Telluride... Mountains, Friends, and Bluegrass!

After camping out and spending a night in Redstone, we arrived in Telluride for a long weekend of fun with friends. This is technically Dylan's first Bluegrass festival, but he was grooving in his momma's belly last year.

We took advantage of the nice weather and hiked with Dylan up Bear Creek to see the beautiful San Juans.






Happy Boy!


Happy Family!


Hanging out with Mom, getting ready for the festival.


But first, some quality couch time!


As the gates open, it's time for the "tarp run". This is one of the more entertaining parts of the festival... with the bagpipes warming up the runners, the gates open and the line dashes through to a blaring banjo... all to stake your territorial claim for the day. There are some pretty entertaining videos on youtube for those who want to see the real thing.

The competition ahead:


Dylan getting ready to dash...


When all was said and done, we did pretty well with our sunshade and tarp.






Gabe and Dylan dancing to some Yonder... I think this was the highlight for both!




We celebrated Father's Day with a gondola ride and some more music.


When he wasn't strapped to dancing friends, Dylan was entertaining the group in his mushroom chair.






And then it was over... What, no more festival?


Don't worry, buddy. We'll be back next year!


And now for some videos:

Dylan's First Camping Trip... plus Redstone!

On Monday, June 15, we hopped into the car and headed west for Dylan's first camping trip. It was the beginning to a great week of fun in the Colorado mountains. Along I-70, we stopped by a local park in Edwards for lunch. Dylan was prepping to be a happy camper!



We ended up camping near Sweetwater Lake, just north of Dotsero. It was a quiet little campground that would be perfect for Dylan's first night under the stars. We got a late start at pitching the tent as this was the second time we showed up at the campsite. The first time, we realized a wallet had somehow jumped off the Toyota somewhere between Edwards and the campground. The story has a happy ending with a kind cyclist from Newcastle that saved the day. With all the excitement ended, we setup our home:



Dylan thinks the sleeping arrangements are pretty cool.




The sun begins to set and we're off to sleep early with the anticipated long night ahead....


Suprisingly, Dylan slept very well... I think it had something to do with being so close to his Mom!


Not everyone slept well....


1/3 isn't that bad :-)


I could get used to this!


We had a fun hike in the morning, and Dylan loved when Dad had to duck under tree limbs... nearly dragging his nose in the mud.


The kid can entertain himself anywhere!


With the first night in a tent under our belts, and feeling pretty good, we headed to one of our favorite little towns... Redstone!


Dylan was quite impressed with the amenities in this "tent".


Time for a swim!



Nothing better than having breakfast with the family next to the crystal river... we wish we could have stayed longer.








Hanging out with the shiny dude in front of the Redstone Inn:


And now, it's off to Telluride!!

It wasn't our year.....

Nuggets in 2034!

Go Nuggets!

Thanks Uncle Jeff, Aunt Amy, and Cousin Owen for the killer Nuggets gear! Dylan vs. Kobe.... please. This kid has hops.

Sir Hops-a-Lot

Happy Mother's Day!!

California Cousins... and lots of pictures!

Dylan made his first trip on an airplane with great success. So much so, he was a little overconfident when he arrived at his cousins' home. We went on a walk with new cousin Jude and Dylan was a bit too protective, demonstrating his proficiency in Kung Fu.... hiiiiieeeeeee ya!




We walked down to the stables and young Jude showed us all the pretty horses. This one in particular caught Dylan's attention... Cooper is that you?


Thinking Cooper had somehow grown six feet, Dylan was no longer Mr. Tough Guy


Saturday was the big trip to Thomas the Train with the Beal boys, and family in tow. Layne, Ryan, Dylan, Jaden, and Jude were super excited. See if you can find Jude. I promise he was there....


The train ride was fun, and the little engineers in training really enjoyed the out and back trip. Jaden was the leader of the group. The other two... well, they just sort of went along for the ride and not much help. Although, Jude really hit it off with cousin Dylan.




The train ride continued and everyone was really into it... well, almost everyone.


Jude's nap soon came to an end and we were moving again. Thomas rocks!


Choo-choo....


Jaden did a great job leading his younger brother and cousin on the long journey... 10 minutes later, we were finally back to the station.


Aunt Steph enjoying some time with her nephew!


Back at the cousins' house, we got to celebrate Papa Rick's birthday! We had a delicious dinner and some cupcakes with family. It was a great time... meanwhile, Jaden asked Papa Rick, "so how old do you have to be to tweet?"


We spent Sunday at the beach. It was a great day and Dylan's first glimpse of the ocean. We look forward to visiting often and hopefully the water will be warmer next time!










We headed to John's (Aunt Tai's father) after the beach. He cooked up a great dinner and really knows how to entertain... and so does Jaden!


After a short, but very entertaining weekend, it was time to head back home. Nonna enjoyed every minute with her grandchildren, and we can't wait to get everyone together again soon!!

P.S. Thanks Ryan and Tai for your hospitality and a great weekend. Can't wait to see you all soon. Love you!

Dinner with Cooper

Cooper has become Dylan's best friend, especially around dinner time.



So dramatic...

Happy Easter (a little late...)

Easter morning started off a little slow. Dylan put on a pretty good act. We know he was really excited for the Easter egg hunt to come :-)



My Tonka has personalized license plates.... sweet!


We hopped in the car and headed north to Nana and Papa's for Easter dinner. Dylan wanted to know when he could have a deviled egg. He's still waiting.


After all the fun and food, it was time for the Easter egg hunt. Surprisingly, Dylan found them all! I guess he was sad the fun was over.