Tubing at Picnic Rock

We went tubing on the Poudre River two weekends in a row. We went up the canyon to a spot called Picnic Rock- and it was quite busy! The first week was just our family and was much better than the tubing we did on Asher's birthday. The river was deeper and faster here with some really fun rapids mixed with some calmer parts of the river.

After we had lunch, we drove up about a mile or so, but since we had no idea how difficult it would be, we only had Asher and Leif go with Austin while the younger kids and I drove back down to play in the river and meet them. They had a ton of fun, so on the next run I went with them while Austin stayed with the younger three (much to Heidi's disappointment). I had so much fun and loved being able to do it with my older boys. Afterward, we came back into Fort Collins and floated about a mile of the river so that the whole family could go, but it was pretty shallow and really buggy and not nearly as exciting as earlier in the day, but the younger three could participate and had a good time.

 The next weekend, we brought our cousins Paul and Ben along and decided that Heidi could go on the more exciting part of the river. We left Trevor and Natalie with their grandma to have a fun time with her (going to McDonalds and watching videos). The river might have been a little bit lower this week (it seemed like I ran into more rocks this time) but it was still very fun. It was especially fun to have the cousins along- something that the kids always love. 

Austin has an air compressor that runs off the car's battery, so we filled up the tubes at the top of the run and Austin went with all the kids while I drove back down with Torben (stopping to get a few pictures along the way) and set up our picnic at the bottom. 

We couldn't get Leif out of the water to eat his lunch so we could do another run,

But we eventually got him to eat while he was still sitting in the river.

Heidi had a little trouble directing her tube, but Austin helped her and she had fun. She was freezing at the end, so we put her on a rock in the sun to warm up while she had lunch.

I went down with just the boys on the second run (Heidi was still too cold to get in the water), but of course Austin didn't take any pictures. Then Austin went with all the kids a third time while Torben and I took pictures then relaxed by the river at the ending point. It took us a couple trips each time to get all the kids and tubes up to the starting point, but it was a quick drive and not too bad.

At the end,  the younger kids had fun swimming and playing in the river while Austin and Paul deflated all the tubes so we could fit them and everyone in the car.

Asher is 12!!!

 

 

Asher is getting big so fast! He's not taller than I am yet, but at the beginning of this year, his foot was the same size as mine and now it is about an inch longer! He constantly needs new shoes, but luckily he wears the same clothes over and over and they are always baggy, so I haven't had to buy him too many new clothes. Despite getting bigger and bigger, Asher remains the same lovable kid! He is such a great helper, is thoughtful and kind, and very smart. He still loves all the same things- Legos, Minecraft, anything to do with vehicles, etc. He has been expanding his circle of friends and becoming more independent as he participates more in church activities (including his first two-night-campout) and does things outside of the family. He is still an early riser and even beats me out of bed some mornings and already has the dog all ready to go on a walk. He loves to be involved in anything that is going on, so he says yes to any invitation to go anywhere, even if its just to a boring store. 

Asher only had one present to open because he opened the one from us (the shirt he is wearing) the day before and the one from his grandparents at the party earlier in the week. He got this Bruder truck from my dad and took it out immediately to play in the sandbox. 

We started as usual with chocolate waffles. Brent and Kate came over and Asher and Leif did their favorite "whipped cream" faces, which just means they spray a bunch of whipped cream into their mouths.

After breakfast and some birthday pictures, Austin took all the kids (except Leif who stayed with me) to run some errands then to an R/C car store that Asher has been begging to go to for months. When they got home, we went to the Poudre River with their cousins to float down it. Asher and Leif did this activity with church friends last week and both had so much fun that Asher asked to do it for his birthday. Austin and Justin were good sports and got in with the kids while I took their clothes and shoes back to the cars and stayed on shore to take pictures.

The kids had fun, but unfortunately the river was much lower than it had been the previous week, so they had to get up and walk in quite a few places.

After the river, we went back to our house for ice cream. Asher found this last sparkler left over from Independence Day and wanted it on his ice cream. Afterward, he and Leif got to go on a sleepover with their cousins while the three younger kids stayed with Austin and I. Justin took all the sleepover kids swimming at a real pool, then they stayed up watching movies and who knows what else. They got to spend the day playing with their cousins and ended it with a stop at the store for Asher to pick out his birthday present from them- a Legos Technic Set. All in all, he had a very exciting birthday and we are so glad to call him ours!

 

And here is Asher's Birthday Interview:

 Who is your favorite person? Everyone in our family

What is your favorite color? Blue

What is your favorite thing to watch on TV? Colin Furz Youtube videos

What is your favorite outfit? T-shirt and basketball shorts

What song do you like the best? A Russian song (he doesn't know the name) or the Studio Ghibli music

What is your favorite cereal? Cinnamon Life

Who is your best friend? Leif

What do you want to do when your grow up? Be an engineer

What is your favorite book? The Phantom Tollboth, The Lord of the Rings, plenty of books

What are you really good at? Legos

Where do you wish you could go on vacation? Alaska or Oregon or Banff (in Canada)

What would you buy if you had a lot of money? R/C cars

What is your favorite dinner? Pot pie

If you could have a wish, what would it be?

What is your favorite flavor of ice cream? Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough and Mint Chocolate Chip

Who do you want to be like? Dad

What do you like to do with your friends? Play basketball and stuff

What do you hope you'll get to do before your next birthday? Eat

What is your favorite thing to do? Play with Legos and Bruder trucks

What are you proud of? Building stuff

What are you afraid of? Fear

What is Mom's favorite thing to do? Sew and take care of us

How strong is Dad? Really strong

What does Dad do best? Mess around

What does Mom do best? Be a mom

What do you like best about Dad? He's fun

What do you like best about Mom? She reads to us