Auntie Hodder!

On Tuesday night we drove up to Glenwood Springs to meet Auntie Hodder, Uncle Josh and Uncle Steve for dinner. We are lucky to have Heather nearby in Vail for at least the next month. I look forward to more visits and Finley does too! I am still holding out hope that she and Josh won't move to Seattle.

Braves T-Ball

A few weeks back we headed out to Sugar Land to watch Max play "under the lights" as his Braves played their final t-ball game of the season. We took Clifton's tomahawk from the Atlanta Braves to help cheer Max on. As all games do, it ended in a tie, but Finley and Max felt like winners!

Snowy Day

That's right, it snowed today. It's May 29th and it snowed. We were going to spend the day in Aspen wandering around, maybe playing at the playground, but the weather had different plans. Luckily, we had bought craft supplies in Glendwood Springs last night at Target, so Finley and I were set for a snowy/rainy day inside. We made a butterfly made out of handprints and a footprint. Finley is getting really good at using scissors. She cut the foot out all by herself, as well as two of the hands. Then she was getting tired, so I helped with the final two. I understand her frustration, cutting with safety scissors is no fun. She also told me she was the best cutter in her class...so modest!

Angel Ballerina

Finley did fantastic at her recital. Sorry the video is so bright on the kids, my mini camera isn't really the greatest. If you can't tell (and how could you?) Finley starts the dance third from the left.

Maroon Bells

We headed out this morning to the Maroon Bells. It isn't far at all from Snowmass and the drive was much easier for Finley. We got to the guard station and realized we were $20 short of cash to buy a National Parks pass. Luckily, the Ritz Carlton a couple miles away had an ATM, so after a quick detour, we were ready for our hike. We hiked all the way past the lake up to the area where waterfalls were listed on the map. After hiking and hiking, we never saw any waterfalls, so we headed back. I think the recent snowfalls and lack of snow melting made for dry waterfalls. We turned around and picked a nice table for our picnic lunch. We headed home after our late lunch, it was a really pretty morning.

Independence Pass

We headed up to Independence Pass this morning since it just opened on Thursday after being closed for the winter. Finley was very excited to see the snow, she even was able to throw a few snowballs. There were lots of back country skiiers out and it was cool to see them coming down the mountain. I cannot believe how far they hike to ski! Finley and I will stick to the gondola and chair lifts. Once we made it to the top we stopped for a picnic lunch. After lunch, Finley was grouchy and ended up throwing up. Poor thing! The altitude combined with the huge lunch she ate didn't sit well with her. We cut our trip short and headed back home.

Brave Swimmer!

What a difference a year makes! Finley went swimming at Grammy and Grandad's yesterday for the first time this year. She went off the diving board at least 10 times! She made me jump first every time, but she was quite brave.

Disneyland, Day Six

The main goal of our last day at Disneyland was for Finley to participate in Jedi Training. In Florida, you have to sign up in the morning and they schedule you a time to return. In California, the Jedi select kids from the audience to participate. I had done a little advance reading and learned that making a sign was the best tip to get selected. I made Finley a sign that said "Judge me by size, do you?" She held it up for the start of the show and was FIRST PICKED!

Disneyland, Day Five

It was another day of major park hopping! We once again started at California Adventure to get fastpasses for Racers, Soarin' and World of Color. After riding Ladybug Spin and Chew Chew, we rode Zephyrs and then hit the Disney Jr show. Finley loves that it includes Doc and Sophia now. We got there just as the doors were closing, but scored awesome aisle seats that gave Finley a great view. After we rode Soarin', it was off to Disneyland to meet Tigger and Eeyore. We also rode Winnie the Pooh and Splash Mountain, luckily none of us got as wet as we did in Florida. Our Racers fastpasses were nearly ready, but we stopped at Guest Relations to see about adding a sixth day to Grammy's pass. They don't sell a six day pass and we really didn't want to pay for a full day for the few short hours we will be able to visit tomorrow. Luckily, we had a fantastic cast member who loved all of Finley's buttons...he gave us a comped park hopper for tomorrow! We rode Racers and lost (boo!) but we got to do the tires this time, so that was neat. After Racers, we headed back to Disneyland to ride Buzz Lightyear, the monorail, Space Mountain, Astro Orbiter, Small World and Star Tours. Finley still wants to know when she is going to get to be the Rebel Spy. We went back over to California Adventure to ride Luigi's Tires and watch World of Color. Finley was exhausted, but she made it through the whole show with my holding her up. She passed out in the stroller as soon as it was over. Jedi Training tomorrow (hopefully!)

Disneyland, Day Four

We did lots of park hopping today, which is quite easy to do in Disneyland, you basically just walk across the street. We started in California Adventure, while I gathered fastpasses, Grammy and Finley played in the Wilderness Explorer Camp. I joined them for a little more play time, then we headed to use our fastpasses for Soarin'. Lucky for us, Minnie was out front ready to meet Finley. After Soarin', we headed over to Disneyland to ride the Haunted Mansion, Pinnochio, Snow White and the Casey Jr. Train. Our fastpasses to Space Mountain were ready, so Finley was ready to ride her favorite ride in the back row once again. Most of the afternoon was spent in Toon Town, with visits to both Minnie and Mickey's house. Finley still adores playing in their houses, moreso than even meeting them! The Pixar Play Parade was starting in California Adventure just as we arrived, it was perfect timing. We rode Mater's Junkyard Jamboree and Radiator Springs Racers (we won this time in a red car) just before our dinner reservations at Blue Bayou. We had a fantastic table near the water and it was a lovely meal. Finley mainly loved eating the bread and butter. We rode Pirates right after dinner and by then the park had closed. I gave Finley the option of going back to California Adventure for World of Color, but she said she was too tired. Three days of Disney without a nap tuckers a girl out!