Opening Week, A Little Late

As a friend recently commented on my Facebook profile, there hasn't been a Luttrullstown update in oh, forever, so here goes:

We're in our second week of family camp, and we had the smoothest opening in years, thanks to about twenty volunteers from California, Texas, and Oklahoma who came and worked hard to get the ranch in shape. Our summer staff is wonderful - they all get along well and do what is needed without having to be asked. They had a week together before guests arrived, and it was a great time of fun and growth. We're excited about this summer, and what God will do through them.

I've especially enjoyed the work of the kitchen staff - they are quite talented, and set a fun and easygoing tone in the kitchen. Krista, the sous chef, made a lovely blackberry cobbler last week. I loooooved it, savoring every bite. Later that night, Rob said something funny and I laughed. He looked at me strangely, and sent me to the mirror to check out my smile. I had blue teeth. I'm not exaggerating. It's been close to a week, and they're still not quite back to normal.


I've never really spoken much about our staff before, and I want to introduce Kristin and Sara, two of my favorite people. I met them last summer when we worked together in Kid's Club. Kristin is absolutely hilarious and keeps me laughing. Sara is a sweetheart, and I wish she would ditch college to be the ranch's summertime nanny. We were thrilled when we heard that both were returning this summer.

A new pool was installed just in time for the first guests' arrival. Our old pool was an Esther Williams pool, built in the late 60s. It was in pretty bad shape, requiring annual scraping and repainting, and it had to be vacuumed manually. The kids enjoyed swimming in it, but it was a sad sight. I got a picture of it right before demolition. The water in it has been standing all winter long, but it wasn't much better when the water was clear.

The new pool is gorgeous, and most importantly, doesn't have to be manually vacuumed! It's situated so that it reflects Longs Peak, and there's a hot tub that seats 16 next to it (though we did cram 20+ staff members into it last night). We have many faithful guests that are going to be thrilled when they get here. I mentioned Longs Peak before; the picture below has Estes Cone in the background.

It's been ready for over a week, but we were rained out most days. Yesterday turned out to be a beautiful, though chilly day. Rob and I made our way down to the pool looking forward to a soak in the hot tub, but dreading the return trip in 50 degree weather. Rob found a way to beat the cold.

That picture just makes me smile.

In other news, one of the mama goats delivered twin baby boys late last week. Rob and I took Levi over to see them when they were a mere four hours old. They are so precious, and their little voices made us laugh. Mama goat is doing a great job taking care of them. The baby goats stick so close to her that the wranglers can tether her to a post outside the goat pen, and trust that the babies won't go more than a couple of yards away. They're living a charmed life right now: eating, sleeping and frolicking. They should enjoy their rest now. When they get a bit bigger, they'll become part of the kid's rodeo.

The one on the right is quite the escape artist. Rob has suggested that we name him Houdini.

Levi went on his first hike last Thursday. We've been looking forward to breaking out this special backpack for quite a while. He (mostly) enjoyed the trip, so we think he'll get to go hiking a lot this summer.

Levi has begun to recognize the purpose of a camera, and he usually turns on his big smile when we get it out.

One last piece of news: Levi has cut his first tooth. Since he never fussed about it, we wouldn't have known if he hadn't bitten one of the staff girl's fingers. I can't show you a picture of it yet, because he guards it jealously. The first shot I get, I'll share.

In closing, please observe the best cat in the whole wide world. Aggie despises children. I've seen her hiss and takes swipes at many a toddler, including my niece and the other two ranch kids. But Levi? He can pull out her hair, tug on her ears and poke her in the head, and she bears it with grace. We have no explanation, except that she's brilliant and understands that Levi is part of our family. And that makes her the best cat in the whole wide world.

I am ending this marathon post. Over a out.

Lynda

A Slower Pace

It's a balmy 30 degrees here at the ranch. We've had some snow flurries and there's frost on the pines. We're snug and warm in the house; Rob is putting together Levi's changing table, I'm monitoring a pot of beans on the stove, and Aggie is napping in a chair. I like the off- season!

Last week, I went hiking for the first time time since we moved. Rob and I hiked Ouzel Falls in Rocky Mountain National Park. It's not an intense hike, but it is a little long (5.4 mi). I felt fine until the last half mile, when I began to believe that my legs just might fall off my body. Here's a picture from early in the hike:


Yesterday, we said goodbye to our friends who came for the inaugural Spousetacular. For the past few years, Rob has come up to the ranch for a week in the Fall with some guys to hike and do other man-things - I call it the Mancation. This year, the guys brought their wives (yay!), and the Spousetacular was born. We spent the last three days hiking, dining out, talking, and learning to play Forty-Two. I hope that there are many returns of the Spousetacular.

We hiked Emerald Lake with our friends this week. It was a beautiful hike full of golden aspen and views of three other lakes along the way. The lake water is crystal clear and we watched several trout swimming close to the shore. This is Emerald Lake:

I know that in the last post I said I was ready for the baby to arrive, but now I'm really ready for the baby to arrive. I had to use my legs as leverage, swinging them over the side of the bed, to get up each of the 1,000 times I had to use the bathroom last night. I realize that I'm only mildly uncomfortable most of the time, but should a girl really have to use her legs as leverage to get out of bed? For those who have asked, here is the latest belly picture, taken last night. I am now in my 33rd week.

Feel free to admire my supercool new thermal shirt - it has stars on it! I'm afraid there's only so much stretch in the yellow tank top...

Lynda