Just doing summer over here...

This isn't a typical summer for us.  Sarah was gone for a week and missed two swim meets.  Peter is playing football and has had workouts this summer so he missed a swim meet.  We finally had everyone together and were all at the third swim meet of the season. 

Due to manadatory football practices in August we have moved our Cape Cod trip from the first week of August to 4th of July and the week following which means we will miss the fourth and final regular season swim meet.  We will be home for the county championship but the whole summer swim season has just been different than normal. 

And because of that the whole summer seems differnet.  We would typically try to do two swim practices a day when possible.  Now thanks to all the crazy we are lucky if we get to one swim practice.

But even so, Sarah is enjoying her summer.  The Colorado trip was a blast and she would miss a million swim meets to do it again.  And yesterday I took her to Greensboro for a friend's birthday party.  There was dinner at Mellow Mushroom downtown and of course, pictures.  Because if you don't take pictures with all your besties when you are togheter, then why even get together?

Peter is really enjoying football workouts.  He has never played before but I think he's having a great time.  He enjoys it so much that when I wake him up early for practice, he gets up without any prodding from me.  So that tells me he likes it.  With morning swim practice there's a lot more.....  um,resistance shall we say.

Dan's been in Ireland this week so I've been holding down the fort.  In between the swim meet, swim practice, football practice, a birthday party and dinner with my mom and my brother, we also had a swim party that only Peter went to, a dentist appointment for me, a doctor's appointment for Sarah, and appointment that I went to with my mom, and an eye doctor's appointment for Peter.

And this is why it's a crazy summer for me so far - we haven't fallen into a routine yet and based on the way the calendar looks for July, I think it's going to be more of the same.  I'm just trying to enjoy it all!

Here are a few pictures from the swim meet:

Girl Scouts in Colorado - Days 6, 7, and 8

The girls went white water rafting in Dumont, California at the Colorado Adventure Rafting and Ziplining Company.

Prepare for picture overload!

Off to the rapids!

 And here they are with their guide after the trip!

After they got done Sarah texted me the following in all caps:

RAFTING WAS ONE OF THE COOLEST THINGS I HAVE E V E R DONE

So, I think she had fun rafting!

Later on that afternoon they went back to Red Rocks Amphitheater so they could actually see inside:

 It definitely looks like a great place to see a concert!

Day 7 was rainy so they had to adjust their plans a little but they still had a great day.

They enjoyed the scenery at Sapphire Point in Dillon and fed more chipmunks. 

Frances and Beth their fearless and wonderful leaders!

They went to Epic Discovery Park in Breckenridge but due to the rain weren't able to do everything they wanted to do there but they still had fun and got to ride the Alpine Roller Coaster among other things.

And they had lunch at Sanchos which made up for their bad experience at Casa Bonita.  Everyone said this place had awesome queso and Sarah even texted me a picture of her taco which she said wa the best one she's ever had!

They also shopped for souvenirs and walked around Breckenridge. 

Day 8 was pretty calm.  They had to pack up and leave the AirBnB they stayed in, go to the airport, return the rental car, etc.  nd they managed a stop at Hammond's Candy Factory also.

In front of the Air BnB

One last Starbucks stop for these cuties.

They took a tour of Hammond's Candy factory to see how they chocolate is made and to do some sampling!

On the airport shuttle.

Sarah walked through the door on Thursday at 3:00AM!  She was tired and happy to be home but she had a blast!  She keeps saying she wishes she was back in Colorado. 

I can't thank her leaders Beth and Frances and the chaperone mom, Carolyn enough.  This was a trip of a lifetime for my 15-year-old.  The memories she made will last forever!

Girl Scouts in Colorado - Days 3,4, and 5

The girls were at it again on Day 3!

They did a ropes course at Sky Trek in Castle Rock.

Then they found some snow (well, a little bit anyway) and had a picnic lunch!

Their view during lunch.

Then they headed to the Phoenix Gold Mine where they learned some of the history of gold mining and how to pan for gold.

There were a bunch of chipmunks and ground squirrels outside the mine that loved to be fed.  Sarah would have come home with one of these if she could have.

Then they finished their day with dinner at Casa Bonita.  It's a Mexican restaurant that looks pretty cool on the inside and apparently they do live shows and cliff diving??.  However, Sarah said the food was horrible and she "was grossed out" the whole time they were there.  I can't wait until she gets home to hear more about why she hated it.  Even the leaders said it wasn't great but that the girls made the most out of a bad situation!  HA!

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Sarah said this was part of the inside of the restaurant.

This photo was taken after they left the restaurant.  Their leader asked them how it was an please note Sarah (on the end)

Day 4 apparently started off with a visit to Starbucks which made all the girls happy.  This was going to be a leisurely restful day without as much activity.  They headed to Red Rocks Amphitheater.  It's an outdoor amphitheater built into a rock structure in Morrison, CO.  They climbed all the way to the top to go into it but the couldn't go all the way in. It was closed as they were preparing for a show there that night.

They did more sightseeing and some shopping and then ended their day at Bob's Atomic Burger in Golden.

Dan 5 was a bit rainy but the girls headed to Estes Park  to do some hiking at Rocky Mountain National Park.

After another picnic lunch they headed in to town to do some shopping.

Sarah found a beautiful ring and spent a lot of her souvenir money on it.  She was so excited about it she called to tell us about it.

Isn't it lovely?

And with that, Day 5 came to an end!