Last days-o-vacay

Thursday afternoon we headed back to the lake. We didn't bring suits for the kids, but they didn't care.

Isaac had so much fun playing with 'little Mater' as he is now referred to since we now have 2 Maters. He would bury him in the sand and then clean him off in the water, bury him again and clean him off. Over and over and over again.



Jacob reflecting on the beauty of the lake and how wonderful this vacation was. Or something like that.


Gettin' crazy in the water. I just love the expressions on Isaac's face!




Thursday night Randall and the big kids were kind enough to let Alan and I go out to dinner alone. We went to the same place we went 5 years ago when we vacationed at the timeshare. We were so surprised to see the changes, though! It was at a ranch and last time all the roads were gravel and there were only a couple buildings. Now it is all paved and huge. It even has a spa! The food was delicious and the scenery was gorgeous!

Randall, Lila and Sam left Friday morning (boo) but we stayed on. We headed back to the lake (love that place!) and went kayaking again. This time we tried another marina and they had kayaks with little booster seats so we could all go together. Isaac had an absolute blast the first half. He hung over the side and splashed and splashed. Then as we were heading back to the marina it got windy and chilly and the water was choppy. He was sitting up front and getting all the wind and water. He was cold, hungry, tired and UNHAPPY. He just cried and cried while Alan and I paddled like mad fiends. I thought I would be so sore, but surprisingly was not. Must be all those arm exercises at Baby Boot Camp!

We left for home Saturday morning and Alan had done some research to find a quicker route home. We ended up going on a gravel road (well maintained) for over 20 miles. It was pretty cool. We came upon a camp where a bunch of people were tubing down the river, fishing and whatnot. Then we came to what we refer to as a dirty hippy art fair. There were just a bunch of random booths set up and you just know the people were super interesting. We didn't stop, though. Had to keep on keepin' on.
Alan's route did shave off almost an hour of driving time. So props to him!

We hit Las Vegas around dinner time and thought it would be fun to stop at Circus Circus for a buffet. Hind sight is 20/20, of course and after getting back to our car, decided it perhaps wasn't our best idea. We had to park far away and hike across the hot parking lot both ways and the buffet was over-priced. Not to mention the culture shock. After being in a serene mountain community with clean air and cool temps, being in a smoky casino with lights flashing and tons of people was a bit much for me. Vegas ain't my scene anyway and then to go from such extremes just made it worse.

Anyway, we survived the trip home too. The boys did great! We rolled into Redlands about 10:30 pm, unpacked the essentials, took quick showers to wash away the travel ick and snuggled into our own beds. It is good to be home, but I do miss Colorado, especially now when it is 100 degrees.

Breakfast with the horsies

Snow Mountain Ranch also has a stables. Told ya it was an awesome YMCA! On Thursday Randall, Lila and Sam left early for a 2 hour breakfast ride and we followed for a breakfast wagon ride. What was nice was that we met up at the breakfast site so we could all eat our pancakes together.



Our driver, Amber, and the huge horses, Sadie and Ladie.


We saw two does with their fawns. This was one of the fawns running across the road to find her mama.

After Isaac was done eating, he got creative with his Mater toy, a fork, a knife and a sausage patty. Nice!

We were trying to get a picture of Randall, Lila and Sam by their horses, but Isaac had other ideas. He is such a nut!

That's what we were looking for!

Isaac got brave and touched a few horse noses, but only the smaller horse. When we got to Randall's big beast of a horse, Isaac wouldn't touch it.

We beat them back to the stables after breakfast so we snapped a few pictures of them riding in.


Check out these guys! Wouldn't want to cross them. There was a sign saying not to get to close. No worries! They also had some goat, sheep, calves and pigs that we could get up close and personal with.


Before lunch we took Bubble Mater out for a spin.
So hard to take turns! You can see Isaac in the background pointing and crying.

Bubbles!

Isaac's turn!

