The ABCs of Colorado (M-Z)

This is Dan and I on the lake.  Honestly just had to include it because he is so cute!

M is for

MIMI, MONKEY BARS, MOOSE, and MINI-GOLF.

Mimi is the name that Joe gave Dan’s mom a few years ago.  She was trying to get him to call her Grammie, but all he could say was Mimi.  It stuck.  We got to see Mimi at Diane and Keith’s in Boulder for lunch before we all headed home.  She had been visiting to celebrate her sister Mary’s 70^th Birthday.

LynnAnn conquered the monkey bars at the playground in Grand Lake.  It was her favorite place in town, and we visited it at least once a day while we were there.

The only wildlife that Dan really wanted to see was moose.  He got his wish as we were driving up to Grand Lake.  We saw several more on our drives around the area during the week.

We headed to Winter Park to spend a day playing.  There was a Mini-Golf Course that we all made our way through.  I would like to say we had low scores because we were so good, but mostly it was because we: a) cheated or b) gave up on some hard holes.  Even then, I’m not sure we could say our scores were low.  We did score high in the laughter category though.  

N is for

NATURE.

We spent the whole week really relishing in the beauty of the natural world.  Dan always has an eye for capturing that beauty on film.

O is for

OUTLETS

I am a teacher, and I have a confession to make.  I don’t read directions.  I mean, I read them, but… Let’s just say they don’t always stick.  It is a fact that if you plug in two space heaters in the screen porch a fuse will blow.  Yes, I skimmed that part of the directions, and when the fuse blew I remembered it.  Hey kids, (and teachers) sometimes it doesn’t hurt to read the directions more than once.  Lesson learned.

P is for

PARADE and PONTOON BOAT

I have been to some interesting parades in my life.   In fact, the Meat Days (yes they used to have a festival weekend called Meat Days celebrating beef, pork, and turkey) parade of Albert City, Iowa is so short they turn around at the end and come back through so “you can see both sides” of the parade.  The parade in Grand Lake for their Buffalo Barbeque Weekend is now on the list of most interesting parades.  Our first hint that this wouldn’t be typical is that we were told several times where to stand if we didn’t want to get wet.  We soon found out that near the end of the parade route it was customary to have a water fight.  This fight happened between the people in the parade and the people watching.  We decided to watch from the corner right before the “wet” area.  This ended up being a great choice.  We got to see the parade participants prepping to either get wet or to go on the attack.  Political candidates pulled out umbrellas or covered their golf carts with plastic sheeting.  Water pumps were turned on and giant water guns appeared from behind props and under costumes.  Spectators were armed to the teeth with water balloons and water guns.  They attacked from balconies and windows lining the street.  These people were serious, and we were all seriously entertained. 

 

We rented a pontoon boat with the Reberrys for an hour one afternoon.  Everyone but Ender took a turn “driving” the boat.  We got some great pictures of the kids (probably because they couldn’t get away from us) and some different views of the mountains surrounding the lake. 

Q is for

QUARTERS

Aunt Diane has a tiny basket of quarters on the front hall table that is specifically for the purpose of buying kid sized ice-cream cones at one of the shops in town.   I’m pretty sure that may have been Joe and Lynn’s favorite part of the house.

R is for

ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK and RAFT

We spent a day driving through the park.  It was amazingly beautiful.  It was also amazingly cold and windy, hence the absence of any pictures of our family with great views in the background.  We all got out of the car exactly once to go to the bathroom, and we had to build our courage up for even that.

There was a little paddle raft in the garage at the house that the kids and I decided we needed to try out.  We tried, we failed. There was yelling and crying.   Then the wind blew so hard the sand was stinging our legs.  Dan rescued us with the car just before the previously mentioned hail began. You are allowed to laugh at the picture as long as you promise to never mention the raft to my face.

S is for

S’MORES and SWIMSUIT

Diane and Keith really do have the house stocked with all the necessities.  You know, chocolate, marshmallows, graham crackers, a fire pit.  S’mores were of course on the menu every night.  The extra bonus item was the set of rotating marshmallow roasting sticks that made us all feel like fancy gourmet ‘mallow roasters.  I am now convinced that an even rotating speed is what makes the perfect marshmallow. 

Lynn and Aria changed out of their swimsuits together before the Reberrys had to head home.  Aria was so good at picking up the room and packing that she accidentally packet Lynn’s suit as well.  Of course, being the observant parent that I am, I noticed that the suit was missing a day later when we were thinking about going down to the beach.  Luckily, for us, there was one store with swimsuits with one suit in Lynn’s size.  Luckily, for the owner of the store, we paid a million dollars for the dang thing because we were desperate.  Okay, exaggerating there, but it was stupid expensive.

T is for

T-REX HAT

Joe loves all things dinosaur so he chose an awesome T-Rex cap as his souvenir from the event we went to in Winter Park. A picture will be in the final edition of my "Remembering Summer" series.

