Memorializing the Weekend

Happy Memorial Day Weekend! Getting out of town and vacationing somewhere far, far away just wasn't in the cards for us this time, so a "staycation" it was. Unfortunately our spring weather continued to be schizophrenic all weekend long (from sunny, to thunderstorms, to torrential downpour, back to sunny, and around and around it went), which made having any kind of solid plans next to impossible! 

Saturday afternoon we finally caught a break in the weather, with a little window of sunny-ness to play in, so we made a break for it and headed to the closest hills we could find! I'd always wanted to hike to the top of Castle Rock, so we started there.

It actually had a beautiful little trail-- really well maintained, and pretty easy to hike despite the elevation gain. Definitely not the "Y" trail in Provo, ha ha-- which is a complete nightmare. Zach again brought his remote controlled truck and the kids were so happy to be livin' free and easy outside!

The trail is studded with cool rock formations and 360 degree panoramic views of Castle Rock. And because of the yucky weather forecast, we had it all to ourselves!

I love this selfie. You can't even see the amazing backdrop which was the thought behind taking this picture, but I just love the fact that I got 6 people squeezed into this little selfie, and darn it, this is my crew and we have fun together.

We worked our way back down pretty quickly, and headed for the little playground that's associated with this park. So happy the thunderclouds just kept rolling on by and we were able to get in this fun little hike! Jon and I are constantly amazed by how FAST the clouds move here in Colorado!

I wanted to try somewhere kinda new for dinner, so we took everyone to the Castle Cafe in downtown Castle Rock. I'd been there last summer when Kylene took me for my birthday, but nobody else had been, and it's really a fun ambiance. It's an old hotel that was built in the 1880's, and since redone into a restaurant, but it's very Western-y and has a fun cowboy feel. And look at this chili rellenos!  That stuff has my heart! 

Zach was totally digging his burger, and the girls were happy with their chicken tenders, and I have to say, hiking sure builds up your appetite.

They are famous for their pan fried chicken, so that's what I tried, and it was definitely reminiscent of the good ol' down home Southern cooking we got in NC. I have to say though, the dinner rolls they brought before the food were my favorite part of the whole meal! We'll definitely be back.

The pies de resistance of our Saturday staycation was definitely trying out our new fire pit in the backyard. The sod has finally adhered enough to the ground that we can have a million little footsteps all over it, and the backyard is totally starting to come together. We love it! No more dirt pit!

I bought a TON of different candy bars, so we roasted up the mallows, smashed the s'mores, and the kids were in heaven. This is always by far our favorite kickstart to summer! Sunday we had Jeremy and Kylene and cousins over for a barbecue dinner, and we got to play a fun card game called Cover Your A$$ets with them.

Monday morning I taught a special BP at the gym, and as soon as I finished we headed straight to the HOA pool party to beat the thunderclouds looming off in the distance. This little thing HATED the water-- but I'm hoping that was only because it was still so cold (brrrr!) and she will warm up to it as the summer unfolds, as I plan to spend LOTS of lazy afternoons here in the next few weeks. We were invited that evening to a fun Memorial Day barbecue with some families in our ward, and after all that swimming and running around outside the kids were totally tuckered out from our holiday weekend. Now they just have to take on 3 more days of school, and we are home free!