Derek & Meagan & Kids Visit!

Derek & Meagan and their family came to visit us!  We let the kids miss two days of school, so they could play with their cousins. 

The first day Dave had to work, so we went to Bandelier without him.  We hadn't been back to Bandelier since the fire two years ago.  There was some flooding at Bandelier, so it was interesting to see the damage.

The kids were great hikers and loved the ladders!  Ty hadn't been up the ladders before, since he was too little when we had gone before.

 It rained a little bit on us. 

 After the ladder part of the hike, the kids had fun running ahead of us and scaring us.

The next day we went on a hike in town from Walnut Street park through the canyon and over a few bridges and ended up by the Aquatic Center.  We walked to Ashley Pond and bought lunch at El Parasol.  Then the kids played at the library playground and skate park.  Then we rode the bus home.  The bus was definitely a highlight for the kids!  I didn't take any pictures, since I had to carry Nick and the camera is too bulky.  It was fun!

Bandelier

We went to Bandelier National Monument yesterday to take some pictures of Kate with Flat Sadie for her friend Sadie's school picture.  We've been to Bandelier lots of times in the last couple of years, but the kids don't seem to get tired of it.  

They love climbing the ladders to get into the caves.  Ty walked a lot on this hike and had to go up every ladder.  Dave carried him up the ladders since this is how high he can climb.

Ty inside a cave

Kate with Flat Sadie

 It was fun watching Ty walk by himself on the hike.  He would stop to look at random pieces of grass or to sit down on a little "seat".

 Ty had to be up on the big rock with the other kids.

 Since Ty walks slow, the kids ran ahead to hide behind something so they could scare us when we caught up to them.  Jack picked this great burned log to hide behind.  This is him jumping out and scaring us.  A few seconds later he started crying because we were laughing at how black he was.  

 Jack told me later when I was giving him a shower, that he looked like a man (because of his ash beard).

 I didn't have enough wipes to clean up the blackness (on his face, arms and legs), so Dave helped him do a quick wash in the creek.

Then Jack had to try to cross the creek which ended up with him having some really wet shoes.  Boys will be boys, I guess.