Bye, Mary!

Ian picked this bike out, after test-riding three others around University Bikes. He definitively said "this one", we paid for it, then the mechanic checked it over while an anxiously awaiting two and a half year old kept saying "is it ready yet??". The mechanic gave him his bike, he got on, and he didn't get off until he got home (probably about a mile away). This was his second time, ever, on a bike. He's a natural! A few crashes (he does wear his helmet, Gramma!) and some serious hours on the bike later, and he's mastered hills, the brakes, and turns. We just need a helmet for Maggie to ride in the bike seat and we're ready for some family bike rides!
Camping in the Cache la Poudre Canyon (Gorgeous scenery!), Grammy came back from a trip to town with a Lightning McQueen fishing pole for Ian, and a Barbie one for Nora. He loves it! And he caught quite a few "fish" to "cook" on his "camp stove"!
Ian's first encounter with Cocoa Puffs. Judging by the look on his face, I'm glad I wasn't there. Apparently he said "I like this cereal", in contrast to the boring ones Mom usually buys.
Ian and Pops, out for a bike ride around the campground.

Our track record with camping is not so great, in terms of GI illnesses anyway. Last year it was poor Ian (and our very painful neglect to pack Desitin), and this year it was poor me. Matt said he knew I wasn't faking it to get out of sleeping on an air mattress by my 5th or 6th middle-of- the-night trip to the pit toilet. I, not one for middle of the night walks in the dark woods to spider-filled outhouses, could have told him on my first trip that I was not faking it. The next morning I made the decision to cut it short and go home to be sick in the comfort of my own home, Maggie and Max having to come with me for logistics. Neither of them really cared, but I was bummed. It was the right decision, as I was still up during the night for the next two nights, but it was still hard to leave. Ian, sweet Ian, as if to make my departure easier, would barely hug me (too busy with the new fishing pole), and when I pulled out in the car he yelled "Bye, Mary!". He wasn't faking it, either, he didn't once ask for me and he went ahead and had a great time for the next 48 hours. I was glad for that... really, I was. Some quality time with Daddy and the crew, and without Mom and little sister in tow is really rare and valuable. When they returned home, he told me all about the trip, but his favorite story was "the hail story". Another occasion I'm glad I missed (Grammy did the worrying for me since I was not there) was the boys fishing and playing at the Red Feather Lakes when a massive thunder and hail storm developed out of thin air. They had to run for the shelter of a tree, and got there just in time for a huge crack of thunder, literally right over their heads. It made quite an impression on Ian- we even made up a song about it today while playing in the sandbox.

In Maggie news, she has become ever more busy. She's now realized that crawling can get her places... like right next to her brother as he's playing, to the open dishwasher, out the front door, and many other precarious positions. Even better, she's finding, is to have someone hold her hands while she walks all these places. She's not an official cruiser yet, but today at the Barnes & Noble train table she almost became one. She's pulling up on anything she can grab (favorite right now is the TV stand and particularly the DVR with all those pretty lights... this is deja-vous), and is starting to inch along the edges. I had forgotten how many bumps and bruises come with this stage.

Tomorrow night the next phase of summer begins, as Gramma and Grandpa and Morgan arrive, a few days prior to heading up to Breckenridge for the Brown Family Reunion. We can't wait to see all those cousins, and to have another mountain getaway!