Colorado Summer Fun!

One of my favorite things to do during summer is to visit my family in Colorado! We always have a great time. We had a lot of fun things planned, but first we had to make it there. Oh boy! It is not that I am worried about traveling with Lucas. Give him an iPad and he is good to go. It was traveling with Macie. First of all since she is under 2 we don't have to buy her a plane ticket since she qualifies as a lap child. But Macie is not a cuddler. She is always on the move and I knew riding on the plane would be no different. My only hope was that maybe she would be alright trading laps to sit in between Matt and me. Also, if she is able to watch Mickey we might be able to make it the 2 hour plane ride. Also, I was hoping that since we woke both of them up at 4:30 am that maybe she would be so kind to take a nap on the plane. NO SUCH LUCK! We weren't even on the plane for more than 10 minutes when she announced that she was "All done. No, no, no!" But 2 hours later we made it and she wasn't too bad once we could put on Mickey. It was just during those times that technology was not allowed. I also learned that she is NOT a lap baby. She needs her own seat with her carseat to sit in. 

I should have known by the look on her face that she was not going to sit still. 

My happy littler traveler.
He did great!

Lucas riding on the train at DIA.
Lucas got to ride on a bus, a plane and a train in one day!
Made him so happy!

One of the best things about traveling to Colorado in the summer is the fact that it is a lot cooler there. We left Arizona and the 100+ degree weather and arrived in Colorado to 80 degrees. So nice. This means that we can play outside during the middle of the day. Wonderful! Lucas and Macie really enjoyed being outside all day long. They are outdoor kids and the summers in Arizona make it hard on them.

Lucas playing tennis at one of the tennis courts that I used to play on back in high school.

Macie is hiding in Aunt Shawna's blinds. She thought this was so funny!

We also had a great time celebrating Father's Day with my Dad. He loves going out for breakfast. So it was nice to treat him to breakfast with the kids. Makes me happy. Always special.

My niece Rylie, Macie my Dad, Lucas and my niece Piper.

Lucas and Macie also got to spend a lot of time with his cousins Rylie and Piper. They played together, went to the movies, swimming and lots more. I love that Lucas and Macie have such great cousins in their lives. I love that no matter how long or short it has been, they always pick right back up where they were and have fun together. 

Giving me their scary face after seeing Monsters University!
Funny!

One of the days while we were in Colorado, we went to the local rec center to swim. Macie and Lucas love to swim and play in the water. So we knew they would have a lot of fun and fun they definitely did have. At the rec center there is one baby slide, two huge slides and a lazy river. Plus a little area for Macie to play in. Matt's goal was to get Lucas to go down the huge slides with him. It took a little convincing and a little practice on the baby slide before he got enough courage to attempt it. The first attempt was not a success. Matt took him on the darker and faster slide. I wasn't sure if Lucas was going to go again. He practiced a little bit more on the little slide and then he decided he was ready to try the other one with Matt. According to Lucas, it is slower so he went on it over and over with Matt. Even once with me. YAY! Such a big boy. Macie was a happy camper going down the little slide and playing in the fountains. It was her thing!

Lucas practicing on the little slide.

"Mom, I am going down the big slide!"

And he did!

Big smile! He was so proud of himself.

Macie playing in the fountains.
Silly!

This is one of my favorite pictures.
It is like she is waving to the crowd.

Lucas got to see his cousin Piper play in her summer band concert. He was so cute watching her and rocking out to the songs. She did a great job and we are so proud of her.

One of the highlights of the trip was a quick Mommy & Dadd get away! When Matt booked the airplane tickets to Colorado, he also booked a hotel room up in Estes for a night. He booked the same hotel that we stayed at the night of our wedding. It was so nice to escape to the mountains and have time together... Alone. I love Estes Park and walking around their downtown. It is a sweet little place with lots of local shops, especially the candy shops. So yummy!

But what made the whole night was the visit to our wedding place. My sister Shawna used to teach with the husband of the woman whose family owns the place so she got us the hook up to visit. Thanks Huey! It was so nice to walk around the manor and stand in the same place where we said "I Swear" 13 years later. It is such a beautiful place!

The view from our vows!

Noah & Rylie played "Going on a Bear Hunt" in those trees.
They were the same age as Lucas when we got married.
Adorable!

The inside of the manor.
It was a great party!

Still in love 13 years later!

Later that night we went out to dinner and then took a self-tour of the Stanley Hotel. I have always wanted to see the inside of the hotel and the restaurant was near it. So we went on a little tour. Even the lobby of the hotel is a little creepy. I couldn't imagine staying there as a guest. Freaky!

