Racing & Horsetooth Falls

The Koehler boys are part of a track club and during the summer there are a series of races put on just for kids.  The races are attached to 5K's and other adult races, but the kids get a punch card for each race they complete in the series and get prizes at the end of the summer when they finish all of the races.  So, Jeannie asked me if my kids would like to run either the 1 mile or the 1/2 mile and I said "yes" right away!  The kids had a blast.  Annabelle and Emilie both want me to find a track club for her to join in Atlanta now and they can't wait to do another race.  Here's a picture of them after the race! 

So, we ran by McDonald's after the race to pick up some ice cream for teh kiddos (since they did such a great job running) and then we headed to our next destination!  There's this awesome icon of Fort Collins, CO called Horsetooth Rock.  It's some red rock on top of the foothills that looks like the bottom of a horses mouth with a small gap inbetween the front two teeth.  It's right near Marcia and Phil's house, so we'd really been wanting to hike it ever since we stayed with them last weekend.  Jeannie recommended we hike the falls trail because it's a little shorter than hiking all the way to the rock with 6 kids. 

It was a beautiful hike over the foothills and then through valleys!  Then, it became more canyon-like.  We stopped at a mini-waterfall and let the kids run around rock hopping to their hearts content.  The real waterfall was just a little further up the trail.  There was a huge pool under the waterfall for us to play in and a large boulder to climb on as well!  There was also a spot where you could hike behind the waterfall, so we took a few pics of that fun spot!  Too cool!

We got out of that hike with only one injury by Emilie.  She fell just as we were leaving the falls and scraped her leg up on the jagged rocks.  Poor baby!  Daddy carried her most of the way back. 

And that's some cute ballerina socks, right?  We found those in this cute sock store in Estes Park, CO (right outside of Rocky Mountain National Park).  She and Annabelle had to get the same pair and they want to wear them everywhere!