Bethany Beach, DE 2015

 Ahh summer. What's summer without a beach trip, even if its just for the day?
Because my dad broke his fibula in a motorcycle in late June they didn't come to Colorado with us. My parents invited us down with them to the beach for the week. Of course we had to go! (Dave stayed home to work. He's a little weird and doesn't love the beach.)
In years past Alex is so hesitant about the ocean. This year, he dove right in (figuratively). On the first day he was eager to get his feet wet and play in the surf. It was so delightful! You can tell by this picture to the right how much Lilia loves the ocean!

Lewes, DE

 We love to make the 30 minute drive up to historic Lewes. The town just screams "New England" with it's cedar shake houses, fun colors, and beautiful flower boxes.
We visit the candy shop, my mom and I do some shopping, and we always eat dinner at Agave. The mexican food there is so fresh and so incredible; it is worth the 45 min-2 hour wait. We play it smart and put our name in by 4:45 ish. At that point it is only a 45 minute wait. They don't take reservations.

After dinner we grab some ice cream (if there's room in our bellies) and hang out in town before heading down to the bay.

This year we played it smart! Usually we are dressed nice and the kids just have to put their feet in the water. So this year we packed bathing suits and towels. They still only got their feet wet, but it worked out well.


I love this picture of my parents (below). It was a LOT of work for my dad to make his way across the thankfully flat sand, down to the bay, but he did it. My mom stood by him for support, both mentally and physically. It is such a beautiful picture representing 40 years of marriage.

Lewes has the best stones with many interesting shapes and colors. I have more than I need at this point so I just helped the kids find things of interest to them.
Alex took up a crab shell collection. We tried to bring a couple home, but once they are dried out they break so easily. However there is nothing more fun than combing the beach for treasures!

Bethany: in town/the boardwalk

Blue Heron

 Because my dad was on crutches still he couldn't go on the beach each day with us. One evening we went into Bethany to get ice cream and walk around. This is as close to the beach as my dad got. The good thing about all this is he only broke his fibula; things could have been worse! The other good thing is that this is all temporary! For a week my dad was able to change up the scenery of home and exchange it for the beach house. He joined us at the pool each afternoon, and next summer he will be as good as new!

Sunflowers in our back yard

Colorado summer 2015

 This is a conference year for Cru. So since we had to be in CO for work, we went out about 12 days early to spend time with family.
We went with Pete and Julie to their favorite rock climbing gym, City Rock. It was fantastic. It was our first time going and we loved it! Out of the two kids I thought Alex would tear it up and Lilia would be fearful of the height, but it was reversed. Alex didn't love it and Lilia was a natural. In fact when we were at the conference, her and Julie went together.

 So Pete was belaying Lilia and he was challenging her to go to the top of the red line. The higher she got she was getting a bit fearful. Dave and I auto-belayed in and raced up to her to encourage her to keep going. It worked! As you can see she made it to the top (pictured below).

Cousins!!!

Lilia reading to Blake about Thomas - her current favorite.

Playing Legos with Grandpop

Lilia and her BDF (best dog friend)

Alex rock climbing

Julie rocked this green line. I captured a few shots of her in action.

And what's a trip to Colorado without seeing a double rainbow?

Fourth of July in Colorado

 We hiked the morning of the fourth with Pete, Julie and Blake. They took us to a local spot about 10 minutes from their house. It is a loop that starts and ends in the meadows, and the middle is under the shade of pine trees.

View from the top. Pikes peak is in the far distance.

Blake is a mama's girl. Julie is such an incredible mom. She is so selfless and she just enjoys motherhood. It's so fun to watch her interact with Blake, always with a smile on her face.

The dandilions here are massive. Maybe its the air or the sun. They were fun to pull apart and watch the seeds dance through the air.









Out on the meadow Lilia spotted a deer.

 In the original plan with my parents coming out Pete was going to take my dad and I out on a jeep ride through the mountains. We still toyed around with the idea even after my parents couldn't come out. We chose to do it some other time. The kids rode over to the hiking trail in the jeep. They loved it.







After our hike we gathered at Pete and Julie's for a picnic. We had a great time just hanging out. Here is Al and Marilyn with all of their three grandkids. I just love this shot.

Blake loves to swing. She could sty in there all day. She especially loves it when "me" (that's Grammy) pushes. Her second favorite was "Axis."
In the background you can see Lilia doing her favorite chore; raking the pine needles.