First Weeks of Summer

My summer vacation officially started the afternoon of the 5th, but I'm going back to Memorial Day weekend since that seems like the real kickoff to summer. That weekend we grilled at a friend's house. The kids are ages 2, 3, and 4, so they usually have quite a bit of fun together.

The next day we introduced Noah to the hot tub that came with our new house. It's something I think we'll all be enjoying a lot this summer!

The first actual day of summer break, we drove to Evergreen Lake. Noah is still quite smitten with Jake and the Neverland Pirates, so he referred to it as "Nevergreen Lake" the whole time we were there. He really had fun throwing rocks into the water and put up quite a racket when we finally made him leave. We're no fun!

This weekend another nearby small town, Pine Grove, held their 25th annual Rhubarb Festival. It was a really fun day with a kids carnival, live music, the crowning of the Rhubarb Queen, a parade, and a duck race down the river (we missed the pancake breakfast). We all had a great time taking in the small town sights.

Anyone know what the flag represents? I don't know what PACE stands for.

Fishing for candy

I think this is called cheating!

The event was held at the Northfork Volunteer Fire Department's station in Pine. Smokey the Bear sprayed down the parade watchers. Noah was not totally amused.

The most colorful parade "float"

The Rhubarb Queen is seated in the middle with the lovely hat and scepter

Loving it!

Grooving

Getting ready for the ducks to make their appearance



Watching the local sheriff's pull the ducks from the water.



Noah got to bring one home. (Weird exposure, but I think it's such a funny picture!)

I have a feeling this summer is going to be full of lots of fun adventures and new experiences. So far, living in the mountains has been a total blast! One of these days I'm going to take some pictures of the new place and share, but for now the house is a mess and not photo ready. Hopefully soon. Tonight we're meeting friends for Jazz in the Park down in Denver. Can summer last forever?