Mountain Vacation 2013

So, I've eluded to it in my last several posts, but we just got back from a family vacation to Colorado.  And by family, I mean my entire family.  As a Christmas gift, last year, my parents rented a beautiful 3-story, 5 bedroom cabin in the mountains for my brother and sisters and their families.  Obviously we've been anticipated this for a while.  The drive, the food, the adventure, the fun, the fellowship, and the rest!  We were not disappointed!

The Drive:

Our hope was to make the 700 mi. trek in 12 hours, including stops to stretch our legs, eat, and nurse the baby.  I was a bit anxious about the trip, because even though the boys both travel in the car fairly well, we've only ever taken a 2 hour trip.  After scouring Pinterest, my game plan was to offer a new activity on the top of each hour.  I knew my activities wouldn't entertain him for an hour, but I thought at least we would break up the anticipated "freak-outs" this way.  I had Color-wonder markers, tactile toys, library books, balloons, fun sunglasses, and a few movies and Kindle activities as a last resort.

To my surprise, everything worked pretty well.  His favorites were definitely his sunglasses, Color-Wonder markers and balloons.  He took a really long nap - almost 3 hours.  There was no "freaking out."  The last 30 minutes were his version of "Are we there yet?" but that's to be expected.  He did even better on the way back.  I think he just settled into the fact that he would be spending all day in the car.

Silas was a little different story.  He's only into chewing right now, so I brought him a variety of chew toys, but honestly hoped he would spend majority of the ride sleeping.  Not the case.  He decided he was not interested in sleeping in the car and only slept a combined total of 1 hour.  The good news is that he didn't cry.  He had a pretty good whimper going on from time to time, but that usually meant he was ready to get out and eat.  He was much better on the way back and even decided to take his naps.  What a novel idea?

As far and Jason and me, we passed the time listening to Jason's mixed CDs, an Agatha Christie mystery, or just talking.  It was much more enjoyable than I thought it would be.

The Food:
Instead of spending money each night to eat out, we planned for everyone to be in charge of one dinner and one breakfast.  Man, did we eat like Kings!  It was fun to share meals as a whole family, without breaking the bank.    It's a good thing it was exercise, at that elevation, just to walk up the stairs because we needed it after eating so many good desserts.  Let's be honest, we almost at 3 gallons of Blue Bell ice cream while there.

The Adventure:
If you missed it, I went into detail about the adventure of climbing the mountain here. 
Jason other adventures included meeting up with Ray Barry to go mountain biking on real mountains and white water rafting down the Royal Gorge with some of the guys in our family.

Amos had his own little adventures with Grammy and Gramps on the trails around our cabin.  Apparently Amos has lots of new fears: bones (they found one on the trail),  ducks (who knew?), animal rugs, and a fox skin ( I was kind of scared of that one too)!

The Fun:
We are a game playing family and this vacation was no exception.  Everyone brought their favorite games and we spent most evenings playing a games or watching old family videos.

The group also spent an afternoon visiting local Indian Cave dwellings.  Jason and I opted out to stay at home and watch the little ones and rest.  But Amos and Josie had a blast exploring with Grammy and Gramps and the Aunts and Uncles.

The Fellowship:
Lots of good conversation took place this week!  We caught up on life and future plans, joked about the past and talked about Jesus.  Sunday was a joy as we discussed the book "The Freedom of Self-Forgetfulness," sang songs together, and enjoyed teaching from my brother-in-law.  It's wonderful to see how we are all growing in our knowledge and love of Jesus.

The Rest:
As you might imagine, traveling with two kids is a bit stressful.  I packed an entire suitcase with just diapers for the week.  Not to mention, two beds, food, gear and clothing.  However, once we settled into the cabin and found everyone's sleeping nook (Amos was in a tent in the bathroom, and Silas in our room) we were able to find time to rest.  Everyone was SOOO helpful with the kids.  With all the extra hands, we really did feel like we were on vacation.

It was a great way to start the summer!  And we can't wait to do it again.

Thanks again, Mammie & Mps!