2017 Summer Slade reunion travels

2017 we were in charge of the Slade reunion.  Since we had such a good time at the YMCA of the rockies as a family last summer we headed to the YMCA of the Rockies near Granby, CO for a week with all the Slades!  (except Deanna, who was in Florida.)  We stayed overnight at the Academy so I could have a day shopping at IKEA and we could go the 'long way 'round' through Rocky Mountain National Park.  The pass road had just opened up that Monday and the walls of snow along the road at the top were twice as high as our van.  Pretty cool to see!  Also pretty darned cold.  We enjoyed the visitors center  and Noah, as is tradition, became a junior Ranger.                                              

Snow at the top of RMNP.  It were cold

On our way to the reunion we stopped at IKEA

Home of my favorite meatballs

quality cousin time

Tubing!  You get a facefull of water spray on the way down

doing the grunt work

Saw lots of furry friends up at the camp

Fishing for zipline users ;)

showing off for the younger cuzzins

climbing walls are not my forte

Climbing is ABSOLUTELY Isaac's forte

There was roller skating

groovy aunts ice skate

our very modestly sized group

Riding the magic carpet back up was a favorite part of the tubing hill

We did a lot of waiting out thunderstorms between activities

at the end of the reunion we took a hike with Aunt Linnea and the Darren Slades up to a pretty waterfall up above the camp.  It was a wonderful, exhausting week!

Misc Spring 2017

This handsome dude came home from Alaska

This one loves to sing in chorus

Pretending to like each other

Adjusted back to civilian life just fine, but keeps complaining about how hot it is in NM.  

This one graduated

3 down, 3 to go!

Claire's and teens, what more can you want?

This one had a birthday party at the mall

BFF bracelets

spring break 2017

I love the red sandstone at Abo

I love the salt mission ruins.  Usually when we go visit we have the place to ourselves, to wander and be as loud and silly as we want.  Our day started out in sunshine, but the wind was pretty cold.  We made enough time to visit all 3 ruins this time, since it was our only trip on Spring Break where Dad could come.  

Even though the mission ruins are only 40 miles away from each other as the crow flies they are each made of different materiels and look quite unique.  

Gran Quivira

Quari, moments before it started sleeting on us

Our day ended in rain, and then when the sleet started to come down we ran for the van as fast as we could.  The kids all declared that I'm not allowed to plan family trips to national monuments anymore since the last 3 have all ended in inclement weather.  On the way home through all the tiny little villages on the other side of four hills we had rain, snow sleet, snow and then when we came down into Tijeras it became rain again.  Quite the day.  

Earlier in the week we took a day at the zoo and aquarium and botanical gardens.  Everything at the gardens was in bloom and just loverly.  

at the botanical gardens 

March 2017

We painted Zak's room so Jerran can come home to a nice painted room.  

The kids and I got bored one Sunday and took a quick hike up to Carlito Springs.  It's quite pretty up there!  

2017 January and February

 My antique upright got a one-way trip to the dump

can you see the mouse hole in my keyboard?

 Someone turned 10

 Someone else got on the honor roll

My favorite sign at the protest

This one got braces!

Dad proved he is a pushover by letting Zak adopt a kitty.

Meet Garth

 There are very few surfaces left in our house which have not been. . . christened by Garth.

Blue and Gold dinner