We had another wonderful week in Boulder, starting it off with the Celestial Seasonings factory tour.  The tea factory is only a couple of miles from where we are staying, so how could we pass it up?  Our tickets were sample baggies of tea which the kids thought were fabulous.  While we waited for the tour to begin we filled up on yummy sips of different teas, read a bit about the history of the tea company, and looked at gorgeous tea pots and a lovely dress made of tea bags.  The highlight of the tour for leif was definitely watching all of the conveyor belts move the tea along.

We also hit the Butterfly Pavilion.  We loved hanging out in the butterfly room, but also learned a lot about other insects.

This is where the chrysalis hung until they hatched and were released into the butterfly room.

Leif got to hold Rosie, the Salmon Pink Tarantula, and pet a hissing cockroach (Kaia left the room) 🙂

We went on another factory tour,this time at the Schacht Spindle factory .  This is where my spinning wheel was made 25 years ago.  We got to put on our ear and eye protection and head into the thick of things.  All the parts for their spinning wheels, looms, and drop spindles are milled on site and put together by hand.

This is Bree putting together one of the looms (the Wolf Pup, I believe).  She showed us how it all fits together and we learned a bit about how it works.

For each spinning wheel there is only one crafter.  This man (Ben, I think) makes all of their Schacht-Reeves spinning wheels

I love the way the drips look on the drip rack.  Each piece of wood is coated with Danish Oil.

And this gorgeous picture is a weaving!!!  A weaving!!  I can’t even begin to imagine the detail and planning that went into this!  Such talent!

Of course, we also spent time at local pools.  We found one community pool that has 2 water slides, a lazy river, water play area for little kids, and a lap pool.  It was crazy!!  And it’s in the community center.  MAN!  Asheville seriously needs one of these.

Toby and his friend, Mark, headed up to Apache Peak for a hike.  Apache is over 13,000 feet tall!  They had such an amazing time that we are all going back next week.  We won’t go all the way to the top with the kids, but we’ll still get to enjoy some lovely views.

With all the rains they had in Colorado last year, there was still a good bit of snow on the mountain, and the melting snow created some pretty fast flowing rivers.

The lakes still had a good bit of ice on them.

The Marmots on the trail were super friendly.

Close to the top, there was so much snow that it covered the trail.  The guys tried to find a good way around, but the skies darkened and they decided to head back down before the storms rolled in.

On they way out they saw moose!

I’m super excited about going back!

We went on Banjo Billy’s Bus Tour of Boulder yesterday and learned a bit about the history of Boulder.

Today, we took a shorter hike around Settler’s Park.  The trailhead is just on the edge of downtown, but the views are amazing!

Yes, the kids have had some emotional times and some breakdowns, but all in all, at the end of each day we pretty much all look like this… happily exhausted.