I'm figuring out how I'll blog going forward, as the drive to create, write, express gets stronger over time. For now, a rough go at our 11th anniversary trip to Steamboat Springs!
I worked a crazy night shift Friday night and we left Saturday afternoon. Luckily most of the packing was done and Graham took the girls out to garage sales while I slept the morning away. We left *just* 45 minutes later than we had planned (excellent!) and we were off through the mountains to beautiful Steamboat springs, dog and all!
We rented a cute cottage at Steamboat Campground. It was perfect - a loft with two double beds, a bathroom, a kitchen, a tv, wifi. We're THOSE kind of campers. Neve's word for our cottage? "Cabinet." Like cabin. "I REALLY like our cabinet!" "This cabinet is perfect!" "Are we going home, or back to the cabinet?"
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| Cabinet |
Graham's great at planning vacation days. Sunday morning after a relaxing breakfast we loaded the mini and drove to Fish Creek Falls for a hike. Half a mile on a paved trail was perfect for the girls. It was sunny and mild and we stopped at each information station to read about the flora and history of the falls. Little ground squirrels scampered everywhere, switching their tails. Corrina was in the Ergo. It was a little chilly. The view of the falls, which apparently is the source of water for all of the southwest from here to Yuma, AZ was beautiful.
Audrey
The girls did great until... we approached two hikers discussing a dog they had just passed. "There's an aggressive pit up ahead! Watch out." they warned. Audrey immediately froze and demanded that we turn right around and get to the car. When she senses any amount of danger, a switch flips and she's done. Just like me. It took coaxing and reasoning for five minutes for her to reluctantly continue on the path. And frequent stops and whines to go back to the car. What I put my parents through... It wasn't until we reached the base of the waterfall and turned around that she relaxed a little. Neve on the other hand, with no sense of fear, paraded on and even hiked off the path down a rocky hill to the water, where she and dad took off their shoes and waded. "Mommy, that watuh wath COWD!" she reported. Corrina slept. Like a baby.
Corrina
All weekend, especially in the evening, Corrina watched me. She is a content little soul for the most part (except at night, on this trip) but she always had eyes on me. Her little chin and her drooling and her chubby arms waving haphazardly around, knocking her face now and again. Sweet chums. I can't stop kissing her. When she didn't want to sleep at our 'cabinet' at night, I was halfway glad because I got to lay her on my chest and hold her gently while we felt each other breathe and fell asleep, calmed. She's warm. She's soft and she just wants to know, 'where's mom?' Graham noticed that she LOVES him and he makes her smile and giggle, especially when she's held by me.
Neve
On the front deck of our cabinet, Neve 'worked out'. She'd do push ups that weren't really anything at all. She was so excited that there was a bathroom (as we continue to potty train her - it's all about the BM). No accidents for a while now. Every time the thought crossed her mind, she'd say, "...and there's a POTTY in our cabinet!" At some point Saturday morning when I was sleeping she fell (dad was watching her) and she got a scab near her right eye. She just got over a huge bruise and scab on her left eye from falling off our bed and hitting (per her report) our dresser. Combine that with her short hair cut and she looks like one heck of a tomboy these days. A beautiful fearless tomboy with the cutest lisp on earth.
Dad
Did I mention what a great vacation planner G is? In case I didn't, he IS. He planned every activity. I love this. I just have to sit back and take care of kid details - dressing them, feeding them, toileting them, nursing one of them, keeping an eye on them - and Graham takes care of the rest. Monday we went to Strawberry Hot Springs. He'd been there before on a Whole Foods 'planning retreat'. ..."Back in the day, all the whole foods crew would go on retreats and just get high the whole time. When I went, we actually worked." (And relaxed in the same hot springs he took us too.) A bunch of hippies, dude. But it was relaxing and there were kids which made our kids way happy. And there's something special about hanging out with people who'd be naked if it were after dark. What with their long hair ("Is that a 14 year old girl with swim trunks or boy with hair to his waist?" I wondered.) Graham spent the time trekking to and from the minivan, getting this and that. Toward the end, I heard two hot springers point to the wooded hill immediately above my sleeping baby and say, "There's a black bear. He's a little guy." I immediately froze. I couldn't see anything, but suddenly all the guests are looking up the hill. One hippie dude is pointing up and I say, "Do you see the bear?!" "Nah, I'm pointing to a cloud. There wouldn't be a black bear this close to all these people. Are you not a local?" "Boulder," I say. "THAT'S local," he smiles. Meanwhile the other two hot springers are slowly swimming away from where they pointed. Others continue to swim. Including Audrey, including when I told her someone saw a bear. "No mom." She's so caz this time. Scared of a pit on a leash but not a wild bear?? Well my switch flipped and I was done. Graham just returned from a Neve bathroom trip and I said, "Let's go", car seat and gear in hand. "I'll tell you why in a sec." He thought someone was being inappropriate. They WERE, if they didn't really see a bear. Graham rolled his eyes at me, but I could tell he hadn't totally ruled bear out, so we searched the wooded hill for a while. Then we left and it poured rain and hail as we drove away. Good timing.
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| See how close Corrina is to the bear hill? Peace out. |
Driving Home
We stopped at Big Shooters coffee on the way back so Graham could keep his word. They gave him a free cup on the way to Steamboat. I had the best vanilla latte I've had all summer. After caffeine, spirits were up in the mini and we drove and discussed eleven year accomplishments and felt good about ourselves and life and God and kids and it rained some more. Audrey's first day of school was tomorrow, we were almost home, lets buy a double jogger with an infant sling and bike attachment, what's the difference between a mountain bike and a road bike and a street bike? Love you hons, love you too hons. *holding hands*
