering wheel. 

Dad and boy walking around.

We decided to get a hotel for the night and in the meantime went to Half Moon Lake Resort where we used to work.  It is shut down and for sale now (if you got 1.5 million or so and want to buy a resort, this would be a great deal), but we did take a hike that brought back some good memories.

I do love this lake and it appears that James does as well.

Had a great time throwing rocks.

The wildflowers were awesome along the trail and we really enjoyed ourselves.

That night were went swimming in the hotel pool and I commented to Brenda that the chlorine content was high, which would come into play later.  About 1 day later James got a rash and fever that would spell trouble for camping...lots of sleepless nights.

The next day the way to Medicine Bow NF we stopped for some rest.  James loved to run around.

In the old town on Centennial we checked out some historic artifacts and had a great time.

This night we camped in the middle of nowhere in Medicine Bow NF.  All of the campgrounds were clearcut to "protect the public" from falling trees since the pine beetle had killed so many trees.  There was no chance of me staying in a war zone when on vacation, so off the beaten path it was.

Q: Who needs a picnic table, running water,or a man made bathroom?

A: Not us!

Summer in the mountains is all about taking in the sights, sounds, and smells and we did all three.

The next day we headed to Rocky Mountain National Park and part 2 of the vacation.