Carters take on Colorado

Ryan's dad and step-mom, David and Mary Ann, spend their summers in Durango, Colorado and their winters in Spring Branch, Texas. Ryan's brother and his family live in Hillsborough, North Carolina and are spending a whole month on the road this summer! We all decided to meet up in Durango and had a blast. Here is our fast and furious few days in pictures.

It all began with a 12 hour drive. 12 hours! 

The boys LOVED the two mountain tunnels.

 Nate even photographed one.

 Ben's request on the first morning there - climb a mountain. So, we found a mountain and climbed it!

Unbelievable views 

 

Then, we met up with Grandpa and Nana and they took us to a fish hatchery...

...and a cool/creepy museum at the hatchery.

The boys loved the pile of big rocks by the river. The grown-ups found the shade while they climbed.

While we let Grandpa and Nana rest up, we hit downtown Durango and got a little frozen yogurt treat.

 They boys chosen souvenirs - Ben's first pez dispenser and Nate chose a jelly bean shaped container full of jelly beans.

Then, the Carolina Carters rolled in and we met up for pizza. Table for 14 everywhere we went.

Day 2 - Durango Mountain Resort. 

Amazing fun!!

Nate LOVED the gondola and the Alpine Slide.

 Cousins! The boys kept mixing up their names, so they would say things like, "the girl in the pink gave me this." haha. Six names were a lot to remember.

 Nate and Mommy on the gondola.

Nate and I rode the Alpine Slide THREE times! He would tell me, "Go faster Mommy. Catch up to that guy. Push it down to go faster Mommy." 

Here is our selfie while waiting in line for the slide. He is showing you the ring his cousin made for him.

 The view from the Alpine Slide.

 Ben was cautious, Nate was not, on their first go at the bungee trampoline. Ben kept getting braver and they both did it a few times.

 Ryan did it too. Except he kept saying in a wavering voice, "OOOOOOH my goodness! OOOOOOH my goodness!" We laughed!

From the brochure, Ben decided the water ball was HIS activity. He wanted to do it so badly. As soon as he got in, he lost his balance and couldn't get back up. He almost immediately gave up. Crazy boy.

 Ryan and I did a zipline! I am on the left, slightly in front of some random girl I went with.

 Ryan! Wheeeeee

Day 3 - The Durango Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad.

Lunch in Silverton - Ryan found his restaurant. We actually did eat there :)

 Fueling up on ice cream before getting on the train.

Silly cousins.

 In case you wondered if the parents were there, we were!

 Taking in the beauty.

 We barely sat because there was so much to see.

 As the train snaked around right on the edge of mountain with the Animas River below.

 Sweetness. Pure sweetness.

They shared a queen sized bed. 

They always started on their own side. 

Ben always claimed he had a hard time falling asleep. 

They were always asleep within 10 minutes. 

Nate always ended up right up next to Ben. 

One night Ben even fell off the bed. We all blame Nate.

Grammy, Papa, Aunt Kelly and Ella

Grammy, Papa, Aunt Kelly and Ella came to visit! The weather was perfect for lots of outside playing. And we found that the boys and Ella share a love for dinosaurs so we went to a traveling exhibit that just happened to be in town. Ella just loved Nate. She said his name all day long, even when referring to Ben. 

Ella insisted on bringing Kelly some sand on top of the ball. It took many, many tries but she finally got a little sand to Kelly's white pants!

Proud Grandparents looking on.

Nate enjoyed having sand dumped all over him.

 Seriously cute kids!

Hi Ella.

 Ben was in heaven getting to play games on Kelly's kindle fire. Ella was there to assist.

  The dino exhibit.
It wasn't the greatest thing we have ever attended, but we managed to have some fun (thank goodness there were inflatables to save the day).

Happy big brother. Grouchy baby brother.

 Sweetness.

 Uncovering fossils.

 A dino with a saddle. 

 

 

  They ran and ran and ran around this thing.

 She loved it!

 Grammy protected Ella when she was a tiny bit nervous about the dinos that moved and made noise.

 The boys club.

 Dino ride. Nate was a wee bit scared.

 

Ben was in heaven.

 Eaten by a dino.

 My cave men.

 Grammy always insists on a family picture. Too bad the Carter boys were too far gone to the goofy side, but it's still cute.

Soccer

The boys had their first soccer game! It was a huge improvement from last year's soccer experience. The coach is great with the kids which makes the season. 

First soccer season. He LOVES it.

 Acrobatic kick from Ben.

 Stretches before the big game.

 Jogging in place.

 Two somersaults. Ha!

 Pep talk from coach before the game.

 Nate getting to kick it off. And good friend Jackson close by for support.

 Herd ball.

 A few goals were scored. Some even in the correct goal.

 Ella was loving Uncle Ryan time.

 Was it worth the 12 hour drive Grammy, Papa and Aunt Kelly?

Lifestyle Change

Guess what's new in our house?
We are officially Gluten Free!

As many of you know, Ryan has had intestinal issues since he was a little boy. It has just become a part of our life.

However, for about a year now it has seemed to negatively affect our life more than usual. The major push to really look into it was the fact that Ryan was losing weight unexpectedly and unable to regain any of it.

So, he started seeing the doctor more and trying to figure it all out. On March 21 he had an upper gi and colonoscopy. They had to put him completely under and the doctor took lots of biopsies. We went back for the consultation on April 7 and we found out he is 'gluten sensitive.' It was very obvious that he is not absorbing food, hence the weight loss and has much gut irritation. We learned lots of big words and details about the intestines. Lovely.

We dove in head first. The doctor highly recommended that our whole family go gluten free instead of trying to balance both and risk 'cross-contamination' that would be harmful to Ryan. We tried to get everything out of our house and we are still finding things little by little and giving them to friends.

Cooking gluten free has been easier than I imagined but overwhelming at the same time. Lots of foods are naturally gluten free, so I am mostly sticking with that until I really get a feel for it. We have found that we like brown rice pasta. The boys LOVE pancakes, so we are buying the gluten free packages for now and we can barely tell the difference. A gluten free loaf of bread is not a loaf of bread! Ben recently asked for the 'soft bread.' Sorry kid! Not in this house anymore.

Eating at restaurants and attending our many potlucks for work have been the hardest things to navigate. Ironically, our first potluck for work just two days after we found out was a "breakfast for dinner" menu and Ryan couldn't eat hardly anything on the buffet! Don't worry, he survived it.

It has been an educational experience for us. We are learning just how many things have hidden gluten in them. We hope that we end up much healthier and Ryan's health improves dramatically. So far, we aren't very far in and don't have much to report in terms of whether Ryan feels better or not. We are praying this is it though! We welcome your prayers for our adjustment period and for Ryan's overall health.