The Railsback Family: July 2019

This blog is absurdly long. We just had too much fun in July. Sorry Not Sorry.

We started July with a trip to visit with our dear friends the Farmers at their cabin in southern Colorado where there are always gorgeous columbines in bloom.

...and we get to take beautiful hikes...

...and spend time with people we love ...and watch our kids grow up together...

And kids get to be kids in nature, working together to haul a dead tree for no apparent reason.

And kids will be kids and try to poke their eye out when branch of said dead tree snaps and unexpecting kid goes face first into jagged stump. So moms of kids will feel like a mom and not a doctor, and take their reckless kid to the local ED for someone else to tell her that she didn't pop her eyeball.

This kid is the reason I never travel without sutures. Unfortunately I had to talk her through this one without lidocaine. Clifton got the unpopular job of helping her hold her head still (while trying not to pass out himself) while Naomi tried to distract with an ipad. We were all a sweaty mess by the end.

A little eye injury and a stitch doesn't slow us down from more hauling things with ropes. And Annika's got that arrow pointed right at me, which you may recall was the cause of last eye injury Sarah had just over a year ago. We're slow learners.

This is about as much as we could get out of a group picture of the kids on a hike.

But oh the snuggles!

Fourth of July bike parade with cousins

The reward for a 100 degree bike ride is getting sprayed by the local fire department.

Waiting for the fireworks in style.

On a walk at Uncle Dave's cabin.

Hanging with Aunt Val

Presumably there is something worth seeing down there. Or lunch didn't agree with them.

We spent a couple nights camping up at Turquoise Lake with these friends. These are the kinds of friends who would drop anything for you in a second if you needed them. The kind of friends who love you as the broken mess you are. The kind of friends who tolerate your stink after camping for a few days.

Amelia and Naomi with Mt Massive in the background (the one Clifton hiked last summer).

Sarah with Claire and Sophie, Atticus reluctantly in the pic.

Annika and Asher sharing lunch in the hammock. Anything goes when you camp.

An afternoon spent down at the lake. Florida friends, don't laugh. This is our beach experience -- there is sand and water and yard games and beer. It's almost just like the Gulf.

We've got mountains, so there's that. And going out on a kayak probably won't result in being eaten by a shark.

On the other hand, the water is melted snow, so you probably don't want to fall off your paddleboard. These two are never going to do anything cautiously.

Amelia and Naomi are playing it safe.

Then this started happening. And Naomi made it look so easy. So I figured, how hard could that be?

I mean, I can do a tripod. Now you just have to put your legs up?

It's harder than it looks. And what you don't see here is me plunging into the ice water about 1.2 seconds later.

But there's nothing like waking up with the dawn...

...and soaking in the quiet.

Or staring at the stars, stars over the mountains like you'll never see in town...and the feeling of peace that washes over you as you realize just how small you are and just how big God is.

"If the stars were made to worship so will I."

Sharing nachos and comic books. These two.

Watching the sunset at our friend's farm while taking care of their animals. Sarah always seems to forget about her cat allergy and finds the biggest, fluffiest cat there is.

This is what it looks like when your sisters need you to finish the summer math work you hate to do so that you can all do something fun. You get cheerleaders. Because nothing helps you concentrate on your math like cheerleaders.

Sarah hanging out with her buddy Brody on top of the play house.

He lets her ride his moped. The faster the better.

Then Abby came into town to watch the girls for a couple weeks, which was a highlight of the summer. If you have a teenage niece, and if she wants to spend time with you, do it. You will learn again what a delightful person she is. And you will have hope that someday, maybe, just maybe, your kids will turn out to be delightful teenagers. And having her in the house inspired us to do fun things, like go to the rodeo in Cheyenne.

and eat funnel cakes.

There was much Hogwarts activity. Much. Abby, you're the best.

I mean, it wasn't all work.

But letting Sarah sew with a sewing machine isn't all play either.

In pretty quick order we had a lot of fabric food around the house, all made with scraps from my fabric bin -- frosted animal cookies, pop-tarts, pizza, donuts, pretzels. This is why cousins are cooler than moms. I probably would've just had them cleaning their rooms or something.

The girls did a summer dance intensive which was mostly ballet, but also some modern, variations, hip hop and this -- aerial, a favorite of theirs.

Abby watched the girls for the day while I hiked a couple 14ers with my friends Marie and Sarah. That's just going to have to be a separate blog entry because this is getting crazy.