Colorado Trip

Melissa and I took a road trip to Colorado for my parents mission farewell. We left our husbands, Janae, and Daniel at home and piled in our van with Ellen, Summer, Lyla, Katie, and Tyler with us. The drive out was relatively good, with only on minor mishap.  Just after we passed Vail, Ellen began to scream due to hunger and Lyla got a massive bloody nose. We pulled over at the first rest stop we came to, which was at the top of Vail pass. All the kids staggered out of the car into the snow, coatless,  Lyla was covered in blood, and all the girls had crazy hair. It totally looked like we had a whole car full of homeless children. It was really a pretty funny sight. 

In Colorado, we had a grand time. We stayed busy and wore out Summer. She missed her nap several times and was up late, but she was in heaven playing with cousins and Grandparents all day. Here is our list of activities during the few days: 

1. We took a trip to the Focus on the Family indoor play area.

 Katie wins the best cousin award during this trip. She sat next to Summer for the entire drive to and from Colorado and was so good to play with her and help her everywhere we went. She was Summer's buddy and was so helpful-so thanks Katie!

2. Trip to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, where we fed the giraffes (always my favorite), watched the hippo and wolf feedings, and saw lots of other animals. The kids also rode the carousel. Summer was a little wary of it at first, but was loving it by the end. She was also very interested in the snakes, elephants, and monkeys and scared of the Gorillas and the very loud parrot. 

3. We took a trip to the park.

 4. We went swimming. Summer spent the entire time with her ears covered because she didn't like the noise, but she had a great time. She especially liked sitting at the edge of the wave pool and having the waves wash over her legs. 

5. Melissa, Mom, and I did some major shopping during naps times and after bed. Yay for Costco, Trader Joes, fun jewelry stores, and quality thrift shops!

6. We took a walk around the block and counted approximately 40 rabbits (depending on who was counting).  Here is Ellen as we started out our walk. 

7. The kids had lots of play time in the backyard and with Grandma and Grandpa. Here are Katie and Summer enjoying popsicles in the morning with my mom. 

8. We went to church and listened to Mom and Dad give their mission farewell talks. They did a great job and were supported by lots of friends. We are so excited for them and know they will be excellent missionaries! 

The drive home was long due to some traffic, a little snow, and a lunch stop without a play place. All the kids were tired, especially Summer. You can see her grumpy face in this picture. I believe she was saying "no take picture, mom" as I was taking it. She did not win the best traveler award and basically cried from Soldiers Summit to Spanish Fork. I don't know what we would have done had she not taken a two hour nap in the car. However, Ellen did great! She was happy and content to be in the car until the last half hour from Spanish Fork to Lehi-and she was upset because she was hungry
.

Overall, it was a great trip. We had lots of fun and it was so nice to spend some time with my parents before they leave, but were sure glad to get home to Anders. Any thoughts of taking a road trip longer than a day left my mind. We are not equipped for a cross country trip and if we go visit Mom and Dad, we will be flying. 

Thanks to my dad for taking a lot of these pictures. I didn't even pull my camera out the entire time we were there and just used my phone. Dad, on the other hand, has a new camera and happily took pictures the entire time we were there, so thanks for documenting our trip so well!