Colorado- Day 4

Tuesday was the day for hiking. We woke up early and took the big kids with us on a short hike to a waterfall.  We first hiked down to the bottom of the falls and then hiked up to a point that overlooked them.  Both views were great and such wonderful examples of God's beauty. 

After we returned from our hike, we decided to pack a lunch and take all the kids up the gondola (or golawnda, as Parker called it!) to the top of the mountain for another short, kid-friendly hike.  We realized this was risky taking six young children on a hike but decided to try it anyway.   There was a little bit of whining at times, but overall, they all did great!  They loved the gondola ride so much that we rode it back up after naps just to let the kids play in the open field at the top of the mountain.



The Vista Nature hike was very kid friendly.  There were informational signs located throughout the hike with pictures and facts about animals that can be seen along the trails.  The kids loved looking for them and Aunt MerMer loved reading the signs once they had been found!!!  Eden was convinced that she saw a red tailed fox on one of the adjacent slopes!

After dinner, we went back down to the creek to play.  Once again, the kids had a blast playing with the rocks and were all wet from head to toe by the time we went inside for bed.   With all the activity from the day, you would think they would sleep like rocks but... stay tuned for day 5!

(Note to self- wearing the same color shirt as your twin sister will result in both your kids and husband getting confused and talking to the wrong person multiple times during the day!  Oops... Emily and I will definitely have to plan better next time.  Our husbands and kids were confused all day long!)

Colorado- Day 3

Monday was alpine sliding day- Aunt MerMer's favorite day of any Colorado trip.  This is the first time the kids have been able to try alpine sliding and we weren't sure how they would react.  We were not as worried about the sliding down as we were about the riding up.  Any small, unexpected move on the ski lift could result in a long, disastrous fall. 

We had no reason to worry- all three kids did great and we made it to the top without anyone falling to their premature death! (Eden chose not to try the alpine slide and Lily, who probably would have loved it, did not meet the 2 year old age requirement.)

Kids ages 2-6 were required to sit in a parent's lap so Parker rode with Cory on the first ride down and me on the second ride down.  Addison and Aubrey took turns riding with Emily, Jon, MerMer and Granna.  Parker LOVED it and laughed and yelled the whole way down.  On the second ride, Parker and I raced MerMer and Addison and beat them, which Parker thought was awesome!

While everyone was sliding, Eden and Lily enjoyed playing at the adjoining park with Baby Ryan.  Maybe next year we will be able to convince Eden to go with us. 

After lunch and naps, we headed back down to the pool.  Unfortunately, Steamboat Springs was in the middle of a heat wave so the daytime temperatures were in the high 80s.  Several people told us that this was the hottest summer they have had in at least 10 years.  Thank goodness for the pool that kept us nice and cool on those warm afternoons. 

That night, after we got the kids fed, bathed, and ready for bed, my parents treated us by letting us go out for a nice dinner without the kids.  We had a lot of fun hanging out with Meredith, Emily, and Jon.

Colorado- Day 2

Before we left for Colorado, I was researching things to do in Steamboat and was excited to discover that the weekend we arrived was the Annual Hot Air Balloon Festival.  I knew the kids (and adults) would be so excited to wake up to all of the hot air balloons in the sky.  Imagine my disappointment when we found out that the festival has been cancelled due to the dry weather and forest fires in the area. 

Luckily, a few of the balloons decided to launch and just as I thought, the kids LOVED it!  Lily was perhaps the most excited and kept yelling, "BALLOON!" and "UP!".   

The festival included a craft fair at a local park so we packed up and headed out to see what fun activities we could find to keep the kids busy.  On the way we passed a stream with a lot of rocks.  Parker begged to go throw rocks in the water and it wasn't long before all four girls had joined him.

The festival was so much fun!  Lots of booths set up with crafts and food.  There was definitely something to keep everyone happy.  I tried to get all three of my kiddos to get their faces painted, but only one agreed to do it.  Parker and Eden melted down as soon as I mentioned it so I turned to Lily to help me out.  As usual, her fearless nature kicked in and she hopped up on the chair without making a peep.  She didn't move a muscle the entire time her face was being painted.  Since she was wearing a ladybug outfit, we decided to paint a ladybug on her cheek.

Addison chose a Hello Kitty mask and Aubrey chose butterflies.  Parker and Eden chose to cry.  *sigh*  Maybe one day they will break out of their shell.  Until then, I will enjoy experiencing things with my Lilybug!

 After we all calmed down from the traumatic face painting experience, we grabbed a very healthy festival snack- fried shoestring potatoes and snow cones!  Eden was so excited about her pink snow cone (until she found out she had to share with Lily).

We had such a great time at the festival but decided to head home for lunch and naps/rest time before everyone got too cranky. 

After naps, we decided to check out the pool and let the kids swim.  Even though the pool was heated, the water was still way too cold for me, but the kids didn't seem to mind at all.  When it got too cold, they moved over into the hot tub to warm up, and then were right back into the chilly pool again.

After dinner, we let the kids play in the creek that ran next to our condo.  Again, it was way too cold for me, but the kids didn't seem to care. 

Despite all efforts to stay dry, they were all drenched from head to toe by the time we went inside!

It was a great, relaxing evening sitting outside in the cool mountain air with our family.  That is definitely something we don't get to do very often this time of year in Texas.  The kids had so much fun with their cousins and were exhausted by the time we went in for bed.