An adventure 7 years in the making

I'm almost embarrassed to write this post.  Bryan and I moved out here in July 2004. Just a little over a month after we were married.  We bought a house in Gering. From our house, you can see a few things.  If you look out one direction you see the Gering Pool.  We've spent hours there-mostly since the boys have come into our lives.  If you look out back, you can see the Wildcat Hills.  We have hiked in those.  If you look in another direction, you will see something that most people think of when they know where Gering is: Scotts Bluff National Monument. I have admired the beauty of the Monument on snowy mornings and spring days.  I have walked the path at the base of it to get some fresh air.  I have driven to to the top at Christmastime to see the beautiful view.  Last weekend I did something that I should have done long ago. I finally hiked it.  Now I should tell you that we hiked down it...I don't think a certain 5-year old would have been too thrilled about going up and down the 1.6 mile path.  


Here are some pictures from the hike:

The beginning!

Don't drop your brother down the side of the monument!!!!!

Cool rocks

We even remembered to get a family picture

This is awesome!!!

Can anyone explain to me why 95% of the flowers we saw were yellow?  Especially at the top. 

On our way

Tunnels are awesome! 

The boys

Victory!

He said it was a great time, but he was happy to be done.

It won't be another 7 years before I hike it again.  Bryan is ready to hike the whole thing as soon as we are in town to do it...which might be another 7 years if you know our schedule!!

Mini-Vacation

This year instead of one big trip to a new place, we have decided to take a few smaller trips. When our plans for the 4th of July needed some tweaking an we were looking at being home for yet another weekend, Bryan took to the internet to see where we could go on a quick trip.  We decided on Breckenridge, CO.  It was a great mini-vacation.

Sam is learning that with us, the road trips are endless.

Mason's new way to entertain himself on the road.  He loved going through the mountains and looking for waterfalls.  He thought the Eisenhower tunnel was pretty cool.

Some of our favorite eats for the trip were: pizza at Pizza Parlor, dessert at Rocky Mountain Cupcakes, breakfast at Cool River Coffee House.  Per our tradition, we checked out the local brewery, Breckenridge Brewery. 

Exploring Breckenridge

The Peak 8 Fun Park provided us with lots of entertainment.

Free gondola ride up the mountain.

After the looooonnnnggg line, Mason thought it was great.

We even got to see a great patriotic parade while we were there.  

We stopped in Frisco at the Dillon Reservoir.

Learning how to skip rocks

Putting his feet in the water

Sam enjoyed being outside

Just a little angled, but a family picture to cap off a fun trip.

So excited about something!

We made it home in time to light of fireworks of our own at home and enjoy the fireworks around town.

Happy Independence Day!

First year of T-Ball

Mason played his first season of t-ball this summer. He had lots of fun and I think he will even want to play it again next year. Here are some pictures:

I'm ready!

Swing batter, batter!

The anticipation...

How'd I do??