The silver lining to our inability to sell our house is we’ve have an extended amount of time with our Colorado friends. We kept busy in June with all the fun things I love about living in Colorado. Bode wrapped up two weeks of swim lessons with his besties and also did four days of Cub Scout Twilight Camp.
Hadley has had so much fun with friends. They’re climbing a 14er (14,000-foot peak) for YW Girl’s Camp this week and I have taken them on a couple of training hikes up up up 11,7oo to the top of Chief Mountain, complete with sunshine, rain, gorgeous views and a touch of altitude sickness.
And then Hadley, Alex, Maeve, Addison and I explored my beloved Chautauqua Park where we hiked to a little-known spot with a quarry of rocky chaises, armchairs and sofas overlooking a killer view. We rewarded ourselves with a very civilized lunch at the Dining Hall, the best outdoor dining in Colorado. 
A couple of weeks ago, we had our biggest ever turnout for our weekly hiking group at Lair ‘O the Bear. This is an annual summer tradition where we hike to hidden castle in the woods and I took the older kids on a more challenging loop and we then cooled off in Bear Creek.
Not to be forgotten, our family’s annual pilgrimage to St. Mary’s Glacier. It never disappoints!
Now that Hadley is 12, she is now able to receive a limited-use recommend to our LDS Temple. She did the work for her Great Grandma Mary Wilczynski, my dad’s grandmother on his mother’s side. We were so grateful to have her besties Maeve, Addison and Alex at her side (not pictured: Alicia), followed by a traditional stop at Chick-Fil-A. Her goal is to visit all 19 temples in Utah and it’s a pretty awesome goal to set.
I was contacted by goodnessknows snack squares about hosting a group ride for Bike to Work Day and we had a blast discovering hidden bike parks, playing in Ralston Creek, rope swinging, and tree climbing with some of our closest friends!
During some house showings, we had the ultimate downtown Denver playdate with Our Favorite Things: Flagship REI, playing at Confluence Park, exploring the Platte River Trail, Little Man Ice Cream and the movie Finding Dory.
On the day we found out our house contract had fallen through for the second time, we drowned our sorrows at Bear Creek Lake Park with our besties.
Between Outdoor Lab High Achieving Week, our current ward’s YW Girls’ Camp and our new ward’s girl’s camp in Utah next week, Hadley will be gone for three weeks this summer. Bode has had plenty of down-time but I’ve also tried to keep him entertained. He’s had a blast at basketball camp with his buddies, Porter, Carson and their little brothers this week.
Not included in our busy summer list: working and selling our house.
Let’s hope the latter happens sooner than later.
I'm a Canadian-born mom of two, former Denver Post columnist, family travel writer, editor of MileHighMamas.com and 9News contributor. Expert on all things Utah, Denver, family and travel. Lover of laughter and life. Happily married to a man obsessed with growing The Great Pumpkin. 