Happy October!

Last weekend Casey had 3 days off (in a row!) - which is unheard of this time of year. I was so happy to get some QT with my boys, but I was also eager to get some ME time too. Casey was able to enjoy Friday while Ian was at daycare and I was at work. I am sure he was sort of lost with all that time on his hands, but he wasn't complaining. It was so nice to come home to my family:)

Saturday was an adventure. Maggie and I headed to Ft. Collins on a mission. A mission to find dresses for the upcoming weddings we are going to. We first had to make a stop at this scrapbooking store I've been eyeing for some time. I am told Treasure Box is the oldest and largest scrapbooking store in Colorado. It was good and I found some nice stuff, but I still long for Endless Creations in Green Bay. They were awesome! We then headed to every store we could think of. We tried on many dresses and ultimately were both able to come up with ones we liked. It was so nice to have a day just to myself. The wonderful ending to our day was a pedicure.

While out shopping, I found the cutest rain boots for Ian. I wasn't sure he would like them since the flip flops were a bust this summer. He tends to not like his feet covered. He wants to take off his shoes and socks as soon as he gets home, so I thought he would love sandals. Nope! I just couldn't resist the boots and figured $10 was worth a shot. He loves them! Evidenced by the picture below...

He loves them so much that he asks to put them on every day when we get home. We go upstairs to get his PJ's on after dinner and he runs over to the bin, grabs the boots and says, "On." How adorable. So we put on our PJ's, then boots and he runs around for about 15 minutes. I don't mind - if it helps him burn off more energy than I am all for it! Once I can corral him we read a story or two, then it is boots off and lights out. Ian's favorite book right now is "The Sleepy Little Alphabet." He even sings along for a couple of letters when we sing the ABC's at the end. His favorite letter to shout out is R.

Sunday we headed to the Promenade Shops @ Centerra in Loveland. It is a nice outside mall, also the closest Macy's to us. We needed to get some wedding attire for Casey - a much easier mission in my opinion. White shirt, black pants, tie and you are good to go! It was a beautiful day and probably the last day Ian could get away with wearing shorts and a t-shirt, so we let him play in the fountains for a bit. He was so happy! Running around shouting, "water!" He got soaked, but he loved every minute of it.

This week the Rockies clenched a playoff spot by beating the Milwaukee Brewers. I was fortunate to be at the game last Thursday. My co-workers and I were invited to a roundtable presentation on Consumerism and then got to hang out in a suite to watch the game. It was a chilly day, but we had a great time! I am not into baseball, but I don't mind a game once or twice a season. Plus, it's hard to complain when you get a day away from the office and a view like this.

Found: Love in the shoe aisle

It's been pretty quiet around the Andrews household lately. Ian wasn't himself this past weekend - not sure why. Is is teething, a cold, an earache, or just the general affect of a 20-month old. Who knows?! We still tried to relax and enjoy the weekend as much as we could. Casey did get home early on Saturday, as his boss was ever so kind to relieve him after kickoff, so we went out to dinner as a family. It was a nice treat!


Sunday I connected with my friend, Kate. We took the kids to a local park so they could let off some steam. We didn't get to stay too long though because the winds picked up as the storm moved in. We decided it would be best to leave once we started getting pelted with sand. The kids didn't care though. They were having too much fun together. It was the first time we've had them together where they have noticed one another, it was pretty cool to watch them playing together. We weren't ready to call it quits because of the storm, so when all else fails...shop Target. Right?

The next big thing on our agenda is a trip back to Indiana. A close friend from high school, Bekah, is getting married on October 10th. I am so excited to see her, her family and my old friends! Ian and I talk about our trip to Grandma's house everyday on our car ride to Kristin's. I tell him why we are going back to Indiana, who we are going to see and all the exciting things we will do when we are there. So, I was thinking...why not make a visual for him. We made a Countdown to Grandma's sign and he helped me decorate it with strawberry stickers. Very fitting! Now each morning he can look forward to marking another day off the sign, or rather I can look forward to it;)

Fourteeners

Colorado has 58 mountains with +14,000 feet elevation. That is pretty amazing! Even more amazing, the fact that we have never attempted a summit and we have lived here for almost 3 years. Life is busy, yes. But we should truly take advantage of the beauty we are surrounded by and that is exactly what we decided to do on Friday!

Daycare was closed on Friday and Casey had the day off. I decided to take the day off as well so I could hang with my boys. Casey has to work on Labor Day, so this was our little holiday. Pro: Less people before holiday. Con: Casey doesn't get to hang with us on Monday.

Casey suggested we head up to Mt. Evans; and just in time, as they close on Tuesday for the season. Mt. Evans is the 14th highest 14er in Colorado. It was a gorgeous day! I got everything packed the night before so all we had to do on Friday AM was get dressed, eat breakfast and go! I think I packed our entire pantry, but I wanted to be prepared. You never know what you will find for yourself in the mountains. One thing is for sure - you will always find great photo ops!

Of course, we can't exactly claim this huge feat and brag about our summit since we drove it. But hey, you have to start somewhere. It was a wonderful drive. Spectacular views, but a little nervewracking at times. Hairpin turns at 13,000 feet with no railing. It can make one a bit nervous, but so worth it. I can't imagine how awesome it would be to get that view as your payoff from a whole day of hiking. Here's a little video I took at the top.

Ian had a blast singing, talking and playing with his toys in the back seat. I don't think his ears bothered him too much, but it is hard to tell. He did such a great job keeping himself entertained and he is such a ham! He really digs my old sunglasses. I am thinking it might be time to invest in a pair for him. He just might be ready to keep them on for more than 10 seconds. Ha!

There is a parking lot at the top (elev. 14, 130 ft.) so he could get out and run around once we arrived. It was approximately 40 degrees at the top, about 40 degrees cooler than the temperature at our house (elev. 5052 ft). Ian loved running around the "Castle in the Sky". He bounced all over the place, exploring for about 30 minutes. It was so cool to watch him check everything out. I thought for sure he would be so pooped once he got in the car that he would pass out for a good couple of hours. Yes and no!

We had originally intended to hike the 1/4 mile trail to the actual summit (elev. 14, 264 ft.), but once I saw it I decided not to. It would have been a challenge to get up that slim trail with Ian on my back. We'll check it out when he is older and can walk up himself:) We enjoyed lunch and then headed back down before the storm hit. We drove through snow, sleet and rain on our way back down - where it was sunny and 85 degrees! It was really neat to watch the storm move in too.

Ian was pooped and did pass out, but only for 25 minutes! I guess he wanted to make sure he didn't miss anything. He did amazingly well for that little amount of sleep. We had a lot of fun and are so glad we made the trip. It wasn't our first choice, but a great way to end the summer. We were hoping to make a family trip to Sante Fe for Labor Day weekend, but we had to postpone it since Casey is working all weekend. I would say this was a pretty good replacement and a lot cheaper!