Brad enjoys his job most days and after 5 years in the Army appreciates only working 40 hours a week. We’ve had no problem filling all that free time exploring everything that Colorado has to offer. We think everyone should come visit Colorado, and in case you do, we’ve compiled a helpful list of things you should and should not do while you are here.

If you come to Colorado, you should bring a bike. We’ve counted between 50-100 road bikers on our way to church each Sunday, and spent hours at Boulder’s bike park.  We found a couple of balance bikes on Craigslist for our twins, and in the last month Annika learned to ride without her training wheels. We are amazed to see tiny kids flying around the BMX track at the bike park, but I think our girls may be on their way.  When we went back to Utah for Jordan’s wedding, we brought Brad’s road bike back to Colorado, and he has been enjoying some long Saturday morning rides.

If you are going to let your kids loose at the bike park, you should not forgo dental or health insurance. Or knee and elbow pads. We are constantly tending to new cuts, scrapes and bruises. While climbing on a fence a few weeks ago, Elise flipped over it and cracked her tooth. We are now spending our summer earnings on dental care for our three year old. After spending days on the phone with doctors and dentists and insurance agents, Elise went in for surgery on her tooth. It was cracked too badly for them to save, so she now has the smile of a 7 year old. I’ve fallen in love with her toothless grin.

While in Colorado, you should go to the mountains. Rocky Mountain National Park is only an hour away, and we didn’t wait long to take the girls up for some camping and hiking. It is just as beautiful as you would expect it to be, and we even saw a bear with cubs!

Photo credit Annika Holland

However, you should not go camping and hiking without doing some preliminary research into the condition of the campsites and the trails. Somehow we reserved a campsite that was mostly flooded and muddy, and we could have used snowshoes on the first hike we tried (instead we were wearing shorts and sandals.) As we started the hike Brad said “I’m not sure we should do this. The girls are going to get too cold  and cry.” I said “Where is the man I married!? Where is your sense of adventure!?” Brad was right. The girls were great until we got to the lake, and by then their little toes were frozen and they cried and cried. The man I married was smart as well as adventurous.

In Longmont, you should take advantage of the many, many parks, walking trails, and hiking trails in close proximity. Boulder is only 20 minutes away, and there are beautiful mountain hikes with trailheads only a few blocks away from downtown. Longmont has a large network of walking trails and dedicated “greenways” that we’ve explored on our Sunday evening walks.

A view of Meeker and Longs Peak from the Pella Crossing trail

Even though I encourage you to go hiking, you probably should not reasonably expect your small children to do a 6 mile hike up a mountain. Bring backpacks and plan on carrying them if you are determined to get to the top. (We were determined, and Brad is really good at carrying multiple children at once.) However, there are a multitude of kid friendly trails in the area  just perfect for little legs.

You should try out some of Boulder’s incredible restaurants. It is a foodie’s paradise.

You should probably not take all your kids with you when you go out to eat at one of Pearl Street’s fine dining establishments. The food is great, but the bill is high. (We meant to be next door.)

You definitely should get an apartment close to a pool. Our pool is only 100 feet from our door and we are there nearly every day. All of our girls are getting quite comfortable in the water. Last summer Annika screamed whenever she was in deep water, even if someone was holding her. Now she is swimming the width of the pool. Lucy has never wanted to wear floaties, and so she is quickly learning to swim.

You should not take your eyes off of Elise in the pool. She is not as good a swimmer as Lucy, but she has no fear. She loves to jump into the pool, sink to the bottom, the kick her way back up and assumes someone will always be there to grab her once she gets to the top. So far she has only jumped in when someone is watching nearby, but I think it is only a matter of time until she tries it on her own.

When you go visit anywhere you should do your best to get involved in the community. A few years in the Army taught me to treat everywhere like a permanent home, no matter how short your time there may be. We helped my cousin Zach plant trees at the bike park for his Eagle Scout project. Now whenever we visit the park the girls are so proud when they point out the trees they planted. We also visited Boulder’s farmers’ market, bought into a CSA, and visit the library weekly.

You should not stand around and watch while your kids do all the work. Or maybe you should.

If you go to Colorado, you should definitely convince all your favorite people to come visit you. Everything is more enjoyable when you share it with people you love. We were lucky enough to have Jeff and Tammy stop by for a couple of days as they made a major move from Texas to Boston. Seeing all those cousins reunited was a highlight of the summer for me.

