Colorado Trip - Day 5 & 6

Day 5

After seeing everything the winter park resort had to offer Andrew was ready to return. So after a lazy morning and some lunch at the condo we headed back to his favorite ride "the red thing that goes up high!"

After getting his ticket he headed to the bounce house.

Next was the Alpine Slide

Waiting their turn

Mom is holding her breath

Whew they made it!

Sis waiting on the boys

Down the mountain

Here is what Drew has to say about the slide

Next was the Leaps and Bounds Bungee. Andrew barely made the 35 lb weight requirement. I think the rocks Jared put in his pockets pushed him over...

Getting the Harness on

Listening to the instructions...or at least trying

Back Flip

All that practice on Gigi's trampoline paid off

Cheering on Brother

On to the human maze

Showing our ticket

Stamping the time. Under 8 minutes and you enter a drawing for a scooter. Pretty sure they didn't come anywhere close to 8 min =)

Jared told Drew "No buddy it's this way" but he protested. When they came to a dead end he told Dad "See Andoo was right!"

Up the stairs for the "Z" stamp (you have to find M A Z E and then your way out)

Small break during a rain shower at the Back Bowl Soup Company for a great sandwich, adult beverages and fun games and colors for Drew.

Back to the Alpine Slide for another ride and we call it a day.

Drew and Daddy headed to the car

Wait Drew didn't want to leave!

I think we wore him out =) It was one of our most expensive days even with a half day ticket for only Jared and Drew but so far it was our favorite! We had some enchiladas for dinner and after baths we all were worn out. Unfortunately, Andrew was not going to sleep. No matter what we tried he wouldn't give up, so we put him in our bed and turned on a movie. I am pretty sure Jared and I fell asleep while he finished the movie!! And that brings me to the morning of

Day 6

And boy did it come early. McKinley has been waking up at 4am but going back to sleep until 8 or so but today she just wasn't comfortable and even though Andrew stayed up late he didn't sleep in either. So Jared and I both had 2 cups of coffee and we were still slow moving! But after lunch we headed into Denver to Water World. We got there right in time for our half day ticket (not a bad deal at half price.) It was cloudy and a little cooler than the weatherman told us but it turned out to be okay. Jared and Drew enjoyed the smaller wave pool and the water "playground" while sister and I did a little people watching. Then we swapped and Drew and I went to the lazy river and sister got grumpy for Dad =) Since McKinley was hungry I took her to the car while Dad and brother enjoyed another kids area and then took a shower to clean up for the ride home. Not a lot of pictures for this day we had our hands pretty full. To be honest we had fun but I don't think we will be taking him to a water park again anytime soon. There wasn't a whole lot for him to do and the things he could do are similar to the Flower Mound CAC. But maybe our day was clouded by a trip and fall onto the arm of a chair that resulted in a double bloody nose...poor kid!

But we finished the day off well at our favorite restaurant

What a day! At least we got him in bed at a decent hour tonight, not sure if sister is going to be as easy...

Colorado Trip - Day 3 & 4

Day 3

After enjoying the free breakfast at the hotel we packed up and headed out. Our first stop was Seven Falls. We skipped all the steps and headed to the elevator inside the mountain. We checked out the waterfall, bought some magnetic rocks for Drew, fed the trout and visited all 3 gift shops (ridiculous!) Sis got hungry so we skipped the Indian Dance but all in all it was a pretty good stop. Jared carried M in the baby bjorn and I was thankful for the break!!

Next we headed to America the Beautiful Park for a picnic lunch. There was a neat playground and fountain. I think Andrew enjoyed them both!

We decided to head on to Denver. A quick stop at Wal-Mart (YUCK!!) for some groceries for the week and we headed up the mountain. This is the prettiest part of the drive and the hardest if you tend to get motion sickness. But we made it to the top and only heard "Are we there yet?" a billion times.

Last minute stop at Safeway for our favorite coffee that wasn't available at Wal-Mart and we pulled into Twin Rivers. We did it!! And we had fun =)

After dinner and baths we all headed to bed...

Day 4

Jared and I decided to take it easy so after breakfast we went to the base of the mountain to check out the activities. Drew made a list of all the things he wanted to do when he had a "ticket." Putt-Putt, Bounce Houses, Human Maze, Alpine Slide and much more!! They have added a lift that takes you from the parking lot to the Village. Nice!! That walk was no fun in past years.

We stopped at Doc's Roadhouse for some lunch which ended in a small meltdown by Drew so we decided to go back to the condo for naps.

3 hr nap for all...we were tired =) Chicken and veggies for dinner and a walk along the river to Safeway for desert finished off Day 4.

Day 1 and 2 of Vacation

Call us crazy but we decided to take advantage of Grandma Ruth's condo in Winter Park Colorado to get away from the heat. We 100% knew that it could take the whole week to get there with 2 kids but it was all about the journey and not the destination. So I figured I would use the blog as a way to record the trips events.

Day One

Thursday afternoon after sis's Dr's appt we headed out. We loaded up the car and started out of the driveway when sis started screaming. I checked the clock and it had been 3 hours so...

Stop #1 - Home

I headed back into the house to feed M and 30 minutes later we were headed out again!

Stop #2 - Iowa Park Rest Stop

A feeding for sister, 2 diaper changes, a change of the movie and a few snacks and drinks. This is a very typical place for my family to stop on the way to Paducah. If you are ever out that way and need to stop check it out...it's pretty nice, for a rest stop.

Stop #3 - Paducah, TX

A little R&R with MawMaw and Popi. A great roast dinner and bacon and biscuits breakfast. A perfect way to start the trip.

Popi and Drew working on a floor puzzle...there was no convincing him not to get down on his knees. We certainly couldn't tell he had suffered a stroke just a few months ago

Popi and Sis having a "chat"

Day 2

We headed out about 8:30am, we were aiming for 7:30 so not too bad! We had no expectations on how far we would go but...

Stop #1 - Amarillo, TX 10:30am

Not bad! We stopped for Starbucks for Mommy, playtime for Drew and of course milk for Sister. Other than the massive mosquitos swarming us, not a bad stop.

Stop #2 - Texline, TX 1:50pm

Quick potty stop for Dad

Stop #3 - Clayton, NM 2:00pm

Found the jr. high that offered a picnic table and shade tree. The fact that the sprinklers were running in the middle of the day turned out to be a plus for Andrew.

Stop #4 - Trindad, CO 5:00pm

Drew and Daddy visited the Colorado welcome center which turned out to be a great place for A to burn off a little steam. Kids tables with colors, erasers, white boards etc. Dad grabbed some brochures to help plan our week.

Stop #5 - Pueblo, CO 6:30pm

Truck Stop...The meltdowns began so we feed M and let A run a little. We decided to call it a day and found a place to eat and hotel.

Stop #6 - Colorado Springs, CO 7:15pm

Dinner at The Mason Jar. Jared loved the chicken fried steak, brother liked the dirt and worms desert and Mom liked the glass of wine! Finally made it to the Springhill Suites around 9pm.

All in all a great day! A few meltdowns but not near as many as I expected. Gotta go! Time for day 3 to start....oh and did I mention that sis slept all night the past two nights. 10pm till 6am. NICE!!!

Our Driver

Sleeping Babies!

Home Sweet Home (for the night at least)