Summer break in full swing

It's been 2 weeks now that Matt has been on summer break.  Even though he has been working with the bicycle business over 40 hours a week, he makes family time happen!

 On June 5th, we witnessed a spectacular view of Venus passing the sun, called transit. This event will not happen again in our lifetime or our children's lifetime.  It was amazing!    

As we waited for the clouds to clear, we biked around Crown Hill lake where the event was happening. 

This is Ranger Peg and David, from Lookout Mountain Nature Center, showing us on their gigantic telescope the Sun and Venus.  Once in a lifetime...impressive!

Here are the boys climbing, hiking, and spelunking at Three Sisters with a  class from Lookout Mountain Nature Center again.  We love the free children events.  Here Ranger Ben talked about animal tracks, bugs, and the joy of exploring.

Family bike rides have been a hit with Jonas.  He just loves his new tagalong.  I have never seen him this happy and talkative in his life when he pedals behind Matt. He is so strong. Our longest ride has been 22 miles.  And our fastest speed was 33 mph.  Jonas would recite back to me on the bike "hey mom, we are going 33 mph right now!"  I prayed a lot.

Swim lessons with dad every day this week has been a huge leap in Jonas' swimming abilities.  He is now swimming by himself for about 15 feet and loves it.  He is learning the best skills to swim correctly and will benefit him in the long run.

Aunt Mo came down to the pool to cool off with the boys.

A playdate not planned!  One day we had friends stop by randomly and it evolved to a wonderful day.  Starting with Jonas, there's Kallie(neighbor friend), Finley, Stella, Silas, and Hugo.  They all created their own creation to share in the photo.

Off to City Park Jazz with the Cumleys.  Every Sunday night Denver performs jazz in a park for free for everyone to picnic and relax.  We biked from the Cumley's house downtown and found a great spot in the grass near a tree for the boys to climb...see below.

Carson and Jonas

Saying hi to the geese and fishing for feathers.

Si-Dog!

By 8pm, we decided to take paddle boats out on the water during sunset.  The kids couldn't wait!

We had all 8 of us in one paddleboat so it was a lot of floating around and enjoying the views.

What an epic night!

Hot days equal water fights.  I bought some water shooters from the dollar store and we ended up all getting drenched.  Kinda wish we were in our swimsuits but it wouldn't have been as much fun!

After a few hours, we were cold so we hopped into the hot tub and warmed up.  I will never forget these fun moments as a family!

Estes Park camping trip

Our first camping trip of the year was last weekend with Grandmom and Grandad in Estes Park.  They bought a travel trailer a few months ago and have been traveling on lots of adventures in it.  They reserved a campsite for all of us to stay and we met them there Saturday afternoon.  When we arrived, Matt and I thought we could get the tent up before the dark clouds came. Low and behold, they came quicker than we imagined and we were in the midst of a downpour just like that.  Colorado storms can be fierce and strong and this one was the worst I have ever been in. From rain to wind to hail, we couldn't assemble the tent and it shredded from one end to the other end. We were hopeless!  

 25 minutes later, the rain stopped and the boys were out in the mud playing with their toys while Matt and I sat in the trailer discouraged. What do we need to do now?  The boys were so thrilled to camp with Grandmom that we couldn't just turn back around to go home.  We decided to sleep in the truck and Uncle Jon gave up his tent for the boys. Eventually, all 4 of us stayed in the truck the next night.  Cozy times!

 The boys loved sitting around the campfire and roasting s'mores!

 All day Sunday, we played at Mary's Lake with water blasters and fishing poles.  

 Jonas caught fish by the dozen, one of them was an eight inch rainbow trout.  He wouldn't stop casting for hours.  He has the Helton gene for the love of fishing!

Silas caught his first fish ever! 

 Sunday after naps, we headed off to Rocky Mountain National Park for a short hike.  Jonas is a great hiker!  He always wants to see where the trail ends up at.  Silas is a hiker that smells the roses.  Every bug he has to stop and point at, every rock he has to turn over, and every smell he has to ask about.  The most used saying from Silas on this hike was "Horse poop right here, mom". 

 The best things about having boys, when they have to peep, they just peep.

 Kings of the mountain!

 Matt took a short jaunt to a nearby river to fly fish.  Jonas loved watching him through his binoculars and admiring his daddy's ability to fish.

 Back at the campfire one last night.  Jonas and Grandmom snuggled together with savory s'mores and reading Jonas' favorite books 'Magic Tree House'.  They both were in heaven!

Welcoming Summer Break

It's that time of year again when our lives start becoming less stressed and trips are planned.  Summer break is here!  

 My annual golf trip to Canada with my brothers and dad was last weekend.  It seems like every year gets better or I forget how much fun it is to play golf in the Northwest. By the end of the tournament, I won back my money that I put in plus $4.  From being searched at the Canada border coming in to burning brakes in my dad's van to Chad being questioned coming back to Washington(someone has the same name as him with a warrant arrest), made it a wild trip! I always look forward to this trip and so glad my family and I make it happen every year.

While I was away, Matt stayed home with the boys and finished school.  This school year, Matt was chosen by the senior class to be their teacher speaker.  I was sad to miss it but apparently, he received a standing ovation and "it was all good". His 4 points was: Live life with a song(which he actually sang out loud), You are a product of the groups you are a part of, Education is more than the knowledge and skills that you have acquired to aid you in getting a job, and You can change the world(in which he used a children's book...he is a super dad). Matt was so courageous and brave with the things he said.  He even said that 'there is a God and He is good.' WOW!

 The day I came home, Silas and I played golf out back.  We played for hours and he wanted to learn the skills to swing.  

Last day of school was yesterday!  Wahoo!  Jonas and Silas made a Welcome to Summer banner for Matt.  He was greeted with us jumping out from our hiding space saying 'surprise welcome home' and a homemade chocolate chip cookie.  

Summer is here and the events are planned and in full swing.