Colorado Trip . Spring Break 2010

We had an AMAZING time in Colorado for Spring Break.  I took WAY too many pictures, of course, and I have to admit that I tried to edit them all but just couldn't!  So most of these are raw images off my camera. 

We left on Sunday evening around 10:00.  We initially wanted to leave that morning but we ended up getting a snow storm Friday night that hindered our plans.  The roads were clear by Sunday afternoon and had made plans to leave on Monday morning but since I had packed for two days and had everything ready to go, I was getting antsy and knew there would be no way I would be able to sleep on Sunday night.  Dan prefers to take road trips and drive all night, especially to Colordado since we have to drive through Kansas and that is the most mundane state EVER!!!  So, that is why we chose to drive all night.  We drove up to Kansas City and then took a left onto I70 and drove ALL the way through Kansas.  Dan and I took turns and drank lots of caffeine!  We made it to Evergreen (which is where my dad and his wife (Les) live) at around noon on Monday.  We were so glad to be out of the car.  The kids did FANTASTIC though and we couldn't have asked for better passengers, especially for being in the car for nearly 15 hours! 

This is the view from my dad's house...breathtaking!!!

The fist night there Les cooked homemade chicken noodle soup for us after we had a 3 hour nap.  She also cooked Apple Dumplings which were to die for!!!  After dinner my dad built a fire on the side deck of their house.  The kids enjoyed being outdoors in the warmth of the fire.

The next day (Tuesday) we decided that we would do some sledding on the hillside of my dad's house.  He has the perfect place for sledding and he was able to borrow some saucers for us to sled on from his neighbor's! 

That afternoon, the weathermen were calling for nearly two feet of snow...you can see it moving in in this picture.

Photo opps with the family!  My poor dad wasn't able to get a full family shot with us since he was at our cabin (behind his house) lost heat the night before due to a loose fan in the furnace so he was with the heating guy getting it fixed while we played in the snow!

On Wednesday, Dan was supposed to go skiing while the kids and I hung out with my dad for the day.  Well we woke up to nearly 2 feet of snow on the ground and we were literally snowed in!  It's so amazing to me how quick you are able to get out and about even with this much snow.  It took them no time to get someone to plow the road so that we could get down the hill to my dad's house.  If it snowed 2 feet here in Arkansas we would be stuck for a week!

So this is what we did that day...watched movies by the fire on our pallets, took long naps while Dan did some work on his computer and then I had a wonderful date with my Daddy that night at a fantastic restaurant in downtown Evergreen. 

Thursday, Dan went skiing from sun up to sun down.  My dad and I had kinda talked about taking the kids tubing but it was just too expensive for us to even think about taking the kids since they are so young.  Instead, we went to Evergreen Lake and looked around and then drove around to look at some of the old areas that I used to see as a kid growing up.  My dad has lived in Evergreen for almost my whole life so this place is like a second home to me.  It was neat to see some of the changes in the area. Below is Evergreen Lake (I used to ice skate on this lake but the ice had gotten to warm and it wasn't safe for skating anymore).

My dad and the kids!

Yes, I made them hold hands for a picture.  As soon as the camera snapped they immediately stopped holding hands!

The kids and I (incredible views every where you look!)

My Daddy and I!

This is my most favorite spot in all of Evergreen!

On Friday we spent the whole day sledding at my dad's house.  Dan had made the most awesome double decker sledding shoot that I have ever seen!  Caleb had a blast going down the hill pretending he was an olympic athlete going down the luge.  Ariel on the other hand had nothing to do with it.  She was perfectly content doing her own thing, playing in the snow and jumping in puddles!

Such a pretty girl!

The double decker luge!

He had a blast!

Making snow angels.

WOO HOO!!  He went down this thing at least 30 times that day!

This is what the view looked like coming down the sledding hill!

Going back up!

Splashing in puddles.

Eating fresh snow.

Ariel and her Papa.

We enjoyed fires every night.

Friday night we played Candy Land together after dinner and watched the video that my dad made of us sledding together all day. 

The kids enjoyed helping my dad feed the fish every night.

The last day we were there it snowed 6" again.  This is Ariel helping my dad fill the bird feeders.  She is wearing Dan's gloves!

We had these visitors three times at my dad's window in his cabin...they were so cute!

This is what Dan and I would see most mornings...both kids sitting in our cabin in the big chair playing their games together.

Our trip home went really well...but we were so glad to be in our own beds!