Our Big Vacation Part 7

Okay. This is the last one. Two weeks of vacation will pack a lot of picture taking into it. This stretch of the trip was much different as we were staying in Denver and Jay was working. So.... think being from a small town, moving to a big city (Des Moines), and then vacationing in Denver (a way bigger city, obviously), and trying to navigate the city with your four kids in tow...... We didn't do too many things, but the things we did were pretty fun. :) 

Relaxing while doing some school. 

Seriously.... the coolest parks ever. Emma would have stayed at this park all day. I thought it was terrifying as I climbed up in it with Paige and Cole. Thirty feet up with just ropes everywhere. Yeah, we climbed back down and stayed at ground level the rest of the time. 

The best ice cream all trip!

We went on the Hammonds Candy Factory Tour. We learned quite a bit about their handmade candies and chocolates and of course bought some to snack on later :)

Getting a little creative with his food. Look closely... apples and bread. 

This was not the bike we had planned to rent, but it was the one left at the rental place that held our whole family. We were the loudest people on the loop around the lake and probably had the most laughs :)

One last ice cream stop before hitting the hay on our last night in Colorado. 

I had done quite a bit of research, no joke, on how to keep the kids busy in the van. One of the best ideas, other than watching shows that I wanted to pass on, was to wrap them up little presents and give them to the kids when you need to switch gears, also known as, when craziness has hit the van. Think easy: packs of gum, little notebooks from the dollar store, plastic animals, a ball, activity booklet, clearanced holiday crafts that aren't too messy. This was a life saver. We even saved some for the ride home!


2,324 miles total and 14 days...
with only one stop on the way home from Colorado, we made it home.
Other than a few moments and one afternoon.... what a refreshing vacation!

Our Big Vacation Part 6

We headed back to Estes Park on our drive to our next place to stay. 

We found a quick hike up to a waterfall/creek area that the kids could play in. We all got over how cold the water was to just enjoy ourselves playing in such fresh mountain water!

There was a lot of rock throwing..... 

...and smiles!

We left here and decided to to Trail Ridge Road. 

Wow...... I'm glad I was driving so I had something to focus on as I am not a huge fan of heights. :/ 

To give you some numbers.... We left Estes Park which is about 7500 feet elevation. Trail Ridge Road reaches almost 12, 200 feet at it's highest point! It was beautiful, but a bit of white knuckle driving took place on my part!

There was a picnic area close to this lake which made the perfect spot while descending! 

Coming up on our second place we stayed while in Colorado. 

The view from our second place in Colorado!

A huge hit.... bunk beds!

Emma and I signed up to run a 5k in Keystone. It was a pretty race. I definitely was not prepared to run it in general and was not ready to run at 9100 feet elevation! But, we did it. I am extra proud of Emma as she had way more left in her tank at the end. She finished the last .5 miles on her own and then came back to run me in. Quite a humbling moment being a runner myself to have my 7 year old run me in, but she is the sweetest. AND, she got 1st place in her age division!!! 

Someone's feeling a little better. 

We spent a morning in Breckenridge. 

The free gondola ride was pretty cool!

The pool may have been small, but the kids didn't care!

Another cool park!

A little Harry Potter watching. 

A quick snack from a local coffee shop before we hit the road for Denver!