Our dusk visitor

Fox - dusk visitor in Silverthorne
Originally uploaded by the gladdings

Most nights we've spotted this fox, but last night he/she(?) decided to come hang out by the hot tub for awhile. She came up to the back door at one point, so our guess is people have fed her in the past.
We're having a great time hanging out - enjoying the weather with more hiking and biking, and a visit to a kids pool with water slides that was a smash hit with the kiddos.
Sean is still sick - was diagnosed with "walking pneumonia" yesterday - we're hoping the Z-Pack kicks in soon!

Silverthorne, CO - on the trail

Colorado 2009 - on the trail
Originally uploaded by the gladdings

We made it over the Continental Divide on Saturday and arrived safely in Silverthorne for a week with Rebecca's family, after enjoying the 4th of July parade in Crested Butte. As of today, Seth is in great health, Maggie seems to be over conjunctivitis, Rebecca is slightly improved, and I am feeling somewhat less lousy, but now have conjunctivitis. But it's another beautiful place to be sick in!
The seven cousins are having a blast getting reacquainted, and today we took a leisurely 4 hour, 3.3 mile hike along Lake Lilypad trail overlooking Frisco. Another stunning day - a highlight was watching a beaver swim around the lake while we ate lunch. Maggie and Seth were stars - a long hike with no complaints or requests for rides.
The house we're all staying in is a tad more luxurious than we're accustomed to! We look out over the mountains, and can step out the back door and into the woods - or the hot tub, which is Maggie and Seth's new favourtite thing. Sean and Jeremy were soaking in it last night and watched a fox slink past just a few feet away.
The kids seem rested now, but Rebecca and I have little left in reserve. It's good to be with family.

Colorado trip '09

I was having trouble uploading from Flickr

Crested Butte '09
Originally uploaded by the gladdings

- now it is working. See below for more on our trip!

Crested Butte '09

We're a week into our Colorado trip, and enjoying the gracious gift our friends Todd and Angela gave us of a week in their place in Crested Butte. We pulled out of Houston last Thursday (102 degrees) and have woken up here to about 40 degrees each morning. We spent Thursday night with Uncle Dave, Aunt Sharla and Stella in Arlington, then drove through Texas, just getting into New Mexico Friday night. We arrived in Crested Butte late Saturday afternoon, with just over 1100 miles on the trip odometer.Crested Butte is absolutely stunning. We spent Sunday and Monday hiking and biking and walking Elk Street, enjoying Fat Tire Bike Week. CB is a very bike-friendly, if not bike-based culture. We enjoyed a fantastic pizza at the Brick Oven Monday night, and were beginning to settle into vacation mode after a stressful last few months. Tuesday morning saw Sean and Seth feeling lousy, and we ended up at the CB medical clinic yesterday - Seth with an ear infection, Sean with some kind of upper respiratory virus, and Rebecca with her ongoing cough/cold. So, we've pretty much laid low for 3 days - although, if you're going to be sick, we can think of worse places to be sick in! But we hear the trails calling, and it's hard not to be able to explore more of the area.We're driving into Gunnison this afternoon to get out of the house and pick up a few things, and will hopefully check out "Colorado's best coffee and chai" at Camp4 Coffee.The scenery truly is breath-taking, and the weather deliciously cool in the morning and evening. We've added some new bird species (including a golden eagle roadside on the way here). Check out the photos on Flickr.We're hoping to kick the bugs ahead of Saturday, when we head up to the Breckenridge area to spend a week with Rebecca's family.

Extreme shepherding!

Trying to sell our house and preparing to move hasn't left much time for updating the blog - but here's a video that made us smile in the midst of the busy-ness...

Rose-breasted Grosbeak

Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Originally uploaded by the gladdings

A beautiful visitor to the backyard this morning on his way north - first time we've spotted this bird.

Dad's visit Part I

Stan & Suzie's visit
Originally uploaded by the gladdings

Sean's dad arrived for a visit last week, and was delighted to see our good friend Stan's RV parked outside when we returned from the airport. Stan & Suzie stopped by on their way home to Lubbock, and we enjoyed catching up with them in their new RV.