Fifteen Things Friday {Special Colorado Edition}

#1. Colorado or Bust! A 12 hour car ride to Breckenridge. We departed at 11:00am on Wednesday, August 4th! 

#2. We arrived very late Wednesday evening and when we woke up Thursday, this was the site in our backyard! Gorgeous... 

#3. We shopped...

#4. We rode the lifts to the top of the Alpine Slides! Definitely a highlight of the trip for all of us! 

#5. We ate... Empire Burgers, Downtown at Eric's, Breckenridge Brewery, Butterhorn Bakery...

#6. We enjoyed spectacular views...

#7. And time together... 

#8. Noelle loved to sit on rocks and pose for photos... I heard this often... "Mommy, how about I sit on that rock and you can take my picture!" Do you know how many boulders there are in Breckenridge? :)

#9. We biked... 

#10. We hiked...

#11. Favorite quote from the trip... "Just deal with it!" 

As we were hiking, the kids were leading and we had to make them turn around because we decided to go a different way than the way they were leading and we hear Noelle say "Just deal with it!" to the other kids... lol! 

#12. We played...

{Breckenridge Amphitheater Park}

and played... 

and played...

and played! 

{photos taken at the Mountain Top Children's Museum}

#13. There were wildflowers a-plenty... at every turn, everywhere...  

#14. We saw a black bear, oh yes, we did... in the middle of the road right out in front of the house... 

#15. And of course... you can't be in the wilderness without a night of roasting marshmallows and eating S'mores!!! 

We're Back!

We pulled into the driveway about 10:00 last night and although it feels good to be home we truly miss the mountains not to mention the 30-35 degree cooler weather! No joke, as you can see we were wearing jackets and pants in Breckenridge! The weather was absolutely gorgeous!!! There were several times yesterday while driving home we wanted to just turn around and go back!!! We are already looking forward to our next trip to the mountains, hoping it's soon! 

Today we are getting back into the routine though... Rodney is back and work and the kids and I are unpacking, doing laundry and just enjoying being back at home despite the fact that we can't just run outside and go for a hike in the mountains in our jackets and jeans! :( 

I'll share more photos from the trip soon! 

We are preparing for a family trip to Colorado, we're leaving tomorrow and I am SO ready! 

Ready for family time, ready for cooler weather (highs there are mid 60's, highs here are mid to upper 90's!) bring it on!, ready for crisp mountain air, ready for hiking, biking, shopping, campfires, ready for being one with nature, ready for watching the kids see the mountains for the first time, ready for a break from the mundane routines of everyday life, ready for a date night with my hubby while we're there, ready for fun, ready to make new memories! 

Hoping that I can get over (or at least mostly over) this cold before we hit the road, hoping no one gets altitude sickness (or any sickness for that matter) while we're there, hoping it's not too chilly, hoping I don't forget to bring anything, hoping for sunshine and little or no rain, hoping I still want to stay another day when it's time to leave because, it's always better to wish for more time than to be ready to go!

{Above photo was taken in Estes Park on our last trip to Colorado in 2005}

Family Vacation 2009

A few weeks ago we took a short family vacation to St. Louis. We had a wonderful time, were able to see & do lots of fun things. The kids did a great job and had a lot of fun, despite the lack of sleep they got. Here are a few of our favorite photos from the trip. Enjoy!

The kids posing in front of a water fountain at the entrance of the St. Louis Zoo.

The kids and I on the carousel at the zoo... we ended up riding about 3 or 4 times waiting for the pouring rain to stop.

One of the sea lions we saw at the sea lion show (at the zoo). Probably one of the favorite things we saw at the zoo (besides the zoo train).

Just a glimpse of the beauty at the Missouri Botanical Gardens.

We took time to pose for a family photo at the Missouri Botanical Gardens.

The climbing beanstalk at The Magic House: St. Louis Children's Museum. This was probably the highlight of the trip for Noelle. She had a blast at the museum and really loved climbing the beanstalk several times.

Rodney & the kids pose for a photo at The Magic House.

The kids had an amazing time traipsing through this little stream in the outdoor area at The Magic House. What fun!