Sand-tastic Adventure.

For some time, we'd heard bits and pieces about the Great Sand Dunes. We'd also heard that the time of year to go is in May, when the snowmelt creates a creek running alongside the dunes. A few weeks ago when we found out the nearby lodge had just 1 room left for this weekend, we jumped at the opportunity to finally make this trip. And oh, was it ever sand-tastic!

We left yesterday afternoon and made the 3-hour journey out to The Middle of Nowhere, somewhere near Ft. Garland & Alamosa. As we drove along, we spotted in the distance nestled among some mountains the Great Sand Dunes. For a visual, imagine this. Take a small chunk of the Sahara Desert and plop it in between a huge wide open plain and the base of 13,000 ft. still-snow-capped mountains. And there you have the Great Sand Dunes. It is really quite amazing to think how these dunes ended up where they are, as there's nothing quite like them anywhere else. (After all, they are the tallest dunes in North America.)

After arriving at the Sand Dunes, we checked into the lodge, dined at the local restaurant, and then headed out to hike to nearby Zapata Falls. This 1-mile hike at dusk was a perfect end to our evening and a great preview of the day to come as we watched the sun set on the dunes.

A-hiking we will go to Zapata Falls!

Mama & the boys with the dunes in the distance.

View of the Great Sand Dunes while hiking down from Zapata Falls.

We decided to "preview" the dunes after our hike. 

It was a gorgeous sight to see the sun setting over the dunes!

These two are such happy campers because they can't

wait to get in that water!!

By 8 a.m. this morning, we were up and at the dunes. We were some of the first people to arrive, so we enjoyed a peaceful morning of R&R (rest & relaxation) while the boys enjoyed S&S (sand & stream). They were just giddy about playing in the creek and seemed unaware that the water they were playing in was in fact freezing cold. In the video below, Reid thinks we're in San Diego. Well ... pretty similar. This is our Colorado version!

Early birds catch a wave at Medano Creek!

Dad & lil' dudes at the dunes.

Luke loved playing with these big Tonka trucks.

Reid loved the challenge of trying to stand up in the stream currents.

Sand signature.

Warming up after a morning in the creek!

After a while, we stored the water/sand toys back in the car and embarked on a hike into the dunes. Several people had suggested bringing toboggans so we could sled down the dunes. Good idea in theory, not so much in practice. The sleds would only slide 5 feet at most and then stop. Oh well. Reid enjoyed being pulled by Mom and Dad a few times on the way down from the dunes.

Climbing the dunes. Towing the sleds.

Resting on a dune.

Gonna make it ... gonna make it ...

Hitching a ride.

4 miles 4 our community.

The members of Junior League got the community moving this morning with the Reach Your Peak 4-Mile Race. This family-friendly run, walk & stroll through Monument Valley Park raised money for the League's signature service project CARE Fair, a back-to-school health fair for children who are uninsured. Jami assisted on the race committee and enjoyed being on the inside track of the race planning (no pun intended!) We had a gorgeous morning for the race and were thrilled to have 100 participants registered!

Race committee members with Prowler, 

the Colorado College mascot.

Ready, set, race! Runners dash from the starting line.

J is for ... Jenny & Jami & Junior League!

A new crop.

This week, we planted our garden ...

with a little help from these farmhands.

Green beans, tomatoes, radishes, peppers,

canteloupe, strawberries, and cucumbers

will hopefully be coming up soon!

School's out for summer...

Well, not quite for the Leahy boys! This week we kicked off our first segment of "Mom School," a summer series of activities, lessons, field trips, art projects, etc. centering around a different theme each week. We tried this out last summer, and it provided some fun learning for the boys (and fun planning for Mom!) As we look ahead to this summer, we look forward to some creative adventures coordinating with the Mom School theme-of-the-week.

Up first: PLANES. And boy, do we ever live in the right region to learn more about this theme, thanks to the strong Air Force presence here! Here are some highlights from our high-flying week...

A squadron of pancakes!

Dinner at Solo's Restaurant (AKA the Airplane Restaurant).

You can eat dinner inside this plane!

Co-pilots Reid & Luke have everything under control on this flight.

They were ecstatic about being able to flip 

all the switches and push all the levers!

"Look, Dad, I'm flying the plane."

And of course, the Thunderbirds air show 

was the highlight of the week!

It's a bird, it's a plane ...

It's a Thunderbird! Our "neighbors" have really been the talk of the town lately ... flying their jets overhead with some impressive maneuvers ... our neighbors at the Air Force Academy, that is. Every year, the US Air Force Thunderbirds (who are the best-of-the-best pilots) present an air show as part of the Academy graduation ceremonies. Scott's company RT Logic is right across from the Air Force Academy, and they have front row seats for this amazing air show. The company sponsors a cook-out for employees and their families to attend with lawn chairs, blankets, and a side dish/dessert in tow. Today we all camped out on the RT Logic grounds on a gorgeous Colorado day to watch this impressive demonstration by the 6 Thunderbird jets. There are many moments where we step back and think, "Wow, we live HERE ... this is incredible!" Today was one of those days.

