More Family

We have had a busy and exciting couple of days. Elyssa, Adam's sister, and her boyfriend Zach were in town for the weekend. Elyssa met Audrey before, but it was Zach's first time seeing her. On Friday, we went up to visit our cousins in the mountains again.

This time we hiked Shrine Pass Ridge from Vail Pass that went up to about 12,000 ft with less than 1000 ft of elevation gain and rewards hikers with a magnificent view. Round trip the hike was about 3 miles. A great view for minimal effort. Elyssa and Zach did remarkably well for having arrived from Boston only the day before.

We ate a picnic lunch on top of the ridge where the fat ground squirrels were prepared to climb into your lap to get your crumbs. No fear at all. We waved our arms, made threatening sounds, threw stones. Nothing would scare away these brave squirrels.

After our hike, we went back to Gordon and Ricki's for a bbq where we talked and talked until Audrey was over it.

Saturday, we had other family over to our house for a bbq. I spent most of the day preparing menus and appetizers. We did take a brief break to visit the Avery Brewery tasting room which is a great place to bring microbrewery enthusiasts. Good beer at a great price (free!)

This bbq was the first time I had entertained people in our house since Audrey was born. I'm not sure I could have done a dinner for 10 without Elyssa and Zach holding and playing with Audrey.

Elyssa and Zach went back to Boston on Monday. We had a great weekend with lots of delicious food and fun conversation.

Yesterday I got to entertain for the second time since Audrey was born and the second time in one week. Other cousins, Zach and Morgan were in town. Zach goes to school here and his sister, Morgan, drove out with him and is flying back east today. They are both so calm and comfortable around babies! We had a relaxed evening of eating and playing with Audrey. We determined that Audrey is definitely teething. She drooled all over the front of her dress! And when we gave her the frozen caterpillar toy, she went to town gnawing on it.

It has been so nice seeing all of our family over the last week. I'm afraid the next week looks pale in comparison. We do have some exciting trips planned for the next couple of weekend though. More on that later.