Taniel and Isaac are coming out on the 4^th of July and I have a long list of things I want to do with them while they are here. Does anyone else want to join us before we move back to Utah in August? These two would be super happy if you did!

Today I’m backtracking to a trip we took to the Utah desert. After Brad got out of school and before he started his internship we drove down to Bryce Canyon National park for a couple of nights. Our girls are getting older, which makes adventures with them easier in some ways, but we are still learning a lot about hiking and camping with young kids. There were more than a few times the trip was a struggle, but in this case, the good moments certainly outweighed the difficulties. I think what I want my kids to learn most from our outdoor adventures is that just because something is difficult doesn’t mean it isn’t worthwhile. It is why we tell them repeatedly that they can do hard things, and why we push them to go further than they want to on hikes. Sometimes I have to remind myself as well.

Having grown up in the Northwest, where everything is wet and green, I am always surprised by how astonishingly beautiful the desert can be.

According to my girls, skirts are the wardrobe of choice for adventures. I think Lucy is rocking the look.

Brad and I go on camping trips for the hiking and the beautiful views. Our girls go camping for s’mores. I think they just put up with everything else in order to get s’mores.

But having a view like this next to your campground doesn’t hurt either.

That first night, after we (finally) got all the girls to sleep in the tent, we sat outside in the car looking at the stars and the trail maps. We’ve hiked with our girls enough now to know that a mile will take us a little over an hour, including frequent stops for snacks and the bathroom. Brad was pushing for a 6 mile loop, and I was trying to tell him that it was way too ambitious. “It’ll be fun!” (That’s what he always tells me when he wants to do something that I think is a bad idea.) In the end, I resigned, with the warning that he would probably have to carry Annika a good portion of the way, and I wasn’t going to carry two kids at once. (Carrying Lucy and Elise was already a given).

At the trailhead the next morning, the view over the canyon took my breath away. The trail down the canyon is steep, with drop-offs the whole way, so we started the twins in the backpacks, and Elise wasn’t happy. (Lucy is always happy to be carried – little lazy bum.) We zig-zagged down to the bottom, and Annika kept a surprisingly good pace. She would continue to surprise me all day. Once we made the mile-long trek to the bottom of the canyon, we hiked the peek-a-boo loop, which is a three mile loop the park rates as strenuous. We told Annika that it was long and hard, and we weren’t sure she could hike the whole thing, but we wanted her to try. She said “I can do it!” – and she did. It wasn’t easy, and there were times she was barely moving, but she hiked every step of that loop. I was so proud of her I could have burst. Not to be outdone, Lucy hiked the whole long zig-zagging mile out of the canyon, giving her parents a heart attack as she ran up the narrow trail. I know there are plenty of other 5 year olds who can hike further – what she did was not particularly remarkable in and of itself. But for her to set a goal and then see it through, despite the difficulties, was a big step for her and a very fulfilling moment for me.  One of the hard parts of parenting is that for all the effort you put into raising kids, you often don’t see the results or get any feedback until years down the road. This hike was a little bit of positive feedback for me – an indication that maybe some of the lessons we are trying to teach our girls are sinking in, that just maybe I’m doing something right as a parent.

If that hike was an indication of what we are doing right as a parents, the next morning told the story of some of the things we are doing wrong. Namely, that we are pretty terrible at giving our girls consistent and dependable schedules, and we frequently push them too far when they are too tired and get annoyed with them when they really just need a nap. I mean, we should probably just go easy on them, they’re only 3, right?

But we had another day in southern Utah, and by-golly, I didn’t want to waste it, even it it was only 30 degrees and everyone was exhausted.  The pioneers didn’t let exhaustion or cold weather stop them, right? (And really, you have no idea how many pioneer stories I’ve told Annika while we are hiking. I’m not sure it is really fair to compare her recreational hiking experience with her parents to her ancestors’ forced migration across the United States, but pain is all about perspective right? That little blister is nothing compared to bare, bleeding feet, and good stories make the time go faster.) So we loaded up and headed to Red Canyon State Park.

