Lakeside Amusement Park

Mutton Busting

Opa read about an opportunity for kids to participate in the Mutton Busting during Buffalo Bill Days in Golden, I immediately signed Joseph up!  It was such a fun experience, even though Joseph's sheep was a little ornery!  

Soccer Camp

Shepard of the Valley hosted their annual soccer camp this week and despite a few grumbles from Lillian they had a blast again.  We had quite a few neighbors join the camp this summer because the church put fliers on our doors throughout The Pond.  On the last day of camp, I took the kids to get ice cream with the money Nana Nancy sent them and then we met the Hagaman's at Skate City.  

Golden Gate Canyon State Park

Through the Jefferson County library we are able to reserve free State Parks passes (with a lot of forward planning!).  Opa and I took the kids to explore Golden Gate State Park this afternoon.  We hiked a little, fed the fish and enjoyed a picnic lunch.

Butterfly Pavilion

The Butterfly Pavilion is always a great excursion!  Today as we were admiring the beautiful outdoor grounds, two volunteers asked the kids if they'd like to race Rubber Duckies down the man made stream.  The kids loved chasing them and following them along the creek, but at the end Lillian's duckie somehow got stuck on the rocks and never popped back up.  We waited for a long time, and use the end of the fishing net to scrape around....but no duckie resurfaced.  Someday, some kid will be really happy when it does re-appear!

Steamboat in the Summer

Mike signed up for the Tour de Steamboat bike race with his coworker Sean.  Sean has the sweetest 6 year old daughter Neave, of course she and Jak and Lillian became best friends instantly.  We hit the Steamboat rodeo moments after arriving into town.  The rodeo takes place every Friday night in the summer and it is quite an attraction for the locals and tourists. It drew a huge crowd!  The kids had the opportunity to go out in the arena and chase a sheep, the kid who snagged the ribbon off the sheep's tail won a FM Light gift certificate.  Our kids didn't win, but they didn't get trampled either so I guess that's good! 

 Mike's bike race was a success, he enjoyed riding with Jacque again (a friend of his boss EJ's who rode in the Tour de France once upon a time).  Jacque gave him a few tips on riding and bike mechanics.  And Mike had enough energy to hike to the top of the Steamboat ski trails with me the next day.  It was a great hike up the mountain and we got to take the Gondola down (a time saver and knee saver too!).  Overall beautiful weekend get-a-way.