laughing cow

We used to put the boys in the bike carriage, hook it to Paul's bike, and cycle along the Poudre out to the Bellvue Cafe.  Sadly, the cafe is now closed and the boys can no longer both fit in the bike carrier. We are working on solutions.  Tim has ridden his bike without training wheels several times, so that's a big step forward.  Still, that won't help us with long distance.  Until then, Paul's scouting new places on his bike rides and then we're taking the car for visits.

Morning Fresh Dairy is out in Bellvue.  If you don't mind the smell of cow manure, they have a great cafe, The Laughing Cow, that sells locally made Noosa yogurt (the best yogurt in the US) as well as sandwiches and homemade ice cream.  They have a pretty patio with a small pond and a great fountain.  The owner of Morning Fresh is a classmate of mine - third generation dairy farmer.  

october should just be called halloweenober

The first costume event of the season at Tim's school.  Superheroes R Us.

Halloween was a one day event when I was a child, much to my disappointment.  Thanks, I'm sure to capitalism on steroids, Halloween is now most of October with fantastic decorations for home and business, parties, hay rides, corn mazes, pumpkin patch visits, oh my. It's great!  I love this time of year, especially on the Front Range where summer flies in almost every afternoon, the grass stays green without needing to be watered, and pumpkin flavoured drinks, ice cream, and candles abound.

date night in old town

Thanks to my wonderful in-laws, Paul and I had a night out in Old Town.  We started here on the roof top patio of Illegal Pete's with some New Belgian drafts.  If you haven't had Sunshine Wheat with a shot of OJ, you haven't lived.  The weather was perfect, the curry made us miss England (not a bad thing), and the company was divine.  Thanks Jenny and Neville!

home

After thirty hours of travel and no time for Paul to recover from the jet lag before returning to work, we made it to the cabin the first weekend back.  Everything about it was perfect.  Everything about it felt like home.

Tim spent a large part of his day practicing his cast.

Luke has moved from a toy rod to the real thing - minus the hook.

The Attridge fishermen.

Brothers and friends.

The rain has given the whole region a rare green summer.

Tim can now paddle the boat!

obama and the attridges

When President Obama visited Stonehenge last September, a flood of criticism poured through the media about him getting to walk among the stones - special treatment.  So I did a little research and discovered that the Attridges can also walk among the stones, even touch them although we didn't.  I'd like to leave it at that, Obama and the Attridges, but anyone who pays the extra money, books on-line, and shows up before opening hours or after closing hours can have Stone Access.  We recommend it.  There were about 20 of us.  It seems like a large group, but Stonehenge isn't a small circle of stones, and I often found myself seemingly alone.  It was beautiful and a nice contrast to our visit to Carhenge in Nebraska last summer.

paris with children

This is a bridge in front of our hotel.  We couldn't see the Eiffel Tower from our room.  It took us about twenty minutes to walk to it, and the weather was perfect for walking.  The Seine is just on the other side of the trees on the left side of the photo.  The Statue of Liberty is on the bridge over the river.

The park with a carousel.

Instead of just riding around in a circle, the children were given sticks and directed to rings that they could collect as they flew past.

Ready to collect rings!

Looking cool in Paris.

The view.

We took the stairs down and down and down.

The Notre Dame

Paris has always been a special place to Paul and me.  The stylish people and the divine food were lost on them, but they loved the look of the city.  We look forward to taking them back again some day.

birthday boys

Happy Birthday boys!  You fill us crown to toe, top-full of love.

Tim wanted something Pokemon for his birthday cupcakes. The best I could do were Pokey Balls.  I don't understand any of it and hope to keep it that way.

Both Tim and Luke enjoyed the Pinewood Derby.  Tim placed in this one, as you can hear/see.