We had a busy month of July. This post will be all out of order, because I still can't figure out how to move the photos around. Ugh. The above photo was taken at Fontenelle Forest at their bug exhibit. There were 9 different bugs on a roughly 1-mile trail around the forest. At each bug there was a sign telling facts about the bug and asking a question at the end. You had to write the answer to the question for all nine bugs to get a prize at the end. The boys enjoyed doing this. It was a hot muggy day when we went and therefore, wasn't very busy. The first half of the walk went well. After that, we were all hot and sweaty and ready to be done. The mosquitoes were horrible on the walk, but I had brought bug spray, so that helped. 
The day before Fontenelle Forest we had been to the Omaha Children's Museum. It was really crowded that day. Probably the most crowded it had been on one of our visits. It hampered the boys' desire to play, but we still had fun. After the Children's Museum, we headed down to another favorite place, which is the Durham Museum. We looked at all the trains, etc and then went to lunch. 
The above photo is from our only trip this summer to the zoo. Last summer we made it to the zoo several times. This summer, however, we have only gone once. I don't know if that is due to us being so busy or the weather being so hot! This photo was taken in the rain forest. We only made it through half the zoo, and still need to see the new Madagascar exhibit. So now we have to go back!
This next photo is of the boys and their cousin, Kiley. Doug took them to Cedar Rapids to visit his family. Since I had just spent a week with the boys alone in Colorado, I stayed home. While they were gone, I used the time paint the boys' room and redecorate it. We did a Star Wars theme and it looks really good! The boys were super excited to have a new big boy room!
The two above photos are from our trip to Colorado. The top one is from one of our days in Estes Park. Julie and I went to Snowy Peaks Winery for a tasting. They claimed to be family friendly and they were! They had a play room where the boys played nicely for nearly two hours while Julie and I tasted and shopped. It was really nice....especially following the horrible morning we had just had. Jack threw a huge fit in our long mountain car drive. It lasted over an hour and was nearly unbearable. The other photo above is the boys and me at the Alluvial Fan in Rocky Mountain National Park. It was a nice area to visit, which was practically right off the main road. The boys enjoyed walking in the cold water and hiking up all the rocks.
The first week of July Charlie took private swim lessons. His instructor, Megan, was great with him and taught him a lot just during five lessons. Charlie seemed to enjoy them, but when we told him we were going to sign him up for another week of lessons, he said, "If you do, I will run away and never come back!" So, luckily for him, the summer got busy and we plan to continue them next summer. 
The day after we got back from Colorado, we drove out to my aunt and uncle's lake in Glenwood, IA for a postponed 4th of July celebration. This time the weather was beautiful and there were a lot of us there. We had some good food and fireworks. This photo is of Jack, Charlie, Abby and Anna following Bruce around. They were his fireworks posse. They were so anxious to get the fireworks started that they followed him around until it was time. 
On our first full day in Colorado we were in Denver staying with my sister. We drove up to Georgetown, CO to ride on the train. It was a beautiful day and a great ride. The boys loved it. 
On Monday, July 5th we drove up to Estes Park, CO to stay for four days. The day we got into town, we went to RMNP for our first couple of hikes. We walked around Bear Lake, which is the photo below. The above photo is on the hike on the way up to Alberta Falls. It was a great walk. The boys practically ran there. The way back was a little slower. We started the hike around 7pm, and by the time we finished it was getting dark. It was perfect timing, though, because the trail wasn't crowded at all. 
The above photo is on the 4th of July. We spent the day in Denver and went to a Colorado Rapids soccer game. We didn't get to see much of the game because a huge rainstorm blew in and it poured and poured. We waited patiently up on the covered concourse waiting for the rain to end, so we could see the fireworks. It never did end, so we walked our way back to the car getting soaking wet in the process. They still let off the fireworks and we watched them from the car. 
This photo is of Alberta Falls. We had a really good time in Estes Park and Denver and will hopefully go back again next summer.
