And there's more......

In between all the camping and traveling we were, surprisingly, able to fit in some other fun stuff!  Since Brooklynn was in school all day last year, I was anxiously awaiting the summer to get to see her all day and take her to her favorite places.  I absolutely love taking the girls places and seeing them just let loose and have fun!

Steve got Rockies tickets to a game in the suite again.  The girls love watching the ball game with unlimited food and drinks, so we just load them up and let them go.  They also get a "special meeting" with Dinger for only suite holders.  What a life!

Beautiful Colorado sunset

 Brooklynn loved going back to the WOW museum!

 Zoo day with friends!  These girls entertained the group while us mommies got some drinks.

 Steve and I were lucky enough to see Zach Brown Band in concert (the only concert played at Coors Field).  Very entertaining and now we're fans!

Dad calling the bullpen after Walt Weiss is fired!

We had a nice tour of Coors Field and lived out our Major League dreams! 

 BNL concert at Red Rocks (Barenaked Ladies for the youngins')

They rocked it, but I didn't realize we were so old after Steve's coworkers had no idea who they were!

Skate City with the big girls!

We were gearing up for all the spirit nights this school year.

Enjoying a picnic at the Botanic Gardens

 The City of Thornton had a circus perform at the community center, and it was so cute!  I had to get a picture of the girls with the mermaid and pirates.

Zoo Day with Kenz

 We finally made it out to the Denver Art Museum with J.D. & Sophia!

Through a grant they have free admission for kids, and it was worth the trip.  The girls loved it, although they were a little weirded out by the nudity paintings.  We all had to giggle a little.

 Right before school started back up we met Jan & Forney for dinner at the infamous Casa Bonita.  

For our annual "Last Day of Summer" I took the girls to Boondocks for some bowling and arcade games.  Ady just had to carry the 7 lb. ball on her own!

We've decided this was our best summer to date!  We had such a great time camping as a family, visiting the Thompsons in California, and spending time in the mountains for the family reunion.  It's always bittersweet sending the girls back to school, but I'm glad we took full advantage of our time together this summer.

The Rieds are Back in Town

My mom's crazy large family (somehow her mom raised 10 kids) started throwing family reunions in celebration of my grandparents' 50th anniversary, but that was 22 years ago.  They made it a tradition to get together every 2 years (usually in Olean, NY) and it was always a good turnout and a fun time.  Exactly 20 years ago we all met in Colorado Springs for a reunion.  The tradition was lost when my grandparents became ill and eventually passed.  One day, talking to my aunt, and mentioning how much I missed the reunions, she told me, "It's going to have to be your generation that takes over."  With my personality that became my new mission - get as many family members together again!  

It was a much larger undertaking than I anticipated, but after months of planning the weekend finally arrived.  Of course I'm not sure how much sleep I had the week before, but nonetheless, I was excited to see everyone together again.  Our destination - Silverthorne, CO!  

We shared a few 5-bedroom condos, that had the most amazing view (which I had no idea they would)!  The out-of-town relatives were blown away by the beauty of Colorado, and I proudly had to agree, but I also have to admit that sometimes I take the scenery for granted.   Sometimes it takes someone in your ear reminding you how lucky to live in a place to truly appreciate it, and this weekend did exactly that!

*I have few pics of the rest of the family, so this is only a small snipit of the reunion!

The plan was dinner each evening together at the clubhouse and the days were free to choice.  Our girls were content with swimming the entire day, so we had to literally drag them out to do other stuff.  One day I came over to the pool to find Steve supervising all 5 girls....what a guy!

The first day we did an easy 3-mile hike that was literally in the backyard of the condos.  About half of the family trekked along.  We made it out of the hike with only a few cuts and bruises....success!

 Lily Pad Lake

 The next day we were off to Keystone's Kidtopia, a massive kids event with free activities.  How could we resist?  We had Kenz and Carlaen along for the ride, and the looks we got from people thinking we had 5 girls were hilarious.  Haha!

 Riding the gondola in Breckenridge

 Bubble pit at Kidtopia

 Making crafts

Although the days were fun spending with the kids on our mini-vaca, my favorite part was getting together with everyone for dinner.  The kids enjoyed learning new games from Uncle David and Aunt Ann and exploring the woods with their 2nd cousins, while we were able to catch up with everyone and even meet the newbies.  

