Park Day!

Since getting my point-and-shoot camera I rarely carry my big, heavy SLR around anymore, but I had a portrait session coming up and decided to wipe off the dust and practice a little when we headed to the park.

We met up with friends old and new and had a blast!

The sun was a scorcher, but it didn't slow anyone down.

Next to the playground is a little grassy area and pond where the geese like to graze.

I asked Rachel to pose for me and she happily obliged

There were children everywhere. How do you keep track of them all?

The light was quite lovely under this pergola, so naturally, I asked for some models.My goal, at the park, was to come home with tired children. I'll tell you now that I succeeded after they ran around all afternoon. ;)

Just before we left the children found the stage area and decided to sing Father Abraham. It was such a hoot to watch. They sang and danced until they couldn't stop laughing.

Hammond's Candy

Back in June we provided respite for our foster children's sisters, so they stayed with us for the week.  Our house was crammed full with 11 children, and had so much fun! 

Hammond's candies is a local candy company here in Denver. They have a free tour that attracts many people for a visit.

It's a pretty intriguing process to watch. The children loved it.

After the tour everyone got a piece of broken candy and time to expore the store.

With the tour being short and sweet we decided to head to the park on our way home. Can you believe these foster children have never been to the park?

Living in Colorado we're spoiled with several nice parks filled with not only a playground, but also rock climbing.

These kids got along so well that it was almost easier having 11 children than just 6 of my own. Scary isn't it?

There's something about monkey bars that everyone just loves. We could have stayed at the park all day, except that everyone was getting hungry.

A Little Fresh Air

After being couped up for a few days we needed to run off the energy in these chidren!

Off to our favorite park we went. It was a race down the slides.

   

A lot of climbing and sliding was going on at this park.

   

A hot game of tag was also going on. This park is not just for small children. It's for children of all ages and sizes!

Merry-go-round for 10?

Of course we always have to get a few group shots taken. Am I right?

   

All of this awesomeness has to be remembered and documented. We had so much fun with our cousins. Can you tell?

The Cousins Are Back In Town

The end of August found us out visiting parks with my family.

A park near our house is a favorite of all of our children. There is so much to do at this park.

Geocaching is always on our list of things to do. 

Then we headed out for a walk around the lake.

All the children have learned to pose when I pull out my camera.

We found many sculptures on our walk.

I wasn't planning on photographing every scultpture, but when your children just climb and pose for you, without being told, you have to take a photo.

Ok, I might have made them pose for this photo op.

We found another geocache along the way. Rachel is the one who finds most of the geocaches. She has an amazing eye for it.

And we found one last sculpture on our way out of the park. 

Fun in the Sun

Our snowy spring seems to have jumped straight to summer with a side of thunderstorms.  It has gotten difficult to stay indoors with the sun shining so brightly. 

We decided to pack up a lunch, head to the park, and do a little exploring.

This playground was pretty fun.

This girl loves the swing!

David's getting a little help from Rebecca since he can't reach the spinner thing. This could make you dizzy quickly.

Anna still gets scared to go down the slide by herself.

Oreos for dessert!

Time to leave the park and do a little geocaching.

We have trails all around our home. It's great for bike rides, runs, and exploring. 

This is a fake rat with a geocache attached to it. Yuck, right? It's a good thing I have children who aren't afraid of rodents and other insects. I never would have reached my hand in there.

The landscaping along the trail is quite fun for everyone. There's track with this old wagon thingy.

You can pump yourself along the track. . . or lift your sister up.

I've been practicing a little landscpe photography. More on that another time.

You might think this is an ordinary tree, but take a closer look.

That isn't a real pinecone. I'm sure that during pinecone season it might be a little more difficult to find, but when there is just one pinecone on the whole tree it makes it pretty easy.

Our last cache brought us to this view.

Rachel has the best eye in our family. She seems to find most of the caches.

They were super tiny caches on this hunt, but still a ton of fun. Now we're off to make it home before the storm rolls in.