Colorado Trip

We just got back from a trip to Colorado. My cousin got married in Bailey so we and my parents made a mini-vacation out of it. We rented a house overlooking a lake in the mountains. We took off shortly before 2:00 on Friday afternoon and were at our house in the mountains by 11:00 that night. The kids did great in the car so we only had to stop once. When we pulled in, there were a handful of deer right in front of the house.

Our "Mountain House"

Kyler and Papa tried to catch some fish at the lake but didn't have any luck. It may have had something to do with a noisy three-year-old and them constantly feeding the ducks. They saw a wood duck and named him Woody, as well as a bunch of other ducks they called Susie 1, Susie 2, etc. Kyler started out feeding them the fish bait (night-crawlers) but then we gave him some stale crackers for duck food.

Ky didn't do so great at the wedding. It was outdoors so I don't know if he really understood why he had to be so quiet. Brett kept him busy taking pictures of the ceremony. Then he had fun playing with my cousin's kids and some of my younger cousins. One of the kids was a ring bearer who had gotten a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle action figure for cooperating. Kyler followed him around with his imaginary turtle. My mom said Colten (the ring bearer) kept giving him strange looks. By the time the dance started he was too worn out from playing to even bust a move - bummer!

Sunday we spent the afternoon in Morrison with Brett's cousin and his family. They have four boys age 5 and under so we knew Kyler would have a blast playing with them. We ate at Willy's Wings and then visited Dinosaur Ridge. They dug in a sand pit and found fossils and then we walked up the mountain to see some footprints, fossils, etc. from the prehistoric ages. After that, we went to Red Rocks Amphitheater. Kyler really wanted to walk down to the stage but his baby sister was ready to go home and take a nap so we had to say goodbye. Before heading back to the house, we decided to try a bike trail in Morrison. Myelle got her nap in the bike trailer so all was good. We even found a playground at the end of our ride with things to climb on and in. Kyler was so tired after our big day that he fell asleep on the way home before dinner and slept until the next morning.

Kyler and his cousins at Dinosaur Ridge

Ky and Mama at a stop on our bike ride in Morrison

Playing at the park in Morrison

Ky's spot to hide from the rain

Climbing a tree

King of the Mountain!

Monday morning we decided to have breakfast in the town of Bailey. Kyler rode with my parents and downed a juice box as they pulled out. We noticed they weren't behind us and thought they may have pulled off to see some wildlife. When we got to the highway and got phone reception, we found out he has thrown up. So we went back, picked him up, and got some clean clothes. He was determined to go rather than stay at the house so we took off. He slept and threw up again on our way to Bailey, then ate a huge breakfast and was a whole new kid. Our guess is that he drank that sugary drink too fast on an empty stomach before getting on some windy, bumpy mountain roads.

From Bailey, we went to Alma where we unloaded our bikes, put the kids in the bike trailer, and bicycled the 6 miles to Fairplay. It was a pretty comfortable ride except for a decent climb shortly before we got to town. Myelle was tired of riding by the time we got there, so we stopped for ice cream and then went to their park which was really nice. Kyler got to experience his first outhouse there. He was not a fan! The afternoon storms were starting to roll in from the mountain peaks so we decided it was time to bike back to Alma. This time we had a very steep climb right off the bat which made the rest of the ride a little tougher too. The kids both fell asleep early on and slept most of the ride so it was a relaxing ride for Brett and I with a great mountain view. We sat down for dinner at Fairplay and then drove back to the house in the rain and extreme fog.

The kids on the way back to Alma from Fairplay

We packed up and were out of the house by about 8:30 Tuesday morning. Kyler asked about frogs and their long tongues while we were driving. After Brett explained how they used their tongues Kyler responded with, "wow, that's awesome." Just another example of why I love the preschool age. We stopped back through Morrison for breakfast and then went to Red Rocks Amphitheater so that we could walk down to the bottom and check it out a little longer. Ky smashed a couple of pennies at their museum and was exited to see a T-Rex jaw. It was drizzling the whole time we were there but Kyler had a blast splashing in a big puddle before we stripped him down and stuck him in the car. We headed out much later than planned but the kids did pretty well in the car again on our way home. His imaginary friends, Joel and Jonah (who are real kids of Brett's former co-worker that Kyler has only met twice) were always with us in the car and we had a lot of fun listening to Kyler play, imagine, and sing on our long car rides.

After breakfast in Morrison

This mad man loved running around and climbing the stairs at Red Rocks

Even with the kids, this was a very relaxing (and enjoyable) vacation. It was nice to have some family time and do some things Kyler enjoyed. He was sad to leave the mountains and had really wanted to climb up one of them. We promised him that next summer or the summer after, we would come to the mountains and Myelle would be old enough to walk so we can go for a hike in the mountains.