October Outdoors

Eek, what a busy month October was! It began with a trip to Colorado. For my brother's wedding! Thank you for planning it in a glorious spot at a spectacular time. (Also, my brother is MARRIED!!!)

This was preceded by a September during which we all tried to make sure we had proper clothes for a fall wedding in the mountains. Or honestly, even just fall clothes that fit (Elise was all out of pants and did I unthinkingly donate Kalina's hand-me downs?!?). Turns out, only Matt had everything he needed. As the predicted weather switched from slightly chilly and partly cloudy to quite chilly and drizzly, and as all reasonable, matching cardigans sold out pretty much everywhere, that final week before the wedding was a bit of a scramble. 

Elise also packed her loud, sparkly rubber chicken, because Uncle Tom.

The trip started with a strange noise that the van was making, and by the time we'd almost arrived, Naomi's dental appliance had broken. On a Friday afternoon. When the office was closed. When we were a state away. We adopted my favorite strategy: pretend it didn't happen and that everything would be fine. Although we only got it reattached nearly 4 weeks later, due to busy-ness at the orthodontist's office, things still seem to be fine. For the record, Naomi is a trooper.

The remaining 45 minutes of the drive were pretty perfect. We arrived with plenty of time to make it to the rehearsal dinner, after first saying hi to Aunt Nancy and checking out the gift shop at the YMCA of the Rockies, where we were staying along with Aunt Nancy, Grandpa and Marianne. Because the time to buy souvenirs is definitely before you even begin the trip, right? Of course.

We weren't able to check into our room yet, so we headed over to the rehearsal location where we got to meet the bride's family and see lots of Tom's friends we hadn't seen in forever (or ever, in the case of some of the girls). Naomi was taught not to just drop the flower petals--because that's boring--but instead to toss them high in the air. She was totally up for it. The ring bearer, meanwhile, napped on his dad's shoulder. Naomi began to see that throwing flower petals would only be part of the job, and that she could have her work cut out for her getting that ring bearer up the aisle.

We caught up with people, ate a lovely dinner, and even squeezed in the most straightforward game of Telestrations I've ever played, with other guests, before heading back to our room for bed.

The next morning we trekked out on a gorgeous hike past the Twin Owls, along with other members of the wedding party and cousins. We enjoyed exploring and catching up along the way. Then, it was time for us to decorate for the reception and get all the bits and pieces in place (including, we debated, the chicken in a place of honor as part of the head table's centerpiece. Although we hated to waste the opportunity, we decided against, in the end. We didn't want the bride to have any reason to second-guess her decision. :) ). 

Back at the Y, after a drive through the elk festival in downtown Estes, which turned out to feel a lot like driving through an actual elk herd, we had enough time for a cooler lunch, showers, dressing and--for Naomi, hair curling before heading back through the crowds to the wedding. Naomi was actually quite excited to get all dressed up and although the curls didn't stay in very well, she exuded radiance and looked quite lovely.

And the wedding! Naomi scattered the petals with gusto, and also probably helped the ring bearer feel comfortable enough to make it up the aisle. The ceremony was gorgeous, and not nearly as rainy/chilly as I'd feared throughout the week before as I'd stocked up on all the warm wedding-ish things I could find for the girls of the family.

At the reception, the chicken did make an appearance on the cake table, and the photographer may have snapped a photo, but it wasn't too disruptive, I don't think. The girls enjoyed their food--Naomi having secured my promise beforehand that if she ordered the chicken fingers and fries she wouldn't actually have to eat the chicken ("Mom, a chicken had to die!"). I debated, but decided that in the spirit of unforced celebration, Matt could finish off the chicken. Elise had been glad, when we responded to the invite, to be allowed to choose the grownup lasagna instead of a kids meal. It all felt fancy and delicious--we don't attend too many formal occasions. Yum.

Elise managed to get in a little dancing (and maybe Naomi, too?), as did Matt and I, but I believe Kalina stayed glued to her spot, in true Hanks-Odegaard style. 

We had a lovely time but were ready for bed before everyone else was. However, that meant we were awake in time for a short hike in the morning with Aunt Nancy. The rain had held off so well, but we were nearly drizzled out this morning, being a little cautious about finding ourselves in a downpour a mile out from our warm, comfortable van. Still, we enjoyed some beautiful aspens and didn't really get wet, thanks to all the raingear I made us drag along. (I packed for ALL the weather.)

After hiking, we stopped at the store to pick up all the amazing brunch food, before heading to a lovely, elk-infested park for the post-wedding picnic brunch and a few rounds of spikeball. After which we said goodbye to all the relatives, and began adventuring on our own, namely in the form of a hike at RMNP. 

