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! 

Cozy Cow Dairy

This is the cutest little diary farm that's 10 minutes from Jeannie's house!  She's taken her kids here a few times and they were really excited to share it with us!  I don't really eat dairy, but the kids loved it! 

Goats will go to any length for a good snack. . .

There were few baby animals like a cow, a goat and bunnies!  The kids were able to feed the animals, so that was a big hit.  Afterwards, we went inside to try out the famous ice cream.  All the kids got birthday cake ice cream.  I had a little bite and it was delicious! 

Lucas at the bunny cage.

I love being out here with the Rocky Mountains as the backdrop to everything that we do!  If those cows at the dairy only knew how lucky they are to have such a view everyday!  ;)

Emilie's 5th Birthday

Well, I was just looking over this blog and realized that I completely skipped a post about our sweet Emilie's 5th birthday!  We celebrated here in Colorado with Maria, Phil and the Harbols family!  We had a relazed morning and arranged to meet my friend Jeannie and her kids at a wonderful playground in Fort Collins.  Lauren and I ran to the store to get a few groceries for Marcia, a birthday cake and supplies for a picnic lunch.  Then we all piled into our cars to head over to Spring Canyon Park to meet Jeannie. 

Emilie and Stella enjoying the views!

The park was like nothing I've ever seen before with an awe-inspiring red rock canyon as it's back drop.  There was a huge spray surface for the kids to get wet in and an unlimited number of playground options for kids of all ages.  I introduced Jeannie's kids and Lauren's kids to one another and we were all thrilled to see them playing together so well even minutes after introductions!  I know Lauren from college and she and her husband, Rob, went to high school with Alain.  I know Jeannie from MOPS and church in Atlanta.  I can't begin to describe what a joy it was to see two of my closest friends (who barely know eachother) and their children hanging out together!  It was awesome! 

So, Jeannie brought some yummy cupcakes to celebrate Emilie's birthday after lunch.  It was quite a site to see us all spread out (5 adults and 12 kids) under a small pavilion with lunchmeat, chips and bread spread all over the place!

Once the kids started feeling a bit wiped out, Lauren invited Jeannie and the kids back to Marcia and Phil's for a movie in their projection room.  So, we let the boys watch all 12 kids and I went out with Lauren and Jeannie for a little shopping and Starbucks!  I don't really think I talked all that much because it was just so surreal to me.  I talk to these women seperately a few times a week and they probably know eachother better than they think because I talk about them to one another all of the time, yet all of us together was something I wasn't quite prepared for.  Of course they got along wonderfully and are now conspiring to get me and Alain to move out to Colorado!  Love those ladies! 

Jeannie and the boys headed home after our afternoon out and we got ready for dinner with Marcia and Phil!  We had a great dinner (thanks to Marcia preparing so well for her 13 guests) and the cake was just enough for everyone! 

We got Emilie a new outfit, a rainbow bathing suit (her favorite thing to draw right now is rainbows) and a bag full of things to style her hair.  She loves to do her hair every morning and she used to say "I'm getting my beauty stuff on, Mommy!"  All in all, Emilie said she had a wonderful birthday!

Colorado

I think we finally made it to Fort Collins, Colorado by 10pm. We put the kids straight to bed and they still woke up at 6am! The adults should not have stayed up late chatting, but it was so nice to catch up. Alain and I stayed here while we were dating, so it's wonderful to be back!

I did another terrible photo shoot for Colorado's welcome sign, but I'm posting the photo just as it is. I'm doing most of my blogging from my phone, so editing photos is not so easy.

On the Road Again. . .

Now we are heading out to Colorado for the weekend. Our friends, Rob and Lauren, have family in Colorado. So we'll be staying the weekend with Rob's aunt and uncle and then we'll stay another week with our friends, Jeannie and John!

So, we left Kearney around 3:00pm on Thursday with both of our families. We split up the kids and the ladies drove together while the men drove the other car! It was so much fun!