In celebration of my grandma, Uncle Greg gave a See's candy toast, which was a perfect way to honor the wonderful people who brought us all together.  This was the first reunion without them, and of course it felt different and empty, but I know grandma was smiling down on us just ecstatic we were all together again.  She always loved seeing everyone together having a good time!

 On the last night we all braved the engineering of the staircase for a group shot.  My cousin Matt is an excellent photographer and set this up just perfectly, making sure to snap the picture before we all tumbled.  

 Overall, it was a lot of work.  A lot of planning.  A lot of details.  But at the end I could truly say it was all worth it, and I'd probably do it again (mostly because I'm crazy like that).  We missed a few cousins and kids, so hopefully we can get them out next time.

"Like branches on a tree we grow in all directions, but our roots remain as one."

Cali or Bust!

 The girls had been begging us to take them to California to visit the Thompsons, so we knew we were going to have to take the plunge and buy 5 plane tickets (ouch)!  The girls were stoked and had been telling everyone all summer about their upcoming vacation, but of course the usual response was, "So are you going to Disney Land?"  After lots of explaining the breadth of California, they were content with our plans.

We left Wednesday a.m. almost taking up an entire row.  Wow!

 They are ready!  They were all so good on the flight, and the only entertainment needed was a coloring book.  

 Once we deplaned Ady was complaining she couldn't walk (story of "the baby") so Chandler offered to carry her if she took Chandler's bag.  Too funny!

 Thursday morning we decided to take it easy and went to the local aquatic center.  The kids enjoyed the slides and swimming until they were exhausted.

 Friday morning we all headed to Monterey for the night.  Our first stop - the aquarium.  I hadn't been there in almost 20 years, but I remembered it was a fun place, and it surely didn't disappoint.  The kids loved the interactive exhibits and were mesmerized by the large aquarium of sharks and tuna.

All the kids watching the tide observation area

 Beautiful weather on the bay

 Ady explaining to Callen how the tide pools work

 Brooklynn testing the adaptations the starfish and anemones

 Saturday morning was our much-anticipated whale-watching tour.  The girls had been waiting months for this, and we couldn't wait to see their excitement.  The tour started out beautifully - just a nice cool day on the bay.  The girls loved standing at the bow of the boat.

 We spotted some dolphins early, and they were so playful.  Brooklynn was in heaven watching them swim with the front of the boat while she dangled over.

 We actually were able to see a few blue whales, which is pretty rare.  

And some humpbacks!

 The sea lions as we left shore

 First rate view!

 Towards the middle of the ride the water became super choppy.  The little kids just wanted to stay inside, but that made us adults seasick, so luckily we had Josh to take the them inside while we tried not to gag outside.  I've never wanted off a boat so bad!

After we got our sea legs back we drove back to Carrie and Josh's and headed to Gilroy Gardens on Sunday.  It's a cute amusement park catering to the younger kids, so it was perfect for us!  The weather was beautiful and the girls had a blast.  We even taught Ady how to stand on her tippy toes so she could ride everything.

Ady driving - watch out!

 Chandler played it cool in her classic car

 Ferris Wheel

She had to ride everything - even if she seemed too big!

 Big swings!

 One of our favorite memories was just hanging out at night with the Thompson clan.  They built this outdoor kitchen, so we'd prepare meals and eat out there every night while the kids played.  It made it feel more like vacation!

Reading with the girls

 Snow cone time on the deck!

Our last full day in Cali was spent at Capitola Beach.  It's a quaint town with a beautiful beach, and Mondays are a good day to hang there!  Our girls would be beach bums if they lived anywhere near a beach, because they love it!  We had a great time building sand castles, dipping in the water, and burying ourselves.

 Callen was tough making sure to not get washed away

 This girl.....seriously!

 Ady had to get the ceremonial burial - her first ever!

 Beach Family

We stole a boy.....finally!

On our way home I was insistent on picking some strawberries.  There's nothing better than picking and eating the freshest fruits and veggies.  They were delicious!

Although family vacations trips are not relaxing and easy, they are the best!  Just to see the excitement from the girls makes all the money and work worth it!  It's always sad saying goodbye to our family, but we are so lucky they visit often, so until next time.....we will miss you Thompsons!