mountains and walking and shopping and weaving and swimming and music and men in kilts

gotta write this down before i forget that it happened...

it was the weekend after Labor Day ... Auntia and i took LuLu with us to Estes Park for the Longs Peak Scottish Irish Highland Festival 

aka Men in Kilts...

first we walked through the town so we could shop for caramel apples and candy and coffee and christmas tree ornaments and other stuff that we don't need but want anyway...

LuLu and Auntia ... behind them is the river that flooded last year and wiped out most of the roads in and out of the town ... it behaved while we were there

and when we checked into the hotel, LuLu wanted to swim...

the water was FUH-FUH-FUH-FUHREEZING!!!!

she was singing Let It Go and letting go ... which made me very, very nervous

she spent more time in the hot tub than in the pool...

ah... now THAT's what i'm talking about!!!

when we woke up the next morning, the car looked like this...

is that a shamrock?!?

which seemed rather fortuitous... 
we skipped the parade this year and went directly to the fair grounds...

the clans tent is ginormous!

which meant that we missed the crowds and we were able to do some more shopping...

wee lassie

we ate Meat On A Stick and Cheesecake On A Stick (my favorite) and walked around the festival grounds a gazillion times while LuLu practiced her numbers by counting the men in kilts...

we saw The Wall That Heals...

and found one of the names that the eXMan asked Auntia to look for...

rest in peace, Larry

it was an emotional experience ... so many names of so many men and women... 

LuLu learned how to weave in the weavers' tent...

over and under and over and under

and over and under and over and under

and watched jousting...

cheer cheer cheer cheer ... ooo!!! that's gonna leave a mark!!!

that night we went to the tattoo and when we came back to the hotel, LuLu turned her weaving into a little blanket for Leo the Leopard...

smirk smirk smirk

and when we left on sunday morning, LuLu left a message on the door...

so glad that isn't MY patio door!!!

after we took her home, LuLu wrote these thank you notes...

dianne?!? seriously?!? she NEVER calls me dianne!!!

we had a lotta fun!!!