I don’t often post about myself but I have to give a little shout out to my running girls. These woman and I have been running together on and off for 5+ years. I have taken some time off from the early mornings but we do occasionally brave the early morning cold and snow. We mostly run at 5:30 am and pretend to keep each other safe from wild animals that we imagine hiding in the trees. Over the years we have become great friends. One of our girls is moving to Hawaii so we had a going away run for her last week. It was exactly what I needed! We wore leis and laughed the whole three miles.

Sam’s pictures were taken by the amazing Andrea at www.andreastarkphoto.com.  She was so good to get these shots in a nasty rain drizzle.  It’s hard to believe that my little guy is a senior in high school.  We are now working on college applications.  When will this life slow down a bit?

The summer trail series ended tonight with the last race. Alice and Sam both ran and raced really well. This series overlaps with their high school XC season so they are doing double right now. It was so fun to see them run. I am always unbelievably proud of them no matter what.

***Paige usually runs but was sore from practice this morning. Proud of her too:) And mason too but he hates running;)

Having teenagers is so much fun!

As we approach the end of summer I start to think about all the fun we had and the great memories made. Tomorrow I go back to school and the kids go back next week. It’s time. They get antsy and bored and I get tired of extra dishes in the sink and dirty socks stuffed everywhere.

This is Sam’s last summer as a high schooler and that is giving me all the feels. He’s officially a senior! It’s been so fast but so amazing. Looking forward to all the “lasts” with him and tying to slow every day down and just savor it.

Happy end of summer vacation peeps. It’s been real fun. Here are a few shots that had to be posted;)

Just be clear….the summer weather is not ending…just the vacation!

Senior pictures, camping, backyard silliness, riding, running, racing, friends, family, vacations and just being together adds up to a whole lot of fun 😀

It’s been on our bucket list forever and we finally did. We hiked up to and camped on Eccles Pass. It is one of my most favorite places in Colorado. The views are spectacular and it looks like a scene out of a movie. It was a tough 8 mile hike up from our house but it was so worth it!

Now we are enjoying the warmth of the desert in Fruita. The kids are looking forward to swimming in Highline Lake and having a relaxing day.

Love this summer life!

Jen

We are just getting things put away from our weeklong trip to Michigan. We hadn’t been back to Michigan for a few years so we decided this was the summer to go. It was a great week spent with friends and family.  Many thanks to everyone who housed us, fed us and showed up even when it wasn’t ideal!  What a wonderful week!!!!

Happy belated birthday to our youngest, Mason. His birthday fell on a Sunday so he and Scott got out for a long mountain bike ride. His big present this year was a new bike. He has grown about five feet this year (really only a couple inches!) and he had outgrown his old bike. In the afternoon, we went to see Aladdin. I think he had a great day!!! Happy birthday to our sweet, super helpful kid. We love you buddy!!!!!

Well it’s been snowing on and off for a couple days and we are literally losing our minds! It’s JUNE!!!! Not so patiently waiting on summer to make its debut over here….

This afternoon we took advantage of a lull in the snow/rain/hail and got in a quick hike up the Willowbrook Trail. Everything is so lush and green, very rare for our Colorado mountains.

The big kids left on their mission trip this morning. Here’s to warmer weather in Arizona!

Here is the drive to Breckenridge this morning to drop them off. Just in case you thought I was being dramatic and exaggerating about the snow…

Yesterday was Alice’s 16th bday. The weather pretty much sucked so we didn’t get out for much except breakfast 😂

Her big gift was a trampoline for the yard. She has been asking for a trampoline for a long time and we finally have a yard that holds it.

👆🏻not yesterday!

Anyhoo, just realizing I was going backwards but I’ve got a bit of cabin fever and feeling a little bit cuckoo at the moment.

Tomorrow the weather is suppose to be better…

I found this meme and sent it to Alice…pretty much sums up how we are feeling up here.

The end of the school year is always a whirlwind and so busy I have a hard time keeping it all together. This year was no different.

Anyway, here is “quick” recap of the last month.

It continued to snow all the way through May and Scott skied on his birthday instead of biking. Rosie was the only family member who liked this snow.

We helped celebrate baby Savvy’s 1st birthday.

We bid farewell to our dear friends who are moving to Idaho with a picnic dinner our on Sapphire Point.

We spent an evening in Breckenridge at the Wave Festival.

All three boys raced their mountain bikes in the Summit Mountain Challenge. Mason took third and Scott took second.

As soon as school got out we packed up and headed north for our first college visit to Montana State in Bozeman. We all fell a little bit in love with this area. Sam really like the university as well! We went in a tour, checked out the dorms, talked to an admissions counselor and had a great meeting with the ecology department. It seems like a great fit for our outdoors loving kid. Only 10 hours away from home… 😳

On our way home we took a detour through Yellowstone National Park. It was beautiful and busy:) Evidently we decided to visit on the same day as Mike Pence so we were delayed by a few hours.

While we were in Montana, Mason was at sleep away camp for a week. He really enjoyed himself and would like to go back next year.

We started our next project on the house, which is to take out the old fireplace and knock down the popcorn ceiling.

This week Alice started back at her summer gardening job and had swim stroke camp in the mornings. Paige started back at her babysitting job and started summer running with her XC coaches. Sam continues to train in the mornings for his big run race in September (40 trail miles from CB to Aspen) and Mason had robotics camp every morning. I think I put more miles on my car this week than I do in a regular school work week!

I’m sure I’ve missed many things but you all get the idea. Unfortunately summer hasn’t arrived yet and we are eagerly awaiting the warmer weather. Currently we are in a winter weather advisory with 4-10 inches forecasted up high. Oh well…I’m sure I’ll get on my paddle board someday.

Tomorrow is Alice’s birthday and the three oldest leave on a mission trip on Sunday. Never a dull moment😉

Happy Junuary and stay warm out there!

And I have no idea why some of my text is bolded. Just go with it!

Jen

Hey peeps, we are in a winter storm warning. Scott is setting up the sprinklers and we are forecasted to get 8-16 inches of SNOW. Every May this happens. We get all excited for spring and then BAM! It snows.

Anyway, we are working and waiting in summer to arrive.

It’s been a busy month. School is wrapping up. Sam and Alice have been crazy with studying for AP tests and Paige has been wrapping up 8th grade with lots of field trips and activities.

Last night we attended the graduation dinner for my niece, Madison. She will be attending Baylor in the fall. So proud of that girl!

Two and a half more weeks of school! Yahoo! Let’s do this!

Jen