On Thursday August 6th, the extended Diemer clan arrived. It was a long overdue visit. It had been over a year since we last saw each other. And it was Kale's big debut!
I was excited to see all of them, but couldn't wait to get my hands on my niece Mae Mae. Because as the whole world knows....little girls are sweet as sugar at this age. And I couldn't wait to take a break from all the dinosaurs and trucks for just a couple days.
(Little did I know that Gary had packed umpteen boxes of dinos and cars from Matt's childhood, and hauled them across the great Midwest to deposit them at my house. By day #2, we were knee deep in boy gear. But... it provided hours of endless fun for Sage. So I suppose it was well worth it. ;)
But I'm getting ahead of myself. Back to day #1.....
It took no time at all for the kids to bond. Toys of all shapes and sizes were hurled from their storage spaces into the main living area for the biggest play binge I've ever seen.
The kids did everything together. Sage and Mae even slept in the same bed that first night. But only after Cody read them all a bedtime story.
So remember all those peaches I bought right before the Diemer's arrival? Well, it sort of became the theme for the week.
"Hi, good morning, would you like a peach?"
"Can I get you a beer, and would you like a peach?"
"Please pick up your toys, and can I get you a peach?"
So Friday morning, I cooked up some peach pancakes!
As you can tell by the looks of the breakfast table, this is when the "blast from the past" toys began to emerge. Sage forgot all about his expensive new birthday toys. This was way better. Transformers. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The works! He was occupied for hours...
(Note to self: get box of old toys/junk for next year's birthday.)
By mid-day we decided on an activity, and were packed up in two vehicles headed to Rocky Mountain National Park.
This was going to be a special trip to Rocky Mountain for me, as I had spent all of March and April (in preparation for my mom's birthday) researching Mary King Sherman (my great-great-grandmother). She was a bad-ass woman for her day. She was one of the founding members of Rocky Mountain National Park. She was an influential woman leader who take great interest in preserving nature for future generations.
Low and behold, I opened up the RMNP map, and there she was! I kind of feel like I should get in free... But I didn't say anything. Maybe next time!
It was a crowded day at the park. We parked and jumped on a shuttle to head to Bear Lake.
Sage thought the Shuttle ride was pretty sweet. No seatbelts mom!
Look at Maelyn's face. What a whippersnapper!
She is cute and she knows it! Just look at that pose.
Oh Maelyn... you stole my heart!
We had an up-close interaction with wildlife. This chipmunk was so domesticated! It was eating out of everyone's hands.
I have to give Cody and Ana some major credit. They jumped in and took such great care of my little boys.... all weekend long. Cody was always willing to hold a fussy Kale. And Anna changed diapers for me. Among many other things. They helped me feel like I was on vacation too.
Cody says, "Hello from Coloradoooooooooo!"
Friday night we had a fire.
Then it was on to Saturday.
Good morning Kale, would you like a peach?
Saturday, we were all so exhausted from the trip to Rocky Mountain, that we decided to stick around the house for the day. We had no problem entertaining ourselves.
We got the good old bounce house out. And that was a riot!
The swing was also quite popular.
Everyone three and under gave it a go....
And we also celebrated several birthdays.
Matt and I got Mae a fairy costume - complete with two wands and two head garlands and two wings. And a reversible tutu to match! She was pretty much obsessed with this wardrobe the rest of the trip.
Sage got a disco tepee from his Uncle Jeff and Ana.
So both kids fared pretty darn well!
And the really big gift to the boys was a new Radio Flyer wagon from Grandma and Grandpa!
We ordered take-out Saturday night. Once again, Mae and Sage were dinner dates.
Not sure if that face is in response to her french fry... or her table partner!
By Sunday, we were ready to get back out into nature. We followed the Poudre River up into the canyon. We stopped at a couple spots for rock-hunting and beach-lounging before having lunch at Mishawaka.
We had several small casualties on this river walk. Cody, Maelyn, and Gary all had an unexpected spill into the river. Nothing major - wet shorts and/or shoes. But it was funny to me that it was only the Illinois folks.
Sage scaled rocks and walked the riverbed like a pro. He seemed at home in the canyon. Maybe all our weekend adventures are really starting to add up to something. He's become quite the outdoorsman.
Kale hung back and meditated on the beach....
He also ate a lot of rocks.
The scenery at Mishawaka was superb. What a location to dine! Unfortunately, I can't say the same for the food. Everything tasted delicious. We all left satisfied. But by Monday night, 7 out of the 10 of us had fallen ill. Most of us vomited. Others had problems south of the border. We'll never know.... but I think we all suspect it was the diner in the mountains. Way to end the trip on a high note....
