Movie With Friends

Cullen choose money over having a birthday party but since we don't have family here to help him celebrate, we asked him if he'd like to have a couple of friends over for a small celebration. Connor and Robert arrived at 9:30 am and we went to AMC movie theaters to see the new Shrek movie in 3D. When we got home the kids had fun playing, jumping on the trampoline and hanging out together.

In keeping with the Shrek theme, Jordan drew Donkey on a piece of paper and then instructed the boys on how to pin the tail on the donkey.

I made hot dogs for everyone and we had lunch with a small cake which Warren decorated with Indiana Jones as per Cullen's request.

Cullen had a great time and we think it was more meaningful to have just the 2 friends over than going to a place and having 20 kids who he wouldn't have really interacted with but would have ended up playing mainly with Connor and Robert.

Cullen went to bed tonight dreaming of the $100 that we promised him for his birthday.

Speech: Montana

In 3rd grade the kids choose a state to research and write about. Jordan chose Montana which is 2 states away from Colorado. When Cullen was 6 weeks old, Granny & Grandpa Stone flew to see us. We decided to visit Yellowstone National Park for the first time which meant a flight into Bozeman, Montana.

Warren was able to get off work for the morning and he joined me in Jordan's classroom as we sat at the back of the room and listened to Jordan's speech about Montana. He was quite stiff and nervous but he did really well. After his presentation, he had to answer questions from the class and from his teacher. His results came back really positive and he was pleased with the results.

Memorial Day: Devil's Head

We set off early in the morning, before it got too hot or too crowded in the Pikes National Forest area. The hike up Devil's Head is a good one and the trailhead begins at the Devil's Head campground parking lot. The trail to the tower is 1.4 miles and has an elevation gain of 940 feet. Hiking time up to the tower is from 45-90 minutes, depending on the pace. Along the way there are several rest stops with benches and tables but the boys preferred the rocks and boulders which makes for excellent viewing.

We got to the base of the tower which is an open area of grass with huge rocks on either side. The kids spent about an hour climbing the rocks and finding tunnels and caves which made me nervous - you never know what is hiding in those nooks and crannies!

The original fire lookout structure was built in 1912. The location was chosen because of the 360 panoramic view it offers of the Pike National Forest. The tower was reconstructed in 1951 with the help of 100 men and 72 mules of the 973rd Construction Battalion from Fort Carson. Devil's Head remains as the last of the 11 original Front Range lookout towers.

It was a great workout and Zulu enjoyed it immensely. She didn't make it to the top of the lookout with us and we tied her (much to her horror) to a tree while we made our way up the stairs to the lookout tower. We all slept really well after that great day of exercise and fresh mountain air!