2nd post in September

Goodbye Colorado (stopped at Garden of the Gods on our way out of Colorado).

Ethan loves camo and guns...he's ready for Texas.

Ethan loves Camo and Eliza loves pink.

Can you find Ethan?

Ethan on a zip line at Winter Park ski resort. Leah wanted to ride an alpine slide before we left Colorado, so I took her to Winter Park, home of Colorado's longest apline slide. Our friends, the Stewarts joined us. Going to miss the Stewarts.

Ethan and Tanner relaxing.

Eliza playing on the playground in Winter Park.

Fairwell to our adopted family.

Leah and Ethan on their way up the lift to the alpine slide.

Pikes Peak "America's Mountain".

The train ride up is steep, the pics don't do justice of how steep the moutain is.

The scenery is breathtaking.

Our Summer

Leah & I climbed mt Bierstadt (14,065 feet) for a date in July. The view was great.

Leah near the top above a glacial lake and snow field.

Start of the hike up, Mt. Bierstadt is the peak on on the right.

Leah made bubbles for the kids and they had a ball making giant bubbles.

Ethan making bubbles bigger than he.

Our go to park Deer Creek, not far from us and absolutely beautiful.

That day we brought Ethan's monster trucks and rolled them down the smooth sandstone.

Playing in the river at Bellview Park.

Playing miniature golf and Ethan showing his spiderman skills off.

Ethan is the next golf pro...miniature golf pro, not as glamorous as regular golf but much more fun.

Ethan and Eliza on the train at Bellview Park.

Ethan after his Art/Nature summer camp, he made the objects in his hands and the pink shirt.

Our wards 4th of July day parade, Ethan's bicycle decked out in the Red, White, and Blue waiting as the lead of the parade.

Ethan at Lakeside Amusement Park, its a ghetto park but free from summer reading.

Eliza's favorite ride at the park, she loves to drive anything with a steering wheel.

Family reunion on Galveston Island, Leah and Roz relaxing in the ocean breeze.

Ethan and Elle walking on the beach at sunset, the cousins had a great time together.

Ethan wore his arm floaties while in the water and while playing in the sand.

My two girls the first day on the beach.

Eliza's first steps in the water, we could always find our way back to the beach house because of the water tower next to it.

We are going to miss Colorado so much, one last visit to our favorite Deer Creek Park.

Eliza doing what Eliza does best....looking cute.

Stud...rocking the bow tie, and its a real one too.

Ethan on a paleo dig.

Culture, Cars, and Cold Feet

Train ride to downtown Denver for the annual sidewalk chalk art festival, or as Eliza would say too too ride.

Climbing on the Big Blue Bear downtown.

Getting a closer look.

All tuckered out after looking at all that sidewalk art, Ethan wants to get home so he can draw on our sidewalk.

Too much sidewalk art for this little one. Below is Ethan enjoying some of the work on display.

Ok so I (Mark) have a bit of a vice, I like expensive cars, not hot rods, not muscle cars, but exotics. And I have no qualms about borrowing these on occasion and "test driving" them at reasonable speed (reasonable being defined as anything less than the speed of light). Above is the new Lotus Evora S....wow is she pretty, powered by a 300hp lexus sources V6 and perfectly balanced, drives like she is on rails. This time it has a back seat so the kids came along for the ride. To date I have borrowed a number of Porsches, Masaraties, BMW, Lotuses, and some others. The most expensive vehicle I have borrowed was $480,000, but thats another post.

Suprisingly Leah thought this one was nice looking, and the kids loved it too, Back at the dealership Eliza called a Ferrari California a mini and she wanted to sit in it.

Back up to St. Mary's Glacier, weather was nice but a bit of snow still up at 10,000 feet. As you may be able to sermise from our choice of footwear we had anticipated less snow. No matter we hiked it anyway with Ethan leading the way.

Eliza got tired of carrying daddy so I carried her for a short while.

Muscle mountain man. The glacier is buried under the snow on the slope on the other side of the frozen lake.

Enjoying the walk, the sun and warm air and snow.