Oct 1: more Sundance Trail Ranch

Day 2, we stepped out our cabin door to these beautiful woods on our way to breakfast. The boys loved the hammock at the bottom of the steps and got sidetracked there whenever we passed it.




I was really hoping this would be Isaac's day to try riding. I didn't want to force him of course, but I thought he'd love it once he did it. At breakfast, I got him to agree to get on the horse as long as I was right next to him. So just before 10, we slowly made our way to the ring.






This time Jonah watched while Isaac went first.


I was thrilled that Isaac didn't back out. And once on the horse, he grinned all the way around the ring, just like Jonah had the day before.






You can see the pride on his face this time as he watches Jonah go next. He did it, and he loved it.




Jonah had again demanded to ride a horse, and though he seemed a little more serious the second day, he still loved it.


Our turn again.


Later that afternoon, my parents went to explore the tiny town while we all napped. They returned to find us hanging out on the front steps, a rare chance to capture us all in the same frame.

Sept 29-30: Sundance Trail Ranch

My parents came to visit in late September, a beautiful time to be in Colorado, so we headed to the mountains for a long weekend. My dad wanted a place where the boys could have space to run and explore, and he knew I'd love to get on a horse again, so I found a beautiful, low-key, family-owned ranch in northern Colorado called Sundance Trail. It was just a wooded valley with a lodge, some cabins, great homemade food, and daily rides. The eggs came from the chicken coop; all the baked goods were made from scratch - we ate well. Adam had to work for part of each day, but we still all managed to relax and savor the quiet. Just a half hour west of Fort Collins, the sky was still full of stars at night.


We all stayed in a cabin together, my parents on one side and the four of us in two rooms on the other side. It was a wonderful weekend, ending in my Dad's 60th birthday on Sunday!

The first morning, all the riders had to watch a 30-minute video about horsemanship. It featured Dan, the genial owner of the ranch, and a sweetly obnoxious horse who kept trying to hog the camera. I found it pretty interesting, but for most, it is probably a little slow. Isaac sat intently in front of the TV and seemed to be absorbing every word, while Jonah climbed in my mom's lap and distracted us all with his antics. This series of photos, of two of my favorite people in the world, brings such a smile to my face every time I look at it.








After listening to all the safety concerns on the video, Isaac was too nervous to get on a horse.


So the only ring rider of the day was Jonah, who said "I want go ride horse!"


And once on, he was all smiles.


Adam and I walked nearby in case he abruptly decided to jump off -








but he did great. He held onto the horn and rode two times around the ring before he said "get off."




The it was our turn! The first day we just walked, but I was so happy to be in a saddle again that I didn't mind. And each of the three days, we got to canter (or lope, as they say in western riding) a little more.


We rode with minds at ease - my parents watched the boys and let them explore the lake, the woods, the rocks. We waved to them when we passed by.








The Red Feather Lakes region doesn't have the views of snow-capped peaks that have made Colorado famous, but we had beautiful woods and meadows to walk in, plus everywhere piles of craggy rocks great for climbing. In the afternoon, while Adam was working, we took a walk down the dirt road outside our cabin door.


Isaac walked ahead with DeeDa, while Babop stayed back with Jonah to let him explore at his own pace. They were happy boys.






Isaac and I climbed up on the rocks to get a view of the nearby mountains. The sun is in his eyes here, but he loved practicing his climbing and "teaching" me how to do it. When my parents walked back with Jonah, I stayed with Isaac to climb a little longer, until I saw a very large cat track in the dusty earth and hurried us out of there.

Jonah's Birthday!

Every time I asked Jonah what he wanted to do on his birthday, he said "Go Tiny Town. Meet Ni-ah-na (Bianca)." He would often add other favorites too like Kelly and Roman or Adler.

Sadly, Tiny Town's website announced that it had closed for the season. I thought Jonah would love the zoo as a second choice, and he seemed interested, so we did that instead. We met Holden and Adler and Landon, plus the mamas, at the zoo on the morning of his birthday.

The boys had a great time again, and Jonah was in awe or shock that all these storybook animals could actually exist in real life before his eyes. He was in such awe that he was actually ready to leave after a bit - it was overwhelming!

Here is Isaac, cradling the water bottle that he later put down in the gift shop and left there. Then he cried about it all the way home, poor guy.


A friendly giraffe.


The last thing we did at the zoo before heading out was take a ride on the train, Jonah's choice. It was pretty fun.


We had good food already made for dinner that night, so we decided to celebrate with a birthday lunch. Adam left work to meet us for "pee-pul" at Pasquini's, our neighborhood pizzeria where the boys are always torn between the spaghetti and the pizza. It was a treat for us all to have DaDa eat lunch with us on a Tuesday. The boys had a great time, and when we went home for naps, Jonah slept for hours.

Sept 25: Jonah's birthday gathering

For his birthday, Jonah wanted mac and cheese and chocolate pie. So we invited Adler, Holden, Bianca and Roman, along with their families and his wonderful caretaker Kelly, to our house for dinner and lots of playtime.
In honor of Jonah's love of hats, I asked everyone to come in their favorite headpiece. Even our family was searching for hats last-minute and didn't come up with much, and Kelly was the one awesome guest who came in a Derby-style sunhat. Since our little guy reads himself books much like this - "He wear hat...He NOT wear hat...He wear sunglasses!..." - I am sure he noticed.


Jonah and all the boys had the best time. They got along so well and were quite a gang running around together.


The mac and cheese turned out way better than I had hoped, except maybe a touch too much mustard, and the chocolate pie was so yummy. After a week of researching the perfect recipe for each, I have two keepers. I decorated the pie with peanut butter chips, in honor of Jonah's new year.