Visiting Estes Park gave us the opportunity to fulfill one of Isabel's dreams. We went horseback riding and I couldn't resist getting her these beautiful cowgirl boots so she would look right at home on top of a horse.

Admittedly, I  was nervous. Kids aren't allowed to ride with parents these days and the thought of my little Isabel astride a full sized horse was nerve racking. I should have known she would handle it like an old hat though. Don't her boots look great?

Cole on the other hand decided to use his ear warmer as a nose guard in the hopes of diffusing the smell of horse manure....what can I say? He's a city boy. Unfortunately they didn't have any mechanical horses for him to ride.

It's been many years since I was last on a horse, but I was pretty excited to ride again.

The mountain we rode up was quite steep and more than once I was a bit concerned about a horse losing their footing and sliding down the side. But I should have known better.

Despite being from Iowa, our horses had been up this mountain hundreds of times. Their feet were sure and steady the whole way.

Isabel was quite pleased to be positioned right behind our guide. She talked and talked to her like they were old friends.

We went up for about an hour or so and then changed direction and started back down the mountain. Here we are taking it nice and slow. I'm trying my hardest to concentrate on leaning back and not show any sign of the panic I was feeling.

Both Cole and Isabel seemed right at home. Neither one expressed any concern at all to my great surprise.

Clay's horse kept getting all up in my horse's backside and he did not like that at all. More than once, Rascal, my horse took a detour in the hopes of leaving Clay's horse  behind. It never worked out though.

Isabel has, of course, decided she wants to own a horse now. And lord help me, if I had the money, I would buy her one. Both of the kids were so amazing on our ride. I couldn't be a more proud mama.

On our second day in Estes Park we traveled down to the Wild Basin area and hiked a beautiful trail called Copeland Falls.

The path wound through dark green Pine forest dotted with the bright yellow leaves of Aspens.

These are the lower Copeland Falls.

After taking it in for a few minutes the kids led the way to the upper falls.

The kids spent time climbing around the rocks with Grandpa Doug and Clay while Grandma Karen and I just took in the view.

It was a really beautiful hike, the exact opposite of the hike we took the day before. I'm alway amazed at how varied nature is and RMNP is no exception. More adventures to come!

Last week we travelled to Colorado to visit family and to celebrate the wedding of a good friend. We were delayed a bit due to bad weather, but we made it eventually.

After staying the night in Denver, we headed to Estes Park to stay in a cabin and enjoy being surrounded by mountains and wildlife. These deer were hanging around in our front yard.

We spent the first afternoon/night getting acclimated. Isabel and Grandma Karen collected pine cones so we could start a fire and eat s'mores to aid the process.

The next day we drove Trail Ridge Road through Rocky Mountain National Park to our first hiking destination called Rock Cut.The drive almost killed me. My anxiety level was through the roof as we took turn after turn around sharp corners that gave way to 90 degree drop offs! Can someone tell me why there are not guard rails on that road?

When we finally pulled off and I was able to look around without the fear of careening down a cliff I noticed some very pretty views.

We started hiking the Rock Cut path upwards over the rolling rocky ground.

But Isabel began to feel a bit ill, so she and I hiked back down to wait for everyone at the trailhead. I think the twisting turns of Trail Ridge Road set hear stomach off (can't say I blame her).

So we did our best to enjoy our time while we waited for the others. We found fun rocks, we took pictures of interesting plant life, and we enjoyed our time together.

More of our adventures out west to come!

This past weekend we took advantage of the beautiful weather and headed out of town to explore Frontenac Provincial Park.

We took a picnic and enjoyed some lunch before we set off on a hike around the lake. The kids were pretty excited.

Isabel spent some time trying to identify plants that were listed on our hiking guide. This is a Button Bush.

We took a side trail to Kemp Mine since the kids are into rocks & minerals and spent a while looking for shards of mica. The mine is abandoned and visitors are barred from entering, but the kids would have loved to climb down into the hole to explore.

We had complany, but he didn't seem interested in helping us find any mica.

The scenery up here is really quite something. It reminds me more of being out west in the Rocky Mountains than in the relative flatness of the midwest I know. There is rock everywhere! 

Isabel was happy to her rock-climbing skills to the test.

This was my favorite spot - a flooded beaver pond. There was just something so peaceful about the stillness of the water and the crystal clear reflection. I could have sat here for hours. 

After spending last Saturday morning checking out the powerboats for the 1,000 Poker Run we headed out to Grass Creek Park to check out the annual Kingston Sheepdog Trials.

Now, I have to be honest and say that I've never really understood the appeal of owning a dog. From what I remember of the brief moment we had a dog when I was little, dogs are a bit hyper and always need attention.

I'm pleased to say that Border Collies have improved my opinion of our furry four-legged friends.

If you've never witnessed a sheepdog trial, I have to say it's quite something to behold. 

There are four different elements the dog and master have to complete. First, the dog must run the length of the field and fetch his sheep. Then he must, drive them straight down the field through a center gate and into a marked ring. Second, he must drive his sheep through two other gates located to the left and right of the center gate and then back into the ring. Third, the dog and master must work together to "sheer" the sheep into two groups of two. Fourth, and final, the dog must move all of his sheep into a padlock area. Points are awarded based on how successfully the dog accomplishes each task.

It's really cool to watch. The dogs are so well trained and you find yourself cheering for them to do well.

There was also Celebrity pig racing...and really what more can you say about that.

They raced lots of pigs...

They also raced ducks and geese...

And goats...

This poor guy walked his race - a good choice for him I think.

Isabel thought it was all pretty hilarious.