Sometimes Lucy does this thing where she refuses to walk by herself. At all. She would rather stand by her car door and cry for 15 minutes than walk up the 3 stairs into the house. Eventually someone will take pity on her (usually not me) and carry her in. This was one of those mornings for her. We knew everyone was tired, so we found a 1/4 mile nature walk past some fun rock formations. Annika and Elise skipped and ran and climbed up boulders. Lucy wouldn’t walk a single step. She wouldn’t even walk from the bathroom stall to the sink. I was holding back tears as we finally made it back to the car;  I was so full of frustration and guilt after asking, arguing, pleading, making deals, threatening, and then finally just giving in. I just wanted her to stretch her legs for a couple hundred feet before our car ride home. It should’t have been a big deal for either of us. Please tell me I’m not the only mom with moments like this.

I don’t have a picture of Lucy crying, or one of me carrying her. I was too annoyed to take a picture. But here is one of Annika climbing a rock, with Lucy peeking out behind. I set her down to take a picture, and she wasn’t happy about it.

Luckily I have a husband is more patient than I am, and was wise enough to see that Lucy just needed a little break, a little snack and a little motivation. He encouraged us to try one more little hike, and promised fruit snacks at the end for anyone who gave it their best effort. Now, we really try to stay away from bribes, but there is a fine line between bribes and motivation. I’m not sure where this one fell, but it worked like a charm. Lucy and Elise and Annika ran and skipped along the trail. Elise made up a little chant that went something along the lines of “I’m a great hiker. I’m the best hiker! I’m so great!” and she kept it up the whole time. Once, when I cautioned Elise to slow down as she ran along a narrow trail with a steep drop-off she stopped and said “It’s ok Mom. We’re all going to die. Just like Jesus. We will be alive again.” And then she skipped away. For my fears, I’m the only one who came away from the hike with an injury. I stubbed my pinkie toe on the corner of a sharp rock, tearing it open. Blood pooled around my toes in my sandal. Elise said “I’m a good hiker, and Lucy’s a good hiker and Annika’s a good hiker, but you’re not a good hiker mom. You got blood.” I’m still waiting for my toenail to grow back. Maybe it is time to retire my Chacos as my hiking shoe of choice.

And then we ate fruit snacks and drove home. Exhausted, but happy. Rejuvenated after a few days in the wilderness and ready to face our new adventures.

She requested crepes for her birthday breakfast, and I was happy to acquiesce and eat my fair share.

I would think that having a birthday on April Fools’ Day would be sort of annoying. I mean, who wants everyone playing practical jokes on you on your birthday? But Annika loves it. Brad and the girls got me good when I came home from running to the store and turned on the sink, only to get soaked by the spray nozzle (they’d taped down the handle.) I played that joke so many times as a kid, you’d think I would be more aware, but I was caught completely off guard. We tried to fool Annika by wrapping up a bunch of random things around the house and giving those to her instead of her presents. She wasn’t fooled, but she did look a little bit worried at one point. I’m going to have to work harder to really get her someday.

When we moved to Springville last fall, Annika found that she would be eligible to get her own library card once she turned five. We visit the library at least once or twice a week, and she’s been waiting almost a year for her own card. So, first thing in the morning of her fifth birthday we all went to the library. Brad skipped school that morning to be with Annika on her birthday. B-school has been nice that way.

Afterwards we grabbed ice cream cones at the SOS Drugstore. When it is your birthday you can eat ice cream before lunch.

Annika requested cauliflower soup for dinner (seriously, I would have made anything for her, and that’s what she wanted.) Some of our very best friends from Germany texted me that day to say that they were in town, and we were so, so happy to have them over for dinner. I’m just now realizing that I didn’t take a single picture of us together, and I’m feeling rather sad about it. I’ll just have to treasure the memory, I suppose. Looking back , I’m glad we could celebrate Annika’s big day in all her favorite ways – with books, ice cream, and friends.

Annika: Right when I first saw it snowing, it was just snowing a tiny bit. But then it started snowing like a snowstorm. And I was so excited! But the further we got on the trip, it wasn’t so snowy.

Lucy: We tried to ice skate

Elise: Daddy is scared of the snow

I was more than a little worried as we loaded into our car Friday morning and the snow started to come down. I kept thinking “what kind of crazy people are we, taking our small children camping while there is a blizzard outside?!”

I’m at the tent. We had fun roasting marshmallows. 

It was warm in the tent, even though it was cold outside. 