Offroading


Just a sidenote. The place we stayed has ski lifts that they run in the summer for hikers and mountain bike riders. You put your bike on a ski lift, jump on another and ride it to the top. Then you hurdle down the mountain on your bike. Awesome! Maybe I'll try that next time. Haha! Yeah, right.

Jacob turns 4!!

We were in CO for Jacob's birthday and wanted to do something special while we were there. We found a place that you could ride a train through the mountains! Its pulled by a steam engine that looks like it belongs on the Island of Sodor. For those of you not familiar with Thomas the Train, that's where he lives.

The boys waiting for the train to come into the station. You can see it way in the distance on the tall bridge.

Whoot! Whoot! Here comes the number 12 engine, chuffing up the track.

All the cars were open air, every other one being totally open. We chose one with a bit of shade.

Going around a bend on the high, high bridge

A view from above of the Colorado river

This is the diesel engine that had to push us up the mountain since the steam engine isn't strong enough to do that.


The boys really enjoyed riding on the train and I did too. It was just so pretty riding through the pines.

That evening we went to Grand Lake, picked up a couple pizzas and ate them at the park. The boys had a blast playing on the playground while we adults listened to some musicians who were playing there that night. I didn't take any pics, unfortunately.

Then we headed back to the condo for some cake and icecream. Jacob was so excited about the rainbow cake that Lila and Sam made for him!

Four candles! My little boy isn't so little anymore!


Reading the cool Dr. Suess birthday card that he got from Randall, Lila and Sam.

Jacob was so excited about the 'Bubble Mater' that they got for him!

Isaac was too, hence the fighting. Ha!


Happy birthday, Jacob! We sure had a fun day celebrating with you!!

Snow Moutain Ranch

About 10 minutes away from where we stayed was the most awesome YMCA ever! It was huge and there were tons and tons of things to do for a very small fee.

They had a place where you could make a walking stick for free. When we heard about that we just knew that was right up Jacob's alley. He is always walking around the backyard using his plastic rake as a hiking stick.

You picked out the stick you liked and then this nice man would cut it down to the right size (shoulder height) and give you tips on how to fix it up to make it pretty.


Lots of sanding



I made everyone pose with their stick



I think Alan had the coolest. See that neat curve in it?



Then we went ziplining!
Sam got about half way up the telephone pole and started having second thoughts. Then I started having second thoughts. I decided I better do it, though. And Sam pushed through and did it too. I was so proud of him!


There he goes!

And Lila!

And me climbing up with shaky, shaky legs.

Wheeeeeeeee! It was really, really fun! Isaac wanted me to hoot like an owl as I went down. Unfortunately there are no pictues of me flapping my arms like a bird. Pity.

Wave to the people

This picture is really dark, but I wanted to show what the boys did while we ziplined. They played in the dirt and got really dirty!


Then we tried out our new walking sticks on a short little hike.
The guys are all ready!

Jacob and Sam

While we waited for the slowpoke guys, Lila showed off her awesome walking stick

Isaac was the slowpoke. He had to finish his snack before he could start serious hiking.

Jacob loves to hike and was a great leader

This was Isaac at the end. Not too happy. He is not a lover of hikes. I hope he grows out of that because I really like hiking!


We went back home to the new house as the boys referred to it to have some lunch. Randall, Lila and Sam headed back to Snow Mountain Ranch soon after to do some swimming, mini-golf, archery and rock wall climbing. We hung out at the condo for a bit and had naps/quiet time.
After everyone was refreshed we went back to the Ranch and rode some tricycles, mini-golfed and painted bird houses at the craft building. I didn't get any pictures of the golfing because it was totally chaotic with balls flying and clubs swinging. I didn't get a picture of the birhouses either and I can't take one now because I dropped them and they are in pieces. Oooooops!
But, here are a couple pictures of the boys on the ultra cool tricycles.

Look at the dark sky in the background. Most afternoons brought wind and rain. Loved it!!


We went back to Snow Mountain Ranch on Thursday, but I'll post about Jacob's birthday first since this post is getting long.