Off we go! 'Colorado!'
We left at 8:00 pm and drove through the night. Crazy? Maybe. But it makes for a much more pleasant 14 1/2 hour + drive when the boys sleep through most of it!
We arrived early afternoon and after settling in and having dinner we went to the rodeo. It was their last night and since it was the Fourth of July weekend, they set off fireworks at the end.
The next morning we took the ski lift up to do a little hiking.
Stopping to smell the CO state flower - the columbine. FYI - They don't really have much smell.
We took a picnic lunch to Grand Lake and the boys had fun splashing around/freezing in the water.
And lots of playing in the sand
While Alan and I sat back on the beach and enjoyed the view.
On Monday we went to the YMCA of the Rockies. We just love this place! It is enormous (2800 acres, I think) and has tons of stuff to do.
The boys wanted to play mini golf first.
Then we went to the arts and crafts room where we tie dyed tee shirts and put together and painted wooden models.
And Isaac made a rescue helicopter.
They were so proud of their creations!
There was an old homestead to visit and since we hadn't seen it previous years we decided to check it out.
There was some dress up clothes which surprisingly Isaac didn't want to put on. What?!?
This machine took the kernels off corn and the boys got to try it out.
Up in the hayloft of the barn
This was a small model of the hay lifting machine.
Lots of farm machinery to 'drive'.
Isn't it beautiful there? The wife of the homesteader didn't like it so she moved back to Denver with their kids. The kids came to summer there but she wouldn't come. Guess she couldn't hack all the hard work.
Washing laundry! I think I need to get one of these and let the boys go to town on our dirty clothes. They couldn't get enough of that thing!
That afternoon the YMCA crew set up some fun games and a Sno Cone machine.
Bubble fun!
Tuesday morning we went horseback riding!
The boys were so excited about their American flag helmets and we were hoping they would be that excited once on the horses since they've never been on one before.
They were! They loved it!!
Alan and Isaac on Raquel
Jacob and me on Bernie
We met some beautiful horses
This one was crazy wild. He had a burr in his bonnet for sure! He was running all over making a huge ruckus!
Isaac loved feeding them grass
Cute little pond
Cute little boy!
I loved this hike! Fun little paths to tromp through and gorgeous scenery.
Happy hour didn't turn out quite how we'd hoped. The food was delicious as always (we've been here before) but the service was bad, bad. Our waitress seemed to have forgotten about us so the wait was long but the boys were great.
We just decided to enjoy the beautiful scenery and make some fun scenery of our own!
How could you not laugh?
The next day we went kayaking (no pics, didn't want to drop my phone in the lake!). We love kayaking! Then we played at the lake, picnicked and played some more.
More boats. Love watching the sailboats on the lake!
The boys were worn out so we went back to the condo for some quiet time before heading back to the lake to meet the DeBoers for dinner.
Love this picture of the 3 Redlands buddies! It was so fun to see fellow Redlanders in CO! Matt's grandpa owns a house in Grand Lake and they were visiting the same time we were out there. So cool!
In front of the coffee shop we found a goat. Not something you see every day! I guess a guy is walking across America with his pet goat trying to raise money for a non-profit that helps kids in Africa get off the street.
We fished at a little children's pond stocked with trout where kids can fish for free. Can't beat that!
Jacob and Isaac loved the fisherman statue by the stream
Happy fisherman!
Alan snuck a picture of me struggling with the pole. Thank goodness there were no videos of me casting. Shameful!
Isaac caught the only fish that morning and he was so proud! I told him that his Boppa and Grandpa DeWeerd would be so proud too as they both enjoy(ed) fishing!
Then we ate that bad boy right up for dinner that night. And it was good!
On the advice of the DeBoers, we drove through the Rocky Mountain National Park that evening. That's when all the wildlife come out!
This pretty guy was actually in our complex. We would see him every night, sometimes popping out of his fox hole. Isaac was convinced it was a baby because it is small, but we explained that fox don't get big.
But these Elk do!
And this guy will!
This baby moose was romping all over and even came dashing at us at one point. Not close, but still pretty crazy.
Good thing his mama wasn't paying much attention or she may have gotten angry!
The next day we drove back up to the national park to do some exploring.
We went up to the Alpine tundra which is high, high - over 2 miles above sea level, I think. This means cold temps and no air.
Isaac loved that there was snow!
Heading back down Jacob jumped down every step except the last few. Wish I had that kind of energy!
Here you can see Isaac holding his Junior Ranger book. They had to fill these out in order to become Junior Rangers. They took this very seriously.
The Junior Ranger book said to lay on your back, close your eyes and name 5 things you hear. So that's what Isaac did.
The national park also has a homestead to visit and the DeBoers said it was fun so we checked it out.
We enjoyed lassoing a calf made of logs and sticks
Or trying to lasso, at least!
Oh look! That looks successful.
Um, sorry ladies! This buffalo wearin' dude is taken!
The boys were hoping to see a Ranger on the homestead because the last thing in their Junior Ranger activity book was to talk to a Ranger and take a tour. They were in luck!
Introducing the new Junior Rangers! They were so proud to earn these badges!
Super fun trip with lots of great memories!