 

U is for

UNBELIEVABLE VIEWS

 Pictures do no justice.  Just believe me that they were unbelievable and forgive me for copping out on the letter “u.”

V is for

VIESTENZ-SMITH MOUNTAIN PARK

On the day we drove through the national park we planned on stopping in Estes Park to eat the picnic lunch that we had packed.  Once we saw how busy the little town was, we decided to keep driving until we found a place that looked peaceful enough to stop.  We happened upon this little park situated outside of Loveland, CO.  At one time it had been the location of a power plant.  It was wiped out by a flood in the 70s, and unfortunately was hit again this fall in the floods.  We had an amazing afternoon there relaxing in the shade of the trees and playing on the playground all while listening to the great rush of the river near by.  We feel pretty blessed to have been able to enjoy this little jewel before it was completely destroyed.

W is for

WATER BOTTLES

All four of us picked out Camelback water bottles on our trip to REI with Liz, Aria, and Ender.  They are the perfect size, and they fit in the cup holders in our vehicles.  

X is for

X-TREME FAMILY BIKE EVENT

We decided to head into Winter Park to enjoy the summer activities that are offered there.  We ended up being there on a day that they were holding an X-Games type event.  We got to see mountain bikers doing all kinds of amazing tricks on a jump course.  Every flip and landing had me holding my breath and silently praying that my kids don’t ever want to do anything like that for fun.  I don’t know how all of their parents haven’t died of heart attacks.  There were several vendors at the event giving away free things.  Lynn stocked up on one of her favorites, chap stick, and our family was introduced to Clif Bars for kids and Mint Chocolate Clif Bars.  Yummy on both counts!  We also were able to pick up a bunch of really fun logo stickers and patches from various groups. 

Y is for

YOGA

During the summer (that I am so blessed to have off) I enjoy going to a weekly Yoga class at the Y.  They have free childcare. I get an hour and a half to myself, and I get an amazing work out.  One afternoon while Dan and I were hanging on the front patio, I decided that I really missed my yoga workout, so I decided to do it right there.  Dan thought we needed some pictures of this, so here is one.  I am pretty proud of my Warrior pose. 

Z is for

ZIPPED BY.

Like all vacations tend to do, this trip zipped by so quickly, but the memories have lasted.   As a family, I think this turned out to be one of our favorite vacations because of all of the little things. 

I am finding a theme that seems to be threading throughout this blog.  Life seems really big and amazing when you start to give value to all of the little moments. 

The ABCs of Colorado (A-L)

We traveled to Colorado in July for an all family, all fun vacation.  Here is a recap ABC Style.  M through Z will be arriving soon.  In case you are wondering, there will be something for EVERY letter.

A is for

Aria

ARIA, ANDREW, and ADAM’S FALLS.

Aria is our sweet and fun loving niece.  It was so much fun to see her in action as a big sister and little cousin.

Andrew is Dan’s cousin.  We hadn’t seen him in years.  We missed seeing his wife, Thea, and oldest son, Danny, but it was so great to be able to catch up.

Adam's Falls

Playing in the creek at Adam's Falls

Adam’s Falls is just outside of Grand Lake.  We made two trips to play in the creek there.  The first trip was just a hike to see the falls.  There was no plan to get wet, but we did.  The kids dressed in swimsuits for the second trip, and though I didn't, I should have.  I slipped on one of the rocks and sat down pretty hard in the middle of the creek.  That water was COLD!  

B is for

BLACK BEAR and BINGO.

One evening, while Dan and I were out at the fire pit making s’mores and taking pictures of the scenery, I saw something moving through the neighbor’s driveway.  My mouth finally caught up with my mind after a few moments.  I was able to point and tell Dan that there was a bear.  “A bear!”  The bear walked through the yard and went down the hill.  We only saw him for about fifteen seconds, but it was amazing.  Unfortunately, it was nearly dark and the smoke from the fire clouded all of the pictures that Dan tried to take.  Later in the evening, we talked to the neighbor as she was walking home from the theater.  She was a little scared that the bear was using her driveway for a path, but she wasn’t surprised.  In the past she had a black bear sniff her while she was working in her garden.  She never noticed it.  Another neighbor told her about it later.  Apparently black bears aren’t interested in people; they are more interested in finding food in our trash.  We kept a watch out for the rest of the week, but we didn’t see it again. 

Bingo

There happened to be a Bingo game in the park on one of our first evenings in Grand Lake.  It was part of the local celebration that was going on.  We didn't win anything, but we had a good time anyway.

C is for

CHIPMUNKS AND MT. CRAIG

Eating an almond from Joe's Shoe

Chipmunks live all around the house that we stayed in.  I would guess that they know there is a baggie in the house full of almonds that is marked “chipmunk food.”  All four of us enjoyed sitting quietly on the patio and “planting” almonds in interesting places for the little cuties.  Some of them even climbed right up on us to get to the food.

