Colorado Trip

My uncle Tom, who lives in Colorado Springs, has not been doing well. His mental and physical health have been declining and I had the opportunity to go visit with him for a few days at the end of last week. Susan stayed home on kid duty and I spent my days visiting with Tom, making time for a hike each day.

Susan playing at the creek with the kids.
Lucia chasing after Elliot.
I camped in Colorado. It felt like our RV trip to pull into the campground after dark and have to find my spot.
The view from my office. I worked on Eastern Time, so I had a couple of hours each day to get some work done before heading in to visit with Tom. I was fortunate that the weather was still warm.
My first good view of the mountains.
Uncle Tom, resting
Tom liked to hold hands and one of my primary responsibilities when I was there was to make sure I was available for that.
Meanwhile, life went on at home and Susan had to get all of the kids to their activities. here, Andrew is running in a XC meet , maybe at Southeast Polk.
My first hike in Colorado Springs was to Garden of the Gods. I tried to stay pretty close to town.
Susan also had to get up early with Oreo, who insists on waking us just a little earlier than we would like.
During this time, Mari also submitted her application to work at Coldstone Creamery. With soccer and XC winding down she will have more free time, and she is saving up for a new phone.
Soccer fans.
Red Rock Open Space in the foreground, with Garden of the Gods in the background.
Susan and the kids enjoying a fire.

TikTok

The TikTok craze has definitely taken over our house. Andrew spends a fair amount of time watching videos, Mari and Hope like learning the dances, and teaching Lucia and Rose, and Elliot watches videos, but has a self-imposed daily limit. Not wanting to miss out on the fun, Susan and Erin made their own TikTok account and video.

Happy Mother’s Day

It may have been one of the colder Mother’s Days on record but today we celebrated in what has become the traditional ways. Susan joined Kathie and Erin for a walk in the early afternoon and then when she got home we did some planting and had salads.

The Enneagram

I think this is pretty cool. The kids all took a simple Enneagram test today and when Susan and I took the test our highest areas came back opposite. I am not surprised and it is one of the reasons I think we work so well together.

  • Rob (Perfectionist, Achiever)
  • Susan (Enthusiast, Peaecmaker)

Susan Flies to the Dominican Republic

We dropped Susan off at the airport today around lunchtime. She is heading to the Dominican Republic for a week with her high school friends. It was a harder goodbye than I thought  it would be. I was certainly not looking forward to her leaving, but I think I have taken for granted the fact that we have spent nearly every moment of the past 6 months together.

Susan’s 40th Birthday!

Today we celebrated Susan’s 40th birthday! It was a little different, being on the road.

The day started with opening a few gifts – from us and from Erin.

The kids had fun playing with Susan’s new neck pillow.

We ate breakfast at Cinnamon Twisp, a bakery in Twisp, which is a nearby town. They specialize in something called the Cinnamon Twisp, which is some sort of amazing cinnamon roll.

After breakfast we went for a hike outside of Twisp, to Lookout Mountain.

It took us a minute to find the hike and at first we accidentally went on the wrong trail to an abandoned mine operation that had since collapsed in a landslide. That was at least interesting.

It was a long hike up to the lookout tower.

Inside of the lookout tower.

The Cascades are back there somewhere. It wasn’t the smokiest day, but there was definitely a haze blocking most of the views.

We were a little behind schedule, so Rose took her nap on the hike.

She was so tired she even stayed asleep when I took the back carrier off.

After the hike we had a short break back at the RV and then we headed in to town. On the way we stopped at the office to pick up our mail. Susan had 17 cards and a package waiting for her.

In town, Withrop, we walked around a little and stopped by an old-time photo parlor.

We went out for pizza for dinner and Susan opened all of her cards while we waited for our food.

Pizza Party

After pizza we headed home for birthday cake.

That’s a wrap.