Rice cereal

We fed Kayleigh rice cereal for the first time tonight, mainly in a bid to see if she'll sleep longer than 5 hours at a time. She did okay with it, and Bug, helper dog extraordinaire, was there to lick off her face.

Climbing the ladder

Today, Shane went up on the roof to do something (I don't remember what). As he was walking around on the roof he heard, "Dada! Dada!" from down below. Shane came back over to the ladder and saw a little blond head climbing up after him.

Guess we're going to have to be careful when the ladder is out! So Logan got to go up on the roof for the first time today.

Colorado trip - Day 5

Feeding the CHIPMUNKS! (or "munks")



We had originally planned to go to the Garden of the Gods on Thursday, but after being in the car almost all day on Wednesday, we thought it would be best to go back to Rocky Mountain National Park, go to the waterfall, and feed the chipmunks.


Logan had a great time feeding the little chipmunks. He was a little impatient and would occassionally throw sunflower seeds at them, though when he was really bored, he'd eat the sunflower seeds, husk and all. He had problems holding out his hand, so Daddy had to help him. But how exciting! The little munks were eating the seeds out of his hand!

Kayleigh had a great time just hanging (literally) out in the Baby Bjorn. She fell asleep after a while.

I tried to climb, but the rocks were slick (I'd fallen on Tuesday night walking down a path) and I had Kayleigh strapped on. Let me tell you, it's hard to see a foothold with a baby in front. Almost as bad as being pregnant! But here we are at the base of the waterfall.

Logan and Shane had no problems going up to almost the top of the waterfall. Shane carried Logan up, but Logan had a good time sliding down the rocks on the way down. See those little dots almost in the middle of the picture? Those are the boys.

Logan thought rock climbing and water wading were great and that he should combine them both. So he was climbing over rocks, getting his jeans and shoes soaked. The water wasn't very deep, but it was moving fast. Shane held on to him as he tried to navigate down to bridge where Kayleigh and I were standing.

Logan and Daddy finally climbed out of the water and made their way to the trail. Then we told Logan we were going to go feed the chipmunks again. He ran down the trail telling everyone he met, "Munk! Munk! Munk!" He was a little excited about it...

Daddy and Kayleigh hung out while Logan fed the chipmunks.

After driving around for a while to let the kids nap, we went to a park we had seen on the drive in. There were lots of things to do, and Logan had a great time. He and Daddy had fun in the big swing they had at the park.

Here are Logan and Kayleigh on the swings. I think the "big" swing is one for disabled kids.

There was also a seat that spins around. Just to test the laws of physics, you put your legs out and you slow down. Move your legs in, and you speed up. Logan had a great time doing this with Daddy (though he was a bit dizzy when he got off - walked sideways and then fell down).

Mama wasn't quite as much fun as Daddy. She didn't go as fast.

Kayleigh chillaxes on the swings.

After wearing the kids out at the park, we headed back to the airport to catch the 7:55pm flight to Houston. It was a fun flight. Kayleigh was screaming before we even left the gate, but after screaming her little head off for 15 minutes, she slept most of the flight. Logan was wired. He was jumping on the seats, watching his Baby Faith video (Dog! Lion! Yay yay, Dada!), and crawling over the seats. We got in at midnight, and our plane was being picked up by the RON crew, so we got to see three of Daddy's co-workers. When we finally got to our car and got everything and everyone in, Logan was passed out in his seat. We put him to bed at 1am, and he slept until 11am the next day! Guess Colorado wore him out!

Colorado trip - Day 4

Rocky Mountain National Park - The Loop

On Wednesday, we planned to do the loop around the National Park. We went west on I-70 to Grand Lake, on the other side of the mountains from Estes Park, then on to Trail Ridge Road and out the park through Estes Park.

Driving I-70 through the mountains was amazing. It really looked like the mountains and forests in miniature train sets - complete with an abandoned gold and iron mine. When we got on highway 40, we had a lot of switchbacks and windy roads. I'm glad that Shane was driving!

We stopped by this mountain stream on our way down one side of the mountain. Mainly it was to get some space between the semi in front of us. Man, he was loud - you could hear him engine brake over the sound of our own downshifted engine!

This is part of the Continental Divide. Just after I took this picture, it started sleeting. Brr, cold!

We stopped in Winter Park for gas and food. While we were there, we saw this amazing park! Logan quickly lost interest in his nuggets, and had a great time playing in the sandbox, on the play structure, and watching the skaters at the skate park. It was a great place to stop and let him play for an hour.

