Final Day at Midnight Ranch

Our little visitor came again bright and early on our last day at the cabin.  He was so disappointed each day because the feeder was empty.  If we go again, we will make some sugar water for our little friend!

Another healthy breakfast for two happy kids!

 Evelyn is holding one of those freshwater shrimp or crayfish that kept all the trout fat and happy and us sad from not catching any fish. 

We finally saw the heron that make so much noise at 5 in the morning.  They were probably as tall as Drew...huge birds!

Day 2 Afternoon at Midnight Ranch

After spending the day in Steamboat, we decided to try our hand at fishing again...when would we learn we were not going to catch anything!  The kids liked to "pretend play" on the boats and travel to all kinds of faraway places. 

 I love this picture of the two of them...they really enjoyed this vacation and I hope will have lots of memories from it. 

 That night we had pizza and ice cream.  The kids wanted to eat on the front porch even though it was windy and cool. 

 Tim and I worked on one of the puzzles that was in the cabin...we finished that night at 11pm...unfortunately it was missing a lot of pieces. 

Day 2-Steamboat Springs

Just as we started out on our drive to Steamboat Springs, we ran across some white tail deer.  We saw lots of wildlife on this trip including a beaver, heron, deer, and antelope. 

 Tim took this gorgeous photo of the Aspen and yellow flowers on our drive to Steamboat from the cabin. 

 These are the ski jump hills in Steamboat (they don't get much use in the Spring, Summer, Fall).

 Drew was dying to have a pair of cowboy boots from the western store in Steamboat.  We told him we would buy them if he would wear them and he had to pick out a style that could be handed down to his younger siblings.  He wears them all the time now, I don't know if they will make it to his other siblings. 

Evelyn got a cowgirl hat with a whistle attached.  Both kids enjoyed getting their picture taken on Lightning, the "real" horse that didn't move. 

 Here is a picture of Steamboat Springs Ski Resort.  We went driving around up there, but it was rather uncomfortable for pregnant mommy so we did not get out and walk around. 

These beautiful trees were blooming all up and down main street and they smelled WONDERFUL!!!

We went hiking at Fish Creek Falls...probably my last hike while pregnant...it was hard!

 

 Drew almost stepped on this snake on our hike because he wouldn't stay on the trail...I think he learned his lesson when he saw the picture Tim took of the snake.  YUK!

 Finally we made it to the falls...so much cooler near the falls but that water made me really nervous it was rushing so fast...I had a death grip on my kiddos!

 

Day 2 Morning at Midnight Ranch

Needless to say, the sun was shining in the skylight in the kids' room at 6am, so it was an early rising day.  They enjoyed a "healthy" breakfast of Lucky Charms and bananas. 

 We had a hummingbird visitor every morning and sometimes in the afternoon it would chase Drew in the yard. 

 Tim and Drew went fishing at the crack of dawn while the girls showered and packed for the trip into Steamboat Springs. 

 If you look closely, Drew is actually sleeping in his chair while fishing...nothing like a little cat nap!

 We finished our showers and packing early, so we decided to try our hand at fishing that morning too. 

We were all "skunked" for the 2nd day...no FISH!  By this time, Evelyn had pretty much lost interest in fishing after about 5 minutes and Drew only lasted a little longer beyond that. 

Day 1 Midnight Ranch-Fishing and Campfire

The first day we arrived around 1pm and we immediately headed to the trout pond to try fishing.  Even though the owner told us that we may not get a bite because the pond is stream-fed and the trout FEAST on freshwater shrimp (crayfish) and leeches.  But we thought we would try!  We took the rowboat out also, but quickly turned around as the boat began to take on water. 

 

 

 

 

After fishing all afternoon, we started a campfire and roasted hot dogs and marshmallows for smores.  The kids started out down by the fire, but determined it was too hot and smokey, so the moved up to the porch. 

 

Midnight Ranch-Steamboat Springs, CO May 2013

Tim surprised us with a trip to Steamboat Springs over Memorial Day Weekend.  He booked the trip all by himself and told me to be ready to leave Saturday morning.  We stayed at this beautiful ranch called Midnight Ranch.  It is about an hour north of Steamboat, almost to the Wyoming border.  Our cabin was AMAZING!  Here is a quick tour of the cabin before all the fun pictures of the trip! 

 

Here are the boys getting ready to go fishing right when we got there. 

 Entryway, kitchen, stairs to go to 2nd floor

 Kitchen was so authentic cabin feeling and FULLY STOCKED!  They had more pots/pans/etc. than I have in my house!

 We stayed upstairs in the "L" shaped room with 2 queen beds and a curtain separating us.  The kids slept in the bed on the left and we slept on the right.  The only complaint about the cabin was the noises it made as it warmed and cooled each day and night....LOTS OF SCARY CREAKING NOISES! 

 This was looking from our bedroom into the living room. 

 The kids had a blast taking a bath in this old tub.  It was SO DEEP they could practically swim in it. 

View of our cabin from the walk to the trout pond

This was the view of the cabin and Nipple Peak from the boat

Erie Balloon Festival

We woke up really early one Saturday morning to go to the Erie Balloon Festival with Aunt Annie, Grandma Sue, and meet some of our friends from church.  What a cool experience, well worth getting up early!  You could get so close to the balloons as they took off.  These are just a few of the hundreds of photos Tim took that day.  The bottom one is my favorite!! 

Drew's Preschool Graduation-May 2013

Oh what a wonderful, joy filled day!  The kids did a re-enactment of Noah's Ark while Miss Leana read the story out of the bible.  Drew was Noah and each of the kids were pairs of animals.  SO CUTE!!  We are so proud of Drew and the young boy that Promise has helped shape him to be.  We are so lucky to be able to send Evelyn there next year!

 Here is Drew shaking hands with Miss Erica, who will no longer be with the preschool because she moved to Steamboat Springs.  We will miss her next year when Evelyn is attending.  He is getting ready to accept his diploma from his other teacher, Miss Cristina! 

 The kids looked so adorable in their Promise t-shirts and caps.  They sang beautiful songs, my favorite being one that goes, "I am a promise, I am a possibility.  I am a promise, I am a great big bunch of potentiality.  And I am learning to hear god's voice and I am trying to make the right choice.  As I am a promise to be, anything God wants me to be!"

Short Soccer Season

So Drew had a very short soccer season due to the snow storms we had in May.  Here are a few photos of the two games he played.  He did score a few goals (and one we got on video but I can't get it to load).  He played alot of defense because otherwise he kind of "hogged" the ball.  His coach would yell...DEFENSE DREW...when he was staring a break away.  Even though he played defense a lot he loved it and was really good at cutting off the angles of the players on the other team.  By the end of the 2nd game, he really was learning about passing to other players and letting them score.  Hoping for a longer season in the fall!