Pumpkins

I wanted to compare my belly to a pumpkin since I feel like I ate one. There is a pumpkin patch close, so we went up to pick out a couple of pumpkins to decorate our patio until we carve them for Halloween. We're afraid to put them on the front porch since we have some teens that roam the streets.

This is one of the neatest patches I have ever been to. You drive into their farm and stop at a mail box to pick up your directions and a pair of garden shears. Then you follow the signs out to the field that they are cutting pumpkins in. There had to be 200+ acres of pumpkins. Once you're at the fields, you pick a spot that you want to hunt in and park. We tromped around in the field and looked for LARGE, ROUND pumpkins. We finally found two that we liked. Poor Matt had to carry them back to the car. You pay by the pumpkin when you exit. They also had a petting farm and corn mazes, but we opted to only do the pumpkin picking. We also got two small pumpkins which I think I will try to cook.

I need to get a photo of Ranger with the pumpkins so you can see their sizes. I will try for that tomorrow and post the photo. Unfortunately he didn't get to participate in the activities since we weren't sure if this was a dog friendly place. But next year we plan to go dogs and baby in tow!

Here is a photo of the hill covered in pumpkins. You may have to open it up large to see all the orange dots!

Painted Nursery

Mom painted the nursery while she was here. We're really happy with the color. Just one wall, but it adds a nice warmth to the room. This must be a special baby since this is the only room in our house that has seen a brush near it!

Hiking Eldorado Springs State Park

We have had gorgeous weather in CO these days. We decided today would be a good day to get out in nature so we took a trip to the closest state park, Eldorado Springs Canyon. It is a spectacular canyon that you drive into with shear cliffs on both sides. The roads were rough, and made my belly hurt a couple of times, but luckily our trail was not far in.

We stopped and had lunch by Boulder Creek and let Ranger splash a little, then went off for our hike. About 2 miles round trip on a very flat and shaded trail. The best part was that it was a great vantage point to watch the mountain climbers. What people do for fun absolutely amazes me. I have no clue how high these cliffs are, but we were quite impressed.

We sat by the creek again when we were done hiking, then headed back home. It was a great afternoon.

Labor Day Moose

On Sunday we took a drive into Rocky Mountain National Park. It was a nice drive and the dogs were mostly well behaved. Scout did manage to get out of her seat belt once, but was quite mellow the rest of the trip.

We typically only see elk and sheep in the park, so we were quite surprised when we came across a group of cars pulled over to watch a moose. It was about a football field away in a creek and walked closer to us to eat in some trees. As far as we could tell it was a cow, but it could have been a young bull. Anyway, here is a photo.

Scout on a Barrel

Scout has been spending the summer at a trainer. With the gift of a new camera, we were able to get some video of her. Hopefully this fall she will be ready for Matt to take her hunting. None for me this year, the doctor says no guns while I'm pregnant. Scout returns for her final bit of teaching in a couple of weeks. Mind you this does not mean she is well mannered at home!

Hopefully there will be more to come from out blog as this seems like the easiest way to get out video. Thanks CA Haars (&BG)!