Alice Tree

Theresa and Dick planted a tree in honor of my Mom after she died. Sydney got to see the Grandma Alice tree.

Sydney, whose middle name is for my Mom, has been paying particular attention to the name Alice now. I often tell her stories when putting her to bed. I ask her what kind of animal she wants to hear about and what name should we give the animal. Lately, her request has been a frog named Alice :) Tonight's story was about Alice the frog who likes to visit Target with bulldozers.

RMNP: Emerald Lake hike

Emerald Lake hike in Rocky Mt Natl Park. Elevation at trailhead: 9,475. The elevation gain took us to 10,080 ft. 3.6 miles roundtrip. Miss Sydney hiked the 1.8 miles up by herself. She insisted on walking and she did a fine job.


Early morning start.


She moved pretty slow at times because she wanted to sit/climb on each rock. A game of hide and seek kept her moving.


Must climb every rock ...


Not to mention all the rocks she carried.



Taking a look at Nymph Lake.

Lilly pads at Nymph Lake.

Sydney and ground squirrel.

Scenery.

I believe this photo was taken near Dream Lake.

View from a switchback.

Emerald Lake. Breathtaking.

Tighter view of the rock with melting snow.

Family photo on the descent at Nymph Lake.

Rocky Mtn National Park

Some photos from our first day in Rocky Mountain National Park.

Walking the trail by Lake Irene.

Lake Irene

Alpine Visitor Center, Trail Ridge Road at 11,796 feet about sea level. We didn't stay long :) The dramatic heights did not deter Sydney who tried climbing the railings then through a fit when we wouldn't let her climb over another to go see the snow.
It's been a few years since I've driven the entire road, but I was in awe of the scenery ... not to mention the heights.

Some Colorado photos

Sydney playing on the main street playground in Breckenridge.

Love her natural smile.

Her signature smile : the pirate wink. She has done this ever since she has understood what 'smile' meant. Maybe she'll go to prom with a pirate.

Big shoes to fill

Sydney likes to wear our shoes around the house. She even can manage my heels pretty well. Actually, she walks better in them than I do.

Photos from June: Sydney struts her stuff in Daddy's boats.

I can't remember the last time that I have tied a pair of shoes. My running shoes are trail running shoes that have a 'fastener' (I have no idea what it is called.) I never worry about shoelaces unravling during a run. My Skechers are slip-ons, so I don't have to tie them.

I seriously don't remember how to tie shoes ... I think my method was odd anyway. I hope someone teaches Sydney at school. (Brian's not crazy about tying shoes either)

I bought her a new pair of kicks today. Velcro, of course.

Wild Nights: Part 2

See the post below if interested in the bedtime routine at our house.

Sydney, also known as "Sticky Fingers," swiped a tube of Aveda foot cream from my room and smuggled it into her room. As I climbed the stairs one evening that lovely Aveda smell started to suffocate me. Never thought I would be sick of it, but Sydney had emptied almost the entire bottle of foot cream. She had a thick, white coat on her legs and her hair, well, just check out the photos below. She also shared and coated Webster (her frog). The clean-up was just as bad as the night she coated herself in Vaseline.

There is a reason why her nickname is Sid Vicious.

Wild nights

The kid experts recommend that we have a bedtime routine. We do. We change Sydney, read to her (Amy), sing ABCs (Brian), then tuck her in and rub her back. Phase 2 of the routine is Sydney empties the contents of dresser, pulls all books out of the book case and tries to empty any jars, tubes or bottles of any substance. We keep a constant vigil to make sure stuff is not left in Syd's room.

She often pulls together different ensembles. These are her shorts.

A couple nights ago she put a winter hat on and different socks on each hand. She told Brian and I that she was going to space.