Colorado

I am sitting here on the couch with my laptop, hunkered down until this blog entry done even if it takes me until 1am. This is much overdue considering our Colorado trip was Aug 27-Sept 2.

We traveled out there on the 27th. Smooth trip! Once again, Ryan was a terrific traveler. Never complained, probably because he got to watch a lot of movies which I don't allow at home. We arrived in Colorado Springs around8:30pm.

On Thursday we went to Waffle House for breakfast. Yes, Waffle House, I think that is the whole reason Ben wanted to go. He is kind of obsessed. Good thing we don't have any Waffle Houses in Iowa. Then we drove up the big mountain to the top of Pikes Peak. We went to the top last summer also. The difference this year was the view it was not clouded over. One of these times we will ride the Cog Railroad to the top. I know Ryan would love that.

Friday was a BLAST! ATVing in the Colorado Rocky Mountains. We rented a 4x4 Jeep and side by side Arctic Cat in St. Elmo. The Jeep was rough on those very rocky mountain trails but the ATV was fun. Since we were ATVing for Ry's birthday he got to stay in the ATV for the entire day. He didn't want to be in the Jeep. I don't blame him. The scenic views at the top of the mountains were breathtaking. So peaceful and serene. Michael, Ben, Ryan and I were on the trails all day. It was a memorable experience. Friday evening we stayed in a mountain resort in Mt Princeton. Of course, our living quarters was a log cabin nestled along a forest and mountain stream. The resort had two hot pools, one was 97 degrees and the other was 103 degrees. The third pool was not as warm but had a 300 ft water slide. Ryan loves water slides. I would love to go back to this area of Colorado to go ATVing again.

The guys figuring out our route up the trailAt the top of Tincup PassRyan and Ben coming down the mountain

Our cabinBen holding Colt while Ryan is tickling

Ryan has mastered plain jumping so now he must flip into the water

Ryan came down the waterslide backwards every time
On Saturday we went back to Michael and Lynn's house. Brad and Donna joined us from Iowa to celebrate Ryan's birthday. I already posted about Ryan's birthday so no need to repeat that part of our trip. Ryan had a great birthday.

Ben had so much fun riding ATV's that he booked 3 ATVs for Sunday too. The guys made that trip by themselves. They traveled 65 miles on traditional 4-wheelers that day. It rained on them for most of the day so the hot tub soak at the end of the day was nice and relaxing. Lynn, Donna, Colt, Ryan and I went to an amusement park called North Pole. This park was a dream come true for a 4 year old. Ryan could ride almost all the rides. We spent several hours at the park.

Grandma and Grandpa with the two grandboys On Monday, we went to have a lovely breakfast at The Pantry in Green Mt Falls. The town has a nice little park beside a pond in the middle of town. We took the opportunity for family photos. Later that afternoon we headed for home. We decided not to make the 11.5 hour drive in one day this time. We stayed in Kearney, NE on Monday night and finished the drive on Tuesday.

Ryan playing with Aunt Lynn at the park
This is the neat little indoor waterpark at the Holiday Inn in Kearney

All in all, we had another wonderful trip to CO and I can't wait to go back. It is hard to think about how much Colt will have changed the next time we see him. I would go out there once a month if it was possible.

It's 11:36 and I am done!! Now I just have to find more time to post about our annual family getaway with my family that happened last weekend. I don't even want to think about it yet.