This past weekend, Kingston played host to the annual 1,000 Island Poker Run. 

Several boats were put in at the boat ramp right outside our apartment. More than one  got their trailers stuck on the ramp. Ha.

Cole was so excited to see so many power boats in one place. He's convinced he would love to own one when he's older. I would rather own a pedal boat....sometimes I wonder if he's mine.

Miss Aqua Doll (pictured below) actually had turbine engines. It sounded like a jet taking off. Can you imagine riding in a boat with turbine engines? The captain has now turned on the fasten seatbelt sign. Thank you.

The Aqua Mania team actually had four girls dressed in the same revealing outfit signing posters for people. It was so very NASCAR.

Now, I'm not a fan of power boats because of their blatant disregard for the environment, but even I have to admit these boats were pretty amazing to behold. The other amazing part about these photos is that they were all taken by my not-so-little man...except for one which was taken by my cutie girl.

After a blissful week with no kids, we planned an overnight trip to Niagara Falls in order to meet up with Grandma and Grandpa and decide if we wanted our children back...

Or if we were going to send them over the Falls in a barrel instead...

We stayed in Thorold, Ontario which is about 20 minutes from Niagara Falls. There's a Four Points Sheraton there that has really nice family suites. It was a lot cheaper to get one big family suite there than to get two separate rooms anywhere in the Niagara Falls. So if you're thinking of going and you need the extra space, I highly recommend checking it out.

Anyway, despite having lived in Ontario for over a year now, this was our first real trip...anywhere. Normally we just go with the flow and enjoy life around our little city, so it was really great to step-out and see a bit more of this beautiful country we live in. Clay and I have both seen the Falls before, but it was a first for the kids.

We took the Journey Behind the Falls tour.

And spent the rest of the day just enjoying the brilliance of nature. 

The tour was really awesome, but I really love the view from the top. Doesn't it look like I'm about to go over?

The kids really enjoyed themselves. I even got them to take a nice picture together.

Of course, there was this one...

and this one as well.

Oh well, can't win them all.

In the end, we decided against the barrel and just opted for bringing them home with us. After two days of constant noise, I'm having second thoughts.

We hit the Children's Museum while we were down in Indianapolis and had a really great time.

It's been a few years since we last visited. They've add a few things since then...like dinosaurs peeking in the window and this gigantic Transformer.

We started off in the Dinosphere, where we checked out real dino-skeletons.

And dug for some bones.

Next, we wandered into the National Geographic section of the museum where we saw replicas of China's famous Terra Cotta Warriors.

Grammy even helped put one back together.

We saw sunken treasure.

Did some deep sea exploration.

And helped put together the pharaoh's tomb.

Next we oohed and aahed over the Fireworks of Glass display.

And stared with wonder at the water clock.

After lunch we rode the carousel.

And Isabel went on a trip to Egypt.

While Cole worked his creativity, building a new lego vehicle.

It was an action packed day and we didn't even see everything. If you're ever in Indy and need something to do with the kids, I highly recommend checking this place out. It's well worth it.

Every year, on one special day in the month of June, there's a really great event called "Doors Open Ontario". For that one day museums, attractions and government buildings all across the province are open for free to the public. Being that we live in a historical city, we had several places to choose from. This year, I pondered taking the kids to the Penitentiary Museum so they could learn about the history of Canada's prison system...nothing like seeing some photos and artifacts from prison to sway you from a life of crime I always say...but ultimately the Marine Museum won out.

The museum is just a couple blocks from our house and sits in a building that was around back when the whole shoreline was still a shipyard and our building didn't exist.

Surprisingly, it wasn't that long ago. This photo shows exactly where we live today. Our building would be located on the left of the picture. I'm not sure what happened...the trucking industry I guess...but you don't see any ships like this docking in Kingston these days. Kind of sad actually.

Right now, there's a huge celebration of the bi-centenial of the War of 1812 going on. They're actually bringing in several tall ships to re-enact some famous chase between a Canadian ship and a US ship over the July 1st holiday and tons of artists have been commissioned to create paintings, models, giant dioramas, and other whatnot as part of the occasion. 

To be perfectly honest, I don't think anyone actually won the War of 1812...or lost it for that matter. I admit it's pretty unclear to me what exactly they're celebrating, but who am I to judge? All I know is that I prefer not to partake in discussions about who won the War of 1812 just in case there's a difference of opinion.

Kingston is supposed to have some of the best freshwater scuba diving in the world. Thank goodness they've updated the gear a bit. This thing is straight out of a Scooby-Doo episode.

We took the opportunity to check out the John Henry as well. It's a Coast Guard boat that is permanently docked outside the museum for visitors to enjoy.

Despite the fact that the boat wasn't moving, wandering around on board made me queasy. I don't think I'll be joining ranks anytime soon.

Clay, on the other hand, might make a good sailor.

Yesterday we went on our first rock hunting field trip with the Kingston Mineral and Lapidary Club. We were hunting fossils and fossils we did find.

The quarry we were at had recently been blasted, so we were sifting through piles of rock that were millions of years old. It seemed as though there was a fossil on every rock we picked up. It was amazing. 

The kids had a great time learning the dos and don'ts of rock collecting from some of the older rock hounds.

Cole was thankful to have his own rock hammer.

Isabel was thankful that mom and dad made Cole to share.

We came home with quite a few specimens, each a little piece of history. The hardest part was deciding what to keep and what to leave for another day. The ones we kept are filled with traces of snail shells and coral patterns, worm holes and clam shells. We'll need to clean our specimens up a bit to make the fossils stand out, but everyone agreed that our first official rock adventure was a success.