Happy Birthday Reagan!

Last Friday night, Eden got to help her friend Reagan celebrate her 6th birthday.  She and Reagan were in both preschool and kindergarten together.  It has been fun watching them grow over the past three years and I pay that they will remain good friends for many years to come!

I was so proud of Eden... the last time we were at a party with a piñata she wanted nothing to do with it.  She hid behind my legs and refused to participate.  This time, she confidently got in line and took her turn without any hesitation.  Just another example of how far she has come this past year.

Reagan, Eden and Sara- two of Eden's sweet preschool friends (only Grace was missing).  I sure love these girls!

It was a fun night celebrating a sweet girl!  Happy Birthday Reagan!

Colorado Vacation- Day 8

 

All good things must come to an end.

We spent our last day in Breckenridge soaking up as much of the nice weather as we could before returning to the 100+ degrees they were experiencing in Texas.  We took the kids to a local park for a few hours before lunch.  It was so nice to sit outside and watch them play without having to worry about sweating!

Next to the park is a little hiking trail that Eden went on with Granna and Granstan.

Parker and Cory enjoyed throwing the baseball to each other at the park. 

After lunch, Cory took Parker on a very short hike to see an old dredge pile. 

When they got back from their hike, we took the kids swimming one more time before starting the dreaded job of packing our suitcases.  Parker was so excited when we ran into his new friend James again and got to swim with him one last time!

Our trip would not be complete without one last trip to get ice cream after dinner! 

We had such a great time in Colorado this year!  I am always so thankful for the time away from the Texas heat and you just can't beat the beauty of the mountains!  I am so glad we make this an annual vacation spot and we are already looking forward to planning our trip back to Breckenridge next summer!

Colorado Vacation- Day 7- Hiking

Cory and I wanted to take the kids hiking again but we knew it would have to be a pretty easy hike both for him and the kids, so my mom googled "easy hikes for kids in Breckenridge" and found one right at the base of the mountain.  It was perfect- not too steep for Cory and not too long so the kids stayed interested!  It was great to go on a hike together as a family and ended up being a great morning!

As we finished the hike, we happened upon a bunch of people waiting in line to try something called Tumble Bubbles (basically plastic bubbles that you crawl inside and then walk on the water). Of course the kids begged to try them and since it wasn't very expensive to try, we said yes!  I even decided to try them out with the kids! We decided to go youngest to oldest, so Lily was up first.  I wasn't sure Eden would try it, but she jumped right in and never looked back!  I was so proud of her for trying something new! Parker was next and then it was my turn.  I did okay for a few minutes and then claustrophobia set in and I needed out fast!  They couldn't get me out fast enough and even though I'm glad I tried it, I most definitely won't be doing it again!  The kids, on the other hand, had a blast and can't wait to try it again next summer when we go back!

On the way back to the condo, the kids begged to wade in the river for a few minutes.  Since it was such a beautiful day and we weren't quite ready to go inside yet, we said yes!  I'm not sure how they stayed in the freezing water for so long, but they had a great time and even found a friendly dog to play with for a few minutes.

We were all exhausted by the time we finally got back to the condo so we spent the rest of the afternoon resting and taking naps.

A trip for ice cream after dinner ended another great day in the mountains.  We only had one more day before we had to pack up and head back to Texas!  We had packed a lot of fun into our next to last day and were looking forward to one more day in Breckenridge.

Colorado Vacation- Day 6

On Thursday, Cory decided to take Parker on a gold panning tour.  He got to pan for real gold and came home very excited to show me his vial of gold!

I knew the girls would not like the tour so I took them to the local Children's Museum.  They have been asking to go to the museum for a few years but we have never made it there to play. 

We spent several hours at the museum and the girls had a great time!  They enjoyed playing doctor in the hospital station,

fishing in the fishing pond,

playing with marbles and sand in the discovery station,

flying a helicopter,

hanging out with some bears in the bear cave,

playing dress up,

putting on a puppet show,

and making arts and crafts.

I wasn't sure when we got there if it would hold their interest, but they played nonstop for over three hours and were sad when we finally had to leave that afternoon.  It was well worth the money and I'm sure we will go again the next time we are in Breckenridge.

 

That evening, Granna and Granstan went out for dinner together so we decided to take the kids for a fun family night out.  We found a pizza joint called Downstairs at Eric's that was very family friendly and had an arcade for the kids to play in while we waited for our table.  We all five had a blast and I really enjoyed getting to spend some time with just our little family of 5.

After dinner, we found another little play area on Main Street for the kids to play at until bedtime.  Other than Parker getting a little scared about jumping off the big rock and throwing a teensy little tantrum (or maybe a huge crying fit that made everyone within earshot turn to look at us), it was the perfect end to a fun evening with the kids!