Mt. Craig is locally known as Mt. Baldy.  We were mistakenly calling it Bald Mountain the whole time we were there.  Baldy is a major part of the landscape at Grand Lake.  We (Dan) took loads of pictures of it at all times of day in all states. 

D is for

Aunt Diane, Uncle Keith, Ender

DIANE.

Aunt Diane and Uncle Kieth are the reason we were able to take this trip.  Thank you so much for sharing your beautiful home at Grand Lake with us and for hosting a wonderful lunch at your home in Boulder.  Reconnecting with family is truly a blessing.

E is for

ENDER, ELLIE, and ELK.

Joe and his little cousin

Early risers, Dan and Ender

Ender is our amazing little nephew.  He was born on June 10^th, so he was only a little over a month old when we visited.  It was already apparent that his disposition is very chill.  He rocked a life jacket on our boat ride that was about 20 sizes too big, and he never got upset.  He really loves to be held, and all four of us took advantage of that for the few days that we were together.

Ellie is Andrew’s second oldest.  She was a big hit with Lynn and Aria.  They played a great game of hide and seek at Diane and Keith’s in Boulder.

Elk in the Rocky Mountain Nat'l Forest

Elk were abundant on our many drives out and about in the Rocky Mountain National Forest.  We were so taken back by the beautiful scenery at one point  that we  nearly overlooked an entire herd. 

F is for

FIRE PIT, FISHING, and FOX.

The fire pit at the house in Grand Lake is a favorite for the whole family.  Who doesn’t love a campfire and all that goes with it? 

Joe and Dan have recently picked up an interest in fishing.  They went out several times and though they had little luck, they still had a great time hanging out together.  Lynn and I joined one excursion, and everyone decided that Lynn just isn’t a “sit and wait patiently” kind of gal.

Though we didn’t see the Black Bear come by again, we did see a fox in nearly the same place.  The neighbor’s drive way seemed to be a highway for forest friends in the area.

G is for

GRAND LAKE.

This location provided for one of the best and most relaxing family vacations our family has ever had.

H is for

HAIRCUT, HUMMINGBIRD, and HAIL.

Auntie Liz treated Lynn and Aria to a Curly Girl haircut at a salon in Denver.  Having someone cut Lynn's hair who knew what they were doing was a treat for me too.  I was so confident that her hair would turn out fine that I stopped watching and enjoyed snuggling my little Ender for most of the appointment.

The hummingbird feeder was a huge attraction at the mountain house.  We got to see so many of the little guys coming in for a snack.

 

We had one heck of a big hailstorm one afternoon.  Thankfully we were able to watch it from inside the garage.  The storm gave us a reason to head back to one of our favorite places in Grand Lake.  See “L” to find out where that is.

I is for

ICE CREAM.

There is a great little shop that has Kid’s Cones for $1.00.  We made a trip everyday.  Joe found a new liking for Cookie Dough Ice Cream, while Lynn stuck with her old favorite, Mint Chip. 

J is for

JON, JOANIE, and JAKE.

Jon and Aria chillin' on the pontoon

Jon is our awesome brother-in-law.  He always has a great board-game ready for us to play.  This trip we played a strategy game that involved super heroes and villains.  I don’t recall who won, but there were grown-up drinks and lots of laughing.

Jake, Joe, Ellie, Ender, Joanie, Lynn, Aria

Joanie and Jake are Andrew’s two youngest.  Jake and Joseph hit it off immediately, bonding over Minecraft, while Joanie was a hit with the two little girls.  She and Ellie were so patient with the girls.

K is for

KEITH.

Keith and Ender

Uncle Keith is the mastermind behind the fabulous home at Grand Lake.  He has such a kind, sweet soul.  We all just love Uncle Keith.

L is for

Lynn and Liz driving the pontoon

LIZ and LIBRARY.

Auntie Liz!  It was such a blessing to get to spend time and unwind with Liz and her awesome family.  She is such a fun loving mom and aunt.  

The Juniper Library of the Grand County Library system is the most relaxing and lovely place.  We were able to use Diane and Keith's library card to check out DVDs to watch in the evenings.  We read and did puzzles in the Children's Area and generally chilled out.  It was one of the few places in town to get a wi-fi connection so we actually avoided it for the first half of the week.  We knew if the kids found out that they could get on the net there, they wouldn't want to be anywhere else.  However, the weather was a factor on a couple of occasions.  There was heat one day and hail another.  We set a time limit for being on the i-pads and then we all settled in.  My favorite spot was a window seat that overlooked the gazebo in the town center.  There is just something about being surrounded by books and information and other people quietly enjoying them with you.  One of the bumper stickers given out by the library said it all: Came for the Peaks Stayed for the Library