One Dae at a Time: July 2023

Monday, July 31, 2023

Steamboat Springs

Monday: Summer day, Levi's birthday pool party

Tuesday: Slow summer day, packing

Wednesday: Dentist for Westin and Bennett, Luna drop off at trainer's, pack up, FINALLY get Camden's glasses replacement, and drive to Coalmont Reindeer farm to stay in our random Airbnb :) Tacos for dinner, world cup game, Oreos & milk. Moose sightings on the drive.

Thursday: Feed reindeer breakfast, pet their fuzzy antlers, biscuits and sausage for our breakfast, hikes around Walden, picnic lunch, Moose visitor center, rainy drive, lasagna and world cup game and Oreos & milk.

Friday: Drive to Steamboat, Fish Creek Falls, Alpine Slide, Gyros and Baklava for dinner, first connected rooms hotel set up (just sometimes a hotel requirement now with all these boys!), Bluey, reading.

Saturday: Up early for Hot Air Balloon festival, oatmeal in the hotel room, Michael to meetings, Mom and boys to the Farmer's Market, Little Toots Park (who named that, my boys love them), peaches, Hypnotic Chicken, nap time and swim time, base of the mountain playing, Thai takeout, meetings for Michael, Bluey, reading.

Sunday: Oatmeal and peaches, pack up, load the car while Michael was at meetings -- luggage cart and baby in arms and all, get gas, Westin giving away a supply kit to a homeless man, Bluey, Michael done, back to Moose Visitor Center to get Asher the owl I can't stop picturing him holding, stuffies all around because you can't just get one of them a stuffie, picnic on the drive home, unpack the car COMPLETELY and detail it, car wash with Bennett, ready to ship off in the morning to Rachel and Spencer.

This week! I have not really thought twice about this trip until the day or two before it. We always knew Michael had a conference in Steamboat this weekend and that we wanted to tag along, but we had so much going on leading up to it that by the time we planned things out it kind of felt spontaneous.

We LOVED Steamboat. It's such a cute town, and beautiful. Friendly vibe, fun for the kids, laid back, and the weekend was so smooth and happy. We only ate out 3 meals from Wednesday to Sunday because I think our Aspen trip has left permanent damage on my heart haha. I couldn't really pack food for that trip the way I'd have wanted to because we were going separate ways after to Utah and home, and I just was thinking more long term trip and we paid for it. Literally :) Steamboat was just more manageable all around, with crowds and things to do with kids and the vibe and everything. We will be back!

The hot air balloon festival was a highlight for sure. I loved that they would "splash and dash" over the lake -- take off and dip down into it before heading off on the ride. Down the shore a ways was the skip jump practice ramps so winter skiers were skiing down and jumping into the water with hot air balloons all around us, and beautiful mountains behind it all. Just a super fun morning and logistically very luckily smooth.

We stopped at a visitors center on the way and Asher carried around an owl almost as big as him and it was the cutest thing. After we left I just kept thinking about how sweet it was and how we just should have gotten it, so on the way home we went in and reunited Asher and the owl. Then we had to let everyone pick one #fourkids and honestly it was so cute to see them all so happy with a new friend. Westin and his fox, Bennett and his wolf, Camden and his hawk, and Asher and his owl. Cute boys.

I loved this little trip!

Camden is loving his Nugget furniture he got for his birthday,
but every time I put it downstairs where it was intended for it's not long until I hear his little body heaving it all back upstairs haha.

I feel the most stunned by my four boy life when we're in our daily parade.
Scooter, scooter, balance bike, stroller, dog.

Our dentist is a straight up party land.

I just love waking him up from his nap. Such a sweetheart.

The lens that was never found.
It had a $5 reward on it for weeks.
We finally got them replaced on our way to Steamboat and it was happy to have Camden back in his glasses again!

I'm obsessed with little hands reaching out for a snack placement, and even MORE obsessed when they're reaching over to a brother. This is the cutest thing to me. The veggie straw handoff.

Moose!

Airbnb dinners are so fun to me. And hard to get right haha. Never exactly the right amount of food!

Reindeer breakfast time!

The males stayed separate and seemed a little aggressive!

Our happy place.

Asher has just really nailed down his cheese face.

Hummingbird visitors!

A little farmhouse breakfast :) This was a really fun spot to spend a couple nights.

Fish Creek Falls

I lost my shoe in our trek up to our room from the car (we are now a full on spectacle with four kiddos, a luggage cart, cooler, you name it) and when Michael went on a search it was here waiting for him, haha.
Why doesn't Michael ever lose shoes? What a solid guy.

Heading up to the alpine slide! The boys loved this.

Michael took Camden with him, racing Bennett. He got ahead so waited a bit for Bennett, just enough to see him zoom by and then never catch up to him haha.
Then I did the exact same thing with Westin! You feel like you're leaving them behind but then they get the hang of it right as you wait for them, and you're in the dust the rest of the time :) It was so fun.