When we finally made it into the National Park, we stopped at one of the historic sites, the site of Never Summer Ranch. Not much of it is left, but we thought, since it's in the valley, maybe we'd see some moose. No such luck, but Logan enjoyed being out of the car and running along the path. He also was throwing rocks from one side of the dirt path to the other. In this short video, you can see him running and copying Daddy saying, "Let's go!"

The pine bark beetles are really bad in the park, but since they are a natural part of the ecosystem, very little is done to kill them, except by campsites and historic sites. This tree seems to be bleeding. It made me sad to see so many dead and dying trees. But when you looked around, there are small hopeful trees (both aspen and pine) that are growing up.

We hiked up to the Colorado River, which around here is just a creek. After hiking and playing in the water, Logan had his first experience with a chipmunk. He calls them "munks".

When we got back in the car, we went up Trail Ridge Road to the alpine tundra. It was seriously cold up there, and the light drizzle didn't help much. Kayleigh was not a happy camper when she had the cold wind whipping around her. You can even see fresh snow on the mountains in the background.

There is a designated path to take in the alpine tundra, because it can take it 500 to 1000 years to regrow. The lichens on the rocks change the landscape over time too. They slowly release an acid that eats away at the rocks. These lichens can live a really long time too - I think the sign said 1000 years!

Logan wanted to play in the water up there. You could see your breath, but he wanted to splash! Later, when he was shivering and his lips were blue, I think he may have second guessed that decision to play in every puddle he came across.

My sweet toddler still toddles. He trips over his own feet on occassion, and he did that here too. He fell down and bumped his little forehead. But after getting loving from Daddy and Mama, he was good to go and bump his head again. High altitude is rough on a little guy!

These flowers are called wallflowers. Seriously! There is also one called the yellow paintbrush that looks similar to the orange Indian paintbrush in Texas. What's really cool about these plants is they have a chemical called anthocyanin that is an antifreeze. It converts sunlight into heat to keep these plants from freezing. They also have tiny hairs that reduce heat and moisture loss. The hairs also protect the plant from the UV rays that are twice as potent on the mountain as it is at sea level. Pretty amazing!!

Beautiful mountains and lakes, even with me in the picture! Those would be cold lakes to wakeboard on!

Don't know if you can see them, but there is a herd of elk grazing on this mountainside. Seems that most of the animals spend the day in the trees and in the evening come out to graze. They did this even in the light rain. Think I would have stayed in the trees to keep from getting soaked.

Here is one of the things we wanted to see: a moose. I was able to get within 100 feet of this guy. He was pretty chill and just turned his head to look at me. What an awesome rack! (okay, I'm talking about the moose here)

The aspens are so amazing. White, white trunks, and silvery green leaves that seem to dance in the wind. I just love them. They grow so straight and together.

After driving most of the day, we decided that the Grand Lake side of the National Park was beautiful and more wild. We agreed we would take that road home. So, really, we didn't make a loop, since we didn't go out through Estes Park. But that's okay, we had a fabulous trip back to the hotel.

Colorado trip - Day 3

Estes Park
On Tuesday morning, we went up to Estes Park in the foothills of the Rockies. Contrary to how it sounds, Estes Park is a town, not a park or part of the national park. Yeah, I was confused the first time, too.


Estes Park's main attraction is a street lined with tourist trap shops. If you like to shop for little trinkets, you'd be in heaven. I'm pretty miserly by nature, so shopping and buying are sort of not my favorite things to do. But it was a good place to hang out with Grandma Fran and Grandpa Jerry. Especially since they were taking the kids around! Grandma took Kayleigh in the Baby Bjorn for a while (until her back got sore - guess I'm used to lugging around weight on the front), and Grandpa pushed Logan in the stroller when he got tired.


Logan and Grandpa pick out a cookie. Sweets for the sweet!

Daddy ties Logan's shoes. Just after this picture was taken, Logan was trying to be goofy and get down at the same time. He put his hands behind him to get up and disappeared into the lavender. The plants are pretty tall, so you couldn't see him at all. Then a dirty pair of hands gripped the side of the planter and a crying boy climbed out. He was a little shocked at having fell into the flowers!

A pair of doting grandparents with two cranky grandkids. Kayleigh was hungry and Logan was tired.

The Little Flachman clan.

After going through all the shops in Estes Park, eating lunch, and buying more than we should have (seriously, our suitcases were bulging at the seams!), Fran and Jerry had to get on the road back to Julesburg. We said goodbye to them and loaded the kiddos up and drove into Rocky Mountain National Park.


