My Little Ninja

This was a busy week for Max. On Wednesday he started a Ninja Warrior class and the tooth fairy visited our house. Yes, he lost his second front tooth. Now he is missing both front teeth and I just love it. I think he looks super adorable. He was pretty excited as this one came out on its own just like the other front tooth did. The tooth fairy stopped by our house that night and left him $3.

Last week I signed Max up for a Ninja Warrior class to get him out of the house, active and to be around other kids. He's had his moments at home these past few weeks and it's really been because he misses his friends from school and just wants to play with other kids. I was telling my co-worker friend about this and she suggested this Ninja Warrior class. I thought that was a great idea because Max really likes that show. I asked Max if he was interested and he lit up like a Christmas tree and he wanted to go that night. Well, his first class was this past Wednesday and he had so much fun. He was smiling from ear to ear the whole time. 

This was one of his favorite parts. He couldn't believe that he would get to do the wall climb on the first night. 

Due to the pandemic, I did wonder if I was making the right decision to sign him up for this class, but I had to weigh the risk and reward. After seeing him that night and his behavior all week, I know I made the right decision. With swim on Monday and Ninja class on Wednesday nights, this boy is back to being happy. Social interaction is extremely important with children and since he can't get that at school right now I have to find other ways for him to interact with kids. Now he will get some activity in during the week with swim and Ninja and hopefully this will tide us over until Max can go back to school in-person. Plus, this organization is all about giving the kids confidence and they say this translates into other sports. Andy sure is hoping so! Also, we both really enjoyed watching him.

Colorado Vacation: Part V

 It was our last day in Colorado and we decided to start off the day at a local breakfast joint in Durango. Max needed his morning hot chocolate to wake him up.

We then headed to white water rafting. Unfortunately, the month of August is really slow for the river, so it was more of a scenic boat ride down the river with a few rapids along the way. It was very slow at some points that the kids even jumped into the water to cool off. The water was probably only 65 degrees, so freezing cold, but it didn't bother them. It was slow enough that we didn't have to paddle until the end. Notice in the photos below who the paddlers are. The slow river didn't matter though, because the kids had so much fun and thought this was the best part of the trip. 

Since we were in Durango, we did a little shopping and had lunch outside. The kids were starving by the time we got our food that Andy took a picture as all three of them just dove for the chips and guacamole like they haven't been fed in a month.  

We headed back to the resort and let the kids swim in the pool while we sat poolside playing cards. 

In the morning we packed up and said goodbye to Purgatory and started our long journey back to Arizona.

We took a different way back so that we could stop at the four corners. We were all excited to stand on the four corners and take our picture. That's why it was super disappointing to get there and see that it was closed...due to COVID.

It was a long journey home and the kids did AMAZING! We couldn't believe how well behaved they were being. We seriously couldn't say enough positive things about their behavior on the car ride home especially since the adults were pretty much done. We (meaning the moms) were so over the car ride and ready to lose it, but the kids were beyond perfect.

Another summer road trip vacation in the books and another amazing "framily" vacation. I did mean to write framily. It's not a spelling error. Also, while in Colorado I fell in love with the state. I felt like I found my inner hippy self and would love to move to Colorado someday.

Colorado Vacation: Part IV

 This was probably the best day of the trip, or at least I think so. It was so much fun, but also crazy scary at the same time. We went jeeping! Each family rented a jeep and we were off. We had our map and were ready to explore the mountains. 

It was absolutely breathtaking. Every twist and turn just kept getting more and more beautiful. 

We saw snow along the way. The Arizona kids of course jumped out to touch and feel the snow. 

The whole journey we were on one-way roads that just dropped off the side of the mountain when you looked out your window. All was nice and calm in our jeep until Andy said "I better leave them more space because our jeep is slipping." I seriously saw my life go tumbling down the mountain because at this exact moment we were right on the edge of the mountain, going downhill with a sharp turn to the left ahead of us. I was thinking if we keep sliding, we will slide right off this mountain. My heart rate got to about 119 at that moment. That was scary, but not the scariest part of the journey. No, that happened later. I was unable to get photos of the super scary parts because I was too busy focusing on breathing and staying calm for Max.

We were almost at 13,000 feet when we stopped for the views and for a picnic lunch. Keep in mind it was also very hard to breathe at this elevation, but it was so beautiful.

Max can pretty much sleep anywhere. Even in the back of a very rocky jeep. 

But he woke up just in time for lunch and he was ready to rock.

We made it to the very top of another mountain that had a lake. It was quite an interesting drive up. There were moments where I was screaming on the inside, but keeping it cool on the outside for the sake of Max who was not in the least bit scared. This last journey up the mountain had Amber and myself both freaked out. It definitely pushed me to my limit. But again, the beauty made it all worth it in the end. 

We made our way back down the mountain and we all survived. It was a long day, but so much fun. Even though I was freaked out for a chunck of our journey I would do it again in a heartbeat. 

Colorado Vacation: Part III

 Day three was so much fun. We rented UTV's for six hours and did our own adventures based on a map. That was the best part. No tour guide, just us and the UTV's to go where we wanted to go. 

We got ready to go and put Max in the backseat. After about an hour though I noticed he was falling asleep in the back, so I switched spots with him to keep him interested. First, I don't know how anyone can fall asleep in a UTV because it was so bumpy and loud, but that's Max. He can sleep pretty much anywhere. 

We made it to the top of the first mountain and it was beyond gorgeous. We took a few pictures and didn't stay long because it was cold up there.

We saw this guy at the top of the mountain. Andy saw a few others too, but this is the only picture I took.

We then headed to a lake/pond to have lunch. 

We drove through water and mud. It was crazy fun, but we were all super dirty after it. I couldn't wait to get in the shower.