I liked sleeping in my sleeping bag. 

My fears eased up when we arrived in Capitol Reef with the sun shining brightly. It was still cold, but we were all smiles.

This hike went to an arch. And we had so much fun at the arch, I almost didn’t want to leave. But then we did. My favorite part was seeing the arch and seeing the river.

My favorite part was eating M&Ms.

My favorite part was eating M&Ms and camping and going over the bridge.

The hike to Hickman bridge was so beautiful in the evening light. As I was looking back through my pictures, I realized that I must be the most annoying Mom to hike with; I’m constantly making my kids stop for a picture. I have a picture for every 10 feet of trail on this hike. The light was just so wonderful, and I was just so happy to be outside with my family.  They’re good sports to put up with me.

Traveling with kids can be exasperating at times, but wonderful in so many ways. It’s funny – we’re constantly pointing out to our kids all the things they should find interesting. “Look at that arch! Look how high the canyon walls are! Do you see those Native American petroglyphs?” Yet my girls were most entertained playing in the sand and rocks, and climbing up walls. Kids are a good reminder to slow down, and appreciate the beautiful and enjoyable things right in front of us. They force me to remember that pushing to the destination is not as important as enjoying the experience along the way.

Since we left our house in a blizzard, and the forecast called for below freezing temperatures, we were more than a little worried about the weather. I even called to make sure there was a hotel with room available, just in case we were freezing. It really wasn’t so bad during the day (as long as we were wearing long underwear, hats and gloves), but it did get quite chilly at night. We rushed to get dinner warmed up, but even though it started at a boil, my soup was freezing again before I could eat it. I huddled with the girls around the fire while Brad set up the tent, and we roasted marshmallows, which was unanimously the favorite part of the weekend for our girls.

I really liked the fire, it was warm, and roasting marshmallows. 

With blankets piled under us and a down comforter on top of my down sleeping bag, it was actually one of my best nights of sleep in a tent – ever. Annika climbed into Brad’s sleeping bag sometime in the early morning, so I’m not sure his experience was as enjoyable as mine.  The early morning was the coldest part of our trip – so Brad just turned the heat on in the car, and the girls were warm and toasty while they ate their breakfast. Problem solved.

That’s silly that we had S’mores in the morning.

Yes, Annika, it is silly. But we were camping. And it was cold.  And who doesn’t want s’mores at 9 am?

I liked when we were going in the little bit wider canyons, but not the super skinny ones.  I got stuck on the way back down.

Saturday morning started with a hike up to Cohab Canyon – once you climb up into the canyon there are a few little tiny slot canyons to explore. It might have been my favorite part of the weekend. I think Annika enjoyed it too – until she got stuck and scraped her side, and I haven’t heard the end of it since. It’s a terrible wound, you know, and requires new bandages a couple times a day. 

The pie was yummy, but Elise didn’t let me have any of her pie.

The current location of the campground was once the site of a very isolated Mormon pioneer community. One of the farmhouses still stands, and now serves as part museum, part gift shop where they sell justifiably famous pies. We got two and they didn’t last long. On our way home we asked the girls what their favorite part of the trip was, and Lucy was quick to respond that eating pie was her favorite part. She takes after her Mom. Food makes or breaks a vacation, you know.

Capitol Reef was fun because it had a little bit of everything – Native American ruins and petroglyphs, pioneer cabins, slot canyons, arches, and some great hikes.

There is nothing like camping and hiking to completely wear out your kids.

I liked the Indian carvings. My Mom thought there weren’t going to be any, but there were actually some Indian carvings, and also some Pioneer names on the walls.

We squeezed in a scenic drive and one last hike before we had to head home. In Capitol Reef they have two roads that actually drive into the slot canyons. I’ve hiked a lot of canyons, but I found it a little disconcerting to drive my car past the sign that warned of flash floods. We didn’t get flooded, we had a cold, yet enjoyable hike, and after filling up on some gourmet burgers in the tiny town of Torrey, we made it home late Saturday night. Not bad for a weekend getaway.

I’m not sure I have too much else to say about their birthday except that it was the best kind of day. Brad was home, we spent time at the pool, we opened presents slowly through the day, and then spent the evening with friends and family. It was perfect, really. I hope that Lucy and Elise enjoyed it as much as I did. Here’s how to throw an awesome birthday party:

Balloons and streamers make anything feel festive. Good morning, birthday girl!

