The day after the family reunion was Sunday. We got to worship with my parents' congregation which is always a nice time. They have made a lot of improvements to the building since I was there last. It looks really nice! I always love seeing all the folks I grew up going to church with and hearing how their kids are doing and what great things are going on in their community. The lesson on this particular Sunday was given by the youth minister and he talked about herding sheep with one of the members of the congregation. You don't get that just anywhere! What a wonderful church family and what a blessing to be with them!
On Sunday night we had tickets (along with 97 other members of the Cundiff family) to go to the Bar D Chuckwagon! This is a family tradition for our reunions. In fact, I was trying to remember if I have ever been there without a large number of family members--I don't think so. It was a fun evening of good ol' chuckwagon grub, music and laughter in a mountain setting. It's always a good time. One of the guys who started it back in the 60's is still playing there. The other guys have come and gone many times over, but it is always a good time. You'll find pictures of Koa and I riding the train before the show in the K2's CO Trip photo album along with evidence of the rest of our adventures.
On Monday we went to the Rocky Mountain Wildlife Park near Pagosa with my sisters and their kids and my cousin Tracy and her two boys. It was a small little park with cages where the animals ate, but they were allowed to leave the cages and roam in much larger areas when they were not eating. At first glance it seemed awful because the cages were so small, but it became clear that they were in a nice environment, but it also made them harder to spot. We hung around for quite a while waiting for the mountain lion to come out of hiding so we could see him. We got to see bears, wolves, elk and mountain lions. The boys got to feed ducks and a sheep. There were some elusive bunnies we were supposed to feed, but they obviously weren't very hungry.
It was also nice to be away from large groups of people a little bit that day so I could cease from appeasing Koa's whines in an attempt to get him back to normal. At one point we were walking up a pretty steep, rocky hill in the hot sun and Koa was whining (well, he was STILL whining) and I told him if he would stop whining I would pick him up and carry him. He kept whining, so we kept walking. When we got to the top of the hill he was in a little better spirits and started asking for things in his normal ways like pointing instead of whining. That was the beginning of the detox....
After the wildlife park we met Great-Grandma Pierce and Great-Uncle Brad for lunch at a little malt shop in Pagosa. This was the first time for Koa to ever meet his Great-Grandma and Great-Uncle. So that was a nice time, but very short.
On Tuesday Great-Grandpa Hunt and Great-Grandma Myrna Zumwalt made the drive all the way down from Grand Junction to see us. We were supposed to have a picnic "Up Home" which is the ranch where my grandmother's family homesteaded and where my grandparents raised their family. My grandmother just passed away almost two years ago, but her kids still keep the place looking great and ready to use for family events or if someone is in town and needs a place to stay.
We met Hunt and Myrna up there with the intent to have a picnic, but it started to rain as soon as we got there. Hunt was happy to see the rain since it has been so hot and dry in Grand Junction, but we had to head inside for a while. And just like my grandma always said--a sunshiny shower won't last half an hour--we were back outside in no time enjoying the beautiful yard and garden. Great-Grandpa Hunt also got to see one of my uncles, Henry, whom he baptized years ago. I know Uncle Henry was really glad to get to see him. This Zumwalt-Cundiff web is very complicated....
After Great-Grandpa and Great-Grandma Zumwalt left to head back over the mountain we played around a bit more in the yard and then headed over to Tammy and Leon's (my sister and brother-in-law) house for a hair cut and a birthday party. You will find pictures of Koa's hair cut in the K2's CO Trip photo album and I imagine there will be a video posted when Zak has a free moment to get it edited. Koa did really well with the hair cut and although I was a little apprehensive about cutting off those curls, I think he looks as handsome as ever! Tammy did a great job with it!!
Leon and Tammy's eldest daughter, Kristina, turned 19 on the July 11. Happy birthday, Tina! So, Leon grilled out and the kids got to roast marshmallows (except Koa--I just couldn't do it) and then Tammy made homemade ice cream and homemade brownies! YUM! I made the mistake of offering the ice cream to Koa after he had already seen the brownie. He wouldn't even touch the ice cream--that child knows that he loves chocolate!
On Wednesday Koa got to ride a four wheeler for the first time with Grandma Cundiff. He wasn't sure he liked the idea until she got going and then he really enjoyed it. Grandma was brave enough to get Alec, Sam and Koa on there all at once. I think she enjoyed it as much as they did!
That evening I left Koa with Grandpa, Grandma and Aunt Becky and I went to have dinner with one of my best friends whom I never get to see. Kate and I are terrible at keeping in touch, but every time we see each other it's just like we haven't been apart. It was so nice to get to have some time with her.
I think this is the same day one half of the Fred Zumwalt family headed towards Romania for their annual voyage. They will be teaching English there and supporting the local church family. If you are interested in following their adventures you can check them out here.
Thursday was our last day in Colorado, so we had to try to squeeze in anything else we wanted to do. So, we headed back to Pagosa Springs in the morning to see my Grandma one more time and we got to see my Uncle Buck and Aunt Shari (on my mom's side) and their son, Mike. Koa thought Grandma's oxygen machine was the most fascinating thing he'd seen in a while, so I had to keep running him out of the bathroom where she keeps it.
That afternoon we headed up to Lemon to go fishing. To tell you the truth I'm not sure what Lemon is...I know there's a Lemon Dam, but there was no dam here. I've never heard it referred to as Lemon Lake, though. My dad always just says things like, "We went fishin' up at Lemon." So, that's where we were--Lemon.
When we first took the lid off the container of worms Koa thought the dirt was chocolate! Before I could even say anything his hand had shot in and it was already in his mouth! As gross as I thought it was I couldn't help but laugh...natural consequences, I guess. Then his Aunt Tammy encouraged him to pick up the worm. I just knew he was going to put that in his mouth and that's the first thing I said... Well, that just gave him ideas. So, he kept acting like he was going to put it in his mouth just to make me squirm. He thought it was hilarious every time I would react to it and he would just laugh harder. He is such a little trickster already!
My dad "helped" each of the boys catch their own fish. Koa wasn't sure what to think about the first one but he thought it was pretty funny when it would flop around. The one he "caught" we had to throw back because it was too little. He was more interested in tromping around in the mud and he kept wading out in the water and then he would get stuck because the mud was so goop-y. The water line has come down considerably in the past month, so it was pretty messy all around there. Eventually Koa got hungry, but I had just gotten started fishing so my mom took him to the car to get him clean and fed. This time he didn't mind his long pants nearly as much!
I kept fishing until I broke the fishing pole. No, wait, I still kept fishing with the broken pole. I think I even caught the biggest fish on the broken pole. Eventually I thought I should go see how Koa was doing--that must have been about 9PM. Dad and Tammy kept fishing until around 9:30 or whenever it just got too dark. Dad ended up catching the biggest fish (after I left, so it doesn't count!). It was a German Brown. All the rest of the fish we caught were Rainbow Trout. We ended up catching 14 fish in all.
When I got back to the car and found Koa he had eaten a whole sandwich and had Doritos all over his face! He was as happy as could be with Grandma.