We may have spotted some endangered fish, but we definitely made it to our destination: Emerald Lake. After which, the weather looked a bit iffy (was that rain?) and still not wanting to be out there in a downpour, we yanked the kids away from their quiet admiration of the view and quickly retraced our steps to the parking lot. No rain, so we hiked the easy Bear Lake loop.

For dinner we decided to return to the yummy-looking mac and cheese we'd seen in the grocery store's deli when picking up the food. As if we'd only dreamed it, however, the mac and cheese had been replaced by a shiny, sterile, completely empty serving bin, ready for the next day's mac and cheese. Honestly, I think I was the only one that had major problems with that (hot. warm. comforting. dinner. now.). Matt, sensing the kids were in danger, wisely removed them toward the summer sausage, crackers, and cheese, while I glared at a row of prepackaged cold deli food.

Once eating my stupid pasta salad, doctored up with summer sausage, back at the hotel and divvying up cookies, though, my good nature returned and we made our plans for the next day before everyone else went to bed and I sat up for 2 hours reading alone in the dark (which I had 0 problem with).

The next morning we first hiked, and then hung out at a favorite part of the park: the Alleuvial Fan, an area with large rocks to climb and a waterfall. Climbing around on the rocks and wading in cold, clear water was pretty fun, but even better was taking turns with Elise's LifeStraw and sampling the water. Delicious, refreshing, clean... the list goes on. Best of all, no one got sick!

Back at the lodge, we ate a quick cooler lunch and Matt began putting in 1/2 day of remote work while the girls and I headed to the craft cabin. Kalina mosaiced an amazing cat pawprint, Elise turned a picture frame into a creative half-mosaic, half mountain artwork (and it turned out really cool!), and Naomi painted a lovely pumpkin for fall. She's been super into pumpkins lately. It poured while we were in there (and I chose that moment to run to the car to bring everyone's rain jackets in case it was still pouring when we left...not my best-thought-out idea ever), so I was glad we weren't hiking.

After our projects were finished, we headed to downtown Estes for some souvenir shopping. I love hiking with my girls, and I also love shopping with them, and I love that they love hiking and shopping as well. Kalina was looking for a t-shirt (preferably for much less than the $30+ we were seeing on many price tags), Naomi wanted a rock animal, and Elise wanted maybe a shirt, maybe a keychain, maybe a sticker--we'd see. 

Naomi was delighted to find two dinosaur rock animals she wanted, and kept her spending at that. Kalina eventually found a shirt that fit pretty much all of her qualifications, including price, and Elise found a super reasonable long-sleeved one as well. We also somehow found something to buy at the taffy store (aside from gifts for our pet-sitters), and wandered through an art gallery that left us all almost wanting to be CEOs when we grow up so that we could buy all of it. 

A spectacular sunset, a cooler dinner, and a bunch of packing rounded off the day. And the next morning, we headed back home. It sure is a long drive... wish we could make it more often, but we're pretty sure we'll be back!

But we weren't done with epic outdoor adventures in October! As part of her role as Girl Outdoor Lead with our AHG troop, Elise had the responsibility of planning the fall campout! And as there was no mentor in place for her and I'm her mom, plus the troop vice coordinator, I did my best to support (not control) her. Spoiler alert: the campout turned out awesome and Elise and I feel like we make a really good team. 

Actually, much was beyond Elise's control: she helped narrow down campsites, but our coordinator chose her #4 choice out of 4 options. The option we chose included a built-in evening activity--Elise was on board, but again didn't have much say. We also informed her we wanted to tie-dye matching troop t-shirts on the campout--an idea she loved, but had no say in. And finally, our troop shepherd and her team had an hourlong activity to do. So Elise was left with scattered chunks of time to accomplish her goals: namely, to complete/work on the Camping badge!

Elise decided that we'd go on a hike, and she figured out the meals, with some help from another team member. She also created the schedule--a monumental task that many adults would have trouble with--made a controversial decision about how the girls would contribute, delegated/invited other girls and adults to help, and wrote various communications. She wrote a packing list and made sure we had the right supplies.

The kicker: "I feel like I didn't do enough," is how she self-evaluated. Read: "I'd liked to have done it all!" Glad she likes her job!

One thing she couldn't have planned: the weather, which was pretty much perfect. 

In the end, despite a few mess-ups, the camping badge was as earned as it could be, the hike was fun, the meals were enjoyed, the evening activity was... okay and memorable... tie-dying was amazing, and the girls seemed to have a blast. It's going to be really hard to top, but as Elise is brimming with ideas, I'm pretty sure if anyone can do it, she can.