Vacation Experience

We left for Colorado on Saturday night, at about 9:00 pm. The drive up was pretty uneventful, except for the incident with the UFO and the CIA, but we're not really at liberty to talk about that. We drove through the night and made it to Denver at about noon. As we headed out of Denver we saw the Temple just off the freeway, so we stopped and let the girls get out of the van to walk around the temple grounds.

We checked into the resort at about 4:00pm. The room was great with a rustic feel to it. There were two bedrooms and a hide-a-bed for sleeping. The original plan was to give each couple a bedroom (after all--we were on vacation and privacy was a must!) and let Cailyn and Gavin sleep on the hide-a-bed. We discovered, however, that Gavin was recently inducted to the secret "bed-Nazi" society and is quickly climbing his way to the top. True to the order, he would have nothing to do with sharing a bed and ended up with a queen sized bed all to his two-year-old self. The room was also equipped with a gas fireplace, which made the room cozy, and a balcony that was perfect for throwing things off of and spitting on other guests as they unsuspectingly walked by. Gavin made a wonderful attempt to project other bodily fluids from the balcony--an urge that both Jason and Mark struggled to suppress the entire stay--but was foiled by his mother before he could relieve himself off the balcony. Maybe next time Gavin.

The Blacks arrived late Sunday night. They would have gotten there sooner, but they stopped to do some hunting along the way.

Vacation really started on Monday morning when we went to check out Steamboat Springs, Colorado. The wild life was fun to look at and Cailyn made a good impression on some of the locals.

Halloween was HUGE in Steamboat Springs. The town blocked off all of Main street and the kids (and most adults) went trick-o-treating to all the businesses of the area. Cailyn made a killing on the candy intake. Cailyn said it best when Aunt Cassie saw her for the first time Monday Morning. "Cailyn," she said, "You are so pretty!" "NO, I'm not!" Cailyn corrected, "I'm GORGEOUS!!!"

Vacation Pictures

Daddy and Jessica chill out on the balcony on our last morning.

Nothing is better than a cup of hot chocolate on a cool morning.

Cailyn and Jessica are sitting in the lobby enjoying a leisurely morning.

Daddy and the girls are posing in front of the falls before we take our hike up the mountain.
Mindi and the girls pose for one last picture in front of the falls.
Cailyn and Gavin not practicing the art of sharing. We "lost" that doll pretty quick.
Gavin, Jason and Cailyn read a book for a little quiet time.
Baby Meagan being beautiful on her blanket.
Sister Black and Sister Holloway are holding hands preparing to share the Gospel.
Cailyn and Mindi are calming down after a night of Trick-ot-Treating.

More Vacation Pictures

Gavin painting his pottery.

Cailyn giving Meagan a love while Cassie supervises. A necessity with toddlers.

Cailyn and Gavin on a horse in downtown Steamboat. (The horse isn't real)

Cassie working on her pumpkin.

Cailyn in her Tinker Bell costume. She got to wear it all day. How fun!

Vacation Recovery

We arrived home about 8:00 this morning from Steamboat Springs, Colorado. The girls and Jason are napping, trying to catch up on the sleep we missed from the drive. It took us about 18 hours one way. That includes all the stops we had to make. (I am happy to report that Cailyn had NO ACCIDENTS. Yay Cailyn!) Needless to say, we are exhausted and glad to have a day to rest before another week starts.

We were there for almost a week. We had so much fun. We were able to do lots of things as a family. Hiking, painting pottery, Trick-or-Treating, swimming, and plenty of relaxing. It is always nice to come home though. Luckily we had a washer and dryer in our condo, so unpacking isn't quite as overwhelming as it usually is. Jason is the one that did the laundry for us.

THANK YOU JASON!

We have made several cross country trips with Cailyn, so we knew she was a good traveler. This was a new experience for Jessica though, but she proved to be a great traveler as well(so far). She slept almost the entire time and was giggling with Cailyn the rest of the time. Overall the drive there and back was very pleasant.

We were able to share most of the week with Mark, Cassie, Gavin, and Meagan Black. For those who don't know, Cassie is Jason's sister. They live in Wyoming and met is there. Gavin and Cailyn got along most of the time, but of course fought over some toys. We ended up hiding some of the toys to keep the peace. The funnest part was seeing the kids dressed up for Halloween. Gavin was Peter Pan and Cailyn was Tinker Bell. The baby girls were Sister Missionaries. They were adorable.

It was so fun to visit and spend time with the Blacks. We don't usually get to hang out because of the distance between us, so this was really nice. Thanks Blacks for coming to spend time with us, I hope you had a great time.

This is right as we checked in. We were excited to finally be there.

Cailyn and Gavin enjoying some toys together.

Meagan and Jessica playing on the floor.

The boys mesmerized by He-Man and the Masters of the Universe.

Cailyn painting her pottery.

Denver Temple

The Denver Colorado Temple

Here we are

On our way to Steamboat Springs, Colorado, we passed by the Denver Temple and stopped to walk around the grounds. Cailyn and Jessica were elated to get out of the car and breathe some fresh air. It was nice to slow down enough to enjoy some sights along the way. As opposed to the usual "Race to the Destination."

Of course it was absolutely beautiful there. The trees were turning colors and the sky was perfect. We couldn't have asked for a more uplifting stop on the Sabbath.

Being at the Temple puts a smile on everyone's face.

Believe it or not, this is the parking lot. Gorgeous huh!

Peek-a-boo, I see you!

Cailyn didn't want to leave, I had to practically tackle her to get her back in the van.

Cailyn loves to sing!

The Drive-In

Last night Jason and I decided to take the girls to the Drive-In Theater. They were playing "Meet the Robinsons" and "Ratatouille"-I'm not sure I spelled that correctly. We had so much fun. In between the movies Cailyn and I ran around the open field right in front of the screen while Jason prepared for his meeting this morning. Jessica slept on the back seat of the van through both movies. That is probably one of the funnest ways to see a movie as a family.



Well, the first movie started at 8:00 and the theater is an hour away so we didn't get home until about 1:00 am. Jason had to be in Weatherford at 7:30 this morning for Bishopric meetings. The girls woke up at 7:45 and were geared and ready to play. Needless to say, "We are tired." But it was all worth it.



Our meeting time changed and we had to be in Granbury at 11:30 so we were doing things differently this morning than we are used to. We arrived to church in plenty of time, so we had some Sunday Morning Success. We need to try to remember that it can happen the next time we are struggling.