Once we returned to the hotel we went out to the patio and just enjoyed spending time together and having a little drink. It is nights like this that remind us how lucky we are to have each other and our children. Also, it shows us how important it is to take time to be with just each other. Thank you to my parents who took the kids for a night so that we could do this.

Of course while we were there we celebrated the 4th of July which by the way is my favorite holiday! I love the fireworks! I love setting off fireworks and the colors! Makes me happy. So when we heard there were fires in Colorado, I made my parents call to make sure their town was still having a fireworks show. My Dad called the City to check for me and sure enough they were having fireworks! YAY!

My little firecracker!

One of the fun things we implemented this year was the first annual "Minute to Win It 4th of July Celebration!" I knew my mom would be busy cooking her famous fried chicken and would like the space so I got on Pinterest and found some great games to play with the gang. There were about 20 people at my parents' house for my mom's famous fried chicken so the games were tons of fun! We divided the people into 3 teams. Trying our best to make it even... But somehow my team came out the winner!

Minute to Win It... Blow the cup across the driveway using only a straw.

Minute to Win It... Toss 10 marshmallows into the plastic cup.

Minute to Win It... Divide a bag of M& M's into the designated color plate using only a straw.
Donna and Little Matt working together to win!

Aiden and Garrett.

Shawna and Piper.

Minute to Win It... Get the cookie from your forehead into your mouth using only your facial muscles.

My dad! Hysterical!

Minute to Win It... Stack 6 soda cans on top of a plastic plate.
Aaron and Sarah working together as a team.

My buddy and I... I have to let you know that we won!
It is a lot harder that you think. It took over a minute... Maybe a few.

Rylie and Katie working together. They almost won.
Close call!

There was also a Minute to Win It... Water ballon fight. You can imagine how fun that was. Lucas thought it was so fun! He didn't quite get the concept of keeping the water balloon from popping. He just wanted to throw them at people. Why not!

After dinner, there was a baseball game!
Everyone went across the street on the hill of my old high school!
They had a great time!

Once it got dark we set up camp on the hill to watch the fireworks. It was really nice because Macie wasn't quite sure at first about the loud booms, but then she loves the colors of the fireworks. It worked out perfectly!

Love them!

Of course we still had the traditional crawdad fishing trip. Lucas was much more into it this year. He was trying so hard to catch a crawdad. He did get a few to bite, but was able to move them from the stream into the bucket. But once he caught one, he would have someone help him make the transfer. Macie just wanted to live in the stream. Couldn't really happen. Sorry Lady! So then she made camp sitting on a chair in the shade and hung out eating snacks. Just her style.

Lucas fishing for the ones that were already in the bucket... Cheater!

Playing a little sword fighting with sticks with Aunt Shawna.

The cousins: Matt, Piper, Rylie and Sarah.

Of course we had the crawdad races. This is where you let the crawdads back into the stream. You watch them race down the bank to see who wins. Lucas was yelling at the crawdads as they scrambled to get back into the water. He would yell, "Come on old girl. Let's go. You go old girl." Where he got that from, I have no clue. Sure wasn't me. But it was funny!

We had a few extra hot dogs (bait) that Lucas generously threw into the stream for the crawdads to eat.

The trip ended with family pictures. As you all now, we have mainly just taken our own family pictures. This is for a couple of reasons... 1. Not sure if our little angels will be cooperative enough to pose for pictures. 2. We are a little cheap. But my sister Shawna again had the hook up. The mom of two of her former students is a photographer and offered to take our pictures for a really cheap price. And she did the most amazing job! The pictures turned out beautiful. She was able to capture my littles and do it so seamlessly in under an hour. This was no easy feat because Macie was a little spitfire that night. Also, she got some great pictures of the whole family (13 of us)! I can't wait to see them. She took over 400 hundred pictures! Amazing!

The whole week we were in Colorado, we had the best time. It is so nice to spend time with family and making wonderful memories. It was really hard to leave. It was one of the best trips we had! I really do appreciate all of the fun and hospitality of my family. My parents always make visiting so special. Also, my sister Shawna gave up her home for us to stay while we were there. She stayed over at my parents so that we would have a quiet place to put the kids to sleep. Lucas called it "Aunt Shawna's Hotel." Also, it was so nice to spend time with my parents, my sisters and my nieces and my new niece and nephew. My sister Donna is getting married next year and her fiance's (Aaron) children are so nice. I know Lucas and Macie had fun playing with them as well. I look forward to going back sooner rather than later!

Macie stretching after her 2 hour flight home.

Home sweet home!