Tuesday, December 9, 2014

Boone's 2nd Birthday

While my parents were in Colorado, it was Boone's second birthday! We decided to book a trip on a train that went through the mountains since Boone is obsessed with all things train (and truck and construction!) Here are a few pictures from his big day!


Getting the birthday boy up out of bed!


Dad took the day off of work and Boone was excited to see Jeff!




Donuts for breakfast!


Onto the train! Boone was amazed!


Nana and Papa came along for the ride.


The birthday boy!









My mom got Boone a little train and he played with it the entire ride!


Our family!


Meeting the "conductor" at the end!




After we got home, Boone opened a few presents! 



A bubble mower!


Didn't take him long to start playing!



Trucks to play outside.


Birthday cookie cake for Boone with a train theme! We had lasagna for his birthday dinner since it is one of his favorites (if a two-year-old can actually have favorite food!)



Blowing out the candles on his 2nd birthday!

We love you Boone-man! We are so proud of the little boy you are becoming and can't wait to see what the next year holds for you. You are loved beyond words and we pray that God uses you in big ways in His plan. Thank you for all the fun and joy you have brought into our lives!


The Sutterfields End of the Summer Visit

At the end of August, my parent's decided to come up for a week around Boone's birthday. We picked them up from the airport and headed directly to the mountains to spend Labor Day weekend in Winter Park. We grew up going skiing in Winter Park, but my parents had never been there in the summer, so they wanted to experience what it was like.


When we got into town they were having a festival at one of the local shopping areas. We walked around and heard a bit of music.


Boone and mom checking out the statue!


The next day we drove through Rocky Mountain National Park. The weather wasn't great, but it was still a  pretty drive (and COLD at the top!)


Near the peak of the park is a gift shop and visitor center. Boone really loved the little ranger costume's binoculars!



Later that night we went and checked out a local park. It was a really neat park and Boone had a blast.


Boone playing with Dad



Probably some of the last blooms for these flowers. It was already getting chilly while we were there, so I'm sure snow wasn't too far away.

Once we got back in town, we decided to check out some things in Denver that we hadn't had the chance to see yet. One of those places is the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. My dad was anxious to see this museum, because he had heard it was really neat. 


Boone and Papa checking out fossils.


They had an awesome kids area that was free with admission to the museum. It had just opened last summer and Boone LOVED it!


Playing in the water with Nana.




Boone checking out the nature lesson.


Dinosaur skeletons! There were several and Boone seemed to really enjoy seeing them!


Boone and Nana and Papa. They all seemed to have a lot of fun!




Tuesday, December 2, 2014

Camping in Estes Park

Towards the end of July, we decided to head up to Estes Park and camp for a weekend. We had heard a lot about Estes Park and how much so many people enjoyed the area. We booked the last available site at the county campground, loaded up our car with gear and food and headed out.


Our campground bordered Rocky Mountain National Park. We spent Saturday driving the main road through the park. 


Boone loved the views. He definitely loves the outdoors and climbing on the rocks, so we had to keep an eye on him and make sure he didn't get too far from us.




We stopped at one trail and Boone and Jeff hiked up to some snow that was still in the area. (I don't think you were technically supposed to hike up that far! But they had fun!)


It was starting to get a bit cool at this point. We heard that in the summer it is very typical to have beautiful mornings and then bad thunderstorms in the afternoon, so it was better to get out and explore in the mornings. A few people had actually been hit by lightening earlier in the summer, so we didn't want to take any chances.


My favorite picture from the weekend! So beautiful!


Our little campsite. It actually was a great campground and pretty cheap. We did get some heavy rains in the afternoons, but we still had a great time. We checked out the town of Estes Park on one of the afternoons, but we weren't super impressed. It seemed like a lot of tourist trap-type stores and it was SO crowded. We much preferred hanging out at our little piece of nature.

We are so glad we've taken Boone camping both summers so far. Although it is a lot of work, we really enjoy getting out and making some memories as a family!

Until next time (as we try to catch up),

Jeff, Emily + Boone