Outdoor Club

The summer Outdoors Club has started again! This is a group that I run with all of the friends from Jack's school past and present. This summer we have been busy!

Here is our group on one of our hikes:

Horsetooth Falls hike:

Volunteering work

Fossil Creek hike

Friends!

More volunteering

Another group shot

Swim Team

Jack and Lily are both on a summer swim team. Practices are every morning at 8am with swim meets on the weekends. It is a tiring schedule, but the kids are thriving!

Waking them up every morning is a nightmare! Our schedule had been crazy this summer and the kids are staying up late and sleeping in. I have to drag them out of bed every morning to get them to swim team on time. 

Josie and I get to hang out for the hour long swim practice. Josie met a little friend who is her doppelganger

On Jack's birthday he chose to show off to his team by doing a dive from the high dive

Group swim team photos:

Saturday mornings are the swim meets. They are also super early and the kids usually have to be in the water by 7am. But of all the sports we have tried, the kids love swimming the best. Here are the swim meet photos from our team photographer:

Jen's Bday

For my birthday this year I did something I have never done! I was invited for a girls night in Denver with my girlfriends. They arranged everything and I just had to show up. I had never had a night away from all the kids before so it was a big ordeal. 

The day I was supposed to leave, I had arranged a babysitter to come watch the kids until Luke got off of work. Right before she got there, Josie had gotten into my makeup and jack cut Lily's hair. It was a hot mess at our house and I felt terrible leaving the kids with the sitter in such a state

But I left. And I joined my three other girlfriends and we drove down to Denver. They had already arranged the hotel and all the dinner reservations so I just relaxed and enjoyed myself

One of the dinner reservations was at a sushi place, where our order got mixed up and we ended up getting double of everything. 

Our goal was to stay out as late as possible... we made until around 11pm when we were all tired. We headed back to the hotel and ordered late night pizza and hung out in the room. We didn't expect that the pizza would be 2 feet wide!

On my actual birthday, the kids and I did a hike with our group at a nearby reservoir

It was cold and gloomy when we started

We found more friends kayaking on the lake

Afterwards we went to get hamburgers and ice cream for lunch

That night we went to Paddlers Pub with some more friends

A few days later we checked out the country dancing bar. It wasn't really our scene, but it was fun enough... and the kids loved riding the mechanical bull. 

Jack's Birthday

On Jack's birthday my grandpa happened to be in town and stopped by for a visit: 

Jack asked for macaroni & cheese with steak for his birthday dinner

Luke surprised him with a new fishing pole

Then we drove up to Horsetooth Reservoir to meet some friends who were camping on the lake

Birthday boy fishing in his undies

The next day was Jack's birthday party. That morning we had swim team, a movie and then went to a swimming pool with friends.



That night we went to Rollerland for Jack's party. The kids had been rollerskating before but had never liked it. This time, they took to the roller-skates quickly and loved it!

Trying to fit 9 candles on this cake was harder than it looks

And then once they were all lit, it was enough to burn down the building!

 The birthday party

 Lily was relentless on her skates. She took so many falls and kept getting back up. By the end of the night she had mastered those skates!

A few days later, Jack used his birthday money to buy himself this fishing boat. It is his pride and joy: