Rocky Mountain National Park

 Some friends of ours invited us to go camping and we decided to go for it! Well, sans Ben because he hates camping.

We met our friends, the Leubners (we call our group "The Larriott's" because we are always together- we see them probably 4-5 times a week), just outside RMNP. They pulled up and Audra said, in all seriously, "Wait! They convinced their dad to come too?" I didn't have the heart to tell her that in most families, it's the DAD who wants to go camping and we are the weird family.

At any rate, we had a great time. We went on a couple of hikes- Bierstadt Lake, which was long and hard, and Alberta Falls, which was short and absolutely stunning.

The kids loved playing at the campground with each other- especially the hammocks the L's brought. We ate lots of good food and truly had the best time. In fact, on the way home the girls said, "That was the best camping trip we have ever been on!" The weather was warm (hot), the company was great, and it really was just a great time. There is something about being out in nature that simply can't be explained. I don't love camping, but I love the pause from the world that camping allows.

Of course, if the girls weren't great at helping, there is no way I would take them. They are very helpful and that lightens my load without Ben being there. Camping is so much work! If they were hard to camp with, no way would we ever do it.

Anyway, here's the pics. It was such a great time!

The girls loved this watermelon leaf:

We "ran" into this moose. We had to wait about 20 minutes for it to finish eating and trot off. It was pretty cool!

And, then tonight I came home and I had a meeting. It was close to our house. On the drive home, something was wrong and I had to pull over.

Oh, joy. The curse of the tires continues.

Ben came and rescued me and I guess tomorrow I will be getting a new tire. Thank goodness it didn't happen while I was in the Rocky Mountains!

We should all sleep very well tonight!