Thunderbirds flying near Pikes Peak.

Flying over Scott's company!

Watching the show.

American Pride.

Just hatched.

This afternoon we were thrilled to discover that some of the eggs had hatched in our nest on the front porch! We think there are two tiny birdies in the nest now. Take a peek...

Family fotos.

These 3 are non-stop laughs. 

Such fun little guys full of life and energy!

(Luke & Reid opted to wear capes 

because ... well ... just because!)

Grandparents & grandsons. 

The girls ... Briana, Dixie & Jami.

Loud cloud.

The last few weeks have been filled with rainstorms, and a few have boasted some impressive thunder and lightning. The other night after a few loud booms of thunder, Reid announced, "I don't like that LOUD CLOUD." Well said, little man.

Riding the rails of the Royal Gorge.

All aboard! We loaded up the family for a trip to Canon City today to ride the Royal Gorge Route Railroad. Our train departed at 12:30 p.m. for the 24-mile, 2-hour round trip through the breathtaking Royal Gorge. The route follows along the Arkansas River, so some bonus entertainment included watching rafters and kayakers maneuver the rapids. There weren't too many passengers on this Sunday train, so we had one whole train car to ourselves. What a nice luxury! The boys all loved the train ride ... it was a dream come true for these little conductors! 

Dalton loved exploring the train and roaming the aisles!

Even though it rained for a bit, we were dry and 

cozy in our passenger car. Reid loved watching out the window!

A view of the Royal Gorge Bridge from the track below.

Once the rain cleared, we ventured out to the 

open-air car to check out the scenery.

Rafters in the water + the train on the track.

All aboard ... now all done!

*A special thanks to the KC Leahys, who gave us our railroad tickets as a Christmas gift. Such a fun family day out .. thank you!

Memorial Day Weekend Memories.

On this holiday weekend, we are enjoying some good times with the family (Nelson side) with Briana, Craig & Dalton visiting. Today's adventures took us to the Territory Days festival in Old Colorado City this morning, lunch at Slayton's BBQ (mmmm...good!), afternoon naps during the rainstorm, and then a lovely evening outside after the rain cleared. It's so much fun to watch the cousins play together. Dalton is just a step behind Luke and Reid and is so interested in their antics!

Dalton loved playing in our backyard!

Fun times. Funny cousins.

Fishermen.

This week we kicked off one of our favorite summer activities ... fishing! We packed up the fishing pole, some salami as bait (hey, it's what was in the fridge!), and journeyed the 10 minutes over to our favorite fishing spot of Monument Lake. Although we didn't catch anything, we still had a whale of a good time!

The Graduate.

It's official ... Luke graduated from preschool today! We attended a very nice ceremony with his classmates, teachers, parents, and grandparents. Luke even added some comic relief to the festivities. When his name was called to get his certificate, he took a big leap from the top riser to the floor below and booked his way out ... forgetting to pick up his diploma. Guess someone is all-too-ready to head on out to kindergarten! Too cute! He had such a great year with his wonderful teachers. He's learned so much and is very ready for the next big step. Congratulations, Luke! 

Mrs. Elstad presented Luke with his certificate. 

All the graduates and their teachers!

Tambourine Man. Reid found this tambourine 

while waiting for the graduation to start and 

decided it would make a nice hat!

A toast to moms!

April showers bring May celebrations. This month has many end-of-the-year celebrations to celebrate between school, volunteer organizations, and more! One such festive occasion was the year-end dinner for the MOMS Club - North Colorado Springs Chapter. We gathered together for a lovely ladies night out to thank the past year's officers and induct our new board for the coming year. It was so nice to enjoy an evening with just the moms ... and uninterrupted conversations! This is such a great group, and our lives are blessed by many friendships of wonderful families we've met through the MOMS Club!

Trista, Jami, and Melissa ... 

friends from our playgroup of 2-year-olds.

Y-M-C-A

For the last 2 months, our Wednesdays and Saturdays have been focused on YMCA indoor soccer with Luke playing and Scott coaching. We have chuckled many a time as Luke seems to be more of a social player with less of a competitive edge. He's the guy on the field just having fun and forgets about watching the ball. He gets so excited every time he kicks the ball and is always the first player hustling down the field. He is so much fun to watch and has such a good attitude of sportsmanship! Here he is ... our all-star ... Luke!

Scott and our friend Jeff coached this team 

at the Downtown YMCA. Go team!

A little present.

A few hints...

1. This was left on our front porch.
   
2. Much careful consideration went into selecting this.
   
3. It's a trademark color of a certain fine jewelry box (think Tiffany's).
   

Last week, we noticed some small birds flying around our front porch carrying random twigs. Then we spotted a few of those twigs in our wreath by the front door. Then we saw that a nest was forming! And this week, we noticed another addition to the nest ... 5 little blue eggs. Mama Bird is very protective of her nest and gives us the evil eye if we walk near the front door. The boys have enjoyed watching the birds and peeking in to see the eggs. Stay tuned...