A couple weeks ago we loaded up the wagon and set out for Granby, CO to meet up with Randall, Lila and Sam for a fun-filled week.
A couple times a week you can ride the ski lift for free. The boys loved it!
View from the top
Enjoying a little snack with a view
Then we hiked around for a bit and came upon this strange wall. Just one wall with bars on the windows.
Don't they look like sad, sad convicts? They must be lifers.
We spent a lot of time at Grand Lake. The water was cold, but the boys didn't seem to mind.
It was pretty cold after they got out, though. Shivery boy!!
Grand Lake has lots of fun little shops. I had to snap a picture of Jacob in front of Grumpy's because that was how he was acting.
On Tuesday we spent the day at Snow Mountain Ranch which is a huge YMCA.
First we went on a hike which we called a 'nature walk' because Isaac is usually opposed to hiking. He did a great job and even said he went on a hike!
We hiked up to a nice little waterfall.
Isaac had so much fun playing in the water with sticks and rocks.
The entire way down the mountain (20 minutes or so), Isaac told stories of how he was rescuing his Super Hero Squad friends from the river. 'Now Wolverine is stuck in the river and I have to help my friend out. Oh! Now he is saved, but Iron Man is in there and needs to be rescued.' It was hilarious. He didn't take a break from storytelling. He has quite the imagination!
After that we ate some lunch, then played a round of mini golf and swam in the indoor pool. By that time, everyone was ready for a little break so we checked out the library where they had puzzles and games, free wi-fi and coffee. Oh, and of course, books. Alan and I even snagged a couple freebies!
Isaac fell asleep while Alan was reading him a story. Precious boy! We still wanted to go to the craft room so we scurried over there fast and made the boys tie-dyed shirts. They were so excited! Then we headed back to the condo.
Isaac still had some nap left in him.
One evening we went to Devil's Thumb Ranch for happy hour. They had fabulous appetizers for half off so we just made that our dinner - carrot soup, gnocchi, empanadas, roasted asparagus and peppers, and a bunch of other yummy stuff. Too much goodness to remember it all!
See the valley right in the middle and the tiny little rock sticking up on the left? That's Devil's thumb.
Here the boys were all looking through the telescope. Its supposed to be used to look at Devil's thumb, but they had it pointed in the opposite direction.
After dinner they fire up the fire pit and set out the stuff to make s'mores. The boys LOVED this! Well, let's face it, we all did.
The fire was super hot
This place was just awesome! So, so beautiful.
The boys were anxious to find Butters the cow who we heard about at dinner. Here they are searching for him.
Making dandelion wishes
Isaac says he was wishing for some Super Hero Squad toys
And here is Butters the cow. He is huge!
And very friendly. He came over and gave Alan and Isaac a little snuggle which Isaac thought was the coolest!
On Wednesday, Lila and I went for a 4 hour horseback ride through the Rocky Mtn. National Park. It was fabulous! This was half way through the ride where we stopped at a waterfall. We saw a yellow-bellied marmot, a deer, a very curious fox who kept following us, a female moose standing in the woods and three male moose lounging in a meadow. I loved every minute of it!
This was coming in after the ride with our guide, Brad. Lila and I were the only ones on the ride because most people do the 2 hour.
Too bad there is no picture of me in my cool cowgirl hat. It blew off right before this was taken. See the guy in blue running across the street in the picture below? That was one of the wranglers who was nice enough to go fetch it for me.
This is my horse, Satin aka Satan. I found out quickly why they nicknamed her that. About 10 minutes into the ride she kept insisting on going the opposite way she was supposed to. Stinker!
We also had some celebrity vacation home sightings - Renee Zellweger, Justin Beber, Tim Allen. Whoo Hoo.
Another highlight of the ride was when Lila's horse decided to take a running jump over a little creek. Apparently, she doesn't like to walk through water!
One morning we took a dog sled tour. I thought it was very interesting! We didn't take a ride because in the summer they go at sunrise and sunset to keep the dogs from overheating. There is also a weight limit and we wouldn't have all fit on one sled so it would have been pricey!
Obviously, in the summer they don't take people on rides on an actual sled. Instead they use golf carts that they took the engine out of.
This is where the doggies live - in a barrel with a hole in it. They jump inside, curl up and sleep in there.
Isaac visiting Gus
Isaac is a sled dog driver!
Jacob's turn
The owner was demonstrating how they harness the dogs to the sled.
At the end of the tour we got to pet and play with some of the dogs. Isaac was in heaven!
The ski lift again! The boys had so much fun and since it was free, we took another ride up.
That was our last evening. We headed out early Friday morning for the long trek home.
We made lots of pit stops. We stopped at a park to eat lunch and let the boys burn off some energy.
Isn't this swing cool?
The boys are wearing the tie-dyed shirts that they made at the YMCA.
Isaac was sitting in the sun so we asked if he would like his blanket hung up, but he wanted to wear it instead.
The car rides were long, especially on the way home, but the boys did awesome! They entertained themselves very well. They played Super Heros a lot and we heard some creative stories!
We had such a nice time! Some things not pictured were
* kayaking - we took the family-sized kayak out again like we did last year - so fun!
* motor boating - the boys went while Lila and I were on our horseback ride
* all the ice cream we ate!
* my cool cowgirl hat -had to mention that again because I think it embarrassed most of the family
* Hippie Village - we drove through this last year on the way home and saw lots of hippies tending their hippie booths, selling their hippie wares. This year we drive through on the way there and stopped to eat our picnic lunch. They were setting up for a concert that was happening later that night so we sat and watched all that. There were some interesting people.
* All the puzzles we put together at the condo - there were lots of interesting puzzles we could borrow from guest services and the boys all enjoyed putting them together.
Looking at all these pictures again makes me want to go baaaaack!
