Tuesday morning we did some weeding in the vegetable garden. It is so overgrown that you really can't see the vegetables for all the weeds. Notice the before and after photos.

After lunch we went into Fort Collins. We were going to tour the New Belgium Brewery but forgot we needed to make reservations. The beer tasting didn't work out either - it was too crowded. Not that Mom or I would have tasted. Gary, Dad and Matt would have partaken, though. All we ended up doing is buying new beer glasses. Then we walked through old town, looking through some shops.

In one of them, I found a very cute shirt made from bamboo and cotton. It is very soft. Gary got one, too. Oh, I forgot to mention that our trip to Fort Collins was childless. Claire watched the kiddos for us. Once we had children with us again, we ate dinner at an authentic Mexican restaurant. Josh had no less than 5 time outs. Most before our food came. Nor did he want his burrito, just Ellie's quesadilla.

Wednesday was spent on the road to Estes Park. It took us forever to leave (of course.) So when we got there (after some stops for time outs for Josh), after visiting the potties, we went right to lunch - at the Estes Park Brewery. This time Dad and Gary got to taste with no wait. We didn't bother with a tour because we could see the whole operation from our seats. Then we walked the main street and took in some shops. Dad looked in vain for a bamboo shirt. He and mom headed back to the bamboo shirt store, before going home, to get him one but got there when it closed. On Thursday Claire was going into Fort Collins. He finally got his shirt.

The drive to and from Estes Park is very beautiful. There is a pass through the mountains following the Big Thompson River, called, conveniently, the Big Thompson Gorge. Gary was most awed by the sheer rock faces with trees growing from them. I liked the river. I also scanned the rock faces for big horned sheep but saw none.

Thursday was spent in the field again weeding. Did I mention it is hard work? The kids had weed patrol. We'd pulled them out, the kids would drag them to the end of the rows and make piles of them. Biggie, the puppy, would help by dragging one back and gnawing on it. The kids also helped by picking some vegetables. Josh got bored easily and wandered about, which is not safe because of the ditches and pond. So, I took him back in the wagon and he sat and ate fruit leather and a granola bar, while I vacuumed out the back seat of the car. It was seriously in need of vacuum attention.

Last evening a storm blew through. Much rain fell. At two in the morning, rain came again with heavy winds. Gary and I couldn't decide if we should move inside in case the camper blew away. OK, the wind wasn't that bad, but it was a bit scary, knowing it's open range and tornadoes like open range.

Now with all the rain, it's been raining since 2:00 AM, and the forecast of rain all day today and tomorrow, Matt and Claire decided to reschedule their party. So we will not be here for it. Maybe we can still do our acts for the variety show.

NOTE: A day of rain and four kids stuck inside is a super fun day. Actually the kids did great for being stuck inside.