The Harnisch Family

The Harnisch Family

Jun 30, 2010

Estes Day 2 (Afternoon, Aunt Gayle & SNOW!)

After a short (practically non-existent) nap back at the cabin, Gayle arrived!  And oh boy do our girl's love their Aunt Gayle  :-) 
We had to try (and I stress "try") and take some family pics by the Estes Park sign.
Do have any idea how heavy and STRONG McKenzie is??
This is about as good as it's gonna get.  Not exactly Christmas card worthy but it'll do.
After McKenzie's huge struggle with that photo-op she crashed in the car.  We then ventured into  Rocky Mountain National Park.
And actually, Macy got us all into the park for free!  Did you know that individuals who have a permanent physical or intellectual disability are granted a free Lifetime Access Card to all regional/ national parks?  I didn't until Shelly, our Early Intervention services coordinator, informed us about this (I suppose you could call it a perk - if there are "perks" to having Down Syndrome, you BET we're gonna find them ALL. :).  We just needed to present the Park Ranger with Macy's official medical documentation confirming her diagnosis.  pretty simple!  How nice. :)
 We took Trail Ridge Road (SCARY!) all the way up to the Alpine Visitors Center.  I kept reminding  Joe..."now if a car is coming toward you and swerves into our lane, do NOT turn right in an effort to avoid it, go for the head-on collision!"
brrrr.  it was cold up there.
once again, as you can see, Macy is having a blast.  Just trying to stay warm and snug in the stroller.
I only took about a trillion photo's of the beautiful scenery, lucky for you I only chose to post about 30 or so on this blog post.
SNOW!!
Dirty Snow  :-(
But FUN snow none-the-less.
ah ha...you can't tell in this pic, but I am wearing flip-flops, sweet.  I mean, it's okay to wear flip-flops in June right?  Well, maybe not up in the TUNDRA!
McKenzie playing hide-n-seek on the way back down the scary mountain.
"where did Kenzie go??"...."RAAAAAH Peek a BOO!"
Look close...Can you see the rainbow??!!?
It is unfortunate all the tree's that are effected by this Mountain Pine Beetle  :-(
I love this photo...looks like an oil-painting doesn't it?
On our way back down to Estes, we popped into our other favorite eatery...Mary's Lodge offers a spectacular view of the mountains as they reflect off of Mary's Lake.   :)
mmm. pb&j
Does this girl make a sandwich look delicious or what?  Smucker's - want her #?
mmmm...Gayle order a crab-something or other stuffed Avacodo with vegetable kabob.  I had to take a picture of the fabulous presentation.
I'm not sure what happened, but check out Macy's expression, she started screaming a second later.
But Gayle, in true baby-whisperer fashion, had Macy calmed down in a matter of seconds!
Why wouldn't we want to dance on the deck?
After a fun-filled, adventurous day, it did not take long for the girls to crash for the night...Joe, Gayle and I were able to play a game of Yahtzee out on the front porch.  This is becoming an annual tradition.  I usually lose, but this time I  kicked their @$$e$. :). Woot-woot!  Until next time.

Jun 29, 2010

Day 2 (morning)

 Mornings in Estes are somber & slow.  No alarm, cuz there's no where we need to go.  We chill and kick our feet up, open the windows, throw another log in the fire and drink up the laziness sip by sip in hopes that the time will pass slow.   We allow the warm sun to seep in through the windows and alert us of the new day.  Well at least until the big sister yells at us informing us of her awaken state and proclaiming to all who are around that she NEEDS TO GO PEE.  Immediate attention is required.
Hi Sister  :-)  Do you think they like each other?
 I love this shot of Macy!  Check out those fists  :-)


After breakfast, we took the aerial tramway all the way up the mountain...
As you can see. McKenzie was very excited!
great view of the town from up above.
hurry.  run.  faster.  we've got to go find those chipmunks!
It was  WINDY up there.
Kenzie and Daddy searched high & Low...
...but the chipmunks and ground squirrels were not as abundant this year.  All of the ones who approached McKenzie (with her brown bag of peanuts) already had FULL cheeks.  Bummer...oh well, she had fun hunting them down anyway.  She even whipped out her butterfly net, 
flashlight & magnifying glass
 ...but to no avail.
 as you can see, Macy is having a BALL!  :-(   trying to keep her out of the blazin' sun.
Since the local wildlife was not cooperating, we had to come up with our own fun.
Joe was having a random conversation with some guy with a TCU shirt on about the CWS - after connecting a few dots, come to find out this guy, Craig, is also an MLC alum.  Too funny.  He was even in Joe's fraternity (Kappa Phi) back in the mid 80's.  Small world!
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After we came back down the mountain we hit up one of our favorite lunch spots...Poppy's Pizza! 
 I have begun to appreciate places that are kid-friendly.  All it takes is a nice view, a baby-changing station, crayons, a large format coloring sheet (or at least some salt packets will do).  Is that too much to ask??  While you are at it kid-friendly cups with lids & straws are nice too.  Poppy's has got it all!  Oh, and it helps to have yummy food as well.  :)
I love watching my girls love each other  :-)
  Now back to the cabin...do you think they'll get in a good nap (so that we can nap too??)