Open one present at a time, and enjoy it before opening another one. We opened presents all day, and I loved it.  Annika saved up her own money and picked out this present for them – it was a new silverware set for each of them. She has good taste.

Decorate with what you have. I pulled out my favorite books and favorite toys and printed pictures of the twins reading. I made a big banner that said “Happy Birthday” to match the “Read” one, but forgot to take a picture. I just had to find a book on our shelves that Brad didn’t want and tear out pages to make a banner.

Go easy on the activities. They’re only three, right? We stamped canvas library bags, which may have even been a bit of a stretch, but it worked. Annika designed the “pin the book on the bookworm” game. Pin the (fill in the blank) is her favorite party game ever. When you include adults, and do a lot of spinning it is extra fun. But be warned, it is a bit advanced for the under two crowd. We blindfolded poor Noa, pointed him in the right direction and he just kept walking until he ran smack into the door. It was one of the more hilarious moments of the night.

If you can include a silly accessory as part of your favor bag, do it. Snapping pictures of everyone in their bookworm glasses was a highlight of the night.

If you put out a bowl of gummy worms, be prepared for the kids to do nothing but stand next to the bowl and eat gummy worms until its gone.

Let your kids do what they really want to do. I shouldn’t have been surprised that even with friends running around and games to play, Lucy and Elise just wanted to sit on someone’s lap and read books. Lucy and Jan are best buds, and Lucy couldn’t have been happier.

Those party favors are super fun, but we learned they tend to accumulate spit. Jordan’s face may actually be one of real terror, since he knows he is about to be sprayed with toddler spittle.

Give yourself lots of time to make even the simplest of cakes. Buy an extra cake mix in case the first one fails to come out of the pan. Or just enlist your husband to finish the frustrating task of decorating the cake. These are all lessons I learned the hard way, but Brad came through for me (again) and I think the cake turned out great.

I never buy cereal anymore because we all love it so much and eat it so quickly. It’s easier just not to have it around. But when we asked Lucy and Elise what they wanted for their birthday dinner they both said “cereal!” I protested, but Brad insisted that it was their birthday, and we can let them eat what they want. I think Lucy was pleased (and I’m guessing that Brad was too. He love cereal more than anyone else.)

Well, there you have it. How to throw an amazing three year old birthday party!

Now I have to get working on Annika’s party. She has some high expectations and has already created lists full of party plans for me. Wish me luck!

Thank you to everyone who came and celebrated our little girls’ big day with us.

And thanks to Taniel, who gave me almost all of the pictures from that night. It was nice to be at the party, without worrying about taking pictures, but I am so, so glad I have these. Thanks, Taniel!

]]> http://www.ericaholland.com/2013/02/26/a-bookworm-birthday/feed/ 5 http://www.ericaholland.com/2013/02/08/ellie-belly/ http://www.ericaholland.com/2013/02/08/ellie-belly/#comments Sat, 09 Feb 2013 05:55:36 +0000 Erica Holland Photography http://www.ericaholland.com/?p=2476 We check new music CDs out from the library every week and a couple of weeks ago we were listening to one in the car when we heard an artist singing, in a lovely Irish accent, what appeared to be a song addressed to “Ellie Belly.” We couldn’t believe it. We call Elise “Ellie Belly” all the time, but we didn’t think anyone else used that nickname. Elise especially was so happy that there was a song with her name in it. We were a bit disappointed when checked the CD case and found that she was actually singing “Ally Bally.” The accent threw us all off. Oh well. We sing “Ellie Belly” to our Elise at bedtime now, even though Annika always reminds us that we are singing it wrong.

Elise is our most outgoing child. She is the least afraid of trying new things, and learns quickly. When we all went ice skating a few weeks ago it was Elise, not Annika, who ventured out on her own first and who insisted on doing it herself, without the aid of the walker. She is also our most athletic, and impresses us every time when we go hiking, snowshoeing, or rock climbing. She loves animals, and calls the neighborhood cat (who we find on our porch every night) “my favorite kitty.” Even when she shows an animal a bit too much love, and she gets nipped or scratched she’ll say “Hey! I think he likes me!” She also loves coloring, and carries around a little mini composition notebook and a pen all day, making notes and scribbles. Her artwork is abstract and bold – her hand eye coordination is as good as Lucy’s,but she is not interested in drawing people the way Lucy is. She loves Legos and Playmobil and sitting and reading books to herself. She gets along very well with Annika and is happy anytime she can follow the big kids around. She let me straighten her hair last week, and then kept going back to look at it in the mirror – she felt so grown up. She doesn’t like to cuddle the way Lucy does, but she is extremely attached to her thumb. We are working on breaking her of the habit, and she is doing pretty well. She is the least sensitive of our three girls, but throws the biggest tantrums. We love our spunky little (big) girl.

