Colorado Springs: Rocky Mountain National Forest

Our last two stops on our Colorado vacation were Denver and then Rocky Mountain National Forest. We never seem to have a lot of time to drive through the forest. One day I hope we can stay right there and hike/explore it like crazy for a few days.

Our first stop at RM was Bear Lake. We could have had the option to walk around it or take a longer hike to see a waterfall. It was hot and we didn't have a lot of food with us, so we just looked at the prettyblake and went on our way. Next time...we will explore!

We then drove up to the top visitors center, but not without a few stops along the way.

Some to just take pics and enjoy the scenery.

One stop to play in the snow.

Some to enjoy the wild life.

We visited the visitors center at the top for a bit. Sean climbed to the very top with the kids. Check out the weather in the background. We didn't have any rain except for a few sprinkles, but there were definetly some storms the day we were there.

The previous week two people died from being struck by lightning. While we were there we saw a lady lying on the side of the road with paramedics. Turned out she had died as well.

Such a neat place. Can't wait to go back!

While in Denver we traded off the kids with my parents. The first night we had the girls. We visited IKEA, the American Girl Doll store and Cheesecake factory. Sean got in a really good bike ride and the girls got in a good swim at the Hyatt's pool.

The night we had the boys...we were all so tired when we got back to the hotel, we went to bed!

All in all we had a great trip to Colorado. Now that we live only 6 hours away from Denver we plan to go back when we can!

 

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Celebrating our birthday girls!

Last summer when we broke the news to the girls that we were moving to a different town, they were both nervous about making new friends.  I assured them, that we would do our best to make at least one friend to play with.  I didn't really know how that would happen at the time, but we prayed that the Lord would provide us with an easy transition for the big change in our lives.  I prayed for the girls, because I know that friends are an important part of their lives. 

This year when their birthdays rolled around, I told them that since this is our first year here, that we could have a little combo party for them.  They had a hard time narrowing down their list of friends, so I guess we decided to go big or go home....  They share a lot of the same friends, so that helped as well.  All in all, we had 25 little munchkins running around our house last Friday.  It was a bit crazy, but everyone seemed to have a fun time!  Thank you to those who drove 2+ hours to get here!  That meant a lot!

In my usual birthday tradition, I make the kids' cakes.  They both  agreed to have a zebra themed cake.  Jocelyn at first wanted a candy themed cake and Katelyn a zebra.  I said I couldn't do both, so Jocelyn agreed to switch as long as it was a two tiered cake.  So I agreed.  These were not the best cakes that I have made...but they were really tasty.

I made the inside look zebra-y!

I set up a photo booth for the girls.  They had fun dressing up.  I didn't get a picture of all of their friends.  Some didn't want to take part and most didn't want to dress up.  That is ok, I got a few good pics of most of them.  I plan on printed out the non-blurry ones and giving them to their friends. 

The girls also went on a scavenger hunt around the yard, finding easter eggs.  Each egg had a clue that led them to the next egg.

Another crazy idea I had was to make our own pinatas.  They actually turned out quiet well, I just didn't know how to hang them properly.  My girls painted them to go with the party theme.  We stuffed it with candy and tickets.

The girls were quiet strong when hitting the pinata and not every girl got to take a swing.  I ended up throwing the loot at them and they had fun gathering it up.

The party goers then added up their tickets and could buy prizes with those tickets. 

We enjoyed cake and ice cream.

The kids need absolutely no toys, so we put in the invite that gifts were not required.  If they wanted to bring a gift, no toys, but school supplies were highly recommended.  Some may have found that lame, but the girls have been busy ever since with their new school supplies.

Katelyn Rose turns 7!!

My baby girl turned seven today! I can't believe how time has flown. Katelyn will be in 2nd grade next year and is excited for the new school year to begin. She is a perfectionist and always has to get everything right in school. She is a sweetheart and likes to care for others...especially her grandma Rene and when we are watching little ones at our house. She is always willing to help someone out. I love her spunkiness and her excitement of learning new things.

Happy birthday baby girl!!

(She loves getting email...so if you would like her email address to send her a birthday greeting, email me and I will send you her address).

 

 

 

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Colorado Springs: Pikes Peak and camping

Our last stop in Colorado Springs was Pikes Peak. We left the boys behind because it was naptime and a storm was rolling in. It was either go without them or don't go at all, so we went. You can either take a train all the way to the top going straight up the side...which equals bucko bucks! OR can also just drive 19 miles to the top which is about 1/3 the cost. So we drove. I think by taking the train you would miss out on so much. There are several stops along the way such as pull-offs to take pictures and pretty lakes to look at.

The girls enjoyed the drive up. When we got there it was pretty cloudy, so we couldn't see much. At 14,000 ft up we all felt a bit light headed and it was a little hard to breathe like normal. We are all glad we went though. We even saw some big horned sheep along the way.

It rained on and off in Colorado Springs, so one night we roasted hot dogs and marshmallows undee my parents RV canopy. The couple that we rafted with said you can pretty much count on rain every day in Colorado Springs.

Next stop Rocky Mountain National Forrest and Denver!

 

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