Fireworks at Waneka

 It seems every year we go somewhere different to watch fireworks - and this year was no different!  Lafayette hosted their first 4th of July celebration at Waneka Lake this year, and since we are in walking distance we thought we would join in the festivities! 
I know I say this all time, but I love living so close to everything!  Since we were able to walk right up to the lake we totally missed the traffic jams and crowds, which makes the whole evening that much better!

 My sweet babies sporting their red, white and blue...

 Last year Eli was only 3 weeks old and amazingly slept through the entire firework show, so I wasn't sure what to expect this year.  Well he loved them and would say "Ooh" while pointing, but after 5 minutes he was bored and started crawling all over place and visiting other blankets...

 Ashtyn loved watching the fireworks while snuggling in my lap...

Perfect holiday weekend.

I am sad summer is half over, but I loved this past weekend and I wish for many more weekends like this.  Who knew kids would add so much to life?

Happy 4th of July!

4th of July: 2011

Our 4th of July weekend was awesome, but EXHAUSTING!

 We wasted no time breaking our new camper in as we headed to the lake on Saturday afternoon to enjoy the weekend.  We couldn't have asked for better weather - It was actually hot, hot, hot!  It only took about 40 minutes or so to get the camper situated correctly on our camp site - props to my husband who managed to back-in a 30' trailer between two rocks - I can't even parallel park my own car without hitting something.  It fit perfectly like it was meant to be there!  Then it was off to leveling the camper - we are still trying to figure this part out.  Needless to say the camper slopped forward a bit all weekend, so hopefully we can adjust that soon!

 After getting comfortable, we fired up the bbq and cracked open some drinks and finally got to relax at pretty much the most beautiful place ever...

 Eli was most fascinated with the stairs at the camper.  It doesn't matter where we are the boy gravitates towards stairs.  We were constantly pulling him away from them...need to put baby gate on the camping list!

 See this grungy, cute baby face...this is what my kids looked like all weekend.  Dirty faces, messy hair and by the end they were just in diapers or naked because I couldn't keep their clothes dry or clean, so we ran out!  I guess that's the reality of living on a camp ground...

 We woke up Sunday to a peaceful morning at the Lake, and then by noon the crowd poured in and we had a wonderful afternoon with friends and family - boating, eating, laughing, and drinking...

 The kids could not get enough of the tubes - I remember the day me and my cousins would ride the tubes all day long - and now I am the old lady in the boat managing the flag.  It was so hot out, so it was a perfect way to stay cool...

 Eli chillin' in the boat...

 Eli loves to drive the boat with Papa or Uncle Kevin...

 Emily and Sarah goofing around on the tube...

 This is where Ashtyn spent all Sunday - sleeping!  The poor girl was exhausted from all the excitement the day before!  Even with it being so hot out the camper provided a comfy spot for her to sleep...

 ...and here is where Eli slept.  Mari was the only one that could get him to take a nap - PITA!

 After everyone left around 8pm, we lit up the campfire to enjoy S'mores - which were yummy.  This was the first time Ashtyn could roast them on her own.  She actually did very well - no burned marshmallows here...

 After another good night sleep, we woke up Monday morning and after a quick trip to Starbucks (I just couldn't take it anymore, I needed my fix) we spent another day boating, drinking and eating.  It was a VERY hot day - so most the time was spent in the boat - tubing again...

Even Ashtyn got on the big green tube and loved it!  She kept telling us to go faster...

We enjoyed every minute of our 4th of July weekend at the Lake.  It truly is one of my most favorite places to spend time with my family.  When we started packing up, Ashtyn got sad and said

"But Mommy, I love our new house..."

Such good memories already...

Our New Home...

We did it!  We bought a new home...

 Well not technically, a home, but for the next 20 years we plan on living our summers in this beautiful new camper, exploring Colorado with our family and friends! 

 Matt and I love camping and being outside, and there is no better vacation with your kids then camping.  I always wished when I was little that my family would go camping, and so now that we have the opportunity we did it!  I love that we can spend our summers, taking our children all over the state and across the country to see everything there is out there - oh the places we will go! 

The camper we bought is brand new to the industry - it was a pretty good find, but it flies off the lots when they get them in so we have been waiting since May for it to arrive!  We eventually want to buy some 4-wheelers (another fun hobby of ours) so the camper has a trailer on the front to load the wheelers and whatever else cargo we may have.  Then the beds flop out like a pop up camper, so they feel more like tents and you can still sleep under the stars!  You can't ask for much more than that...so when we got the call on Friday that we could finally pick it up we jumped at the chance!  Matt took the day off and we spent all day loading it up, showing it off to our neighbors, and then headed to Baseline Lake for the weekend to break it in!

 The table and sofa slide out to make the main cabin more roomy - it's actually pretty big when you go inside.  Perfect to set up pack-n-plays and store all the other crap we bring along...

Matt and I are so excited.  We still cannot believe we own a camper!  I am sure we have a ton of learning to do - like how to pump out, so not looking forward to that - since we are new to the RVing world, but I am so excited for the memories we are going to make. 

Let the good times begin...