The Bolder Boulder

Bolder, Colorado, which is about 45 miles northwest of where we live, is home to one of the largest running races in the world. I am not a runner, and I certainly wasn't in any hopes of winning the purse for this race (which happens to be one of the largest non-marathon purses for runners), but every year since we've lived here, I've talked about doing the race and seeing what all the hype is about. EVERYONE in Colorado knows about the Bolder, Boulder. It takes place every Memorial Day (since 1979), and it's up to about 50,000 participants each year!

So this year was finally my year. I decided to bite the bullet, pay a ridiculous entry fee to run 6.2 miles, and join in the fun. There were something like 29 bands along the route, people with the slip n slides out on the front lawn if you wanted a brief detour, and even people with a "kegs and eggs" stand on the front lawn! The last short leg of the race takes you into Folsom Field (where the CU Buffaloes play), and it's a great way to finish up a race. There is a stadium full of strangers there to cheer you on and give you that last little bit of adrenaline. What a great way to finish. Needless to say, this "race" is much more of an event than a run! It was fun, it was definitely worth it to experience it myself finally, and I learned a few things. Running with that many people is more of a constant game of dodging the people slower than you! Next time, I'll make sure I'm placed in a wave that starts earlier so that most of the people around me are actually running!

This is our one very lame shot of me in the "action"!

Sophia waiting very patiently to see Mommy running

After the race

I'm pretty sure she was more tired than me!

Castlewood Canyon

By now, you would think we would know that our hiking adventures NEVER go as planned. It's just a general, customary rule that Tim and Amy should always have a plan B if the days activity involves hiking. After 6 years of living in Colorado, and adding two children to our adventures, I think we are just finally beginning to accept this! In our latest hiking adventure, we had planned to conquer Devil's Head, which is a favorite, well known, local hike. Amazingly enough, we had never been there before. But because it's so well-known, we didn't realize quite what we were getting into, and that popularity doesn't always mean simplicity. Neither Tim or I realized the elevation of this hike (which wasn't much for Colorado). But, given the amount of snow we've had and the earliness of the season, it should have occurred to us to check out the conditions before we left home. We're not that smart. Our second clue should have been the road closed sign that we passed approximately 10 miles before the trail head. Unfortunately, neither of us realized this was a one way road to nowhere with no other options. So we continued to drive the 10 mile mountain-like pass, and reach the trail head only to confirm that yes, indeed the trail was closed because of SNOW!!! Silly us. So plan B, this time, involved driving 25 miles in the opposite direction to Franktown and one of Colorado's many state parks: Castlewood Canyon.

Turns out, Castlewood Canyon was a great place for the kids. Sophia loved riding in the backpack, Noah loved everyone else's dogs, and we even got to splash a little bit in the "river" that runs through the canyon. The only problem was that there really wasn't that much hiking involved! It was paved trails most of the way into the park!

Sophia's got her baby in the "pack-pack" for to go "biking"! (Sophia's ridden in here before, but it's been so long that she doesn't remember. She was fascinated with the thing and couldn't wait to get in and try it out. We kept telling her we were going hiking, and I'm still not sure she ever distinguished that we were saying HIKING-not biking!)

Riding with Daddy

Riding with Mommy- we need a pack pack for this kid, too!

Sophia was dying to get her feet in the water- until her toes touched
and she realized how cold it was !

Looking for rocks to splash.

Mother's Day Pictures

You'll probably look at these pictures and think that I had a brainstorm for some great kind of Father's Day gift for Tim (if you know Tim at all and know about his love for baseball, that is). But just to prove that Tim's mind really can be one-tracked sometimes, the truth of the matter is that HE is the one who took these pictures to use for a Mother's Day card for me! And, some of them are pretty cute, especially for the guy who is NOT the photographer of this family!

"Play Ball!"

"Are we done yet, Daddy?"

"Do we HAVE to do this?"

Don't let her fool you, she may be cute, but she has NO idea what she's doing
with that bat in her hands!

Proof of the real culprit behind this photo shoot!