We stopped for dinner at Arby's and we were served by a bunch of teenagers doing a fundraiser for their high school dance club! The full service at fast food was a bonus!

Zach has really bonded with Richard who is 8 years old and only a few weeks older than Annabelle. Richard plays so well with Zach and wrestles with him anytime, so we actually had Richard sit next to Zach for most of the trip! Annabelle and Olivia played the whole time in our car as well! By the end of the trip they were playing 2-person air hockey on my phone! Emilie watched movies with Richard when he wasn't playing with Zach!

While I was in Lauren's car, her big boys helped me catch up on my license plate game! I think we found 20 new states to add to my list while we were together!

 

Kansas!

Well, we spent a lot more time in Kansas than we originally planned. Our route involved heading north after Kansas City, so we weren't even planning on driving through this state. However, our friends called us this morning to say that a bunch of bridges were out due to flooding, so he re-calculated a route for us through Kansas! Alain and I were all for that since this is a way we've never driven before!

Today started around 7 am at the hotel, but we didn't get on the road until 9:45am. It was nice to let the kids play and get some energy out knowing we had 8-9 hours to drive today!

Zach loves Nemo! He thinks Nemo is real in every way, so we started the day watching Nemo on Alain's computer and that was a big hit for everyone! Zach actually has a shark cup that I bought him for this trip! It seems he mostly prefers underwater animals and movies. We've tried a lot of other movies and he's not at all interested.

The girls are so excited to get to Nebraska! Our friends, Rob & Lauren, have six kids, a trampoline and animals! It's playtime all the time at their house. Literally, we visited them last year and I barely saw Annabelle the whole week we were there!

We got some photos playing at a rest stop (where we also saw lots of cows), so I added a picture for you all!

Sarah

Missouri!

Well, we missed the photo op at the Missouri state line while we were checking out the St. Louis Arch! So, here's a picture of our little ones sleeping as we arrive in Columbia, MO at our hotel. We opted to drive for a few hours while they slept because it's so much easier.

Alain and I stopped for some Taco Bell at 10:00pm and it felt like we were having a date night eating all by ourselves! It was quite a treat!

Illinois!

We're in Illinois! The state of my birth many years ago! We crossed over the Ohio River and entered this great state, but we won't be here for long. Too bad Chicago's not on the way to California. :(

So, we stopped by a gas station to fill up and change the kids into pajamas. It was fortunate for our ice cream loving family that there was also a DQ at the exit.

Everyone fell asleep while we were in Illinois. We saw a few nasty accidents today while in Georgia and Tennessee. That definitely caused us some delay (even if it was just onlookers).

Now we are enjoying the peace and quiet of 3 sleeping children! :)

Sarah

Kentucky!

We made it to Kentucky! We stopped in Clarkesville, TN to get some sandwiches at Subway and a little exercise. Alain led us in some boot camp style exercises and Annabelle led us in a game of "Hop over the Squirrel". It seems similiar to leap frog. We had so much fun!

The kiddos have moved seats so that they are all together in the backrow of the minivan watching Tangled. It would be really cute, but Zach keeps asking to watch Monsters Inc. ;)f

Tennessee!

We've made it to Tennessee! Not too much of an accomplishment as it's only 1 1/2 hours from our house, but we're celebrating every mile marker to keep the kids excited. Our goal is to make it to St. Louis, MO tonight. It's about a 9 hour drive, so we're thinking positively.

Zach should be sleeping now, but he's in good spirits so we are not pushing the nap. He'll fall asleep soon enough. Well, I just looked back to find Big Z asleep with his Clifford dog! Woot! Woot!

Catch you all soon!

Sarah

On our Way!

As of 12:30pm EST, we are on our way to Nebraska! This is the first of mutiple destinations on our month long family adventure!

We'll be trekking from Nebraska to Colorado and then onto a family reunion in California in the minivan! The kids are really excited about all of the friends and family we will be seeing over the next 4 weeks.

Follow our adventures! We look forward to hearing from all of you as we make our way across this beautiful country!

Sarah