Rocky Mountain National Park
Our plan on Tuesday was to take a short look at Rocky Mountain National Park close to Estes and then go over Trail Ridge Road (over the mountains) on Wednesday. On our way down to look at the waterfall that was formed after the Lawn Lake Flood in July 1982, we saw this herd of mule deer on the road. They were "squeaking" to talk to one another.

When we got to the waterfall, Shane said there was a fun and winding road he and Mikell had taken years ago with their grandmother's car. He kept telling me that they would stall the car out as they went slowly around the switchbacks. So, yeah, I was all up for getting stalled out on a dirt road in a car with two little kids over a mile above sea level!


But we went for it. We went up the Old Fall River Road. One way only. UP.

Old Fall River Road used to be the only motor way through the mountains. In 1932, it was replaced by Trail Ridge Road. But you can still drive the old road and ascend over 3,000 ft until you meet up with Train Ridge Road at Fall River Pass (11,796 ft).


There is amazing scenery on the road. We drove by several beautiful waterfalls. Here are the boys next to one of the mountain streams.

Just before we got to the top, we stopped to climb up to an outcropping of rock. We must have been over 11,000 ft since we were above the tree line. Anyway, we climbed up, holding the kids, both of us feeling a bit dizzy from the lack of oxygen (though I'm sure Shane would say it's just because he's so sexy that I was feeling dizzy). We made it though! Here are my two handsome boys on the top of the world!

Shane and I were heading back to the car with Logan behind us when we heard this loud "Puft". We looked back at our smiling little 20-month old and asked him, "Logan, did you toot?" The response came in the form of peals of laughter. Why do men find gas so innately funny?

We made it to Fall River Pass and took Trail Ridge Road back down to Estes Park. On the way down, we saw a beautiful rainbow. These are the times you know that God had fun making the world! How magnificent!

When we got back to Estes Park, we needed to fill up our little Mazda CX-7. Amazing that they sell 85 Octane. I'd actually never seen that before!

Once we filled up, we headed back to Denver with two tired kiddos in the back.

Colorado trip - Day 2

On Monday, we went to the Denver Zoo. It was really close to our hotel, about 2 miles away! No, we didn't walk, but we probably could have. It was a nice, overcast day, so it wasn't too hot. Logan had a good time seeing all the animals and walking all over. He was one of the only kids his age not in a stroller!

Kayleigh did pretty good in the stroller. She slept for a good portion of the day (which meant when we got back to the hotel, Logan slept and she didn't). Grandma Fran had a great time pushing her around. Here they are in front of the giraffes.

One of Logan's favorite animals was the polar bear. The polar bear was swimming in his pool, just like Logan likes to do at home. So we must have watched him for 15 minutes. Part of the time, Logan's nose was pressed up to the glass...

Here's the other polar bear, just sitting in his pool. Or maybe he was posing for me. What a nice bear!

Adult male polar bears grow to be about 9.5 feet tall. Here are my boys with the measuring stick and the polar bear. Yeah, they're little runts in comparison!

We also got to see zebras.

These Grevy zebras were showing us their better side, while keeping time in unison with their tails. They're a little out of sync in this picture, but most of the time, they were together. See, they really are black with white stripes - they have rhythm!

Mama and Kayleigh hang out, after Kayleigh got a little snack. Yummy, yummy!

Logan and Grandpa Jerry check out the hyenas, or dogs, as Logan called them.

Logan also enjoyed watching the seals. Maybe he just really likes water mammals. Maybe we should take him to SeaWorld. Anyway, he had a great time watching them swim around, then there was this harbor seal (I think) that was so obviously posing. Such a sweetie!

Logan got to decorate pictures of the elephants with some magnets. Since he was given a whole box of magnets to put on the pictures, he had to use them all to make his masterpiece. This proves, of course, that less isn't always more. He was a really nice boy and took all the magnets off and put them back in the box when he was finished. The ladies there were so impressed.

The elephant in the flesh!! They were little Asian elephants, like the one we rode in Thailand.

We didn't get to do the whole zoo, but we did most of it. Logan fell asleep as we pulled out of the parking lot. When we got back to the hotel, he slept for almost 3 hours. Then we ate dinner at the really nice restaurant in the hotel (one of the 10 best in Denver), and an hour later, he went to bed and slept 12 hours! I guess the zoo tired the little guy out!