1. What is your favorite color? Blue.

2. What is your favorite food? Cereal. 

3. What is your favorite toy? My stuffed animals. 

4. What is your favorite TV show? Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. 

5. What is your favorite thing to wear? A twirly dress. 

6. Who is your best friend? Daddy! 

7. What is your favorite song? Ellie Belly.

8. What is your favorite thing to do outside? Play. 

9. What is your favorite movie? Brave.

10. What do you sleep with? Animals, Tiny (her little dog), and my kitty.

11. What do you want to be when you grow up? ….a grown up!

It’s almost 2:00 in the morning and my little girls turn three today. They’re asleep in their beds, fairly oblivious to the excitement of the day ahead of them. Unlike Annika, who lives for parties and celebrations, and even at the age of three was heavily invested in the planning of her parties, they seem most excited that we agreed to let them have cereal for their birthday dinner.

Lucy and Elise share everything – their toys, their bed, their schedules, our attention. At this point, I really don’t think they mind, and often I think they enjoy it. However, for once, I’m giving them a little individual attention. Tonight you’ll get a birthday spotlight for Lucy, and tomorrow I’ll give you Elise.

What to say about Lucy? When she was in the womb, she was far more active than Elise, and I would have never guessed that she would end up being my little snuggler. She has the biggest puppy dog eyes and makes the sweetest pouty face that is nearly impossible to say no to. She is our biggest Momma’s girl, and only recently have we been able to convince her that Daddy is her buddy too. But if she’s hurt or sad or tired or sick, she still only wants me. And she has this thing where she doesn’t like Brad to drive the car, which can cause problems, since Brad almost always drives if we’re both in the car together. Like her sisters, she loves drawing, reading books, and singing songs. She especially loves Wheels on the Bus. She is getting quite good at drawing people, and will fill pages of her drawings of little people and give the pictures to me as gifts. She is sweet and thoughtful and sensitive. She loves playing with our toy animals (especially the horses), she could spend hours building things with blocks, and she has developed a recent affection for polar bears. We often call her Linus, because she wants to drag her blankie with her everywhere, though we’re working on breaking the habit. If we let her, she would always be held, cuddled, carried, and snuggled. She gives the best hugs, her eyes squint shut when she smiles, and every night she tells me she loves me to space. She’s our little Lucy Lu, and we love her to death.

1. What is your favorite color?  Blue, and brown.

2. What is your favorite fruit? Carrots…. I mean apples! 

3. What is your favorite TV show? Dora.

4. What is your favorite thing to wear? Dog shirt… I mean dog pajamas!

5. What is your favorite animal? Elephants.

6. What is your favorite song? Twinkle, Twinkle. 

7. Who is your best friend? Elise! 

8. What is your favorite food for breakfast? Soup. We explained what meal breakfast is. Cereal.

9. What is your favorite game? Hi Ho Cheerio

10. What is your favorite thing to do outside? Go camping

11. What do you like to sleep with? My kitties, my dog, and my blanket.

12. What do you want to be when you grow up? A dinosaur. 

Our fears were alleviated when we arrived at a nearly empty campground in a canyon still filled with trees bearing red, orange and yellow leaves. It turns out that November is an ideal time to visit the park – the crowds are gone, you can drive through the canyon, the leaves are beautiful, and while chilly, it is still warm enough for camping. It was a short weekend, so we got started right away.

Here are some new traveling with toddlers tips:

1. Be aware of hikes that have steep drop-offs. Toddlers like to run and skip and are notoriously clumsy. You will find yourself squeezing their hands tightly and feeling a bit panicked until you reach more level ground. The kids weren’t at all nervous – even though Annika cried the entire drive to the trailhead because the road was so high up.

