You Pick Em'

 A couple weeks ago we trucked out to Brighton with Stacey, Adam and Alex to a farm where you can pick your own fruit and vegetables.  Our intention was to pick raspberries and strawberries, but with the overly HOT summer we have been having the raspberries and strawberries were already gone!  So we were left to pick currants, flowers and vegetables!

We took a little tractor ride out to the currants to do some pickin'...

(I think this was the kids favorite part!)

 I totally understand now, why raspberries and blueberries cost so much in the grocery stores - picking little berries off a bush without smashing them is quite an art...and very exhausting to concentrate that much!

 Eli even got into it and would grab off the ones he could see...

 but then he would smash it in his hand and then say "Mama, see"

 Ashtyn and Adam mainly just ran around chasing each other - not much pickin' from them two...

 Alex LOVED the currants!  Stacey couldn't pick them fast enough because as soon as she would put a hand full in the carton Alex would shove them in his mouth!

 It was of course REALLY hot that morning - even at 9am - and finally Eli just sat down - I think he had, had enough!

 Ashtyn enjoyed picking her own flowers...

 To cool down we got some juice and homemade cookies for a snack and got to know the farm birds running around the farm...

I ended up buying some cucumbers and zucchinis for dinner that night and they were delicious - I think it would be so fun to have a garden to grow fresh veggies in - not sure how successful I would be at it, but I may try it next summer.  Nothing beats fresh veggies for dinner!

After the farm, we were still HOT and sweaty, so we headed to the pool for some lunch and to COOL off!  By 2 o'clock we were all dead tired, but it was a great summer day!

God's Country...Final

We woke up to a rainy day on our last day in Pagosa Springs. 

Again I welcomed the rain and the cooler temperatures had been such a nice relief, but our plan of going tubing and enjoying the hot springs was not going to happen...again!

We hung around camp and finally the rain slowly eased up, but the air was still a bit chilly for tubing.  So we decided to head to Wolf Creek and take the kids on a hike to see Treasure Falls!

 We have never been hiking with the kids before and I wanted to try the backpack we had gotten for Eli...

 Well he screamed and flighted us the entire time we were getting him strapped down!  It was obnoxious!  I ended up carrying him up the mountain in a sling instead...the backpack is now in the Goodwill pile!

 Ashtyn had so much fun on the hike and exploring - she looked for treasures along the way like Tinkerbell does!

 We made it!

We made it to the top with four kids to see the waterfall!  Yeah for us!  It was so beautiful up there and the waterfall was awesome!  There was a little pond at the top and Emily actually got in it to swim - it was way to cold for the rest of us!

 The hike was a perfect way to spend the rainy morning! 

After we got back down the mountain, we headed back to camp for lunch and then we thought we would spend the rest of the afternoon at the Hot Springs.  I was still bummed about not getting to tube the river, but the Hot Springs totally made up for it...

It of course sprinkled on us the whole time, but that's OK when you are sitting in a hot tub overlooking a river!  The Hot Springs were so fun and so nice - way better then Glennwood - I think anyways!  I would have loved to have spent a whole day there enjoying the resort, but I guess we will just have to come back one day!  We loved every minute swimming around enjoying the springs, but I think Eli had the most fun and didn't want to leave...

 The kids were totally wiped out after swimming and dinner!  So us adults took advantage of our teenage sisters and left them to babysit while we hit the town for a night out.  Needless to say - Pagosa doesn't really have a "Night Life"...

We went to a bar, but when we walked in the music stopped and everyone looked at us!  We clearly were not welcomed there.  So we hit up a Mexican restaurant for some dessert and drinks before they closed at 10pm!  Pagosa closes very early...FYI!

The next morning, the day we were headed back home, the sun was of course shining and the weather could not have been more beautiful.  Still wanting to tube the river - I just wasn't giving up - Emily and I some how convinced Matt to let us go and then we would leave later that afternoon!

So while Josh and Matt watched the kids, Emily and I took Kodi tubing down the river...

 It was so much fun!  And so worth the late arrival into home...

 I would have loved to tube the river over and over again, but we had to go!  But I will be back and with a cooler of beer for next time!

We found a cute little restaurant for lunch and got a quick bite to eat before loading into the truck for our long trip home...

We had so much in Pagosa with Josh, Kodi and the girls.  I love taking trips like these and exploring new places of Colorado and its even better when you get to spend it with family.  I love that we made the memories we did and getting to see the cousins spend so much time together - I hope they remember and appreciate these trips one day!

I look forward to many more trips just like this...and hopefully we can have the whole family make it back there sometime!  Because getting to explore "God's Country" with family is absolutely the best thing in the world!

We pulled into the driveway a little after 9pm and were dead tired from our trip to Pagosa Springs aka "God's Country" - Can't wait to go back!

God's Country...Fishing

 After getting cleaned up from the lake and eating dinner we loaded up the fishing boat to take full advantage of the beautiful evening!  Ashtyn has been asking to go fishing for months now, and we told her Uncle Josh would be the best person to take her.  So Uncle Josh kept his promise and took us all out to the lake for some fishin'...

Again, it was quite humorous!  There were a total of seven of us in a small little fishing boat which technically holds only four,. But we squeezed in looking like a circus I am sure, and once we were seated we were instructed not to move or Yes, we would probably tip over! 

I can only imagine what other fishermen thought of us, but we owned it and again made a memory to always remember!

 Emily was a total Rock Star when it came to fishing!  She tied on her own hooks, wrapped the worm around the hook and casted it perfectly into the water - Didn't catch a fish though!

Maybe next time Em!

 I learned on this fishing trip - Matt knows nothing about fishing - absolutely nothing!  But he can rock a tiara pretty good!  Josh had to tie the hooks, the bobbers and put the worm on the hook for Ashtyn and Matt!  Matt did cast the line though...

 Josh and Brooklyn were the first to catch a fish and it didn't take long!  Brooklyn did so well - she's a natural like her daddy!

 Not soon after Brooklyn got a fish, so did Ashtyn!

I was so thankful she got one - how sad and disappointing would have been not to get a fish your first time out...

She did really well reeling the fish in, but didn't want to touch the fish, and wasn't really impressed by the whole excitement of actually catching a fish either...

Maybe fishing is just not her thing...

 After we caught our fish, both my kids started whining and saying "I want to go home now..."

I felt so bad, since Josh had worked so hard getting us all out there, and they were already done after ten minutes.  So we decided to ignore their cries and enjoyed the time on the lake until the sun set...

 Brooklyn kept catching fish like crazy - I think she got five or six!  It does help when your daddy knows what he's doing!  She was a brave little girl wanting to both touch and "kiss" the fish!

 Eli did what he does best and screamed - I am sure scaring the fish away!  We probably could have caught more...I am not sure he is quite ready to be a fisherman!

Thanks to Uncle Josh for making our first fishing trip so fun and memorable!  I can't say I love fishing, but I can always go to hangout and drink a couple beers - I enjoyed that part!

We got to see a beautiful sun set on the lake and then headed back to camp!

We put the kids to bed and us adults played some cards!

Day two of Pagosa Springs - amazing!