Colorado 2013

We took our annual trip to Estes Park, CO last week. We left on Friday at noon and drove 16 hours to get there. We stopped in Kearney, NE and got there around 10pm on Friday night. We got up and played in the water park in the morning and then drove the rest of the way to Estes Park on Saturday. We arrived in Estes Park around 5pm on Saturday!

Ready to go to the water park!

Nora wasn't quite as eager to go down the slides as her big brother!

Let's go again, Daddy! Let's go again!

Saturday night we attempted to go grocery shopping, which was one of the biggest mistakes we made all week. Let's just say...Saturday and Sunday were very stressful days and it was apparent that we had too much time in the car and that all of our sleeping schedules were a little off. Thankfully everyday got easier and better. On Sunday I was about ready to book us all a one way ticket home, but I'm glad I didn't follow through with that! It was just hard managing both kids, especially now that Nora is mobile and tries to keep up with Bishop!

Sunday morning I took the kids to the little playground on the riverwalk, while Luke finished our grocery shopping.

 

Playing music on our walk down the river walk!

That's the smile I like to see! :)

They both wanted to ride, so this was their compromise!

We drove up to the Alluvial Fan to hike around for a bit. This was great for Bishop, as he was able to go exploring and hiking! It started to rain while we were hiking, so we cut our hike short, but that was ok, it was nice to get out for a bit!

Sunday night the Hennum's made it to Estes Park to camp. They camped inside Rocky Mountain National Park and we met them for dinner downtown Estes Park on Sunday night! The kids were so excited to see each other! We had dinner and then played on the playground for awhile!

Monday we hiked up to Gem Lake with the Hennum's. It's not that long of a hike, but there's a pretty steep elevation gain (1,000 feet), so it's considered a moderate-severe hike. Bishop hiked the entire way and didn't complain once!

After the hike the Hennum's came back to our place to swim and we grilled out and hung out. The kids were EXHAUSTED after such a fun day...Nora was asleep by 6:30pm and Bishop followed at 7pm!

Hanging out with mommy in the morning!

Bishop and Maia holding hands, hiking!

Maia, Bishop and Siena by Paul Bunyon's Boot!

The older kids!

The Hennum's and the Froehle's at Gem Lake!

Siena wanted to carry Nora--this lasted a few minutes until she dropped the bag (with Nora in it)! Nora thought it was pretty funny!

On Tuesday we lined up horse back riding! This was Bishop's first time on a horse and he was SO excited!! Nora was too young to go, so we hiked around and met the riders 1/2 way to take some pictures.

Bishop had quite the experience with his horse, Domino. Domino is considered a "gentle giant". He's one of the biggest horses they have, but the most gentle. The guide was introducing us to Domino and she told Bishop he really likes to be pet on his nose....so Bishop was petting his nose when Domino let out a big SNEEZE!! He got black dirt/sneeze all over Bishop's face, stomach and even on Luke and I! Bishop didn't even flinch! During their ride Domino fell down on his front feet--and Luke had to hold on tight so Bishop wouldn't go down too. All of this was exhuasting for Bishop, as he fell asleep on their way back!

Siena looks like a natural!

Tim and Maia on their horse!

Giddy Up! 

 

Yee Haw!!

Nora and I waiting to see the riders!

Tim, Maia, Luke, Bishop and Liana getting ready to ride

 

Exhausted after the adventures with Domino!

Bishop, Maia, Nora and Siena riding a bull!

Luke wasn't feeling well after the ride, he had a serious sinus infection, so he went to Urgent Care and we planned to meet up with the Hennum's at their campsite for dinner that night.  When we got there it had just started raining--and then it started hailing, so we all took cover sitting on the back of our cars (under the liftgate). The weather in the mountains changes so quickly--and it was sunny 5 minutes later. We were able to grill out and play at their campsite. The kids had a blast!

The Hennum's came up with a new way to roast marshmallow's--with resees peanut butter cups--they are delicious!!!

Siena is SO good to Nora. They are so sweet together and always so happy!

We stayed at Fawn Valley Inn and this was our 3rd year in a row staying there. We had 2 bathrooms, so we made one of the bathrooms Nora's bedroom! It seemed to work out well and then Bishop slept on the floor in our room!

Nigh Nigh!

Our last hike with the Hennum's was to Ouzel Falls. We've done this hike a few times and it's on the way to bluebird lake, where Luke and I got engaged 6 years ago! 

 Bishop got some rides....on Tim's shoulders and in dad's backpack, so I hiked with Nora for quite aways.

My beautiful goddaughter, Maia, and her beautiful sister, Siena!

The girls (we're just missing Nora)!

Nora and her godmother, Liana

It was a sad day, as the Hennum's were continuing their journey through Colorado. We stopped for icecream with them and then said our goodbyes!

This Elk was RIGHT outside our cabin! He hung out eating for awhile while Nora yelled HI! HI! HI!

Happy 4th of July Everyone! On Thursday we celebrated the 4th of July in Estes Park. We went out to breakfast at Luke's favorite place in Allenspark. We then drove up to the pass and hiked around for a bit. Thursday was more of a challenging day. You could tell we all missed the Hennum's and the kids didn't nap as long as they usually do.  We went out for dinner that night and then went back to our place--we were all exhausted! We skipped the fireworks, as they didn't start until 9:30pm. They are nationally known to be some of the best and Luke and I saw them 6 years ago when we got engaged in Estes Park. Hopefully some day when the kids are a little older we'll be able to check them out!

Hiking around at the top of the pass in Rocky Mountain National Park

Bishop wasn't listening very well at this point--it was quite the stressful situation being up on top of these rocks!

While we were in CO we swam everyday! Bishop became quite the little fish. He took some good notes from Liana, Siena and Maia and by the end of the week he was swimming with his face in the water (with NO noodle) and he'd jump in and not need to be caught. The best part was he wasn't afraid when he'd be swimming on his own!

 Friday was our last day in Colorado! We had a much better day and it was a great day to end on! We hiked up to Cub Lake, which was about 5 miles round trip. We saw a lot of wildlife on this hike, which was fun! We saw a herd of elk running in the distance, a couple Marmots, ducks, bunnies and a group of people riding on horses.....and of course the usual, butterflies, ladybugs and chipmunks (or chickmunks as Bishop calls them)!

Hiking with my buddy, Bishop!

Bishop did an awesome job on this hike!! He hiked the majority of the way and when he was tired, he rode in the backpack and then fell asleep! 

Bishop at Cub Lake

The Froehle's at Cub Lake

Nora LOVED sitting on logs like a big girl!

My boys!

All hiked out!

We stopped for a treat after our hike. Luke, Nora and I got icecream and Bishop chose Cotton Candy. He thought about it for the entire hike and was pretty excited to finally eat it! He is so good to his sister, as he shared his cotton candy with her. She'd never had it before...at first she was a little skeptical on the texture, but it didn't take her long to figure out this was something she wanted more of!! ;)

What an awesome week we had. It was full of many new memories and lots of good, quality family time! I asked Bishop what his favorite memory of the week was and he said "SWIMMING"! I asked him if there was anything that made him sad about the week and he said "not getting chocolate milk"(this was from our grocery shopping experience on Saturday night, Bishop did eventually get chocolate milk later on)! :) While we had our challenging moments, it was a trip we will never forget! The mountains are my favorite place in the world! Until next year........