2. If your toddler (or preschooler) wants to buy a hat (or shirt or backpack) that you can’t stand – buy it and tell her that it is her new hiking hat. Then she’ll be excited to hike and camp because she gets to wear her hat. And you’ll only have a few pictures (or a lot) with the ugly hat – but awesome hiker poses make it ok.

3. Even toddlers can appreciate incredible views, but don’t underestimate the fun of a rock jungle gym and a natural sandbox.

4. Campfires are wonderful, and are the cure for almost everything when you are camping. Unless you are Lucy – and then the sound of the wood popping is terrifying.

5. Make sure you take everyone to the bathroom before you all get in your sleeping bags. And make sure they are really done going to the bathroom. Otherwise, you’ll get all undressed and zipped up only to unzip, redress, put shoes on and walk to the bathroom. Twice, if you’re lucky. By that time everyone else in the tent will be asleep, which results in Annika saying “Hey, Mom! It’s like a mommy -daughter date!”

6. S’mores are a totally acceptable breakfast food.

7. Sticks are the best toys, and you can never have too many rocks.

8. Finally, being in the outdoors with your children can really bring out the best in them, and you’ll be surprised at how they exceed your expectations. We wanted to hike up the river a little bit into the Virgin River Narrows. Brad and I have done it a couple of times, but we wanted to show our girls; it is one of our favorite places in the world. However, it was November, and it was cold and rainy, and the water was a frigid 45 degrees. Anyone else we saw going up the river had on drysuits, special shoes, and had hiking poles. We had rolled up jeans with dry clothes in our bag. We put the twins in the backpack and crossed the river once, carrying Annika. It was so cold it hurt, and as the rain came down we decided we wouldn’t go any further. But Annika was determined. She wanted to hike in the river. After hearing her beg and plead, we decided we would put on her water shoes, roll up her pants and let her try it. It was so cold we were sure she would take a few steps in and then want to go home. But she didn’t. Even though the water was up to the top of her legs at times, she just kept going. It wasn’t until none of us could feel our extremities anymore that she consented to turning back. We are amazed at the girl she is growing up to be.

Lucy and Elise weren’t to be outshone either. On each of the three hikes we did, they hiked at least a mile – sometimes more. Their little legs just kept on going!

This last week Brad accepted an internship offer with DigitalGlobe – a satellite imagery company based in Longmont, CO. We’ll only be 20 minutes outside of Boulder and an hour from Rocky Mountain National Park. We are looking forward to spending an entire summer in the mountains with our tough little girls.

I only have a couple more years of being able to tell my kids what to be for Halloween, so I think I’ll take advantage of family costumes as long as I can. Lucy and Elise still talk about being jesters. Unfortunately, they also still talk about me being a witch. It’s a little awkward when we meet new people and they exclaim “my Mommy is a witch!” I’ll have to take that into consideration next time around.

One of our neighbors is a photographer, and instead of handing out candy he took pictures of everyone in costume and then gave a link to download the photo on his website. Awesome! Brad finished his game in time to join us for the last few houses and a photo together. I had to document Brad’s willingness to wear a sparkly headpiece and tights in the name of a themed Halloween costume.

We’re still working through the candy. I thought I was being a good Mom by hiding the candy and restricting it to a few times a day. Instead, my kids have come to expect a piece of candy every time they finish a meal. Next year I think I’ll just let them eat themselves sick on one day and then be done with it.

Today I am grateful for good men in my life. Not just your average guys – but dedicated, hard working, selfless men. The kind of men who are not above doing dishes, changing diapers, and fixing dinners (every weekend.) The kind of men who push me to be my best self, who just listen when I cry, and who make me laugh everyday. They say you are likely to marry a man like your father. Lucky me! I have a great father, and I have a great husband.

Brad is away this weekend interviewing, and anytime he is gone, I am more grateful for the times he is here. He still thinks to call, multiple times a day, just because he knows it makes me happy. He’s good like that.

Conveniently, my Dad is here visiting this weekend. I am grateful not only for my relationship with my Dad, but to see my girls’ relationship with their Opa. It’s been a happy weekend full of giggles and hugs in the Holland household.

I’ve re-written this post a hundred times trying to do my dad and my husband justice without getting too sappy. I’m not sure I’ve succeeded, but you get the idea – I am grateful for my Dad and for my best friend.