Camping- how it has changed!

What camping used to be: fun, relaxing, good food and drinks, great campfire smells, exercise and fatigue after a long day climbing, sitting around with a nice buzz talking to friends, maybe a cigarette by the camp fire, sleeping in under the stars snuggled warm in the bag next to the lover at the time, a winter hat in the morning boiling water for some french press coffee, an extravagant camping breakfast, another day of climbing or hiking or simply enjoying the out of doors.

What camping is now: stressful, dirty, keeping an eye on the kid at all moments so you don't end up in burn trauma unit, constant dirt patrol and creek patrol so the kids don't drown, giardia watch, no exercise or climbing b/c the kids will fall off a cliff while you belay, constant snacks for kids, no crazy creek lounging by the fire, feeding more snacks and protecting sippy cups from going down the creek, preparing meals that just get thrown in the dirt, no enjoyment of alcohol or cigarettes because of lack of a minute to find a bottle opener or much less smoke in front of the kids, pee patrol, scooping kid crap off the ground b/c they are too young to bury it themselves, changing poopy diapers in the back of the car, a dog that has rolled in cow pies and mud and is sleeping in the new car, no sleep because you are protecting the kids from becoming cold in below freezing temps, freezing temps and no lover to cuddle with, waking up at first light, suffering through breakfast only to get in the car, get the hell home, clean the gear, the dog , the car and pass out in bed thankful that the mattress is soft and the kids are asleep finally. I won't do it for a long time!

The Boat parade, eating turkey, and the winners!

The cousins decorated the boat for the boat parade on the fourth. They won first prize! We ad a deep fried turkey and a fish fry. It was delicious. Max was happy eating the meat from the bone. Whatever works! We definitely have tired kids. Today the last of the bunch leave. Ada will be sad.

Penguins Attention

Summer at Grandma's

We are having fun at Grandma's! Fishing, swimming, and riding bikes. Ada is still a bit timid on her new big bike, but slowly she's becoming braver. Max is close to walking, taking multiple steps and standing up to walk when he gets excited about something. He is becoming such a boy- throwing everything and chucking his food instead of eating it. I ahve already had to read the book "Hands are NOT for Hitting" book. Yeah I can't wait until 2! He still sleeps lightly. Ada is playing with her cousins 24 hours a day and trying to control them- They are probably getting a little tired of playing princess games. They have bben good sports. The parade was fun- a big advertisement essentially for Eagle River. candy galore- kids were filling their bags. We have been deep swimming off the boat and tubing. Max loves to drive the boat and the new fire car he got from a rummage sale. By the end of this trip he will definietly be walking. We miss daddy and occasionally have melt downs about him. Soon we will be home- back to the hot SLC! The weather has been great here- keep posted for new developments.

Ice Cream and Summer

ada and her cousins eat ice cream in Ouray. So much fun! Off to WI today. I'm crossing my fingers that Max is good on the plane. I'm a bit dreading it!

The Fendler cousins 2008- Ada, Danny, and Tommy had a blast hanging out in Oouray this past week. They played hard every night until 10 pm. Danny and Ada gave Aunt Sue a scare when they snuck off to Ada's condo to play for an hour- no one knew where they went. Luckily they were ok. The mountains are big and grand in ouray and the kids did some great hiking. Everyone was in attendance except the Chris passalacqua family and the Mike fendler family. Maybe next time.

Syracuse Bachelor Mine tour

This is the syracuse Bachelor mine tour in Ouray, CO. We were all geared up to go 1000 ft. into the mine. There was water dripping and it was very dark. We learned a lot about what the miners did in the old days and how hard they had to work to get a little bit of silver and gold. Very interesting!