Riley/Rupprecht Adventures in the Mountains

Back in the beginning of December (yes...I get it...I'm behind!), we went to the mountains with our dear friends Candice and Kevin and their adorable little girl Taylor, whom Ayden has a huge crush on =).

It was a blast.  Laid back, relaxed, and chilly.  No snow yet, so it was perfect to take the kiddos out all bundled up.  We ate all our meals at home and played lots of games..carefully timed around nap and bedtime.

Taylor is ready to go all bundled in her BOB.

This is our house.  Right on the lake.  It was beautiful.

Ayden was a trooper in his Eskimo jacket (thank you Zane!)

Rocks....Ayden's favorite pastime...

Candice chased Ayden all over cause momma was slow and exhausted! Thanks Aunt Candice!!

One day while Taylor napped, J and I took Ayden to a nearby park.

Hi-five from Daddy!!

The best husband and father a woman could ask for...well maybe without the grizzzzzzly beard ;)

I'm not sure if this kids loves slides or what?!?!?

(speaking to the above picture of course)

 

Our first attempt on the Big Boy swing.  Captain Safety (aka Daddy) prepared him well since all he chanted was 'hold on tight, don't let go!"

And hold on he did...it was a bit of a struggle to get him off the swing and back in the car.

This was the beginning of our adventure to go feed the ducks in our lake.

My favorite picture of the trip!!  What a sweet face!!

The Cattails that separated us from the lake were tall and thick...never fear, we had Kevin leading us through and around and over...

Kev making us a path...

Unfortunately every time we came within 15 feet of the water, the ducks found themselves on the opposite side of the lake.  There was no duck feeding to be had that dy....just a lot of walking, climbing, wind and cattails!

Which leads us to the next big adventure of the trip....hunting for the Rupprecht Family Christmas tree.

To fully appreciate this photo, you have to know Candice.  It is the perfect depiction of her. A strong woman, no fear, tramping off into the woods toting a saw, her child carrier, an adorable boots with skinny jeans outfit and pink gloves.  She was our leader for the afternoon.  And she was definitely on a mission!!

Ayden was in heaven between the men, jumping and flying over rocks.

This was option #1.  I should point out that the choices within the permit regulations were slim to slim at best.

They went with option 2.  What an adorable family!

Since the kiddos were such troopers we thought what a perfect time to get a photo of them together...

Guess they had plans of their own...

And where there is Candice, there is a craft project =)

The dough was a tad bit salty...but Taylor kept goin' back for more and the face was priceless - too bad we never actually caught it on camera!

It was the perfect start to the holiday season.