Part Eight: Darcy & Dave's House

After a wonderful day in the Tetons, the boys and I headed back to Colorado to visit Grandma & Grandpa J again. We had a few other things on our To-Do List like getting a Slurpee, going to the BIG REI in downtown Denver and meeting up with our dear friends, Darcy & Dave. Daddy had more climbing plans with Mr. Steve so we left him car-less, kid-less, and wife-less for a few days but we sure did miss him.

When we were downtown Denver at Confluence Park, I found out that Darcy & Dave were home so we decided to make the extra trip to Colorado Spring (Manitou Springs) to see the Hurlberts! It was well worth the drive and such a treat to spend the night with dear friends. We had a blast! It did make me a sad that we couldn't see all our CS friends...we'll have to make a special (longer) trip next time.

Just for a little break down...Darcy and I have known each other our entire lives. Our parents were friends before we were thought of and since being infants...we've been friends. I love this girl! Now, I love this girl and her husband and her, Little B, who she is waiting to adopt, oh, and the puppies to of course!

Lucas is also in love....every since he can remember, he's loved Mrs. Darc!
He does not really love dogs. However, he liked being the center of attention and control with his cereal in hand. Great dogs help ease the fear too.
Axel loved all the new toys to explore.
We built a fort...And made cookies...
And got to learn ALL about the espresso machine. Lucas & Dave made yummy, yummy Lattes.
Darcy & Dave are expecting to bring home Little B early 2010. It's been quite the journey and you can read more about it here: Darcy & Dave's Adoption Journey.

There was a lot of talk about adoption which brought up the question from Lucas, "What's adoption Mommy?" We explained the best we could and without missing a beat, Lucas turned to Darcy and said, "Darcy do you want to be Axel's Mommy?" Darcy about died laughing...like the rest of us. Lucas was trying to get rid of Axel and this seemed to be perfect in his mind...helps out me...helps out her. Perfect! Little stinker bug!
There was a little jealousy in the house. Check out Wallace in the back ground...he was not too sure about these little critters taking all his Mommy's attention away from him. What a great pup but a pouter too. So cute!
Nice try Lucas but sorry, Axel is coming home with us. :)

Here's my girl Darcy!Then, it was off to the Garden of the Gods for a quick hike and a quick trip to the old neighborhood. Our house looks amazing, we have such wonderful renters and neighbors and yes, we miss Colorado.
Thank you Darcy & Dave! We love and miss you and can't wait to meet Little B! :)

Part Seven: Day at the Grand Tetons

We couldn't go to Wyoming without going to the Grand Tetons. Mike and I have spent many hours, days, nights in this amazing mountain range while we were kid-free and living nearby in Utah. It was so fun to take our whole family this time around. The itinerary has changed over the years and instead of waking up at 2am to climb the Grand, we woke up at 6am and drove to Jenny Lake for a boat ride to the trail head of Cascade Canyon. With snacks, packs and kiddos we hiked back about 3 miles in. What a day! It was soooo beautiful!
There's those mountains we love so much.
We even spotted a Bald Eagle as we arrived at the trail head.Lucas is such a good hiker. He had no problem with this trail which after the first section is actually really flat. Great for running if you wanted to do something crazy like that. :)
And the view...AMAZING! If you've never been to the Tetons (Darcy) it is something you must go see! :)Throwing a few rocks is always fun.
Shoulder rides are pretty good too. :)Photos don't give the feel of really being there but we soaked it up as much as possible.
I heard some grunting along the trail so Mike set off to explore while I took the boys further down the trail to keep things quiet. To Daddy's surprise, there was a family of moose. However, they were content to sit down in the shade for most of the time. Daddy was patient and finally got a nice shot.
After Daddy stalked the moose for a few hours while we made bow & arrows, we realized that we only had one hour to get back to the boat. Out came the baby bjorn for Axel and in the pack back went Lucas. Mike and I literally RAN back to the boat...3 miles or so and yes, we made it. Phew! If not, it would have been an extra 2 miles to hike around the lake.
As we were headed out of town, we saw a gaggle of cars at Oxbow Lookout. Again, Mike set out with camera to investigate. Mommy and the boys played with our new bow & arrow and hung out at the car. Wildlife photography and two loud little boys don't really go hand in hand. We made it work because Daddy got some great photos...way more than I have posted.

Mike found a family of moose again but this time the big male was protecting his territory from a younger more handsome "teenage" moose. The Bull was not messing around. He scared the younger one across the river and Mike witnessed the whole thing. So cool.

This is where it started: Teenage Moose sees hot Mama Moose
Oh no, Mama Moose has Big Husband:and he doesn't look like one to mess with.

Here's Mama, Papa and Kiddo Moose:
Young Handsome Moose makes a good choice to swim across the river.
Here he is making sure there is really no way to get to the hot Mama Moose. Sorry dude, she's taken!
Here's Papa proudly standing his ground.
What a treat. Mike has been looking for a Bull Moose to take photos of for YEARS. Great photos Daddy!

Another treat happened as we were driving home. We looked in our rear view mirror to see this...definitely worth an extra stop before heading back to Lander. :) Oh how we miss those mountains!
We do love the Tetons.

Part Six: Daddy in the Wind River Range

The Wind Rivers are an amazing mountain range in Wyoming. The trail head is about an 1.5 hour drive from Lander and the hike can be anywhere from 6 to 10 miles in. This is where Mike and Steve spent their weekends trying to climb new routes. The route below is on Mt. Temple and it was a COLD weekend! It gives you a good idea of what Daddy was up to while we stayed warm in Lander. :)

It's beautiful for sure.

Here's the brave crew:
Steve & Mike trying to ignore the fact that they are FREEZING!!!
Another guy named Ty also joined in on the fun.Here Daddy is paving the way up a new route.
And, nothing like a nice little rock to sleep under after a long day of climbing...
The wonderful sunrises helped to get everyone going in the cool mornings.
We sure missed you Daddy but were pretty happy to be sleeping in our cozy RV. :)

Part Five: Day Hike - Lake Louise

We wanted to get out of Lander for a day and do a little exploring. We headed out towards the Dubois, WY and found a wonderful hike and delicious pizza at a place called Paya downtown.

Lake Louise, Wyoming: 8,600 ft, 4.4 miles round trip
After a 10 mile or so dirt road drive, we found the trail head and headed out. Little did we know that this would be one of our new favorite day hike spots. It was BEAUTIFUL!!

Lucas & Mike happy to be in the mountains again.

Axel and Mommy were super happy too....although Axel looks a little uncertain at this point.
The hike went through so many twists and turns and wonderful little tree groves and rocky out crops.
We even found this big wasp nest!
We had to stop for a little snack to take in the view...
of Lake Louise!

Great spot to take a break and remember how much we love the mountains.
Lucas had his sprayer so he was happy. This little trooper did the WHOLE hike by himself. We were very impressed with his hiking skills.
I thought it was the perfect spot to get a photo of the boys together and to my surprise, Lucas wanted to cooperate. It started off so well...
Then Axel heard, "CCCCCCCCCHHHHHHHEEESSSSSSSSSSSEEEE!" over and over and over and it REALLY scared him...
and I was able to get the cutest sad face photo ever! I love it and after some big hugs he was a happy boy again.
Then, it was back to the car with a little side trip to the waterfall.

Awesome day!!

Still to come:
Part Six: Daddy in the Wind River Range
Part Seven: Day at the Grand Tetons
Part Eight: Quick Colorado Springs Trip
Part Nine: Home Sweet Home