July 13th-June 24th

I will start where I left off.

Kim came back on Monday evening. The kids were so happy to see her. Even though they said they didn't miss her, you could tell that they did. I know Kim was happy to see them too.

Tuesday we went to town and had lunch at Fargos. The kids had a blast. We hung out in the arcade for quite a while. After that we went to the park and let them run some energy out there. After the park I took the kids home and Kim had some alone time to run errands. I know she enjoyed that!

Wednesday we hung out here at the house. Kim cooked a roast and all the fixings for us. That was really nice. We had plans to go to the pool that evening, but Kirsten had a spot that came up on her arm and it wasn't getting any better. Kim took her to the doctor and I took all the boys to the pool. It turned out that Kirsten had impetigo, so good thing she took her. Me and the boys enjoyed swimming and closed the place down! They were all asleep by the time we got home.

Thursday we went with Cat and the kids to Itz. The kids really enjoyed that. We were there for 4 hours. I think us adults enjoyed it just as much as the kids did! Thursday night Kim and I went to Tracy's for an adult toy party. Yep, that kind of party.. It was actually a lot of fun. We spent a lot of the time giggling at everything. Mick stayed home with all 5 kids! When we got home around 10:30 all of them were asleep. We were pretty impressed!

Friday, Dylan had a dentist appt at 9:30. So Kim stayed here with the kids while I took him. They took the metal piece off of his tooth and decided to give it yet another week! We got done around 10, ran to Target and then headed home. We packed our bags, loaded up and headed to town to pick up Mick. Then we drove up to Breckenridge to Ryan and Tanya's cabin. They have a really nice place. The kids LOVED the creek that ran behind it. We got there around 5, unloaded and then went to dinner at Bubba Gumps Shrimp Company. It was so delicious! We walked around for a little while and then headed back to the cabin.

Saturday we got up and hung out for most of the morning. Mick went to talk to the neighbor and found out that around 6 that morning a black bear had walked between our cabin and theirs! Pretty scary. Of course the kids were on the lookout after that. We told Kim to go do some shopping in town and we took the kids on a hike. It turned out to be a bit further than we thought and with 5 kids in tow, we decided to turn around. I was tired, so I know they were too. We took them to McDonald's for lunch and then headed back to the cabin. Kim had made it back too. She cooked fajitas for us that night and we watched College Road trip. It was a great day!

Sunday, the plan was to pack up and come back, but... since we had two vehicles... Mick was the only one that came back. Kim and I weren't ready to come back just yet and the kids were having a great time too. So... Mick left that afternoon around 3. Me, Kim and the three younger kids went and drove around Breckenridge to take some pictures. We stopped by the grocery store and headed home to make dinner.

Monday, we went into town after lunch. We made the kids suffer through more picture taking. They were hating it by the end, but oh well. We did let them play at the park for a bit afterwards, so it was all good. We went back to the cabin and laid around for the afternoon. We watched Harry and the Hendersons! It had been so long since I had seen that. After the movie we looked at the hiking list again and found one that seemed more suitable. It was called Sapphire Point. We walked up to the first part of it and there were about 25 chipmunks. I then remembered reading about it and how people brought sunflower seeds to feed them. Oops. Luckily there was a lot of food there, so the kids picked it up and feed them. We ended up staying there for a couple of hours.

Tuesday, we decided we probably needed to head back home. Dylan woke up not feeling too great. He said he had a headache and was tired. When we were driving back and he just kept letting out little cries and saying his head still hurt. I gave him some more Motrin and kept on driving. We were coming out of some turns and up it came! He threw up all over himself. Kim tried to catch it in her hand, but it was too much. We pulled over at a rest area, but they had NO running water! I couldn't believe it. We wiped up as well as we could, changed Dylan's clothes and headed on down the mountain. He felt a LOT better after that. We drove up to the north side of the springs to pick up Kim's car at Mick's work. She ran by the store for me and me and the kids headed home. Dylan was jumping on the trampoline and playing hard until about 6:30. He came in and laid on the couch. I took his temp and it was 103.8. So I gave him some more Motrin. By 7 he was coming back to life and his temp was down.

Wednesday, since Kim was leaving the next day, we decided to just hang out here. The kids were tired, Dylan still wasn't 100 percent and with her having a 7 hour drive the next day, we figured it was for the best. We ended up washing our cars and catching up on house work.

Today, I woke up with whatever it is that Dylan has/had. He seems to be doing better. I still have to give him Motrin ever so often, but I understand why. I have to keep taking it myself or else I feel horrible. I think it is just a head cold. Probably from the difference in temperature in Breckenridge. It was only in the lower 70's while were there. So NICE! Kim and the kids left around 10 this morning to head back to Topeka Kansas. She will be there till Monday and then head on home. We had a great visit! I hated to see her go. We spent some much time talking about when we were younger and just cracking each other up. Hopefully we can get together next summer too, if not before then.

My brother Matt and his wife moved to the panhandle of Oklahoma on Tuesday. They are attending school there. I think me and the boys are going to drive there on Monday and spend most of the week. I figured it would be easier now than when the kids start school. Which is only in 2 weeks from this coming Monday! I haven't done any back to school shopping yet... Maybe next weekend.

Mick has been working a LOT of hours lately. 3 times a week he works his normal shift and then heads into the springs to do software testing for 5 hours. He doesn't get home till around 10 on those nights. I hate it, but its part of his job so... He is hoping to get to work on the car this weekend. He hasn't been able to in a long time.

The pictures are of the kids at Sapphire Point, the kids on the hike, us at the cabin, the view on our hike,me and the boys in Breckenridge, me and Kim in Breckenridge, the kids in Breckenridge and Dylan "hanging on for dear life". Actually he was standing on the ground, but we had him pose that way. He looks pretty convincing, huh?

Well I hope all is well with all of you. And I hope your summer has been as great as ours has! Until next time....